80: Legend
November 14th, 2007, near sunset.
BOOM!!!
"Fuck!" New York Police Captain George Stacy cursed perhaps for the fiftieth time in the last fifteen minutes.
Taking cover behind one of the patrol cars that surrounded the area, he reloaded his weapon as fast as he could, ignoring the pain of his wounds, the most visible of them being a cut on his left cheek from which blood was flowing.
"Shit, shit, shit!" Next to him, one of the new officers who had recently joined under his command was trembling nonstop, his voice tinged with panic.
He was a young kid, barely out of the academy. He was completely green and, under normal circumstances, the closest he'd get to action in his first weeks would have been breaking up a couple of drunks fighting outside a nightclub.
Too bad for him that the world had long ago decided that normality needed to go on sabbatical.
"Fucking idiot! Stop whining and shoot!" This time the shout also came from another new recruit, but unlike the one who kept trembling without doing anything, the woman didn't let fear get the better of her. Sure, she was trembling too, she was sweating, her new uniform was dusty and had a cut or two, but even so she backed her partners without hesitation.
George liked her. In times like these, officers like her were the ones he needed most.
"Officer down! I repeat, Officer down!" echoed through the radio, making George frown even harder. Gritting his teeth, he stood up again and aimed toward the center of the disaster, his gaze fixing on his target instantly. Not that it was hard to do.
Emerging from a large truck-wide hole was the ugliest damn thing George had ever had the misfortune of seeing.
It was enormous, but much more elongated, rising at least five meters high. It writhed like a grotesque snake and, at its sides, its thin yet powerful legs clattered one after another in rapid succession, dozens of them, creating a spine-chilling sound.
But the worst part was definitely its head. At first glance it looked like that of any other centipede, if that centipede were made of pure fleshy mass. However, right in the center, beneath its antennae and where its mandibles should have been, a face was embedded. A horrible humanoid face without features or expression, without eyelids, without eyes, only dark, empty slits from which black blood dripped.
"ARHHH!!!" The guttural roar was deafening. The more than a dozen officers surrounding the beast grimaced in unison, but none lowered their guard and the gunfire continued, crashing against its grotesque body like a torrential downpour.
The bullets didn't ricochet, luckily, but they didn't do much either. Barely penetrating its skin a little before stopping.
'Where the hell is SWAT when you need them?' George thought as he emptied his magazine, trying to aim directly at the monster's 'face'.
At this rate, every police station in the country was going to need a serious increase in high-power equipment supplies if they wanted to stay on the streets every time one of these phenomena appeared out of nowhere.
The click of the empty magazine made George duck back into cover. Searching through his belt, he realized he was out of magazines, so he turned toward the new officer, still paralyzed with panic, and yanked the gun from his hands abruptly.
"Fuck, get out of here, kid!" he warned him, since right now he was nothing but a hindrance.
On the other hand, the new female officer also finished reloading her weapon and, at the same time, both of them rose, aiming at the creature.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The centipede writhed, striking everything around it wildly, its long and sharp legs shielding most of its body from the gunfire.
"Shit!" George shouted when he saw his shots were useless. In just a few seconds, his magazine was back to zero.
"Yes!" The officer, however, cried out in victory when two of her shots hit the monster's face, one of them landing on its 'eye'.
"UAAHRGGG!!!" The beast howled, but this time in pain.
Its face, now twisted into a grimace of rage, turned toward their direction, locking onto their position. Then it pulled back, curling and tensing up on itself almost like a spring about to-
"Oh, fuck me."
George didn't hesitate. He grabbed the arm of the young cop who was still frozen in place and started running.
The officer didn't stay still either, though only a second after George she also realized what was about to happen and, without thinking, spun on her heels, rushing away.
" MOVE!" Captain Stacy's roar cut through the air for an instant and all the officers reacted instinctively, darting away from the patrol cars they had been using as cover like cats splashed with water.
FUUUSH!
The monstrous centipede uncoiled like a gigantic whip and hurled itself through the air with unnatural speed. Its enormous body rammed through everything in its path and, in the blink of an eye, closed the distance separating it from the patrol cars that had been surrounding it, crashing violently into several of them.
The shockwave from the attack shoved George several meters and the officer he had dragged along was launched with him, landing close to his position.
Despite his blurred vision, George didn't delay in getting back up, raising his head only to widen his eyes when he saw one of the patrol cars flying through the air.
