Past
During the Last 3 Years
From Victoria's Perspective
Location: Physical World
Returning to the past, Victoria remembered her seventh birthday, when only Téo was one of the classmates who actually came after being invited to her party.
That made her feel sad for a few minutes, weighed down by a painful feeling tightening her heart, making her think that none of her classmates cared about her.
After a few minutes, Téo managed to cheer her up with silly, joyful jokes, helped by all of Victoria's family, including her older sister, Mia, and her older brother, Harry.
This allowed her to let go of that bad feeling and smile again, even with the last traces of tears still sliding down her cheeks.
As the minutes passed, several fun moments between Téo and Victoria unfolded, lifting the spirits of everyone in the house-everyone except the two of them.
[Happy and playful laughter from Téo and Victoria playing]
The way they looked at each other, even so young, conveyed a beautiful and magical connection, almost contagious in the happiness they shared as they played.
Their expressions and laughter revealed innocent and pure hearts beautifully connected, showing a true friendship, even though they were only seven years old with just a few months of school together.
This left Victoria's family with the feeling that, in the future, this bond would bring them even closer and help them overcome the difficulties that come with growing up and learning about more complex things in life.
[Victoria from the Past (7 years old) - Courageous and playful voice] ...Let's play near the lake, Téo! -
After a few minutes, the scene focused on Téo running after Victoria, playing knights like in the cartoons they loved watching on TV.
Now they were near the lake at the back of the property, which covered the entire wheat-growing area, with the farmhouse in the center, where Victoria and her family lived.
[Victoria from the Past (7 years old) - Happy and playful voice] With you by my side, Sir Téo, we will conquer the world. Remember that line? [Happy & motivated laugh] -
[Téo from the Past (7 years old) - Happy and playful voice] Yes, Lady Victoria! We will conquer the world together! [Happy & motivated laugh] -
The connection between them was undeniable, as if their hearts were somehow intertwined, becoming best friends and constantly bringing smiles and laughter to each other's lips.
So many trivial, yet meaningful and important memories intertwined with the few others they were able to share before the tragic collapse of the Karsurik Mall a few weeks after Victoria's seventh birthday.
With intense emotional force, Téo activated his Oculi abilities, sacrificing a large part of his physical existence to successfully save Victoria's life-she had been moments away from being buried and killed, crying and begging for Téo's help as debris fell around her.
[Victoria from the Past (7 years old) - Echoing, frightened & trembling scream] ...TéO!! [Desperate & broken] -
[Sound of a collapse & subtle sonic pulse]
[Téo from the Past (7 years old) - Echoing, furious & determined scream] VICTORIA!! [Panting & trembling breath] -
After the pain of Téo's mysterious disappearance within the rubble, and after she regained consciousness in the hospital hours later, came the collective erasure of Téo and his physical existence.
She became the only person who still remembered him after the terrifying events at Karsurik Mall.
[Victoria from the Past (7 years old) - Whispering, tearful & painful] Téo, why... without you by my side... [Deep, broken breath] -
Months of arguments trying to prove Téo's existence led Victoria to an early acceptance of emotional maturity. At almost eight years old, she faced reality head-on.
[Victoria from the Past (8 years old) - Whispering, tearful & painful] My heart hurts so much when I remember you having fun with me... [Deep, broken breath] -
Faced with the emptiness and pain, Victoria, at nine years old, understood the harsh truth that made her cry for many nights alone in her room, longing for Téo's presence back in her life.
[Victoria from the Past (8 years old) - Whispering, tearful & painful] Téo, I don't know where you are now, but... [Soft emotional & tearful laugh] -
But she realized she was the only one who remembered Téo and his existence, even after so many months of his mysterious disappearance-a disappearance she still didn't know was tied to the cost of saving her life amidst the debris.
