Erica staggered, then fell on her stomach and immediately stood up just in case, her fists up, but Tur didn't get up. He was unconscious.

For several seconds she didn't believe it. The noni that had given her so much trouble was lying unconscious in front of her. Overwhelmed, she realized that she had beaten him, she had finally beaten him.

At that moment Liliana and Arturo approached her. Both of them were worn out by the fight, but they could stand up with some difficulty. They saw Tur on the grass and Erica in front of him, with a face that could not believe what she was seeing.

—It can't be!— exclaimed Liliana.

—She did it!— jumped Arturo.

They both ran to hug her, excited. Erica let herself be captured. Even with the wounds, the sweat, the pain and the tiredness, it was one of the most satisfying hugs she had ever received. Liliana began to cry, Arturo was all smiles of emotion, while she was still in shock. It seemed unreal to her.

They cheered and celebrated for quite a while, until the explosion of joy passed and exhaustion forced them to separate. They stared at Tur for several seconds, not knowing what to do.

—What now?— asked Liliana.

Arturo held his head, he could hardly think after having used all his magic. Something as complicated as remembering the steps of his plan was far from his capabilities at the moment. Erica put a hand to her head.

—Shall we take his ring?— she asked.

The three returned their gazes to the First. It was only then that they realized they had no idea how the ring worked.

Erica examined Tur, maybe there was something hidden, but suddenly an intense light dazzled her. She had to cover her eyes and then turn to her friends. Then she noticed long shadows on the ground and the first rays of the sun on their faces. It was dawn.

—We spent a whole night fighting?— asked the girl, surprised.

—Ah?— muttered Arturo.

—I think it's because we're in another continent— said Liliana.

—Oh, right.

Then Liliana searched Arturo's coat for the last scraps of food to give him to light up his brain; she felt sorry to see him like this. Erica turned back to Tur, covering her eyes with one hand. The sun was really bothering her eyesight, so she circled him. To her surprise, she noticed that right in front of the sun something had been hiding; a ring consisting of several small golden chains that emitted their own light.

—Is this the ring?— Erica wondered.

Liliana and Arturo approached, equally amazed.

—So we got what we were looking for?— asked Liliana.

—I think so— answered Erica.

Finally the girl reached out her hand to grab the ring, and when she made contact, everything became much stranger.

First she felt that she was being sucked, that the same chains were pulling her so hard that they were going to trap and compress her in the small space between them, but it was no more than a simple sensation. Then the chains went on a rampage and went wild, like snakes with tails on fire. Before Erica could understand what they were going to do, they slithered into her wrist like aggressive parasites and crawled up her arm. The girl had the impulse to tear them off, frightened, but then a loud snapping sound startled her, like several chains being pulled tightly.

Something around her changed; from her chest four chains stretched out; two of them connected her to Liliana and Arturo, but the other two were lost in the distance, in infinity. At first glance, the four chains seemed identical, but when she saw each one for a second, she began to feel them like different as different people; Arturo's chain transmitted patience and devotion; Liliana's chain made her feel loved and accompanied. Something told her that those chains were the most recent, the third and fourth to be connected to her. Then she turned to the other two. One of them was familiar: big, handsome, regal, funny, intelligent and strong. It was the second. The other, the first string, she did not know. At the sight of the first chain she felt loneliness and pain.

"You're a bit more awake now" a voice commented around her, someone familiar. Erica knew she had heard them before.

—Who are you?— she asked to the air.

"You can ask them anything you want, you know".

—What do you mean?

"The chains. What else?"

Erica looked at the chains, all of them. For some reason, what the voice was telling her didn't feel very strange. The chains were not cold pieces of metal, but living connections between conscious beings.

—Will they really do what I ask them to do?

"Yes, they will do your bidding, if only for a moment. It seems you still have a long way to go before you fully awaken".

Erica gulped.

—I think... I think there's something I do want— she said at last— Can I ask you for anything I want? Can I ask you to take me anywhere I want to go?

"Anywhere, as long as it exists".

Erica thought about it for another moment. This sudden power had taken her by surprise and she had to consider many things. Was it a trap? Would there be a price to pay for her wish? But no matter how hard she thought about it, she saw no reason not to try. She took one more chance and picked up the second chain, the regal and humorous one.

—You...— she called to it— take me to my dad.

She stared at it, expectantly. For a long couple of seconds nothing happened, but suddenly she noticed strange movements here and there. The world, space itself began to move at her will, like the most complex clock in the universe. The hands turned in her favor. Suddenly the second chain on her chest tugged at her. At first it was no more than a tug, but then it pulled her forward. Before she knew it, Erica was no longer in Mother.

 

She felt sleepy. Her eyelids were heavy and she had no intention of lifting them.

Suddenly she smelled a familiar fragrance, a scent she missed so much. Anxiously, she reached out her hand and felt his chest in front of her. Slowly she opened her eyes, still touching him. There was her dad, smiling at her. They were both lying on a very comfortable bed in a white room.

—Dad...— murmured Erica.

—Hello, princess— he whispered in reply.

Erica snuggled into Lucifer's chest, unable to believe what she was witnessing. She didn't understand how she had gotten there, but it didn't matter, they were together, she couldn't ask for anything more.

They stayed like that for a while, holding each other. Erica went back to sleep and woke up a couple more times, until the sleep left her completely and they lay there, talking quietly.

—I finally found you— the girl said.

—I told you not to do it— he reminded her, before caressing her cheek— I'm very proud of you.

Erica smiled, she knew that her dad would approve of her decision in the end.

They talked for a long time. The girl told him about her friends and their adventures together.

—...and then I made a hammer out of my timitio and smashed him! BAM!— she said, excitedly.

Lucifer smiled, amused at her story.

—Are you sure you want to go and fight the six that are left? I don't want to disappoint you, but most of them are stronger than Tur.

—What?! No way!— she exclaimed— But I want to be with you!

Lucifer stroked her head.

—Oh, Erica. You don't know how much I love you.

—Why can't we stay together?

Lucifer looked at her for a long time in silence, with an expression that showed desire, but also sadness. Erica was not used to seeing him like that, her dad was the most cheerful and calm man she knew, it seemed that nothing could make him sad. She didn't want to accept that they couldn't see each other. She wanted to protest and plead, and rebel against whoever made her dad make that face, but she knew that if he couldn't solve it, there was little she could do.

—It’s the Chainer— she realized— I have to defeat his lackeys and then him. Then my dad will be happy again.

She looked up, but by then his smile had returned.

—We'll see each other again, I assure you— he said to his daughter.

—Yeah!— she replied anxiously.

Then Lucifer came closer to kiss her on the forehead. Erica suddenly became very sleepy.

—See you next time, princess.