Jacob and Tomás jumped in opposite directions when James charged at them again, this time spinning the hammer. After dodging, they moved toward him to attack at the same time, but another person joined the battle at the last moment and, with two enormous stone shields, one held in each hand, stopped their counterattack.
“I see you have no qualms about attacking an old companion,” James said, stepping out from behind the new stranger. Half of his face was burned, but the other, the untouched half, looked identical to the photo on his missing-person poster. “Or attacking him again, I should say. After all, you did this to me,” he said, pointing at the burn.
“James… We… We,” Tomás stammered, trying to say something.
Jacob remained silent, staring intently at him.
It really is him.
“Just as quiet as always, Jacob,” James said before lunging at him with the hammer.
“Wait! We're on your side!” Cat exclaimed, trying unsuccessfully to stop the confrontation.
Jacob dodged as best he could, keeping an eye on the hammer and also on the man with the shields, a nearly two-meter-tall figure with a build worthy of a mountain, and a gaunt, bearded face. The latter took action and advanced toward Cat with the two stone plates at his sides.
Tomás reacted and hurried to attack him from the side, trying to divert or stop him, but with little success.
“Cat! Attack!”
“But we're… We're on the same side!”
The man rammed her with one of the shields and dragged her toward the wall. After impact, the man kept pushing, trying to crush her.
Nervous, Jacob tried his best to stop James, but when he failed to do so quickly, he changed strategies and broke free from him with an agile movement. He ran as fast as he could toward the other man's back, pulled his head backward, and cut his throat. A stream of blood sprayed across Cat's terrified face. Jacob regretted that, but he couldn't think of anything else to do.
“Cat, I need you to…” he began, but James chased after him again.
To keep Cat from getting caught up in the violent barrage of attacks from his former companion, he moved as far away as he could, venturing into the darkness between the columns. The last thing he saw before losing sight of them was Tomás rushing to help the girl.
“Is this all you plan to do, Jacob? Run?”
Still dodging, he hurried behind a column. James destroyed it with a single blow and smiled when he realized he'd hit him. But Jacob was no longer there. What James had struck was an afterimage he'd left behind to distract him and drop onto his back.
On his counterattack, Jacob drove both daggers into James's shoulders. James cried out in pain and began thrashing, trying to throw him off.
“It really is you,” Jacob murmured. Despite the voice having confirmed it, now that he saw the blood pouring from his wounds, he couldn't convince himself otherwise. “James…”
The man grabbed one of his wrists and forcefully threw him forward to get rid of him.
“Do you remember me now? Now that you finally see an opportunity to kill me?” James asked, feeling one of his open wounds. The daggers had disappeared when he threw Jacob away.
“James… You should be dead,” Jacob said.
He didn't know how. He couldn't remember what had happened. But he remembered the pain, the fear, the anguish.
“You died and we… Sarah…”
“This is all her fault,” James said. “If it weren't for that witch, we'd all still be simple students. Living our lives, but…”
“It's not Sarah's fault, James. She did… I think she did what she could.”
Now you understand her.
Little by little, the memory returned, as though he were cleaning mud off a mirror. With each effort, he could see a little more. The five of them were on one of their adventures when someone…
“James, someone ambushed us. They entered Sarah's world, her Dimension, and she lost control.”
“That wasn't how it happened, Jacob. So it's true that you don't remember.”
In his mind, the people he thought were María and James took the form of Cat and Mica… It was an incorrect memory. Something that happened later. His mind was a storm.
Accept me and let me help you.
“That doesn't matter, James,” Jacob said, still on the ground. “What matters is that we're here now. You're… You're alive. Come with us, let's get out of this place and…”
“No, Jacob. I'm not. None of those you'll find in this place are. We're just some kind of memory. At least that's what she says.”
“She?”
“The queen of this place. The redhead. She calls herself the Hunter.”
“A redhead!?” Jacob exclaimed. “Rose!?”
“I don't know anything more than that, Jacob. She explained to us that we're what's left of a person when they die in a Dimension. A memory that can't die, can't grow, can't feel hunger, can't feel anything beyond what they already felt before… We can't heal,” he said, touching his bleeding wounds.
“James, I don't know what kind of nonsense that girl has been putting into your head, but… Damn it, Cat was right.”
A chain began to materialize around James's neck, causing him to raise his hammer again.
“I'm sorry, Jacob. But you heard her… We can't do anything except hinder you. Run. Cut my tendons so I can't chase you and finish this game. Don't let yourself end up like us.”
“No, James. Resist. Stay with me, let's reach the throne and finish the challenge together. Sarah can find a way to…”
“Sarah can't do anything!” he exclaimed, attacking again.
Jacob dodged the blow purely by reflex, but didn't counterattack. He called out to his friend again and again, but he didn't respond either. Knowing there was nothing left for him to do there, he slipped away as best he could and ran at full speed toward the main passage to find Cat and Tomás.
