Chapter 144 - 142 The Four Colors of the Night

Chapter 144: Chapter 142 The Four Colors of the Night

Sebastián drew back his right fist without taking his attention off the helmet.

In front of him, the stranger pulled his back away from the bookshelf and planted his boots among the fallen books. The left forearm still bore the dented plate, but he positioned it in front of his chest again.

Neither spoke.

Sebastián’s killing intent spread through the office, cold and direct, focused on killing the person before him.

Through it seeped the pain and suffering of thousands of people, layered with a depth that extended to millions. They came from the Crimson Baptism he carried in his soul as the Crimson Emperor.

Sebastián remained steady, in complete control of his movements.

That burden contained the suffering of others accumulated during the Baptism. It was something he carried within him, not something he was experiencing at that moment.

The stranger kept his helmet directed toward him and released his own killing intent.

It was disciplined, firm, directed at Sebastián with an unwavering resolve.

The pressure of both killing intents met among the furniture and reached the corridor.

Selena felt her next breath come shorter.

Still crouched beside the entrance, she planted her boots firmly and forced her chest to regain a steady rhythm.

One of those presences conveyed a precise and relentless determination to kill; the other carried a depth of suffering that made her fingers curl against her palm.

She raised her face slightly toward the doorway and kept her body protected behind the wall.

Both advanced.

Sebastián threw his left fist toward the chest.

The stranger turned just enough to move the central plate out of its path, deflected the forearm with his right hand, and moved in beside the shoulder that had been left forward.

His left palm rose toward the jaw.

A short extension of plasma emerged from the pointed piece, illuminating the edge of Sebastián’s glove before reaching him.

His instincts warned him of the danger.

He pulled his head back and withdrew his arm to close his defense.

The blade passed in front of his face mask and grazed the outside of his forearm. The fabric split open with blackened edges; beneath it remained a burned cut that made his fingers contract.

The pain confirmed the reach of that weapon.

Keeping it away from his skin required more distance than the other was willing to give him.

Sebastián allowed the withdrawing motion to continue through his shoulder and drove his right fist into the protected ribs.

The stranger tried to move aside, but the knuckles struck his side before he could complete the movement.

The plate caved inward with a metallic impact that made the desk vibrate.

His body was knocked out of close range, and one boot scraped across the floor until he regained his footing.

Sebastián advanced to take advantage of it.

The right palm was already coming toward his abdomen.

He halted his next step and shifted his body aside.

The plasma passed beside the harness strap, tore open the clothing over his side, and burned a line across his skin before he could withdraw completely.

The stranger followed through with the attack, placed a leg in the direction Sebastián was moving, and forced him to change his footing.

His elbow drove toward Sebastián’s face during that same adjustment.

Sebastián caught it on his right forearm, felt the shock pass through his muscles, and responded with a short kick to the torso.

The impact drove the other against a corner of the desk.

The wood broke beneath the plates covering his hip, and one of the drawers fell to the floor.

The stranger recovered by using the edge that was still standing.

He moved around that corner before Sebastián could trap him against it and came forward again with his hands raised.

His movements were short and connected: he deflected an arm while bringing his body closer, shifted his footing when blocking a kick, and used that change to position himself where the next escape would be more difficult.

Sebastián found a glowing palm in front of his chest when he tried to move past the desk.

As he avoided it, pressure against his arm attempted to drive him toward the junction of two walls.

The stranger’s knee rose toward his side.

Sebastián lowered his elbow and absorbed the impact.

Air escaped between his teeth, but he kept both feet beneath his body.

There was little space left behind him.

He understood the sequence of those attacks: every defense was costing him a direction in which he could move.

The other intended to restrict his movements until the plasma could reach him without leaving him room to dodge.

Sebastián planted the leg closest to the wall and threw his right fist toward the chest.

The stranger interposed his left forearm.

The blow dented the plate even further and separated their bodies.

Sebastián drew back his fist and delivered a straight kick before the stranger could close the distance again.

The kick struck the abdominal plate.

The stranger staggered back against the desk and dragged it until one of its supports broke.

The surface tilted, the equipment slid off, and a screen went dark when it struck the floor.

Sebastián regained his footing after the kick and moved out of the corner, following that retreat.

He had gained space.

The left palm traced a low arc as the stranger approached.

Sebastián withdrew his forward leg too late to avoid the entire motion.

The plasma sliced open his trousers over his thigh and left a narrow burn around the cut.

His knee gave way slightly.

He shifted his weight onto the other foot before that momentary weakness allowed the stranger to reach his neck.

Sebastián’s next punch struck the protection covering the shoulder that was moving forward.

The plates collided against each other, and the armored body turned until it struck the wall.

A section of the wall covering broke away; beneath it, cracks spread around the impact mark.

The stranger pulled away before the fragments finished falling.

His helmet remained pointed in the same direction, and his palms continued searching for the openings Sebastián left whenever he attacked.

The dented plate on his left forearm now scraped against another piece every time he bent his elbow, producing a clicking sound that repeated between blows.

Sebastián shortened his responses.

