Even though the children assumed the Great Wise Mage was the one who had summoned such a creature, they still backed away, eyes full of distrust. Not just because of its appearance, but because the presence radiating from that abomination didn't match any form of life.
Moving with a tired gait and little interest in the young ones, the gigantic body—its chest, belly, and groin burned and rotting in the open—reached out and grabbed something that hadn't been visible before: individuals who had already left the world of the living. Constan and Frederick appeared standing, ghostly, with lost, hollow expressions. The three boys clenched their fists as they watched.
The presence, wielding a broken spear decorated with dead jewels, drove it through both of their bodies. Just like a needle and thread sewing two pieces of cloth, the two souls were pinned to the heavy chain that began at the back of the broken spear and ended wrapped around the creature's waist. No matter how much they struggled, in a few seconds they ended up just like the rest of the chained souls.
Of the three main attackers, Yacer was the last to face the towering presence. He seemed to spark a little more interest in the Missionary of a Thousand Souls, since his spirit was still clinging to a few scraps of metal. The rotting figure tugged, and in its hand the white plasma that represented the intangible existence of the human spirit stretched out from the remaining metal.
As the creature almost fully pulled the white substance out of the metal skull, Yacer—who couldn't escape the grip no matter how he resisted—felt his strength, desire, and will slipping away. The Missionary was extracting the soul from within the non-organic remains that had existed as part of Yacer's body. When the moment came when pulling yielded nothing more, the creature, quick and practiced at its work, used the worn edge of its spear to finally sever the human soul from the inorganic body.
Yacer lost all rights over his body, which became the perfect tribute to the chains, just as had happened with the hundreds of others who had died there. The throne stayed behind, but once its work was done, the presence opened a hole where there had only been air before. On the other side of that disturbing floating rift stood a massive wall covered in strange inscriptions, its nature obvious: the main gate of hell. Darkness and shadows vanished into the air in the wake of the Missionary of a Thousand Souls.
The hatred and rage inside the children had eased, but the sadness remained, which led the Great Wise Mage to say:
"I'll be waiting for you on the mountain. Bring your companions—perhaps I can do something about them."
Then, without another word, he left the way he had come.
Jhades returned his body to normal. Without exchanging words or glances with his brothers, he turned and gathered what was left of his faithful furry companion in his arms. For him, words had always been unnecessary. Rey and Dante did the same. Rey was already trying to find a way to reverse the situation.
"But my resurrection arts as a sorcerer aren't even close to beginner rank. And on the other hand, I still don't fully understand my resurrection abilities as a vampire… Mother was able to revive my brothers because she loved them… love is the condition for using the elemental control 'life.' Naturally, she doesn't love any of our felines." With a sliver of optimism, he clung to his master's words. "There are different ways to reach the same goal."
Lifting his gaze, he watched the old man walking away. "Maybe he has a different way. Though it's strange that he's the one offering to help… I could end up making a very bad deal. Even so, anything that brings her back to life…" Rey paused, realizing just how desperate he was, how completely he had fallen into his enemy's hands.
In a hurried march, the two brothers had no choice but to follow Rey back. Jhades felt relieved to return somewhere safe, even if it meant soaking what was left of his clothes with his feline's blood. Dante, meanwhile, walked with his head down, more intent on pleasing the brother who had recently punched him than on anything else.
A few opportunistic enemies ambushed them along the way, but the two familiar flashes around Rey flickered again, and the problem resolved itself. Once at the foot of the mountain, the three youths found a way to climb. Jhades and Rey spread their wings, while Dante, trusting his legs, launched himself upward in several powerful jumps, reaching the mountain peak alongside his brothers. From there they walked forward, weaving around the bodies that obeyed Maryam.
Naturally, their mother, wiping away her tears and still worried, descended from within the body of the Colossus of Darkness and Blood and stepped inside the barrier to meet her children. At first, she was sure she could handle it, but once she saw their faces, she couldn't find a single word that might comfort, soothe, or encourage her little ones.
"I'm sorry," she said, unable to keep from apologizing as she moved aside, guilty for not being able to do more.
