Seven massive stone thrones that buildings could barely compete within size, surrounded by dozens, if not hundreds, of chairs as tall and sturdy as trees. Many beings sat in those, differing from humans but with humanoid forms. Many have unique fantastic characteristics, such as hair with natural elements and some with multiple arms. Some humanoids had multiple heads with gills, which you could count on your fingers. But everyone remained silent. Contemplating and patiently awaiting something to happen.

  The seven thrones were left vacant, each one emitted an aura, an invisible energy that signified peril if someone dared to touch it. So nobody stood there. All inside a building with a light gold ceiling that seemed to stretch as far as the sky and stone silver walls as far as the sea at sunset. Thousands of tribunal benches lined the inner circle in front of these figures, packed with people of the same supernatural caliber. Yet, they towered lower than most of those behind the thrones, hardly reaching three meters tall. (or almost 10 feet tall). Each column was split by a spacious hall, where a guard stood proudly on duty every couple of rows, watching every single one in what seemed a public procedure.

  On the insides of the seven thrones that formed the semicircles, a few rows of seats away from the center, each chair was distinct from the others but more comfortable. More guards were specifically assigned to each seat to protect those seated there.

  Nobody dared to move or say anything in that place, so the tension was palpable. Only the constant sound of high heels against polished ground broke the silence in the large room, as hundreds of spectators watched a lady walk towards the thrones, filled with curiosity or anticipation. The lady, who stood over eight meters (or twenty-seven feet) tall, wore a fancy white uniform kimono with snowy details that contrasted perfectly with her eight grey beige fox tails with flaming auras.

  What about her figure? She had an hourglass figure with lovely round curves, a diamond chin, light grey pristine sharp eyes, and stylish short hair. Her ears were animalistic rather than human, and her hands were scrawny, with longer fingers than a normal human, almost like long claws with sharpened nails. Her status and grandiose features were reminiscent of a modest yet elegant goddess, with a radiant, fierce aura that intimidated opponents while dominating the environment with each calculated step.

  Between you and me, the narrator, who wouldn't want to be beneath her feet? But that is not the type of story we have today.

  However, it takes little to no time for the general public to return their gaze to the center of that semi-circle of judgment, or the center of the entire room.

  Why wasn't this magnificent figure the center of attention? Was she so tall that people had to break their necks to look at her? No. Everyone was significantly taller than a normal human. Is it because no one had permission to look at her? No, she enjoyed the attention.

  No.

  Everyone was staring at a single, unremarkable human, this goddess-like figure glided away slowly but sensuously, sitting gracefully on the third throne from the right. This guy, however, disregarded it entirely. He was half asleep, half focused on the issue, and he didn't care at all. He even appeared to be quite bored. This unremarkable person with long hair that reaches his hips, broken glasses, and nothing particularly noteworthy to draw notice to other than the absence of undamaged clothing. At least he had his pants to hide the essentials. His half-Hispanic, half-Caucasian nature was concealed by a beard that was just ten days old and poorly maintained, covering the majority of his squared-up chin.

  Eighteen chains were fastened to the ground; they were too heavy to jump with, but they were long enough to go a few meters. Any deliberate harm that the human could reach with his bare hands was far distant from everyone. Six of these iron-heavy restraints on his arms, one in each bicep, one in the elbow, and one in the wrist. Two in each ankle and one in each knee make up his six legs. He had a waist restraint and a stomach restraint. He had two more in his upper and lower chest. One in his neck, and the final one in his forehead, right above his eyes. Nevertheless, he managed to lie down without being bothered by the cold ground or steel.

  She snapped her fingers as she gazed down at their prisoner, and a small block of ice fell across his waist. Reacting with a surge of force and frustration, the human half sprung off the ground, shoving the small lump of ice away. This one spoke in a young, raspy voice to start the conversation.

  “EY YO!!! That was cold! What the fuck!” The person, infuriated by this abrupt treatment, yelled out of his lunges. “Dear God.” There is no need for this type of act, okay? If you gonna kill me, I ain’t gonna resist.” Just cut my head off or…something I don’t know,” "EY YO!!! That was cold! "What the Fuck!" The guy yelled out of his lungs, enraged by this unexpected treatment. "Dear God." There is no need for such an act, okay? If you are going to kill me, I am not going to resist. "Just cut my head off or something I don't know," he shrugged as he finished washing the cold water. "But don't drag this." It's already embarrassing to see your idiotic faces." He ended up snarling as he crossed his arms and looked to the front, only seeing her ankles and feet hanging from the throne.

  But the enormous figure did not respond. With no response, he stood up, noticing the constraints and their weight, before turning around to observe everything. First, to the sides. “Oh dayum, you bunch are here. What’s up? Everything good?…” Then looked at the thrones and chairs, and based on his position, he recognized a few more figures. “Dayum, you are here too? Oh, hey is the kid I rescued. Okay, tons of people here! I won’t cause any ruckus…” And then he turned around, the chains crossing each other and making noises. “Heck, there’s….thousands here.” I even recognize a couple of guards! I kicked your butt!” Was fun not gonna lie…”

  However, the stillness persisted as he stopped talking, observing, perplexed by such an extravagant reunion. Then he looked up to the front. And noticed that, besides the big throne, five more persons sat in these enormous gorgeous giant chairs. Yet the middle remained empty. The human groaned, slightly smug, and crossed his arms. “So this is what it is because of that incident. Alright, alright, fair enough, we can play a bit around-”

  But was cut off when gigantic lances of ice emerged from the floor, hot themselves at the human, only to be stopped barely millimeters away. He instinctively protected his head, but it didn't take a genius to see it was enough to penetrate him like tofu. He stepped back looking at the kitsune figure, letting her time to speak. Her tone was sadistic yet patient, playful yet firm, and kind but threatening. A being that had experience with dealing with such attitudes yet was filled with enough youth to respect it enough.

  “Please human, let’s cool down.” She giggled but with a faint impatient tone. “State your name before the Great Judgment.”

  “The…Great judgment. Really? Is that what you call your first ever international trial you do after you make that council of yours?” In another snap of her fingers, the chains that held the human to the ground began to grow ice, cooling down so quickly that his flesh was red, burned, and even frozen. He jumped around, shivering like a scared chicken, attempting to remove the one in his forehead before weakness overtook him. A cold harmful laugh grew in her voice as he yelled “OKAY OKAY STOP FINE FINE AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH! Will stop being a duper asshole!” The ice subsided, and a light appeared in the afflicted area, beginning to repair it as he muttered. “Just saying that it sounded like a Phoenix Wright game, didn’t have to be this hard…Scrap…or Chump. The name can be Scrap or Chump. Any of you can call me anything.”

  Her laugh increased as the sharp ice lances grew in size, slowly approaching him with a threatening intention. “You think “Chump” is enough to trick us? Or are you just wanting to be frozen to death? I do not-“

  “I am serious!” He threw his hands in the air, in a position of surrendering before stepping back a couple of times. “It is the truth, I wanted to change my name to Chump long ago, but you know, the government I lived in was conquered but yours, so, here we are. LOOK! You have those weird mind powers okay? If you don’t believe me, just use those! Or make one of your people do it, I don’t care! I won’t resist! Got it? Geez just stop with the ice is really cold!”

  She sighed disappointed as she extended her tails, aiming towards the chairs in front and behind hers. After a moment, the tails were retrieved into fluffy armchairs for her and placed in her arms. “You speak the truth, “Chump”. Very well. Tell us, why you did…everything you did?”

  “You mean what happened the last couple of months?… Simple, I wanted to rescue my kin from all of you, as much as I could and as simply as that.” He rubbed his body, looking for his heat.

  “We mean, how did you….achieve… That.” Hinting something so obvious, that she didn’t even try to hide it too much in her tone.

  “That…Oh, you mean that…Well…” He stopped for several seconds before his face and body expression went to a big shrug. “I do not know!”

  “You don’t?!” She responded with anger and surprise as she instantaneously pointed all her tails at him. All of these ignited in a torrent of power, casting a great spell at him.