He withdrew his fists as soon as they struck the armor and pulled back his legs before a hand could close around them.

His attention remained on the shoulders and footing, searching for the changes that preceded each advance.

A single mistake would be enough for those blades to reach his neck or plunge into his chest.

Selena remained behind him.

He had to keep the stranger occupied inside the office.

The blade grazed his left arm again when he deflected an attack aimed at his face.

This time, it burned part of his glove and extended the opening up to his sleeve.

Sebastián felt his skin split apart and the heat linger inside the wound.

A line of blood ran down toward his knuckles.

He responded before the other could repeat the movement.

His right fist struck the chest, displaced the plate, and forced the stranger to yield another step.

As he withdrew his arm, the edges of the first cut were already joining beneath the burned fabric.

The most recent injury remained open.

Regeneration was closing the older wounds while the new attacks continued tearing his skin open.

The stranger shifted toward his flank, and Sebastián followed him with a kick that met an angled defense.

The armor took the blow at an angle, but the force drove him against the remains of the desk.

A wooden board flew toward the entrance.

Selena pulled her head away from the edge and retreated in a crouch down the corridor, keeping close to the wall.

The fragment struck the opposite wall and fell beside the blackened perforations.

She raised an arm to protect herself from the dust and kept the path toward the stairs clear.

The stranger emerged from the remains of the desk and advanced toward Sebastián.

He planted the boot with which he had just struck and met him in the center.

The floor was beginning to crack beneath their movements.

In front of him, the other maintained his precision, although an abdominal plate had been displaced and his left forearm could no longer close completely against his torso.

Sebastián noticed that weakness when he threw his left fist and encountered a defense that no longer covered the entire trajectory.

He drew back his fist and threw his right toward the helmet with all the strength of his body and the greatest speed he could achieve at that distance.

Almost simultaneously, the stranger’s right palm found a direct path toward his heart.

The incandescent tip advanced toward his chest.

His instincts alerted him before contact.

A hostile presence burst through the wall to the right of the entrance.

Sebastián shifted his footing and redirected his fist toward that side.

In front of him, the helmet turned in the same direction, and the glowing palm abandoned its trajectory toward his heart.

The wall burst inward as both finished reacting.

A figure passed through the opening with its arms extended forward and reached the space separating them.

Sebastián’s fist collided with one of those forearms.

The stranger’s plasma struck the other.

The flash illuminated the remains of the office.

A sharp explosion struck the walls and lifted books, splinters, and fragments of the wall covering from the floor.

Sebastián felt that resistance stop his knuckles and, immediately afterward, the force overcome his footing.

His boots left the floor.

He was hurled diagonally and struck the opposite wall with his shoulder and part of his back; the wall covering gave way around his body.

The stranger crashed a few meters farther away, near the destroyed bookshelf, with a crash of plates and broken wood.

Dust filled the space between them.

From the corridor, Selena shrank against the wall and covered her head as debris struck the floor.

Sebastián lowered one foot among the fragments, his arm still shaken by the collision, and fixed his gaze on the center of the office.

The figure became visible as some of the dust began to settle.

He was a man of extreme bulk, with an enormous abdomen that bulged beneath his clothing and hung over his waist. His arms, however, displayed thick, well-defined muscles; his legs possessed the same density beneath that disproportionate volume.

He stood firmly among the remains of the desk, his forearms extended forward, in the spot from which he had just thrown them both.

The newcomer lowered his arms.

His clothing settled over his abdomen as he turned his face toward Sebastián and then toward the stranger, giving both the same unhurried attention.

He snorted through his nose, and a puff of steam emerged from his nostrils, spreading beneath his face before dissipating among the dust.

No killing intent accompanied that gesture.

He remained in the middle of the pressure the other two maintained, his arms relaxed and his feet firmly planted on the remains of the desk.

Sebastián finished pulling himself away from the wall.

His shoulder still retained the shock of the impact, but he could move his arm without difficulty.

A few meters away, the stranger pushed a board aside with his boot and straightened his torso. His left forearm remained slightly separated from his chest, restricted by the deformed plates.

For an instant, the three observed one another without advancing.

Sebastián paid attention to the way that body supported its own weight, to its breathing, and to a presence his senses had encountered before.

A faint line lit up on the stranger’s helmet.

A sweep of luminous waves passed over the newcomer, and beside the mask, small columns of numbers and text appeared, changing rapidly.

—A profane.

The two voices coincided.

Sebastián’s came out firm behind his face mask; the other arrived with a robotic tone, filtered through the helmet.

He had faced and killed beings with that same presence.

The stranger had reached the identification through his equipment’s readings.

The scan ended as the man in the center widened his mouth and let out a hoarse, rough laugh that shook his chest.

—So even inferior beings know how to recognize those of my race —he said, drawing out the last word with satisfaction.

He raised a hand and pointed at the stranger.

His finger remained directed toward the black and blue plates for a moment, then settled on the helmet.

The laughter returned beneath his breathing, brief and filled with contempt.

—A metal toy, manufactured by that society of yours... —His arm changed direction, and his finger pointed at Sebastián—. And a nobody who gets in my way.

