Kutro let himself slide down the hay bale until he was sitting on the grass, releasing his breath almost like a groan.

— Phew... They're gone...

"W-Was... Was it really her? Lya, it's been so long... I can't remember. What happened between me and the cult? Why am I in this form?"

Hax walked over, hooves clacking against the ground, and sat beside him behind the hay bale. He looked at Kutro and asked in a firm voice:

— Everything okay there, partner? They're gone now, don't worry. — He brought his bovine face close, that muzzle sighing right in his friend's face. — It was her, wasn't it? If so, our problems are just getting started...

— Hax, do you know where we are? That man said he'd teleport everyone to different places... Do you remember Michael saying anything about hay fields? — Kutro stood up, scratching his head. He looked around, feeling strangely familiar with the place. —... Hax?

He looked back only to find a straight trail of missing hay stretching across the area. Hax was circling the entire field, eating the grass faster than a shredder.

— My apologies, Kutro... — he said, letting out a belch. — But finding free wheat after all that time trapped eating nothing but metal beams is like finding gold while mining coal...

After devouring about half the entire field, the bull sat down cross-legged with a satisfied look, picked up a piece of straw and stuck it between his teeth, using it to pick out the grass stuck in there.

— Okay... Those cultists stole our relic... And — he said, pausing to pick out more bits of hay from his teeth — almost killed us twice. If we follow them now, we'll have no strength left to ambush them later. But if we stay to look for our friends, it might take too long. What's your suggestion?

Kutro took a moment to think. He moved awkwardly, careful not to tangle his feet in the dry grass, stepped out from behind the hay bale into the view of the orange sun, then turned back to Hax.

— Maybe... If we locate ourselves first... We might be able to "save" the location for later... I wonder where the others are...

---

The white flash swept over the hybrid's eyes, just as it had for the others.

Vierius opened his eyes quickly, his eyelids met by the pink light filtering through the translucent leaves of that place. It was a valley of tall, thick trees with dark brown trunks blended with warm colors, as vivid as a hand-painted canvas. It felt like a calm dream.

Vierius stood up, still processing, until the reality of the situation hit him.

— Lilith...? — he called. — Miguel...?

No one answered.

Miguel was lying on the ground, relaxed as if still asleep. His comedy mask was still on his face — that classic smile, those upward-pointing crescent eyes, eternally cheerful.

— Miguel? — Vierius tried again, walking closer.

— I heard you the first time — Miguel answered, his voice low, his arm holding his staff while covering his eyes at the same time.

— Where do you think we are? — Vierius asked, keeping his tone normal.

— No idea — Miguel shrugged. — Maybe "anomalous place number 47."

He said it in a tired, drawn-out voice. It sounded like a very failed attempt at humor. Vierius sat down beside his brother carefully, and both of them stayed quiet for a few minutes.

The distant wind made the falling pink leaves tremble, a soft sound like paper being crumpled far away, drifting them closer.

— Miguel, are you okay? — Vierius asked.

Miguel gave a dry, self-directed laugh, covering his face even more.

— I'm great — he said. — Just another day being thrown into an invisible barrier, losing my friends, fighting immortal cultists. Yeah, best day ever.

— Miguel, I've known you for a short time, but I know you well. You're not okay.

His fingers dug into the earth and closed into a fist, pulling up a clump of grass along with them.

— I don't want to talk about it.

— That's okay — Vierius answered. — But I'll be here when you do.

For Miguel, the silence created a false sense of comfort. He hesitated constantly between opening up and staying quiet. Only after five minutes did he finally decide to speak.

— You know what's strange? — he said, voice still low. — I was happy... I had Michael. Had B34. We messed around, trained, did normal teenager stuff. I... — His voice faltered for a second. — I had a normal life. A happy life.

— And then...?

— And then I walked into that pyramid.

— I found Pyramid inside. I thought it was going to be cool, you know? I thought it was going to be an adventure. Like... Like a movie. — His voice started shaking more. — And then everything exploded. Relics. Aliens. Yaol. Power. An entire world I didn't even know existed, and suddenly I was part of it without ever asking to be. Without ever realizing it.

— Miguel...

— I never wanted this! — His voice rose, shattering the forest's silence. — I never asked to be Kieria's son! I never asked to fight against these... these things that want to kill me without even thinking twice!

Vierius stayed quiet, letting him continue.

— Do you know what that's like? Fighting every single day? Knowing that if I make one mistake, if I hesitate for just one second, someone I love could die? — His hands started trembling. — I see the team falling apart... And I'm there, trying to be the leader, trying to be the funny guy who keeps everyone going, but on the inside I just...

He stopped and sighed.

— I just want it to be over.

Vierius watched Miguel, seeing his hands shake, seeing his shoulders cave inward like he was trying to take up less space in the world.

— I... — Miguel swallowed hard. — I blame Kieria, you know? I know it's wrong. She died. She didn't choose this either. But I keep thinking... Why me? Why did she have to give me this... this burden? Why couldn't she just... live a normal life and leave us alone?

He laughed again — dry and hollow.

— And then I feel like garbage for thinking that. Because she died protecting us. Because she left a legacy, and I'm part of that legacy, and I should be grateful, but I just feel...

His voice broke completely.

— I just feel like it was easier when I didn't know any of this.

