By the seventh day, Ebirien stood on the edge of collapse.
Not just physically.
But emotionally.
The town no longer sounded like itself.
Gone were the morning greetings.
Gone were the friendly arguments.
Gone were the small, ordinary noises of life.
What remained was something heavier.
Shouting.
Crying.
Breaking.
And beneath it all…
a constant pressure.
Like the air itself was carrying anger.
People no longer hid how they felt.
But that didn't make things better.
It made them worse.
Because now, anger moved freely.
Uncontrolled.
Unfiltered.
And every time it rose
the world responded.
Walls cracked.
Objects shattered.
Ground trembled.
It was no longer about silence.
It was about intensity.
At the edge of the town, Tare stood still.
Watching.
Listening.
He could feel everything.
Every argument.
Every insult.
Every suppressed truth finally breaking out but in the wrong way.
"They're not releasing it," he whispered.
They are reacting, the voice replied.
Tare's jaw tightened.
"That's not the same."
No.
He stepped forward slowly.
Each step toward the town felt heavier than the last.
Because for the first time…
he wasn't afraid of the anger.
He was afraid of what would happen if nothing changed.
As he entered the town square, chaos surrounded him.
Two women screamed at each other over something small but their words carried years of resentment.
"You always looked down on me!"
"At least I tried to be something!"
A man pushed another.
Children cried.
An old man sat in the corner, shaking his head.
Tare stopped in the middle of it all.
And did nothing.
That was new.
The voices inside him stirred.
Why do you not respond?
Tare took a slow breath.
"Because this is not the way," he said quietly.
The ground beneath him trembled slightly.
The anger around him pressed harder.
Waiting.
Expecting.
But Tare didn't react.
Instead…
he spoke.
Not loudly.
Not forcefully.
But clearly.
"Everyone… stop."
No one listened.
The shouting continued.
The chaos grew.
The anger rose.
The pressure inside Tare built instantly.
They do not hear you.
"I know," he said.
Then let me speak.
Tare's eyes shut tightly.
"No."
The voices surged.
They must feel it.
They must be answered.
They must be balanced.
Tare clenched his fists.
"No!" he shouted.
That one word cut through the noise.
Not because it was loud.
But because it was different.
The ground shook slightly.
The crowd hesitated.
Just for a moment.
Tare opened his eyes.
This was it.
"If you keep doing this," he said, louder now, "everything will break!"
A man turned toward him angrily.
"You think we don't know that?!"
"This is your fault!" another shouted.
Murmurs rose.
Voices shifted.
The anger turned.
Toward him.
Tare felt it immediately.
Stronger than anything before.
Focused.
Sharp.
Dangerous.
The voices inside him roared.
Now.
Tare's body trembled.
Release it.
His chest burned.
Answer them.
His vision blurred.
End it.
Tare dropped to his knees.
"No…" he whispered.
The ground beneath him cracked slightly.
The air tightened.
Everything waited.
Then
Tare spoke again.
But this time…
his voice was not filled with anger.
It was filled with something else.
Something fragile.
Something rare.
"I was angry."
Silence.
Not complete.
But enough.
"I was angry at all of you," Tare continued, his voice shaking.
The crowd froze.
"I was angry when you blamed me for things I didn't do."
A few people looked down.
"I was angry when you laughed at me."
Kola, standing at the back, stiffened.
"I was angry when no one listened."
The wind slowed.
The pressure shifted.
"But I never said anything," Tare continued.
His voice broke slightly.
"I kept it inside."
The ground stopped trembling.
"And now… this is what it became."
Silence spread further.
Not forced.
Natural.
Tare looked up slowly.
"I didn't want revenge," he said. "I just wanted to be heard."
The words hung in the air.
Simple.
Honest.
And for the first time…
the force did not react.
It paused.
Inside Tare, the voices shifted.
Not gone.
But… quieter.
This is new.
Tare swallowed.
"This is truth."
The presence hesitated.
As if unsure.
Around him, the crowd stood still.
The anger had not disappeared.
But it had changed.
A woman stepped forward slowly.
Her voice low.
"I was angry too…"
Tare looked at her.
"I was angry when my sister ignored me," she said. "But I never told her."
Another voice spoke.
"I was angry at my father…"
"I was angry at my friend…"
"I was angry at myself…"
One by one…
voices began to rise.
Not shouting.
Not attacking.
Speaking.
Truth.
And something incredible happened.
Nothing broke.
No walls cracked.
No ground trembled.
The force…
did not respond.
Inside Tare, the presence grew still.
This… does not feed me.
Tare nodded slowly.
"I know."
The realization spread like light.
Anger that is hidden…
feeds the force.
Anger that is released through destruction…
strengthens it.
But anger spoken with truth…
does something else.
It weakens it.
The air felt lighter.
Not completely safe.
But… different.
Tare stood slowly.
"This is how we stop it," he said.
The crowd listened.
Not fully convinced.
But no longer lost.
"We have to speak," he continued. "Not to hurt. Not to blame. But to tell the truth."
Silence followed.
Because that…
was the hardest thing of all.
Inside Tare, the voice spoke again.
But it was weaker now.
Fading.
If they continue… I will disappear.
Tare closed his eyes briefly.
"And if they don't?"
The answer came softly.
Then I will become something worse.
Tare opened his eyes.
Determined.
Because now he understood
This was not the end.
This was the test.
And for the first time…
Ebirien had a choice.
Not between silence and anger.
But between truth…
and destruction.