Rey lifted his head and let the ghost of a face relieved of pain show through, his eyes calm in acceptance—letting his mother know everything was all right, that he understood. Encouraged, their mother found her strength again, realizing her son was far stronger and more understanding than she'd thought, even without having died.
Dante and Jhades, on the other hand, were the ones who had gone through the initiation process; they didn't grasp the full meaning of any of this. They ignored the reality of their felines' deaths, and wondering whether they would be brought back or not was the least they could do before moving on.
Rey started walking again, falling back into step with his brothers. Together, the three of them approached the old man.
The Wise Mage sat on a stone at the far end, surrounded by lush vegetation warmed by the newborn light and stained with the blood of beasts. Rey knelt on the ground and laid his companion's remains before him. He understood now that what lay before him was a ritual table.
"I'm desperate. That much is true. Inside me is chaos. Every time I breathe, I feel something different. Every time I think or find a reason, that feeling grows stronger… He planned all of this from the start… He warned me of the path." Shifting to speak out loud, Rey went on:
"I wouldn't be myself if I didn't speak up and say that I've come before you to find out if I can save her. She has to live. I want her to live. Please, save her. I'll do anything."
He fell silent for a heartbeat.
"I give you the answer you wanted. I had to witness what it means for someone close to die to realize it."
The Great Wise Mage slowly opened his eyes, pretending he hadn't been expecting this outcome at all. He had achieved his goal: making the white-eyed boy, who had always acted so arrogant and proud, easier to manipulate. He knew Rey suspected something was being plotted and, of course, he couldn't move forward with his plan without first getting the chance to put the boy in his debt and show him that he was a "friendly" presence.
The threads tying the small body had been replaced by chains—chains that did not descend from above, but rose from the skins he wore and from his brothers. They were the creatures he had spent a little time with and had already grown attached to. But those chains were thin and fragile, white, woven only from the feeling of knowing he was very strong, that he could face anything, while those who followed him could not, and were bound to the consequences.
What would happen if he, who did not know death, lost the most precious being he had?
With nothing else to care about, life would lose all meaning—he'd be willing to chase blood and power. Being strong is a lonely path, but Rey was not used to walking it alone.
"I appreciate that you figured it out."
Triumphant, rather than cheerful or playful, was the expression that settled on the ancient being's face.
"Wanting to get something back is not a feeling you can have without first losing something—or someone—important. I'm sorry to take advantage of this situation, but that's how life works if you won't cooperate under my control."
After making his point, the old man raised his voice in a Calling:
"Great Altar."
A massive, flat stone rose from the ground. The Great Wise Mage spoke:
"Place the remains on this rock…"
He paused, waited for his instructions to be followed, then continued:
"Bringing them back to life comes with a drawback… From now on, your feline companions will live with the purpose of serving you. If you wish to proceed, I expect you to be ready to carry out the ceremony."
"They'll be slaves?!" Rey blurted, outraged—because resurrecting someone by those means was nothing short of trying to turn them into slaves.
Enslaving a body after death was the most degrading method possible in regards to the freedom of living, and it was the method vampires were allowed to use on those they did not love, thanks to their bloodlines. The Great Wise Mage replied:
"Not exactly… in time, they may become independent. But for now, it's the only way. To begin, you must bathe the weapons I gave you in your blood."
Without asking anything else, Rey and his brothers each made a cut in their hands. Using their fingers, they squeezed the wound and waited for as much blood as possible to flow, until it coated the instruments they had fought with.
"Kneel, and hold out your weapons as an offering, to become the future bodies of your companions."
Following the instructions to the letter, the weapons began to glow with a divine light—the same light spilling from the stone surface and wrapping the remains.
"Let the body and the object become one… Pierce the remains with your weapon and make them into your youses."
"How?" Jhades asked, stunned.
"Youses?" Dante repeated, angry—not because he knew the term, but out of sheer frustration at not understanding a word so hard to pronounce.
