Four different temporal realities. In one, there is a bridge spanning a great sea; in another, a vast green and fruitful field; there is also a desert of stones and the great city of New York. Why don't we start with that one?

Sorry, I went ahead too quickly. I bet you're confused; I'm a bit tired myself, to be honest. There's so much to worry about and observe; I don't think I was meant for this job. Anyway, remember when 4 temporal rifts appeared before Helena and the others? Similarly, 4 rifts also appeared for James and his group, and it didn't take long for them to understand that each of them should go through one.

So, what were two quartets became four pairs. Let's start with the first one. In New York City, Lysa and Emily were together, once again the children reunited. But it's not going well because Emily refuses to speak to Lysa, she just keeps thinking and trembling while her friend has to lead her by the arm.

"Emily... what happened to you?"

It's no use asking Lysa; she won't answer, she doesn't want to answer, it's too tiring for her. Can't you see? The silent crying she emits, but be happy, Lysa, because once again, you are the responsible one in the pair. Protect her, okay? At least that, you can do.

Now, why not visit the stone desert? The place where Clark and John met. Now that's a loving pair. The two couldn't care less about each other; the things indifference causes are magnificent, even the worst of humans can be seen as a companion.

These two don't exchange words, just establish the basic "how are you?", "What should we do?", chit chat. That's their interaction, tiresome and boring to watch. Why should I bother narrating something that just annoys me? Sorry, I must be sleepy. I bet it's strange for you, isn't it? I'm not being fair to you; I mean, you're here listening to me ramble about something you might be curious about or maybe you're just random readers with no interest. You still don't know who I am, do you? Have you ever wondered? Oh, and please, don't say I'm the monk or Lily, that's so cliché. But who knows? Maybe I'm the Mother, the Father, one of the generals, one of the protagonists, or someone who hasn't appeared in the story yet. But then the question remains: How do I know all this? Hahaha, let's continue our story, shall we? I promise I'll get back to narrating properly.

In the green field, the rays of the sun bathe every lawn, so strong, shining, and beautiful. Isn't nature divine? The breeze passing by, silently, is something insignificant, even fearful, but still beautiful because the grass dances and flies in the wind's dance. It's as if it were the wind itself playing, a divine breath that nurtures and gives life to everything. Not a physical life, but the breath refreshes, revitalizes, and carries away problems.

Is this the kind of narration you wanted? Playing with words and making everything much more poetic, detailed, immersing you in this world... but too bad, it doesn't work like that around here.

In this field, James, with the sword given by the monk, meets Helena and... well, why don't we let the story tell itself?

"Helena, are you okay?" James asked while hugging his niece, relieved by her condition. However, the girl seemed shaken by something, as if something was wandering in her mind.

"I... I'm fine. And you? Did something happen?"

"Huh?" The girl's abrupt kindness surprised the older man; usually, Helena was much more gruff than this. What had happened that he missed?

"I... I..." Tears rolled down Helena's face, the guilt growing more and more in her heart. The girl couldn't hide things, nor control herself... she had to tell the truth. She needed to let it out. "I have something to tell you."

"What happened?" She told everything, about the Mother, her lineage, Criara and... about her parents. She couldn't keep that secret; it was only fair that he knew as much as she did, after all, it was his brother who had been killed by her hands. The older man was in shock, completely disbelieving what he was hearing. Would you want to hear that? That the niece you love and protect since she was little, stabbed your brother in the back... come on, tell me, what would you think in his place? Would you be able to reproduce the feelings and thoughts that pass through this man's mind?

Can you blame him if he looks at her with suspicion and fear? If, while she speaks, he takes a few steps back trying to distance himself from the murderer in front of him? The girl is crying in front of him, begging and apologizing over and over again. What does she think? That her words will undo the past? Foolish girl, your words change nothing.

The heartbeat accelerates, the breath comes and grows, and then he remembers what he has in his hands, a sword. A weapon. His order was to give the weapon to the woman in front of him, but if he did that, maybe she would use it to stab him in the back too. It was too dangerous to be with her, to turn his back on her, to give her a weapon. There was a murderous monster in front of him, and if he didn't take action soon...

Oops, sorry, I know you're probably tired of hearing me ramble. Did I break your expectation? Your immersion in the moment? Were you really there? Or were you just pretending to be? Hahaha, oh how annoying I am, I apologize for that. I don't know what got into me in this chapter; it's just... fatigue. I'm very tired. And this scene is so cliché, isn't it? A family bond apparently destroyed by the drama of life when obviously neither of them is to blame... but here's the human problem: Complicating what is simple because of themselves.

Anyway, why don't we set aside all this drama, just for a moment? And take a look at the remaining pair, the one that's missing. "Oh, but why did you cut the scene in the middle?" Hey, calm down, irritated one, when will you understand that everything you see here has a reason?

On the bridge, spanning the entire ocean, Pedro had met Stuart. What a strange combination, the antisocial volunteer who talks to the dead and the involuntary antisocial who talks to the living. What do they do? Well, Pedro is an idiot as he always was, and Stuart, well, he continues being stubborn, arguing with Lindsay's ghost.

All he wants is to keep seeing and holding her in his arms, but she stubbornly refuses to let him do that. Pedro wants to join the conversation but knows he can't. The priest listens, again and again, to their argument and can do nothing but keep quiet. If you're expecting a conversation between these two... sorry, but it's not going to happen; they have nothing to talk about.

