The night stretched on, the world around them growing darker, but inside, Sunny's mind was a whirlwind. The stranger's words echoed in his head, leaving behind a bitter taste. He had never considered the world in such stark terms before. Was there really no way to change the world without first destroying it?
The stranger walked alongside him, seemingly unaffected by the silence that had enveloped them. His steps were firm, each one deliberate, as if he had walked this path many times before.
"You're thinking about it, aren't you?" the stranger said, breaking the silence. "You're wondering if I'm right. Wondering if pain really is the key to salvation."
Sunny didn't respond immediately. He couldn't. It was like the stranger had reached into his mind and pulled out his deepest fears. He was thinking about it. Could there be truth in what the stranger said? Could suffering really be the only way to bring about meaningful change?
"Pain is the great equalizer," the stranger continued. "It's the one thing that binds us all together. Rich or poor, powerful or weak, in the end, we all have to face it. Some people run from it, some people deny it, but it's always there. And it will always find you, sooner or later."
Sunny looked down at the ground, his thoughts tumbling over one another. He thought about his own past—the deaths of his family, the pain he had experienced from both physical and emotional scars. Was that pain truly what shaped him? And if it was, what was the point of all the suffering? Was it for nothing?
"Why do you want me to believe this?" Sunny finally asked, his voice tinged with frustration. "Why are you pushing me to accept this... this ideology?"
The stranger's eyes narrowed, his expression cold. "Because, Sunny, you have the potential to change the world. I can see it. You're stronger than you know. But you need to understand that to change anything, you have to embrace the pain. You have to accept it, welcome it, even. Only then can you be free of the illusions that bind you."
"But I don't want that," Sunny muttered, shaking his head. "I don't want to be consumed by pain. I don't want to believe that suffering is the only way to grow."
The stranger stopped in his tracks, his gaze piercing through the darkness. "Then you will remain weak. You will be just like everyone else, clinging to the idea that the world can be fixed without confronting its darkness. But those who remain blind to the truth are doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again. This is the reality, Sunny. It will consume you if you let it."
Sunny's fists clenched at his sides, frustration bubbling inside him. The stranger was right, in a way. He couldn't deny the reality of pain in his life. He had suffered, and yet, he had survived. But did that mean he had to let it define him? Did that mean he had to turn to darkness to understand the world?
The tension between them grew thicker, like a storm cloud waiting to burst. For a long moment, neither spoke, and then, with a heavy sigh, the stranger continued walking.
"You'll learn eventually," he said softly. "We all do."
Sunny remained where he stood for a moment, torn between the stranger's harsh philosophy and his own growing doubt. Could he accept this? Could he accept that pain was the key to salvation? Or would he have to find his own way? A way that didn't involve falling into the same darkness the stranger had embraced?
He didn't know. All he knew was that the journey ahead was one he couldn't take alone. And that, whether he liked it or not, the stranger's philosophy had already begun to shape him.