She opened one eye, the one that wasn't bleeding profusely. She was crushed, she could no longer move. Everything hurt, everything felt broken. If they left her there, she would die, of that she was more or less sure.

She couldn't believe she had lost to Tur. It was the most logical thing, everyone saw it coming, she just didn't want to admit it. She hadn't wanted to think it was going to be like this. Then she remembered her friends and started to cry.

—I'm so sorry— she mumbled, for she could do no more.

She wondered if they would be alive after those brutal blows. Perhaps she would never know. That had all been stupid, wanting to fight someone so strong. They should have stayed calm and tried to make their lives in Nudo.

—I blew my chance, Dad— she said to the air— I'm sorry. I wanted so much to see you, but I won't be able to go.

She looked at the debris around her, some large pieces looked ready to fall on her and crush her head. She thought about moving, but she didn't have much energy left. Then she noticed a black ball floating just above her. For a moment she thought it was a black hole in the night sky, but then she realized it was close, less than a meter away.

—Abyss...— she called out to it.

It was her timitio. She had lost to Tur in a fair fight, her timitio followed the rules and was rising again to be taken by him, only Tur was not interested. Seeing the same timitio she had so often calmed of its own fears give himself to someone else so easily made her feel betrayed. She didn't like it, but there was nothing she could do. She couldn't even reach out to take it.

So she closed her eye and waited for her death or her enslavement, whichever came first. Either way she had lost, she had let her friends down.

—I'm so sorry...— she repeated.

But no matter how many times she asked for forgiveness, nothing would deliver the world to them. All that remained was to wait.

 

Suddenly she felt something strange: hands cupped her head. They brought something cold to her lips, a bottle. They gave her something to drink.

—Who... Who is it?— she wanted to know, but she was so sleepy that she couldn't even open her eyes— Are they Tur's soldiers? What are they giving me to drink?

They gave her only a small portion of the liquid. Better that way, it was uncomfortable to swallow when there was so much blood in her mouth. Then, to her surprise, the hands left her alone.

 

At a certain point she felt a slight weight on her chest. She opened her eyes, both of them. She found two little blue eyes looking at her and a little white face glued to her.

—What?— she mumbled, until she suddenly recognized it — Papel!

She quickly sat up and took him in her arms.

—What are you doing here? It's dangerous!

She looked up at the sky. It was still night, even her timitio was still up there. She wondered how much time had passed, but apparently not much.

Then Erica looked back at the long animal and noticed something she hadn't seen before; Papel was wearing a pendant tied around his neck. What was hanging from it was a small glass bottle with red liquid inside.

—A potion— Erica recognized it.

The seal had been opened, the little bottle was only two-thirds full of potion. Someone had used it.

—Two thirds?— she wondered.

Then she examined her body. She still had several superficial wounds, a handful of bruises and bumps still hurt, but she could stand up, she even felt she could continue to fight.

—Who...— she wanted to know, then looked at Papel— Did you give me this potion?

—Eeeeek!— he shrieked, happy to see her.

No, it couldn't be him. Even if he knew what was going on and how to administer the potion, with his little paws it would have been impossible. Someone had gone to help her, taken Papel with him and disappeared before she woke up.

—But who?

A crazy idea crossed her mind, but she shook her head to concentrate. No, it couldn't be her dad. He was locked up in the Core. That whole crusade was to get him out of there, along with some minor targets.

—This is no time to think about that— she told herself.

Whoever it was, Erica was grateful, but she had no way of knowing their identity and no time to search for clues. Her friends, she had to find her friends and give them the rest of the potion.

—Where are they?

Erica held her head, she had to think this through. If she went out looking for them, she had no way to find them, but Tur could see her on the way and defeat her again. She had to think of another way.

—How do I find them fast?— she wondered.

—Eeeek!— shrieked Papel.

Erica stared at him, puzzled.

—Papel?— she called out to him.

