The passage didn't close this time.
It remained open.
This was what chilled Eva the most. Closing the passages was a rule; an inevitable, harsh, yet reassuring rule. An open passage, however, was a threat. An invitation. A leak.
Clementin's body was left behind.
No one turned to look.
Looking wouldn't bring him back.
The city of Somexane was no longer silent. Alarm-like vibrations spread between the buildings, the dark sky turning a reddish hue. The curse was fixed. This universe no longer wanted them; it wanted to destroy them.
"From this point on," Jenna said harshly, "there is no escape. There is only exit."
Dora's face was deathly pale. She still couldn't feel the rules. But now she felt something else: the necessity of survival.
Hatoshi knelt down. His hands were on the ground. His breathing was irregular.
"Hatoshi," Eva said. She knelt beside him. "Look at us."
Hatoshi raised his head. His eyes… were different. Deeper. Darker.
"I belong here now," he said calmly. "Partially."
"What do you mean?" Dora asked, trembling.
Hatoshi stood up. He straightened his shoulders. "The curse touched me. But it didn't take me."
Jenna narrowed her eyes. "Because you resisted it."
"No," said Hatoshi. "Because I made a pact with it."
That sentence cut through the air like a knife.
Kixte returned.
He was no longer alone. With him were beings emerging from the depths of Somexane. Half mechanical, half mystical. They had no weapons, but each one was like a weapon. Their intentions were equivalent to death.
"Close the portal," said Eva. "Otherwise, these things will come with us."
"Three keys," Jenna said quickly. "Two are active. The last one—"
"—lethal," Hatoshi finished.
The sky split open.
Energy drained.
The attack began.
This wasn't a battle; it was a hunt. Escape routes closed, the ground constantly shifted. Dora narrowly escaped a collapsing platform. Jenna was trapped in the shadow of a structure.
Eva used the key.
Reality warped.
Weapons appeared—weapons that didn't exist on Earth, shapeless, intent-driven. What appeared in Eva's hand didn't fire a bullet; it emitted nothingness. Everything it touched experienced a brief period of non-existence.
"Don't use it," Hatoshi shouted. "There's a price!"
But the concept of price was now obsolete.
Zanzafa appeared. He aimed his weapon at Jenna.
Eva intervened.
She took a blow.
She fell to the ground.
Dora screamed.
And at that moment, Hatoshi moved.
His speed was inhuman. One moment he was there, the next he was gone. That was what the curse had given him: the ability to move on the edge of death. Zanzafa collapsed to the ground. Ediloq fled.
Kixte screamed. For the first time.
It was a command. A decree.
The city began to crumble.
"Now!" Jenna shouted. "The final key!"
Eva rose. She grasped the key.
This key did not ask for acceptance.
This key demanded a sacrifice.
Eva closed her eyes.
And at that moment, she thought of Clementin.
The key activated.
The portal closed.
As it closed, it swallowed everything—the curse, the enemies, Somexane.
Hatoshi was left behind.
Eva screamed. "Hatoshi!"
Hatoshi smiled.
"I'll be back," he said. "But differently."
A moment of darkness.
Then…
London.
Rain.
Cold.
Eva fell to the ground. Dora and Jenna knelt beside her. Silence reigned. Ordinary. Human.
Hatoshi appeared a few seconds later.
Standing.
But he wasn't breathing.
Then he took a breath.
Deep. Heavy.
"I'm back," he said.
No one rejoiced. No one cried.
Because now they knew.
Eva lifted her head. She looked at the sky.
The parallel universes had closed.
But their traces remained.
And Eva now knew this:
Being brave in the face of unknown threats wasn't just about survival.
It was about daring to change.
And some universes… never completely closed.
THE END