Maryam vanished to defend the area from the threatening creatures being drawn by the divine nature of the ritual taking place. In a more pronounced, weighty tone, the Great Wise Mage went on:
"It's harsh, I know. Let me explain… Their bodies are unusable, and we cannot clone them to implant the original souls into new bodies that aren't poisoned by radiation. By natural law, the soul must be housed in a healthy body if it is not to lose its right to live. A chimera needs the fusion of different organisms; in this case, a youse is the synthesis of a living organism and a non-organic object, through the merging of their energies, souls, and an external force. This is part of life—sometimes, of all the choices you'll have to make, you'll be forced to pick the least painful one."
The two younger boys had no choice but to trust the words of the one Rey had turned to for help. They tried to breathe in determination. At the final moment, they had to look away as they aimed their weapons at those who had been at their side for so long.
Rey, meanwhile, knew and understood there were other, less convoluted ways to bring any creature back. Even so, he didn't understand why the old man insisted on this one in particular.
"He really is taking on more work than he should. Why? What does he want?"
Melody: "To expose your greatest weakness," she whispered in Rey's ear.
History: "You get attached to the creatures around you," murmured the voice at his other ear.
Even if the act was driven by the idea that this might save their companions, it wasn't enough for any of the three children. All the time they'd spent under rigorous training, they had been taught to care, not to harm, and to avoid disturbing the eternal rest of anyone who had left life behind.
Even so, the fine ring of metal cutting through flesh echoed along with the boys' cries.
Jhades felt sickened by the sensation in his hands. Dante felt shame.
Rey also felt it wasn't right… but he did it anyway.
The blood-soaked weapons pierced into the part of the dead bodies where the most vitality still lingered. Rey and his brothers experienced a sickening sensation—something they couldn't describe, but could very clearly feel. It was someone else's pain. Taking advantage of someone who couldn't defend themselves, much less of someone so dear, was wrong.
Before the eyes of the three brothers, the resting bodies began to dissolve into the air. They wanted to react but couldn't, not even as the physical remains of their most precious companions vanished.
"What's happening?" asked the nameless one, confused.
Longing to catch all that fading glow with his own hands, the white-eyed boy cried out:
"Why is it disappearing?"
Rey fixed his gaze on the one he'd asked, but got no answer. The indifferent look that dominated the Great Wise Mage's face irritated him so much that he almost rushed forward, ready to force a convincing explanation out of him.
"Don't do it. He's testing you again," said Melody.
"He wants to see how easy you are to manipulate," added History.
…
As time passed…
"Rey…"
An unfamiliar voice, as furious as it was strange, sounded behind the brothers.
Stunned, Rey turned his head.
"Did I just hear you talk?" He locked eyes with White and kept speaking, even though it was still hard to believe what he was seeing. "Is that your voice?"
"No," White answered, and furiously went on, "I can't talk… You're the one who can hear me."
Rey couldn't find the words to ask for forgiveness, or decide whether that apology would end up insulting the magnificent beast who had just come back to life. Jhades and Dante shot forward, throwing themselves into the arms of the beings who had returned—precious to them simply because they were theirs. Rey stayed where he was, like someone who had forgotten how to move.
White took a step toward him; it was her way of calling to the boy who hesitated to show what he was feeling. Rey regained control of his legs and hurried forward, step after step, until he let his body fall against the white beast and clung to her with both hands. Hiding his face in the silky fur of the one who had always stayed by his side, Rey hugged the creature he had believed he would never see again with all his strength.
"Why did you do it?" he went back to the question that was still lodged inside him.
White opened her heart to the boy she cherished so much, never taking her eyes off the Great Wise Mage.
"I realized I value you more than my own life. It was my turn not to let you die," she said.
Angry—having noticed the fragile emotional state of her now master, no longer "just" her companion—and holding back many words that would have explained the fury on her face, she chose to add:
"Rey, my father didn't die in disgrace. He died fighting, and now he lives in you. I want you to stop trying to bring him back. Don't blame yourself. Let him rest in peace and accept what happened… It isn't your fault. Intentions are what really matter. But don't let his sacrifice go to waste."
The boy understood her words. Bringing back someone who had sacrificed themselves was the greatest dishonor a warrior could suffer.
In silence, Rey nodded to her, like someone who wants to cry. Letting go of a burden that heavy on his shoulders was both liberating and strangely refreshing.
Dante, in tears, said:
"I promise… I'll take better care of you from now on."