Only half a second later he realized it wasn't heading toward them, but when he looked in the direction it was falling, horror washed over his face.
"Dewolff!"
Officer Jean Dewolff barely heard her captain's shout. Her head was throbbing and her vision swayed as if the world were underwater. The shockwave had hit her too, throwing her several meters back. Only that, in her case, her head had struck the ground, leaving her half dazed.
From the corner of her eye she saw Captain Stacy getting up and trying to run toward her in slow motion. He looked very scared. Jean didn't understand why, but when she lifted her gaze and saw what was rushing toward her at high speed, she knew what was happening.
"Oh" was all she could say, her pupils shrinking.
It was as if time had stopped at that instant. In her mind, dozens of thoughts flashed all at once; one part of her wondered if this was the famous moment before death where one remembered their entire life.
Another, however, could only scream silently at her impending death. And no, it wasn't exactly her whole life that passed before her eyes but, instead, her regrets.
She had just graduated from the police academy; her career was barely taking its first steps, just like her life, which was still in her early twenties. She had her whole future ahead of her, so much to do and achieve, so much to get.
She knew the job was dangerous; she wasn't naïve. Her father had once been a police captain, so she knew the risks quite well, and her desire to follow in his footsteps was genuine. But she never imagined her end would not come at the hands of a mugger, a criminal, or a gang member; instead, it would be at the hands of a disgusting monster born from the worst nightmares of her ten-year-old self.
Yes, she hated damn centipedes. Insects, arthropods, all of them. And the only way she found to overcome that fear in her youth was to crush them whenever she saw one, hard and strong, until she heard them crack.
'How fucking ironic,' she thought, closing her eyes and covering herself, curling up as if that would help.
…
There was silence. Jean breathed raggedly, her body tense, ready for it all to end but… nothing.
Then she heard them: screams, but not of fear, but of amazement.
She slowly opened her eyes. Her vision, still slightly blurry, didn't let her distinguish much, so she blinked several times until it cleared… and that was when she saw him.
Descending slowly from the sky, with the last rays of the sun at his back, his cape waving gently in the wind and holding the patrol car above his head with a single hand, there he was.
Defiant.
The monster tensed upon seeing him, shrinking and pulling back as if his mere presence terrified it.
From not too far away, the cheers of the people who had been watching the confrontation between the police and the centipede were heard, filled with joy. In the sky, a news helicopter that had been broadcasting the confrontation live focused its lens on his figure.
The hero landed on the street, looked at the monster, then turned toward Jean, examining her for a moment before nodding at her and returning his attention to the centipede.
With a casual motion he dropped the patrol car, which hit the ground with a dull thud.
Not far away, Captain Stacy took a deep breath before letting out a long sigh of relief upon seeing that Jean was safe. Then he looked at Defiant, mixed feelings passing through his eyes.
"Fall back" he ordered through his radio.
He then quickly approached Jean. The officer was still staring at the hero, stunned, so George had to help her up and lead her away. The other officer finally reacted and, upon seeing them leave, also got to his feet and ran to follow them.
Without another word, the area was completely cleared out.
The only sound left was that of the news helicopter hovering over the area. The centipede remained still, watching Defiant with distrust. Its instincts, primitive and wild, screamed at it to run, but it couldn't; it was paralyzed, a deeper fear taking hold of it, a fear born from finding itself in the presence of what could only be described as an apex predator.
The monster hissed, its fleshy body beginning to tremble as Defiant took a first step, then another, walking slowly toward it with a relaxed posture.
Then he disappeared.
A fraction of a second later, its vision darkened and its life ended.
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Far away, in another part of the world.
Diana gazed with fascination at the images reflected in the crystalline waters.
Her eyes remained fixed on the imposing figure of the man standing over the decapitated corpse of the monstrous centipede, and it wasn't until he left the scene and the focus shifted to a reporter that she released the breath she had been holding in a long sigh.
She watched the images for a while longer before deciding that it was enough. Stepping back, she let the vision in the pool fade and its surface return to normal, now reflecting only her own face.
Spending several hours secretly searching through the great library of Themyscira for a way to use this mystical object had certainly been worth it.
The Pool of Truth (Or Scrying Pool) was one of the few artifacts on the island about which she had known very little. Its main function was to allow the Amazons to see a reflection of the outside world in its entirety, regardless of distance or place.
