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Chapter 10: Monophobia

“So, to sum everything you said up to now: Lepris wandered off in this 'botanic garden' place, where he met a local human whom he became friends with; they were then both attacked by F.E.A.R.s and managed to defeat them with Fortune's aid, who happened to pass by at the moment... only for my friend to be hit by a huge monster, losing his mind shortly afterwards and running off to who knows where. Have I interpreted your words correctly?” I try to piece together everything Dante has told me so far as we hastily make our way through the crowded streets of the city, dodging cars left and right as we attempt to track down the source of the disruption the man senses.

“More or less, yeah...” the human answers as we change direction “This thing sure is fast... I can only hazard a guess as to its exact location, and Fortune will have to deal with it if she wants to help us track this thing down... heh, I can already imagine her running around like a lunatic.” he chuckles, but I cannot tell if he's being serious or ironic.

Nevertheless, for some reason he suddenly and unexpectedly halts, just like all the other vehicles around us, right before an intersection... are we not supposed to be going fast? Why the sudden stop? I inquire the man about it, and he immediately answers “The traffic light's red: that means we can't go anywhere until it turns green... and, judging by the size of the intersection, it might take a while.” a light attached to a pole at the corner of the street has indeed just turned red... Gods, this is definitely uncalled for...

“Are you joking? There has to be another way...” I gnash my teeth, the thought of my friend in danger worrying me beyond measure.

“Well, we could always 'forget' about the law and drive through these streets my way...” the crossroad ahead of us is flooding with cars, and we could cause a massive accident were we to proceed the way Dante suggested... I ask him if he would be able to do so without causing a colossal disaster, and he replies affirmatively “You can trust me... I think. The problem is: are you sure you want me to break the rules just for one person?” to be honest, this is one tough moral dilemma... but the answer is simple, and I instantaneously give it to the human clad in black “Do as you will.” without any sort of warning, the man's ride dashes forward into the madness these inept 'drivers' are causing and, without even grazing a single vehicle, sprints through the queues like a prey escaping a looming predator, totally uncaring of the loud bursts of noise these humans are rewarding him with. I can understand their anger and frustration... but I cannot care about either of them at the moment.

“Isn't the weather acting a bit odd?” Dante asks, prompting me to look upwards: something has indeed changed... thirty minutes ago the sky was as clear and limpid as spring water, and now there are so many dark clouds covering the sky like an incoherent mass I would not be surprised if it were to rain in a moment's notice... which is exactly what happens a few seconds afterwards, much to my dismay “This is strange... the Sun is nowhere to be seen either. How could a storm appear so suddenly without anyone noticing?” I ask, confused.

“I don't know: there was no mention of incoming storms in the weather forecast I watched some hours ago...” the human answers, shaking his head “There's a worse part too: look upwards, ahead of us.” I turn in the direction the man asked me to... and spot like a small, though slowly magnifying vortex of clouds forming in the sky above the city... that does not feel normal in the least “This presence I'm feeling... I think it's coming from somewhere over there. Do you need me to do two plus two for you or can you figure it out yourself?”

“That I can do, thank you...” I refuse his 'assistance', though I know he was merely joking; nonetheless, this cannot be mere coincidence. Something weird is going on in this city in this very moment... something obscure and evil... and I am determined to find its root and burn it to ashes.

My thoughts are interrupted by a loud, though familiar noise as a fair number of black and white cars with shining blue and red light atop them suddenly appear behind us, screaming their loud sirens in an attempt to drive us mad “Should've expected it... well, I hope you're ready Red: this is going to get messy.” the human says as the speed of his vehicle increases dramatically, almost making me fall backwards in the process...

My name... is Red. I am a fire dragon, and the only survivor of the massive surprise attack that completely destroyed the capital of my kingdom. After a brief, though quite refreshing pause from the wild events of the last few hours, I was contacted by Dante, the mysterious warrior in black, who told me that my friend Lepris had gone missing and that a powerful, dark presence was growing somewhere in the city... naturally, I decided to follow him on a quest to both vanquish said evil and find Lepris, who might be somehow related to all this...