"Stop acting like you're invincible… and give me more food from time to time," said Dragonidas.
"I'm glad you're alive," said Jhades, as happiness took the form of tears streaming from the vampire's eyes.
Both Dante and Jhades were more excited than Rey, oblivious to the fact that their youses looked better built than White—sleeker fur, more prominent muscles. They had no idea about the price of resurrection, just like Rey still ignored the benefits of death.
"Coming back to life is a curse, in a way," thought the nameless boy. Now that his companion had been revived as an object, she lived with a purpose: to serve, not to live. "Even so, I'm worried about her anger and this rebellious streak she's showing toward the old man's words."
Trying not to lose his authority in Rey's eyes, the Great Wise Mage said:
"Come, sit down," he suggested. "I owe you a great deal of knowledge—and right now, you need it."
As soon as the three boys sat, he continued:
"After this ritual, your companions returned to life not as animals, but as youses. That's what we call beings that have the traits of an object imposed on them. Technically, they're animals with a defined function or purpose. That function is based on the nature of the object they're fused with. In this case, what brought your companions back was the purpose of a weapon. A weapon, as you've already experienced, can hurt or protect, depending on how it is used. When the weapon can no longer fulfill its purpose, that's when your companions' lives will come to an end. A cruel world awaits you—one where a weapon gives a huge advantage in battle, but can also hold you back from developing your own skills. Over time, they may reclaim the freedom they lost and find a new purpose… At that point, and only if they don't die before then, they'll stop being youses."
Of the three brothers, Rey was once again the only one to grasp the high price they would have to pay for the rest of their lives. For the first time, the white-eyed boy felt the smell, chill, and texture of a chain no one else could see, wrapping his body together with White's.
Fully aware of the white beast's anger, Rey made room in his heart for words meant for her alone.
"I'm bound now by my own selfishness. To comfort myself and find relief in my heart, I let myself be swept away… The result I demanded so stubbornly has been granted—but this is the price. I ended up stealing your freedom, my magnificent white beast, turned now into an object bound to a purpose. Staying at my side is no longer your choice, it's your duty… I understand why you're not happy."
"Rey," White began, dropping her voice to a lower, steadier tone. "You don't need to worry. In the past, I could've taken a different path than yours, but I realized that choice would have made me sad. From the first moment we met, affection and attachment toward you started sprouting in my heart. Never abandon me. Never think I'd be capable of enduring, having to watch your absence. The root of all my anger isn't that I can't decide—it's that in death I remembered who manipulated the situation so Father would fight Wulfgang in desperation. Who drove Mother to go after him and leave us alone. Who tore me away from my siblings. Who put me on the path you would walk… It was him. It infuriates me that once again he's the one making us stay together… And maybe it's just my imagination, but I think he's been using me from the very beginning…"
"Hmmm, he absolutely could do something like that. But the fact he let himself be seen, and that you remember it now, has a reason," Rey thought, intrigued. Out loud, he added:
"I understand. I agree with you. There are a lot of things about him that don't add up… It's possible he needs me for something—and maybe that's why I'm still alive," Rey said.
When the nameless boy raised his head, he found himself face to face with the Great Wise Mage's challenging gaze—eyes lit with fascination at what he was seeing and hearing.
"Are you listening to our conversation?!"
"Yes. You're right… I can hear what you say, see what you do, and get a sense of what you feel—but I cannot know what you think."
The old man spoke on a different frequency with his thoughts, even as he discussed something else entirely with the other two brothers.
"Rey, you're not the one I expected you to be. You turned out very different. How shall I put it…"
The old man's last words filled the white-eyed boy's insides with doubt and drew a low growl from the great feline.
"It's as if another, less predictable will were guiding your actions, while the other one sleeps, refusing to wake. You're an exception to the rules of the natural order, and yet you don't stray from them. Through your body you experience sensations that stir emotions—emotions that fuel the spirit behind the decisions your will chooses to make. To care is the most basic trait of emotional beings. It's the wound through which feelings can enter and invade your body, humanizing it, so to speak. Do you really think you could hate or love someone you didn't care about?
