For a moment, everyone remained silent, looking at each other with uncertainty. It was the first time they had to separate, and no one seemed to know how to organize themselves.

  It was then that Brando stepped forward.

  "Rusty should come with me," he said with a confidence that surprised even himself. His voice resonated with a natural authority he had never shown before. "Tommaso, you should go with Giordano. You're uncle and nephew after all, it's right that way."

  Tommaso nodded slowly, without objections. There was something in Brando's tone that commanded respect.

  "Alessio," Brando continued, looking the veteran in the eyes, "I think you should come with me instead. Giordano is the strongest among all of us thanks to his Cold Enhancer, and among the veterans I got the impression that you're the most experienced in combat. So I think we should balance the strength by not putting you in the same group."

  Alessio stared at him for a moment, then a barely hinted smile appeared on his face. "Makes sense," he said simply.

  "Which means," Brando concluded, turning toward Eleonora, "that you'll go with Giordano and Tommaso."

  Eleonora looked at him with an expression that mixed surprise and approval. "Since when did you become the commander?" However, she didn't seem bothered by this turn, quite the opposite.

  Brando only realized at that moment what he had done. He had taken control of the situation, had given orders to veterans with twenty years of experience, and no one had protested. In fact, they were all looking at him with a new form of respect. Something must have changed. After his act of profound heroism toward Rusty, it was as if everyone now trusted him much more. Without realizing it, he had gained points with the entire group.

  "I'm not commanding," he said, trying to maintain a humble tone. "I'm just proposing an organization. It seemed like the most logical division."

  "It is the most logical division," Giordano confirmed, giving him a resounding pat on the shoulder. "And you did well to say it so clearly."

  Suddenly the Custodian appeared floating among them with her usual sardonic smile. Her kawaii appearance was in stark contrast to the moment.

  【Ah, what a beautiful family scene! It always moves me to see how humans organize themselves before going to die!】

  "Custodian," Brando said, trying to ignore her presence. "What do you want?"

  The whale did an amused pirouette.

  【Some service information.】

  Two portals materialized in front of them as she spoke. The first was an arch of pulsing golden light. The second was the entrance to a black obsidian cave that looked like a gaping mouth, from which came the rhythmic sound of hammers beating on anvils.

  【The Path of Light!】The Custodian announced, pointing to the golden portal. 【Where you will find the Keeper of Lost Memories. A kind and peaceful being who will help you purify your hearts through trials of spiritual illumination.】

  The whale's tone suggested that "kind and peaceful" weren't exactly the right terms.

  【And the Path of Shadow!】she continued, pointing to the dark cave. 【Where dwells a fire artist who has a particular passion for creating unique works of art. I hope you have a good pain threshold!】

  "What do you mean?" Alessio asked, staring at the cave entrance.

  【Oh, you'll find out soon! But I warn you: both Paths require commitment, sweat, and sacrifice. And then one important thing!】The whale added, suddenly more serious. 【The Paths will close behind you. You won't be able to turn back and you won't be able to reunite until you've completed your trials. So... may your last words be meaningful!】

  The moment of separation came naturally. Giordano approached Brando and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

  "Don't do stupid shit in there," he said with a crooked smile. "Don't die like a weakling."

  Brando laughed. "You're one to talk, launching yourself against the Colossus with a ring you didn't even know how to use."

  "Well, it works too well, doesn't it?" Giordano shrugged. "Anyway, see you on the other side. Maybe this time I'll manage to get more Evolution Points than you."

  "Dream on," Brando replied. "In the end, I'll always be the one saving everyone else's ass, all the Evolution Points will go to me."

  It was their way of saying "be careful" without seeming weak. Twenty years of CryoGame had taught the veterans, and now them too, that excessive emotionality before a mission brought bad luck.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  The two groups separated, heading toward their respective portals. Brando, Alessio, and Rusty approached the entrance to the Path of Shadow. As soon as they crossed the threshold, the atmosphere changed dramatically. It was no longer the electric world they had just left.

  The heat hit them like a blast to the eyes, dry and intense like the inside of an oven. They began to advance and the sound of their steps echoed substantially in the cave.

  "Incredible," Alessio murmured. "It's like being inside a volcano."

  "At least there's no lightning," Brando replied, trying to lighten the tension. Rusty trotted among them cheerfully. They descended along a lava stone path that serpentined downward. The cave walls were pure obsidian, so black they seemed liquid, and reflected their images in a distorted way.

  "You know," Alessio said as they walked, "it's strange. After twenty years trapped in here, I thought I'd forgotten how to walk beside someone flesh and blood."

  "It must have been difficult," Brando admitted, looking at the lava stone path ahead of them. "Twenty years in here is an incredible amount of time."

  "Time in here is relative," Alessio replied, his armor clinking with each step. "There are days that seem like years and years that seem like days. But every day I ask myself the same question: how has the world out there changed?"

  Brando reflected for a moment. "I'm not the right person to answer that question. I come from the neighborhoods, I haven't seen much beyond my area."

  "Neighborhoods? Which one in particular?"

