As Alex lay wounded on the cold ground, Rina crouched beside him, her eyes filled with worry.
"Are you alright? Do you need help?" she asked, her voice trembling.
Alex slowly opened his heavy eyelids and looked at her.
"I... am... okay," he whispered.
Tears welled up in Rina's eyes, her frustration spilling into her voice.
"Why are you doing this?" she cried. "You know we can't win against those statues. You couldn't even leave a scratch on them!"
She sobbed, her voice breaking as despair took hold.
"We can't win…"
Alex looked at her and gave a faint smile, blood soaking his face. In a hoarse whisper, he said:
"If I believed I couldn't win… and gave up because of it… I would've died a long time ago."
As time flew by, Alex healed himself and tried again. He failed—then tried again.
Again.
And again.
And again.
He kept trying.
Each time, he learned a bloody lesson.
And each time, Hati stood by his side—loyal, fierce, never once shirking away.
