A golden light shines over the sky like a shooting star. She crosses the blue sky like water that still cries through the frost. Plants grow, laden with fruits that make you daydream. The ground shakes upon impact, and the Earth gives way to create a crater that expels dust into the air. Gnomes sang to forget the seriousness of reality, but now they are silent. Animalia rest their hands on their weapons, staring, and then prostrate themselves in respect. I swallow hard, inhale, and approach the crater.

  “Ouch! Ouch!” Hoffstein says. “Oof!”

  “…”

  The Hero stretches, two and a half meters above the ground. He wears a yellow robe and white pants and brown boots. The man pulls out one of them to dust it off and then ties them up again, then jumps up like a child to test them. He stares at me. “Oh. You're there. Hehe. How are you?”

  “… You… Why are you here…?”

  “Ah. The chaos opened a crack and I jumped in. It is faster to reach humanity like this than to have to cross the entire planet again.” He scratched his beard. “You have a small army, huh? Do you mind if I borrow it?”

  “For what?”

  “My day to day since I was fourteen. Save the world. Kill demons. Those type of things.”

  “Specify.”

  “Eh? What's that? Are you sulking?” He leans on the Halberd and stares at the gnomes and animals prostrating themselves. “Hey, you guys, I'm nobody special. Do not prostrate yourselves to anyone who is not your king until he commands you.”

  They look at each other, but ironically obey the order.

  Hoffstein turns and starts walking the other way, then signals for me to follow, and so I do. Back straight, shoulders back, I raise my posture and slightly raise my chin.

  “Did you know I'd be here?” I say.

  “Did you know?”

  “Yes. A man… a fairy appeared in my dreams and told me that you would be here. He said I would need to follow you so that a terrible evil would not occur.”

  “How glad you are, then!” He says, then crosses his arms. I rest my leg on a stone and face the horizon, whistling at the sun. “That bastard slapped me on the head one day, you know? I'm just waiting for a chance to… Anyway, that's not what I'm here to talk about.”

  Hoffstein inhales, and the smile on his face fades. “There is a Rift opening up around the world. From it, horrendous creatures come out. I exterminated a large part of them while traveling here, but I cannot contain them properly. I will need to warn humanity. Unite it through a common threat. They won't trust me, and it will be too late. I thought about what I would do, but I believe that our meeting is purposeful. With your army, I can enhance the interaction between men and fairies vital to what lies ahead. I can, until we reach our destination in the realm of men, reestablish the fairy world as well.”

  “And about what we want? You don't expect my men to follow your orders to join the humans, do you?”

  “What do they want?”

  “The Animalia want to fight and Die For Honor. They followed me because I overcame their leader and subsequently saved him. They owe me their gratitude and will fight a battle for me until they think it's enough as payment. But the truth is that they cannot turn around on their own, so they take advantage of the strength of the gnomes, who only want to scratch their ass and make holes in the ground to find jewelry.”

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  Hoffstein laughs. “And how did you unite the two?”

  “I invade camps and make holes in them until they dry out, then I invent a problem or make some enemy invade us to prepare an ambush. Scorched earth has helped me a few times, too.”

  “Fair, Fair. Then, I will give them something to fight for, and through the riches of the fairy world, they will be rewarded. Doesn't that sound great?”

  “No. They want to fight, not solve problems in a real war. They are people who don't want responsibility.”

  “Hmm. Well, I'll think of something. Perhaps it will convince them… Anyway. We better get moving. There's something coming this way. I have to deal with it before it kills every soldier of yours.”

  “…! What?! What is it?!”

  Hoffstein shrugs. “I don't know… But you were going south to avoid it, wasn't it?” He stares at me and sharpens his eyes. “… Who, exactly, appeared in your dream?”

  Something's wrong.

  Why?

  I should trust him, shouldn't I?

  Why do I feel like I shouldn't reveal anything for now?

  “I don't know if I should say.”

  “… I understand. Oh, good. Too bad.”

  “We need to go south.”

  “Huh?”

  “To the South. Continue south. That's what my instinct tells me. I have no idea how it will convince them to fix the fairy world or join the humans, but I don't believe it will. You have to deal with the rift, don't you? I'll help you.”

  “… Funny. You bought into the idea of the Rift pretty quick, didn't you? Did the fairy warn you about that too?”

  “Uh…”

  Hoffstein smiled. “Don't underestimate me. I just look dumb, boy. You said South, didn't you? All right. I was going there too. Come on!”

  ***

  The Valley Of Shadows sings in my ears. Its sea winds are full of salt and make my skin burn. The Black Earth contrasts with the purple sky, and the hills twist like claws around us. Everyone's thoughts turned to kindness, but it doesn't matter. No matter how cold it is, no one who feels can control their own heart. One of our own died, and the environment responds accordingly. Dreams of Shadows and death. Monsters of guilt and fear. The first colony was cleared, but it did not look like a victory.

  Something is wrong in my stomach. Or maybe I'm the one who thinks it is, and so it is. I couldn't pull out all the pieces of the monster I became when I overdid it. I can't even use basic shapes, I shouldn't have tried to do something so advanced. The difference between the ability of my affinities bothers me. The desperate action to try to save the rest has caused me sequelae, and lethargy affects my movements. And even then, I couldn't make it in time.

  Joseph is dead.

  They will attack. I'm sure of it. Without a member, the Omega team will not be able to defend itself properly. So me, Wander, and Cloud lead the way, accompanied by Magnus. We proceed in silence, walking through the cold fog, protecting the Omega team and preparing to surround the enemy in case they really attack. Then we will fight one last time, and our way will be clear.

  Something's wrong.

  They know we'll do it. It's an obvious strategy. There is a possibility that they will not attack, and the mobile base can proceed smoothly while supporting us. They'll let us get to The Illusionist just so they can clean up the rest while we're busy. It's a checkmate, anyway. Allied to the confusion of the islands, all seems lost, and morale has plummeted.

  But there is an alternative that can save us from being beaten and eliminated.

  The Clown.

  They called him that because of what happened to those who watched him. Apparently, fits of laughter started happening at the observatory when we managed to locate her sister. An apparent effect of chaos reaching the outside world, applied to mind magic and augmented by the psychic ability of the islands. Perhaps comedy is part of what he seeks, just as Marduk wants war. The latter has already lost us, probably recaptured by his group.

  I jump across the rocks as I watch Cloud move a cloud of dust due to speed. Finding nothing, he changes course and prepares to make another round.

  “… I'm afraid.” Wander says.

  “Don't be. It will create a monster.”

  “I saw him die. I couldn't stop it. I should have stopped it.” He frowns. “We shouldn't have come here. None of this should be happening.”

  “Concentrate. If the illusionist's servants persevere that they can win, they will attack us. It is better that we look for the Clown to avoid conflict by the hour.”

  “And what will happen if we don't? Will we all die?!”

  “Maybe. What did the others do?”

  “… One of them used memories and telekinesis. The other… I don't remember. They probably affected me enough that I didn't remember. Ah…”

  “Why didn't you kill the new memories?”

  “What?”

  “I taught you how to modify your aura, didn't I? Why you…” I frown. “… Are you holding back?”

  “… I...”

  Cloud appears. He moves in a figure to my side and takes a deep breath, a drop of sweat falls next to his face.

  “I found him.”