Of course, such a valuable object was not available to just anyone. Except for exceptional situations, only her mother, Queen Hippolyta, was permitted to use its power.
Diana had never been able to approach it in her youth, even though it had always interested her ever since she learned of its existence. Her mother had forbidden it, and in those days, the way all her sisters spoke disdainfully of the world of 'man' had also influenced her, making her—though curious—not seek to learn more about what existed beyond.
At least until she grew up and her view of things matured, gaining a criterion of her own. But even then, she refrained from approaching it, although this time for different reasons: her desire to explore the outside world, to leave her island, had begun to bloom and grow stronger day by day, but she didn't want to accept it. That was why she tried not to think too much about the pool, for deep inside she feared that looking through its waters would only make her even more obsessed with the idea.
Daniel's arrival had changed that. This time she could no longer ignore her curiosity about the world, and after thinking it through deeply, she decided to sneak into the chamber where the pool was kept in order to finally use it.
Not without first learning how to use it, of course, which had been a bit more troublesome than she expected.
The artifact itself could reflect in real time the image of any part of the world. The problem was that whoever controlled it had to know the specific location to look at or have a concrete target in mind, as well as something that could serve as an anchor to locate said target.
That, of course, brought her certain problems. The maps of Themyscira depicting the outside world were quite outdated. And although Daniel had told her plenty during their conversation, it wasn't as if he had given her an exact map to search in; after all, Diana hadn't focused too much on asking about geography, being far more interested in many other subjects.
Thus, only one option remained if she didn't want to spend hours searching blindly until finding what she sought: namely, using an anchor to locate Daniel.
Finding one wasn't difficult, since he had left several traces of blood in her training room, but… using them felt very wrong.
It was one thing to look from time to time out of curiosity, but something entirely different to aim specifically at someone, granting herself the ability to spy on him at any moment of his day.
With such conflict in mind, she didn't know what to do until she remembered one of the things Daniel had told her about: in the world of 'man' there were devices called televisions, where images of the most important events were transmitted as news to be viewed by all people.
At the time, the concept had seemed fascinating to her, reminding her a lot of the Pool of Truth, so she ended up asking him numerous questions about it.
After considering it seriously and recalling every aspect about these 'televisions' and their 'transmissions', as well as what she had learned about the pool in the library, Diana decided to try something.
The artifact's target did not necessarily have to be a living being; it could be used on objects. Likewise, the anchor did not have to be something physical either.
Armed with that logic, Diana decided to search for one of these so-called televisions, using as an anchor the information Daniel had given her about them.
But the anchor was still weak and abstract, so she had to add something more, this time combining her mental image and her memories of Daniel, because among the few things he had mentioned about himself, one of them was that he often appeared in these 'news', so searching for a television that was broadcasting an image where he appeared was something more concrete and less vague to aim at.
However, she obtained too many results. The pool split, cracking like a broken mirror and showing her different views in each of its new "parts".
In more modern terms, Diana had come upon multiple news channels: some were replaying Daniel's old feats; others were talking about him and his actions, speculating about his intentions and possible origins. She also found more serious reports with analyses of collateral damage, interviews with people he had saved, and even a peculiar program in which they had erected a huge statue in his honor, before which dozens of people were praying on their knees.
In each of the images the same name was repeated: "Defiant". Diana remembered that Daniel had mentioned that some knew him by that name, but it seemed he had forgotten to clarify to what extent it was used.
In an instant, her ears were filled with a cacophony of voices and sounds she could barely process. It was overwhelming, and for a moment Diana did not know what to look at, until she focused on seeking something more current, concentrating on obtaining only one view and not dozens of them.
That was how she ended up watching a single newscast where live footage of a monster attack and its clash with what seemed to be the local guards was being shown. Diana did not fully understand what was happening, but seeing that unknown monster with such a grotesque appearance made her tense up immediately, her eyes unconsciously searching for Daniel's figure.
Strangely, he was not present, but even so he was being mentioned. The person commenting on the event was speaking about Defiant with urgency, wondering where he was and why he had not appeared yet.
"The confrontation between New York's police forces and the centipede monster continues to intensify, with the number of injured officers increasing. Although the altercation has lasted just over fifteen minutes, it is likely that containment will fail before reinforcements arrive... The situation is critical and, amid this chaotic event, we all continue to wonder: where is Defiant? Where is our hero?!"
