Helena, Pedro, Emily, and Clark were still trying to find the courage to face the abomination before them. Ordep watched them with complete curiosity, not approaching, just standing there, staring at them with utter fascination.

"Kihihihihi, well, well, if i'm not facing such dangerous people, but the extent of your power is nothing compared to what you fear. For fear does not come from what you conquer, but from what you cannot control, from what you do not know. Fear comes from your desire, from your expectation. If you not have those things, you will not be afraid."

None of them spoke, nor did they even try to move. They only looked at the creature, their attention particularly directed at the absence of eyes, at those black and dark craters where there should be a reflection of their souls... But perhaps it was there, and that was the reflection of his soul, only darkness.

No... look a little closer and you will see, bit by bit you will see. Still not understanding? This being before you only has one desire, if you seek to see what he seeks, you will see. By looking into what should be his eyes, you feel as if you are entering that darkness. There you will see what he seeks, he seeks what you flee from, so by looking there, you will encounter what you desperately try to flee from...

Pedro

"Uh?" Pedro blinked and found himself alone in a forest, how strange, he could have sworn he was in the ruins of a destroyed castle. "Where is everyone? HELENA? EMILY? CLARK? Ah, actually, if you heard Clark, please stay where you are."

But nothing answered, it was so quiet. Too quiet. Even the trees were not making a sound, they just remained silent. An ominous feeling hung in the air. But don't worry, silence doesn't last forever; soon the echo of laughter washes and purifies all the loneliness. How nice it is to just hear people being happy.

Wait... the laughter is near, follow it a little. You want to laugh too, you want to be part of that joy. So you start walking towards the laughter, towards the joy.

"Don't go." A voice whispered in the forest, a voice Pedro recognized, a sweet and poisonous voice, a lady he could never, ever forget. He looked back and there she was, so beautiful and so dangerous, the young woman had long black hair, a more rosy Caucasian skin, a piece of Wisteria resting in her hair, and she was hiding part of her face with a fan.

"M-Margaret?" No, she couldn't be here. Anyone but her, get her away. Please, kill him but don't leave him alone with her. Pedro wanted to run but his legs wouldn't move, he wanted to escape as fast as he could, but... it was her. It was really her. She was back, with her eyes brightly dark. She repeated what she had said.

"Strange..." Don't call him that. "... don't go towards the laughter."

Pedro knew what was coming now; he had lived with her for almost a year, he knew what was going to happen. Quickly Pedro, cover your ears, don't listen to what she says. But why? Why, even with his ears covered, could he still hear her as if it were nothing?

"If you go there, you'll only cause destruction Pedro. Your curse will only make things worse."

Run Pedro! If covering your ears doesn't help, get away from that woman. Run, for everything you know, don't listen to her voice, you know the poison she emanates. She is wrong, she lies, she distorts, she hurts, she mocks. But no matter how much you run towards the happy laughter, it seems to get more muffled, further away, and another covers their voices. The laughter of a witch that could easily be mistaken for the song of a nymph. And you can't stop hearing her.

"How many times do you need to hear it before you understand? Without me, you have no one. Only I care about you, only I am interested in you. Even if you disappear, the rest of the world will not notice."

"I DON'T WANT TO KNOW! I DON'T NEED TO LIVE FOR OTHERS BUT FOR MYSELF!" But of course, as always, she laughed and mocked what you said.

"So why do you still wish to be noticed?"

What a cruel question Margaret. Oh sweet and poisonous honey dripping from your lips, let, at least this time, this poor boy be at peace.

She, apparently, heard your plea and you stopped hearing her words, finally spotting where the laughter was coming from. It was Helena and the others, having fun like never before in a clearing, her laughter was so beautiful, everyone's was amazing to hear, but hers was special because it was sincere and brave.

You run and run, you need to get there, you want to laugh too, you want to have fun too, you don't want to just watch, you don't want to just observe, you want to be part of it, you need to be part of it, to be sure there's a reason to live here.

However... the moment you set foot in the clearing. The laughter ceases. How uncomfortable it is to be in their presence. No one laughs anymore, instead, they stare at you with empty eyes. And you don't know what to say... what would you say in a situation like this? I'm sorry for... being here? Sorry I didn't mean to interrupt your joy? So cruel, so cruel.

But now the realization hits why they stopped laughing. Because they are dead. It is their bodies that now look at you, that judge you, that resent your existence. But even dead, their mouths move.

"Why did you do this Pedro? Why did you come here, knowing you would hurt us?"

"No... I didn't..."

"Didn't know?" The sweet and poisonous voice appeared beside you, with a cynical look over her delicate fan. "But I warned you, no one wants you around. No one needs you. You only hinder, you only irritate, you only torment. I told you, over and over, only I care about you, and yet, because of you, you are alone again."

"I... I d-don't..."

Helena

The young girl woke up in her bed, her old bed, so small and nostalgic. In all her 11 years of life, it was the most comfortable bed she had ever rested in.

"Helena, we need to talk." Her mother said, but of course, she said that. She was in her home, with her family. Nobody had gone anywhere. "Did you get into a fight again at school?"

