A Few Moments Earlier

  Location: Downtown

  Maximus Building

  One could see, above the edge of the rooftop, a young girl with long white hair, wearing a beautiful black dress embroidered with gold.

  Her clothes swayed softly with the breeze that moved through that silent yet illuminated place.

  [(Young Girl — Curious & Playful Thought) So... the final remaining piece has finally been placed on the board.]

  The young girl—her dress fluttering and her long hair dancing softly—was none other than Infinity herself.

  From above, she looked down with an expression of curiosity and joy stamped on her face. Infinity's gaze was focused on the city's central park, not on the main event happening there.

  Instead, she was watching what occurred near the lake in the central park, something nearly imperceptible to anyone within the city.

  Beams of light coming from a somewhat distant part of the lake—more precise than those from the main stage—partially illuminated the sky above the park, which was crowded only near the event itself.

  [(Young Girl — Curious & Playful Thought) This place is getting closer and closer to reaching Unitatem, one of its only two final destinies...]

  To the eyes of any inhabitant of the city or the world, the peaceful nighttime view below would be exactly what they perceived at that moment, looking toward the city from where Infinity now stood.

  However, in truth, Infinity was not viewing the city with ordinary vision. She was contemplating it from a unique perspective.

  Through her enigmatic, mysterious eyes, unlike those of anyone around her—whether inside or outside that great city.

  With those cryptic eyes, she was not seeing the world as others saw it. Instead, the entire scene appeared with inverted colors, its flow of time noticeably slowed.

  Simultaneously, visible only to her, she watched something that seemed to create a column of light extending into the sky, emitting faint pulses in all directions.

  This beam of light originated in an area near the lake, far from the main gathering point in the park, where most people were concentrated at that hour.

  The mysterious light column was perceptible only to Infinity's enigmatic vision, though its singularity might have been felt by a few.

  It reached toward the sky and spread outward in all directions, creating pulses that traveled across the city's heavens toward the horizon. Its radiance easily colored the world—now inverted in Infinity's sight.

  [(Young Girl — Deeply Joyful Thought) An "anomaly" that united two hearts into a single existence, which...]

  A hopeful smile formed on Infinity's face—the first so genuinely born since the day she was created.

  [(Young Girl — Deeply Joyful Thought) ...after finally synchronizing their essences after so many years, now has the ability to bring color to any place shrouded in total darkness.]

  This mysterious beam emerging near the lake lasted only a few seconds in the normal flow of time. But to Infinity's eyes, it looked like a spectacle stretching across an entire eternity.

  When she closed and reopened her eyes, Infinity felt time return to normal, and that mysterious beam of light quickly vanished from her vision, dissolving like sand carried away by the wind into luminous particles.

  [(Young Girl — Deeply Curious Thought) I wish I could clearly see the future of you 'three,' young existences, but...]

  The world then appeared as it truly was to everyone else, as Infinity's eyes shifted back to normal—no longer revealing their enigmatic nature.

  [(Young Girl — Deeply Curious Thought) ...I am forbidden from doing so, by the one who gave me a reason to exist and a purpose to fulfill.]

  Meanwhile, her long hair swayed more strongly as a silent pulse washed over the city. A pulse carrying a comforting sensation of pure, genuine love. It was almost imperceptible to anyone in that vast metropolis.

  It swept through the city within seconds, spreading in all directions toward the horizon before disappearing from sight.

  Its origin was nothing less than the area near the lake in the central park—the place Infinity had been observing so intently moments earlier.

  With a joyful smile on her lips, she lifted her gaze to the night sky of that beautiful evening, now even more special.

  She noticed faint ripples around her, released from her own body in response to what she had sensed, though she didn't fully understand the phenomenon. These energy waves caused no harm to the rooftop around her.

  Instead, they distorted the air slightly within a few meters of her—revealing that the ripples affected not only the environment, but also the very fabric of reality that formed the materials and elements of that world.

  Realizing she was unintentionally releasing her strength, Infinity took a deep breath, trying to calm her lightly agitated essence.

  Simultaneously, she heard calm footsteps approaching from behind, climbing the stairs to the rooftop. Moments after sensing the presence, Infinity snapped her delicate fingers softly.

  With that gentle gesture, she dispersed all the waves radiating from her body, sending them away like a faint breeze across the rooftop.