—Eeeeeeeek!— he shrieked louder.

A golden chain appeared between them, connected to their chests.

—That's it!— remembered Erica— The chains!

The chains had always been activated by thinking good things about her friends, at the times when she most appreciated them being with her. That wasn't hard; she just had to remember that very day from the beginning, when she woke up with Liliana smiling at her and talking cheerfully as she always did, and then when Arturo called them to breakfast and showed them a feast on the table. She remembered when they talked and laughed that morning, like almost any other morning; when they shared their grief at leaving their ship behind; when Arturo told them about his strategy to defeat Kan'fera; when the three of them came up with the same plan while Liliana fought with Víkala; when they faced Tur before the fight, she shook their hands and they shook them back to let her know they were there, by her side, as always.

—My friends!— she mused.

The chains soon appeared, showed themselves and went through the walls, to where they both stood. To her surprise, they stretched in opposite directions.

—Now I can go look for them!— thought the girl.

But seeing them there, from her chest, she had another idea, a much crazier one. Unsure, she took them in her hands. As expected, the chains were tangible, though only to her. Then she pulled on one, slowly at first. To her surprise, a small hole began to form in the wall right where the chain went through. She pulled harder and the hole extended, but not opening its radius, instead spinning in a spiral. Space was distorting.

Erica pulled harder until Liliana came out of the wall and fell into her arms. She was totally battered, her injuries could be fatal if not treated soon. Erica didn't waste any more time, she took the potion and gave her some, barely half of what was left. She could see clearly how her wounds closed in a matter of seconds.

She immediately set her down on the ground, carefully, and did the same with the other chain. Arturo came out the same way, not making a scratch on the wall. Erica gave him what was left of the potion down to the last drop.

Then she waited. To her surprise, they began to wake up almost immediately. First Liliana, who sat up in fright, then Arturo, irritated. Then they both looked at her, totally confused.

—Erica?— Liliana muttered, not knowing if it was true, if she was dreaming or if she was dead.

—How are you guys? Are you in pain? Can you stand up by yourselves?— asked the brika, worried.

They both stood up without much trouble. As with Erica, a third of the potion had not cured all their wounds, but at least it had taken care of their most serious ones. They still ached all over and were quite tired, but at least they could keep fighting.

Erica hugged them, glad to see them more or less okay. They hugged her back. Then they separated, they didn't have much time.

—Listen, I know it sounds crazy, but I think we can still defeat Tur... Do you think you can...?

—Yes!— they both exclaimed.

—Oh?

—There is no time to hesitate!— explained Arturo— We can still win the bet.

—There are conflicts that can only be ended with violence— stated Liliana— Let's give him what he deserves. We almost had him last time.

Erica smiled, excited. She was also eager to win. They were so close, plus their mysterious friend had given them that second chance. They couldn't back out.

—Alright!— she turned around and grabbed her timitio with one hand, which was still floating in the air— We're going to get our freedom, our world and my dad back.

—Let's go!— they shouted.

—Eeeeeek!

 

Tur was in front of the United Nations palace, in the street. He was surrounded by tanks, flying ships, robots and soldiers with cameras broadcasting directly to the rest of the world. As soon as he appeared, he began to call the cameras to gather around him. In a few moments he was brought the leaders of the world, they kneeled behind him with a soldier standing behind each one, with a rifle pointed at each of their heads. Then spotlights were turned on to illuminate them as Tur was handed a microphone.

—Mother's people!— he began his speech— this is your new lord and master, Tur'non Rialal, the First Noni. A few moments ago I faced the last remnant of resistance on this world, and of course, I defeated them utterly. You will now witness the execution of the leaders of your world, after which Mother will become the domain of the noni empire and all of you the slaves of my subjects... Prepare for your doom!