"Mom, she started it. The annoying girl threw an eraser at my eye."

"She was just playing with you, Helena. She hit your eye by accident. You know Juliana is the only one in the class who is nice to you. Why did you hit the girl?"

"DON'T BOTHER ME!"

"Helena!" Her mother scolded with tenderness and concern, but the child just jumped out of bed and ran out, crying.

She didn't know why, but she just felt angry. She couldn't control it; things happened, irritated her, her blood boiled, and she attacked. On her way out, she encountered her father, as grumpy as always. A scowling face full of bitterness. She rarely saw him with a smile on it.

"Is that how you speak to your mother?" The girl feared for a moment, but she wouldn't back down.

"SHE JUST NEEDS TO STOP TALKING IN MY HEAD!"

"She talks because she cares. Learn to talk like a human, girl. You're not a beast that attacks everything it sees."

"Wow, says the example!" In his impulsiveness, the father raised his hand, ready to hit, but in the middle of the action, he stopped. Huffing, he simply began to leave.

"Ah, I don't have the patience to deal with you. But listen, Helena, control yourself or you'll regret it. You don't want to hurt your mother or me, do you? I know what it's like to be overtaken by that feeling. It took me a while to start dealing with it properly. I don't want you to go through the same struggle."

She just stuck out her tongue, taking advantage of the fact that he was turned away. It was obvious that she didn't want to hurt her parents; they never hurt her, they only irritated her, just like everything, just like everyone. It's a bomb in this girl's heart, and the slightest contact makes it explode.

Poor child, you have nothing to do with your life except try to control this monster that dwells in your flesh. This monster that yearns to conquer and tyrannize everything around it.

"They annoy you, don't they?" asked another Helena who appeared beside her. This one, however, had a red gleam in her eyes. The real Helena was startled by her doppelganger and moved away slightly. But as soon as she took a step back from it, she returned to her current age, and a knife appeared in her own hands, confusing the girl's mind. "Put them in their places..."

"What? No, I would never do that."

"Never? But... what about the time you hit your friend over an eraser? Or when you were 15 and punched a younger boy just because he was imitating you? Or when you banged a woman's head against a window because she tried to steal some food from the camp? You destroy, you break, and because you want to, because you feel good destroying things around you. You said such pretty words to that general, but the real reason you can't tell friend from foe is because it doesn't matter. If someone looks at you wrong, you hit them. If they disrespect you, you attack. Exactly like what happened with them..."

The child looked to the side, and the adult followed, only to find two bodies on the ground and blood on her knife.

Clark

The young man woke up in nowhere, when all virtues had been destroyed, and revisited the conversation he had with the rest of the group.

"'I was with my parents; they weren't exactly the best parents in the world. They treated me more like a slave and a burden than like a child, and their eyes were so full of hatred toward me. People kept saying how a parent's love for a child is unconditional, so I always wondered what they felt. Until one day, while my father was hitting me much harder than usual, I saw, I began to contemplate the emotion that existed in their hearts. And, ahahaha, what a surprise it was when I saw that they loved and hated me, a twisted way of messing with the feelings of a poor kid.'"

Then everyone who was attentively listening to the story threatened to laugh. Holding back a laugh that was obviously about to burst out, something that deeply irritated Clark.

"Hey! What's so funny exactly?" asked the real Clark, who was observing, but no one paid him any attention. They seemed unable to see him. Then they froze, and like a tape being rewound, they went back a little in time.

"'People kept saying how a parent's love for a child is unconditional, so I always wondered what they felt. Until one day, while my father was hitting me much harder than usual, I saw, I began to contemplate the emotion that existed in their hearts. And, ahahaha, what a surprise it was when I saw that they loved and hated me, a twisted way of messing with the feelings of a poor kid.'"

Again, the group threatened to laugh; some even had tears in their eyes. This deeply humiliated the redhead.

"I ASKED WHAT'S SO FUNNY?" But they said nothing; the tape rewound.

"'And, ahahaha, what a surprise it was when I saw that they loved and hated me, a twisted way of messing with the feelings of a poor kid.'"

With this last comment, everyone burst into laughter, laughing uncontrollably. It was the best joke. It was the best moment. It was perfect.

"What's happening here...?" He blinked, and they disappeared. Behind him, two shadows formed, as if two mountains had emerged. He had a feeling of what he would find if he turned his face, and he was right; his parents were there. The mountains were them, or rather, the mountains were merely shadows casting their silhouettes, with two white dots where their eyes should be.

"Why did you lie?" asked one of the silhouettes with a distorted and broken voice.

"I-I didn't lie..." But denying the truth, a phrase kept repeating, over and over again, tormenting, shouting, whispering in his ear.

"I saw that they loved and hated me"

"I saw that they loved and hated me"

"I saw that they loved hated me"

"I saw that they hated me"

"I saw that they hated me more than anything."

"Now it's correct." said the other silhouette. "Now we have the truth. Now why did you lie?"

