He thinks!!! He thinks as hard as he can!!! He searches for it!!! He searches for the road towards victory!!! But...!!!

"It's nothing!!! I thought as hard as I could, but It's nothing!!!"

Realizing his own state, Antonio can't help but shred tears!!! He shreds tears, realizing his own weakness!!! His stupidity!!! In front of this...

"Antonio, let's face this..."

Jose made a proposal!!!

+++++

"What are you saying, Jose!? Facing this!? If we lose, you're going to work all your life!!! You'll be a slave!!!"

"But we agreed to his terms and I think he played fair... so we should just accept it. We lost, Antonio. It's the end of the road... we can't push this Chicken Race any further... jump to the cliff already... we lost..."

Hearing his words... he immediately refuted!!! Like a son who doesn't accept his mother's wishes, commands, and any of that!!! He stubbornly refuses!!!

"No!!! No!!! No!!! There must be a way! God is not that merciless!!! He'll provide a way!! Just give me a few minutes and I'll think!!! I'll think of a way to win... so please... wait-"

"Antonio... there's no god..."

It's only 3 words, but It's enough to stop Antonio on his tracks! Like a mother who just pulled out a broom to punish his son, resulting in his son shut up...

"Yanlei... Call... let's end this. If I win or lose... I'll leave It all to luck!!!"

"Sure... let's end this already, Jose! I'm already tired! Let's go to the showdown!!!"

It's been so long... this Three Hand Poker is really long!!! It started with a simple bluff, acceptance then the chicken race!!! So many things happened!!! But now...!!! This demonic night where all sanity disappeared... has concluded at last!!!

When they already dropped their cards... they suddenly felt the grim reapers touch at their backs!!! Because at this moment...

"It's a Full House... Jose... you lost... That means you're going to work for me all your life. Well, It's your fault for skyrocketing the bet this high just to bluff me..."

Yanlei won!!! The devil prevails!!! The devil who takes advantage of others so he can live!!! He prevails!!! The true devil prevails!!! Antonio and Jose tried to be devils, but in the end, they failed!!!

The two of them failed!!! They entered this devilish gamble to change their lives only for them to fall further in the pit of poverty!!! A debt!!!

"You're cheating!!! You're definitely cheating!!! You cheated!!!"

Antonio can't control his emotions anymore and accused Yanlei of cheating. Well, his accusation is right... but...

"The game just ended, didn't it? So even If I cheated or not, It doesn't matter anymore..."

"So you did cheat!!!"

"Who knows?"

"You bastard!!!"

Out of an uncontrollable mix of emotions, he rushed towards Yanlei and was about to punch him. So many emotions welled up inside him!!! Like a paint being mixed to other paints, then stir!!! There's blue, sadness!!! Red, anger, and resentment...

"Stop that, Antonio. Even if he cheats... It already ended. It's our fault for not noticing it during the game!!!"

"Are you serious, Jose!?"

Hearing his words, he can't help but to step back a bit... and sit down... while crying his eyes out!!! At this night that already got darker... their tears, resentment, and acceptance made the night even darker...

+++++

"Jose... let's go home... there's nothing for us to do here..."

Antonio cried and cried at that bench until the morning rises. He wants to go home and just sleep, and hope that the moment he wakes up... all of this didn't happen at all. Like the whole night was just a dream...

"I don't want to go home right now... I don't want my son to see me become a human garbage... I'm already a loser, but falling into this pit makes me garbage... so go home without me... and tell this to him..."

Jose said his message towards Allaine. At that moment, Allaine just woke up from his sleep... but he suddenly felt his heart aching. It's just for a moment but he felt it...

"I wonder what father is doing right now..."

He said those words and gone outside...

"Allaine... for being a failure as a father... I'm sorry... I remained trash... even here, outside of that mountain, I'm still trash. Don't be the same... Allaine... evolve... and transform and don't let yourself become... a human garbage..."

END OF CHAPTER 25