But at that moment, something clattered to the side. Everyone turned, dismayed: a traffic light had been shattered by a huge projectile. Then there was another boom, on the other side. Turning around, those present noticed that one of the cameras had been shattered, its pieces scattered several meters away. Tur noticed immediately that both projectiles had come from a single direction: right behind him. He needed one more second to understand what was happening.

He wanted to warn his soldiers. As he opened his mouth, he turned around to face the projectiles. Just then a multi-ton rock headed straight for him.

—We are under attack!— he heard someone else yell.

The rock fell on him, but Tur slapped it away and looked for the culprit in the distance. Over there, from the other block, three silhouettes, too thin for nonis, could be seen. They were marching at a fast pace, approaching. Then one made a gesture with one arm, whereupon a rock the size of his own torso came out and he threw it with the power of his mind in an arc, as if he had an invisible catapult. The rock flew through the sky and landed heavily on one of the vans they had parked nearby, crushing it.

Tur, angry, began marching toward the silhouettes. He didn't know how the children had recovered so easily. He was sure he had knocked them all out and no potion or magic could have helped them if they couldn't even stay awake.

—No matter— he said to himself— I will defeat them as many times as it takes.

Anxious, the First hastened his march, gliding along with his timitio, until he stood about ten meters from the children.

—I thought I'd beaten you!— grunted the noni.

—We're still here!— yelled Erica— we've come to take Mother back from you, this time we’ll crush you!

Tur examined them, they were on their feet, ready for a second round, but not in optimal conditions. He hadn't recovered since their fight either, but he supposed that he could beat them again without much trouble. Not that they had gotten any stronger or anything.

Soon he heard tanks and vehicles. He turned around and found his soldiers approaching to defend him from the attackers, however he ordered them to stop with a wave of his hand.

—Sir?— asked one of the soldiers.

—This is my fight, don't intervene, but make sure you capture everything on camera. I don't want someone to come after me and call me a liar when I say that I destroyed Mother’s last champions.

—Yes, sir.

The soldiers made room and retreated several dozen meters. Soon the four were alone.

—Well?— he asked them— I imagine you have an excellent plan to defeat me, don't you?

—Yes!— assured Erica— we'll give it our best shot. We'll give it all we've got!

Her words were followed by a strange silence. Tur expected more, but when he realized that it was all their plan, he laughed.

—What, that's it? hahahaha! You think you can beat me with your “best shot"?

He laughed shrilly, but interrupted himself at a moment's notice to bring out his red armor.

—Don't fuck with me! Who the fuck do you think you're up against?!

Not holding anything back, Tur lunched towards them. In an instant Arturo raised a large wall that blocked his view. Tur destroyed it in his run and continued straight on to attack them. However, behind the wall he found nothing. He was carrying so much momentum that he continued on for several meters. Then he turned around and noticed that the children had jumped using a rock platform hidden behind the first wall.

—That won't work twice!— the noni shouted.

But before he had time to stop and retrace his steps, Arturo took hold of the ground, as wide and deep as he could get it, and lifted it all up against Tur. From the ground emerged a worm of rock, wider than the street itself and the sidewalks combined. This huge mass of rock and earth rushed against the noni without giving him time to react, rammed him and dragged him down the street hundreds of meters, until the reach of the boy's magic gave no more and the rock fell apart by itself.

Tur destroyed what was left of the worm and ran towards the children, furious. However, Arturo threw rock pillars and spears at him with all the mental power he had. Tur dodged the first one, destroyed the second obstacle, but did not see the third one, a rock the size of a motorcycle, which smashed into him at full speed. The First quickly recovered and continued his run, but the mage threw so many rocks at him that he did not manage to dodge them all.

Despite this he launched himself fast as a rocket towards the mage. He raised a hand to crush him in one move. However, the boy was counting on that.

When Tur was barely a couple of meters away, Arturo lifted a hard, large pillar of rock from the ground. The long mass hit the noni and propelled him upward like a rocket.

—Damn kid! When did he get so much power?!— Tur asked himself.

