[Scene 1]

(Location: The rusted cage, behind the arena. The crowd’s roar is muffled but vicious.)

(The episode begins with the high-pitched screech of metal. The iron gate swings open violently. A huge guard with a harsh expression gestures inside with his head.)

Guard (gruff voice):

“Qasim. Salim. Your turn.”

(Qasim rises silently. His slim frame is tense, but his eyes are sharp and steady. Behind him, Salim follows, visibly trembling, swallowing nervously. The blue lines on his face glow faintly with each terrified breath.)

Salim (whispers shakily):

“We… we’re really going to fight?”

Qasim (grabbing his friend’s arm to steady him, without looking at him):

“Stay close to me.”

[Scene 2]

(Location: The arena. Quick, intersecting shots show the scene from multiple angles.)

(The boys are shoved into the middle of the dusty arena. The crowd roars like a single beast. Coins fly through the air.)

Spectator 1 (shouting excitedly):

“Ten coins on the tall, quiet one!”

Spectator 2 (laughing):

“Twenty on the other! Fear makes ‘em fight like beasts!”

(Up above, Maddah watches. He squints his eyes and jots a quick note on his data board. His observation isn’t about the boys, but the crowd: “Aggression level: high. Fear response: positive. Conclusion: the crowd doesn’t want a winner — they want a show.”)

(Below, among the audience, stands Merenji, smirking sharply. He shouts:)

“Come on! Let’s see some blood!”

(Across the ring, Taher stands, his face twisted in disgust and pure horror. He closes his eyes for a moment, unable to bear the scene.)

[Scene 3]

(In the center of the ring, a guard hands the boys two wooden swords.)

Qasim (quietly to Salim):

“Just defend yourself. I’ll handle the rest.”

(Salim looks at the sword in his hand, then at his friend’s determined face, then at the bloodthirsty crowd. He makes his decision. He drops the sword, and it hits the ground with a soft thud.)

(A sudden, strange silence falls over parts of the crowd. Confused murmurs begin to spread.)

Salim (takes a deep breath, then shouts louder than he expected — the voice of a brave child):

“He’s my friend! Even if you kill me, I won’t hurt him!”

(Close-up of Qasim’s face, his eyes widening in shock as he realizes what Salim just did.)

[Scene 4]

(The overseer descends slowly from his platform, steps calm and deliberate. The crowd falls into complete silence. He walks until he’s standing in front of Salim, looking down at him coldly.)

Overseer:

“Wrong answer, boy.”

(His hand moves with lightning speed. A brief metallic flash. The sound of a swift, muffled stab.)

(The camera focuses on Qasim’s stunned face, unable to comprehend what just happened.)

Qasim (voice cracking):

“…Salim?”

(Salim’s eyes widen — not only from pain, but from disbelief. He slowly reaches a hand toward Qasim, as if trying to touch him one last time… then it drops to the dirt. His body follows. The blue lines on his face flicker, then fade entirely.)

(A total, frozen silence engulfs the arena for a moment.)

[Scene 5]

(Qasim kneels slowly beside his friend’s body. He touches his cold face. Tears begin to fall silently from his eyes.)

(The camera zooms in on Qasim’s face. We hear his broken, hoarse whisper, filled with guilt and sorrow.)

Qasim:

“I told you… stay close to me…”

(In that moment, something shifts. His sorrow reaches its deepest point, then begins to transform… into something else. Something hollow, cold, and furious beyond words.)

(Extreme close-up on Qasim’s eyes. Tears still fall, but behind them, his irises begin to darken into a deep black. Small cracks of dark blue light shimmer faintly around his pupils.)

(A faint sound is heard — inaudible to anyone else… the ticking of an old clock begins to echo.)

Narrator (inner voice):

“Even in the depths… friendship might start as a spark.

But a spark alone isn’t enough in this darkness…

Sometimes, you need a fire.”

(The screen cuts to black.)

(End of Episode)