Hugo felt the real danger. He tried to vanish and reappear behind Adam in a surprise move.
But Adam had anticipated that. He grabbed him by the shoulder and kicked him violently, causing Hugo's body to stiffen from the pain, then he disappeared again.
Hugo reappeared, but this time carrying a heavy bat, glowing with faint energy. He began appearing and disappearing rapidly, disorientingly.
"You… are blind!" he shouted jokingly, jumping from one corner to another.
But Adam, with his dark right eye, did not smile. He only said,
"So what?"
For him, if victory required gouging out his own eyes with his hands, he would do it.
But now he was starting to feel something different… a headache.
As if light and shadow were playing tricks on his forehead, hammering inside his skull.
Hugo was using his visual abilities intensively, causing flashing lights to appear inside the room, intersecting then disappearing.
One moment… everything goes dark.
One moment… light explodes from every corner, and Hugo attacks either with a bullet or his heavy bat.
Adam was trying to hold on, but the headache began to overwhelm his focus.
And in a moment of internal silence… Adam closed his eyes.
He closed them completely, surrendering to the darkness, seeking stability amidst the visual madness.
And tried to get used to the darkness instead of the light.
"My abilities… may be limited," Hugo said quickly, catching his breath between flashes of light.
"Teleportation alone isn't enough! That's why… I developed many tricks. You control water as if it were a miracle… It is. And if I could change the form of my spiritual essence, I would. But… that's impossible." He wasn't justifying… he was shouting the truth as it was.
Then he stopped playing. He turned off the lights, dropped the illusions…
And charged directly at Adam.
The exchange of blows became fierce, violent without ornamentation.
But in a fleeting moment, Hugo reached inside his coat and extracted a weapon not accounted for… a dagger.
The dagger stabbed Adam fiercely, but it was full of spiritual energy, so Adam felt as if electrocuted.
His body jolted. He felt heat spreading violently inside his limbs, as if his blood were turning to steam.
In the next moment, Hugo carved his way towards Adam and delivered another blow.
Blood burst from Adam's hand.
But Hugo froze in place, staring at the blood with astonished eyes.
"I… didn't hit you there!" he cried out in disbelief.
But Adam exhaled the air from his chest violently, his voice sharp and bitter at once. "Not you…"
The memory passed quickly through his head. A wound he made himself, when he had to perform a special ritual… in order to pray for Kayden's aid. He had to stitch his own hand then.
He had lied to the twins, saying that Fiona had treated him.
Now, due to excessive use of his spiritual powers… his special gloves had also torn.
Before Adam could process what was happening, he felt Hugo's arms close around him as if hugging him. Adam didn't understand anything, only felt himself floating.
In a flash, the place around him vanished. He opened his left eye with difficulty.
He was no longer inside his home. Adam had been transported elsewhere without feeling it.
Just… a grassy ground, scattered trees, and Hugo standing in front of him.
"I hope you find salvation, Adam…" Hugo spoke softly, as if it were a final prayer.
But Adam no longer had patience. No time for prayers, no room for regret.
He looked around… He didn't feel any water.
Everything here was dry—like a stage deliberately chosen to confine him.
But Adam… no longer needed water.
He raised the pendant and poured more of his energy into it. More of what remained in his weary body.
It glowed, then began to change… stretching, shrinking, transforming.
And in a faint flash of light… a scythe formed.
Black, dimly lit, cloaked in a grayish aura.
Adam held it steadily, then moved it lightly through the air, as if waking something that had been asleep.
Then he said, in a voice devoid of emotion:
"And I… hope you don't suffer. I understand your position. You and Kai are just victims. So make the right choice."
He struck the ground with his scythe. One loud, thunderous blow that shook the earth and surged forward.
The wind howled violently, leaves rustling as if fleeing the conflict.
Hugo smiled—his usual expression when danger neared. His arms hung loose, but his eyes missed no detail.
He watched every tremor in Adam's body, every breath, every tension in his wrist.
"Beautiful…" Hugo said lightly, stepping aside. "Have you finally decided to kill me?"
But Adam didn't reply. There was no need for words—only a decision.
He rushed forward, silent footsteps, only the sound of wind tearing behind him.
The scythe curved through the air as if it were an extension of his soul, not just a weapon in his hand.
Hugo evaded the first strike with a precise slide, but the second was faster, sharper.
Hugo appeared behind him, his punch shooting like a bullet—but Adam had anticipated it. He spun his body, ducked, and thrust the scythe upward.
The blade grazed Hugo. A thin red line appeared on his shoulder.
Hugo chuckled lightly, stepped back, and placed his fingers on the wound as if checking reality. "Ah… I'm bleeding."
Adam pressed his lips together. He looked at Hugo with cold eyes and said, "If you don't stop… this won't be the only wound."
Adam no longer attacked wildly. He began circling Hugo.
Hugo whistled in admiration, a small smile forming on his lips.
"You… you resemble those killers. Wait… aren't you one of them?"
They clashed again.
The weapon struck Hugo's leg, throwing him off balance and forcing him to stagger back.
But he didn't fall. He pulled a small dagger from his belt and raised it at the perfect moment.
The blades met—metal scraping against metal, rapid breaths, something primal echoing in the air… something that sounded like survival.
Then… Adam stopped.
His body straightened, his breathing slowed, and with strange calmness, he lowered the scythe to the ground and let go. He seemed to realize something.
He looked directly at Hugo, his voice heavy with impatience: "Where… am I?"
Hugo froze. He had expected a scream, a threat, or even a blade in his chest—but a question?
He didn't answer. Not because he didn't know, but because he felt the answer wouldn't make a difference.
He said, in a faint, regretful tone: "I'm sorry… but to return home, you'll need weeks of travel. Still… even I feel something is wrong. As if the danger hasn't ended. There's a terrifying energy here. Can you feel it?"