His attention passed beyond both of them to the doorway.

He tilted his head slightly toward the corridor and inhaled through his nose with deliberate slowness.

—And a little morsel out there, too.

Selena remained motionless against the wall.

She drew a slow breath behind her face mask and moved her body closer to the wall, maintaining her distance from the entrance.

Inside, Sebastián planted his foot among the debris.

The stranger lowered his right hand slightly, keeping his palm directed toward the center of the room.

—Today I’m going to enjoy a fine feast —the profane continued, spreading his fingers as though granting them a favor—. You should be grateful. You won’t have to keep enduring that miserable existence. Being born human is already suffering enough.

Sebastián kept his gaze fixed on him.

He had thrown him against a wall and was already behaving as though that gave him the lives of everyone present.

How much arrogance did it take to call his hunger compassion?

Irritation tightened his jaw beneath the face mask without altering the firmness of his footing.

In front of him, the stranger tilted his helmet and stopped moving his hand.

The piece in his palm retained its plasma blade, short and glowing.

The profane raised his chin.

His chest expanded above his abdomen, and the hand he had used to point at them returned toward his own body.

—I am Urlak —he announced, striking his chest once with his fingers—. I will free you from the suffering of being...

Sebastián and the stranger lunged before he could finish.

Neither looked for a signal from the other.

Their exasperation found an outlet in two attacks launched from different positions.

Sebastián closed the distance toward the abdomen.

A repulsion pulse discharged beneath the suit’s boots, propelling the stranger upward along an oblique trajectory until his right palm aligned with Urlak’s forehead.

Sebastián planted his foot on the final step and drove his right fist forward with all the physical strength he could channel into the advance.

His shoulder followed the extension of his arm, and his knuckles struck the belly at the same instant the plasma touched the head.

The blow produced a sharp explosion that echoed between the damaged walls.

Above, contact with the weapon produced a flash, and a cloud of smoke rose in front of the helmet.

Urlak’s clothing tore beneath the knuckles.

Sebastián felt the surface give way and his fist sink in, but the resistance changed before he could advance into the interior of the body.

The skin folded around his hand without breaking.

The mass of fat shifted toward the sides, surrounded his knuckles, and enveloped part of his forearm.

The impact lost its concentration within that deformation.

A tremor ran through the abdomen and spread along the flanks, causing the bulk hanging over the waist to sway.

Part of the force dispersed through that movement; another part traveled through Urlak’s body and descended to his feet, where fragments of the floor jumped around them.

His legs hardened under the strain.

The muscles became more clearly defined as his knees bent just enough to withstand the blow.

Sebastián kept his arm extended.

He had delivered the impact, and his fist remained buried in the fat, without reaching anything deeper.

The stranger had struck the forehead with the piece in his palm leading the way.

The skin burned around the point of contact, and the blade opened a dark mark, but its advance stopped before penetrating the head.

Urlak tensed his neck.

The muscles hardened on both sides, and his shoulders braced themselves while the plasma continued drawing smoke from the wound.

The armored arm bent against that resistance.

The stranger withdrew his hand and allowed the thrust from his boots to carry him past one side of the head, until he regained his footing near the opening.

The burn remained visible on Urlak’s forehead.

Below it, his abdomen was still folded around Sebastián’s fist, while the muscles of his arms and legs remained tense in the center of the office.

Urlak lowered his gaze toward the arm buried in his belly.

The corner of his mouth lifted as the fat finished swaying around the fist.

Then he looked back at Sebastián. The burn left by the plasma on his forehead was still giving off smoke.

—That’s what it means to belong to a superior race —he said, letting out a laugh through his nose—. Now I’m going to show you the difference.

His right hand shot toward Sebastián’s head, open, with his fingers ready to close around his skull.

Sebastián raised his left hand before it could reach him.

Their palms collided with a sharp impact, and both closed their fingers, locking hands between their faces.

The pressure entered his knuckles and traveled down through his wrist.

Sebastián planted his legs firmly without yet withdrawing his right hand from the abdomen.

The muscles of his left forearm stood out beneath the remains of his sleeve; opposite them, Urlak’s muscles hardened until his skin grew taut.

Neither hand managed to bend the other.

The profane’s smile diminished.

He increased his strength, driving his feet into the fragments of the floor, and Sebastián withstood the change without allowing the grip to descend toward his face.

That resistance was different from what he had encountered when striking the belly.

Here, muscles and fingers opposed each other, and for the first time, the confidence with which Urlak had begun closing his hand encountered a limit he could not overcome.

Behind him came the brief thrust of a pair of boots.

The stranger had left the opening and was advancing with his right palm directed toward the lower back.

The plasma cast a reflection over the torn clothing before touching it.

Urlak twisted his torso to move his back away from that trajectory and drove his left fist toward Sebastián’s face, taking advantage of the fact that he was still holding him.

Sebastián pulled his right hand free from the folds of the abdomen and interposed it before the fist.

The impact shook his forearm and pushed him to one side.

He followed the movement with a twist of his left wrist and tore his hand free from the grip before the profane could use it to throw him.