Hero.
The word left Diana perplexed. The term was not unfamiliar to her, but for her people and her culture, using it to refer to someone carried a weight and a very elevated meaning, almost sacred.
Daniel had never mentioned being the bearer of such a title, but upon recalling everything he was capable of, Diana felt that it was undoubtedly fitting.
'A being of legend, just like Achilles, Perseus, Odysseus and Theseus,' she thought, fascinated.
But her internal reflections were interrupted when the situation reflected in the pool intensified, drawing her attention once again.
The centipede beast lunged at its attackers, forcing them to retreat; even so, they did not manage to get far enough, because when its enormous, elongated body crashed against the vehicles surrounding it, a shockwave knocked them all down. At the same time, one of the patrol cars was sent flying through the air, falling in a very specific direction.
Diana's eyes followed its trajectory in an instant, widening slightly when she saw one of the few warrior women in the area about to be crushed by the vehicle.
To her senses, everything happened in slow motion, making a deep feeling of helplessness suddenly wash over her. As a warrior, and above all as a protector, watching without being able to do anything was extremely frustrating.
She wanted to leap into the reflection in the pool, appear to take down the monster and save those people, but that was impossible, so she could only keep watching as she bit her lip hard and clenched her fists.
The process was terribly slow; every moment passed before her eyes at a snail's pace. Never before had she hated having such sharp sight as she did in that precise instant.
At least until she saw him arrive. At the same time that the shadow of the patrol car completely covered the woman's figure, something else rushed in at an unreal speed, placing itself between her and the certain death that awaited her.
The wind stirred, the vehicle stopped its fall abruptly; it did not break in two nor did it deform, it simply stopped, casually held up by a single hand.
The camera transmitting the scene shook before zooming in and focusing on his figure in more detail.
It was like watching a god descend from the heavens. With the twilight light at his back and his long cape gently billowing, his expression was impassive but firm, resolute.
Diana's heart skipped a beat; a shiver ran down her spine and the tension that had been suffocating her finally found the moment to begin releasing.
What happened next was something she already expected: the monster fell; in the blink of an eye, its body lost its head and Daniel stood over it, triumphant.
The cheers of the people filled the scene, accompanied by cries of relief and joy. Daniel looked at the crowd that had stopped hiding and began to approach him, and his impassive expression broke, turning into a warm smile.
With patience, he helped calm the masses, cleared much of the debris, and transported the most injured to the nearest hospital before returning one last time, exchanging brief words with the officers still present before turning toward the camera and nodding.
Then he left, ascending into the clouds and disappearing on the horizon like a shooting star.
And so it all ended.
Diana watched the reflection in the pool for a few moments more before deciding that it was enough and stepping back, releasing the breath that had been stuck in her lungs in a sigh full of relief.
'That was intense,' she thought, looking at her slightly trembling hands. She hadn't expected her first glimpse of the world that existed beyond the shores of her island to be like that, but at the same time she was intrigued; everything she had seen, however briefly, filled her with curiosity.
Were those metal boxes with wheels the so-called automobiles Daniel had told her about? And the buildings... gods, they really were tall and had far too much glass. Why did they need so many windows? Not to mention the way those warriors fought, using small steel rods that launched tiny objects at high speed.
Daniel had not mentioned that. She would have to ask him more about it when he returned.
"Diana?"
Any thought was abruptly cut off by the sudden call.
Turning around sharply, Diana found herself facing her mother's half-frowned expression, watching her with her arms crossed from the doorway of the chamber.
When had she arrived?
"Mother..." She didn't know what else to say.
The queen of the Amazons remained silent, her eyes slowly sliding from her daughter to the Pool of Truth, now inactive. Her expression barely changed, but it was evident that she was not pleased.
"What are you doing here, Diana?"
Diana's mind began to work at full speed, with a thousand excuses running through her head. Lying was not something she liked, especially to her mother, but she knew she could not tell her the truth, not unless she wanted everything to become complicated.
Luckily for her, her mind was quick. In barely a fraction of a second she considered every option, carefully weighing her decision. The panic on her face had barely begun to show when she had already adopted a calm expression, acting as though the queen's interruption was what had startled her and nothing more.
"I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have come, but I needed to use the pool," she admitted, making Hippolyta raise her eyebrows.
"You know that is forbidden, especially for you," she told her, her tone turning stern.
