In the Past

  A Few Years Ago

  In a Remote Part of the City

  Near Lake Laskat

  Involuntarily, Kalik recalled—triggered by the slight psychological and emotional fracture he was experiencing—some old memories that surfaced like flashes in his destabilized mind.

  They showed him and his brother Téo playing happily with the families who had finally adopted them after so many failed adoption attempts.

  [Various Cheerful & Happy Couples' Voices] We want to adopt the two brothers, Téo and Kalik. They're so adorable... [Emotional & joyful sigh] —

  This resulted in both of them returning to the human orphanage several months after just a few days of adoption.

  Switching "parents" many times throughout the process, since they revealed their Oculi eyes, still inexperienced in maintaining normal human eyes.

  [Téo From The Past (5 Years Old) — Sad & Confused Voice] Why does no one stay with us, Kalik? I... I hate having these strange, cursed eyes that make everyone want to hit us after seeing them even once, big brother... [Frustrated & angry breath] —

  [Kalik From The Past (6 Years Old) — Confident & Attentive Voice] Téo, they're just stupid people... They... [Slightly broken breath] —

  They were far too young to perfectly maintain the human appearance of their eyes during the intense emotional shifts of happiness and affection they experienced in their new "homes" after being adopted.

  [Kalik from the past (6 years old) — confident & attentive voice] Little brother, they're all stupid humans who will never be worthy of being our beloved parents... [Soft crying sigh filled with anger] —

  For many couples who wished to adopt the two brothers, this became a source of fear and a reason to return them to the orphanage, using flimsy excuses to leave without the boys accompanying them.

  The various couples who tried to adopt them, after only a few days, upon seeing their real and unusual eyes, realized that—despite appearing outwardly as two innocent children—in their eyes, the brothers were something else entirely.

  [Kalik From The Past (7 Years Old) — Desperate & Tearful Scream] PLEASE, HIT ME!! BUT DO NOT HURT MY LITTLE BROTHER!!! [Panting, painful breath] —

  [Voices From The Past Of Several Horrified Couples] Cursed children! Two demon brothers! One with completely black eyes and the other completely white! [Loud echoing slap & trembling crying] —

  [Kalik From The Past (7 Years Old) — Desperate & Tearful Scream] I BEG YOU. PLEASE, HIT ME AND NOT TéO!!! [Panting, painful breath] —

  For inside, they were essentially Oculi Nigri and Oculi Albi. In Téo's case, his eyes were entirely white, without an iris, as he was an Oculi Albi, while his brother Kalik had completely black eyes for being an Oculi Nigri.

  [Echoing Sound Of Several Strong Slaps]

  [Voices From The Past Of Several Horrified Couples] We would never accept hideous children like you in our beloved home! [Deep, disgusted sigh] —

  [Echoing Sound Of Several Very Strong Slaps]

  [Voices From The Past Of Several Horrified Couples] We're taking you both back to the orphanage immediately! You disgusting, hideous children! [Deep, disgusted sigh] —

  Kalik remembered the moment when those painful memories shifted into the ones he wished he hadn't recalled so vividly again—especially the few months he had spent with his little brother Téo.

  It would prove to be the most distressing moment Kalik experienced as a child, where he found himself desperately forced to defend his little brother Téo.

  [The Cries Of Various Adoptive "Parents" Praying Fervently & Belittling Téo And Kalik]

  Still in the Past

  One Week Before Christmas

  Revealing that horrendous scene in which Kalik, after having been brutally whipped, had been left in the corner of that room in the house, trembling in pain on the floor.

  He was severely injured, after being forced to stay quiet under the threats of those two.

  [Kalik of the Past (7 Years Old) — Scream Consumed By Hatred] DAMN YOU!!! [Extremely furious breathing] —

  One of those people was a man and the other was a woman — his new adoptive "parents," who had taken the brothers in a little less than a month earlier.

  However, after seeing his Oculi eyes, they became obsessed with purifying them in the name of their blind faith, for these two new "parents" were visibly extremely religious.

  [Kalik of the Past (7 Years Old) — Scream Consumed By Hatred] DON'T TOUCH MY LITTLE BROTHER!!! [Extremely furious breathing] —

  Kalik, even while severely hurt on the floor, crying and covered in welts from the whip on his arms and part of his face.

  Witnessed the most traumatizing scene of his life — after so many terrible moments since the day they arrived at the orphanage.

  The explosion of emotions and feelings surged from his instinct to protect and love his little brother, Téo.

  And in that moment, Kalik ended up using his Oculi abilities for the very first time — unconsciously.

  Pushing forward despite the physical pain, he quickly drew a knife that had been lying near the man.

  He advanced, screaming with a hatred that burned violently in his heart at the sight before him: the man raising a hammer with one hand, clearly preparing to strike with full force at Téo's head.