He propelled himself sideways, passed beside the flank left exposed by the turn, and landed near the opening.

The stranger’s palm sliced through part of Urlak’s clothing without reaching the center of his back.

The arm that had just struck Sebastián returned in a sweeping motion and forced the armored suit to retreat toward the opposite side of the office.

The three were separated once again.

Sebastián straightened the arm shaken by the blow and found Urlak turning toward him, his hand still open after losing the grip.

Until then, he had sustained the confrontation with his body.

He needed more to stop them and remove Selena from that threat.

He set the Qi of the Dao of Strength in motion within his meridians, gathering it beneath the tension of his muscles.

Urlak stopped smiling for an instant.

His eyes widened slightly, and the stranger’s helmet emitted another analysis scan.

Sebastián kept his attention on both of them and raised his voice enough for it to reach the corridor.

—When we disappear, continue with the plan.

Selena moved slightly away from the wall upon hearing him.

She had no time to respond.

Sebastián’s Qi emerged outward at the same time that the violet aura erupted from Urlak’s body and golden arcs coursed across the stranger’s plates.

The profane regained his disdainful expression as he released his aura, charged with oppression and violence.

The suit’s discharges connected the chest to the arms and legs, alive across the metal.

Sebastián recognized their electrical appearance, but the energy sustaining those flashes was unfamiliar to him.

The Veil dragged them away at that very instant.

For Sebastián, the office retained its shape on the other side: the broken furniture, the cracked walls, the doorway, and the opening remained in their places.

Selena’s presence was absent from that replica.

The crimson Qi of the Dao of Strength spread around his arms and torso, clearer and more luminous than it had been before.

The currents overlapped in successive waves, resembling tides advancing over one another without losing their rhythm.

The intensity increased while each layer maintained its course, stable and contained close to his body.

In the normal world, Selena heard the noise inside the office fade away.

For a moment, she remained beside the wall, listening to the ventilation and the occasional tapping of a fragment that was still settling into place.

She approached the entrance and looked inside.

All three had disappeared.

Only the dust, the lights, and the traces of the fight she had witnessed remained.

She straightened up, checked the corridor behind her, and entered with her bag secured against her side.

The desk had broken apart and tilted over one of its supports.

Selena moved around the larger fragments and crouched beside the drawer that had fallen during the fight. She removed a board, separated the loose papers, and found several folders crushed beneath the edge of the furniture.

She took the tablet from her bag and retrieved the copies they had reviewed in her apartment.

She compared the references on the first pages with the saved records, moving from one date to another until her finger stopped on an authorization.

The number matched.

Selena brought the document closer to the light and examined the rest of the page.

The copy she knew ended before a reference that the original retained at the bottom.

That authorization referred to an earlier record.

She took a picture, checked that it was legible, and continued with the next sheet.

Finding the match had given her a direction in which to search.

She still had to gather the related documents and preserve any originals she could take out of there.

Inside the Veil, the violet aura thickened over Urlak’s shoulders.

His back broadened, and the remains of his clothing began to split under the growth of his body.

His abdomen increased in volume as his arms and legs gained more muscle. His neck sank between his shoulders, and his height reached nearly two and a half meters.

Bony spurs pushed through the skin on his shoulders until they were exposed.

His jaw widened to the sides, broad and heavy, and grotesque fangs protruded between his lips, giving his mouth a shape resembling that of a hippopotamus.

The burn on his forehead stretched.

An opening appeared in the middle of the damaged skin, and a third eye unfolded beneath it.

The blackened edges remained around it as the new eye turned toward Sebastián.

The stranger attacked before Urlak could finish stabilizing his new weight.

The golden arcs intensified over his right arm as he directed his palm toward the neck.

The profane interposed his forearm, and the plasma drew a line of smoke from his skin.

Sebastián moved in from the opposite side with Qi reinforcing his arm.

His fist struck the ribs above the abdomen, and the impact displaced Urlak, lifting one of his feet from the floor.

The profane turned as he yielded and swung his free arm toward him.

Sebastián closed his defense.

The violet aura and Qi collided over his forearms and pushed him through the nearest wall.

The partition broke open into an adjoining room.

Sebastián passed through the fragments, planted a boot on the floor, and regained his direction before reaching the next wall.

A blow like that could separate him from the fight or leave him in the other’s path.

His instincts alerted him when the stranger crossed through the opening that had just formed, his glowing palm directed toward his chest.

Sebastián moved aside and struck the armored arm to deflect the attack.

The plasma struck a column behind him and carved a gash accompanied by the cracking of concrete.

Sebastián’s right fist returned toward the helmet.

The stranger raised his left forearm, and the damaged plates received the punch amid golden discharges.

The metal bent a little further, but the suit supported the arm long enough to allow him to change position.

Urlak burst through the broken partition before they could continue.

His shoulder struck the stranger and hurled him against the damaged column.

The impact dislodged part of the concrete and exposed the reinforcing bars inside.

Sebastián leaped out of the armored body’s path and delivered a Qi-reinforced kick against the profane’s knee.

The joint gave way just enough to make him lean.

