A Few Moments Later

  Still in That Same Hallway

  Salie Fradik High School – First Floor

  The focus shifts to Téo, who was just about to rush toward his brother, Kalik. He is abruptly stopped when Victoria wraps her arms around him from behind, holding him in a tight and deeply emotional embrace.

  This simple act of embracing Téo is not only meant to keep him from successfully retaliating and causing something truly serious.

  [Victoria – Echoing, Worried Whisper] Please... stop... I don't like seeing you like this, Téo. [Deep, Slightly Emotional Sigh]

  [Téo – Disbelieving, Unresponsive Whisper] Victoria... [Unsteady, Trembling Breath]

  It is also meant to prevent Téo himself from being consumed by his darker emotions—the impulse to attack the one who hurt him first, especially in front of the person he cares about the most: his best friend, Victoria.

  [Victoria – Echoing, Worried Whisper] You're my only best friend, the one I truly love having by my side, and... [Trembling, Emotional Sigh] -

  [Victoria – Echoing, Worried Whisper] ...I don't want to lose you again like I did three years ago, and you know that. [Sad, Slightly Tearful Sigh] -

  In that moment, with everything around him seemingly slowing down, Téo feels as though the world fades away beneath the safety that this embrace brings to his storming heart, even if just for a brief instant.

  [Téo – Guilty, Regretful Whisper] Victoria... [Unsteady, Trembling Breath] -

  Téo quickly snaps back to the sanity he had begun to lose under the weight of his darker impulses, his eyes widening.

  He becomes aware of the intensity of Victoria's embrace around him, its tightness pressing deeply against his chest.

  [Téo – Guilty, Regretful Whisper] I made you cry again... forgive me, Victoria... [Unsteady, Trembling Breath] -

  [Victoria – Happy, Emotional Whisper] You don't have to apologize, Téo. I'll always be by your side whenever you need me... [Joyful, Affectionate Sigh] -

  That entire exchange of whispers is heard only by the two of them, so close together. Téo slowly shifts his expression—no longer vengeful as when he looked toward his brother, Kalik.

  [Victoria – Happy, Emotional Whisper] ...Or did you forget the promise I made at the amusement park that night? You big dummy... [Joyful, Affectionate Sigh] -

  His gaze falls to the floor, teeth clenched in self-directed anger over the pathetic way he momentarily lost his sanity to the desire for revenge against his brother, Kalik.

  [Téo – Guilty, Regretful Whisper] No... I'd never dare forget that, but even so, I... I'm a terrible best friend... [Unsteady, Trembling Breath] -

  Téo then moves one of his hands—previously hanging near the floor—and places it gently on one of Victoria's arms still wrapped around him.

  With that subtle gesture, he conveys a comforting tactile reassurance to Victoria, who feels Téo squeeze her slightly, revealing how angry he is at himself for everything that just happened.

  [Victoria – Happy, Emotional Whisper] Stop thinking such silly things. You're the best friend I could ever have, Téo. [Affectionate, Attentive Breath] -

  That simple remark from Téo to Victoria immediately made her remember something from a few days earlier.

  When the two of them went out together to wander around the amusement park in the city center during one of the most joyful nights the two best friends had shared.

  And at the same time, it marked the beginning of a gradual shift, where the bond of their friendship was becoming increasingly malleable—subtle enough to be noticed in the way Victoria had rested her head lightly on Téo's back.

  It was clear that Victoria vividly remembered what had happened at the park a few days ago, and the memory brought a gentle, happy look to her eyes.

  [Victoria – Soft, Happy & Emotional Whisper] You and me, best friends forever, understood? [Subtle, Affectionate Sigh] -

  Even though no one could look at her face and notice it, she felt a light tightening in her chest and, at the same time, a warmth spreading through her heart.

  It made her cheeks flush with a shy red tint—an embarrassed reaction to a feeling still so unfamiliar to her at her age, so close to Téo's, with both of them still so young.

  And because of that, the flow of time—previously slowed for Téo and Victoria—returned to normal.