  Téo, in that terrifying moment, was blindfolded and completely tied to a chair against his will. He too was injured after being beaten by the two adults, though with fewer wounds than Kalik.

  The sight was heartbreaking — Téo's head lowered, crying in agonized desperation, begging for them not to hurt his brother, nearly giving up on his own life if it meant Kalik would be spared.

  Téo sobbed, assuring the two adults — who had abused them for hours — that Kalik was a gentler, kinder child than he was, and that he would never harm anyone just because of those eyes that everyone who saw them hated so deeply.

  Simultaneously, driven by pure instinct to save Téo, Kalik thrust the knife he held in both hands into the man's back — piercing his heart from behind and giving him no time to react or move away.

  After stopping the man from taking his little brother's life, Kalik found himself consumed by fear mixed with vengeance, determined at any cost to protect his brother from the other adult in the house — the woman.

  Though only one year older and still a child himself, Kalik quickly looked toward the adult who was supposed to be his adoptive mother.

  She had been a short distance away, arranging the utensils on the altar where she expected Kalik's and Téo's bodies to lie after the ritual.

  When she saw what had happened, she immediately grabbed a knife from above the altar, clutching it tightly in one hand, her horrified eyes locked ahead as she screamed at what Kalik had done to her husband.

  That woman, with eyes filled with disgust and horror, did not see two innocent, desperate children.

  She saw instead two "demons" who did not deserve to breathe or walk on this world — for she and her husband, being deeply religious, believed the eyes of Téo and Kalik were a prophecy of the Antichrist's resurrection.

  The surreal scene of the woman standing a few meters in front of the brothers — Kalik holding a metal bar tightly in both hands after using the knife on the man — revealed him standing protectively before Téo, shielding him from any new attempt against his life.

  In that situation, Téo could not understand what was happening around him because he was still blindfolded.

  He only heard the screams of the woman praying fervently for God to eliminate both brothers. Kalik took a deep breath as he watched the woman shouting with all her hatred.

  Charging toward him with the clear intention of killing them both. At the same time, he looked at Téo while the world seemed to slow before his eyes.

  In that painful moment, Kalik saw his little brother — still tied up, crying — trying to smile despite his fear, his lips trembling, tears pooling. Téo begged them not to hurt Kalik, promising along with his brother that they would never hurt anyone ever again.

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  Hearing those innocent and devastating words — echoing not only in that room but also in his mind — Kalik felt a crushing pain in his chest.

  He recognized in those kind and innocent words, spoken by the person he considered the purest and gentlest in the world, his little brother Téo.

  Without hesitation, Kalik tightened his grip on the metal bar and drew another deep breath, turning his focus again toward the woman who advanced toward him and Téo.

  A drastic change appeared in his eyes after looking at Téo — a blend of burning determination and unbearable sadness.

  He understood what the world was forcing him to do from that point on, in the name of what he considered his most precious treasure: the life of his little brother, Téo.

  A Few Brief Minutes Later

  Still Inside That House

  Amid the silence that enveloped the house in the forest — the place where Téo and Kalik had been forcibly taken by the adults who were supposed to become their parents.

  Yet instead intended to end their lives after the boys had unintentionally revealed their Oculi eyes — the emotions burning in their chests beat violently.

  They felt a genuine happiness at finally being adopted, wishing that this would be the last time they ever left the orphanage where they had spent most of their lives.

  Kalik found himself in a desperate situation, forced to flee together with his little brother, Téo. After Kalik managed to escape from the two adults and get out of that house.

  Which was the most terrifying place in the entire world for the two of them, they began to run through the dense forest in search of help.

  While they ran, Kalik considered removing the blindfold covering Téo's eyes, but fearing his brother's reaction, he told Téo to keep it on, asking him to trust him as they fled as fast as they could from that house.

  During their escape, Téo accidentally knocked over a candle lantern, causing it to fall to the floor of the house — and this ended up setting the entire structure ablaze minutes later, while the boys were already far away.

  As a consequence of this involuntary act, the bodies of the two people who were supposed to become their adoptive parents — but had revealed themselves to be their greatest "demons" — were consumed by the flames.

  After running for several kilometers through the forest, Kalik decided to leave behind the iron bar he had been gripping so tightly.

  No longer feeling the need to carry it out of fear that those people might return, unaware that they were already burning inside the house.

  After several hours wandering lost through the forest in search of someone who could help them return to the orphanage.

  The two boys knew they were considered strange children in that place. Even so, they still felt safer there than alone in a world full of adults.

  A Few Weeks Later

  Back at the Orphanage

  After so many days following that traumatic event—traumatic especially for Kalik, far more than for Téo, who by sheer luck remained blindfolded during Kalik's actions against those two adults who were moments away from taking their lives inside that cabin in the middle of the forest.