Adam was silent for a moment, then asked in a faint voice unlike the one he had attacked with: "Do you have… gloves?"
He raised his hands slightly, as if they were something that needed covering. "My hands are so cold… and they scare people. And I need to go back. Yes… I feel that energy too."
Hugo searched his coat, then pulled out a pair of black gloves. He held them out and said, "Your hands aren't that bad."
Adam's expression didn't change, but he gave a silent nod.
He glanced sideways—with the eye that still saw light—and asked slowly: "Is there an attack happening there? Why did you separate me from them? Because I might cause a flood?"
Hugo hesitated for a moment, then answered with rare honesty: "I'll be frank… I no longer fear anything. You… and Ayerton… everyone fears you. So separating you both was the best option to avoid disaster. But Ayerton hates me, apparently, and was impossible to deal with. So… I chose you."
Adam sat down slowly, as if his body no longer wished to stand. He looked ahead and said, in a tone free of resentment but heavy with harsh reality: "How could you guess what's in his heart? Are you… mentally challenged?"
Hugo didn't reply, but something in his eyes dimmed.
Adam guessed the truth, then murmured as if speaking to himself: "Go where the danger is… and end it. Do one right thing. Just one. To fix your image. Oh, and tell Ayerton that I'm the one who sent you to him. If you go, he might forgive you."
Hugo squatted in front of him, with rare calmness, then reached out and gently took Adam's hands. Slowly and carefully, he put the gloves on him.
The moment was simple… but it carried all the unspoken gratitude.
Then Hugo stood, and with a faint gust of wind, he vanished.
As if he had never been there at all.
As for Adam, he remained where he was, staring at the gloves, unmoving.
His body grew cold, as if turning to stone isolated from the world in a place untouched by time.
Adam looked around in bewilderment. He no longer knew where he was.
The place had no features, no borders, no signs.
The ground beneath his feet was damp, the air dry and heavy with silence. His body… every drop of blood inside him began to freeze slowly, turning into icy shards stabbing his insides.
He stood up slowly, as if his weight had doubled. He took one step, then another. He didn't know where he was going, but the emptiness ahead gave him no choice.
No people, no buildings, no roads.
Just an endless expanse of greenery and identical trees.
Adam closed his eyes. Stayed silent. Then opened them slowly.
Inside the cemetery
Mavilda stood silently before her child's grave. Kayden stood beside her, watching in silence—not a learned silence, but one inherited from all the losses he had never spoken of.
Deep down, he wasn't comfortable with this "marriage." Not with coming here, not with Tim.
Inside, he decided to inform Henry to sabotage the whole wedding. She deserves a man… not a scarecrow with a human head.
Henry wasn't home he had gone to the university to submit his final projects. As for Kayden? He'd finished everything early.
Now he did nothing but meddle in others' work: adding here, tweaking there, as if his mind refused stillness.
His thoughts sank into William's message the one they had found earlier in Adam's papers ' The fusion stage… the harnessed one was about to reach it, but before dying, he extracted his spiritual core and had his pet swallow it.'
Kayden stared at the ground for a moment.
'The animal must not have been ready. Was it weak? Like those flowers… unable to withstand the trial. Maybe I can replicate it… Should I make Colton do it? Using demonic abilities?But he immediately shook his head and dismissed the thought. No… that's wrong. This is my project. Maybe if I infuse it with spiritual energy, I could bring those plants to life.'
Tim's voice cut through his thoughts, teasing Mavilda as the visit ended "If I asked for your head, would you give it to me?"
Mavilda looked at him with clear irritation. "Don't make me change my mind."
The three walked out of the cemetery. The place was isolated, the silence heavy, before Tim whispered again "But I wasn't joking."
Unconsciously, Mavilda moved in front of Kayden, her body acting on instinct taking a defensive stance without realizing it.
Kayden looked at her in surprise, then felt the danger.
He focused his spiritual energy on his feet and hands. Tension pressed on his chest, but he responded. Adam had been right… tension, terror that's what made his abilities grow.
Then… two figures appeared behind Tim.
Kayden recognized one of them immediately: the man who had been with Arbella during the planting of the "Suicide Wish." And beside him stood Arbella herself.
The man was large-framed, with short black hair and brown eyes. He laughed with a hoarse voice "Kayden! You're still alive… what the hell!"
Kayden didn't reply. He looked at Mavilda, trying to calculate their chances of survival… For the first time, he wished he had stayed home.
Arbella said, pointing at Mavilda, "She's strong."
Tim laughed dryly as he watched her. "Mavilda is a flower… exquisitely beautiful."
Mavilda laughed. "I knew there was a traitor, but he was too close… you bastard. You need to die."
Tim said coldly, as if offering a service: "Shawn, I brought you the strong lady as you asked… and with her, one of the twins. For the sacrifice."
Kayden didn't move. He didn't explode or scream. But inside, everything burned. No words, no justifications. Just… disgust and a craving for murder.
He sensed almost everything every tension in the air, every breath carrying a hidden intention, every tremor in the ground beneath his feet.
But now, he didn't want to be just an observer. He wished, even for a moment, that he were stronger just a little stronger. Not for himself, but to defend others, to defend those he loved.
He didn't want to die. In that moment, he realized he had found at least partially what he had been searching for in this world. Death wasn't an option. Loss wasn't easy. But he didn't know what to do, so he stayed silent and thought.
He was silent, aware that he was like a child just beginning to learn, to take shape, to grow. He knew full well he was still at the start… yet here he was, in the heart of the end.
Shawn's voice cut through his thoughts, speaking to him with heavy sarcasm "Your other twin, Henry… will be caught soon. So you'll both die for our sake."