Thirty Minutes Earlier
As the training room slowly settled back into silence, still haunted by the horror of what had just occurred, David and Carla walked together toward the ninth floor.
Time had soothed the tension between them. True, they hadn't spoken since the very first day, but neither had tried to harm the other.
The conflict between their respective factions had taken on a life of its own.
"David…"
"…"
He didn't reply. His gaze stayed fixed straight ahead.
Still, Carla went on.
"Do you really think what we saw earlier… was real?"
She'd had one of the best views from her gallery seat. She hadn't missed a thing.
"It was probably just a magic trick."
"…"
"You know, like when someone gets sawed in half, disappears or floats in the air…"
She was trying to rationalize. To apply a logical filter to the unreal.
David, sensing she wouldn't stop talking anytime soon, finally replied.
"If that was a magic trick, then they're pretty lousy illusionists."
"What do you mean?"
He actually had some knowledge in that field, but David chose to stay silent. After all, it was personal.
The silence returned—heavier this time.
Soon, they arrived at the elevator, where a familiar face was waiting for them: a bespectacled young man they had seen earlier.
"Hello. My name is Teri. I'll be your guide to the meeting place. Please follow me."
The three of them descended into the depths of the complex. From the sixth floor, the elevator glided silently down to the ninth. The doors opened onto a long hallway, almost identical to the one housing the dorms on the seventh floor.
But one striking difference stood out: papers were stuck to each door, labeling the rooms' functions. Several had been torn down, as if someone was trying to hide what lay behind.
They walked in silence, their footsteps echoing faintly on the cold floor.
At last, Teri stopped in front of a metal door, wider than the others.
"Go on in, both of you. Don't be shy."
Inside, Vagner was sprawled out on a desk, sunglasses on, lounging as if soaking up the sun on an imaginary beach.
"Please don't mind that idiot," Teri sighed, adjusting his glasses.
He gestured for them to sit.
That short exchange was enough for David and Carla to get a feel for their dynamic.
"At first, I wanted everyone to see… but after some thought, I figured this way was better…"
Vagner seemed ready to pick up where things had left off, clearly preparing to deliver some kind of speech. But he was cut off.
"Can you do again what you did in the training room?"
"Yes?" Vagner replied, surprised, though not the least bit annoyed.
David, still calm, insisted without blinking.
"I want to see it up close."
He was talking, of course, about the card Vagner had seemingly conjured out of nowhere.
Vagner fell silent for a moment, thinking. Then he gave a simple:
"No."
"See?" Carla jumped in, as if to prove her point. "I knew it was just a cheap trick."
Vagner kept his smug smile, as if it all amused him.
"Teri."
Teri didn't need an explanation. He immediately understood what Vagner wanted.
He walked toward Carla, who remained seated, wary.
"If you'll allow me…"
He gently extended his hand, palm up, inviting her to inspect it. After a moment's hesitation, Carla reached out and checked his sleeves, his clothes, even behind his back—looking for any concealed device.
"It's fine. Go ahead."
The words had barely left her lips when tiny sparks began to dance in Teri's palm. Slowly, they fused, swirling with a soft flash… forming a simple piece of paper.
The paper looked ordinary, but the way it had materialized defied all logic.
Carla, who had just verified with her own hands that nothing was hidden, was stunned. Her mouth opened, then shut again.
Vagner, amused, stretched in his chair like someone who had just won a game.
"Heh heh."
But Carla, still skeptical, turned to him with her arms crossed.
"Then why didn't you do it yourself?"
Vagner raised an eyebrow, as if to say seriously?
"You think we can just do it at will without sacrificing anything? Sure, the world has changed, but it still follows its most basic rule: equivalent exchange."
"And what are the conditions?"
"You'll have to figure that out for yourselves."
Without another word, Vagner pulled out two rectangular boxes from his desk and handed them to David and Carla.
Each of them opened their box cautiously. Inside, two crimson spheres glowed faintly, as if holding a living flame.
Carla squinted, suspicious.
"So… I'm supposed to swallow this to gain powers like that?"
"In theory, yes. Teri and I each took just one."
One detail made her pause. She frowned.
"Wait… if you only needed one, why are you giving us two? You're trying to use us as lab rats, aren't you?"
Vagner shook his head with an amused sigh.
"If that were the plan, believe me, I would've already forced someone to take it."
"Then why two?"
"The second one… we get to choose who to give it to," David answered calmly.
Vagner slowly turned his head toward him, a satisfied smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"Finally, someone smart."
Carla clenched her jaw. She didn't need it spelled out to understand the insult.
"And why should I trust you?"
"That's your problem," Vagner replied, still grinning.
Fed up, Carla slammed the box shut and stood up.
"Fine. I've seen enough. I'm going to the library. At least there, I won't have to put up with your ugly face."
The idea had struck her out of nowhere: the library. A place full of potential answers. Maybe she'd finally find a rational explanation for everything she'd just seen.
But she'd barely taken two steps when a blaring alarm echoed throughout the floor.
David and Carla froze, immediately turning toward Vagner.
He merely shrugged, then looked to Teri, as if asking for an explanation.
But Teri didn't have time to answer.
Vagner's watch vibrated on his wrist. He glanced quickly at the message that had just popped up.
Then, in a strangely calm voice, he said:
"No need to go."
"Why not?" Carla asked, her tone filled with suspicion.
Vagner looked her straight in the eye.
"Because the library is on fire."
"Seriously?" Carla shot him a dark glare, clearly not believing a word, then turned on her heels and stormed out of the room.
"I'm leaving too," David added.
Left alone, Teri finally spoke.
"Shouldn't you have warned them?"
"About what? The intruder?" Vagner asked, hands in his pockets.
Teri nodded slowly.
"There's a good chance he started the fire."
Teri was worried they might unknowingly hand over the crimson spheres to the intruder.
"No need. They got the hidden message behind my words."
Teri raised an eyebrow.
"Even Carla?"
"Yes… Hard to believe, I know. But she acts like that because no one ever dared speak to her the way I did."
According to him, those around her always tread carefully, afraid to offend her—or her father.
"But that was before."
"What did you say?"
"Nothing."
They left the room in turn, each taking a different path down the hallway.
"Aren't you coming, Vagner?"
"Go ahead without me."
He waited a moment, listening to the alarm that continued to blare, then finally set off.
Vagner made his way alone to another elevator, isolated at the end of a deserted hallway. Inside, a single button.
10th floor.
When he arrived, the atmosphere changed completely. The floor was much smaller than the others. Only one room stretched before him.
The door had been torn off—destroyed violently, as if some massive creature had smashed its way in.
Inside, a capsule stood at the center, similar to the ones Ren and the others had used.
Like the door, the capsule had been violently ripped open. The chains, forged to withstand inhuman strength, now lay twisted and broken on the floor, as if they had never held anything back.
No host inside. Nothing. Not even a drop of blood.
Just emptiness. An oppressive silence.
Vagner slowly approached, hands clasped behind his back, observing the wreckage of the capsule.
Then, he turned around with an amused glint in his eyes.
"The real game has just begun."