  During the rite, stories quickly circulated as he acted instinctively and hid behind his chains. Only to discover that “He… does not know.” Not even his subconscious.” The great kitsune spoke, baffled, breaking her double senses words for a moment in those mere seconds as the whole room began filling with noise.

  And then Chump laughed like a maniac, clapping his hands as the chains on him resonated over any general sound. “That is truly hilarious! You don’t know, I don’t know. Nobody here knows! Hahahaha…Well…Maybe we can know if we combine the knowledge!” Those words put intrigue on her face as she expected him to continue. Then he expressed. “Since we are gonna be here for a while between deliberations, pleadings, and the many crimes I am sure many of you want to answer, why I don’t explain the whooooleee story from the day it started until now? And the people in those rows seats beside me, witness accomplices, victims, can help me out filling up the gaps. And perhaps…you may end up knowing how to while I remain clueless.” He smiled with an innocent smirk, as he looked around for general approbation.

  “And why we shall entertain that thought instead of extracting the story from you? You know I can extract all your memories~” She said, as her aura, her magic, slowly began to fill the air around him, depleting the oxygen around him but not so fast to be immediate.

  He coughed as he began to fast explain it “Because you may end up activating it accidentally!” The process stopped as he took a moment to breathe and continue. “Neither you nor I know if death or something worse may trigger to re-appear. WE don’t know why it appeared, but WE know it needed me to do it. It will take longer, days, perhaps even weeks the more I resist your mental powers. And you won’t want to look tired ever, right, your “High” ness? Hahehehehae” He laughed tiredly, but with spite and sadistic tones, intending to hurt her.

  She sighed, rolling her eyes as she waved her hand. “Very well…but make it quick, I don’t want to entertain the idea of you having fun.” Replenishing the air around him.

  “No no, not so fast now. I was a Dungeon Master in the past, I may not be the best narrator but, perhaps if we put at full display all the details in each scenario, it may get all the puzzle pieces. After all…there are many crimes I did in so little time.~”

  ————————————

  50 Days ago

  

  It was a sunny day on the Mediterranean coast—an almost tropical climate of a warm, humid yet peaceful and calming nature that impregnated the air. Birds sang with energy and enthusiasm, flowers bloomed bathed in dew, and the wildlife woke up, roaring and exploring in a new day, as their instincts kicked in. The sun rose through the sea line on the horizon as it lit up the city of Valencia, a town on the coastline of Spain. Silence reigned over the modern streets, as a peaceful morning took over the city.

  Not one single car moved. Not one building lit up a bulb, a light, anything. Machines turned off as only the light breeze made noise in every street. No cable carried their usual electrical power, nor fountains played with their water. Not a sign or sight of the hundreds of chairs that usually would be set up in the first hour of the morning on that beautiful beach, nor any restaurant or shop opened their doors. Pets and wild animals alike ran around the streets as desolation was the norm.

  The plants overgrew the limitations of the hard cement of the pavement and buildings, breaking even the ceramic tiles of the pools and the paint of the walls. All sorts of trash flew through the streets, piling up in any corner they wanted. Some fell into giant holes that filled the cities or the buildings. Others are in cracks made by explosions that occurred a long time ago, only leaving debris where walls should be. The animals hid inside these abandoned streets, even if their buildings began to fall apart in giant chunks of metal, stone, wood, and cement. The structures, the blocks, everything that the humans built up to that day had some form of violent breakdown.

  No human left alive. The streets were filled with bones and old corpses, putrid meat, and squashed rotting guts spread out, splattered, scattered, or crushed. Silhouettes of deceased people in black shades or gigantic cracks on the walls where bones were forcefully inserted. Marks of a violent conflict long finished painted that city. Not a single human, neither a kid nor an adult, was left unscathed. Very little stood intact, as all the tall buildings were brought down to ruins, cut, or obliterated, leaving most of them barely a dozen feet tall with their structure, still standing. Whole blocks burned to the ground, ground to dust, or to tiny pieces, blocking hundreds of meters with rubber. In those where the road was still fairly empty, animals fought each other for meat or dominance.

  In one of the exceptions to these ruins, where it still stood proud at three floors tall. On the top floor, where the ceiling lacked its roof, a young man with long hair and fiddle arms slept on the sofa in a living room. On the dead silent city. The youngster could be seen as someone in his middle 20’s, with long thin curvy hair and small, fragile-looking glasses. He wore a brown, partially torn jacket with a white shirt underneath. Jeans combined with black sports shoes. His clothes lacked the clean slate that anyone would wish for, as they had traces of dirt, blood, and mud all over them. His eyes had bags that anyone could feel his exhaustion by just looking at them, yet his arms and muscles were tense, ready to jump in any moment. In a normal situation, anyone would guessed he could be homeless. His left hand hung out of the furniture, holding a backpack with force. He woke up in a violent cough, as the shakes of his lungs almost made him fall from that rugged couch. He stretched his arms and legs with such calm movements, as a humored cat, and yawned as loudly as a parrot. He slowly took off, walking to what looked like the entrance of that house, holding his phone to check the hour.

  [7:19].

  He sighed in relief. He checked the door entrance, where on its side, an electric generator roared with force yet with such a steady white noise, connected to the electrical system of that household on a shoddy installation. His voice could feel his lack of sleep, as a barely mature male voice spoke, whispering.

  “Working.”

  He nodded at the sight as he walked off to the kitchen, and opened the fridge. “No milk. Only water left. Just. Great.” to take some residual cereal and pour it in cold water. He walked off to the balcony of that apartment floor, but instead of observing the beautiful, colorful, and somehow warm sunrise, his sights were placed in the opposite direction. A strange green, and somewhat rose light cover partially the sky in an unnatural tone, that light rising to the skies, not clear where it lay its end. He sat down with his “breakfast” in one hand, in a plastic chair on that rusty, moldy balcony. With a radio from his pocket, he turned it on, taking a couple of minutes to adjust the signal and place it on his lap. Surprisingly, it took the signal from a faraway radio broadcasting in English. He began to eat as the news broadcast began to shout out, looking between the strange green-looking gigantic wall and some animals fighting for some rotten meat in the nearby park.

  {“This is the Lie News, from South Texas, where we uncovered how things are going on. It has been almost a year since the surge of the “God’s Barrier”, a name given by the general population, that divided the whole world in two. The barrier splits part of Africa, Spain, and Scotland, as well as part of Japan, Russia, Australia, and New Zealand. In three weeks will be the first anniversary of when this interplanetary war began to other-worldly mythical creatures and people-“} A middle-aged woman explained with a soft voice, interrupted by a more rude, tough, and manly voice, that had been smoking way too much.

  [“People?! I am sorry Miss Wellington, but you dare call those things…PEOPLE?! They are monsters who suddenly decided to make an appearance after thousands of years of their speculations and adoration, just to begin to KILL US without a care of the world or saying a single word! Africa has fallen to their hands, as well as most of Europe too! Nothing can’t pass that fricking barrier! Not even nuclear bombs made a dent in that…thing!”] A slam could be heard from that radio speaker, causing the youngster to chuckle a bit at his calm demeanor and almost depressive attitude, taking another bite of his cereals.

  A moment of silence took before the woman continued the broadcast as if nothing interrupted her. [“Russia has allied with the remaining forces of Europe, as well as with China, India, the surviving people of Africa who fled in panic and a rush towards to east…All fronts of Humanity has united towards this new invasion, however, it seems that humanity barely made a dent towards these sturdy, resilient forces. A new invasion has begun on Australia by sea creatures and humanoids, who can casually breathe underwater, taking the south coast as their base of operations and began to push upwards. United States began a new attempt to break the barrier with their new “Laser” technology. We will see how it goes, as the barrier regenerates rapidly if it gets damaged”] As she let his companion speak, this now more irritated but calmer than his anger outburst.

  [“The military, scientists, fucking ANYONE can estimate due to his almost unstoppable that it may take two more years before the whole east falls to this monster. Strangely enough, no movement or attack began towards America in any sense, almost like it was not happening, except of course, due to the uncommunicative to any other part of the world and the obvious screams and pleas for help from that side. All America has declared a united front as most of the population, from the rich men to the low streets, began a movement to prepare for war, as we…could be the next ones.”] as the broadcast kept coming on the news and details how the borders of the human and new world were fighting.

