Alex stared at his attacker with a blank stare, filled with contained rage. There was no hope left. The only thing left for him was to silently curse that monstrous man, wishing bitterly that death would not be the end.
Boom! A thunder tore through the sky, deafening. But it was no ordinary thunder. Its light... was red.
Lying on the ground, Alex watched as the crimson bolt of lightning struck right in front of John's bloodied body. The bolt didn't disappear. Instead, it took shape . In the blink of an eye, the lightning formed into the silhouette of a woman.
It all happened so fast that Alex barely had time to process it. He just saw a woman emerge from the sparks, and on her face— fierce beauty, absolute anger, and a hidden fear that made him even more dangerous .
He had never seen her before, but somehow, he knew exactly who she was.
"Miss Red Dragon... Felicia Venhorst."
The name burned in his mind like embers. The ownership of such a borrowed figure in this place seemed impossible. For a moment, Alex thought he was hallucinating.
— W-who the hell are you?! — growled the commander, confused. — How did you get here?!
Felicia Venhorst didn't even spare a glance. Alex watched as she crouched down beside John's limp body, carefully removing the bloody clothes that covered the boy's upper body.
Then, out of nowhere , three vials of purple liquid appeared in his hand.
Without hesitation, she willed an entire bottle into John's mouth. The other two, she sprayed over her body as if she were trying to put out an invisible fire. And then... she did something even stranger .
She drank the contents of a fourth vial—and then pressed her lips against John's.
Alex's eyes widened. His heart raced.
"Is he alive?! I wonder ... can she save him?!"
It was the only logical explanation. On the contrary, why perform such an intimate and risky energy transfer? Felicia was not the type to perform rituals in vain.
— HEY! DID YOU HEAR ME?! — the commander said again, trying to sound threatening, but his voice betrayed his fear.
The aura around Miss Red Dragon intensified. Her face—once shaped by fury—was distorted into pure hatred. Veins bulged on her forehead. She slowly extracted herself, as if controlling an explosion that was about to occur.
" You damned scum... how dare you? " Her voice was a contained thunder. " Even a thousand deaths will not be enough to appease my anger." She pointed a finger at the assailant. " Stay still. I'll take care of you in a moment."
Alex swallowed. He felt —not just saw—the intent to kill Felicia. It was so thick, so cruel, that it seemed to materialize in the air around them, suffocating everything.
And that was just the beginning.
With a gentle gesture of Miss Red Dragon's hand , all the dark elements that were lingering in the air dissipated . The smoke that had enveloped Alex and the others' bodies also disappeared. Now, everyone could move again. But no one dared to interrupt what she was doing.
Alex looked around, observing the members of the wolf family—and they all shared the same look of astonishment. They had come to the same conclusion he had: this woman was no ordinary woman.
John stretched.
He stretched his limbs like someone who has just awakened from a long, peaceful sleep. He opened his eyes and looked around—and what he saw left him confused . This was not his room. This was not his past life. This was not any place he could call "the world."
The memory of death came back like a cold suggestion, and a single thought echoed in his mind:
"I'm dead."
He frowned. This place... it was strange, yes, but also familiar . He had been here before.
He was standing—or perhaps floating— above the waters of an infinite sea , bottomless and horizonless. But he was not sinking. It was as if he were walking on a solid surface.
The sky was clear, without clouds. The sun did not shine, but the world was clear, like a gentle spring morning. The sea, calm, reflected the color of the sky and also the color of John's soul.
Floating in front of him appeared an ethereal egg , slowly pulsing like a living heart.
The egg rippled, cracked, and then something emerged from within. : a tiny, fragile creature, looking like a newborn. But there was something ghostly about his presence, as if he were suspended between the real and the unreal— tangible and intangible at the same time.
John watched in silence... until he asked:
— Am I dead?
The baby floated before him, rising to his height. It opened its tiny mouth and answered in a soft but deep voice:
- Not yet.
The language the creature spoke was not common on the mainland. It was Baboan —ancient, arcane, known only to wizards. Fortunately, Catarina had taught John to understand it.
—What do you mean... " not yet "? — John retorted , suspicious.
The premature baby held out his tiny hand, and a translucent screen appeared in the air . On it, John could see everything: his own body in the physical world, enveloped in smoke and mystical light.
John was stunned. His gaze colored at the image.
—Who... is she? — I asked, almost whispering.
The baby rolled his eyes with a comical sigh.