"Yes, but it was still necessary," Diana replied, slightly defensive; she did not like being reminded of what she was allowed and not allowed to do as if she were still a child.
Hippolyta pressed her lips together, looking toward the pool once more before speaking.
"What matter could be so urgent that you would disobey an order you had never challenged before?" she questioned.
This was the moment. Diana made sure to remain steady, not allowing her mother to notice anything strange, controlling every movement of her body perfectly.
"My recent encounter with the monster in the depths of the island the other day. As you know, I took it upon myself some time ago to thoroughly cleanse Themyscira, killing most of the monsters and wild creatures that could pose a danger to my sisters… or so I thought."
She didn't need to add more details; her mother was smart, and she soon drew her own conclusions.
She could see her posture relaxing, her guard lowering. Yes, Diana didn't like lying like this, but she had no choice: admitting the truth now would mean acknowledging that she had lied before, and to all her sisters, no less!
But there was more to it than that. It was something selfish, but deep down she wanted to keep her encounter with Daniel secret for as long as possible. She had plenty of reasons to do so, some sensible, others that barely justified anything, and a few that only sounded good in her own head. Even so, in the end it all came down to the same thing: her own desire and interest.
Of course, there was also the matter that if she told the truth now, when he returned he would not be met with a warm welcome, but with the entire army of Themyscira ready to try to capture him.
And that was something she definitely didn't want to see happen.
"You could have asked for my help and my permission," Hippolyta said with a slight tone of reprimand that almost made Diana roll her eyes.
"I thought it would be faster if I did it on my own. After all, no one knows every inch of Themyscira better than I do," she replied confidently, for that was undoubtedly the truth.
Hippolyta paused before nodding.
"You are right, no one knows this island better than you," she said, her eyes narrowing slightly.
Diana thought she would ask more, but the queen simply looked at her one last time before turning around and leaving, leaving her alone in the chamber.
That was unsettling; her mother did not tend to end a conversation so abruptly.
Was she suspicious of something? No, if she were suspicious she would keep probing until she got answers. That was how she was: relentless.
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she decided not to dwell on it too much. For now, she was content with having escaped the immediate trouble. As long as she was careful, whatever came next would be easy to handle… or so she hoped.
Looking toward the chamber door, Diana focused, letting her senses sharpen, and after a few seconds of silence in which she confirmed that her mother was no longer nearby, she turned toward the pool, approaching it once more.
But not to use it again; instead, she slipped her hand beneath her loose peplos and pulled out an empty waterskin she had prepared beforehand, opened its lid, and brought it close to its waters.
In a very low voice she murmured an ancient chant, and on the skin of the waterskin, symbols previously invisible glowed with a faint cyan light for a brief moment. Then, as if a sudden suction force had appeared, the water of the pond began to be absorbed through the mouth of the waterskin.
The container filled quickly, and the water level in the pool had barely lowered; without a doubt, no one would notice that anything was missing.
'This should be enough,' she thought, nodding to herself, closing the waterskin and hiding it once more under her clothes.
She knew she could not keep coming here without drawing more attention. Fortunately, in her research about the pool of truth she had learned that its magic came mainly from its water and not from the place where it was found.
With that in mind, she decided that the best thing would be to create her own pool of truth, one she could use at any moment she wished.
'With the magical materials I've gathered over the years, it will only take me five days to have it ready.' Of course, having only the water wasn't enough; it had to be placed in a special container that would serve as a medium to control what was reflected in it, hence the need for a 'marble bowl.'
While she contemplated her plan, she didn't linger in the chamber any longer, as she had already obtained everything she had come for. Thus, she left with a faint smile adorning her lips.
A part of her wondered when Daniel would return, not only because she longed to learn more about the world, but also because she now truly wanted to hear his story. His entire story.
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Back in New York, Stark Tower.
Even though not much time had passed since the Ten Rings' attack on the place, the repairs on the upper floors of the great building were progressing in large strides, to the point that by New Year's they would be practically finished. Tony would make sure of it, even if he had to lay every last brick himself.
Even so, despite his efforts and the tons of money spent, there was still a fairly sizable hole in the roof of the top floor, more precisely above what had been his main workshop before it was blown to pieces.
A hole Daniel didn't hesitate to use as an entrance, casually passing through it.
"You're ten minutes late, D-boy," the words reached his ears, followed shortly after by Tony's figure walking slowly toward him with one hand in his pocket and the other holding a cup of freshly made coffee.