“Are you sure this is the right place?” I ask as I look everywhere around me, assessing my surroundings: Dante brought us to a big plaza, sporting what looks like an ancient fountain right in the middle, decorated by fine sculptures in rough black stone and rotten bronze and surrounded by an immense, although truthfully uninteresting white edifice on all sides except the one we came from; many people are under the building's long portico, attempting to shield themselves from the sudden rain that is horribly ruining the landscape, but I fail to see Lepris anywhere around me...

“Honestly, I don't know: as I said, I've just been following this strange presence I felt earlier everywhere it went; also, sorry for not telling you before, but I'm not sure if this 'thing' and your friend are related or anything... but it might be possible, you know? That said, this presence is very... unusual. It's as if it's constantly bouncing between the real world and the 'Astra-grid', never stopping for one second... truth be told, I'm having a hard time figuring out its exact location. It could be anywhere around us.” the man tells me, his grave and serious tone still the same as ever “That said, I can almost guarantee what we're looking for is somewhere around here... we just have to keep looking. Also, never heard of the strategy 'divide and conquer'?” I nod positive, and inquire “You are suggesting to separate in order to cover a bigger area, am I correct?”

“Exactly, though in this case we won't be covering a bigger area at all: we'll cover the same places, only I'll search in the real world and you'll search in the 'Astra-grid'. The police's still looking for us after all, and I think I can evade it way better than you.” he says as I jump out of his black vehicle; he then adds “If you find this thing first, the sudden emotion shift that will result from it will be enough for me to locate you; in case I am the one to find it first however, there's no way I'll be able to tell you... but I'm sure I'll figure something out were that to happen. After all, I can take care of myself without your help.”

“The same goes for me, thank you.” I try to protect my honour from the man's unexpected and witty remark “Still, how am I supposed to enter the 'Astra-grid' without being attacked by a 'F.E.A.R.' first?” I ask, confused.

“Like this.” he says as he pushes the air between us with his left hand: even though his glove is far from touching me, he somehow generates a massive gust of air that pulls me backwards and makes me land on my backside. As soon as I get up, I realize that I did indeed enter the 'Astra-grid', what with the strange lighting and the impossibility to see normal civilians; however, probably due to the current situation, the atmosphere is much... darker than before. Minuscule drops of water are still raining everywhere, but they do not appear to have a physical form whatsoever and I have yet to get wet from any of them. Also, the air is substantially less cold, which I guess could be considered a plus.

As I prepare to move out, I notice I can still see Dante for whatever reason... and he can apparently see me as well: he is showing me his right fist, his thumb lifted upwards... from what I gathered so far, it's supposed to be a symbolic gesture meaning 'good luck'. The expression he is now wearing seems to imply that as well, but it's too similar to his usual one for me to be completely sure.

As he leaves the area, still riding his black two-wheeled mount, I feel... some kind of presence, and a quite intimidating one at that too, calling me from afar: it seems to come from somewhere behind me, but I cannot see anything of interest quite yet... gah, if only that human had waited a second longer! Nevertheless, I cannot simply ignore this ominous invite: I immediately fly towards this mysterious energy, hoping to rescue my friend from whatever mess he got himself into.

All the squares I have seen up until now were quite big, sure, but definitely not as big as the one in the heart of my home-town: the wideness of the diameter of that one, I once thought, was a record destined to be infrangible. However, once again, my calculations proved to be inexact: this plaza, by far, is the biggest open area within a city that I have ever seen in my life. The ground is covered by small, colourful mosaics that depict anything, ranging from flowers, to animals, to humans... there are so many wonderful things everywhere below me, but I do not have enough time to name them all. There are lots of small monuments and places of little interest around me, but what I am truly interested in are the two large, but otherwise quite simplistic fountains in the middle of the plaza and the tall and sinuous obelisk that stands between them, silent overseer of this incredible place. A flaming dark aura sprouts from the ground right next to the pillar, and at the centre of it lies, standing idle above a beautiful image of a sleeping rabbit... oh, Gods...!