Urlak planted one hand on the floor and fractured it beneath his weight.

The tremor spread through the room and reached the corridor.

Above them, a ceiling joint creaked.

The stranger used a burst from his boots to emerge from among the column’s fragments, while Sebastián withdrew his leg before Urlak could grab it.

The enormous hand closed around empty space.

Upon regaining his stance, the profane tore a chunk from the floor and hurled it toward him.

Sebastián shattered it with his Qi-protected forearm, but the impact concealed the advance of the armored palm for an instant.

The plasma passed beside his shoulder and burned another section of his sleeve.

Sebastián turned out of its reach and counterattacked against the stranger’s torso.

The golden arcs concentrated over the plates that received the punch. The armored body was hurled toward the corridor and struck a second supporting section beside the entrance.

The vibration raised dust from the cracks above.

Urlak advanced behind Sebastián and blocked his path with an arm, forcing him to interrupt his pursuit.

His fist descended with the violet aura compressed around his knuckles.

Sebastián deflected it to one side.

The discharge tore away a section of the wall and the edge of the floor slab.

The floor tilted beneath his boots.

Sebastián retreated toward the corridor and watched the crack he had just crossed open wider.

The fracture lines reached the damaged column, and part of the ceiling descended a few centimeters before stopping with a tremendous crash.

The stranger moved out of its path with another burst.

Urlak passed through the debris still standing between the rooms and attacked again.

Sebastián had to receive the first blow on both arms.

The Qi compressed within his defense and supported him as the footing beneath his feet finally gave way.

He allowed himself to drop toward the opening and propelled himself from the edge that still held, reaching the other side before the gap widened.

The detached fragment struck the level below.

Above, the weight of the upper floors began to overcome the damaged joints.

A deeper creaking sound passed through the structure.

Sebastián raised his head and saw a dark line opening across the corridor ceiling, too long to belong to a single room.

The stranger approached from his right with his arm extended forward.

Sebastián intercepted the armored wrist and tried to move the plasma away from his neck.

Urlak struck both of them with a sweeping blow from his forearm.

The three energies collided between their bodies: crimson over Sebastián’s arm, violet around the enormous limb, and golden flashes coursing across the armor.

The explosion separated them and finished breaking the remaining support beside the corridor.

A section of the ceiling fell onto the impact site, dragging down lights, ducts, and an edge of the floor above.

Sebastián leaped toward a strip of flooring still connected to the structure.

The stranger gained distance with his boots, moving through the dust toward the opposite side.

Urlak received part of the debris on his shoulders and swept it aside with a movement that raised another cloud of fragments.

His mass caused the edge beneath him to give way.

He fell onto a section of the lower level, crushing it beneath his feet, and raised his three eyes toward them.

The collapse continued above.

Through the openings, Sebastián saw a section of the upper floors tilting.

The joints still supporting it tore apart one after another, and the block descended, striking the intermediate levels and dragging down part of the facade.

The air reached him laden with dust.

He braced himself on an exposed beam and bent his legs to absorb the vibration.

When the mass finished falling past him, a strip of the Veil’s night sky lay exposed between the building’s broken edges.

The corridors of the twelfth floor had lost much of their walls and several sections of flooring.

The stranger reappeared through the dust on a tilted slab, with golden flashes jumping across the deformed plates.

Farther below, Urlak’s violet aura concentrated around his legs before propelling him toward the debris that still remained elevated.

Sebastián saw him coming and adjusted the Qi in his arms.

Both were still enemies.

The collapse of the building had only changed the positions from which they could reach him.

In the normal world, the corridor retained its ceiling, and the lights remained on.

Selena slipped the sheets she had separated into a folder and returned to the open drawer.

The record referenced by the first authorization appeared among other documents from the same set.

She carefully extracted it to avoid completely tearing a crushed corner and compared it with the reference recorded on the tablet.

The correspondence was clear.

She had found part of the missing trail between the recovered copies and the documentation preserved at that branch.

She photographed the pages in order and checked each image before placing the originals in her bag.

She still did not know who had issued the first order.

To follow the trail, she needed to preserve the complete references, including the dates and annotations that did not appear in the copies.

She separated another folder, checked its index, and glanced toward the door for an instant.

Only the constant hum of the ventilation reached her from there.

It was her responsibility to make use of the time Sebastián had secured.

Selena lowered her eyes to the documents again and continued.

At that same hour, in the room where the twins were being treated, Calista kept her left hand on the sheet while a specialist removed the external sensors from the remaining segment of her right arm.

The tests had been repeated with rest intervals, recording the responses when she attempted to move a hand that was no longer there.

The images intended to study the area of the lost eye and its visual pathways were still awaiting review alongside those data.

The team had gathered information. They still had to compare it before determining which possibilities were viable.

Calista observed the small marks the adhesives had left on her skin and then turned her only eye toward the adjacent bed.

Octavia remained motionless, surrounded by the measuring equipment and the care of those adjusting the external system over the accessible areas of her head.

A screen displayed the records of her brain activity.

Calista had watched those lines so many times over the past few hours that she was beginning to recognize their changes without understanding what they meant.