"Yes, I'm the one responsible for the emotions you developed during your training. It was I who made you and your brothers more emotional. But you have no way to prove it. Don't look at me as if I were your enemy; now that you chose to give me the answer I needed, see me as the life that is preparing you for what's coming."
The Great Wise Mage's eyes closed once more. Calm again, the one who had just finished a whole private monologue with Rey was now reaching the end of the conversation he'd been having with everyone else present. Out loud, Rey decided to confirm the one doubt still gnawing at him:
"Our youses—are they in danger of dying physically if, in a fight, we destroy our weapons from overuse?"
"Indeed," replied the Great Wise Mage. "But don't worry. I can assure you the weapons you possess are quite resilient."
Rey narrowed his eyes. Maybe Dante's katana and Jhades's pistols lived up to those words, but his doll's eyes did not. The old man was hiding the truth, and the proof was in the chips and nicks along the edge of Rey's blades.
An enraged sound tore through the air and grabbed everyone's attention at the mountaintop. It was the warning before the violent impact of a massive creature slamming into the far side of the hill, shaking everything. Thanks to the lack of trees at the foot of the slope, the kids ran to the edge and, without much effort, saw something that escaped their understanding: a small giant clad in full armor.
In a casual tone, the Great Wise Mage said:
"A Cerbro. Looks like it's the last of the enemies. That creature is a direct child of the Hecatoncheires… Though they're reckless, there aren't many left. Because of the wars between gods and titans, they were the ones who constantly suffered the heaviest losses. Stay away from danger, just as your mother warned you. I'll go check on the residence, see how Silvia is…"
As the old man walked away, he thought, "Shifts in energy and emotion create involuntary reactions in the body, and they can trigger micro-expressions as well… Someone going through an energy deficit, and who knows it on an emotional level, can't hide it, can't run, can't fight… There's only one option left. It would be terribly inconvenient for me if something happened to them while they're under my care, wouldn't it? Rey, I trust you won't disappoint me. You know what you have to do."
Rey kept his eyes on the old man as he walked off in that annoyingly playful way of his, clearly scheming something. The moment was approaching; Rey had to be ready—but "ready for what?" he asked himself. It wasn't hard to guess what the old man was thinking; the way he left practically shouted it.
"He's putting distance between us so that, when something happens, it won't be his fault…"
'A cruel world awaits you, one where a weapon grants a great advantage in battle… See me as the life that's preparing you for what's coming.' Words he'd said that had left a bitter taste…
Those he loved and cherished were his weakness.
The thread from the dress Edith had told him about… now it all fit. This had always been the point. As someone reincarnated, he couldn't die until he fulfilled a purpose—yet everyone around him would suffer the consequences of his actions. What would his purpose be? When would he be allowed to die? He didn't have an answer, but at least now he thought he knew what was coming… except…
The gigantic beast got back up as fast as it could and, with a single leap, shattered the ground and returned to the place it had been thrown from.
…
"I feel bound—tied down by the fear of the unknown and this excessive caution about losing those around me," the white-eyed boy told himself, his gaze dimming for a moment. "This feeling, this anguish inside me at the thought of losing something, works like a border—a fence that only limits what I can become. I really am in his hands. Damn you, Great Wise Mage. How am I supposed to learn my limits in the cruel world that's coming? Limits I'll eventually have to test if I want to move forward… when I have to protect something first. Maybe I'd be much stronger if I had nothing to lose. The path is a lonely one. So now that I've become even more flawed in his eyes… where's the best place for me to wait for the moment when everything happens? Yes, his words were always warnings," the nameless boy thought as he glanced at White by his side.
"Tell me, Rey, doesn't it scare you? The fear of doing nothing… and still losing something forever?" White asked.
"Yes," Rey answered.
White, like a frustrated woman laying her heart bare, said:
"I used to survive on one simple, basic instinct: to satisfy and please my body's needs. But when I experienced death, I became aware of something—I realized I hadn't lived everything I wanted to live by your side. Don't make my mistake and throw yourself into what you don't understand just because you're thinking about what you could become. I'm with you precisely because I've become the boundary that protects you from killing yourself and from your enemies. Fight if you're going to fight. Discover your limits if that's what you want. But do it all within the margins of living for a future. A future together, forever…"
For a second, Rey got the impression that his companion, besides learning to speak, had learned to feel. Shifting his focus and setting those messy emotions aside, Rey also noticed that none of the adults were in colossus mode anymore. There were no more giants—only a faint breeze, blood, and destruction.
