It was a contract.
"The Contract of Personas."
This contract is in force between:
Neutral (You)
Positive (Robert)
Article 1 —
Positive will grant Neutral the right to take control of the body when he is emotionally unbalanced or unstable.
Neutral, in return, allows Positive access to Neutral's memories after the contract is signed.
Signature: _____________________
Po. Robert
Signature: _____________________
---
"What the heck is this thing?" the boy barked.
"Why would I sign this contract—or agreement, whatever it is?"
All of a sudden, his body started trembling, shivering in the freezing cold.
His hand rose toward his head. He tightly held his skull, fell to his knees, and started shouting in pain.
"AH!! AHHH!!"
"It felt as if it would last forever, but it wasn't. The feelings of joy, anger, and betrayal were hammering my head.
It changed my style, thoughts, and—most importantly—my decision."
"Huh, huh, huh… It's horrible… so horrible to have a life in this place. Even if I get a chance… wait.
A chance—this is a chance to get away from here."
As he was about to sign the form, he realized:
"Damn it, I don't have a pen."
As he finished his sentence, something fell onto his desk.
It was a pen, made of glass, its ink visible inside.
"It's just another great thing, man."
Suddenly, a crystal block started growing from the ground, taking a mailbox-like shape.
"Yeah," he roared. "The change is near. The life of a human is mine."
He dropped the letter in the box.
"I thought it would be great, but it was not that great… not even close," Neutral sighed.
---
The scene returned to Robert and the gang's first entry into Eva's village.
Robert sighed loudly.
"Kal, it's been almost 2 hours since we started walking. Now, I can't control my hunger," Robert shouted.
Liza stomped her leg on the ground.
"Could you stay silent for a moment? I am thinking," she barked.
"It's weird… in this entire forest, there isn't even a single fruit tree," Kal inquired.
Suddenly, Robert stopped walking and started staring at the sky.
"Robert, what are you doing?" Kal asked when he noticed him staring.
"Kal, look, there's smoke over there!" Robert declared.
Kal turned and saw that it wasn't far, about 100m away.
"Smoke means there's a village… which means food. Let's go," Kal exclaimed.
But the thing they didn't know was that it would change their lives forever.
When they were almost there—
"Kal, did you smell something?" Robert asked.
Kal sniffed.
"No, I didn't. Maybe it's just your imagination," Kal replied.
Suddenly, Liza's face went pale.
"No… it couldn't be!" she screamed, as if she knew something was happening.
She rushed toward the village as fast as she could.
"Stop, Liza! Wait for us!" Kal shouted as he started following her.
But when they entered, they realized the danger they would face in the future.
The village was destroyed, only ruins of buildings left.
The few buildings that remained were severely damaged, stained with deep red marks of blood.
The ground was covered with blood, half-burned flesh, and a stench that made it seem as though it had just happened.
Kal stepped back after seeing it.
What really happened here? It's like the entire village was set on fire just a few seconds ago, he thought to himself.
At that moment, Kal realized Robert was in bad condition. He turned and saw Robert shaking in fear, his eyes filled with tears.
Robert's voice trembled.
"No, not again… Mom, MOM!!!"
Kal stepped toward him.
"Robert, calm down."
Suddenly, a powerful wave of energy erupted from Robert, pushing Kal and Liza away.
"Why… my vision is blurred…" Robert whispered.
Liza's vision blurred as well, and she collapsed on the ground.
"Robert!" Kal shouted as he rushed toward him.
At that sudden moment—
"Don't shout!" a voice emerged.
It was Robert.
"I am fine, man… I mean, I am OK."
Hearing that, Kal took a deep breath.
"Relief," Kal laughed as he sat on the ground.
Liza's expression changed, erupting like a volcano.
"Are you two idiots? You think this place is a playground? There are bodies everywhere—like a butcher shop, you—"
"If we relax here, we'll end up as meat ourselves. Or a barbecue," she shouted.
Kal stood up.
"You're right, Liza, it's no time to rest. And Robert—how long are you going to lie on blood? We've got more plans," Kal mocked.
"No, man, I mean, no—there was no plan," Robert replied.
"'There was'? What happened to your grammar, man?" Kal teased.
"These two are totally crazy. If I live with them, I'll go crazy too," Liza muttered under her breath.
Suddenly—
"Hic… hic… Mama, Dadda, hic…" a girl's voice echoed.
Kal and Robert turned to Liza.
"It's a little girl's voice," they declared.
Liza's expression tightened.
"How can someone still be alive in this kind of place?"
Kal stepped forward.
"Let's go. Let's follow the voice."
They began following the sound.
"It's not right to follow an unknown voice," Liza cautioned.
"But why?" Robert asked.
Liza stomped angrily.
"Because it could be a Narka, mimicking a girl's voice. That would be dangerous!" she snapped.
As they reached a building with a broken board that read Butcher Shop, Robert said,
"I'll enter here," and stepped inside.
Kal and Liza stood staring at him.
"Are you serious? There could be a Narka! Even if there isn't, this building is collapsing. Look—the whole third floor has fallen, burn marks everywhere, scratches!" Liza shouted.
"I don't know," Robert replied as he entered the shop, "and no one should follow me."
"Kal, I have a question," Liza whispered.
"Yeah, ask," Kal replied.
"Does Robert have red pupils or black?"
Kal scratched his head.
"Black, but why? Are you interested in him?" he mocked.
"No, moron. I noticed his eyes were black at first, but when we entered the village, they were crimson red—like blood," she said seriously.
Kal laughed.
"No, it's just your imagination. You probably saw the reflection of blood on the ground," he replied.
The scene shifted toward Robert.
"Oh damn, the floor… even if he was here, he couldn't control this moment," Robert muttered.
The place was filled with crushed flesh and pieces of broken bone.
Half of the ceiling had collapsed, the structure barely supported by two thick metal rods.
It reeked of death.
"Even if I vomit here, no one would see," he whispered—then vomited.
"Disgusting."
As he moved forward, he noticed a closet with a rusted lock.
"Is anyone inside this closet?" he shouted.
"Mom, Dad, you've returned," a girl's voice replied.
Hearing that, Robert smiled.
"It's my showtime. It's been so long—nearly a century since I last used it," Robert declared, his hand glowing with a red aura.
He landed a punch on the lock, breaking it apart.
Inside, he found a girl of about seven, wearing a red hood (like Little Red Riding Hood) and a brown school dress embroidered with a lily mark on the chest.
Seeing Robert, the little girl cried,
"Y-You… Mom… Dad…"
Robert raised his index finger.
"Look, I'm human, just like you. Now don't cry, little girl," he said in a calm, soothing voice.
The scene shifted to Kal and Liza, who were inspecting the area.
"Liza, look—this building… it's like it was on fire just last night," Kal said.
"Yes, you're right," Liza replied.