“Lepris!” I rush towards my friend, currently in his rabbit form, who is silently being consumed by the black flames: as I get closer and closer, I realize the shape-shifter has no intention of moving away from the flame... in fact, not only does it look like the malefic aura is somehow bound to him, but that he is producing it in some way as well! I sincerely doubt this is something Lepris was able to do all along, so the only reasonable conclusion is that something evil is now possessing my friend... a 'F.E.A.R.', perhaps?

“ Oh, you came. ” he mutters in an ominous, unrecognisable tone as I land a dozen feet away from him; Lepris is looking even more emotionless and depressed than the human who escorted me here a few minutes ago was... at least that man looked somewhat alive, despite his mysterious demeanour. The darkness in Lepris's eyes unfortunately confirms my suspicions: he is indeed being influenced by something obscure, though I cannot gauge whether I am speaking with my friend or said evil presence “ Are you here to save the day once again? ” my companion asks, almost ironic.

“I am not here to 'save the day', Lepris: I am only here to help you.” I reply, hoping to sound enough convincing for him to break out of what appears to be a full-fledged trance.

“ As if you cared. ” he rudely responds, a faint shade of anger appearing on his face “ Ever since you arrived in this world, everything you did was to help others: first yesterday night, then today at lunch, then once again this afternoon... heck, I bet you even saved a few other people while I wasn't with you! ” with every word he utters, his expression slowly shifts towards one of anger, sadness and grief: I do not know if I should be considering it a positive thing, but... maybe, if I keep answering his questions and find out the reason why he is behaving so oddly, I might be able to help him. I just need to keep pressuring him... and defy all of his doubts.

“I cannot see where lays the problem in helping others: are you perhaps implying that I should not be showing others kindness when they most need it? Are you implying I should not have helped you, yesterday, when you were alone in the cold and those thugs were closing in on you? Should I have abandoned you to your destiny, Lepris?” I inquire, imposing.

“ Yes, you should have! That's what everybody does! ” his wrath is rapidly growing, but he has yet to erupt like I am hoping he will “ Everybody leaves me as soon as they learn what I am, so why didn't you? Because you needed someone to use as a tool, that's why! You just had to involve me in your _ futile _ war, didn't you? ” I tighten the grip my right hand has on my sword's hilt, upset over the adjective Lepris just used, 'futile': although I know he is not in his mind at the moment, I cannot help but silently curse him for a short instant “I never involved you: you decided to help me on your own volition... exactly like I helped you on my own volition! Tell me: do you really believe me to have acted the way I did... out of selfishness? Seriously?” I shout, extremely close to my objective; the black aura is becoming bigger and bigger by the second, and I can only hope this is not necessarily a bad thing.

As his eyes begin to burn a gloomy light, the rabbit finally yells, angrier and sadder than any other man alive “ Yes, yes you have! You didn't save me because you cared for me: you saved me just because you could! Because you felt you were obliged to do it! And Fortune's just like you as well: neither of you truly cares about me, neither of you really knows me... and yet, you want me to believe we're friends!? Friends!? I already know you're both gonna drop me as soon as I stop being useful to you... just like everyone else who came before you did! Every time I try to make 'friends', every time I open my heart to someone... they stab me in the back, just before I can learn just how much they've used me! ” I feel a powerful presence rising from the darkness within Lepris's soul, and I cannot help but be scared about it: as I prepare to hear my friend's final shout, I cannot help but wonder if the way I chose to proceed was the right one “ I've always been alone, even when I was surrounded by 'friends' like you, and I always will... and nobody can ever change that! Nobody! ” as the last words of the rabbit echo in the shadows of the night, the aura of malice around the shape-shifter somehow implodes, sending Lepris flying in my direction at considerable speed as it detaches from the man it tortured for so long a time; I catch Lepris in mid-air, but in doing so I myself am thrown backwards as well and eventually fall to the ground, slightly hurt but thankful that my friend has not been injured further.

“Red?” I hear him whisper as he breaks free of his trance “Are... are you okay?” he immediately gets off of me and rapidly jumps up before helping me get up as well, still imperceptibly hurt from our impact “Yes, of course... but what about you? Do you require assistance?”