The specialist finished collecting the sensors and brought a chair close to Octavia’s bed.

—Now we need to record your voice —she explained, positioning a small microphone beside the equipment—. We’ll say her name and repeat a few simple instructions. Your voice will be part of the stimuli we’re going to compare.

Calista sat down and placed her hand beside her sister’s fingers.

She looked at them for a moment before raising her face toward the specialist.

—Should I speak to her as I always do?

The woman checked the microphone’s position and nodded.

—Yes. Wait for my signal before beginning.

Calista swallowed.

Upon receiving the signal, she leaned toward the bed and spoke Octavia’s name with a firmness she had to summon before every word.

She told her who was there, that she was still by her side, and that they were going to try to hear her.

Then she fell silent when instructed.

The screen continued recording the variations, and one of the specialists marked several sections to review alongside the previous ones.

They repeated the sequence.

Between one recording and the next, Calista remained seated, her shoulders tense and her hand motionless on the sheet.

Every change on the screen made her search the faces of the team, but they continued checking the data and preparing the next comparison.

Octavia did not open her eyes.

There was still no response that Calista could recognize as coming from her.

When the specialist gave her the signal again, she moved the chair a little closer and repeated her sister’s name.

The woman kept her hand raised until Calista finished speaking. Then she lowered her fingers and stopped the playback of the stimuli.

On the screen, the final section of the recording remained marked alongside the previous ones.

One of the team members checked the sequence, saved the data, and allowed the sound of the monitors to become distinguishable again inside the room.

—Rest for a moment —the specialist said, moving the microphone aside—. We’ve finished this series. Now we need to compare the recordings.

Calista moistened her lips.

She had spoken her sister’s name so many times that her throat was beginning to hurt.

She looked at the screen, then at Octavia, and slowly withdrew her hand from the sheet when someone brought her a glass of water.

She drank without getting up.

The team continued working around the bed. They reviewed the signals obtained and marked the intervals that would require further checks.

No one announced a response to her.

Calista held the glass between her fingers and waited until they indicated that they could continue with her evaluation.

The next part used the measurements they had already taken.

A three-dimensional projection of the remaining segment of her right arm appeared over a cleared surface.

The bone, tissues, and nerve pathways were distinguished through layers that the specialist separated with brief movements of her hand.

Models of the components that could be integrated into that anatomy began appearing around it.

The dimensions changed, the connection points shifted, and the responses recorded during the tests were compared with the proposed configurations.

Calista followed the movement of a projected hand until the image stopped.

—Would that one be mine?

The specialist kept the projection in front of them both and pointed to one of the areas still marked for review.

—It’s one of the models we’re evaluating. First, we have to determine which configuration can be adapted to you.

The hand broke apart into pieces of light again.

Calista set down the glass and adjusted her body so they could examine the skin of her arm once more.

The records were incorporated into the study while some configurations were set aside and others remained pending.

No component touched her body.

On the other side, Octavia remained under the external measurement system.

The hours of testing had produced files, comparisons, and new questions that the team was still organizing.

Calista rested her head against the backrest for a moment and turned her gaze toward her sister before attending to the next instruction.

Inside the Veil, Urlak reached the edge of the beam with violet aura gathered around his fist.

Sebastián jumped before the impact.

The metal bent beneath the blow, and the shock brushed his boots as he descended toward another fragment of the floor.

To his right, the stranger took advantage of the profane’s extended arm to move in beside his neck.

The plasma tore a burn beneath his jaw.

Urlak pulled back his shoulder and swung his free hand toward the helmet.

The armored boots released a burst that carried the stranger out of the grip’s reach.

As soon as he regained his footing, his right palm changed direction and became oriented toward Sebastián.

The golden arcs converged over the piece in his hand.

A concentrated shot emerged from it, with the plasma contained within the energy surrounding it.

Sebastián abandoned his position when he felt his instincts warn him.

The projectile pierced the remains of a column behind him and split them open from within.

Hot fragments crossed the space he had just vacated.

Urlak advanced over them, pursuing the suit’s movement, and delivered another punch without needing his body to reach his opponent.

A sphere of violet aura emerged from the blow.

The stranger shifted his footing and fired at it.

The energies met above the destroyed corridor, compressed for an instant, and exploded without either managing to penetrate the other.

The shock wave tore away a strip of flooring and struck the supports that still held part of the upper floors in place.

Sebastián covered his face with his forearm and landed on a tilted slab.

Above all three, a succession of creaking sounds preceded the descent of the last blocks that remained elevated.

The stranger escaped from beneath one of them using the repulsion of his boots.

Urlak moved through the dust toward an edge that still held, and Sebastián ran along the edge of the slab before its weight dragged it down.

He landed closer to the center of the floor, with the Qi of the Dao of Strength bracing his legs as he absorbed the fall.

The masses of concrete struck the exposed levels, tore away the last sections of the facade, and continued falling down the sides.

When the dust began to clear, not a single floor remained standing above them.

The twelfth floor had been reduced to an irregular expanse of rubble, exposed beams, and fractured surfaces, completely open to the night sky.