Thoughtful, the nameless boy closed his eyes for a few seconds, silently agreeing with what his companion had said.
More aware of life, those eyes opened again to the world—steady now, and full of resolve. Rey took the lead, had his feline companion transform into the sharp blades, and broke into a run toward the spot where the beast had leapt, because that was where their parents and the rest of the clan had to be.
"What are you doing, you maniac?!" Jhades shouted. "We finally get here, and now you're leaving?!"
"The ones who desire the most… are up ahead," Rey replied. "Follow me if that's what you want."
Jhades didn't understand his nameless brother's explanation or behavior. But what better time for a predator to study its prey than when it was already busy? Besides, being near the elders meant a gathering, and with the battle nearing its end, there might even be some sort of celebration.
Jhades grabbed the two pistols still floating beside him and ran as well.
Dante, ears metaphorically pinned back like a scolded dog, said:
"That's the wrong way. Brothers, don't you get it? This is the perfect moment to escape—not run toward our parents," he grumbled, hunching down as if he meant to back away.
The young wolf was shaken, knowing his brother was heading toward danger, but unlike the others, he didn't understand that this place had no exit, no escape—not even if it was what he wanted most. In that direction lay everyone who could end the lives of defective offspring—everyone who needed to study them.
"Just follow us, idiot. This place is nothing but a fragile bubble surrounded by flames. Trying to escape puts us in even more danger," Jhades said to Dante.
With no choice left, the wolf grabbed his companion, who transformed into a katana, and ran after the hybrid and the vampire, cursing them under his breath.
…
There was Wulfgang, fighting the Cerbro head-on, his body wrapped in a blazing red mantle of fur. To the eyes of the three young observers who had just arrived, the destructive power, murderous intent, and fighting spirit pouring out of the wolf and the others seemed like something from another world.
Maryam wore an immense black armor that tripled her husband's size, matching in raw power the enraged beasts that dared to face her, whether on land or suspended in the air. Heroclades didn't even bother using spells; he just strode back and forth carrying the elf on his shoulder, protected by a huge serpent of wood with glowing green eyes. The entire forest moved at Ehimus's command—she turned every falling leaf into a vicious javelin that stretched and speared through its target. Shining metals crackling with electricity plated Miján's body, and he clearly controlled a whole swarm of flying objects. Katherine danced in a storm of blood, water, and wind, slicing and tearing the enemy's limbs apart.
Amid all that organized chaos, the wolf slipped between his companions' attacks without being hit, sprinting straight toward the Cerbro. The child of one of the Hecatoncheires threw its best punch at Wulfgang, determined to finally crush him. When the fist slammed into the ground, the wolf used its hand as a springboard, racing up the arm toward its face.
The furious father wrapped his right fist in a massive ball of flame. The moment he reached the giant's shoulder, Wulfgang leapt, making the next blow the giant hurled completely useless—the Cerbro only managed to punch itself.
With one perfectly placed strike, the wolf obliterated the giant's face and even lifted its whole body off the ground, engulfed in meat-hungry flames. The smaller, four-armed giant, howling in agony as its eyes and body were eaten by fire, lost its mind and began flailing wildly, hands thrashing to smother the flames crawling over its skin.
One of those desperate, unpredictable swipes nearly hit the wolf, who was still hanging in the air. As he fell, Wulfgang plunged the claws of his right hand straight through the beast's armor and thick hide, just beneath its ribcage.
Like paper, it split in two with a single cut from a pair of scissors that didn't even need to close to cut. All the skin of the burning giant's belly—this "small" four-armed titan—split open into two hanging flaps. Blind, the giant tried to hold its organs in with one hand and strike with the other, but just as the blow was about to fall, the hand was severed and crashed to the ground.
