Paulo jolted awake in the dim room.
Faint light seeped through cracked blinds. Dust motes danced in the air.
The sharp memory from that old lab tablet hit him like a lightning bolt.
Flashes of ancient screams filled his mind. He gasped for air. His chest heaved up and down and each breath came ragged and sharp, Sweat drenched his skin.
He clutched his head with both hands.
Pain stabbed through his skull. It burned like fire deep inside. Waves of ache pulsed without stop.
"What happened to me?" Paulo groaned. His voice rasped low and rough.
It scraped against the quiet lab walls.
Momo now flickered into view beside the bed.
She shifted from her faint ghost shape.
Pixels of light swirled around her. She turned solid at last.
Her true form stood right there, clear, and real, with sharp features and bright skin.
"We are still fused together," she said. "But now everyone can spot us both. How does that even work?" She scratched her head hard.
Confusion filled her wide eyes. They darted left and right.
"Part of your soul stays locked inside my own soul," Paulo replied. He raised one eyebrow high. Deep depression still clouded his face like a storm. Lines etched deep around his mouth.
"Hey Paulo," Momo pressed on. "You passed out cold for an entire day straight. What hit you so hard?" Her hands twisted in her lap.
"Momo," Paulo told her. "I just lived a memory from two and a half million years ago. Right when the Hypno Gang fell apart. One billion members wiped out dead." The words hung heavy.
That gang once ruled vast lands with mind tricks.
Billions bowed to them. Their end came swift and total.
His eyes lit up bright. A strange glow burst from them.
Rainbow light showed twelve monarch colours.
Each hue pulsed with old power.
Like some living gems, they shimmered red, blue, gold. Echoes of ancient kings stirred in the glow.
"Did you see our dad crush them all?" Momo burst out. "Was he a hero?" Her voice bubbled with pure excitement.
She leaned in close. Her eyes sparkled like stars.
Hopes danced in her stare.
Paulo drew in a heavy sigh. It dragged out long.
Full of gloom and weight. His shoulders slumped low.
"No," he said flat. "That was me. I turned into the Hypno Killer. I ended one billion lives in only two short weeks." Each kill replayed in his head.
Blades flashed. Minds snapped. Blood-soaked endless fields.
The scale crushed his thoughts.
"Oh man!" Momo then shot back fast. "But hey, now you own that killer title for good." Pride lit her face.
She leaped up from the floor. Bounced around the room wild.
Like a cat chasing her next thrill.
Full of energy, she spun and jumped.
Her feet barely touched the ground now.
"Why call it that now, Momo?" Paulo asked.
Confusion twisted his features tight. Brows knit close.
"You relived slaughtering one billion souls," Momo explained. "That smashed right through Limitation 3. The huge power jump from it cracked Limitation 4 open too." These limits set his growth from the start.
Each one locked power behind hard tests.
She let out a proud sigh. Her chest swelled with joy. Like she had won a prize. A grin stretched wide.
"Wait, Momo," Paulo said slow. "Remind me on these limitations. I forgot the details. Weeks have flown since I thought of them." He rubbed his temple slow.
Paulo's fingers was now pressed against the ache.
He tried to ease the throb in his head.
"Limitation One means die off as a weak human," Momo said clear. "You hit that mark one month back. Sharp on time. It marked the end of your old frail life. No more limits from a normal body."
Back then, pain twisted his form. Bones cracked. Exploded as he fell of the building.
Death freed him to raw strength. Muscles grew iron hard. His Senses sharpened keen.
A big cheerful smile split her face wide. It lit the dim space.
"What about Three and Four?" Paulo whispered low. His depression made his words barely rise above a breath. Gloom choked each sound.
"Limitation Three demands one hundred million different kills," Momo went on. "That deep memory just flipped it free. You crossed it by pulling those billion deaths into now. Think of it: each kill counted fresh. Like you did them today."
One billion topped the need by heaps. Warriors, leaders, drones, all fell.
The count surged past one hundred million easy.
Her cheerful smile grew even wider. Teeth flashed white.
"Limitation Four sets power level at two and a half trillion," she added next. "You stand there now. The rush from the memory shoved you past it clean. No struggle. Just a surge."
Power hummed in his veins.
It dwarfed old peaks. Forces bent to his will sharp.
She clapped her hands once. The sound echoed sharp through the quiet room. Walls shook faint.
Paulo thought it over deep.
These limits shaped his path from the start. Each one unlocked more strength. Step by step.
Limitation One broke when he shed his human weakness. Back in that first brutal change. Flesh tore. New might rose.
Limitation Two came right after.
It needed an army with two hundred and fifty million power level total.
His forces matched it without strain. Ready for war. Thousands ranked high. Total power stacked neat.
Now Three and Four stood conquered at last.
One from raw kills in that ancient bloodbath. Fields ran red for weeks.
The other from the power spike that followed. Raw and unstoppable. It flooded him like a storm.
"Momo," Paulo said at last. "Time to return to base. I got to drill my two fighters hard. They face the final round in the Bloodmoon Queen tournament."
He sighed deep once more. Heavy gloom weighed on every breath.
The wins felt hollow. Against that dark past. A shadow that would not fade.
The Bloodmoon Queen drew her crowds in.
Top warriors clashed under red moons.
His pair trained fierce.
But victory rang empty now in his head.