— How do you want to know? I live here and I've never had contact with her. You're the one who's out there, not me...
John frowned as he saw, through the translucent screen, Miss Red Dragon lean down and press her lips against his —her unconscious body, still sprawled out in the physical world.
— What is she doing? — I asked, I cried.
The baby responded in his soft voice, using the ancient Baboan language :
— It looks like she's trying to save our lives .
John raised an eyebrow in confusion.
—Our life? What's this talk about "our"?
The baby gave him a look that clearly said, "Are you an idiot or are you just pretending?"
– Symbiosis. That is the right term to explain our situation.
João Pisco. He knew the concept well. In college, he had read about different types of symbiosis. He remembered two in particular: permanent symbiosis , where two organisms live interconnected — if one dies, the other also perishes. And parasitic symbiosis , where one organism lives at the expense of the other, sucking its energy. But nothing explained precisely what he was feeling.
— Explain it properly… what kind of symbiosis is this?
The baby sighed as if speaking to a stubborn child. And said calmly:
— Your soul. My soul. One body. If this body dies… we both die.
John narrowed his eyes.
— Why? What happened for our souls to be trapped in the same body?
The baby didn't answer immediately. He just stared at him as if the answer was obvious.
John felt a chill. And then, a memory… an old suspicion came flooding back.
— Wait… you… you are the real son of Fernando and Catarina , aren't you? And when I came to this world… I infiltrated your body?
The baby nodded slowly.
— When we looked at this body… it had no soul. It was empty.
The words echoed through John's mind like thunder. It was as if a hole had opened up inside him—as if something was missing from every cell in his body, and he had never noticed.
— I don't understand... this is too much for my head.
He ran his hand through his hair, lost. Then I looked back at the baby:
— Hey, ghost baby...
But before he could finish his sentence, the baby's hand screamed and interrupted him .
— Don't call me ghost baby. It's annoying .
— I am not a baby ghost — said the little creature, crossing his arms in the air —. You can call me Lord Omnipotent . That is my name.
John's eyes widened… and he burst out laughing.
— Hahahaha! Lord … hahaha… Lord Almighty !?
The baby frowned, trying to maintain a pose of majesty.
— Are you laughing?
John stared at the baby who was acting like an old scholar.
— You are literally a newborn… and yet you call yourself lord ? And more: omnipotent ? You know that omnipotence is a concept linked to God, right?
He pointed with his chin:
— By any chance… are you saying that you are a god ?
The baby was not shaken by the mockery. On the contrary, he raised his chin with a haughty air.
— It is an honor for you, inferior creature, to know my sublime and worthy name. You should be grateful.
John didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It was surreal—a baby who floated, spoke with authority, and even gave himself divine titles.
So, he had an idea.
— Lord Almighty , — he said with a colossal effort not to laugh — since you are so... exalted , perhaps you can use your divine omnipotence to save us?
He pointed to his own body, visible on the translucent screen.
— You can heal this body here, right?
The baby slowly spun in the air, as if he were an old sage reflecting.
— My name is Omnipotent, yes. But that doesn't mean I'm omnipotent. And I'm not a god either. It's just... a name. A name with no reference to my magnificent being.
John brought his hand to his face.
— So… you call yourself Omnipotent , but you're not omnipotent?
— …Yes.
— And isn't he a god?
- No.
John sighed deeply, as if he had lost a last shred of hope. The humiliation was so great that even the water in which they were floating seemed to mock him.
— So why did you choose that name?
The baby was silent for a moment, clearly thinking. He looked up, then at John, and finally murmured,
— …Why does it sound imposing?
— That name is engraved in my soul — said the baby, with the air of someone reciting a destiny —. Therefore, it was not chosen by me. But... you are right.
He floated slowly, matching John's height, with an almost theatrical seriousness.
"Let us save my name for now," he announced solemnly. "I allow you to name my magnificent being."
John arched an eyebrow. The baby's arrogance was truly unbearable. But since he had asked… John decided to teach him a lesson. He put his hand to his chin and pretended to think with great concentration.
— Hmm… how about I call you Ôni ?
The baby was silent for a few seconds. Then, to John's surprise, he nodded with unexpected enthusiasm.
—That's a good temporary name! A direct derivative of "omnipotent." So I'll accept that name... until I become truly omnipotent !
John sighed. He had tried to insult the baby's pride… and ended up feeding the creature's ego even more.