He soared a great distance in no time, propelled by the boy's magic, but after the initial shock he raised a fist and hit the pillar hard. The rock fell apart, Arturo's hold on it was cut off long enough and Tur found himself free.

For a moment he saw himself high above. It was night, artificial lights illuminated Mother’s primitive streets. Tur could not see his enemies well, for they were far away and shrouded by night. He remembered Erica saying they would give their best shot. He understood that that was what the mage was doing.

—That's it!— thought the First— He's using all his mental energy! He doesn't care if he faints in the middle of the fight, they just want to win!

Then he started to fall. He wasn't worried about the landing, it wouldn't affect him in the least, but he needed to see his enemies. He had to look for Arturo, aim well and give him a good hit.

However, Arturo wasn't finished. Those last attacks had left him half dizzy, but he could continue. With no intention of giving Tur any respite, he began to lift all the rocks and chunks of concrete around him, and threw them spiraling upward, all at the same time. The result was a whirlwind of earth and stone that whipped the noni from all sides, giving him no chance to dodge. The First tried to protect himself with his armor, which cushioned much of the damage, but it was still a long and hard fall. On top of that, many of the blows lifted him up again, prolonging his sandbagged state.

Finally Arturo fell to his knees, exhausted. He felt like he was going to vomit, that his brain had been put through a washing machine and then squeezed with a kitchen roll. The whirlpool died down and Tur fell, along with a pile of rocks and loose dirt. Erica wanted to grab Arturo to protect him, but Tur beat her to it and crushed him to the ground using his foot. For a moment the boy sank against the pavement, as if it were a layer of chocolate.

Then the noni raised a hand and bent over him to beat him to a pulp, but Erica rammed him to send him away. After that she grabbed Arturo to take him to a safer place.

Tur wanted to go after them, but an obstacle crossed his path; a girl with a black scythe in her hands.

—Make way!— ordered the noni, threateningly.

However, Liliana ran towards him, ready to use Brontes.

—Attack the junctions!— she said to herself, reviewing Bel's advice on fighting fortemes.

The noni, seeing her approaching, wanted to end their confrontation as quickly as possible with a hard slap, however Liliana dodged it with ease. She tried to remember the state of mind she had achieved in her fight with Víkala; to let Brontes flow, to turn her arms into spectral claws. Quickly the munima possessed her limbs, sending her into a trance. Liliana's eyes glowed with a faint green light, as tension and anxiety faded into the background.

Then the girl launched a flurry of attacks at him, which Tur couldn't even follow with his eyes. However his armor protected him from the impacts of the munima. Liliana could become faster, but she was no stronger than a normal human. Even attacking the junctions couldn't get through hir armor.

—Why can't I do anything to it?— she pleaded in her mind.

He jumped back to get some distance. In that moment she realized that Tur had his attention on her. She realized that, as long as Tur knew she was attacking him, his armor would remain as dense as possible.

Determined to end that fight quickly, Tur also began to attack her. Liliana dodged it, but she knew well that it wouldn't last long if she didn't manage to hurt him. Tur attacked her without putting much effort, just taking his time, he knew he didn't need to be scared. However, as he threw a punch, Liliana suddenly disappeared from his sight. For a moment Tur thought she had vanished like a ghost, but then he noticed a slight extra weight on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Liliana on top of him.

—When...

Without giving him time to react, Liliana launched a slash with Brontes, which went clean through Tur's shoulder. In the blink of an eye, the First's arm stopped moving and hung. She had put it to sleep.

—How...

—I did it!— she thought.

Tur extended long nomitio claws from his back to catch her, but Liliana gracefully dodged them, jumped to the other side of his back, slash it with Brontes and put his other arm to sleep. Tur saw it fall hopelessly. Furious, he turned to face the girl. She jumped and landed in front of him, ready for more. She had achieved her goal; sleeping both arms of the First, but she could continue.