"No, no, no." For the first time in a long time, Clark cried. And the shadows continued to ask, the same question, repeatedly, until he gave in and answered. "Because... it was humiliating, to say that your own parents never loved you... a child should be loved by their parents, right? Failing at something so simple... how shameful, I know the truth, that everyone despises me, that no one truly loves me, that's why I need to make them like me. It's the only way I won't be hated."

"Is that why you messed with me?" asked Helena, sitting next to him. Her appearance did not surprise the redhead at all, who was only terrified.

"You... hate everything... so if I made someone like you love me, it would mean that anyone could... I'm not going to apologize... I don't even regret it... it's all I can do to be loved."

"As always, Clark, you're a great idiot..." Helena stood up and began to walk towards him, her skin now golden. "... Just because you made someone love you, doesn't mean you're loved. At the end of the day, you're hated. At the end of the story, your actions just make you even more hated. You're not incredible, you're just a scared boy. We all think that."

With this statement, several other women began to appear around him, all with golden skin, statues of pure desire and glory, but gradually they started cracking until breaking and revealing what was beneath the resplendent gold: nothing. Inside all the showiness, there was nothing.

Emily

The child woke up in a completely wine-colored hall, a visually exhausting and intense room. The child looked around, confused. In front of her, Ordep appeared, the beast staring at her, making the girl shiver a little.

"What is your fear?" The beast whispered, and the small child frowned and clenched her fists.

"I'm not afraid of anything. You can go to hell."

"Kihihihihihi... little girl, are you like me by any chance? Haven't you seen enough of the world to understand why you should fear it? No... you have seen it. To be like me, you must have lived like me. Here is a glimpse." Slowly, the wine color turned to black, darkening the room even further and hiding the general among the shadows.

"This isn't going to work on me. I'm not afraid of the dark!" The girl said, looking around for any surprise attack. Then a loud noise echoed, the sound of a clock, so loud and strong that she felt her heart tremble along with her body. She was startled, and the noise of gears began.

From the shadows, a thin, weak hand emerged and grabbed Emily by the arm. The girl was about to fight when the hand pulled her. You would expect Emily to be pulled towards the hand, right? But no, a copy of her was pulled out of her body, and then Emily found herself looking at a doppelganger, with one difference: this one had bright blue eyes.

More hands emerged, this time from the floor, grabbing the girls by every part of their bodies. The hard floor had turned into a liquid that reflected the darkness, and they were pulled into the sea of darkness.

"Two children..." The decrepit whisper came from the darkness as the girls sank into the water. "... both are one... not two personalities, or two beings... they are the same person but with different mental processes... Little girl, you told me you had no fear of anything... but you are terrified of two things. The you who feels wants to become the one who thinks, and the one who thinks never wants to stop being the one who feels. Two opposing fears, from the same person, this is now interesting... Kihihihihihihihihi... Now what should I do with you, little girl? My interest is only in the true one..."

Slowly, the blue-eyed Emily disappeared into the darkness of the water while the real Emily swam desperately, searching for air. Without her intelligence, she didn't know what to do, only swimming frantically in that other world where nothing was in her power, neither breathing nor walking. She had neither the strength nor the capability to keep trying. No matter how much she swam, she never reached the surface, didn't even know where the exit was, but she kept fighting for something. Even if it was just by sheer force.

Poor child, she had no chance.

Meanwhile

"Kihihihihihi" The deformity laughed as the four screamed on the ground, each experiencing their personal nightmare. Emily was the first to faint from terror. Only Pedro, Helena, and Clark remained. "Fear of being alone. Fear of oneself. Fear of being hated. Fear of being powerless. What intriguing puzzles you are... Unfortunately, there is no way for a man to overcome his fears, Kihihihihihi..." A needle then fell from the general's sleeve into his hand. Holding the small blade, he walked towards the fainted child.

Pedro

"I... I don't..." He wanted to say it wasn't his fault. He wanted to say he never did anything. He wanted to apologize for existing. But nothing came out, as he couldn't speak any of those things; he didn't even know if they were truths or lies.

"Now, strange one..." Don't call him that. "... It's time for you to go."

A hole opened beneath Pedro's feet, and he fell, managing to grab the edge and avoid the endless fall into the bottomless pit. That's when it began; he no longer felt his feet, they had disappeared. Slowly his body was vanishing because he didn't exist; the entire world denied his existence because something that only brings chaos deserves to be erased.

"As long as you continue to exist... the world will be unhappy."

Helena

"No... I WOULD NEVER DO THAT!" Helena dropped the knife and covered her face in terror. "No... it wasn't me... it wasn't me..."

"Don't you understand yet?" the child continued, picking up the knife from the floor. "It was your anger, an uncontrollable rage. You can't control it; even if you train all your life, your anger is much stronger than your father's, and he could barely control his. There's only one way for you to stop hurting others." She turned the knife handle towards Helena, making her proposal. "Cut the evil at the root. Because as long as you continue to exist, the world will be dangerous."

Clark

"Where... where did they go?" the young man asked in the void, as the two giant shadows stared at him and spoke in unison.