[Victoria from the Past (9 years old) - Thoughtful & painful whisper] I miss you so much after these two years, my annoying and unbearable idiot... [Trembling & tearful little laugh] -
For three long years, Victoria tried to learn how to handle the aching pain in her chest whenever she thought about Téo.
Yet, from time to time, she would break into soft crying fits whenever the anniversary of the mall collapse approached.
One day earlier, she had her best friend by her side, and on the next, she was the only person in the world who remembered him-for reasons that made her feel unbearably alone.
[Victoria from the Past (10 years old) - Deeply painful whisper] Téo... Téo... Téo... [Deep, emotional & angry sigh] -
During the Same Last 3 Years
From Téo's Perspective
Location: Non-Physical World
After managing to save Victoria - the person who mattered most to him - from being buried alive right before his eyes, Téo found himself awakening in a dark and strange place.
At first, it seemed completely empty and infinite in every direction around him. Téo tried to glimpse any sort of end in that pitch-black horizon.
[Téo from the Past (7 years old) - Echoing, confused voice] Where is Victoria? Did I save her? [Uneasy & trembling breath] -
[Téo from the Past (7 years old) - Echoing, confused voice] Wait... where was I taken? [Uneasy & trembling breath] -
However, the loneliness he felt - expressed through his desperate screams for help - was about to be interrupted.
His presence was not considered welcome by the inhabitants who had been sleeping deeply moments before, but who gradually awakened within that darkness.
During the first days, he remained isolated, attempting to find a possible escape from that place. Yet, at a certain moment during his search, he realized he was no longer alone.
Following a new temporal shift, Téo appeared still as his 7-year-old self, but with slightly longer hair, torn clothing, and stains of dried black blood.
Even though his appearance resembled that of a human, beneath that skin he was, in essence, unmistakably an Oculi Albi.
[Téo from the Past (7 years old) - Confident & determined voice] I will return to my best friend, Victoria! [Furious & breathless scream] -
[Intense echoing pulses & several heavy impacts]
Téo showed small open cuts and already-healed scars across a large portion of his back - the result of attacks he had suffered in that shadowy place in every possible sense.
With each break between the brutal battles, which lasted little more than two hours, the number of bizarre humanoid creatures wishing to kill him visibly increased.
Some of these creatures had multiple arms or heads of different sizes on their bodies.
Their bodies were viscous in texture, with a tone resembling petroleum, composed only of muscles and nerves - no skin.
All of them attacked Téo relentlessly, seemingly intent on consuming his body at any cost, for he was an "anomaly" that should never exist in the non-physical world under any circumstance.
As several weeks passed, Téo was forced to learn how to defend himself to avoid dying, preventing himself from being severely injured again and again as the battles grew increasingly brutal and violent.
It became clear, across the countless fights he was forced not only to endure but to end brutally, that these creatures - of ever-changing, increasingly varied sizes - would not stop advancing toward him until they were completely eliminated, leaving nothing behind but piles of their bodies stacked upon one another.
All those bizarre creatures had empty gazes and smiles with twisted teeth inside mouths that seemed torn open, amplifying their expression of ferocity and their apparent delight in reaching Téo at any cost.
[Simultaneous amused, animalistic & bizarre screams echoing]
After spending so much time fighting to stay alive, Téo developed extremely precise reflexes that allowed him to dodge mortal blows while also sharpening his Oculi abilities.
This granted him the strength necessary for his punches and kicks to strike the bodies of those creatures with surreal speed, shattering them once they were brutally hit by him.
[Simultaneous amused, animalistic & bizarre screams echoing]
After Some Time Had Passed
Still in the Non-Physical World
With a gentle blink, that place transformed once again - and it wasn't only the place that changed, but Téo himself.
He now appeared as his 8-year-old self, climbing with weary steps what seemed to be a small mountain, which revealed its true nature the moment he reached its peak.
[Deeply echoing, exhausted & determined breathing from Téo]
It was not a small mountain at all, but a colossal pile of humanoids and creatures - torn apart, disfigured, and lifeless beneath his feet.