  He muted the radio, as it didn’t want to be reminded of the cruelty of the whole situation.

  He rolled his eyes “Nothing new yet…We were stomped slowly, sadistically cruelly, our weapons barely kept up with their defenses and they came back stronger, faster, and smarter for us to continue to keep up constantly. Heck, even the drones were outnumbered by their “summons”….Fucking magic I swear…We worked so hard and they just …do it!” He commented lowly as he turned off the radio, while looking upwards at the sky with such attention and fixation, only to see a couple of birds flying, “Nothing new. Just. Great.” He checked his phone, which charged all night thanks to the scrappy electrical system he installed.

  [7:54]

  “It is that time again. Let’s get ready.” As he stood up, and made a last check-up to the sky, “No signs once again”. Then put some order on the house. He placed everything back in the kitchen, to add to the pile of unclean dishes. Took his backpack and brought out a laptop with the utmost care he could give, moving it slowly as his fingers trembled -his face showing that didn't want to break anything, half sweating- he placed and opened the computer on top of the table in the living room. Before it was eight o’clock he made a futile attempt to clean himself a bit, or at least to clean everything he could from his face, tho he forgot to shave off the little hairs he had on his chin. At o’clock whatever the laptop tried to load stopped completely, as an application popped up, a video call application of unknown origin. The young man took a bit to just answer that call, heck even acknowledged it, taking a breather before he clicked “Enter” and answered the call.

  On the other side, an older man, with a military-grade haircut, more white hair than black ones, looking in his late thirties or late forties, stayed on the other side of the call, with a more stern and firm voice as he sighed in relief when he saw the young man on the other side. A face that could shout to any cadet going around and impose his truth and reason with his presence. Yet for the young man, his attitude felt slightly different. “I’m glad that you are alive, Chump. The more time passes, the tougher it seems to find people thinking lately. How are you, kid? What’s the situation over there?”

  The young man, took another breather before speaking, trying to have a bit of energy for this reunion. “No flying humanoids or monsters around. No indications or traces of magic around here. No… human survivors, nor any signal of slaves.” He said regrettably “The last three weeks a couple of scout groups explored around, checking every corner. But…nothing new. It seems that they do not have the technology or the knowledge to detect this type of transmission, as well as they competently ignore the uses of the infrastructures around them. But what worries me is that I didn’t see them this last week. Ten days now without a trace of them.” His tone broke a bit off as desperation took over his tone ”Neither human or humanoid…What the satellites are showing? Any fucking progress with the barrier or something?!”

  The colonel wasn’t used to being yelled at, a nervous tick appeared on his eye, but he took patience and put his pride away, as his face showed his comprehension of the youngster's situation, “No kid, we did our best but whatever it is…it can regenerate faster than we can attack. The thickness of that barrier has even increased the last month, up to six yards…or what would be around five and a half meters for you.” The young man still tried to accept the horrible news, when the colonel spoke once again, continuing his report, “However, we noticed something…quite curious. The wild plants and animals, completely ignored this barrier and walked through…or better say, is like this barrier allowed the entrance of things that weren’t influenced by human nature.”

  It took the man a moment before breathing correctly and answering “That’s why it explains why the planet wasn’t cut in half by this enormous barrier, it allows anything that ain’t our influence…Dirt, plants, microbes, the air, the clouds, animals.” He took a moment to breathe again and calm himself down “Just. Great. Fantastic even, but it won’t allow us to go through. Of course, that’s the fricking point…Look, I know th-“

  “Kid.” The old man interrupted him to gain his attention, and once he sensed the young was stable, he continued. “I ain’t suppose to do this, but I made my boys send you everything we have about them. You may be alone there, but I hope for you, that you will get out of there alive.”

  He felt a mix of emotions, a tiny shy smile appeared on his face as the colonel trusted him more to give him this type of access to knowledge, but the “out of there alive” resonated in his head, like an echo in a mountain that never ceased. The comment startled a bit the young man as he received, through satellite, the documents and video footage of the front lines. Montages of massacres and guerrillas occurred, with thousands of screaming that would never stop in the background. Something that he would barely glance at, not giving much attention except for one minor detail. Every magic creature, humanoid, or species had its powers originating from sudden lights that appear on their bodies, coming from different parts, depending on the creature. “It looks like … it's organic “magic” somehow…How much have you gathered?”

  “Around ten giga-bytes, but my men made it that every document you receive is fully detailed, or whatever is done… hmm…” The old man pondered for a moment before he looked at the tiny note on his screen.

  The civilian began to reproduce the videos on the screen, splitting in two as he asked with curiosity “Alright,… could you tell me about the nearest survivors?” He asked as his hands took a notebook and a pencil to write anything down.

  But the colonel stood silent as he began to show emotions other than his serious voice, as his stomach began to metaphorically revolve on itself. “They are captured…the surviving groups in the whole Iberian Peninsula as well as in France…Scotland is resisting, of course, those fuckers could pull it off but…”

  Chump placed his hand on his chin, in a thinking trance while hearing him and watching part of the footage over his phone. His face showed his fear and pain that no one near him was to assist him with anything he felt the desperation to be alone but tried to mask it under a positive facade. “But? But what? Also, where is the rest of the team? You usually have your people behind you but this time you're in your office…” But was interrupted

  “Honorary soldier, Chump…This is our last reunion. Higher-ups consider this a waste of our time, that you…are a walking dead man.” The old man showed hidden guilt as he closed his eyes and nodded, before explaining, “They began to attack the satellites. Four days ago, they noticed the…debris in orbit and began to throw their “magical” missiles upwards, destroying every equipment we had up there by collateral damages. They haven’t destroyed them all of course, but they began their clean up, up there as well. In the front, they took Poland completely and began to move towards Russia, as well as it seems they planned an attack on New Zealand as a diversion and began construction and settlements in Africa, cleaning every main city with giant tsunamis, storms that could break tiny parches of the Sahara…Is probable that sooner or later Spain may be…“

  The young man's face slowly went to horror, at the realization of that treason. His heart shrank as small as his pupils and his voice began to break down. “You…you are gonna abandon me after…after everything?!” He leaned backward sighing in desperation before crying out like a buffalo, with the fury of a storm, slamming the table with enough strength to break and crack it. The shock made the table tremble, and therefore, anything on top of it as well. His face began to show red in pure frustrated rage as he hid his eyes, half crying in fury.

  “I am sorry kid….I have known you since four months ago, you are way smarter than most common folk. But there’s no hope to get you out in time. Or…at all. I know you tried too hard to survive out there and how many you lost but…I pray for you, son, that you get out alive somehow.” The man took his hat uniform and put it on his chest to show the respect he had for the young one.

  It took the man a couple of minutes before cleaning his face before asking in anger, shouting to the man who provided that news “Not even the laser technology?! I am at eight hours in a car from the barrier! Colonel Sylas! I can drive there and plan som-“

  “Chump! They are not working. The barrier got stronger. The laser is useless.” The colonel confessed.

  “What?-“

  “Stop!” The colonel ordered back, stopping the young man before he even said anything else. “Good bye kid. May God…or whatever is up there, have mercy on you.”

  Chump was ready to get back at him, but the colonel dismissed the call and deleted the application remotely. Chump shook the laptop in rage before slamming his fingers on the keyboard, trying to somehow reconnect again. But it was too late, the Ethernet was fully disconnected as it finished the download. He took out his notes in programming and tried back and forth to get the call back on, to try to communicate to other places, heck to even someone if there was anything out there. But to no avail. He took a chair and broke it against the wall in frustration. “After everything I did! After everyone….Every single one died?!”

  Chump felt cut off from the rest of the world. He felt like he was in a boat on the open sea, left to die in the middle of the storm. Alone in that cruel world, in this abandoned land, with nothing left but his mind and guts. His tears covered his face and hands, biting with force his arms as screams filled the echo chamber of that building, the panic attacks dominating his senses. He took another chair and began slamming around the house, taking nearly a couple of hours to calm him down, ending in an uncontrollable sobbing. The pain he felt, the fear, the impotence could be discerned in his voice, in his movements, even in his blood, sweat, and tears.