The young onlookers realized something, and Rey was the first to put it into words:
"Behind that face that always looks so sad… there's someone to fear. No wonder we're still alive. He's stronger than all of us together."
"Not even in a million years could we beat our masters if they ever fought us seriously," added Jhades.
"That smile that looks like it's always there… those eyes that don't ask, they command. My legs are going weak and my hands are shaking," Dante said.
With a single backhand swipe of his claws, Wulfgang sliced off the careless arm that had tried to strike him. Still burning like a torch, the father lunged for the beast's face and, just as easily as at the start, he cut off the giant's other arm, its skin and flesh already half-devoured by the flames. Then the next arm, and the last. The wolf tripled his muscle mass and his height, empowering himself for the next move.
As brutally as he could, Wulfgang grabbed the intestines dangling from the giant's split belly, then bounded back up with blinding speed, wrapping the burning coils again and again around the monster's roasted head.
By the time the Cerbro hit the ground, it was already being strangled by its own organs. With no arms to free itself or loosen the constriction, the small giant collapsed face-first into the dirt while the slick blood coating its guts helped them cinch even tighter around its neck. Wulfgang pulled with every bit of strength he had, using the taut, intestine-wrapped cords around his enemy's throat as a garrote.
It wasn't enough for the red wolf that his enemy stopped thrashing on the ground. He kept tightening, pulling, wringing that neck with the entrails in his hands. The sound of bones and ligaments giving way filled the air until, finally, came that satisfying sensation of tearing an enemy's head from its body. Raising his hand, the lycan pointed as if challenging anyone else to come forward—yet every remaining enemy did nothing but flee.
The small giant was dead. The few remaining monsters cowered before the presence of the red wolf and those who fought at his side. With the bounty hunters' problem solved, Wulfgang's defiant gaze turned toward his children, hiding behind the bushes.
Striding over like someone just finishing a refreshing workout, the leader of the group said:
"The day you're able to understand what I'm feeling right now is still a long way off."
Everyone else stepped back and fell silent as Fang the wolf continued:
"You disobeyed your mother's warnings. There has to be punishment. You'll have no choice but to hate me," Wulfgang said, striking fear into his children, who had remained hidden, carefully studying everyone's movements. "Dante, Jhades… you can stay where you are. I'll speak with you later. Rey, come here… Maryam told me. For you, it's time to die properly. There won't be a better moment than this—this will be your first and last. Do you have anything to say about it?"
Katherine hefted her sword onto her shoulder and walked forward like someone eager for the moment to finally arrive. She didn't care if the boy ended up hating her for the rest of his life; she'd already made her decision. The rest of the clan halted and fell completely silent.
With no choice left, the three youngsters rose from their hiding place.
Rey knew fear was what bred confusion, so he walked forward even though his name had been called and it was obvious he was meant to die at the hands of the muscular vampire as part of the initiation process. "And what if my theory about not being able to die is wrong? What if this is my purpose? Maryam looks like she's pushing herself past her limits to keep the poison in me and my brothers from spreading."
Dante and Jhades watched their brother—the same one who had suggested they come here in the first place—now about to be sentenced to death by Katherine. Both of them doubted they'd made the right call in trying to escape and, in a way, felt relieved they'd failed and followed Rey's advice, since thanks to that, Father had forgiven them so easily. But either way, they pitied their brother's situation.
Rey told himself, "No. Doubt just makes me easier to manipulate. I can't die… not now."
As he walked toward the others, he stopped and looked Heroclades straight in the eye, offering a discreet smile of gratitude. His master was ready to intervene if needed, but that simple gesture left him confused.
"Father, Mother, Master… everyone," Rey said. "I'm grateful for the time we spent together, and I don't regret a single second. From here on out, whatever I do, I'll live it to the fullest. That's my conviction, and I'll honor it completely. Even if it ends in my death, I'll keep cherishing life. I'm afraid I'll have to stay far from you."
His farewell words bewildered those present. Wulfgang and Maryam, as parents, understood their son knew something—not from what he said, but how he'd said it. The arrogant look of someone bracing himself for a great event.