As his heavy breathing echoed outward, he began speaking again to something approaching fiercely from the horizon.
[Téo from the Past (8 years old) - exhausted & determined voice] I can't give up, not yet... I have to keep getting back up! [Dry, painful cough] -
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[Extremely shrill, echoing, animalistic screams - disturbingly playful]
[Téo from the Past (8 years old) - tired & trembling voice] I have to stay strong, no matter what it costs... [Dry, painful cough] -
You could see that unique sight of Téo standing atop the massive heap of corpses - the very creatures he had previously eliminated with his own fists and kicks, using his Oculi abilities to their fullest.
More and more, it became visually evident that an invisible, wavering force was radiating from his body, making not only his torn clothes sway gently, but his hair as well.
It was noticeable that his once brown hair had turned completely white - a direct consequence of the continuous use of his latent Oculi abilities, pushed to the highest level a young eight-year-old child could possibly withstand.
[Echoing extremely shrill, animalistic & disturbingly playful laughter]
After Some Time Had Passed
Still in the Non-Physical World
And then, after days, weeks, months of violently arduous battles - and amid the nearly thousands of fights Téo had been forced to face alone in that place against countless hordes of those bizarre creatures surrounding him - creatures that seemed to come for him from time to time.
As if they desired something burning within him, something intertwined with Téo's uniquely singular essence.
At ten years old, Téo formed a confident smile on his lips as he clenched his fists tightly, containing the undulating force emanating from his body - a force that subtly distorted the environment around him within a few meters.
[Téo from the Past (10 years old) - Exhausted & Trembling Voice] Victoria... [Dry, deeply painful cough] -
[Echoing Voice of Victoria (6 years old), from the Past - Whispering, happy & affectionate] ...What is it, you big dummy? [Cute, soft laugh] -
Téo channeled his strength into his fists and arms, reinforcing his next blows even further as a new horde of creatures advanced toward him across the endless horizon surrounding him.
Creatures whose muscular structures appeared even more robust, giving the impression that they had adapted not to Téo himself, but to the continuous expansion of his Oculi abilities as he pushed ever closer to an unreachable limit.
They were all only minutes away from reaching him, screaming his name in a way that was simultaneously pleasurable, desperately bizarre, and nauseating.
[Téo from the Past (10 years old) - Tired & trembling voice] My greatest wish is to see your cute smile one more time, you annoying girl... [Dry, breathless cough] -
[Echoing Voice of Victoria (6 years old) - Whispering, happy & affectionate] ...My smile isn't that cute, and you're making me embarrassed. [Attentive, slightly deep sigh] -
Téo lifted his face, stretching a smile across his slightly injured lips - a smile that showed the single reason that kept him surviving in that anguishing and relentless place.
[Téo from the Past (10 years old) - Tired & trembling voice] Victoria... please... [Dry, breathless cough] -
[Echoing Voice of Victoria (7 years old) - Whispering, happy & affectionate] Téo! I'm right by your side, and... I won't leave you alone, you big dummy! [Attentive, playful laugh] -
That reason was nothing less than the special memories he had with Victoria before waking up in that place - after saving her when they were both only seven years old.
It revealed that, unknowingly, Téo had used his Oculi abilities in a completely uncontrolled manner back then, consuming 99.9% of his own physical existence as fuel to alter the horrific, fatal destiny that awaited his best friend, Victoria.
Back in the non-physical world, the focus shifted to Téo's eyes - previously closed - now opening once more, though no longer resembling human eyes.
Instead, they showed no pupils, no irises, no shine - only an infinite, pure white filling his gaze. A clear sign that he was using his Oculi abilities at their maximum, fully controlled.
It also became evident that this release of Oculi energy was done in a way that would prevent Téo from collapsing and destroying himself mentally.
So many emotions and feelings bubbled within Téo's young heart - a heart that seemed heavier due to all the painful moments he had endured in that place.
