In the human and monster worlds, the situation had changed, only further accentuating the general chaos that reigned there. The giant prisms had caused new shock waves, much more powerful and larger, causing an earthquake that shook the entire planet. This also had the effect of enlarging the maesltroms in the sky, which turned into real storms and gradually formed like giant holes, similar to vortices. All over the world, under every prism, thousands of people in prey of madness came to commit suicide, forming larger and larger mass graves, all under the fanatic songs of the Children of the Trinity.

The military armies of the whole world had put all their resources in order to destroy these prisms and these legions of abominations which were born without interruption from the corpses of the suicides, but nothing to do.

There was only one hope left now, not just for this world, but for all ...

************

Mr. Lordi, Emily, Hella, Mathias, Awa, Ox, Amen, Kita, Mana and Otus ... They all came out together from the vortex that had led them to the place where the fate of this world was to be determined. Not all of them said a word and showed great concentration on their faces, knowing the stakes.

In front of them were the snow-capped remains of what had indeed been a rather traditional country village, itself surrounded by hills and forests, as in a huge crater and only accessible by one road, which has also been for a long time destroyed and gradually covered by nature which had resumed its rights.

The group set off under a rain of snowflakes that began to fall from the sea of ​​dark clouds that obscured the sky. Only the sound of the whistling wind was heard, as well as the crackling of rotten wood coming from the ruins of the dwellings. This vision of the dead village gave chills to Emily and Mathias, who almost felt like they were in the village from Resident Evil 8, but hoping it wasn't infested with lycans.

_ "This place gives me goosebumps ..." Emily confessed uncomfortably.

_ "No wonder when you know the past of this place ..." answered Mathias, not really reassured either. "And yet, according to what my parents wrote, this village was inhabited until the 1980s. One day, without explanation, all the inhabitants disappeared without a trace, and nobody never knew what had happened."

Another story of a mysterious disappearance, which was hardly heartwarming.

The group walked for a few minutes, passing through the paths between the houses, until they finally reached a large open space which was to be the central square of the village. Immediately a small snowy hill presented itself to them, with at its top a cluster of large worn and flat stones erected and placed in a circle, very reminiscent of the site of Stonehenge in England.

A really unusual thing in a village, but everyone guessed easily what it was. They all went up to the top of the hill, looking at these stones a little closer. Their very eroded and ancient surface having suffered the ravages of time, were marked on all sides by rows of absurd and esoteric symbols, all engraved by hand. No one could understand them. Putting her palm against one of the stones, Awa immediately removed it, wincing in discomfort, feeling through her spiritual powers all the darkness, all the misfortunes and the deaths that had taken place here.

_ "Are you alright?" Ox asked her when she saw her like that.

_ "Yes ... yes, don't worry." she tells him.

For her part, as Hella walked around the large stones, her gaze was drawn to one of the crumbling houses near the square. Immediately, a flash, like a kind of confused memory, exploded in her mind ... She saw this house again, whole and new, and with the strong feeling of having already known it ...

As if drawn and panting with a curious foreboding, Hella started to run very fast, down the hill towards the house, under the puzzled gazes of the others.

_ "Hella, wait!" said Mathias, who went in pursuit of her.

_ "But ... what is she doing?" Emily asked.

_"Lets go see." Mr. Lordi then said to her.

Hella didn't even have to break down the front door because there wasn't even one left. The young scarbie burst into the entrance hall, giving access to the first room which was to be the living room. All the windows had been smashed, letting the cold and snow in, and all the furniture was eaten away by the time that had passed and by nature taking back its rule. Hella took a few steps on the creaky, blackened floor, silent and contemplative of this place which she increasingly thought to be familiar.

Suddenly her instincts told her to go upstairs, which she did, hurrying up the stairs. When Mathias finally in the entrance hall, it was to see Hella coming upstairs and disappearing upstairs. He decided to follow her.

At the end of the hallway on the upper floor, Hella opened an old, half-destroyed door, which was the door to what must have been a ... children's room. Like everything else, the room was in a very grim run down state. There were dirty children's toys stored in a musty little shelf, children's books that have been devored long time ago by bugs, but also that dusty, damp crib in the corner. There were also large, odd, dry red-brown streaks permeating the floor.

Hella, without saying a word but feeling her heart pounding, stared around this room, then walked over to the crib, seeing inside a small dirty blanket and a small damaged teddy bear. Hands shaking, with heavy breaths, she took the plush in her hands, as if... she had seen and held it before.

Then, other brief but more precise flashes came back to her memory ... She first heard a baby moans, then saw a couple, a man and a woman, smiling and leaning over this cradle, looking directly at her, as if ... yes, she was the baby. The mother gave him the teddy bear as a birthday present and the father announced himself very proud that his beloved daughter was already one year old.

The second flash then showed this same couple in the living room, but this time Hella saw herself in the woman's arms, while the man seemed in a fairly hostile discussion with a group of masked men, who turned out to be members of the Children of the Trinity.

_ "Your daughter has just turned one year old. She is now old enough to receive our master's first blessing." declared the masked man who stood in front of the others.

_ "No, please. We ... listen, we have changed our minds. We don't want to impose such a life on our child. We want her to be free!" said the mother with conviction and being very protective of her child.

_ "Have you forgotten the very fundamentals of our order?" replied, more hostilely, the leader of the masked men. "You have made a commitment to follow them."