Urlak was the first to close the distance.

His fist descended toward Sebastián with enough pressure to lift the fragments before touching them.

Sebastián moved toward the outside of the arm and counterattacked against the ribs.

The blow sank into the flesh, but the profane maintained his advance and swung his elbow toward his head.

Sebastián had to duck and abandon the second attack.

Behind the enormous shoulder appeared the stranger’s glowing palm, directed toward him this time.

Sebastián tilted his torso.

The plasma burned an edge of his face mask before passing.

His left hand deflected the armored wrist, and his right struck the chest plates, forcing the suit to give ground over the rubble.

The retreat opened a path toward Urlak.

Sebastián took advantage of it before the profane could occupy it.

The crimson Qi reinforced his right arm as every fiber tensed from his shoulder to his fist.

He clenched his fingers until the skin stretched taut over his knuckles, on the verge of tearing.

The pressure accompanied his advance and took the form of a dragon aligned with his hand, covered by the currents of the Dao of Strength.

Urlak planted one leg firmly and launched another blow.

The violet sphere shot toward him.

The Absolute Dragon Fist met it before reaching the abdomen.

The physical pressure and reinforced Qi struck against the aura.

The fronts of both techniques deformed, and the space between their bodies disappeared beneath the explosion.

Sebastián felt his advance stop at his knuckles.

The shock traveled through his arm and forced him to withdraw it as his boots slid backward over the concrete.

Urlak also lost ground.

His heels carved two furrows before the bulk of his body became firmly planted again.

Between them, another section of the floor had collapsed.

The stranger fired through the dust toward Sebastián’s exposed side.

His instincts allowed him to move out of the trajectory, but he had to interrupt his next movement.

The projectile continued toward Urlak, who shifted his torso aside.

The plasma opened a wound on his flank and drew a snort from between his fangs.

The profane responded with a sphere directed at the suit.

The stranger gained altitude using his boots and passed above the explosion that shattered his previous foothold.

As he descended, he targeted Sebastián’s back with his palm leading the way.

Sebastián turned to meet him.

He drove his hip to its limit and unleashed a side kick.

The pressure projected a tiger whose charge extended with his leg, reinforced by crimson Qi.

The stranger managed to orient his hand and discharged the golden energy against the Unstoppable Tiger Kick.

The collision held in front of the armor before erupting into an explosion that separated them both.

The suit was hurled toward an area covered with concrete slabs.

Sebastián withdrew his leg in midair, landed on his other foot, and had to bend his knee to maintain his balance.

Urlak was already coming toward him.

The first blow passed beside his shoulder.

Sebastián deflected the second, but the force broke open his defense and drove him to the edge of a crack.

He propelled himself away from it before the next sphere could reach him.

The explosion struck his back through the Qi and forced him to break his fall with one hand.

His right arm still retained the painful tension of the dragon.

In his leg, the muscles responded with a tremor he had to control before standing up.

Regeneration continued working beneath his torn clothing, but each technique had demanded more than an ordinary blow.

On the other side of the gap, the stranger moved in against Urlak again.

He avoided an open hand, slashed the profane’s forearm, and used a burst to retreat from the fist that followed.

His plates still bore the dents, and his left arm remained restricted when bending.

Even so, the helmet never remained directed toward Urlak longer than necessary.

He searched for Sebastián with every change of position.

Either of them would take advantage if he focused all his attention on the other.

Until then, he had responded to what was visible and to the danger his instincts recognized.

He needed to perceive something more without losing track of those movements.

He regulated the spiritual energy behind his eyes.

Bare Spiritual Consciousness opened over his perception as he dodged the fragments raised by another discharge.

A sharp pressure crossed his vision, and Sebastián immediately reduced the depth. He maintained only what was necessary to distinguish the forms superimposed on their bodies.

Within Urlak’s outline, he perceived a childlike figure, with a swollen belly, emaciated limbs, and bones protruding too sharply beneath taut skin.

Its mouth contracted with an aggressiveness that distorted the baby’s face.

That silhouette remained embedded within the profane’s, following every movement beneath the violet aura.

Sebastián shifted his footing as the stranger passed beside him.

Beneath the plates, he distinguished a human spiritual form, upright, gathered around a firm will. It retained something of a soldier’s discipline even when attacking: the same precision with which the body sought to cut off his escape routes.

It was a man.

Sebastián managed to recognize him before a palm forced him to move his head aside. He deflected the arm and responded with a short kick, reserving the greater technique as he regained space.

As he turned after the impact, a small form entered the edge of his perception.

On his left shoulder was a tiny turtle, with an angular shell and golden eyes. Its spiritual outline placed no weight on the fabric.

It remained beside him amid the violent shocks, too recognizable to be mistaken for one of the wandering presences.

Narka was still with Valentina, but something of his had been accompanying him.

Sebastián understood where he could direct that request.

Urlak launched another sphere.

Sebastián moved out of its path and used the remains of a wall to conceal his change of position.

—Narka, I need your help.

Far from the building, in the guesthouse bedroom, Virka held Valentina curled against her chest.

The girl slept with one hand closed around the fabric of her clothing.