"Have you already forgotten? Didn't you say so many times that they were your life? Oh, Clark, your life is a big nothing. An illusion and a lie. There isn't a single admirable trait in you. That's why you will die..." The air left his lungs; Clark fell to the ground, feeling his torso compress as if all his organs were disappearing. So much pain, if he didn't do something, he would die for real. "...Because as long as you continue to exist, the world will be disgusted."

"No... No... please, someone come and get me out of here..."

Meanwhile

The general picked up the child with extreme ease and lifted her as if she weighed no more than a pound, such was the strength of the monster that lives to haunt others. In his other hand, he held his needle, ready to stab over the heart. But he stopped as a golden glow caught his attention, a glow coming from the redhead's skin, turning into an aura, like smoke, guiding itself to enter the hearts of the other two tormented. The yellow cried out for help to the green and red.

"I see..." he said, releasing the child onto the ground and walking towards the golden angel. "...a fascinating power, I must say..."

Pedro

Pedro was on the verge of falling into oblivion as his body disappeared, at the top, there was a cunning lady who laughed and mocked his suffering. He closed his eyes, ready to let himself fall, when someone suddenly appeared out of nowhere and punched the face of his trauma, literally.

Helena appeared and, with a punch, made Margaret disappear.

"H-Helena?"

"Hurry, Pedro, take my hand," the woman said as she crouched and extended her arm to him. "HURRY!"

"But... what's the point? No one wants me around; you don't know how painful it is to grow up feeling like the world would be better off without you... I'm tired, so tired of trying, let me disappear, it won't make any difference..."

"PEDRO SHUT UP AND TAKE MY HAND!" The woman shouted, interrupting the man's monologue. "I'm here, of my own volition, wanting to save you. Of course I want you around; you're the funniest guy I've ever met."

"But... you only hit me."

"I HIT EVERYONE! NOW DO YOU WANT TO TAKE THE DAMN HAND OR NOT? I'm not going to let a friend disappear before my eyes."

"Friend?" He took it, without hesitation, a pure reflex, a response to the call his ears had longed to hear.

Helena

Helena held the knife pointed at her own throat, while her younger version looked on, waiting for an answer, waiting for an action.

"Helena, what are you doing?" A male voice called out, and Pedro was by her side, looking worriedly at the situation she was in. "Put down the knife."

"Pedro, get out of here. I might hurt you too."

"Hurt me? What are you talking about?"

"I'm the one asking. Haven't you understood that I hurt people... I probably killed my parents and... I could kill you and the others too."

"No. You wouldn't do something like that; you might be rough, but you're not evil. You wouldn't kill an innocent."

"HOW CAN YOU BE SO SURE? YOU BARELY KNOW ME!"

"But the little I've seen is enough to say how protective, brave, sincere, and good you are. Helena, don't destroy yourself. I know it's not easy, but sometimes we need to hold back our impulses and understand the situation first. Don't let yourself be swayed by the moment in times like these. Please."

She looked at him, staring at the worried face of the man, and felt like she was going to explode if she tried to hold back; she needed to explode. But... just this once... it was better to extinguish the fuse.

Helena dropped the knife.

Clark

The man was suffocating more and more; his stomach was shrinking and contorting like a soda can being crushed. The two giant shadows stared at him, and with only two white dots as eyes, it was hard to tell what they were expressing.

However, suddenly both were destroyed, one by a red cut and the other impaled by a tree root.

While suffocating, Clark saw the duo approaching.

"My God, Clark, what's happening?" Pedro asked, horrified by the state of the redhead, with Helena by his side, looking equally shaken.

"What do we do?"

But of course, the two idiots couldn't do anything for themselves. Clark would have to drag them by the hand just to save himself.

Think, Clark, what's happening? You're dying because you're empty inside, because you're a lie. So if you want to see, you need them to see something real about you.

That's it. Look inside the hearts of the two, find something positive about yourself in them, proof that you mean something to someone...

...as you expected, they don't like you... but it doesn't end there, there's more. Pedro admires your confidence and strength; you represent something he struggled a lot to attain. You are useful to people, and everyone recognizes your value even after discovering the truth. Helena doesn't see you as an irredeemable monster; she still struggles to control her anger, but when she's not angry, she thinks clearly, and she sees that you could have been different.

So there it is, Clark: You're not empty. You're a human like everyone else, useful and capable. You are something, and you mentally thank these idiots for seeing you that way...

Meanwhile

"Kihihihihi, now I understand. The angel desperately tried to save itself with its power and ended up saving the three by accident." Ordep laughed as he took a few steps back in complete ecstasy, placing his hands over his face in pure delight. After all, the remaining trio managed to break free from the trance and were now waking and getting up. "So that's how you conquer fear? By opening your heart to others who seek to help you with sincere hearts, they will help you find strength. Fear is conquered with effort, support, and honesty? Kihihihi, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen."

The three maintained a stern expression as they got up, Clark's light dancing around them. Helena quickly checked Emily, sighing with relief upon seeing that she was merely unconscious. Placing the child in a corner to rest, she asked:

"Hey, you two, what did you think of what that bastard did?"

"I didn't like it one bit," Pedro replied, crossing his arms, roots growing around his body, while Clark prepared his dagger.

"That ugly creature really pissed me off."