  "Rione Sanità."

  "Rione Sanità? The one a stone's throw from the historic center of old Naples? Does it still exist?" Alessio asked with genuine curiosity. "When I was alive there was always talk of urban redevelopment projects."

  "It still exists," Brando smiled bitterly. "And I'd say it's gotten worse. More crime, more poverty. The rich have gotten richer, the poor have stayed poor. The usual story."

  Alessio nodded thoughtfully. "Some things never change, I guess. And the Academy? Is it still the same place where the Houses' children feel superior to everyone else?"

  "Definitely," Brando confirmed. "Actually, I'd say the divisions are more marked than before. Ranks matter more and how your Cold Veins are made determines everything. As a Zeta I was spitting blood daily."

  "And you, despite this, managed to get this far," Alessio observed. "An orphan from Rione who entered CryoGame to become stronger. A Zeta given a chance. I have to tell you that in my time I think you wouldn't have been admitted."

  "It was my right to enter Vesuvius Academy, they tried to take it from me but I resisted," Brando shrugged. "And then I didn't have much choice. What was the alternative, go back to the orphanage? No thanks. I didn't live a good life in that place."

  Rusty emitted a small growl, as if wanting to remind everyone of his presence. The path then suddenly became steeper and the heat more intense. Brando could feel sweat becoming increasingly present on his forehead.

  "You know what I learned in these twenty years in here?" Alessio continued after a moment of silence. "That everything I believed about power and strength was wrong."

  "What do you mean?" Brando asked, curious despite the discomfort of the growing heat.

  "As you know, I came from one of the Eight Houses," Alessio explained. "The Ferraras. My father controlled half of Polis's information networks. Growing up, I thought power meant control, influence, the ability to manipulate information. Then I ended up in here, in the experiment of the 75. I was nineteen, full of arrogance and certainties. I thought my surname would protect me, that my privileged education would give me an advantage."

  The sound of their steps echoed in the cave as they descended deeper and deeper.

  "But in here none of that matters. It doesn't matter if your father controls the media or if you come from a powerful family. When a Mechanical Colossus jumps on you out of nowhere, the only thing you can do is fight and hope you'll stay alive tomorrow."

  Alessio stopped for a moment, looking at the obsidian walls surrounding them.

  "I've seen companions fall who I thought would definitely make it. Kids from the Eight Houses, trained from childhood to be the best, who died in the first clash because they shit themselves. And I've seen others, those everyone underestimated, find a strength they didn't know they had."

  His armor creaked as he resumed walking.

  "Twenty years in here taught me that real power isn't inherited. It's forged in fire, tempered in suffering. And it often emerges from people the world has decided to ignore."

  Brando walked in silence for a few moments, absorbing those words.

  "I don't know if I'm the right person for what you're saying. Until a few weeks ago I was just a kid trying to survive in Rione Sanità. I didn't have big plans or noble goals."

  "And now?" Alessio asked.

  Brando looked at the reddish glow coming from the bottom of the cave. "Now I have Cold Veins, I have the chance to turn the tables. And above all, I have someone who counts on me. Giordano, Rusty... even you veterans. And for the first time in my life, I feel like I can make a difference."

  "There," Alessio said with a half-smile in his voice. "That's the real power I was talking about."

  The path suddenly opened into an immense cave. It was a natural furnace carved into living rock, with obsidian stalactites hanging from the ceiling like dragon teeth. In the center, surrounded by channels where incandescent lava flowed, stood an obsidian anvil so large it seemed like a sacrificial altar.

  But what immediately captured their attention was the figure chained to the anvil.

  It was a massive and deformed creature, with burned skin that cracked revealing incandescent magma underneath. Its arms were disproportionately long, clearly adapted for beating the forge, and ended in hands that seemed able to transform into blacksmith tools as needed. Its eyes were pools of white fire that burned without being consumed.

  When it saw them, the creature exploded in hysterical laughter.

  "Oh, oh, OH! Visitors!" it burst out laughing, clapping its hands like an excited child. "Fantastic! Wonderful! It's been at least... mmh..." it began counting on its fingers, then stopped for no apparent reason. "Doesn't matter! What do you want? A weapon? I make everything with metal! I am the metal and the metal is me!"

  Brando exchanged a perplexed look with Alessio. The creature seemed completely insane, but there was something tragically fascinating about its eccentricity.

  "Who are you?" Brando asked cautiously.

  "Who am I? WHO AM I?" The creature made a theatrical jump while the chains clinked and then blocked it, bringing it back to the ground with force.

  "Ouch! I was saying: I am Maleth, the Last Forger. My respects!" he announced with an exaggerated bow that almost made him fall from the anvil.

  And it was at that moment that a holographic screen suddenly appeared in front of Brando, making him jump:

  【QUEST ACTIVATED: The Three Eccentric Trials】

  【Objective: Overcome Maleth's trials】

  【Reward: Cold Enhancer "The 20 Damned"】

  【Difficulty: Extreme】

  "The 20 Damned?" Brando murmured, reading the reward. The name alone sounded sinister and powerful.