"I only ask you, Aurora, not to tell anyone about this. Can I trust you?"
"You shouldn't have any doubts about that, Carolina."
The queen nodded. Her arms moved along with the wheels, slowly, unhurried. The other woman beside her remained silent, following every turn.
The brother watched from afar, sitting on the sofa, hands covering his face. The housekeeper, standing beside him, touched his shoulder.
"Why so nervous, master Gyne?"
"I'm not nervous..."
He leaned his back against the cushion. His eyes fixed on the two women through the glass. His bare feet in contact with the ice.
"My sister, despite the smiles she gives me, has revealed herself to be depressed when she's with that other woman. Is this my fault, Rita?"
"No, Gyne. You're far too young to blame yourself. That would only harm your heart."
Her hands clasped in front of her waist. Her eyes lowered to the hem of her garment, and her trembling lips let out a frozen sigh.
"The world is a cruel place. Your sister is far too strong to collapse. She is not a Pillar, like Miss Sinhaygter, who is accustomed to constant chaos. She is a queen, someone who should remain safe while her people fight for their own lives."
"But wouldn't that be unfair? Why would people give their lives for people who don't even know them, like us?"
"Perhaps… perhaps it is, but that's how this world works. Few fight alongside their people, your sister is one of those rare cases. It's far too much responsibility for one woman alone. That's why you, as her brother, must protect her at any cost."
"I would never fail to do that, Rita."
"I know you well, boy. You would never abandon her."
After descending hidden stairs through the kingdom, leading them deep underground, they came upon a wall covered in ice.
Carolina planted her spear into the ground and rose on trembling legs. Aurora held her by the arm, watching as the woman struck the ice floor with her weapon and then thrust it toward the wall. With a surge of force, the spear pierced the ice, which crumbled to the ground, revealing an entrance.
As they passed through, heat struck their bodies. The smell of rust invaded their nostrils, and the constant creaking of iron grated against their eardrums.
With the flip of a single switch, as though an entire city had turned on its lights beneath the darkness, countless wires came into view, tubes with extensions whose limits could not be comprehended, and a number of machines capable of operating an entire world.
But, as an unavoidable centerpiece they had no choice but to confront, there was an eye. Without light, without life, yet larger than any demon they had ever faced.
"Oh, God!"
Aurora hurried forward to touch the eye. Carolina remained silent, observing her touch the thing with a nostalgic gleam that was unfamiliar to her, yet also seemed deeply melancholic.
"You look like an excited child with a new toy. Why?"
"…No, it's nothing."
She pulled her hand back to her chest, her voice growing quieter. Carolina, watching attentively, asked no further questions. Aurora lowered her hand and slowly turned her head toward the queen.
"Allow me to know: how did they manage to build such a colossal weapon?"
Carolina rested her chin between her fingers, closing her eyes.
"From what I remember, when I discovered this place, I was told that for many years they had been constructing and improving this weapon. I believe the intention was to make it a final resort in case the Inferius ever completely lost control…"
However, she added a question of her own:
"And now, faced with this, what do you intend to do with it? Will you try to awaken it? Will you use it to spy on us?"
"Do you think I'm like Rito? Even though I was once the vice-leader of Libretãnhya, I no longer stand with that man. Nor with Libretãnhya. I'm on the right side."
"And which side is the right one, Aurora?"
"…"
The silence made the air grow heavy. Carolina said nothing more, turned, and used her wheels to head toward the exit of that place.
"This is the greatest gesture of trust I can offer you, Aurora. I ask that you do not waste it, because even if I'm unable…"
She glanced back over her shoulder.
"I will hunt you down to hell itself if necessary."
"I never doubted your abilities, Queen. And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your trust. This is like a gift to me…"
Then an iron hand extended, and the air began to solidify.
"But now I will make this place part of me."
The queen was suddenly slammed against the wall. Her chair flew away into the distance, and the woman groaned, teeth grinding from the impact.
The ice collapsed along with stones and iron, forming an impenetrable gate.
"Damn Pillar…"
And her vision darkened before she fell unconscious.
In the hospital of Libretãnhya, the sound of bare feet slapped against the floor. The lights shone against dark hair. Bloodstains splattered the walls along with the bodies of patients, nurses, and doctors.
"I feel anxious to unleash all my strength against this race…"
The footsteps stopped in front of a door where a man and a woman stood.
"But patience is required. I cannot repeat the mistake I made five hundred years ago…"
Then, as he entered, his four arms reached for their bodies, a smile revealing thirsting teeth.
"Having only your daughter is not enough. I also need her old friends, Slady."