"It's great that we're on the same page. OH SCARECROW..." Helena slammed one hand into the other, and her scarlet armor appeared around her body. "... You're going to get a proper beating."

"Kihihihihihi, am I? Interesting." Irritated, Helena charged forward, ready to punch the general's face.

"HELENA WAIT!" Clark shouted, but his warning fell on deaf ears. The woman attacked, and as she neared her target, the general leaped, soaring high as if he were as light as a cloth in the wind, and with a small boost, he flew over the young woman.

The creature began to move its hand as if it were a puppeteer. With the movement of its hands, several threads emerged from the debris, dancing through the air and wrapping around Helena. When the threads came into contact with her body, the parts they touched turned red and disintegrated, and that red color started spreading through all the threads, destroying them. The general watched the event with intrigue. With another movement of his hands, the threads snapped, isolating the infected parts that disintegrated on their own.

Still in mid-air, several of Pedro's plants emerged from the ground to attack the monster. But no matter which side they attacked from, Ordep's body was as pliable as cloth, and he merely twisted and contorted. Sometimes a root would tear off a piece of him, but immediately the torn part would stitch itself back together and recreate what was lost.

Ordep could stretch, bend, stitch, and reshape at will; his entire body was like an endless fabric factory.

"Stop attacking so carelessly and listen to me," Clark ordered. The two calmed down and listened. "I've already taken a look at this thing's heart; it doesn't feel fear. Not only that, it hardly feels any emotion at all. This thing is like a machine, constantly thinking and analyzing. So don't attack recklessly; it's watching you and learning from every move you make."

"WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST WE DO THEN? CAN'T YOU DISTURB THIS THING'S HEART TO MAKE IT STOP THINKING?" Helena yelled. Clark sighed in disappointment.

"Don't you understand how my power works? My power works better on impulsive and foolish people. The more a person thinks, the greater the chance they'll realize their heart is altered and the more likely they are to return to normal. I won't be able to mess with this thing's head."

"I know the importance of staying calm in a fight..." Pedro said, climbing one of the branches around him, as a tree grew and formed a wooden shield around him. "... And don't worry, I won't attack carelessly. But I don't fight by thinking, and my powers don't work that way, so I'll just do what I think is best."

At his command, trees of all kinds began to sprout, forming a forest. They advanced against Ordep from all sides. The creature continued to twist and mold its body, dodging every attack. Pedro observed everything from within his protection, hoping to achieve something.

"Kihihihihihi..."

"Hm? What did you say?" Pedro asked the trees, which, as if in pain, responded. "What? How come you're telling me to run away?"

But before he could understand the plants' warning, he felt a sting in the palm of his hand. Looking down, he saw a needle piercing it. Then another came and pierced his thigh, and another his arm, and it went through his torso. The priest wondered what was happening and where these things were coming from, until threads emerged from within the wood, wrapped around him, and tied him to the wall, starting to strangle him.

"You must be wondering how my threads got into your little friends, right? Kihihihihi... Oh, foolish boy, you tore a part of my cloak, didn't you? Answer me, when you tear a piece of cloth, don't the threads come off? Of course, I didn't need that to infiltrate..." As proof, the creature's body was dissolving into threads as it tangled itself in the wood of the roots. "But you are weak and don't know how to fight properly. All your strength lies in asking for help from plants. But what happens when you can no longer be close to those who should help you?"

Helena watched the situation with concern. Her power was too destructive; that monster was now dispersed, and she feared that using her energy would end up hitting Pedro in the attack radius. Several needles were then emitted from the midst of the roots, heading towards Clark and Helena. The needles aimed at the woman were immediately destroyed upon contact with her armor. The same happened with Clark; a red armor was formed around the redhead, protecting him from the attack.

Ordep watched cautiously, laughing menacingly. Clark had already caught on; that monster was starting to understand how their powers worked, and they needed to advance quickly. He and Helena then ran to save Pedro from being strangled.

Another shower of needles was launched at Clark, none towards Helena. The man was protected by the armor that destroyed every attack. As the redhead woman approached his friend, more needles and threads emerged from the plants, stitching roots and trees together. At this point, all the threads and fabrics of Ordep were on every plant, and he now paralyzed them like a puppeteer. Helena just punched every obstacle that appeared in her way, destroying everything she had.

The flood of needles on Clark did not cease; on the contrary, it doubled and tripled, more and more were launched, reaching a point where it completely obstructed the redhead's vision. None managed to hit him, but Ordep kept firing them with a malicious casualness. And that infuriated Clark drastically.

Helena continued advancing through the obstacles, blindly punching whatever came her way. She stopped her fist inches from Pedro's face. The priest was already purple and unconscious, the thread almost cutting his neck. With extreme precision, Helena used her energy to cut the object that was strangling him, without risking passing the energy onto Pedro. She managed to free him. The young man's breathing was so low and weak that she thought he might have died, but he was still there, and now Pedro was out of the battle.

The deluge of needles continued to hover over Clark, and it was then that he noticed his hand had shrunk a bit and had transformed into a woman's hand.