At first sight, Lepris appears to be perfectly fine... but, as the shape-shifter touches his chest with his right hand and explains to me how he feels at the moment, well... I realize the damage that thing did to him might be more serious than I originally thought “I feel... empty. I... I can't feel anything: no joy, no hope, no love... all I can feel is... like a huge void in my chest, as if my heart was stolen from me.”

“You were possessed by some kind of entity: do you remember anything about that?” my answer is not delayed by one second and the rabbit quickly answers “Yeah, I do... I was fully awake during the whole time. Something took control of me... from within me: something that knew about my fears, my anxieties, my insecurities... the worst part is that they kept reminding them all to me as they aimlessly ran around with my body, doing who knows what... wait, what if...” as both of us realize at the same time the connection between Lepris's strange condition and the aura that just separated itself from him, we turn to face whatever has been possessing my friend for so much time: what mere seconds ago was just an incorporeal aura, no more real than a hallucination, has now turned, through unknown means, into... an exact replica of the rabbit, the only difference being in the eyes, which are as black and hollow as they were before.

Before either of us can ask any questions or, in my case, engage in combat, the... monster begins to act erratically, almost multiplying as it speaks a multitude of words and expresses a wide range of emotions while performing a variety of... rather dramatic poses, or whatever those actions are supposed to be; it is speaking far too fast for me to understand anything it says, but Lepris seems to understand it perfectly fine... and, despite having seemingly lost the ability to feel, his expression still manages to show a great amount of fear.

Suddenly, the entity completely stops moving as its words become much easier to interpret “ You've always been lonely... haven't you? Your 'powers', as you call them, have proven to be more of a curse than a bless... every time you opened up to someone, they either left you horrified or tried to use you to their advantage. ” it is referring to Lepris, that is for sure... but I cannot understand what is this thing's goal “ You're a good person... so different from everyone else: such a pure mind... is destined to be crushed by a society that just doesn't care about your ideas, your values, your feelings. The more you want to be loved, the more you're hurt in return... there's only one way out of this circle of false hopes and meaningless despair, and I know you've considered it plenty of times already. ” what is this nonsense it's talking about? The only thing I can think of is... does that mean that Lepris seriously considered... suicide? What?

The mimic tends their hand to Lepris and, much to my horror, soothingly invite him to go with it “ There's no love for us, only a life of endless solitude... but we can end our torment right now, if you wish. Come: let us end our suffering once and for all. ” no... no, this is madness! I cannot allow this conversation to continue one second longer! This monster cannot and will not convince Lepris to give up like this!

“I do not know who or what in the world are you...” I move between Lepris, who appears to be unsure whether to follow the creature's advice or not, and the monster itself and unsheathe my sword, ready to engage in battle “...But I will not allow you to deceive my friend into taking his own life! I refuse! If death is what you are seeking, then I shall grant it to you myself!” Lepris gasps upon hearing me speak, surprised, confused and reassured at the same time... I truly hope that standing up for him will make him realize just how much I care about his well-being.

“ I see... ” the creature's head turns to face the ground, its seriousness having turned into a mixture of anger and sadness “ You're just like everyone else: you sow hope and reap despair, voluntarily oblivious to the pain he suffers every day... we're tired of people like you, we've always been. ” the entity's body emits a shining light as sharp, glowing azure crystals emerge from its skin and quickly transform it into an armoured abomination; with its voice now distorted into something both angelic and demonic, the monster claims “ Now I understand... our suffering can only end with your death: prepare to die. Revenge will be sweet, for once. ”

[2-04 – Solitudinem: Fear of Loneliness - “H8 u 2” by Lukhash (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMU6rFdkGBY)]

Without hesitation, the monster shoots a volley of sharp, edged crystal shards our of its right hand, accurately closing in on us at remarkable speed for something as heavy as those rocks appear to be; as I attempt to move out of the way, I realize Lepris seems to be hesitant to move... so I immediately turn back, grab his left arm and throw the both of us on the ground, somehow miraculously dodging the incoming projectiles “Lepris, stop daydreaming! I do not want you to die on me, so get up and help me defeat this thing!” I shout at him as I force him to stand up and subsequently avoid another barrage of crystals that threaten to kill us both.