"Give me a break, man, I had to deal with an overfed insect on my way here." He explained, rolling his eyes.
"A myriapod, actually. It's a type of arthropod," Peter clarified, appearing suddenly. This time, the young hero arrived wearing a much more elaborate super-suit in far better condition than the one from their first encounter, skillfully sliding in through one of the windows at almost the same moment Daniel landed.
"And you're late too!" Tony pointed out when he saw him, making Peter pause and scratch the back of his head with slight embarrassment.
"Sorry?"
"Just to be clear, if the meeting weren't in the building that's now practically your home, how long would it have taken you to get here? Jarvis, answer!" Daniel's question received an immediate response.
"Based on Mr. Stark's data and habits, he normally arrives late to any meeting by a period ranging from 30 minutes to an hour… on his best days."
"Vile betrayal!" Tony complained, gritting his teeth at his A.I.
"Hahaha!" Daniel laughed out loud, while Peter managed to contain himself better, grateful to be wearing a mask that hid his smile.
"I see everyone's in a good mood." Natasha, who had been sitting quietly beside a long table reviewing something on a tablet, turned her chair to look at them as if she were watching a group of children.
Daniel waved at her as he walked over, taking one of the nearby chairs for himself. Peter followed but chose to remain standing off to the side, while Tony could only huff before approaching as well and taking his own seat.
Finally, emerging from the shadows, the last of their members appeared. The air around him was far heavier and more serious; his expression wasn't visible thanks to the mask of his dark suit, but it was clear to anyone that he wasn't in a good mood.
The previously jovial atmosphere vanished instantly, and everyone adopted more somber, tense postures.
Daredevil didn't waste time: he took out the letter that had arrived at his door that very morning and placed it on the table. Jarvis quickly scanned it, projecting its contents—written in braille—translated so everyone could understand it, though it wasn't necessary, since Matt had already translated the letter for them earlier.
There wasn't much written: short and mostly direct. But what made this a matter that concerned not only Matt and Daniel was the symbol printed at the end.
The symbol of ten interlocking rings surrounding two crossed swords, struck through side to side by a large red X.
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Note:
And we're back with another chapter!
This time bringing back Captain Stacy after a very, very long time without seeing him on-screen. And accompanied, no less, by a small cameo from Officer Jean DeWolff who, for those who don't know, is an older Marvel character who appeared briefly in the Spider-Man comics before… well, dying.
I'm not sure if we'll see more of her in the future, since she's not a character I have many plans for; maybe she'll show up in other chapters making cameos similar to the ones Lois and Jimmy usually get.
But more importantly… we finally get an update on our favorite Amazon princess!
Surely some of you thought I'd leave her aside for a while longer—at least until Daniel decided to visit Themyscira again, right? But no! Her character is far too important not to develop properly.
At the same time, I wanted to show a bit of this 'mystical' side of hers that was mentioned earlier and that will also be important in the future.
Yes, I took inspiration from her Absolute version, making her more magical than she usually is, but I also think it's coherent that in a society that is literally 'magical', people can learn some of that magic; even more so when they're immortal and have way too much free time, Sue me!
And yes, I know I said that in this chapter we'd return to Daniel and his unresolved matters. Well, I delivered, didn't I? Daniel appears and we see how he starts dealing with his pending matters... while also watching him do his job as a hero, which is pretty important too!
But seriously now, next chapter we really will continue with the main plot, so look forward to it.
As an extra note, the centipede monster that appears in this chapter is based on Centikohai from OPM, just… less intelligent.
(Author's status update: the note is already long, so I won't go into too much detail. My absence over the past few weeks is due to a serious personal issue I had to take care of. In short, my father had to be hospitalized; a malignant tumor in his kidney caused severe bleeding that led to very serious anemia. Don't worry, things are better now, but due to various circumstances I was his primary caregiver throughout the whole process. His surgery took place in a hospital in another city, which made everything much more complicated, but in the end everything is now under control. As I said, I've summarized it quite a bit—I would like to go into more detail, but I'd rather not burden you with my problems. I'm only sharing this so you know why I was gone for so long.)
Anyway, as always, thank you for all, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Have a good morning, afternoon, or night, wherever you are! ;D
Remember that you can already find the next chapter of this story on Patreon( patreon com/EmmaCruzader ) All the support received is appreciated!