"Kihihihihihi, as I thought. So this is the secret of your power." Clark was right; that thing thought too quickly, as if its mind interpreted everything that happened the moment it happened. "Thanks to Narf's information and his response with my previous power, I already understood that you create a bridge between hearts. Your power is a much broader version of mine. You don't just see the whole heart; you can modify it, feel it, and even replicate it. That's how you copy powers, by copying the heart. But there's a catch to that ability, isn't there? Kihihihihihi." As the beast spoke, its attacks did not cease but multiplied, and Clark felt his heart reshaping, his hair growing. "You can copy hearts, but the heart is not yours; it is the natural law. In other words, if you stay too long or use too much power copying someone, you start transforming into that person, correct?"

"..." He really knows.

"You lose your individuality and become the person you copy. In other words, if I increase the number of my attacks even more, you'll have to use even more power from that girl, and there will be even more chance of you transforming into her."

Then flashes appeared in Clark's head: Helena's dead parents, Helena crying and James coming to save her, fights she got into. Memories of her invaded his mind.

"You have a great power, with an even greater price... The question is: If you stop copying her, you'll die. Even if you deactivate the power and start copying again, I won't decrease my number of attacks. I have no idea if you can copy the power of the unconscious or not, but even if you use the crybaby's power, I control the trees. As for the girl, her power won't help you against this kind of situation."

"So I only have one choice left..." Sighing deeply, Clark focused, severed his connection to Helena's powers, creating an opening for the needles to come. "... I'll copy yours."

Clark didn't see it, but the beast smiled. Ordep doesn't underestimate or ridicule his opponents; he plans carefully, and he's watching and analyzing everything.

Sure enough, Clark copied Ordep's power, and the moment he did, he found himself terrified. His body also became similar to a cloak. When the needles pierced him, each one intertwined into a thread and began to unsew the man's body.

"Clark, what are you doing? Do the same thing to him." Helena shouted, coming to his aid. However...

"IT'S NO USE!" The redhead's body was unraveling, and strangely, part of it was turning into threads without even being influenced by Ordep. It was just falling apart.

"WHAT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN?"

"I... damn it... I didn't expect his power to work like this. His whole body is made of lines, and I thought they moved purely by instinct, but no... he consciously controls every fiber of his body. I can't control so many things at once mentally. For him to have such focus... what is this thing?"

As long as he kept his body that way, he couldn't even move. Clark had no choice but to break the connection and return to his normal state, but doing so caused several needles to come with full force and pierce his body from all sides. His back, legs, arms, belly, torso-all of his body was pierced by needles, and he collapsed on the ground unconscious as blood spilled.

"Kihihihihihi, just as I imagined..." The threads were coming out of the trees and weaving into the general's original form; he seemed to dance and float in the air as his body was formed. "...he doesn't know how the abilities he copies work until he copies them. Now with this, only one young woman remains. What should I do with you?"

Helena began to feel powerless; the others had fallen, and she could do nothing because she was holding back, because she heard what Clark said and was apprehensive, because she was afraid of hurting Pedro and hesitated. But she wasn't like this, she should have attacked with everything and let God decide. If she continued like this, she would really lose.

"Your power seems perfect against me. I mean, you destroy everything casually and, well, lines, fabrics, and needles are not known for their resistance. Not that I think it would make a difference against you, kihihihi, your energy corrodes everything, right? You are like a bull going after a red cloth, nothing stays in your way." Then, tired of hesitating, Helena fired again; if she missed, she would just try again. Eventually, she had to hit that monster. "Exactly... nothing stays in your way."

As soon as Helena was near, the seams that held Ordep's mouth together ripped, and the monster vomited a black sludge, similar to oil but without smell or texture. This strange liquid engulfed Helena and was not consumed by her armor.

"But what?" And when she realized it, Helena was in the dark, hearing nothing, not even her own voice, just her thoughts. She saw nothing. She felt nothing. She was adrift in a dark world, just her and her thoughts. And no matter how much she struggled or how much power she released: Helena would never escape.

"Kihihihihihihi..." The monstrous laughter distorted more and more, completely engrossed with what it saw. In front of the general now was a black bubble, where the young woman remained trapped. "... Your energy destroys everything, but it doesn't destroy nothing, right? Kihihihi, this liquid I produce is the very vacuum of limbo; where there is nothing, being there is the same as not being anywhere. Congratulations, you will now live as I lived, just you and your thoughts, Kihihihihihihihihihihi, Kihihihihihihihi."

One fainted from fear.

One was asphyxiated.

One was pierced by numerous needles.

One was trapped in the limbo of nothingness.

Those who believed themselves chosen to defeat an abomination now lay defeated at the feet of another.

Helena had no choice but to think. If all that exists are her thoughts, there is nothing more to be done. When it dawned on her that she wouldn't get out, the young woman screamed in rage. Rage for losing, rage for listening to Clark, rage for attacking recklessly, rage at that thing, rage at those generals, rage at the abomination, rage at the monk for putting them there, rage for being the descendant of a crazy peasant woman who went around defending others from bandits, rage for ending up knowing nothing... that was the worst of all, rage for having no idea what happened to her parents after all... was she or wasn't she responsible?