“Yeah, sorry... I'll do my best.” he melancholically replies as he regains his senses and begins dodging the monster's attacks on his own; something is definitely wrong with him... but do I really have the time to say or do anything when both our lives are at stake? My mind wants me to postpone any discussion until after the battle, but... my heart is advising me otherwise: who should I listen to this once, I wonder?

For now, at least, I make of the current battle my biggest priority: the monster appears to be made out of sturdy crystals that also constitute its primary attack method... and, as long as it keeps shooting, any attempt of attacking the creature directly would most likely not end well. I warn Lepris not to engage directly, a command he immediately follows, and to wait for me to figure out a way to damage this monster first “Yeah, that sounds alright... I'll try to keep it distracted in the meantime then.” he calmly responds as he moves away from me, seeking to divert the monster's attention and buy me some time... a plan that seems to work, at least for a few seconds: enough for me to cast a basic spell, at least.

“ Volcanic Barrage! ” I shout as powerful fireballs are shot out of my flaming body, directed towards our enemy: the monster does absolutely nothing to dodge my spell, even though it had all the time in the world to do so, and all my projectiles hit its body squarely... and do no damage whatsoever, despite their potency. Unbelievable... but I still have some more time to attack, so I get closer to the creature and shout “ Heat Wave! ” as a powerful fire blast engulfs it completely... and still does absolutely nothing, despite putting some serious effort in my attack this time; my attacks are most likely ineffective because of the monster's rocky composition, but... if not through magic, what can I possibly do to bypass its defences? I cannot get close enough to engage with my sword, so what I can I possibly do now?

The creature turns to face me and begins shooting at me once again, quite annoyed by my previous attempt to damage it: I run away from the bullets and towards Lepris, thinking he might have figured out some way of damaging our opponent, but it turns out he is just as clueless as I am “We can't hit that thing from up close... and your attacks from afar don't deal nearly enough damage! Red, what can we do?” he asks me, still looking quite scared despite his supposed lack of emotions “I do not know... the only thing we can do is hope something eventually happens...” I reply as we dodge yet another barrage of crystal shards.

“ I'm tired of you. ” the monster mutters lowly as what appears to be a big, rhomboidal crystal begins forming in front of it: before I even have a chance of doing something about it, the creature throws the huge rocky mass towards us, which disintegrates mid-way in a vast multitude of much smaller and faster shards, which seem to chase us directly and change their direction as soon as we try to run away from them... this does not look good at all...!

My first thought is to use my 'Fire Wall' ability to shield both me and my companion from the attack, but something else shields us before I can do as much as move a finger: a rather large floating black shield, as big as both of us combined, appears in front of us just an instant before the crystals can hit us, destroying them all as they stupidly crash onto its sturdy surface “I know, I'm late.” a familiar voice claims, slightly annoyed “I don't know why, but you were far more difficult to track down than I expected.” both me and Lepris turn around, only to be greeted by the stern and somehow reassuring face of Dante “I hope I didn't miss too much on the way here.”

“Wait, who are you again?” Lepris inquires, confused; “He is a friend of mine: his name is Dante, and he helped me some time ago in defeating some 'F.E.A.R.'s. He is here to help us... or rather, help you.” I explain, prompting the human to tend his hand for the shape-shifter to shake “So you're Lepris... interesting. Nice to meet you.” the rabbit hesitantly shakes the human's hand, but soon after asks “Why do you think I'm... interesting?” to be honest, even I think that 'interesting' is a rather strange adjective to describe a person without context: what does he mean by that?

“Because I can only sense a handful of emotions coming from you: fear, sadness and a few other 'bad' feelings... apart from those, you're practically empty. Strangely enough, even though you're currently the saddest person on the planet, I can't feel any sort of... evil within you: negative thoughts and similar stuff... we all have them, but you currently don't; as you are right now, you're pretty much untraceable by me... good thing your friend Red was around, I guess.” so Dante can find people simply by searching for the... evil within them? Does that mean he can also 'see' said evil as well? Moreover, is he implying that I possess some kind of evil within me? I mean, I know I am not flawless, but... oh well, that is not my biggest concern at the moment: this battle is.