  Kalik, being the older brother, ended up telling the police, together with Téo, that they had found them on the street after leaving the forest.

  He told the same story to the orphanage supervisors, claiming that their "adoptive parents" had simply disappeared.

  After leaving them in the middle of the street, this was the only way—through lies—to leave behind what Kalik had been forced to do inside that house in the forest, which eventually fell into blazing flames.

  Even after everything he had done, all he wanted was to protect his little brother Téo, acting purely on instinct.

  He still longed to be adopted by some gentle adult— not so much for his own sake, but because, above all, he wished for his little brother Téo to finally find a safe place that would make him happy.

  As the older brother, Kalik no longer wanted to see his little brother hurt again after so many failed adoption attempts—attempts they had endured ever since the day they first arrived at the orphanage, after the death of their biological parents.

  And so, both of them—still babies—were taken to the orphanage, where they managed to start over after all the traumatic events that had happened two weeks earlier.

  Since that agonizing episode, the brothers waited for a single chance to be adopted again— and that chance appeared with the arrival of a kind, affectionate human woman.

  She wished to have company in her large but lonely luxurious home, longing to feel the emotion of having children for the first time, hoping to bring color back into a life that had once been so gray inside that vast house.

  However, at the very moment the woman saw the true Oculi eyes of Téo and Kalik—so unusual, so unlike anything she had seen— they cried instantly and recoiled from her, acting on pure instinct.

  Kalik stepped in front of Téo, crying, for they still feared—above all—being rejected or beaten again, as had already happened countless times throughout the nearly thirty adoptions they had gone through since arriving at the orphanage for the first time.

  [Téo & Kalik — Screaming, Begging Not To Be Hurt, Crying In Terror]

  But the woman stepped toward them not to harm them, but to embrace both brothers with tremendous care and affection, shattering their beliefs about ever being accepted as "normal" children.

  [Woman from the Past — Joyful & Affectionate Voice] ...Your eyes are so beautiful, like the eyes of two little winged angels. [Gentle, attentive and loving sigh] —

  Even when faced with their Oculi eyes—considered "cursed" by many—she expressed unconditional love for each of them, seeing only two children longing to be loved, and nothing beyond that.

  [Woman from the Past — Joyful & Affectionate Voice] You don't have to hide them or feel ashamed of your eyes here, in this place that will be your new home from now on... [Happy, emotional sigh] —

  As she embraced them, the woman radiated such a comforting love that they felt cherished for who they truly were—both on the outside and within.

  She saw beauty in the vast black of Kalik's eyes, who cried in raw emotion, and she also saw beauty in the vast white of Téo's eyes, who clung to her while crying—recognizing her, from that moment forward, as his true mother.

  [Woman from the Past — Joyful & Affectionate Voice] I promise I will always love you as my real children, understood? My two beautiful little angels! [Happy, confident laugh] —

  [Téo & Kalik (children) — Tearful, Trembling Voices] ...Mommy! Mommy!! Mommy!!! [Deeply emotional, trembling breath] —

  Back to the Present

  A Few Moments Later

  Still in the School Hallway

  After hearing the name of his younger brother, Téo, Kalik felt his eyes grow slightly misty with fear. The focus of the scene shifted to the young boy's dark, piercing, empty gaze fixed on Kalik.

  [Young Boy — Cheerfully Sarcastic Voice] You know, Kalik... deep down... that if Supervisor Lax had given me permission to punish him properly, your little brother Téo would most certainly... [A soft, amused & vindictive laugh] —

  [Young Boy — Cheerfully Sarcastic Voice] He would be dead right now, by my own hands, after everything he dared to do to us back at that base in the city center. [A soft, amused & vindictive laugh] —

  The atmosphere grew inevitably heavier. Kalik dropped to his knees before being thrown entirely to the floor, unable to even attempt to use his abilities to remain upright.

  Kalik pressed his face slightly against the ground with force, feeling not only a sharp physical pain but also a crushing sensation invading his essence and existence in a penetrating way.

  [Young Boy — Playfully Vindictive Voice] You're very lucky to be someone Miss Lax admires for some reason I still don't understand... But if it weren't for her stopping me from doing what I wanted to do to your little brother... [Disappointed, deep breath] —

  [Young Boy — Playfully Vindictive Voice] I would, with all the certainty and "delicacy" in the world, break vertebra by vertebra that little brother of yours has in his body. [Disappointed, deep breath] —

  At that moment, the young boy who had been kneeling stood up before him, now towering over Kalik on the floor.

  Moments later, Kalik — whose face and body had previously been pinned to the ground by an invisible force — felt something wrap around his entire body as the environment around him warped slightly a few centimeters from his skin.