  [Young Infinity — Calm & Serene Voice] ...It seems I wasn't the only one who felt that coming from the central park, wasn't I, young Kalik? —

  It was revealed that the person standing there was indeed the young Kalik, Téo's older brother. Just a few minutes earlier, he had been on his way home after discreetly watching over Téo and his best friend, Victoria, at the park.

  Upon feeling something intense coming from the lake within the park, he became frightened, caught off guard by the sudden presence of the young Infinity close to him amid all that.

  Without thinking twice, he ended up following her to the rooftop of the building, where she still remained in the present moment.

  [Kalik — curious & concerned voice] Yes, I felt that intense "anomaly" coming from inside the park. Don't tell me that was caused by my little brother Téo's human "best friend"? —

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  [Young Infinity — calm & serene voice] Deep down, you already know the answer before even thinking about asking me, Kalik... —

  Without turning toward Kalik and keeping her back to him, the young Infinity continued to gaze at the night sky. Gradually, her smile seemed to fade from her lips.

  [Young Infinity — empty & serene voice] And yet... you still wish, from the deepest part of your heart, that I would answer you with a lie rather than with the only truth that exists. —

  Exposing to the city a face devoid of any emotion or feeling, she caused a chilling sensation for a few seconds, making every hair on Kalik's body stand on end.

  [Young Infinity — empty & serene voice] So that with this single lie spoken by me, you may feel better about all that is about to unfold from this moment onward... in case you dare to fail the one purpose of your life. [Soft amused & hollow laugh] —

  When Kalik heard those words, he felt his entire body gain a new weight, as the fear he understood to be his greatest began to draw closer.

  He had been looking straight ahead, toward the young Infinity's back as she observed the city just a few meters away.

  But those words she uttered felt like sharp blades cutting even deeper into his heart, causing him to lower his gaze, turning it toward the ground with a heavy, painful expression.

  [Young Infinity — empty & serene voice] You, such premature existences... the ones who live now and the ones who are yet to be born... are so interesting when compared to your potentials, limited by your own essences. —

  Within Kalik's heart, an ocean of feelings and emotions made him feel lost before what would be his greatest fear.

  A fear growing ever closer to becoming reality — not a fear concerning himself, but tied to someone else... the very person who motivated him.

  The one who made him move forward even amid pain and anguish. That person was none other than his younger brother, Téo, who at this moment in time was still only ten years old.

  Kalik, nearly twelve years old, found himself overwhelmed by all those sensations and emotions experienced within mere seconds. He decided to take a deep breath, still with his gaze lowered toward the ground.

  [Young Infinity — empty & serene voice] You are willing to sacrifice everything without thinking twice about the consequences to yourself... all for your little brother... —

  As the storm within his heart began to calm — forcefully, by his own will — Kalik closed his eyes, recalling his younger brother, Téo.

  That memory was the most beautiful one he held within his heart: the two of them playing together in the orphanage where they had grown up since arriving as babies.

  But in the very next moment, behind his closed eyes, Kalik once again saw the most painful memory of his entire life.

  Téo transforming into his current version — with short white hair and a distant, empty gaze — turning his back on him and walking away.

  [Young Infinity — empty & serene voice] But I wish to know what truly motivates you to reject one of the two possible futures that he will have to live through, Kalik? —

  Kalik, remembering that moment which had occurred a few weeks earlier, decides to open his eyes again, revealing that they are now completely white, without any reflection or iris across their entire surface.

  [Kalik — Confident & Determined Voice] ...What drives me to refuse the painful future my little brother will face may be something simple for anyone to understand—except for you, Infinity. —

  Kalik lifts his gaze from below toward the young Infinity, who now stands fully turned toward him, smiling at such an empty presence.

  [Kalik — Confident & Determined Voice] So... never think that I will give up on him, even if... —

  The air grows denser and at the same time suffocating for anyone—anyone except Kalik, who is consumed, body and soul, by an unshakable love for his little brother, Téo.

  [Kalik — Confident & Determined Voice] I became the one to take his place, so that it would be me—not him—who experiences all the pain of this possible bloody future. —

  The young Infinity, upon seeing that expression overflowing with strength and unbreakable confidence, smiles even more, in a way entirely amused and empty.

  But she is suddenly struck by flashes—two distinct images that seem to overlap the current reality before her.

  The young Infinity realizes that those flashes were nothing less than visions of one of Kalik's futures.

  They were extremely fragmented to her eyes, who could barely and only with great difficulty discern what they depicted.