Narka was beside her, tiny upon the bedspread, his head directed toward the door.

His golden eye changed direction upon receiving Sebastián’s voice.

Virka noticed the movement and stopped stroking the girl’s hair.

—Sebastián is requesting help —Narka said quietly.

Virka’s fingers remained on Valentina’s head for an instant.

Then she withdrew the arm supporting her and carefully settled her onto the pillow.

—What’s happening?

—He’s fighting two opponents. The soul clone I left with him before he went out received his request.

Virka raised her gaze toward Narka as she spread the blanket over her daughter.

Then she stood up and went toward her luggage.

—I’m going. Stay with her.

Narka approached Valentina as Virka took out the temple attire.

The black folds opened between her hands, bordered in red and crossed by golden embroidery.

She entered the bathroom with the garment and left the door slightly ajar so she could hear him.

No movement could be heard in the adjoining room; the door connecting both rooms remained closed.

—The profane is a peak-stage War King aura user —Narka continued—. He fights like a being at the initial stage of Incarnate Aura. The one in the suit possesses the capabilities of a mid-stage War King, and his discharges are more dangerous than that level of power suggests.

Virka removed her sleeping clothes and put on the disciple’s attire.

She adjusted the fabric over her shoulders, spread out the lower panels, and ran her fingers over the red circle on her chest until the garment settled into place.

She remembered Kael’s words: it could protect her, but it could also break.

Upon coming out, she gathered her hair to keep it away from her face and put on her footwear beside the bed.

—Sebastián is still holding them off —Narka added—, but both are searching for every opening the other leaves.

Virka finished adjusting a sleeve and raised her chin.

—Then he doesn’t have to keep doing it alone.

Narka held her gaze.

The firmness with which she had begun changing remained in her hands. She had not abandoned the care of her movements in order to hurry.

—My clone can finish them off —he said—. But it’s strange that a profane of that strength appeared without anyone covering his back. I want to preserve a response for what we haven’t seen yet.

Virka looked at Valentina.

The girl had released her grip on the clothing and was sleeping with her fingers curled beside her cheek.

—And in the meantime?

—The clone will reinforce your attacks and maintain protection over you. You’ll have to coordinate with Sebastián. If the support isn’t enough, I’ll intervene.

Virka nodded.

She leaned over the bed, tucked the edge of the blanket beneath Valentina’s arm, and brushed her hair with her lips.

Narka remained beside the pillow as she straightened.

With him there, she was able to withdraw her hand and head toward the exit.

She carefully opened the outer door, closed it behind her, and advanced down the corridor until she reached a clear area.

The black aura emerged close to her skin and enveloped her in a dense layer.

The brightness of the lodging disappeared as she entered its reflection within the Veil.

Virka planted one foot firmly and felt the bond mark on her chest respond.

The resonance gave her a direction.

She turned toward it and went outside, gathering the aura in her legs before the first leap.

The impulse carried her above the nearest buildings.

She landed on a rooftop, allowed the aura to absorb part of the impact, and leaped again without stopping.

The temple attire fitted closely to her body while the lower panels followed her movements.

Between one foothold and the next, the mark resonated again.

Virka corrected her course, crossed streets from above, and took advantage of firm surfaces to regain momentum.

The cold swept loose strands of hair away from her face.

Her eyes remained fixed in Sebastián’s direction.

A violet glow appeared above the rooftops.

Then came the roar, followed by a golden brightness that faded among the dust.

Virka distinguished the mutilated building and the debris that continued breaking away along its sides.

Its upper floors were no longer standing.

On the last elevated expanse, three figures shifted positions amid flashes and rubble.

The mark responded more strongly.

Virka reached the roof of the neighboring building and saw Sebastián retreat from an explosion, his arm extended forward and his clothing torn open over his muscles.

Urlak occupied the other side of the destroyed surface.

The stranger was descending onto some tilted debris, surrounded by golden arcs.

She gathered the aura beneath both feet and leaped toward the space that had just opened beside Sebastián.

Blackness enveloped her descent.

Her feet touched the concrete, her knees bent to absorb the impact, and a low wave of dust spread around her.

Sebastián turned his face upon sensing her.

Through his still-open perception, he saw the clone extend a layer of Qi around Virka’s black aura, adjusting it to her arms, torso, and legs.

She straightened beside him, with the red circle of the temple attire visible among the folds and her gaze directed toward the two adversaries.

________________________________________

END OF Chapter 142 The path continues...

New Chapters are revealed every

Sunday, and also between Wednesday or Thursday,

when the will of the tale so decides.

Each one leaves another scar on Sebastián’s journey.

If this abyss resonated with you,

keep it in your collection

and leave a mark: a comment, a question, an echo.

Your presence keeps alive the flame that shapes this world.

Thank you for walking by my side.

If this story resonated with you, perhaps we have already crossed paths in another corner of the digital world. Over there, they know me as Goru SLG.

I want to thank from the heart all the people who are reading and supporting this work. Your time, your comments, and your support keep this world alive.

If this story resonated with you, I invite you to support me — your presence and backing make it possible for.