After everyone went away, there was complete silence.
Neither Steve spoke...
Nor Conrad.
Nor Tom.
It was one of those nights where nobody knew what to say.
But it was the most painful for Steve.
He had experienced this before.
The next morning, Conrad and Tom finally gathered the courage to ask him.
"So... you, Henry, and Amy were siblings?"
Steve nodded.
"Yeah."
"We were."
"And now..."
"Both of them are gone."
Conrad quietly asked,
"How did Henry die?"
Steve took a deep breath.
Then began...
The tale of the legend...
Henry.
"It was ten years ago."
"Henry was fifteen."
"I was six."
"And Amy hadn't even been born yet."
"We lived the same horrible life you're seeing now."
"But at least..."
"We had each other."
"That was enough."
Steve smiled for a brief second before continuing.
"One night, during one of the executions..."
"The cage broke."
"It was still in its early stages."
"It wasn't perfected yet."
"One of the Bulls escaped."
"It charged straight toward me."
"I froze."
"I couldn't move."
"Just as its horns were about to reach me..."
"There he was."
"Henry."
"He grabbed the Bull by its horns..."
"And somehow managed to climb onto its back."
"He didn't kill it."
"He tamed it."
"By nothing but his courage and skill."
"It was like the Bull had finally found someone worthy enough to follow."
"The entire city watched in disbelief."
"Even King Serloth."
Steve looked down.
"Instead of killing Henry..."
"Serloth offered him a place in his crew."
"Henry refused."
"In front of everyone."
"But then Serloth smiled."
"He looked at Henry and said..."
'What will you do when it isn't one Bull... but ten... charging toward your little brother?'
'Be smart.'
'Join me.'
'I need someone like you.'
"So..."
"Henry accepted."
"Not for himself."
"For me."
"He spent the next three years working under Serloth."
"He helped rebuild the cages."
"He strengthened every weak point."
"He knew every mechanism."
"Every lock."
"Every secret."
Steve paused.
"And during those three years..."
"He fell in love."
"Her name was Gloria."
"She worked as one of King Serloth's servants."
"They loved each other."
"They started dating."
"And eventually..."
"They dreamed about a future together."
Steve smiled sadly.
"Henry would've given his life for her."
"She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen."
"But even while he was in love..."
"He never forgot his real goal."
"He had a plan."
"A plan to kill King Serloth."
"He knew every weakness of the cage because..."
"He had built it."
"His idea was simple."
"Loosen the mechanism..."
"At the perfect moment..."
"And let the Bulls do the rest."
"No one..."
"Not even Serloth..."
"Could survive ten wild Bulls."
"So Henry waited."
"He waited for the perfect night."
"He even secretly told me to warn everyone not to stand too close to the cage."
"He promised everything would be under control."
"After all..."
"He was the one who had designed the underground system."
"The moving city."
"The mechanisms connected beneath Bulltown."
"He understood all of it."
"The plan was ready."
"The only person he trusted with it..."
"Was Gloria."
Steve closed his eyes.
"When Henry told her..."
"She smiled."
She said,
'Wow, love...'
'What a wonderful plan.'
Steve's voice trembled.
"But later that night..."
"The giant screen lit up."
"And for the first time..."
"Henry saw his own face."
"His own name."
"He didn't understand."
"Not at first."
"But then..."
"He realized."
"Gloria had betrayed him."
"She had told King Serloth everything."
Steve looked away.
"But the surprise didn't end there."
"Standing beside Henry..."
"On that same screen..."
"Was Gloria."
"Henry was devastated."
"She had betrayed him."
"And yet..."
"He still loved her."
"Then King Serloth laughed."
He looked directly at Henry and said,
'Well...'
'I never trusted this whore anyway.'
'I guess she can die with you.'
'Henry...'
'I thought we'd do many great things together.'
'So...'
'What are you going to do now?'
Henry looked around.
At his family.
At his brother.
At Gloria.
At the King.
He knew...
There was only one move left.
One final decision...
That might change the future.
He called Steve closer to the cage.
"There was something..."
"He desperately needed to tell me."
Steve took another deep breath.
"The next thing Henry saw..."
"...was one of the Bulls charging toward Gloria."