When he found them, he saw Tomás carrying Cat over his shoulders and running toward the silver throne as fast as his physique allowed.
“Is Cat okay?” Jacob asked when he reached them.
“Jacob! I'm so glad to see you!” Tomás replied, slowing down but not stopping. His face was covered in blood, and one eye was closed.
“Are you okay?”
“Cat has lost consciousness. I think it was a panic attack. I… Well, I've held out as best I could.”
“Good job, buddy,” Jacob said with a nod. “Leave the rest to me.”
“And James?”
“We'll see what we can do for him once we get that crown.”
Nobody was chasing them, and most of the people in front of them threw some kind of attack before backing away, as though trying to fool the narrator into not taking them away with its invisible chains. The few who dared approach close enough were dealt with by Jacob quickly and without much effort. Now that they were near the throne, he could see what awaited them. Two enormous men with greatswords, and a man so pale that he seemed to glow beside the light of the throne he sat upon, wearing a matching silver crown on his head.
Tomás made sure they were still not being pursued and gently placed Cat on the ground.
“I'll fight too, Jacob,” his companion declared, although it was painfully obvious that he could barely hold his hammer without his arms and legs trembling.
“No, stay back. Protect Cat and…”
“You won't be able to do it alone! Look at them!” the boy exclaimed, pointing at their opponents. Both colossus were already in fighting positions, waiting for them. “Jacob?” he asked after receiving no answer for several seconds and seeing that his friend wasn't reacting in any way. When he reached out to place a hand on his shoulder and shake him in case he'd gone catatonic or something, his hand passed through his body, which had now turned into smoke.
Jacob appeared on the shoulders of one of the guards, but just as he was about to drive his daggers into the man's neck, the second one's greatsword struck him with the flat of the blade, sending him flying.
The enemies seemed to be very fast, but not as fast as him. He felt particularly motivated to finish this as quickly as possible.
The Jacob who had been sent flying through the air transformed into smoke, and he appeared behind the guard who had attacked him, delivering two quick slashes to his calves. The man screamed in pain and fell to his knees, dropping his weapon.
Immediately, Jacob moved and leaped toward the second opponent, who quickly placed his weapon in front of him, blocking Jacob's path and cutting him cleanly in half. But for the third consecutive time, he turned into smoke, and the real Jacob appeared once again on the giant's shoulders, finally managing to slice his throat.
When the man fell, Jacob fell with him, gasping from the exhaustion caused by using his ability so many times in succession.
Now he felt the cold air of the place against his sweaty body, and his lungs were burning. He was so tired that if he hadn't actively fought against his body, he would have fallen asleep. And thankfully he didn't, because the first enemy appeared above him just before he felt powerful hands around his neck.
“Jacob!” Tomás exclaimed.
Jacob tried to materialize his daggers to defend himself, but it took him several attempts, and although he eventually succeeded, he couldn't move his arm to attack the man choking him.
When his vision began to darken, he thought it was already too late to try anything. But before the darkness completely took over the scene, he saw his opponent take a blow to the side of the head. He inhaled sharply when the grip around his neck was released.
“Tomás, t-tha…” was all he managed to say, wanting to thank his companion, but another hand appeared in front of him.
“First you try to kill me, and then you forget my name?” James said as he helped him to his feet.
“But… You…”
“Pfff,” he scoffed, interrupting him. The chain began to materialize around his neck. “I decided it's better to suffer a fate worse than death than to watch a friend die in front of me and do nothing.”
“James!” Jacob and Tomás shouted in unison as the long chain pulled James into the darkness, toward an uncertain fate, but without erasing his smile.
“Damn this game!” Jacob shouted, dropping to his knees and pounding the ground.
Accept me and let's finish this.
He was about to do it. One word away from breaking a promise he didn't remember. Until he remembered it.
“Are you a Master now too!?” Jacob asked James after they left the school. Tomás had been absent from class that day because he was feeling sick, most likely because of the previous night's training.
“Yes, unfortunately.”
“What do you mean, unfortunately? Now you're as powerful as Sarah! I'd say even more!”
“Jacob… I spoke with Sarah. Or rather, we spoke with her Angelino,” James began to explain. “It revealed everything to me. Or at least the same thing it told Sarah.”
“And?”
“…Jacob, promise me you'll stop trying to get an Angelino.”
“What!? But that's the whole point of these training sessions! That's why Sarah chose us!”
“Jacob, I won't tell you anything else. I know you'll feel even more committed afterward and want to participate. But I won't let you. I spoke with Sarah, and she agreed to my request. She'll leave the three of you out of it. It's already too late for me and her, but you still…”
“You can't decide that for us! We know the risks! We know that…!”
“You don't know anything, Jacob!” James shouted, grabbing him by the shoulders. “And I don't want that to change! Do you hear me? You'll be kept out of this. That's my decision, period. As your senior, you have to obey me.”