— Can't you really do anything to save us?
Ôni floated back a little, with a serene expression, and replied:
— Our power is proportional. I am as powerful as you are. If you can't save us… how could I?
That answer fell like a bucket of cold water. John looked down, dejected. But then he remembered something—the crimson energy . There was a chance !
—What about the crimson energy? — he asked quickly — Can't you use it?
Ôni replied with an almost lazy calm:
— Crimson energy is a skill , not an energy itself.— To activate it, we need real energy circulating in the body.
John frowned.
— What kind of energy?
Ôni crossed his arms and tilted his head, confused.
— …I don't know for sure.
John took a deep breath, frustrated. It was like talking to an unfinished encyclopedia.
— But what do you mean you don't know !?
— So how did you use it last time? — John asked.
— Last time, I used our mother's life force — the baby replied naturally.
John frowned suspiciously.
— Our mother ?
Ôni sighed impatiently, looking at John as if he were looking at a student who doesn't understand the first line on the board.
— Our mother is the woman who gave birth to our body. Simple.
John narrowed his eyes, swallowing his pride. He decided to stop wasting time with futile questions. He needed to find a solution. Something that could save their lives—both of them .
— And where can we find life force?
Without responding in words, the baby waved his tiny hand gently. The translucent screen appeared again in the air and changed its image. It now showed John's heart. An eerie silence filled the scene. The organ was completely still—no beat, no pulse.
The image zoomed in, revealing precisely the ventricles and atria, both left and right. And, between the atria, something caught my attention: a small green flame , flickering, almost going out.
— Our heart needs to be revived — said Ôni, seriously —. We could die at any moment.
With another gesture, he maneuvered the screen, now showing the figure of Miss Red Dragon. She was pouring liquids over John's unconscious body.
"What she's wearing contains vital energy," Ôni explained, pointing with his tiny finger. "If it's absorbed, it can be converted. But only if the heart is working."
He crossed his arms and glared at the woman's image.
— That woman… is stupid.
John jumped, indignant.
—Stupid !? But she's trying to save us!
Ôni raised an eyebrow in disdain and replied:
— Exactly because of that. She's doing everything wrong.
— Wrong how?
— First, she should revive the heart. Only then use this substance with vital energy. With the heart stopped, the body has no way to absorb the energy. She is trying to push life into something that cannot yet receive it.
John fell silent. What Oni was doing made some kind of cruel sense. Even with all the good intentions, Miss Red Dragon was losing what might have been her only chance of survival. He felt helpless, but also determined.
— So… what can we do? — he murmured .
Ôni looked at him with translucent eyes and spoke coldly:
—Revive the heart… from within.
— Now tell me, how is she not stupid? — Birth teased , as he continued to absorb the potion.
Outside, Miss Red Dragon poured bottle after bottle of the purple potion onto the motionless body. She paid no attention to the baby's increasingly suspicious expression as he watched impassively. The entire process took two and a half minutes.
John followed everything through the translucent screen, paying attention to every detail.
After the thirtieth bottle, the woman finally stopped and let out a heavy sigh.
— Do you have enough life force now? — said John, anxiously.
Ôni nodded and extended his small hand toward the center of the screen. The life force energy, previously greenish, began to change color until it took on a crimson hue, similar to fresh blood. The energy seemed to pulse, alive.
The baby made a serious expression, then crimson energy shot out, diving into the sea surrounding them. A small part of the immense ocean turned crimson.
The screen shifted to John's heart again. An aura of energy enveloped the organ, and part of it converted into an electrical discharge that electrocuted the immobile heart. Another part fueled the green flame that threatened to go out.
The electric shock was so intense that Miss Red Dragon, outside, felt the impact.
When the electricity stopped, a steady sound echoed:
Bam, Bam, Bam
The heart, before dying, now beat steadily and steadily. The green flame, which wavered, devoured the crimson energy and lit up intensely, illuminating everything.
Ôni stretched slowly and declared:
— Well, now we are no longer in danger of our lives. You can go.
John tried to hurry up and ask more questions before he was "kicked out."
—Wait! I still have a lot to ask!
The baby looked sleepy, floating slowly into the egg.
"Don't worry," he said, "your questions will be answered when you get back here."
As John disappeared from the sea of soul, he asked:
— When can I come back here?
Ôni replied in an almost casual tone:
— This is my home. It is also yours. You can come whenever you want, but you must have an evolution core first. You will be able to use my powers and abilities—as long as you pay the corresponding price before each use.