  [A Calm Snap Of The Young Boy's Fingers Echoes]

  Then, from the shift of perspective outside the window back into the hallway, Kalik's body was violently lifted toward the ceiling.

  He screamed in sharp agony as the pressure crushed him. His back slammed hard against the ceiling, leaving a slight dent from the impact.

  [Young Boy — Playfully Vindictive Voice] I must admit... your little brother, even though he's only ten, has a lot of nerve to do what he did in the territory I'm in... [Deep, hollow breath] —

  [Agonizing Scream From Kalik & The Young Boy's Awkward Little Laugh]

  [Young Boy — Playfully Vindictive Voice] I'm currently involved in a mission given to me by Lax herself almost two months ago. [Deep, hollow breath] —

  Meanwhile, the young boy remained calm, his gaze distant from reality, not once looking at Kalik on the ceiling.

  From Kalik's perspective, his body seemed to grow increasingly tense against the surface, being gradually crushed further into it.

  [Young Boy — Serious & Hollow Voice] Since I'm forbidden from harming your little brother, Téo — as much as I would like to after everything he did — I... [Serene, empty sigh] —

  [Agonizing & Painful Scream From Kalik]

  [Young Boy — Serious & Hollow Voice] I will choose to do something more interesting instead, which is... make the older brother — you, Kalik — the one to pay. [Serene, empty sigh] —

  Watching closely, one could notice that the young boy had one of the fingers of his hand slightly raised toward Kalik.

  Suggesting that he was using some unknown supernatural ability to perform that act so effortlessly, with nothing but the indifferent movement of a single finger.

  [Young Boy — Serious & Hollow Voice] Suffer twice as much in the place where Téo should be. Because the older ones must pay for the sins of the younger ones, who do not know what good manners and respect are. [Serene & Hollow sigh] —

  [Agonizing & Painful Scream from Kalik]

  [Young Boy — Serious & Hollow Voice] And don't forget, Kalik. [Serene & Hollow sigh] —

  [Kalik Coughing Violently, Mixed With Extreme Agony]

  After finishing his words, Kalik's body seemed to be released from the ceiling, no longer held by the invisible force.

  When he fell to the floor of the hallway beneath him, Kalik was caught by the subtle slowing of the world's temporal flow.

  At that very moment, he received a punch from the young boy's fist straight to his face.

  [Young Boy — Serious & Hollow Voice] This isn't a simple warning. It is more of a personal promise of mine, exclusively for you, Kalik. [Deep, serene breath] —

  [Kalik Coughing Violently, Mixed With Extreme Agony]

  [Young Boy — Serious & Hollow Voice] If your little brother, Téo, interferes in my business again, or steps into my territory — where I am currently on a mission... [Serene & profound sigh] —

  As soon as the punch connected, time returned to its normal flow instantly, giving Kalik a surreal vision of himself spinning violently across the floor, sliding a considerable distance away from the young boy.

  He finally stopped near the end of that same hallway, severely injured, his face slightly reddened, and black liquid bleeding from his mouth.

  [Young Boy — Serious & Hollow Voice] I promise you that I will come for you again. And I will break your body into several pieces. [Deep, serene breath] —

  [Kalik Coughing Violently, Mixed With Extreme Agony]

  [Young Boy — Serious & Hollow Voice] But I will not kill you, out of respect for Miss Lax's orders. Understood, Kalik? [Deep, serene breath] —

  Just looking at Kalik trembling on the floor, it was clear that his senses had been gravely affected by the unexpected strike.

  As he watched, the young boy took a handkerchief from one of the pockets of his suit to wipe off the small droplets of Kalik's blood that had splattered onto him.

  [Young Boy — Serious & Hollow Voice] Miss Lax would not allow me to cause a fatal wound to either of you. But Mr. Lax wouldn't care as much. [Serene, sadistic laugh] —

  [Kalik — Broken Whisper, Consumed By Rage] Damn you! I promise you... [Failed breath] —

  The young boy then began to walk away from that place calmly, snapping his fingers as the previously distorted reality around the two of them returned to normal.

  The voices of the students in their respective classrooms echoed once again, even if faint and distant on that still-active floor.

  [Young Boy — Serious & Hollow Voice] If I left you unable to walk and incapable of holding even a single cup with your hand for a few months... [Serene, sadistic laugh] —

  [Kalik — Deep, Furious Breathing, Overflowing With Vengeance]

  The young boy vanished from Kalik's blurred vision as he stared forward with rage and hatred burning in his heart.

  One could see the boy's figure seem to dissolve slightly into a thick, brief smoke carried away by a breeze entering through the open windows of the school hallway.

  [Kalik — Broken whisper, consumed by rage] I'm going to kill you, Miguel!!! [Failed breath] —

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  — (Act 7) — Our Only Objective —