You are trapped in limbo, only seeing darkness, but in the distance, a white point seems to appear, a light starts to form, and from that light, a monk approaches. The monk approaches, walking slowly, looking at your situation with apparent indifference. What greatly infuriates you, who does he think he is?

"Helena..." The being spoke. The redhead was surprised to hear that she could hear him and was even more surprised to see that he called her by name. "... tell me, what do you want?"

What a strange question to ask... it was obvious she wanted to get out of there... no, wait... this could be her only chance. If she asked, maybe he would tell her.

"I want to know what happened to my parents." The monk's expression saddened for a moment, then the being composed himself.

"Then let it be so." He raised his right hand and placed it on the redhead's head, and with that, a pure white light emanated and illuminated everything. Helena was back to that day.

"I DON'T WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL TODAY!" The girl screamed in the middle of a tantrum, throwing everything her hand touched into the air. Her parents tried to talk, but she didn't listen, only attacked.

"HELENA, THAT'S ENOUGH." Her father roared with all the fury he had, letting his internal bomb explode. It was a scream so loud that the girl felt her body vibrating and his saliva flying over her. Her father could easily be mistaken for a rabid dog foaming, something that scared the girl. "YOU NEED TO STOP, PLEASE!"

The child's heart began to race, a huge dose of adrenaline was injected into her body, then it happened. Everyone felt as if a wave of energy had passed; the lights went out for a moment, but it wasn't just their house, it was the neighborhood, the city, the whole country, the whole world that felt this energy. The moment the creatures of Lily appeared on Earth.

After that, everything went into chaos. In a sudden moment, a massive, fat monster tried to destroy the wall to enter. Her father grabbed a firearm they had and shot frantically at the creature until it fell. After that, it was a scramble; her mother gave her a knife for protection, but Helena's heart seemed only to want to explode. The adrenaline kept increasing more and more, and it seemed that the energy that dispersed across the Earth had only made things worse.

The more dangers came, the more the girl stressed, and the more her heart raced until... she lost consciousness. When she woke up, it was already done.

"That's not an answer." Helena replied when she realized she was back in limbo, but the monk had already left. "I'M TIRED OF HALF ANSWERS, WHAT HAPPENED? Did I kill them or not?"

"No..." A voice answered from within the limbo, a feminine voice, Helena's voice but darker. Then a hand emerged from the shadows and touched her shoulder, saying: "It was me."

With that touch, the missing memories came. Amidst all the chaos happening in her house, the child lost consciousness in so much rage, her hair turned red, and an attack began. A girl attacking her own parents from behind.

"NO!" Helena screamed, writhing in limbo. As a copy of herself emerged, but this one did not wear a warrior's armor, no, it was the cloak of an assassin.

"Yes... you obviously don't have the courage and determination to defeat people like them, so why don't you leave it to me? Don't worry. Nothing will be destroyed by me."

And once again, Helena lost consciousness.

The black sludge began to turn red and then exploded. Dispersing in all directions.

Ordep looked at the intriguing situation in front of him with curiosity. From the sludge, Helena was now free, but she was not wearing a red armor, but a scarlet cloak. And she was smiling. "Who are you?"

In one second, Ordep had both arms, in the next, one of them had been torn off. It was so fast that the being didn't even have time to process what happened. The one who looked like Helena held the arm and, in an instant, reduced it to ashes. The rest of the energy dissipated through the general's body, who had to tear himself from the infected part. He began to think, and a kick came to his face.

Ordep had no choice but to react; it was all he could do, reacting on impulse. For that bull attacking without thinking was now more unruly and faster. No matter how many threads he entangled around her or how many needles he launched, everything was destroyed, nothing hit her, and she? She just smiled. For the first time in his life, Ordep felt fear, as his reasoning couldn't keep up with what he was seeing; he had no control over the situation, which lasted only a few quick and brief minutes. Indeed, in front of him was the most fearsome of beasts.

In moments, the general was torn into several pieces, as slowly, one by one, his threads were disintegrated. The one who resembled Helena turned her smiling gaze to Clark and began walking towards him. With a leap, she lunged and extended her hand to crush his head.

The last thread of Ordep was destroyed, and the wine-colored light of the dream dissipated through all time and space. And those it encountered were put to sleep. The light had saved Clark from the beast.

Each of those who slept had a dream, including Lalá.

In one temporal rift were James, Stuart, John, and Lysa. In another were Helena, Clark, Pedro, and Emily.

Lalá

When Lalá awoke, Fernanda was by her side, with swollen and red eyes. It wasn't just her; while she slept, all the remaining generals were there: Octo, Chin, Misshapp, Tiffany, Lorde V'huluver, Gaya, Narf, and Orf.

"Another one lost... Ordep of all of them."

"Yes." Fernanda confirmed to the little girl. "Now there are only the ten of us left."

"Who are these humans anyway?" Lorde V'huluver asked, arms crossed against the wall. "How can there be humans strong enough to face us?"

"There aren't." Tiffany commented with her usual despondency. "They must not be humans, after all, they survived the destruction of the world. Or, they had help from some being..."