“But…”
“Promise me you'll stop trying to get an Angelino!”
“James, I…”
“Promise me!”
That afternoon, after that argument, they were ambushed by someone, and James died saving them. Sarah then…
The memories filled Jacob with terrible fury, driving him to ignore his exhaustion and get back on his feet. He would respect James's wish. He would honor his promise. But he had a few things to collect from Sarah.
He turned with a look filled with animalistic fury toward the man sitting on the throne. Upon seeing his gaze, the man jumped in fright and even seemed to have wet himself.
“I… I don't… P-Please,” he said nervously.
“The. Crown!” Jacob shouted, raising a knife toward the man, who was growing even paler, if that was possible, and was now sobbing.
“P-Please, d-don't h-hurt me. I only…”
“Give me the crown!” Jacob shouted again and leaped toward the man, pressing the knife against his throat.
“Jacob! Stop, please!” Cat pleaded from the floor. “Don't hurt him! He's…!”
“C-Catherine?” the man asked between spasms and sobs, moving only his eyes to look at her because of the knife holding him in place. “Oh no, no, no, no, no. I-If you're here… That means…”
“Yes, Mr. Lorenzo… Yes.”
A few minutes later, the narrator finished its victory speech after Jacob took the crown from Mica's father's head. The boy apologized and helped him up from the throne. Although he was exhausted and struggled to move, the trembling in the man's limbs made moving even harder for him than for Jacob himself.
When the narrator said its final word, the door opened to reveal an almost blindingly white room, and a ghostly breeze swept over them, refreshing them and healing some of their wounds. After that, Tomás did his part and helped them recover even further, with the exception of Lorenzo, who was merely nervous.
“How did you end up here?” Tomás asked after confirming that the man had no injuries.
“I don't know. I was on my way home after leaving work, and the world went dark,” Lorenzo began to recount. As he listened, Jacob scanned the room. Everyone else who had appeared to oppose them had vanished or gone back into hiding behind the columns. Everyone except Lorenzo himself. “After that, a hooded person with a scythe appeared before me and told me my journey was over. Of course, I ran and called for help, but the darkness that had replaced the streets was total and infinite. I don't know how long I tried to escape, but I got nowhere. That person would appear in front of me again every few minutes.”
“Did she have a woman's voice? Was her hair red?”
“Her voice was distorted. And I couldn't see her hair beneath the hood.”
“Do you think Rose is responsible?” Cat asked.
“I'm almost certain she is. James told me that the Hunter, the owner of this Dimension, is a redhead.”
Cat's eyes widened, and she went pale.
“I'm not going to defend Rose, but… If she's the villain, why has she been helping us all this time?” Tomás asked.
“That's a question for her,” Jacob said. “Add it to all the questions I have for Sarah. Come on, let's keep moving. According to the narrator, the next room will be the final challenge. After that, we'll be able to return.”
“Come on, Mr. Lorenzo,” Cat said, motioning for the man to follow them. “Stay with us and you'll be safe.”
“But… Mica. It would be better if we waited for him here, don't you think? After all, you told me he's here too.”
“Your son is strong, sir,” Tomás told him. “It won't be difficult for him to find his own way out of the Dimension.”
“That's right,” Cat confirmed.
“I'm sorry, guys,” Jacob interjected, stopping right in front of the door to the next room. “He won't be able to come with us.”
“What are you saying?” they both asked, scandalized.
“James explained to me what the people we saw here are. Him included… What you're seeing isn't Mica's real father, just as James wasn't the real James. They're already dead. Rose killed them by bringing them into the Dimension… What you see before you is only a memory, a remnant of their soul.”
“Dead? No! I haven't died!” Lorenzo began rationalizing. “If I were dead, I couldn't talk to you. I couldn't think. I couldn't… I couldn't be this terrified…”
“I'm sorry, but we have to go,” Jacob said, turning his back on him.
“No! Don't leave me! I won't let you abandon me!” Lorenzo shouted, losing the little composure he had left. “I'm not dead! I'll prove it to you!”
Without another warning, the man ran toward the door and passed through it, reaching the next room.
“See?” As he asked the question, a chain materialized around his neck.
“The condemned souls of the Tower cannot leave the room of the second challenge,” the narrator declared in a somber tone, and the chain holding Mica's father by the neck pulled him back so that the darkness of the hall could swallow him.
Cat screamed in surprise and panic and began sobbing once again when the man's screams disappeared.
“Cat, come on, get up. We have to keep going,” Jacob told her, reaching her side and helping her back to her feet.
“No! Jacob! That was Mica's father! Our friend's father! He…! He couldn't have died!”
Tomás came to her side with a solemn expression and helped Jacob get her standing.
“Let go of me! This can't be happening! Let go of me!” she screamed as the boys dragged her toward the white room. The room of the final challenge.
“I'm sorry, Cat,” was all Jacob said. “I'm sorry.”