Is this chapter strange for you to read? Too fast? Confusing? Things seem too random? I'm sorry, but that's the truth of this book... maybe one day you'll understand what's happening here... who I am... why I narrate like this. If you're a theorist, I'm absolutely sure you'll be disappointed with the answer. You'll come up with a thousand and one theories, try to guess, think of something extremely complex, but because I said that, you'll start thinking the answer might be simpler than you think. So simple, it's almost boring... how tiring... who am I? When you figure that out and combine it with the whole story, you'll know what I want you to know.

Ah, how foolish I am, while I rambled on, a general appeared in front of Pedro and Stuart.

"Hahahahaha..." Laughed the octopus that had appeared with immense delight. "So you're the humans causing trouble for everyone? Well... it's time for me to save everyone by stopping you."

Who is this guy again? Eight? No, Octo, I didn't even remember he existed, to tell the truth. Pedro and Stuart seem tense about the situation; why? It's just an octopus.

"Who is this guy?" Pedro asked worriedly, staring at Stuart.

"One of the deceived, obviously. Don't let your guard down."

"Behold my power." A beam of light was created at the octopus's command, and with it, he transformed into something amidst all that energy. "Hahaha, I gained the power to assume my true form; nothing you do will be able to stop me now." When the light dissipated, Pedro and Stuart saw... a human. That humanoid octopus had turned into a human. "LOOK, I HAVE THE POWER OF THE MOST POWERFUL RACE ON EARTH, THE INTELLIGENCE, STRENGTH, SPEED, AGILITY, AND SKILL OF A HUMAN. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH"

How tiring... And look, Pedro and Stuart agree with me; they look at their opponent disappointed and incredulous. The two couldn't believe that was all his power... what a ridiculous thing. Until now, everyone had colossal power. Still not getting it? To a stone, a mountain is gigantic, but to a cell, a stone is a planet.

With just one seed thrown onto the ground, a tree grew and impaled the weakest of the deceived, the one who was deceived into being something greater than they truly were. Thus, the truth returned to the world.

The transparent energy danced through all time and space, and through every heart it passed, a fact was left as a memory. A truth that would shake your world.

Pedro's truth was: He will be alone again. And that hurt so much for the man; why would he return to being alone? What would happen to the others?

Stuart had something more explosive: Lindsay, Cyntia, and Carlos are not real. You ask me, what do I mean? Oh, have you forgotten? Uomen called him an illusionist, and he called Lindsay an illusion, didn't you notice such a detail? Do you know why they are ghosts? Not souls or spirits? Because ghosts do not exist.

Stuart's power is not to speak with the dead; it is to create replicas of those who have died. The one he converses with is not Lindsay, at least not the real one, but a replica that behaves as Stuart thinks Lindsay would. This means that everything she says is what Stuart thinks Lindsay would say. Everything she deduces is Stuart's deduction but too disinterested to voice. Imagine now, how his world must be falling apart with this information? In his place, who has just discovered that he was, literally, speaking to himself.

John's truth was as he is, straightforward and direct: You will be killed. By whom? When? Where? Sorry, it doesn't say. But remember, this is the virtue of truth; it is a fact. So John, you who are so intelligent, can you deduce who will kill you? Will you really turn your back on Clark?

Clark's truth was cruel, just like he is: You will never be loved by anyone. What a cruel pain in the chest.

Hey, we still have James and Helena and all that nauseating drama... But the reason I stopped before is because it continues now. The virtue of truth declares, with absolute and absurd certainty, in James's heart: You love your niece, and she loves you.

Curious, isn't it? He was doubting her, wanting to distance himself from her, but it is a fact that he loves her. How confusing humans are... No, they are quite simple actually; you get carried away by the moment and forget things. James didn't stop loving Helena; he just forgot that he loved her. It happens that in moments of hatred, you forget that you love. That's why it's always good to try to remember. Hatred doesn't mean you are incapable of loving. Doubt doesn't make you incapable of believing. Crying doesn't make you incapable of smiling. This is human life... simple but complex.

But this fact being remembered is what makes James apologize and forgive Helena because part of him understands that it is not her fault, and the part that does not understand, James has learned to forgive regardless of the reason. See? I told you everything here happens for a reason.

The fact decreed for Helena is that: Criara is part of her, whether she likes it or not. That is the fact about Helena, so girl, will you turn your back on the truth? Or will you accept reality as it is?

Lalá receives the decree: Lily must stop. Come on general, if the truth itself is telling you this, who are you to hold back?

Lysa's truth is that: She will watch someone die in front of her and will be unable to do anything to help. Cruel... the girl doesn't want to hear this; it's too cruel. Why? Why won't she be able to help someone?

Emily's truth... well, I talk too much; I think it's better to leave that for later. Just know that this truth made the girl start crying and fall to the ground trembling with fear.

"E-Emily?" Lysa watched the girl, having a panic attack in silence. It must be true; if she is already unable to help someone while crying, imagine helping someone dying?

Emily screamed on the ground with her hands over her head while tears streamed and streamed from her eyes, swelling, becoming hoarse, but she couldn't stop crying. She was terrified.

"Is the little one okay?" A child's voice caught Lysa's attention, and, curiously, there was a small toy watching them from a window in one of the buildings. It's a ventriloquist doll, but it looks alive and moves.

Lysa's instincts don't lie; it's an enemy. So quickly, protect Emily, prove Lysa that you can protect people... oh child, such action is unforgivable in the eyes of this toy.

"Hey..." The toy called with its adult and gruff voice, it jumped from the window, several robotic cables extended from its back and clung to the wall. Like a spider, it began to descend the building using the cables as support. "... Don't be stupid, why do you children never learn? Being good doesn't get you anywhere."

And another fight will begin... another description... another general...

How tiring...