  It took him several hours to just calm himself down, as sadness and depression replaced that fit of rage. The only things that survived in that room were his precious laptop, the sofa, and the table. He opened his phone, looking at photos of his friends and family, in times when peace was the norm, and ignorance felt comfortable. On part of the screen, in the background the documents he received over time about the whole situation, his voice feeling void and empty “Just. Great. So much for nothing….I knew I should have…I should have died with…No…No stop thinking…no, you are here because of them.”

  He stood up in a rush, taking his laptop and backpack, and preparing himself to travel. Some food cans he had, a bottle of warm water, some glasses with a bottle of “Terry Centenario” a bottle of Spanish white brandy- and last but not least, a weapon for self-defense. It was a Glock he had, locked the safe before loading it on his belt. He walked outside of that place, but not before breaking the main door out of anger he had, leftovers of that morning.

  He walked at a slow pace, his head facing down, half stumbling around. Fast enough to not trip, yet weak enough to not present resistance. Wondering without a way, yet his feet move alone. His face bails out his frustration, as heartbroken cries filled the silence of the wild city. He didn’t slow down any second, yet his eyes barely saw what was in front of him. Seeing the burnt silhouettes of innocent victims from children to adults, walking on those broken boulevard streets. It didn’t help at all.

  [13:39]

  It took him a while to arrive at his destination, now reeking of alcohol, half drunk, tired physically, and his eyes red with the sadness of a broken toy. In front of him, was an abandoned yet almost complete warehouse. Opening the rusty door where the hinges made a crushing noise, getting stuck mid-way. He kicked it a couple of times the jambs, making it move beyond what the hinges would allow, stumbling backward after that. Walking slowly, almost tripping down as he made the first step inside. The moment he stepped in, a monstrous screech broke the air, pushing a bit backward the broken man. But unlike his spirit, his body didn’t yield or flee. He kept going half zombie, each step without strength. As the light revealed the interior, it revealed the interior, cold grey cement floor with barely any care, moss growing in the broken marble walls and stone pillars. The ceiling was rusty almost brown-looking metallic ceiling where most of the lights didn’t hang anymore, only one, which he lit up after pressing a button.

  The many untouched tools hanging from the walls include simple hammers, giant plant scissors, and smelters. These include screwdrivers, saws, drillers, wrenches, chisels, mallets, a crowbar, and a chainsaw.

  But the most important part was held tight in the center of the room, tied with sturdy steel chains that held tight two beings. Both back against each other. The bigger monster was a mix of a ferret and fox creature with four big fluffy orange tails and 3 smaller brown tails. She had four eyes and a couple of sets of ears, each of each creature, but only four limbs of pure fox origin. Her fluffy furr had a tone between light orange and chocolate brown and her size was enormous compared to a human, four and a half meters long or around four meters tall if they could stand up (~fifteen feet large or ~thirteen feet tall). In her back, chained against their will, was just a human-size ferret, without anything noticeable different besides their large size and the rows of teeth they had, and their aggressive behavior remarked by the many attempts to break free from these restraints through the many scratches these held.

  

  Another electrical generator was connected to the electrical box of this place to power up this warehouse. The chains ended up in many extremes linked to the floor and the sides. Connected to the end of two chains was a cable coming from the improvised electrical system, where a constant electrical current damaged these two beings slowly over time, making them unable to use their strength.

  << “Release us you lowly monkey! Release us for this hurtful restrains! My companion needs medical attention, it needs to return home. Please….Just….help him, kill me if you must…”>> The fox creature howled, but the human seemed unfaced, sighing disappointed even.

  “I don’t understand any of those growls. For me, you are barking over and over….or growling…” But the beast kept growling, shouting over and over in different volumes. Tired of these constant noises and holding part of his head, he yelled “SHUT UP! GOSH DARNIT! You are giving me a headache…Both are breathing, okay, I thought…I could understand you…that we could communicate…Whatever, the current in those chains is enough to paralyze a human or even kill it if unlucky fully, yet you can tank it like nothing…”

  As he ignored the yapping and roars of the harmed beast, he placed the bag he carried on a nearby working table, pulled out a Tupperware filled with spaghetti from a couple of days ago, a can of tomato sauce that had a couple of months after their expiration date. He then took a couple of medicines and the hammer and placed them on the table. He took an old rag and began cleaning the hammer carefully, burping in his thoughts. “I can’t believe I am gonna do this…” Chump commented, irritated while making sure the hammer was fine.

  << “What is that monster doing?”>> The ferret asked in some other growls before coughing some blood.

  << “He…he is pulling the hammer out and some white stones…I don’t …I don’t understand…Are you okay there Mordy?” >> The fox creature asked back.

  << “Poison! Poison, that is poison! Oh no! He wants to trick you! He wants to kill the both of us!” >> The giant ferret panicked in her back, as it tried to release herself from the restraints, but the more it tried, the more its fangs began to break.

  In a last-ditch effort, the furr of the fox creature began to glow in pink cake tones, as the room and the air in front of her began to flow in a tiny ball of strange purple dust.

  He turned sideways, confused and irritated. Caught off guard, he inhaled the air and coughed around as he swung his arms moving the air around. After a moment and clearing his face, he looked unaffected and only more burnt, yelling back “Just! Shut! The fuck! Up! Stop! You are just…UGHH! Okay?!… I can’t focus if you keep shouting and giving me headaches!… Fucking “Empaths” I swear… Why do I even speak or say anything, you can’t understand me, I can’t understand you…Nobody in each world understands each other…My investigation was pointless…it all was pointless.” He expressed each phrase as more depressed, more tired, more burnt. He took a blister of pills and began pulling all of them out.

  <<” It…It didn’t affect him…How is that possible?!”>> The ferret shouted, confused, scared.

  He hammered the table with force, the force-breaking part of it. The sudden thump resonated in the room, and the metallic noises and screechings of the objects clashed, irritating humans and monsters alike. Each slam was another pill turning to dust. Then took the food and two handkerchiefs he held, and split half of the spaghetti on each one. After several pills turned to dust, he took that dust and sprinkled a hefty ration on each plate. When he turned around he observed that the fangs of the ferret were too damaged or straight-up broken, almost giving up in his futile attempts to run away. He took another shot of his bottle, drinking, the size of a cup before approaching both beasts.

  The fox creature, even in pain, even in its paralyzed state due to the continuous electric shock, took a bit of her will and slammed the ground, scratching the surface as it broke the cement in splinters. She didn’t give up. But the intention wasn’t to hit the human, as she missed by a couple of meters. Was to show that even in that state, she could crush the human apart. But he seemed unfazed, perhaps it was the drunk state he was himself, or his unbothered to check anything. He stretched a bit his shoulders, as he blinked a dozen times, before pulling out his Glock and aiming at the ground at the side of her. A couple of seconds later, he blasted off the part of cement just beside her furr.

  She took a moment to look at what he just did, and indeed, that Glock wouldn’t do that much damage against the rock. But it made a crack, a tiny crack that she felt the heat coming from that comeback. Silence emerged as he now aimed towards her head. His gaze didn’t have any guilt or any fear. The look of a man ready to kill.

  “If you fuck around, you find out. That has been always the rule in any place.” He tossed the first plate of drugged spaghetti to the ground before turning around a second time, picking up the made-up plate and held in his hand. He waved his hand moving his Glock from her head to the food a couple of times. “Eat.”

  The fear of the fox creature was noticeable even in his angry expression and in his teeth. She was gonna crash against the pasta but before her hand could go down, he aimed towards her paw and took a second shot, going through her hand like it was made of butter, tho only hitting the side of the hand, barely injured But it was that quick exchange that she noticed, that whatever she could do or pull off in that instant, against the energy that flew through the chains…the human had a faster weapon.

  “EAT!” He ordered, impatient.