[Echo of hundreds of footsteps running ferociously & animalistic laughter]
[Téo from the Past (10 years old) - Exhausted scream, extremely motivated] DO YOU REALLY THINK THIS WILL BE ENOUGH TO MAKE ME GIVE UP ON REACHING HER? [Violent, dry cough] -
Victoria's playful laughter echoed through his mind, calling to him, encouraging him not to give up, begging him to reach her so they could play together once more.
Téo looked around with an expression of total emptiness, even though his eyes - blindingly white - showed no brightness or reflection. He stood atop a pile of destroyed bodies, higher above the ground than before.
[Extremely high-pitched, pleasurable, grotesquely sadistic screams]
Before taking his combat stance again - something he had already done countless times - it was noticeable that Téo still maintained a confident, motivated smile on his lips.
The perspective lifted toward the sky above him, circling around and revealing that, in every direction, a massive horde advanced toward him - their grotesque, fully red eyes illuminating the darkness that enveloped Téo at the center.
[Extremely gleeful, grotesquely sadistic animalistic screams]
After a deep breath, Téo felt the world around him slow down momentarily. His clothes and hair appeared submerged in gentle movements caused by the increasingly intense emanation of his invisible, wavering force.
Then, in his mind, a familiar memory echoed - Victoria's shy, teasing, playful voice from the past, asking him provocatively if he was ready to defeat the whole world by her side.
[Téo from the Past (10 years old) - Serene & confident whisper] Yes... I'm ready, Victoria... [Slightly happy breath] -
In that instant, Téo launched forward, generating a pulse beneath him.
He resembled a luminous white bolt as he advanced, shouting with the explosive force of his emotions and feelings, sensing that Victoria was guiding him through the surrounding darkness.
A Few Hours Later
Still Within the Non-Physical World
From an aerial perspective over that bloody, surreal battlefield, one could see Téo advancing without the slightest mercy, cutting through the air at high speed.
He leapt and dodged the attacks of those creatures with insect-like arms and twisted flesh over exposed bones, as well as their bites, whose teeth glowed with an intense red light.
With tremendous speed and agility, spinning several times midair, Téo managed to strike with his fists and kicks with overwhelming brutality.
Those many creatures-each the size of a thirty-story building-towered over his small body, yet his immense strength compensated for his lack of height.
[Téo of the Past (10 years old) - Serene & Imposing Voice] Her smiling memories, engraved in my heart, continued to guide me through the darkness... [Deep & Angry Breath] -
While all of that unfolded in the brutality of the battle, Téo simultaneously made an unexpected move: he observed himself.
As a result, after launching himself several meters above the creatures, he began to float. At that moment, he stood above all of them, while they immediately leapt toward him like animals obsessed with his existence.
[Extremely High-Pitched, Animalistic Screams - Pleasurable & Bizarrely Sadistic]
Téo then initiated a movement that appeared to be a simple kick toward one of the larger creatures, which was seconds away from devouring him whole with its enormous mouth filled with twisted, grotesque teeth.
[Echoing, Extremely High-Pitched Laughs - Animalistic & Bizarrely Amused]
It became gradually perceptible that the invisible force emanating from his body was condensing entirely into a single point-his legs, more specifically one of his feet-as he prepared to finish the kick in midair with all his strength.
During all this, Téo smiled with complete confidence as he was swallowed whole for a few moments by the creature, which expressed pure pleasure at having achieved that long-desired feat.
And amid the echo of his laughter, the bizarre creature that devoured him-initially thrilled-suddenly changed its expression. One could see in its red eyes the rising terror spreading through its entire body for some unknown reason.
[A faint echo of Téo laughing - completely empty & sadistic]
[Téo of the Past (10 years old) - Echoing Whisper, Completely Empty] Hey... die! [Slightly Pleasurable Breath] -
After those single whispered words from Téo, the creature's head suddenly exploded into thousands of pieces, a shockwave erupting outward from within its own closed mouth.