  Ahead of them, they could now see Kalik walking calmly down the hallway. He waved back at them in an easy, careless manner with one hand.

  [Kalik – Cheerfully Unbothered Voice] Little brother! Don't forget. I've got things to take care of at this school right now. If you get in my way or bother me... [Ironic & Playful Laugh] -

  [Kalik – Cheerfully Unbothered Voice] ...I'll crush without thinking twice the one you care about the most, understood? [Ironic & Playful Laugh] -

  Meanwhile, Harry stood there, unable to understand what was unfolding before his eyes—it all seemed too illogical for his mind to process.

  Because his little sister, Victoria, was showing such affection and tenderness toward the boy, Téo—someone Harry understood to be nothing less than an Oculi Albi.

  With a single snap of Kalik's fingers, all of them saw their perception of the world shift for a brief moment, as if everything around them had suddenly inverted into a photographic negative.

  [Harry – Whispering, Disbelieving & Shocked] What is all this? It's like everything suddenly turned into a negative image out of nowhere!! -

  It became visible that after this subtle change in perception caused by Kalik, every trace of blood and every piece of the bizarre humanoid creature staining the hallway had simply vanished.

  [Harry – Whispering, Disbelieving & Shocked] That boy... Kalik. He made everything go back to normal as if it were nothing. I must be losing my mind... [Shaky & Deep Breathing] -

  Harry, stunned and overwhelmed, noticed that not only the visible remnants of what had happened in the last minutes had disappeared— but time itself, previously slowed intentionally by Kalik, had regained its natural flow throughout the entire school.

  All students and teachers, inside their respective classrooms, returned to their normal rhythm without even noticing that they had almost been frozen during the deceleration caused by Kalik.

  He had slowed time so he could act without being disturbed by anyone he did not wish to interact with. A soft sound of something falling to the floor echoed through the hallway.

  It was no longer filled by the previous silence, but now by the distant voices of people throughout the school, gradually reverberating through that part of the corridor and throughout the once quiet building.

  Téo and Victoria, upon hearing the noise, immediately turned around, realizing it was none other than Harry fainting from fear and nervousness after what he had just witnessed.

  Seeing this scene, the two of them let out a subtle, cheerful laugh, knowing — both Téo and Victoria — that Harry was okay and, above all, safe after everything that had happened in the last few minutes in that school.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  [Téo & Victoria – Whispering, Relieved & Happy] Finally! It's over... [Soft, Serene Exhale] -

  In the middle of that relieved moment, as Téo and Victoria hugged each other so emotionally, they suddenly noticed how close their bodies were, and both became embarrassed.

  Realizing they were far too close — close enough to feel each other's heartbeat, strong yet strangely calm at the same time — they were overwhelmed by a wave of shyness.

  [(Victoria – Whispering, Completely Embarrassed) Wait, I'm really hugging Téo way too tightly... he can definitely feel my heart racing, and I'm doing this right in front of my brother, Harry... (Slightly Unsteady Breathing)]

  [(Téo – Whispering, Completely Embarrassed) Wait... I can feel Victoria's heart beating so strongly... it feels like she's happier than usual... (Slightly Unsteady Breathing)]

  This caused both of them to quickly pull away and stand up, their faces burning red as they tried to change the subject to something completely random.

  Which led to both of them smiling in a spontaneous, goofy way when they realized the other was just as flustered by that sudden, heartfelt hug initiated by Victoria toward Téo.

  [Light, Echoing, Happy Laughter from Téo & Victoria]

  Still Inside the School

  A Few Minutes Later

  In Another Hallway

  Kalik is seen walking beneath a visibly heavy, pensive gaze, pondering what he understood after punching his brother, Téo.

  In the stomach — not truly wishing to grievously hurt him, but rather attempting, more incisively, to reach the essence beneath his brother's present existence.

  [Voices of the students inside the classrooms — echoing and distant]

  Kalik, after sensing the strange essence that Téo now displays in the present — after Téo managed to return from the non-physical world a few months ago.

