The encounter of darkness, born of prismatic brilliance with divine light, gave rise to a distorted space, no longer filled with voices crying out in lamentation, but rather a path of destruction that splits everything in half.
Faust moved in front of everyone, his body sculpted by the night fire with cores that shone intensely. They served as a means of finding other golems, and the moment this happened, his heavy structure moved at a terrifying speed, destroying its fellow man.
Candela felt suspicious of August's actions, and with each passing moment, he found more ways to subjugate her and her brother, since he was currently without his abilities and could only use them on himself. The cloud hanging over her head lifted; she no longer felt so much like a grain in an ocean of sand.
The tower was becoming less and less like a maze with endless paths. A straight path without long edges formed right in front of everyone. The decoration began with walls bearing writing in a language no one there knew the slightest, and the presence of columns so well-assembled that even a gentle breeze could be felt.
Even though Killbit was smiling and talking to August and his sister, he felt something was strange inside. He would turn his head to the side sometimes, thinking he'd heard a familiar voice—Gustav's—or even be spied on by those red eyes.
The young man was right. Beasts appeared before them, their black bodies covered in scars, with chains on their necks, some with only one eye. None advanced, but the moment Candela took a fighting stance, Faust appeared in front of her, throwing her away without attempting to harm her.
"What are you doing, Candela? These Beasts aren't hostile; they're the ones who managed to escape the Beast Coliseum." August generated a form of light and threw it at the beasts. "You can eat them; they'll be good for you. I can't bear to look at them; I feel a guilt tearing at my chest." He jumped off Faust. "I'd do anything to stop this slaughter of these poor creatures."
— He approached the beasts. — "I can feel that they are different; they are just beings that have been brutalized." He put his hand to his face. "Why do I know this? What is happening to me! Just by being like this I already know that their taste is horrible; they are too pure!"
"Killbit?" He appeared beside his brother, holding him. "These beasts are really calm, they don't even seem like beasts. I was scared, brother, you sounded just like Gustav just now." He sighed. "I guess that makes sense. You were created through your creators' teeth; you must have inherited all three of their traits, but calm down, the one with the personality problem here is Beatriz!"
August stroked a beast, letting out a laugh. "I agree with that, Candela, but there's something that binds me and my creation in an unbreakable bond." Faust stepped forward, breaking the beasts' chains. "We hate the coliseum deep down in our souls. It's a place where only causing pain to others brings happiness. I'm glad they condemned me to live in the body of my creation; with that, my soul was purified, but I wasn't forgiven."
— He kissed Candela's cheek, and she squeezed his neck. — "Come to think of it, I never wondered what the beasts were. Where do they come from? What's the outside world like? Was everything destroyed, or was it a meaningless prophecy?" He blinked, losing his vision, but it soon returned. "Can you tell me what you know, August?"
"The world has certainly suffered misfortunes and is no longer the same. All humans are gone; the only ones left are those present on Leviathan, I'm sure of it." He created more food. "But I'm not sure it's these creatures, but for me, they're a reminder of how horrible humans are."
Candela became uncertain about what she thought of August. On one hand, he seemed like a fanatic talking about the divine, and on the other, he seemed like a sinner who didn't want to be forgiven. She wondered if the way she saw him was right. Unlike August, he certainly felt no remorse or despair at being in a cycle of self-destruction.
Killbit instantly summoned his silver sword, but before he even knew why, a beast was split in half by a semi-transparent, icy sword. As the creature's blood stained the ground, Killbit launched himself at Faust, grabbing one of its cores and shattering it with his bare hands, absorbing the energy and gaining control over the clay.
A stake emerged from the ground, impaling the one wielding the icy sword. His form was revealed. His body was one with the translucent surroundings, bearing a long pair of wings more imposing than the icy sword itself. The blood that spread across the ground formed more beings with long wings, now dyed red, consumed by the violence.
August, even in shock, realized that the beings hadn't appeared out of nowhere; the environment had frozen in an instant. Using this as a basis, he realized his enemy had turned the water particles into ice, and the blood into the same thing. In a flash of thought, he deactivated the first golem he'd made, leaving only Faust active.
Now he needed to focus on materializing the fire sword in his hands and releasing as much heat as possible so that the beings couldn't form. But first, he launched himself at the Beasts, clearing a path for them to escape in exchange for a painful blow. But Candela appeared in front of him, deflecting the being's blow.
Killbit and Faust quickly began to fight the beings while August increased the temperature of the environment and Candela protected him.
"Why did you bother saving me? I wouldn't die so easily; a bad vase doesn't break easily. You'd surely be relieved to see me go."
— "Wrong. You need to be fully fit for me to fight Beatriz. I wouldn't be a coward to kill her while she's weakened. I want to do this while she's healthy so Beatriz can suffer intensely."
"You scare me. You're a mix of elegance and politeness with aggression. I feel like this is Gustav's thing; he's always been like this."
"You surprised me too, and made me ask questions I didn't want to ask, made me confront myself. Thank you. Don't think my education will last forever. What exactly happened just now?"
"I know very well that I am not saved. I don't know where these creatures came from; they are certainly not creations of the tower. They only seem like puppets. They don't scream like golems, they don't fear, and they don't retreat."
— "Just like the colossal being I defeated, the one who had a fragment of my memory. Could there be some connection between them?"
The sword appeared completely in Beatriz's hand; her eyes were brown, but they flashed purple for an instant.
— "I have no idea. I'm only sure of one thing: they will pay for killing that innocent beast who only suffered at the hands of scientists, at my hands!"
The sword shone, releasing magnificent flames.
Faust and Killbit took a few steps back.
An intense light took over everyone.
The angels were lost in the glow.
The eyes turned completely purple.
Everyone gathered was ecstatic.
At that moment, the tower from its base to the formation of the spiral towards the sky was touched by the hands of the creator