[Echo of Téo letting out a long laugh - Empty & Cheerful]
[Echoing Sad & Painful Voice of Victoria (8 years old)] Téo... [Slow, Heavy Sigh] -
Now Téo floated there after that surreal act, surrounded by the many torn pieces still flying through the air from the creature that had been brutally killed.
The perspective shifted to a higher vantage point. It revealed far more creatures-initially terrified by such brutality, yet now seeming to feel an even greater, genuine delight.
Because he was still alive, and because his essence had transformed into something even more unique, all of them became even more obsessed with devouring his body.
[Echo of Téo letting out a long laugh - Empty & Cheerful]
[Echoing Sad & Painful Voice of Victoria (9 years old)] Téo... I want so much to see you one more time... [Slow, Heavy Sigh] -
Each creature, with its twisted and grotesque appearance, advanced upward toward Téo, opening their mouths to reveal sharp teeth while stretching their grotesque hands and pointed fingers to reach him.
Meanwhile, Téo remained suspended in the air, looking upward with an aura of complete superiority as a strange light gradually began to open in the previously pitch-black sky several meters above him.
[Echo of Téo letting out a long laugh - Empty & Cheerful]
[Echoing Sad & Painful Voice of Victoria (10 years old)] Téo, don't leave me alone... I miss you so much... [Slow, Heavy Sigh] -
As Téo heard the voice of an older Victoria reach him for the first time in so long within that place, he formed an extremely joyful smile on his lips.
Above him, a small, intense glow began to expand, growing brighter against the darkness of the sky and the swarm of creatures below.
[Echoing sound of Téo breathing slowly & deeply]
[Echoing Sad & Painful Voice of Victoria (10 years old)] ...PLEASE, TéO! [Heavy, Tearful Sigh] -
The moment Téo realized that the thing opening in the sky was, in fact, a kind of crack connecting the non-physical world where he had been trapped for almost three years to the physical world where Victoria was still calling out to him, everything shifted.
Faced with all of that, Téo closed his eyes as he felt his body gradually fall, unable to keep floating for much longer.
He slowly began to descend toward the creatures, which seemed to show joy upon realizing he had possibly run out of his Oculi strength.
But in truth, it was the opposite of what they believed. In an unexpected movement, Téo twisted in the air and positioned himself toward the ground.
What followed appeared to be a movement gathering all his strength once more - initiating what seemed to be a punch, infused with everything he still had, aimed at the ground several meters below him as he hovered.
In a single second, his entire body transformed into thick, black smoke; in the next, he was now formed of dense, brilliantly shimmering white smoke.
In the third second, Téo returned to his normal appearance, screaming with all his strength as he punched the air for some random, inexplicable reason.
But the direct consequence of this seemingly random act was a shockwave being launched toward the ground beneath him, still floating - which indirectly propelled him upward at high speed.
[Téo from the Past (10 years old) - serene & empty whisper] I order every one of you to disappear... [Soft, pleasurable laugh] -
[Echoing, extremely high-pitched, animalistic & disturbingly playful laughs]
[Téo from the Past (10 years old) - confident & imposing scream] ...BECAUSE NONE OF YOU WILL EVER MAKE ME GIVE UP ON REACHING HER AGAIN!!!! [Deep, enraged breath] -
Simultaneously, the shockwave advanced, slicing through the air toward the ground in a surreal manner, tearing apart a massive portion of the creatures below Téo.
They had been only seconds away from reaching him before he performed that surreal, unexpected motion. All the creatures were thrown down, shattered brutally into pieces.
As if the wind pulse created by his punch in the air forced all of them violently to the ground.
The scene expands to a wider perspective, revealing countless creatures becoming even more disfigured as they were smashed against the earth.
Their sizes made no difference; they erupted into a surreal explosion of black liquid spreading everywhere across the ground, merging at the same time that the shockwave released by Téo's punch hit.