In that moment — maybe from the stress — Kieria's image materialized in Miguel's mind, but it was a distorted face. Almost unrecognizable. As if his memory of her was decomposing, revealing something that wasn't meant to be seen.

And then he started crying, his tears running from beneath the mask and spreading across his clothes. He was trembling badly.

— Miguel! — Vierius stood up quickly, staying right beside him.

— I... — he choked on the tears, sniffling hard. — I'm not a hero.

At that moment, Miguel stood up and stepped back slightly. He brought both hands to his mask and slowly pulled it off his face. It was the first time Vierius had ever seen his brother's full face uncovered.

Miguel's eyes were blue, looking exhausted with dark circles beneath them, filled with tears that wouldn't stop falling. His face — normally hidden behind that painted, confident smile — was broken.

— I'm not a hero! — he shouted, his voice finally exploding with everything he had been holding back. — I'm not any kind of hero! I'm just some random teenager! I just wanted to live a simple life... And die like anyone else!!

The words came out like a flood, months of pressure, months of hiding behind the mask, seconds of accumulated fear turning into uncontrollable sobs.

— I'm scared, Vierius! I'm so scared! Every time I smile, every time I make a joke, it's because if I don't, I'm going to break! Because if I stop pretending everything is fine, I'm going to fall apart for real, and I can't do that because everyone needs me, everyone expects me to be the strong one, the funny one, the one who never cracks!

He was crying without control now, his whole body shaking.

— But I'm not strong! I'm just pretending to be! And I'm tired! I'm so tired of pretending!

Miguel curled into himself, hands covering his face, sobbing like a child who had finally, after so long, allowed himself to be fragile. The alien simply moved closer, and with care and caution placed his arms around Miguel, pulling him into a hug.

Miguel resisted for a second. Then gave in completely, burying his face in his half-brother's shoulder, crying without shame for the first time in a long time.

— It's okay — Vierius murmured. — It's okay to cry.

They stayed like that for a while. The wind through the pink leaves was the only sound besides Miguel's sobs, gradually fading in intensity.

When Miguel finally pulled away slightly, still with swollen eyes, Vierius looked directly at him without judgment.

— Miguel, it's fair that none of us wanted this destiny — he said, his voice soft but firm. — Chasing divine relics, saving humanity from extinction...

— Does that matter? — Miguel interrupted, his voice still broken. — I never asked to be born!

He trembled.

— I... I'm not a hero. I'm an idiot... I'm nobody...

— Listen... — said Vierius, finally. — You're right to feel all of this. It isn't fair. None of this is fair. You didn't choose this, Miguel. None of us did. Kieria didn't ask us if we wanted this burden before she died and left it in our hands.

— Then why...

— Because the world doesn't stop — said Vierius, his voice carrying a weight of its own. — And even when bad things happen, we have each other. You're not alone. You never were.

He gently squeezed Miguel's shoulder.

— But listen. You don't have to be a hero. You don't have to be strong all the time, and you don't have to pretend you're okay when you're not.

— Everyone expects you to be you. — Vierius looked him directly in the eyes. — Not the mask. Not the funny character you created to keep everyone from seeing how exhausted you are. You, Miguel. The boy you've always been.

Miguel stayed quiet, processing.

— I'm scared too — Vierius admitted, quietly. — Every day. I'm the weakest one in the group, remember? I know what it feels like to think I'm not enough. I know what it feels like to worry that if I fail, someone I love will pay the price.

— But you never told me that before...

— Because I wear a mask too — Vierius smiled. — Mine isn't physical. It's just... silence. Calm. Control. But on the inside I'm scared too, Miguel. All the time.

Miguel looked at him, something shifting in his expression — recognition. Connection.

— But you know what I've learned? — Vierius continued. — We don't have to be strong alone. That's why we're here together. Not because Kieria forced us to be. But because in the end, we chose to stay beside each other. Because we're family, Miguel. Not by blood. But by the choice not to let anyone carry this alone.

He wiped a tear still running down Miguel's face.

— You don't have to carry the world on your back alone. You have me. You have Michael. You have Hax, Kutro, everyone. You're not alone in this, even when it feels like you are.

Miguel breathed deeply, still trembling, but something in his chest beginning to ease, even if only a little.

— I... I don't know if I can keep pretending everything is fine — he murmured.

— Then don't pretend — Vierius answered simply. — At least not with me. You don't have to be the funny guy all the time. You can just be... Miguel. You're allowed to be scared.

Miguel looked at the mask in his hand — that painted smile, eternally cheerful, eternally hiding the truth.

— And the others? — he asked. — They expect me to be...

— The others will understand — Vierius interrupted. — And if they don't, that's their problem, not yours. You don't owe anyone anything beyond being honest about who you are.

Miguel stared at his mask for a moment. He held it in both hands, brought it close to his face, and then broke it in two — placing only half of it back on.

— Thank you, brother — he murmured, looking calm and settled now. — As a sign of gratitude I'll wear the mask like this...

Now his face was partially visible. His eyes were blue, his hair blonde and slightly messy. He could feel the light breeze on his face for the first time, and looked at his own reflection in water held by the branches of a nearby tree, sticking out his tongue.

— Whenever you need to talk, I'll be by your side — Vierius answered, with a small smile.

The wind blew once more, dragging loose leaves in their direction. The human took one last look at his brother, thanking him, and then both of them left that place.