Play, play, play.
John's eyes opened in the real world. He was coughing, and blood was trickling from his mouth. His body was slowly regenerating its wounds—at this rate, it would take at most a week to fully recover. Something inconceivable for someone who had not yet evolved.
— Are you okay? — a soft voice, both shocked and happy, reached his ears.
John didn't answer. He just looked around. It seemed like a little time had passed. Alex stared at him as if he were a monster, although the joy on his face was clear. The wolf family surrounded him, with strange looks - a mixture of joy, confusion and fear. Isa looked at him with a somewhat happy expression.
John felt like a truck had run over him. Pain all over his body. The bleeding had stopped, but he was dizzy, probably from blood loss. I couldn't sit up without help, let alone stand.
He turned his head and saw the commander, who only had his head showing. John knew he was still alive.
— Are you okay? — the female voice sounded, this time closer.
John finally replied, with a bit of irony:
— I'm full of holes all over my body, like a sieve. I just came back from the dead, so I'm fine.
Miss Red Dragon's face changed from concern to restrained anger—it looked like he was going to be beaten anyway, despite his injuries. John quickly added, "I'm sorry."
— Ma'am, don't worry, I'm fine.
Miss Red Dragon calmed down, perhaps she had finally overcome the boy's real damage. Everyone around exchanged glances and thought: this woman really is stupid, Lord Ôni was absolutely right.
John felt a sweet scent invade his nostrils and was stunned.
When did I end up here?
Miss Red Dragon held him in her arms as if he were a princess about to enter the bridal chamber, and he barely had his clothes on—it was so fast that he didn't even see it.
She waved her hand, and a red flying ark floated up into the air.
The commander, covered by a piece of earth that had torn him off the ground, was thrown into the ark.
— Hey, you're Alex, aren't you? — For the first time since she arrived, Miss Red Dragon spoke to someone other than John. It seemed like she didn't care about anyone but him.
Alex just nodded.
— Get on the ark, let's go.
John's behavior became increasingly strange. He looked at her, who was still holding him in her arms, and asked:
— Ma'am, who are you?
Miss Red Dragon's eyes were filled with fear, an expression that contradicted her usual rudeness.
— I'll introduce myself later... if your father doesn't kill me by then.
John was confused. Why would his father kill someone for nothing? He sensed the sincere fear in her words and decided not to waste any more energy thinking — it was better to just ask:
— Why would my father kill you?
As she placed John on the flying ark, which was hovering about a meter above the ground, she replied bluntly:
— I offered to accompany you and that boy. You were having fun in the square, so I went to take care of some business. Who would have thought you would get into such trouble?
He looked at John, without the slightest shame, placing all the blame on him and Alex:
— It's your fault. Didn't your father warn you not to come to the slums? Now look where we ended up, what situation we're in.
John had never seen anyone so shameless. He should be upset, feeling guilty for not having an escort—something that had almost cost him his life. After all, someone had volunteered to examine him and hadn't done the job properly.
I thought it was the end of the line, but Miss Red Dragon continues, like someone wronged :
— You're making a lot of money. I had to spend 30 purple revival potions. If your father doesn't kill me, you'll work for me to pay back what you owe me.
John felt his dizziness increase. He didn't want to talk about this nonsense anymore. This woman must have some kind of mental disorder. I died, now you have to pay compensation with your workforce? What a joke.
The ark was about to take off when John spoke, still panting:— Wait... what about them?
He pointed his finger at the wolf family. Miss Red Dragon looked in the indicated direction and asked, with a slight tone of indifference: "What about them?"
João could hardly believe it. It seemed that for her, only his and Alex's problems existed, nothing more important. Exhausted, with blurred vision, he didn't want to waste any more energy and just mumbled a few words before falling asleep.
"We will take them with us," said Miss Red Dragon, with an air of decision that hardly matched the rest of the situation.
Ignoring the blood and dirt, she glared at the wolf family with an authoritative gaze, "You guys , come with us. No one is allowed to refuse."
Isa and her aunt exchanged glances with their mother, hesitated, but ended up grabbing some things from inside the cabin and getting into the flying ark. They were safe... at least to a certain extent. The immediate danger had passed, but the future? That was a mystery that everyone was afraid to face.
At high speed, the flying ark took off from Venhorst Castle, located at the city's barriers.
Continued...