  [Muffled & Distant Screams of Future Kalik in Total Emotional Agony]

  In one of those two overlaid flashes, she could see the scene of an older Kalik, dressed in black.

  Looking up at the sky, kneeling and screaming, consumed by pain and hatred, his body wounded with shallow open injuries.

  Around this older Kalik, flames burned violently among the ruins of a completely destroyed city, filled with bodies and injured people seeking refuge.

  And in front of that kneeling Kalik, glimpsed only for an instant, lay a person collapsed on the ground—possibly no longer alive.

  Gravely wounded, with hair that had once been a different color now returning to its natural shade as a strong breeze swept through the entire place.

  [(Young Infinity — Thought, Disbelieving & Slightly Trembling) Why...? This should be impossible for me. I shouldn't be able to see the future of any existence... (Deep, frightened breath)]

  In the other image superimposed over the present reality, it was possible to see a different Kalik — this time smiling, no longer crying in agony and emotional pain.

  But he was gravely wounded, bleeding from several lightly-cut parts of his body. His clothes were visibly torn, suggesting the end of a difficult battle.

  A battle he had been involved in just moments earlier. For a few instants, surrounded by the flames burning around him, Kalik managed to gather the last remnants of his strength.

  Just enough to say something to someone standing a few meters away. Yet he was suddenly caught off guard by that same person, who advanced toward him while screaming, consumed by extreme emotional agony.

  This mysterious individual cut through the air toward Kalik, and with disturbing ease pierced his chest with their hand and arm.

  [(Young Infinity — Thought, disbelieving & slightly trembling) Why am I able to see Kalik's future even if only in fragments, why... (Deep, frightened breath)]

  Even in unbearable pain, Kalik continued to smile, tears running down his face and mixing with his own blood.

  Clearly, the person who wounded Kalik was smiling not out of joy, but out of complete pleasure for killing him — driven by whatever had motivated them moments before to do this to Kalik.

  The arm partially embedded in Kalik's chest was then pulled out entirely a few moments later.

  As a consequence, Kalik fell backward, closing his eyes — unmistakably signaling the departure of his life.

  [(Young Infinity — Thought, disbelieving & slightly trembling) I'm feeling something, I... I feel something tightening around my essence more and more strongly, I feel... (Deep, frightened breath)]

  A smile of complete serenity still rested on his lips, while tears mixed with blood trickled from his mouth after he finally reached the ground.

  Around that second Kalik, countless flaming debris could also be seen for several kilometers — the remnants of a city in total destruction where both he and that person stood.

  [(Young Infinity — Thought, disbelieving & slightly trembling) I feel... the pain and the weight of the hearts of these two future versions of Kalik. (Deep, frightened breath)]

  The young Infinity returned to the present definitively, and in an abrupt manner, as if everything she had just experienced had lasted only a few fleeting moments before the world around her.

  As a result, the expression that previously showed a kind of empty amusement gradually shifted into a complete transformation after what she had just lived through in her mind.

  [Kalik — Whispering, Incredulous & Worried] Miss Infinity, you... [Slightly trembling breath] —

  Under Kalik's gaze, that surreal scene unfolded before his unbelieving eyes. A few meters away, he saw Infinity truly crying for some reason he could not understand.

  But the way she looked at him made him feel that whatever she had witnessed had been deeply painful and emotional. Immediately afterward, she ran one of her hands over her eyes.

  It confirmed that she was, in fact, truly crying for the first time — frightened, and at the same time unable to control the tears that continued subtly falling to the ground.

  When Kalik considered walking toward her, unconsciously wanting to offer her some kind of help, he was caught off guard by her turning her back on him, hiding her face from his view in a moment that was as intriguing for her as it was confusing for him.

  [Kalik — Worried & Comforting Voice] Miss Infinity... —

  [Young Infinity — Voice Slightly Trembling & Serious] ...I have to... [Soft catch in her throat] I have to resolve some important things, and you... —

  [Kalik — Worried & Comforting Voice] "You"...? —

  [Young Infinity — Voice Slightly Trembling & Serious] You must fulfill your part of the agreement, in case you still wish to save your little brother, Téo. —

  After this somewhat serious statement addressed to Kalik, he was taken by surprise as her body began to break apart into faint luminous particles, as if she were made of sand dispersing at the touch of the wind.

  Only a few moments later, the young Infinity departed from that place toward another, in a way that seemed mysterious to Kalik — who still had no idea what had made her cry or change her expression so drastically.

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  — (Act 9) — What Unites & Motivates Us —