  Having spent three years trapped there, from age seven to ten, alone and fighting the strange creatures that inhabit that place — is shaken.

  [Voices of the students inside the classrooms — echoing and farther away]

  Kalik is deeply emotional at the confirmation he so desperately wanted to have verified, a confirmation that had been told to him a few weeks earlier by someone.

  With no choice, Kalik finds himself pouring every ounce of his strength into keeping his face unshaken and maintaining a steady posture outwardly.

  In case anyone sees him walking alone down the corridor toward his classroom, while the world around him seems to slow.

  [Voices of the students inside the classrooms — muffled and distant]

  Internally, he is only a few centimeters from collapsing into tears; the tightness in his chest is so suffocating when he thinks of his brother, Téo.

  Unnoticed, Kalik continues to walk with calm steps, his fists clenching tightly as the echo of his younger brother Téo reaches him, telling him that he will protect him and that Kalik will protect him — that no one will hurt them again.

  Immediately after remembering this, Kalik bares his teeth and lowers his gaze, knowing his duty as the older brother: to protect his little brother at any cost, whatever sacrifice that may demand from him.

  [Young girl — whispering, echoing, serene and sincere] Do you believe me now, Kalik? When I tell you that only you can change the fate of your little brother, Téo? [A deep, slow sigh] -

  The moment he hears that voice, so close to one of his ears, Kalik's body halts his forward steps. Those questions reverberate in the corridor while he stands there alone.

  [Young girl — whispering, echoing, serene and sincere] Your greatest nightmare draws nearer and nearer with each passing day — don't you want me to help you change it? [Breath echoing, slow and deep] -

  Kalik slowly lifts his gaze forward; he is visibly desolate inside, even as his outward appearance betrays such strength and courage.

  [Young girl — whispering, echoing, serene and sincere] Especially as your little brother, Téo, draws closer and strengthens his bond with that human girl, Victoria... [Breath echoing, slow and deep] -

  [(Kalik — whispering, slightly trembling and in pain) Stop! I'm one step from breaking into pieces, please... (breathing slightly panting)]

  [Young girl — whispering, echoing, serene and sincere] ...That bond — more and more — unites existences, even those so young, into a single, powerful thing. [Breath echoing, slow and deep] -

  But on a single gust of wind that sweeps the corridor from the open windows, lightly stirring Kalik's school uniform and the cords at his side.

  The sky and the city are visible through the glass, already tinged yellow by the approaching sunset.

  [Young girl — whispering, echoing, serene and sincere] In the future it will become nothing less than Téo's own ruin, even though he does not yet know it in the present — and you are the only one who knows this, and the only one who can change his future. -

  The emergence of a young girl in a graceful black dress embroidered with gold manifested in a completely strange way.

  Her body, within a few instants, was assembled from fragments as if made of glass, giving shape to a smiling figure who, in a certain way, wore a slightly melancholic gaze.

  She was none other than the young girl, Miss Infinity, who had previously spoken so many times with Kalik about everything that was happening with Téo.

  Without him noticing over these past weeks, after Miss Infinity's first imposing appearance before Kalik on the school rooftop several weeks earlier.

  [Kalik — whispering, slightly emotive & pensive] Okay. I will help you with your "thing." I have a duty, as an older brother, to protect my dear little brother, Téo, but... [deep breath] —

  [Infinity — serene & curious voice] ...But? [a small, pleasurable and almost imperceptible laugh] —

  After Miss Infinity said that, Kalik smiled in a way that showed she had obtained what she wanted, without having forced or interfered with Kalik's personal choice to ally himself with her.

  [Kalik — whispering, slightly emotive & pensive] That girl, Victoria, is only an ordinary human — how could she possibly bring harm to my brother in any way, when Téo, like me, is also an Oculi? —

  [Infinity — serene & lightly amused voice] I hope you haven't forgotten that existences have their mysteries, making them even more unique and malleable, Kalik. [deep breath] —

  While Infinity stood a few meters behind Kalik's back, he kept his hands still tightly clenched, gripped by the veracity of the information Infinity had given about the strange change that Téo's essence now seemed to display.

