I just stood there, watching the crowd surrounding me like cornered animals waiting for a sign that would save them.

At first, everyone stayed perfectly still, hoping I was about to offer something miraculous.

But the longer nothing happened, the more restless they became-quiet muttering turning into agitation, impatience spreading through them like an infection.

Their leader tried to calm them, raising his voice, telling them to give me space, but not a lot of people listened to him. Chaos started to spread around and I finally decided to speak up.

"Stop. If you keep doing this, the claw god might get annoyed with all of you."

Everyone froze once they heard what I said and disbelief covered their.

Some of them scoffed and nearly laughed in my face. Another shook their head with full confidence, eyes filled with blind faith instead of logic.

"Our god would never abandon us."

One of them said, and several others echoed the sentiment with growing boldness now that they convinced themselves I was wrong.

I stared at them and let out a long, tired sigh-because there was no point in arguing with people who believed more loudly than they listened.

Their faith wasn't devotion, it was greed and something else.

Enough was enough.

I did not say much, but I decided to act up. Returning the machine to my inventory was quite easy for me, and no one seemed to know what I did either. It was the perfect crime.

Silence swallowed the room-and then the screaming began.

"What happened?!"

"Where did it go?!"

"Did someone steal it? Did he steal it?!"

Chaos erupted instantly.

People rushed toward me and away from me at the same time, pulling at each other, looking around frantically like the machine might be hiding under the rugs or behind the counters.

Even their leader looked stunned, completely unprepared for anything like this.

I kept my voice calm.

"I warned you this might happen."

My voice was calm and detached, as if none of this affected me. Only the leader was smart enough to understand that I had something to do with all this, but he still chose to ignore me.

Their leader was the first to react. He dropped to one knee so fast it almost looked painful. His followers stared at him in shock as he bowed his head.

"Please. For everything we have done… forgive us. We went too far."

He said, voice raw with sincerity.

Others followed quickly, begging their god to forgive their sins and come back. I laughed to let them know that I was still there and willing to help out.

"It's fine. But your actions are crossing the line now. You need to repent for the damage you're causing-to yourselves and everyone else."

I said at last.

He lifted his head but didn't stand. The people behind him stood frozen in place, afraid to breathe too loudly.

"How do we do that?"

He asked quietly.

I let the question settle. I wanted them to hear the seriousness in every word I spoke.

"First, you stop protesting like this. Stop gathering here and blocking the shop. Common spaces are for public use, nor your own."

I said,

The crowd exchanged looks, clearly unhappy but cautious enough not to argue.

"Second, you stop monopolizing the claw machine. It's not meant for just one group. It's there for everyone. If you keep trying to seize it for yourselves, then you're not worshipping anything-you're just greedy."

I continued,

Several members of the crowd flinched, unable to deny the truth of it.

"And lastly, you live your normal lives. The claw machine is not supposed to replace how you work, eat, earn, or survive. You don't depend on it for everything. You don't run to it every time there's a problem. You're supposed to live-and if a gift comes, it comes."

I said, softer this time.

No one looked pleased. They all wanted shortcuts, miracles, answers handed to them. But wanting didn't make it right.

I folded my arms across my chest and looked around at every single face in the room.

"If you really believe in the claw god, then prove it by not falling apart the moment the machine disappears."

I told them.

Their leader swallowed hard and stood up slowly, positioning himself between me and his followers like a shield.

"You heard him. We follow his instructions. Complaining ends here."

A few people looked like they were about to argue, but he cut them off with a single glare. Authority returned to his voice, steady again after almost losing everything minutes before.

"If we want to keep God's blessing, then we will earn it the right way."

He said.

I nodded once-because that was the answer I had been waiting for.

"For all of you worried about never seeing the machine again, don't be. It will return….. That's what the god told me."

I added,.

They went silent again.

This time, they just accepted it. Right now, they had no other choice but to believe the only person who still acted like he understood something they didn't.

Maybe this would calm them. Maybe it would teach them something. Or maybe it would only delay the next disaster.

Either way… this was the best outcome they were going to get today.

The cult finally let me go.

After everything that happened, no one tried to stop me when I stepped away from the station and walked down the street.

They watched me like I was carrying something sacred in my shadow, but they didn't follow. For the first time today, the noise around me faded, and I could finally breathe.

By the time I reached home, night had settled over the neighborhood.

I felt relief fill my heart as I pushed the door of my shop open. Finally, after all that had happened, I was finally home and it felt so good.

Everyone was gathered out front when I reached the door and they all stopped mid-conversation the second they saw me.

"Shopkeeper? Where were you until now?"

Leo asked first. His voice wasn't harsh-just tired and worried in a way he didn't bother to hide.

I forced a small smile and stepped inside.

"I was helping some poor souls find their way back."

Everyone froze for a second. Then, almost instantly, the tension drained from their faces.

Shoulders relaxed, sighs escaped, and just like that, all their concern turned into relief.

Maybe they didn't understand the whole truth, but helping people was enough reason for them to stop asking questions.

"That's good…As long as you're safe."

Leo said with a nod, as if the matter had been settled.

Safe? If only he knew.

I didn't say anything else. I helped everyone out with dinner (we ate at a nearby restaurant) before everyone went to sleep.

I headed to my room, closed the door, and dropped onto my bed like my bones had turned into stones.

The softness didn't comfort me. It felt like I was sinking into it, like the exhaustion wasn't just in my body but in my head, weighing down every thought.

I stared at the ceiling, unmoving. I tried to sleep, but sleep refused to come anywhere near me. My body was begging for rest, but my brain was still running laps.

I replayed everything-the way those people looked at me, the desperation in their voices, the way one kneel from their leader felt heavier than an army shouting.

I wondered if I did the right thing.

Time felt stretched and blurred. Minutes, hours-maybe both, maybe neither. I just lay there with my eyes open, waiting for my mind to shut down on its own.

Eventually my eyelids started sinking, and sleep was finally about to take me.

That was exactly when the notifications started.

A faint chime echoed in my head, soft at first, then repeating again and again.

[Faith Points +7]

[Faith Points +13]

[Faith Points +20]

They came slowly at first, each one separated by a few seconds, but the pace kept increasing until they overlapped and flooded my vision faster than I could blink.

[Faith Points +31] [Faith Points +44] [Faith Points +28] [Faith Points +52] [Faith Points +19] [Faith Points +37]

The numbers kept stacking, higher and higher, rising like a tide I couldn't stop.

I tried to sit up, to concentrate, to make sense of it, but they just kept coming-relentless, nonstop, piling over each other until I couldn't keep up.

"Just what the heck is going on? Why are there so many messages?"

There were at least hundreds of notifications, all trying to make a lot of loud noises. It was starting to give me a small headache as well. So I decided to take my phone and put it under my pillow.

I was not going to take this noise when I wanted to sleep.

That helped. The notifications kept coming but I was finally able to ignore them an go back to sleep.

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