[Echoing sound of Téo's strong heartbeat]
[Victoria's Voice from the Past (6 years old)] ...When we grow up and get older, we will never be apart, understood, Téo!! [Playful & joyful laugh] -
After delivering the punch that created the shockwave toward the ground, Téo was launched upward like a slingshot toward the crack - his true objective since the beginning, before that random motion.
The white crack open in the sky shone brightly above everyone there, cutting through what had once seemed an eternal darkness. Téo was then seen soaring upward at high speed after gaining momentum from his punch aimed downward.
[Echoing sound of Téo's heartbeat, even stronger]
[Victoria's Voice from the Past (6 years old)] ...Téo, you are the most annoying friend in the whole world! [Echoing, affectionate little laugh] -
With every meter Téo advanced upward, the white glow from the crack intensified, and Victoria's crying voice, whispering his name, grew clearer.
These were not voices from the past, but from the present - from outside the place where he had been trapped alone for three years. The perspective then shifted farther away from Téo.
In that surreal moment, he seemed to move within a slowed temporal flow. Now much higher in that endless sky, it became visible that he did not face merely a few hundred creatures coming toward him.
[Echoing sound of Téo's heartbeat, now far stronger]
[Victoria's Voice from the Past (7 years old)] ...It'll be you and me, the strongest in the whole world. Just like the "good guys" from the cartoon we love watching on TV. [Playful & joyful laugh] -
Instead, there were hundreds of millions of them - their red eyes glowing across the infinite, dark horizon - ranging from grotesque monstrosities to bizarre humanoid figures sprinting toward him.
As the surreal scene unfolds, Téo watches himself seeming to ascend toward the sky, heading straight for the crack opened in the luminous heavens.
He moves forward cutting through the air like a scarlet-white comet, shining more and more intensely, his glow growing gradually stronger.
[Echoing sound of Téo's much stronger heartbeat]
[Echoing voice from Victoria's past (7 years old)] Téo, you're the best friend in the world!! [Playful & joyful laughter] -
With every new meter Téo advances toward the radiant crack, memories rise in his mind - countless moments when he watched Victoria spin happily in front of him, playing, her long dress flowing, the dress she loved to wear every day.
The gentle sway of her dress could be seen so gracefully as the breeze of that day brushed against it - a day that was not only special for Téo, but also for Victoria.
After she stopped spinning, she smiled, made a funny face, and teased him, leaving him slightly embarrassed.
[Echoing voice from Victoria's past (7 years old)] And together we will defeat all the darkness. And that's a promise between best friends, that... [Deep, confident & happy breath] -
[Deep breath from Téo & total silence from his heart]
The perspective shifts again, giving brief focus to a beautiful and striking memory resurfacing in Téo's mind.
It shows the two of them running side by side along the small wooden pier at another moment when they were still 7 years old.
The scene unfolds with both of them smiling, jumping together at the end of the pier, laughing as they fell into the lake to swim on that sunny day, shouting to each other that this was the best day of their lives.
[Echoing voice from Victoria's past (7 years old)] ...We can never break, got it, you big annoying dummy!!! [Deep, confident & happy breath] -
[The echo of an intense, extremely motivated scream from Téo]
The focus then returns to Téo in the non-physical world, as the darkness around him becomes increasingly illuminated.
He manages to pass successfully through the crack in the sky, disappearing from the sight of all the bizarre inhabitants of that place.
Moments later, a blindingly intense light expands in all directions throughout that realm, coming from what is understood to be the crack sealing itself shut - a strange response triggered by Téo's disappearance.
Simultaneously, the echo of agonized screams erupts from the thousands of grotesque creatures and humanoid beings, all calling for Téo at once.
It creates the eerie sensation that they're pleading for his return in a multitude of voices - childish, youthful, adult, and elderly - all overlapping simultaneously.