  << “Please! Do not eat it! I will sacrifice for you friend! Please I-“>> The ferret exclaimed, now his howling only held fear, anxious tones as he kept shaking on the back of his companion

  << “No..”>> The fox monster expressed with sadness in her voice, a sadness that overpowered any fear her mind could hold. << “This human…this human got us, tricked us and kidnapped us here, he could…he can finish me off if he wanted but…but I think he wants to eat this…Mordy…If I die, you will resurrect back in our world I…Thank you for such times, my friend.”>> She said as she slowly moved towards the plate, barely within her reach.

  << “No! Please! No! No Miss Aelita! Don’t do it!”>>

  But the ferret’s pleas were in vain. Before he could finish, she had already taken a few bites, looking at the human in the eyes. He smiled and burped as he returned to the table, picking up the saw and the drill and making a real test with a piece of wood lying around, confirming they were working properly. He then got on a safe range of the coupled and waited. He sat down, crossing his legs, something that nobody could normally do, and waited patiently, drunkenly, taking a drink from time to time.

  After finishing her plate, at first, she didn’t feel anything happening. And by the expression the man had, it seems it would take effect. The man was ready for her to give it a last push, but instead, she retracted, as she growled something for her companion.

  << “It feels good…I feel comfortable…When I die, tell our mistress that…that…She was the most beautiful one…”>> As her last words felt with guilt.

  << “We will tell her together! Stay with us! Aelita?…Aelita!”>> But she didn’t respond. She was already too tired to speak, and he slowly felt her aura diminishing. She felt that the next time she closed her eyes, would be the last. And so spent her those moments looking at the eyes of the man, as each gaze exchanged how each other felt. But the man…didn’t seem to care.

  As the saw began bouncing off the cement, the dead eyes of the man looked towards the ferret chained against her companion, with no smile, and no feelings. He turned on the drill as the rotor roared against the stator of the motor, that sound giving chills to the ferret, now only the whimpers of the poor animal could be heard in the abandoned city.

  …

  [16:14]

  The man found himself at a graveyard where thousands of broken tombstones lay in order, walls with coffins and funeral urns, ashes laying with their names, far away from that warehouse. Yet back in a further corner of this place, recent tombs, where the grass didn't even grow, rested in peace. Chump slowly walked over there, trying to calm himself down with breathing techniques, taking five seconds to breathe in and out. Upon arriving, the tombs were distributed in the next way. Two tombs in the front. While nine on the back, the central one being a step on the front and a bit bigger than the four it had on each side, but smaller than the two on the front. Their tombstones were made of stone but carved irregularly unlike the others. Complete yet illegible.

  The man took a towel to lay down on the ground, having enough space to half sit down. His movements stood slow and methodical, yet his hands trembled and his tears blurred his vision. He tried to remain composure throughout the procedure, taking the brandy and filling eleven cups. Once he finished filling and placing them carefully in front of each tombstone, he sat down back in the towel. He raised that bottle in the air weakly, his right arm trembling more, only to break down mid-way in bigger tears, crying and bailing out, his face turning red as he groaned in pain. He tried to take a sip from the bottle, only to cough part of the drink outside and almost asphyxiate himself.

  “Mom…Dad…Zandrew…friends…I am sorry…I am sorry…I am so sorry for not saving anyone…I couldn’t do anything…I tried to study them. I tried to understand their language. To save many…many people yet everyone was transported or I arrived too late…” In sobs he tried to take another sip, being now more successful and able to drink it down. “What would you say…What would you do?…. What I should do…What I am gonna do…”

  “Dad…you would say… “You are okay, son. You tried your best…You survived and you kept going forward…you never gave up…You must…Keep…Going!”” He screamed with pain and anger afterward before continuing

  “Mon would be…” You are a good person. You cared for us. You wanted to save people instead of running away. Is okay, because you are alive…Please, try to be safe…” He sobs away, as he tries to clean himself.

  “Zandrew would shout “Stop apologizing you dumb idiot, you did nothing wrong! You survived instead of me…Instead of them…Please…go on for us…” for all…of them” He tried to take another sip, then drank the rest of the bottle before screaming in pain that the alcohol burned a bit in his throat.

  “Pau… “Man look you tried”….Boules…”Stop complaining you pipsqueak”…Brozas… “You fucking stop their mouths running and kick their butts”…Everyone….every…single….one….”

  He slowly pulled off the Glock, and as his hands shook, his gaze towards the sky. After feeling in his hands the presence of a remaining bullet, he approached the gun towards his forehead. Each centimeter closed slower his movements. Feeling every laughter, every smile, every good memory of them…and the state he found their bodies. He placed the barrel on the left side of his head, as he looked at the sky. His finger felt the cold trigger, taking a moment to feel everything around him. The air, the animals singing, the sun radiating his skin.

  And then…he pulled the gun away, as his hand let go of the weapon, falling to the ground quickly.

  “I can’t….I can’t….why….Why I can’t stop…wanting…to try…”

  Then he broke the bottle against the floor, away from their tombstones. He shook and trembled in fear, frustration guiding his voice, before stopping completely his movements.

  He looked at that giant barrier far away on the horizon, that greenish barrier, opaque, raising to the skies, that impotent barrier that nobody could go through. With that silent yet menacing aura. Clutching his fist, one with his backpack and the other with the piece of the bottle who somehow, still partially intact. With his sore mouth, his blackened eyes, with his red face, and inhaling all he can he shouted with the will of his soul out.

  “FUCK YOU! SCREW YOU! WHATEVER OR WHOEVER YOU ARE, YOU ARE DESPICABLE! YOU ARE A HORRENDOUS!”

  He coughed afterward for a while before continuing in a lower tone.

  “You took my life! You took my family! You took my friend's life without mercy! You strip of my golden brain! Of my naive heart and shattered to pieces! Broke apart thanks to your other planet and magic things, beast, people, WHATEVER they fucking are! You made my parents’ lives light out of their eyes while you made me watch without even saying why! Without even trying to justify it! Nothing in your regard! You took my friends' limbs and threw them away as you dragged them through portals while ignoring their pleas! I don’t even know if my sister is still alive!” He stopped a moment to breathe and sob in anger “I don’t care who you are! I don’t care if you are “God”, or Satan, or Buddha, or Odin, or Chronos… Any fucking god, or devil, or any being in existence! HEAR ME! I WILL! DESTROY! YOU! I WILL MAKE YOU PAY INFINITE TIMES WORSE THAT YOU DID TO ME! I WILL NOT DENY THIS BURNING FEELING ANYMORE! I DO NOT CARE IF REVENGE IS THE WORST PATH ANYONE CAN TAKE OR IF ANY PHILOSOPHY TELLS THE SAME STORY! I WILL DO IT. I AM YOUR PROBLEM NOW!”

  He groaned in pain as he stood up, almost his back giving up as his lack of sleep made him trip backward, before standing on his feet and looking up one more time, with eyes that could pierce the heavens of sheer anger.

  “NOT! MATTER!-” In the instant he paused to scream the next word, another scream not far away from that place could be heard. A scream of pain, a scream of desperation. A human scream. Too human-like to sound animal. An unknown shout for help, in a language he didn’t know. But that feeling of helplessness was enough to snap him back to reality, as his instincts kicked away, running towards that general direction with only his backpack, his gun at his belt, and his broken bottle in hand.

  …

  From the outskirts of the city, where the city, villages, and fields merged, and hundreds of abandoned farmlands fought against bad weeds who parasite for their nutrients -near that graveyard-, a hungry solitary wolf chased a peculiar bunny with black and dark blue fur. The brown Iberian wolf kept chasing this little bunny with insatiable hunger, keeping up to speed in the ecstasy of the chase. Its paws were bloodied for its last prey, with black fur, blood, and a weird blue ooze between its lethal teeth, salivating for this last bite, as its eyes were fixated on the little prey.

  The bunny tried to gain distance, screaming and crying out for his life, in a language foreign to our understanding. The fur ball didn’t know what he screamed exactly, but his instincts insisted on doing it. He rushed through the abandoned streets, looking for a way to distract its chaser away, but evading some much trash felt impossible at times to the point that he almost tripped a couple of times. Every time he looked back, he noticed that the distance shortened between the two of them. Feeling the terror, the trembling and pumping of its tiny heart, wishing for a way to live.