_ "Maybe, but not her!" said the father in turn, pointing to his daughter. "Now that's enough! Get out of our house!"

_ "You will regret it ..." said the masked man to them in an unseen threat as he left the house with his group. "No one can disobey the grand master without suffering the consequences."

In the third flash, Hella, still seeing in the baby's place, was again in the crib, but this time, on a stormy night, and she was in tears. The mother was there too, completely panicked and desperately trying to block the door which was being hit hard behind. Finally, the door gave way and cult men entered, one of them holding the father at the threat of a dagger placed on his throat. The man had been hit on the head, a trickle of blood streaming down his forehead.

_ "My love, don't do what they say ..." the father tried to say in dispair, but got his throat slaughtered to the bone by the cultist holding him.

The wife screamed in horror as her husband collapsed face down, his blood spilling onto the floor. Another cultist came and grabbed her by the hair, making her cry out in pain and forcing her to kneel down, as the fanatic superior entered the room and looked down at her.

_ "No, please, not my baby ... Don't touch her!" the mother begged in tears as she looked towards the cradle and heard her daughter's crying.

_ "As you know... No mercy for traitors to our order!" said mercilessly the masked leader, who without qualms stabbed the woman in the heart with his dagger and let her fall to the ground and slowly lose her blood. The woman, in excruciating pain and dying, tried in vain to crawl to the cradle, but succumbed very quickly.

The fanatic leader then put his dagger away and leaned over the cradle, taking the crying baby in his arms. The man then removed his sprawling mask and hood, showing an evil smile and an equally dark look.

_ "Alright ... let's go now." he said.

_ "But, sir. She's over a year old now. The deadline has passed. She can't join the order now." one of the disciples pointed back.

_ "Oh, I know very well ..." said the chief "... But killing her would be a waste. I have a better idea for her ... You'll see, my little darling ... Daddy is here and will take good care of you."

The flashes of memory ceased and Hella came back to reality, panting and almost choking, she pulled back, wobbling and having to lean against a wall.

Everything had come back to her now ... This house had been her own, and these people, this couple, were her parents, she who thought she had never had one, believing that she had been fabricated from scratch. And that fanatic leader, that bastard who had mercilessly killed his parents and taken her with him ... she had recognized him, even though he was younger at the time ... it was Ruiz!

Her lips trembling, her gaze lost in space, her eyes no longer able to cry but yet showing a very painful sadness, Hella was completely devastated.

_ "Hella ..." then came the voice of Mathias who had arrived on the threshold of the room and saw the scarbie turning her back to him, her head lowered and her hands trembling. Mr. Lordi and Emily had arrived behind Mathias.

With the teddy bear in her hands, Hella dropped to her knees and let out the greatest howl of despair she has ever expressed, taking out all the rage and sadness that was driving her.

Mathias, Mr. Lordi and Emily, all stunned, saw her sink into a mad rage, screaming without stopping and starting to kick the walls. She grabbed the cradle and threw it forcefully against a wall where it shattered into pieces. She fell to her knees in the middle of the room, her face buried in her hands and in tears. Mathias ran up and fell to his knees in front of her, taking her by the shoulders.

_ "Hella! Stop, please!" he said with great concern for her.

_ "Ruiz ... it was Ruiz! He took everything from me!" she cried looking him in the eye, letting all her pain feel through his voice. "This is where I was born! I had a house! I had parents who loved me! He destroyed everything! I have nothing left!"

She snuggled up against Mathias, burying her face in his shoulder. Mathias was shocked at what she had just said, looking around the room and understanding what she meant. He hugged her, letting her do it. Emily, at the entrance to the room, was really shocked and sorry for the scarbie. Mr. Lordi frowned, showing himself so sorry, and then deeply regretted having spared Ruiz's life when he had met in that dump in saving Hella.

Mathias continued to hug Hella to comfort her, also showing an expression sincerely sorry for her, but also genuine resentment towards Ruiz, which heightened his desire to want to find him and kill him. However, Mathias focused on Hella first and looked her in the eye.

_ "Hella ... I know that nothing can replace this loss in your heart ... But you're wrong, you still have something. You have your new friends, and now ... You have me , and know that as long as I live, I will never give up on you."

Hella listened to him in spite of the sadness and the anger which burst within her, and in turn hugged the young man with strength and tenderness. He was right. She had lost everything, but had been able to find something precious.

_ "Thank you, Mathias ... thank you ..." Hella moaned in her sadness and the slight comfort he had brought her, then placed a very short but loving kiss on his cheek.

Mathias was surprised and blushed at this gesture, but said nothing.

From the entrance to the bedroom, Emily shed a tear, both of sadness for Hella but also of joy at seeing this mutual comfort the two were bringing to each other. She felt Mr. Lordi's hand rest on her shoulder.

_ "We should leave them a little alone. Let's go back to the worship site. They will join us afterwards." he suggested, his gaze serious.

Emily nodded and followed the Monsterman, leaving Mathias to comfort Hella. But as the couple walked back down the stairs, they saw Amen hurry up into the hall.

_ "Come quickly! We have company!"

Without further ado, Mr. Lordi and Emily followed him outside. Their gazes followed where Amen pointed. Doubt and worry were on the faces. In the distance, in the dark and cloudy sky, several large shapes were approaching. They were ... a scadron of black, armed helicopters.