  Growing day by day closer to the singular and unique essence of his best friend, Victoria.

  [Infinity — serene & lightly amused voice] When I look at your little brother, Téo. [deep breath] —

  Upon hearing those words, Kalik felt his heart tighten; he thought to say something, but before his eyes he saw in his mind the last time he had seen Téo at seven years old — smiling and playing in their new home after being adopted.

  [Téo (7 years old) — echoing, cheerful & playful voice] ...When I come back from the mall after having fun with my friend Victoria. Promise me that you and I will have fun together too, another day, Big Brother? [genuinely happy laugh] —

  That echo inside Kalik's mind came from a week before Téo vanished from the physical world and went into the non-physical world.

  After giving everything of himself, still so young, to save his best friend Victoria — also seven years old — during the collapse of the Karsurik Mall three years prior to the present.

  [Young Girl — serene & lightly amused voice] I feel that Téo is drawing more strength from the "void" than a single essence would naturally draw from the beginning to the end of its life cycle in the physical world. [deep breath] —

  And in the blink of an eye, Kalik sees that memory in his mind—seven-year-old Téo, smiling—seeming to flicker and fail, giving way to another memory.

  This new image shows Téo at ten years old, only a few weeks after leaving the non-physical world. His hair is no longer brown, but completely white.

  And his gaze it is both distant and unbearably heavy, as if carrying the weight of something deep within his heart.

  The Past

  One Week Ago

  Outskirts of the City

  Location: Quarantine Zone

  Near the Center of the Zone

  It is observed, in that night without any lights in the streets or inside the buildings of that part of the city, a single person leaping with surreal agility, heading toward somewhere and crossing meters as if it were trivial.

  Among the many surrounding structures, abandoned buildings and houses catch this person's attention; they seem to be looking for something in that area.

  Three years earlier, this area was struck by a powerful earthquake—one of the most intense in recent decades—which brought chaos to the entire region and severely damaged the ground in one part of the city.

  The government, having no choice, closed off the entire risk area, evacuating the residents from their houses and apartments and sealing the region, forbidding any civilian access without government authorization.

  The mysterious person leaps between the still-standing buildings, above one of the five largest structures in that area, surveying the surroundings.

  It becomes clear that it is Kalik, endowed with a faint invisible force that emanates from his body, giving his clothes and hair a subtle effect as if they were submerged in water, due to his smooth movements.

  [Kalik — worried, breathless voice] That agent from Miguel's forces came here fleeing, terrified of someone. I need to catch up to that rookie before he draws suspicion from the humans nearby! -

  When Kalik decides to employ more of his abilities to create an imperceptible sound wave—simulating echolocation over a wider radius—he senses a surreal presence that rises.

  At the same time, that presence dissipates quickly. Kalik immediately realizes that it is not his "ally," but rather someone he would never imagine—the person who most likely wishes to kill his "ally."

  [(Kalik — fearful, worried thought) This must be a joke, this presence is... (heavy, slightly trembling breath)]

  The world seems to slow for a few moments as Kalik turns his body and face in the direction of the person emanating that surreal, bloodthirsty presence.

  Without thinking twice, Kalik immediately pushes off one of the buildings where his feet are planted, creating an expansion of his invisible force for a few meters.

  He returns to his body at the exact moment he propels himself toward his target, producing a pulse of winds in all directions as a direct consequence.

  Kalik advances at high speed through the surrounding darkness, but upon spotting the city lights outside the quarantine area he feels a light tightening in his chest.

  He closes his eyes and, when he opens them again, his Oculi Nigri are revealed—completely black and opaque, without pupils, irises, or any reflection on their surface.

  [(Kalik — apprehensive, worried thought) My little brother, Teo... (tremulous, slightly faltering breath)]

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  — (Act 4 — From the Whitest to the Darkest) —