  Just when the wolf jumped to catch its target, the bunny narrowly dodged and tricked the beast into hitting its head against one of the driving poles which still stood, but the claw of the corpulent dog hit its back, sending the bunny flying against a car. The wolf felt the contusion and the pain, slightly disorienting it. But those fierce eyes never looked away. The bunny tried to get up, but the impact was too great on its tiny body. So in desperation, it began to scream with all its might and lungs, somehow gathering the strength to even be able to have such a voice. The wolf approached slowly, menacingly, licking his mouth from the other bunnies he had eaten. One could say that a vicious smile appeared in the carnivorous creature, upon hearing the bunny cry.

  Even in fear, those little eyes didn’t show any sign of giving up, feeling a strange energy coming from within. His fur glowed blue, as the bunny began to generate sparks between each hair strand, feeling its magnetic resonance in its paws. In a last act of defiance, it shot away a tiny spark against the wolf, hitting bullseye to its head and setting him back. One step back. It scared him, it hurt him, and it confused the wolf further as its muscles involuntary contracted a couple of times, those blue sparks showing in appearance in the skin of the wolf. Yet it didn’t stop it, as it moved more cautiously. Before the moment the beast would lash its final attack, that bite capable of breaking his tiny bones with ease, both stopped, hearing a war cry to the east of them, turning their heads at the sudden noise.

  With another shout for help, Chump knew exactly where the screams came from. Just a couple of blocks further away, almost near the grassy fields that split the city from the outskirts. He rushed there as his mind went wild, almost blank, thinking only to “I won’t let another one die.” But upon arriving, his body paralyzed for a split moment, observing the situation. With barely any time to do or think of anything, and without pondering once, the mad lad ran towards in, holding tight his items as he screamed in a war cry and tears. His rage led to that moment.

  “WRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! WRYYYYYYYYYY! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!”

  Chump rushed in, running in short steps, screaming in pure wrath, agitating his arms with his bag and bottle in hand. And so the wolf changed its prey and began rushing towards the human.

  A fleeting moment of truth and bravery, as the young man knew that any wolf was significantly faster than him, yet his eyes felt the determination of his actions. With quick success, he retrieved his left arm, to swing aggressively the pack against the head of the wolf, knocking the four-legged beast to its side, with enough time for him to rush in, slashing with the broken bottle and stabbing the throat of the monster puppy, significantly weakening him as it began to bleed out in worrisome quantities. The wolf struck back to his right arm, slashing the flesh near the radius bone, making Chump scream in pain, but the adrenaline already kicked in.

  Both combatants looked at each other as both stabilized on their legs. Chump instincts kicked in as the wolves rushed towards him. The wolf tried to strike his shoulder with a bite, wanting to crunch the muscles of the looking fragile man, but he was faster than he could anticipate, as his left arm retracted and quickly jabbed him with his elbow before his whole body swung around to punch the predator with a punch on the throat where the blood poured. The wolf was ready to strike again, but the quick movement of the human with the broken glass, missing its objective, however, it made the wolf take a step back.

  “CMON! CMON BIG GUY! DO IT! I AM HERE! KILL ME! KILL ME IF YOU DARE! I WANT YOU TO TRY!” The man shouted as he kicked the ground, making the wolf flinch.

  As the wolf felt ready to strike again, and by his movement he could see he had barely a couple of seconds, he quickly took something from the back pocket of his pants. A bunch of sand and dust he gathered and threw at him as he dodged the strike, before continuing the combo with a kick on the side of the canine. There was no stopping him, as he swung again his backpack at the best, making it stumbled against a standby car, barely holding up, tripping to the floor. Using this opportunity, Chump slashed its face with that broken bottle, before regaining the momentum on that arm and stabbing the wolf’s face one time, penetrating its eye and part of its brain, killing it on the spot.

  But the human didn’t stop there, in reaction and seeing the wolf just stopping one moment, he proceeded to stab it again, and again, and again. Continuous, repeated stabs along its body, legs, and one final time against the head, each stab showing the impotence and frustration he felt, as his arms showed his wrath and his hands trembled in desperation, his mind acting on pure instinct. His hands, his arms, his face, splashed with the blood of that creature, as it impregnated his whole body in that fitting rage.

  It took several minutes for him to let his wrath out, as he somehow defeated a creature known to not be usually beaten in a close and direct confrontation. He didn’t know in that fleeting moment, that perhaps thanks to the assistance of that magical spark from the bunny, it made the canine movements just slow enough for him to react in time. But it didn’t matter anyway. Once finished, as the adrenaline began to fade away, and no signals of any more dangers nearby, he sat down beside the corpse of the beast, and he began to breathe heavily, recovering from the shock. He felt his muscles aching in pain, as his arm felt the feedback from the blow of the foul creature, the excruciating pain of the open flesh wound, tho luckily, it didn’t reach any bone, mostly being superficial.

  Between breaths, still recovering a sense of himself, he commented “Shit…shit, the effects are kicking back, my heart is pounding out of my chest…I need to treat the cut to not infect me and…and…I have to look out for…Why I did attack that wolf head-on??? I had a gun…Why…Why I did such a stupid decision…Chump, c’mon man…” He slowly regained his foot, grabbing his shoulder in pain, and seeing the wound of its arm. He knew that without treatment, it would get worse. To his surprise, that bunny began to approach him slowly, carefully, still imbued in fear. He shook his hands and head, not wanting to harm the bunny. “Look bud, just go away…” But they didn’t understand each other, as the bunny stepped back, scared, trembling in his pain as well.

  

  The human shook his head, restless, looking around where he stood.

  Luckily, nearby there was a pharmacy, with its glass doors broken and open. He smiled, and a glow of hope appeared in his eyes. He rushed towards the building to look inside, in search of the nearest first aid kit. Nonetheless to say that he broke anything on the way to be able to get in. Moved away a couple of corpses and the computers the place it had before reaching the cabinet. Opening and seeing the alcohol, he splashed half of that bottle on top of his wound, clenching his teeth in pain, but nothing compared to what he suffered. Then he tried to stitch a bit his wound, mostly its zones that were too open, before taking some bandages, groaning “I thank my father for teaching me first emergencies for this situation…Lord, this hurts tons more than I thought!!!”

  Took him a couple of minutes to clean himself. In between moments, he checked the door, holding his gun, aware that no moment was safe. But then the cloud let the sun brighten on the streets, as it highlighted the entrance, where the little bunny stood looking at him, as he followed the human in admiration. He took a couple of minutes before gaining enough breath to march outside, where the bunny once again stepped back, sparkling a bit, as it showed happiness.

  Chump snickered seeing the involuntary sparks “Electric powers…Great, Just. Great. You must be one of those animals they brought along with their conquer, and somehow ended up here…Look, little “Zippy”…I thought you were a human or…somebody okay?… I guess I saved your life, but…just forget about it. I needed to vent out and…just…acted irrationally and…Why I am justifying myself to a bunny…“ He half facepalm with a wide smile, shaking his head in disa-

  “You saved my life, Master!” A telepathic voice echoed in his head, as the bunny somehow smiled at the human. A strange sound wave that felt light even for a sound, yet gracious of its presence.

  Chump's face turned pale, and his eyes widened, looking at the otherworldly being with a mix of confusion and fear “DID YOU JUST TALKED?!” His reaction time diminished significantly after that confrontation and almost let go of the things he had in hand.

  Before he said or did anything more, an unknown fey line of light and mana connected him to that tiny bunny, as it resonated with both of them. “Why I feel…happy…” They somehow began to feel each other. The bunny felt the pain the human had going on, its emotions, as Chump began to feel the gratitude that the bunny had for him for saving his life. “Wowowowo! What is this?! What is going on?!” Chump tried to grab that line, only to feel that it was intangible.

  “You saved my life, Master. And you gave me a name! I like it! Zippy! Sounds exciting yet small, like I am!” That telepathic voice appeared again in his head, sounding like a teenager in his early ages, as he noticed that looking directly at the bunny it was when it was the loudest.