"What are you insinuating, Tiffany?" Facing Octo's question, the girl looked at it with a cold stare. "Lily would never betray us like that."

"I know what my daughter is saying." Misshapp commented in defense of Tiffany. "We all know very well that Lily is not affected by virtues, which means she is alive and somewhere. If immune humans have appeared, it is not strange to suspect her. Lalá, is there another being like Lily?"

The child didn't want to participate in that conversation; her head was already too full, but with Narf there, it was useless to keep secrets.

"Yes... several, but none of them are in a condition to save the humans. I can assure you of that."

"That's true." Narf supported with what seemed like a cynical smile, but with no face, it was hard to tell. "I can verify that she is telling the truth. Don't worry, it's just that I haven't found any of them yet, so I don't know. But it's a blessing that I'm here, or everyone would suspect you, Gaya."

The smiling swordswoman didn't change her expression, she just closed her eyes even more to ignore what was being said.

"You say that because she left them alive and hid their existence, right?" Deduced Orf. The glowing being showed no contempt or anger in his voice, just understanding. "I can't blame her; I also have no desire to kill people. Besides, how would she know that these humans could face us?"

"Don't defend her if you don't know the truth, Orf. Gaya didn't kill them because she wanted them to kill us; in fact, she was considering killing us herself, but since she didn't want to bear the guilt afterward, those humans were the perfect scapegoats."

"Is that... true, Gaya?" Fernanda asked. Would she have to suspect those she wanted to love? Was there no one she could trust?

"Well, well, Narf... for someone without a mouth, you have a very big tongue." With light and smooth movements, Gaya unsheathed her sword. "Perhaps I can help you get rid of that too."

"GO ON, NARF, TEAR THAT LIAR APART!" Octo shouted, waving his tentacles in support.

"Oh my God... I think it's better if we leave, daughter. This is going to be chaos."

Tiffany just stared at the elderly lady while the old woman maintained her gentlest smile.

"Narf, Gaya, please don't start. Fernanda, stop them." But Orf's plea fell on three deaf ears. The bespectacled young woman was too tired to get involved. She had no strength left and didn't want anything anymore. She was tired... of everything.

Lalá sat down in one of the chairs and just watched.

With light steps, Gaya ran towards the faceless one, and then a sea of confetti covered her vision. When the confetti ended, the swordswoman was facing away from her opponent.

"Gaya, where are you aiming? If you don't open your eyes... you won't see how horrible you are." Those words, she had no right to say that to Gaya. The swordswoman was about to open her eyes when a shadow interposed between the two.

It was the toy, Chin.

"You two, we can't keep fighting among ourselves. And don't worry, I'll take down those humans."

"What? No!" Fernanda ordered, and everyone looked at her. "Uomen and Ordep lost. If there's a chance of someone defeating them, it's Lalá, and only Lalá. If any of us go there, we'll die."

"And what do you suggest? Hiding in your little fairy-tale world?" This was not said with his usual thin and gentle voice but with his thick and cruel tone. "I'm not judging you. If you think it's better to run, then run. But that won't happen to me. I've already said, and I'll repeat, I don't have a life to care about. Only I have the right to sacrifice myself here." Then the toy's feet turned into turbines, and he departed.

"Chin..."

"Heavens..." Lorde V'huluver huffed as he prepared to leave. "This group is a circus."

"Lorde V'huluver... please, wait..." The girl begged, but he did not pay her any attention.

"Don't fear, human companion." Said the triumphant octopus. "I will show all my colossal power when I meet our enemies. Now, if you'll excuse me."

"No, Octo, stay here..."

"Oh Fe..." The old woman murmured with pity. But even though she emanated warmth, the one she called daughter was cold and realistic.

"Look, weren't you the one always talking about being optimistic? It seems you're not as strong as you make yourself out to be."

"TIFFANY!"

"I just told the truth..." The blue one stared at the bespectacled girl for a moment, with cold and sad eyes. "... she comes and tells us to smile, but she herself is incapable of it."

"ENOUGH YOUNG LADY, STOP SAYING THESE THINGS."

"No, you stop, old lady. I'm not your daughter. My mother wasn't as kind as you, nor my father, much less my sisters. So you put yourself in your place and deal with that Alzheimer or whatever you have by yourself. Leave me alone." With that, Tiffany left with heavy steps, leaving a hurt and offended Misshapp. She wasn't her daughter? How so? No, she was. She had to be. So the old woman also left the hall, humiliated.

"Tiffany, Misshapp, don't fight because of me..."

"If you'll excuse me, I have to fix the mess Gaya made." Narf also left, without even looking back.

Gaya, with light steps, left the hall without saying a word. She turned to Fernanda, without changing her expression, and left.

Fernanda just cried more and more, Lalá watched in silence. Orf knelt in front of her and created a plastic rose, which he placed in her hair.

"Hey, Fernanda. Don't take to heart what they say; they're as lost as you are." Gently stroking her hair, the luminous being then left and went after the others.

Lalá watched calmly, realizing something she seemed to have ignored before... these people in front of her were souls.

Real souls.