—Now I'll go for the legs!— she thought.

However the constant stress and the relief of having achieved her move brought her out of her trance, so she became clumsy and was open for Tur to counterattack. He grabbed and sent a powerful knee to her stomach, which broke several ribs and made her vomit blood. Liliana flew a couple of meters from the impact. Tur was going to continue, except that Erica reappeared from the side to ram him with all her strength.

The First crawled with his feet on the asphalt for several meters. Then he turned to his attacker, ready to continue their fight.

There were only the two of them left. Tur couldn't use either of his arms thanks to Liliana and he was tired and wounded from Arturo's projectiles. However, Erica was not in her best condition either. Realizing this, he looked in both directions, making sure there were no more surprises waiting for him.

—Too bad for you, I'm still stronger. You don't stand a chance of beating me!

Erica raised her fists and lowered one leg, ready to shoot herself with her timitio.

—You look awful thanks to my friends. I just have to finish you off.

—You think so?

Suddenly, Tur's arms rose and he posed energetically. This surprised Erica for a moment, but she soon understood what he was doing.

—You're using your timitio to move your arms!— she noticed.

—That's right, princess. Do you think your friends gave you some sort of advantage? Ha! I'm as good as when we started. Now come on, let's end this stupidity to take over your world!

Tur was lying, Erica knew he was exhausted, but he was still stronger than her, possessing nomitio, which was able to break through timitio. As the plan said, she had to give her all in that last confrontation. Her future, that of her friends and that of her father were at stake, she could not lose.

The girl ran towards the noni at full speed. He did the same. They clashed their timitio weapons in the middle, creating an impact so powerful that it shook the trees and concrete around them.

Immediately afterwards they brought out all their timitio, he in the form of an axe, she in the form of a sword. They charged at each other at full speed, clashing their weapons with such strenght that they resembled explosions. While they were at it, even with the intensity of the battle, Erica realized that Tur's nomitio was not enough to destroy her timitio completely. She felt it sink its teeth into her, penetrating Abyss a little, but not with enough force or power to force him to retreat. The timitio had no definite shape, and therefore Erica could retrieve it before Tur's nomitio deformed it.

—It's because he's hurt!— the girl understood.

They were practically evenly matched. They clashed their parasites with tremendous force or dodged to counterattack with a punch or a kick. Suddenly Erica punched his face, with such force that it could have pierced a tank. Then Tur countered with another one to her stomach. But when he sent another one towards her head, Erica deflected it with her hands, spun around and kick him on the back of his head. The impact sent him to the ground.

Tur got up. He was bleeding and exhausted, but he wasn't about to lose to that human girl. Erica knew what was going through his head. She was thinking the same thing; whatever happened, she would win.

Then Tur charged at her, backwards. With a surprise kick he sent her into the wall leading to the gardens. Erica flew up and through the wall as if it were made of cardboard.

Tur rushed up to her to finish her off. He formed a nomitio axe in his hands, lunged at her before she could get to her feet, raised his axe over her head and attacked with everything he had. Erica saw it, knew she couldn't dodge that blow from that angle, so she put all her timitio into her right hand. Tur's axe came straight down towards her head, but Erica leapt to meet it. With her hand protected by timitio she swung at it, deflecting it to the side. The axe buried itself in the ground.

This left the noni vulnerable for an instant. He could not defend himself.

—Now!— she thought.

Erica elbowed him in the face. She propelled Tur backwards. Giving him no respite, she leaped toward him, raised her hands above her head and used all her timitio to form a large, heavy weapon.

At that moment Tur opened his eyes. He only caught a glimpse of a large hammer with a violet glow. Erica screamed, full of adrenaline. She hit him in the head with all her strength and more. The hammer hit him in the forehead, sent him to the ground and plunged him into the earth as if he were a meteorite. Tur lost consciousness instantly.

That was how the first of the rings, the dancing noni, was defeated.