  “I am hearing you…” Chump shook his head while regaining his breath. “No no, this must be some sort of post-adrenaline effect or something. Look I just…saved your life because I was looking for something to hunt, okay?? Please brain could you stop for a moment and don’t make me believe this?” He wasn’t a particularly good liar. He looked around to just take the wolf and pick it up, however, his trembling voice and exaggerated moves didn’t convince the bunny enough and made the little one giggle.

  “Master, you are being funny~, I thank you for trying to calm me down.” As it giggled again, the bunny approached his leg and cuddled it.

  “I am calming myself down!” The young man felt confused about what was happening, as he began to walk away, with the wolf in his back, from shoulder to shoulder. Fully loaded, he walked slowly away from the scene. The bunny followed him as it observed him around, jumping and zapping around between the rocks on the way.

  “You were awesome back there! You went screaming like a warrior and slammed and BAM, SLASH! RASH! CHAS CHAS CHAAS!” The bunny expressed by jumping beside him, getting to the same fighting position he had kicking the air, and throwing sparks around.

  “You are just…a magic bunny. A magic bunny from that other world. I can understand you.” He hit his head, frowning “Is my brain, tricking me after spending so much time alone…Visually and with audio” He kept looking at the front, trying to clean his eyes and his vision.

  “But we are connected! I accepted you as my Master and caretaker and shall assist you until I die!”

  He stopped walking as he found a partial bench and sat down trying to find provisions “Do you even understand… what are you saying? As in, just giving ur life away and…” Zippy tilted his head, not understanding why the human had such worrisome thoughts.

  He sighed and cracked his back, throwing away the bloodied piece of bottle like another piece of trash “Alright cruel world, let’s play your games. So…you understand me? As in…fully understand?” He took out a canned drink can and opened it.

  “Yes! Our connection makes us understand each other!~ You were so brave and awesome! Like you rushed in without thinking about it, like a …hero! And then “swoosh” away the horrible monster! You hit with your big round thing and then stab it with that sharp thing! That was awesome!!!” He expressed as he jumped around him like a ball of energy, “Thanks to you I feel somehow better, a bit smarter, I can learn so many things from you! And-“

  “Ey, relax In there, you look like a kid.” He waited a moment that he took to take a sip from the drink as the bunny sat down on his lap. “Alright, and you took the little nickname I gave ya. Alright. Great. Just. Great. Let me ask, you will follow me anyway, no matter what I do or say, right? What if I hurt you? What if I intend to do anything horrible to you or-

  “I know you won’t silly! We are connected, and while your aura and your power are almost null, your heart is good and pure, tho a bit strange sometimes…Is like there is a… never-ending light in there, it is really beautiful to observe.~” As the bunny slowed down, looking at the heart of the human, only this time the human tilted his head confused.

  He looked around the bunny and shook his head in disbelief. He took one of its tools which included a portable tiny mirror and didn’t see anything on himself. He could see the magic in those tiny sparks, but that was mostly it for him. He scratched his head, then took a bit of time to inspect his head. “No blood…No symptoms of internal hemorrhage…Zippy…What aura? What are you talking about…”

  The bunny looked at him, not knowing what was the confusion about “You know…The aura. What did the goddess give us to…see each other’s power and general sense of a living being? Everyone knows that since birth Master!”

  Chump looked concerned and then snapped a bit out of reality. He looked around as he took the bunny by his free hurt arm “Look, maybe you can explain it to me on the way back, you know more than I can chew, or perhaps my brain just unlocked this info, or decide this false reality now, the fuck do I know. But honestly, even while crazy, would like some company…”

  Due to his recent encounter, he had enough energy and strength to return home, taking him way less time to return home, as Zippy began to explain the basics of their magic, and how it worked. However, Chump seemed he didn’t give too much attention, to the point that Zippy pouted in his voice, not understanding why he seemed so stoic.

  …

  At the same time that this whole situation was happening in the outskirts, back at the warehouse, the ferret suddenly snapped from slumber. His cold sweat (even technically ferrets can’t sweat, this is a magical one, shut up) upon the realization of the situation they were in, he shook the body of his friend and the chains, filled with hatred and anger, trying to break free. But realized that the chains didn’t hurt anymore. He noticed and after taking a moment of break he tried to break free only to…being lose the chains.

  After a bit of struggle, he broke free, running around the place looking for that man, “I can’t find it! Not even on the outside or… inside…That stinky scent that he carried is gone….Gone…AELITA!” He runs back to her friend. He gathered the courage to get close, shaking her friend and feeling her. “She…is alive?! ALIVE?…I…I hear her breathing! How is this possible?!”

  The ferret shook her friend, whimpering, half crying, licking the face of her companion like a loyal cuddly dog, wanting her friend to wake up. Fearing that the situation could get worse, the magic of the ferret got on his tiny paws and began to flow inside of her.

  The drowsiness was strong on her, but the cries of her friend, the energy flowing through her, and her reaction to remembering everything were strong enough to snap her back to reality. Yawning, like a defeated animal, she stood up trembling on her four legs, only to notice that the chain was not tying her up anymore, or that they didn’t hurt anymore. She looked at the injured paw and even saw some made-up bandages where the wound was located.

  “Aelita! You are awake! And alive! And awake! This is a miracle! You survived the poison! I am so so happy!!” Said the ferret as it went for a charge hug to her, she barely could keep up to what was the situation. Both laughed in happiness at the situation, now free even from their restraints. But once the ferret calmed down and let her friend go, she noticed something.

  “The chains…” She commented as it observed the floor. “Look at them…some are cut in the links…some had weird holes where the chains connected to the ground…The locks are broken as well…And the strings that connected the chains to that weird machine are cut too.”

  “Ye-yeah…I…when you went down…the human…left me alone. He used those tools of torture but-“ The ferret tried to give a logical perspective to the situation, still perplexed and not comprehending the whole picture.

  “He broke us free…But why?” She asked as they began rushing out of the place.

  “I do not know! But we must get out of here Aelita, and find help. That human is still out there and…and…”

  The giant fox creature placed her bad paw on top of his friend’s head and patted a bit, trying to ensure their safety. “What happened to him?” Sniffing the air, but finding no clue as well, confused.

  “What?” The ferret asked confused. “H-He trapped us…He-“

  “My magic didn’t affect him…” She commented, lost in her thoughts. “I think he never had the intention to kill us…You…you know the situation?”

  “Not much…Nothing was inside or outside to help me out.” Said the ferret as he was the first one to get out.

  “Alright, then let’s get back to the princess of the Empire. She must be worried about us.”

  As she stepped out, she stumbled down, as a light engulfed her and the energy inside of her began to revert her. The height of her barely changed, but her appearance and biology did. She transform into a giant humanoid being, resembling a human but with two human eyes and two tiny ferret eyes on top of her eyebrows, a bit on the sides of her. Lacking human ears, she had a couple of sets of ears just like her monster form, the fox ones behind the ferret ones of a different size. The back of her hands had some fox furr as well as nails sharp as razors. Her lower back and part of her legs and hips had furr as it continued to the end of her spinal where the same set of tails hung there only on a smaller size than before.*

  Just before she could hit her head against the ground, the ferret acted quickly catching her for any possible future injury. “Oh no…You are out of Remenant…I am almost too but I can give you some if you need.” They took a bit of take to take a breath

  “No, is okay Mordy..” She took some time to stand on her two wild feet as she felt the cold dirt on the exterior, slowly walking back. Take into account that she was four meters tall so she had to dodge any hanging cable or sign hanging around due to the height difference in any society.

  The sun bathed the ruined city, as it went through the green barrier, creating an orange-greenish ambient as it began to be behind the godly powerful spell. Most of the animals went back to their homes. The sea on the beach that the city held felt like soothing symphonies, as birds went for the hunt of small insects or animals that resided on abandoned structures like volleyball nets, showers, feet washers, or lifeguard stations. Larger mammals or reptiles took refuge inside the abandoned small post that served as sweets, drinks, or general snacks post as well to pay up for towels or stationary chairs. But most of these conformities were gone, and the rest were expired by months. And the hundreds of human corpses, now bones due to the natural cycle of life taking place, and be gone.