Katherine, fearing the worst, raised her right arm and unleashed a colossal slash with her sword—only for it to shatter into a thousand fragments when it struck the hardest defense in all of creation. Along with the black shadow that appeared out of nowhere to act as a shield, the personification of a dimensional throat manifested—like a living creature—and devoured everything around it, including the three children.
Heroclades, blazing with rage, shouted as his power erupted in blinding light:
"Hades, don't you dare!!!" Then, at once, he invoked: "Zero Zone."
Time stopped.
The werewolf and the others dashed between the still-floating shards of sword, trying to save the little ones. Even moving at top speed with time frozen, they didn't make it in time. Wulfgang the wolf managed to jam only the eight fingers of his hands into the dimensional throat, and he pulled with all his strength, trying to pry the rift back open. Maryam multiplied the strength, agility, and stamina of everyone present a thousandfold and, turning her body into black smoke, tried to hurl herself through the fissure alongside her children. Ehimus shattered the shadow shield with her hand and, in turn, doubled and tripled the energy of the clan members around her. Katherine turned the entire area into absolute vacuum, condensing the air into a nearly invisible thin layer around allied bodies, while everything else—any other object, creature, or matter—disintegrated under the force of that void.
It was the most dangerous combination of abilities imaginable and, even so, the attacker vanished while the dimensional throat dissipated, taking the three children with it and erasing every trace of itself.
Time returned to normal. Space did too. So did their bodies.
But what remained was the raw emotion of helplessness—and a mother's anguished screams echoing across the battlefield. Maryam appeared kneeling on the ground, sobbing. Wulfgang lowered his head, while the other members of the pack roared their fury, and the Great Wise Mage, arriving along the path, clutched his head in his hands as if confronted with something he had not expected to see.
…
There, in the singularity of a space, the three children found themselves floating. In that absence of a place, the light pulled away. It felt cold. It also felt like relief. They could not scream, nor could they move. Flesh, blood, and bone grew far heavier than normal. All they could do was lose consciousness while new chains were stitched into the lacework of that magnificent creation.
Drifting slowly as if through outer space, Rey thought, "The beginning starts here. The cold of what just happened lays claim to every part of my numb body that refuses to rest. I'm finally adrift in a new place. Everything has been swallowed by darkness. But nothing can control me anymore. Now I can move forward without fear of dying. Is this… what it means to be immortal?"
…
Inside a temple set in the middle of an endless field of flowers, the daughters of Aphrodite sang to the heavens—songs of adventure, war, and tragedy. At the top of a great cliff, Siddhartha allowed himself a faint smile, accepting what was unfolding. Upon his throne, Gilgamesh stretched out the cup in his right hand and, tipping it over, poured its wine onto the floor in silent acknowledgment.
Gripping her scythe, Áyo wore worry on her face as she watched the God in blue armor beside her. On his favorite bed, Zeus yanked his lover's hair and increased the pace of his thrusts. By the gate of hell, Uriel rose from the flames of a candelabrum and bowed his head in respect. Between the immense bars at the depths of the abyss, a mysterious shadow smiled, eager to finally set in motion the plan it had been nursing.
At the entrance to the Ever-Changing Forest, Michael arrived and drew a deep breath as he stroked the head of one of his most treasured beasts, who paced uneasily, searching for its missing mate. In a world of wandering cities, a white-haired man clutched his head with both hands and screamed his sorrows into the air. Aboard a ship lost in space, a vampire let go of the scaly hand that had kept him going, abandoning his will to live. A great human officer bearing the [OEM] insignia on his shoulder shook Árjos' hand.
…
"Nameless son born in hell. I can assure you many felt the impact of your arrival on the material plane," thought the Great Wise Mage as he persuaded Wulfgang and Maryam that he could not help them escape the underworld. "On the earth where humans reign, you will carry a curse and a poisoned body. You will have to show your eyes to everyone you wish to see, and you will suffer for your weakness before the pack of eager humans, burning all the hotter with rage after having seen what hell truly is, humans who will demand vengeance for those fallen in battle… You are the bearer of the representation of the All in the cosmos, as well as the reset. Grow strong so you can fulfill your purpose—or at least until you reveal what makes you an irregularity," said the Great Mage of Sages, seated upon the Empyrean.