  Only the main promenade of the city was mostly left intact, even with some bones, it was mostly empty, and so both the giantess and the ferret followed the beach since it went from northeast to southwest.

  The ferret, now sure of her condition to stay up, walked alongside her. But his nose and ears trembled, making it stopped completely, perceiving something, and taking a step back. He began to growl in anger as he yelled.

  “HE IS BACK!” Before running in front of her, on four legs, ready to attack.

  A moment later, where the buildings revealed that the human was following the same pathway as her, but in different directions. He was a bit distracted due to the bunny jumping and moving around, as well as carrying that dayum wolf on his shoulders. But after having a clear sight of each other, each couple stopped in their tracks, observing the other’s movements. The fox-human and the ferret were on her guard, watching the human, as the human was surprised and tired of seeing them both. The greenish air is now filled with so much tension, enough to feel the air impossible to breathe out. Any echo or sound coming from the waves, or the animals nearby went down. Only Zippy remained confused, not understanding the full situation. But the instincts kicked in, seeing the tension between the three, stepping forward the human, and showing his wild sparks, trying to show dominance. It was rather ineffective, due to the girl being over 40 times its height.

  Zippy didn’t know who or why this situation happened, but he could feel the tension the man felt seeing her, how he felt death could come at any moment. And the man could feel the tension the bunny had. Slowly, the man took the gun outside of his belt and began resuming his steps through the promenade.

  These were the longest hundred meters he walked in his life. He ran many and walked way more, but each step was heavier than the last. A large seagull began a fight with a lobster on the beach just between them and yet it didn’t startle them. Trembling limbs of each being but the bunny.

  Fifty meters. Each being eyes looking at who is gonna act first. The bird’s attention was caught by the attention, as the human and foxy human could hear every step, everything around them. It felt like time began to slow down.

  Twenty meters. Zippy was ready to start with a thunder bolt. Mordy was ready to rush down the human and slash him to tiny pieces. They were waiting for an order or an opening respectively.

  Ten meters away.

  Both stopped completely looking at each other. The human felt the effects of the adrenaline wearing off and took a moment to inhale. The Aelita tried to charge some magic, but it failed midway, almost falling to the ground. Mordy caught her up and stood in two feet, having just enough strength to help her but now was open for an attack. But Zippy didn’t move. It felt like the heart of the human. And didn’t do anything. Chump observed them, as blood fell from the injuries of both his arm and her hand. He gulped and yelled in pain as he acted.

  Chump raised his gun, having his arm at 90o from his body. But to the surprise of everyone, he wasn’t aiming towards Aelita or Mordy. Instead, he simply aimed towards the beach, perpendicular to him or her.

  BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG click click click click.

  Six shots were taken toward the animals on the beach, as it made every bird fly off scared of the sounds and revolting above them. Now the gun held no bullets, jamming without anything to shoot. Aelita, Mordy, and Zippy observed how the human heavy breathed away, as it looked down, his face hidden on his hair. Only tears and blood came from the detrimental figure. For a solid minute standing there, menacingly. Then put the gun back on his belt, looking at the two in front of them with pure hatred, fear, and anger. He took a moment to find a bottle, a bottle of alcohol he had taken from the infirmary before. Then took off the bandages on his arm, and splashed part of the remaining alcohol on his injuries, only hissing as he stood the pain that came from it.

  He took a couple of minutes to recover from the gunshoots hearing, and the flash that came from the gun. But after everything calmed down he regained some senses. He left the bottle of alcohol, with an inch left inside the bottle on top of a nearby bench.

  And kept walking beside her, Zippy following in silence.

  When they walked beside the couple, Mordy was ready to strike him down, but Aelita stopped her companion with her tails, showing respect to the human as it kept walking his way. She took a moment to observe this individual, and with a tiny and shy smile, she continued, taking a moment to grab that bottle that she didn’t know.

  When they were far away from each other, both Mordy and Zippy asked their companion “Are we gonna talk about that?”

  Only to be answered with a smile, holding the bottle of alcohol and the wolf respectively. They shook their head with a tiny smile.

  *(Instead of having just some set of tails hanging on the back of a normal human back because that is kinda weird, like an add-on instead of actual anatomy. I am not saying it ain’t cute or has no style…I am just saying that it doesn’t cost much of anyone’s time to make a still attractive fusion where the extra parts make some sense!)

  ….

  [17:29]

  Once they arrived back at the safe place of the human, he took some bandages and changed the ones he used in the pharmacy for new ones, as well as a clean towel to leave the bunny there. “Master, are you even listening?” Zippy expressed a bit of annoyance while his Master seemed like looking at nothing.

  “Let me get this straight, tiny Zippy. Your goddess gives your power and instincts at birth. Y’all know what is capable of each other thanks to seeing their “Auras”, in your case sparks of different lights and magnitudes around my body. If someone gives a name to another one symbolizes their relationship as both get benefits of it, but only if both agree to it, which…I guess I did agree. I mean I didn’t disagree, but it was more like…I was treating you like a pet. And thanks to that, you are a bit better, generally. You don’t talk to each other by sound, but use that “mana”, aka “the essence of your goddess” or Remnant, as the official title goes, and…stuff. Right?” He placed the corpse of the wolf on top of a sink, drying out the blood. He shook his head, his face showing he couldn’t believe any of this.

  “So you did listen! Then why you didn’t say anything???” He tapped away, scared of seeing the beast again, even if the wolf had been dead for an hour now.

  “I am on the edge of collapsing, I want to sleep but I didn’t assure the zone is safe…And I have to dry this wolf to put it on the fridge at least.” As he began to cut down the skin and the head off, he noticed the black fur on those sharp teeth and then looked at Zippy. He noticed there was too much fur to be from Zippy. “Zippy, could you tell me what happened before…being chased away by the wolf?” As he continues working.

  “Of course master!” As Zippy calmed down obeying Chump’s request, its tone began to ponder in memories. “I remember being with my family, we were all in a big square place, a box! We had food every day, and we were more and more…Then they began to split us into more tiny boxes, and remember tons and tons of trembling and squeezing around…Then I noticed the air suddenly felt tough and dry but not dry as in water, but lacking our goddess's presence!… I don’t know how to explain it better…But the day after that, one of the giants dropped my tiny box with my brothers and sisters and we were free! So we ran away in freedom together to see more of the world!… But then…the beast attacked my brothers and sisters…” As it finished the tale with a sad tone, Chump patted his head by instinct.

  Chump’s thought train began to ponder, as he decided to just throw the wolf to the fridge and cook it tomorrow. “Raised to be a kettle in that world, and brought to this, someone had an accident and freed the bunnies, only to meet their demise to a solitary Iberian wolf hanging around…Just. Great.” As he placed the wolf on the fridge after drying it, without much thought on his head, he took the towel with Zippy and moved it to the living room, then checked the main door to be closed. Turning back he stumbled and tripped, falling sideways to the wall, breathing heavily with a bit of fever, showed by the redness of his face.

  “Master! Are you okay? Please don’t move, you are looking a bit weird. You should rest…” The bunny hopped on and cuddled his legs, making him feel a bit better, smiling for him.

  “I can’t…it’s just five in the afternoon and…anyone could come here in any second…if I lay resting, I will be dead or…worse…” He tried to stay awake, but his exhaustion began to catch up to him. Moving slowly to the windows and closing those with little force, heavy breathing between his words, he sat down on the sofa, trying to reach the laptop, and leaving on the table.

  “Do not worry Master! You protected me and I will protect you, so sleep well! No harm shall come to you while I am here” It stood up, looking around, its fluffy ears changing directions all the time with energy, as his eyes sparkled and lit up like a tiny light source. “Sleep is important. Oh…”

  Chump snored silently, half lying down, as the unwavering feeling of feeling safe resonated within him. Zippy took the time to move the human slowly and lay him down, before being on guard, to that big hole in front of him. And stood there, silent, keeping watch. Every rat or cockroach that tried to crawl up, was sparked away in a shocking bolt, every bird that tried to check, was met with a single angry eye. For being small and fluffy, it could put a real dent in any tiny foe who appeared.