As it is, we have kind of forgot about the enemy we are supposed to be fighting, who is trying to outmanoeuvre us by moving around the battle arena and shooting at us from different directions... frankly, he is quite fast for someone made out of literal stone. Thankfully, Dante's shield mindlessly and constantly repositions itself to protect us from the enemy projectiles, but I wonder how long it will last before breaking... can it even break? Apparently, yes, since Dante is now referring to me, in a subtly more alarmed tone “So, what's the plan?”

“So far, nothing we have tried has succeeded: we cannot get close enough to strike directly and indirect attacks are ineffective as well... it pains me to say it, but I do not know how to proceed.” I admit, hoping the human might have a better solution than I do.

“Alright then: time for me to shine I guess. I'll have to lower the shield to attack that thing, so get ready to run.” he says as he turns around, waiting for the monster to stop attacking for one second in order to engage; as soon as that happens, both me and Lepris dash away from the creature's line of sight as Dante's shield dissolves in black fumes and he himself disappears in a cloud of dark smoke, only to reappear a dozen feet away from the seemingly invincible enemy: the human summons his small projectile-throwing weapons and starts attacking our opponent from afar, but not even this seems to faze the monster. Upset, the man in black then teleports up close and attempts to strike the creature from up close with his enormous scythe before it can retaliate but, shocking both me and him, the weapon's blade breaks into hundreds of small pieces upon contact, completely nullifying his offensive “What the-” his cursing is interrupted by a volley of crystal shards that pierces the entirety of his chest, causing Lepris to cry in distress thinking the human might have died from that direct hit; his sadness soon turns into confusion though, as the human reappears before us an instant later, apparently unscathed “Alright, this is stupid: that thing is far more buffed than it should be... sure, I've got a lot of other weapons, but that thing seems impervious to all sorts of damage. At this rate, we're screwed.” he comments, his tone becoming slightly more nervous.

“Wait, you're alive!?” Lepris inquires, surprised “How...?”

“You don't want to know.” he cuts the shape-shifter short, before adding “Anyway, as I was saying, I did feel something while near that thing: lots of emotions that just seemed to... not belong there, in some way. Maybe those are what's powering that stacked abomination.” so my intuition was correct after all: that creature has indeed stolen Lepris's feelings... and is also using them to empower itself! There has to be something we can do to stop it... and yet, how can we do so if we cannot even hurt that darn thing?

“ Struggling is pointless, just give up already... I know I did. ” the monster mutters as it begins shooting crystal shards at us again, forcing Dante to summon his shield once more: I do not like playing defensively... but what can we do, in all honesty?

Anyway, this is not good in the least: nothing we have tried so far has worked, and there are very few options left... either we are not strong enough to handle this thing (which would surprise me, considering both my own and Dante's skill levels) or there is some secret strategy we need to employ that we have yet to figure out... either way, we need to act fast before we are reduced to pincushions.

“I'd like to remind you that, even though I can keep this thing up for a decent amount of time, this shield isn't indestructible.” the human pressures me to find an answer to this deadly riddle, but I cannot find any... the last thing I can think of is using my 'Blazing Inferno', but what if that does not work either? If that were the case, then defeat would be more than assured... I cannot risk it, not right now at least! Think, Red... there has to be something you can do!

“Greetings.” I hear a feminine, stainless, resolute voice whisper from behind us: I turn around only to find an elegant, though somewhat stiff human lady, staring at us from a few feet away... with an even more inexpressive look than Dante himself. The young woman is shorter than the rest of us but just as slim as Lepris in his rabbit form; she has very long (so long it reaches her knees, in fact), straight, green hair adorned by a simple black hairband and green, lucid eyes that do not look any more alive than Dante's. She is wearing a plain white t-shirt complete of... what I believe is called a 'tie', which is coloured with green and black alternated lines by the way, a short black 'miniskirt' or whatever the name of that piece of clothing is, long black trousers and a pair of tall black boots; tight green ribbons envelop her palms, ankles and neck, most likely to further enhance her figure. Overall, this woman looks... gorgeous, incredibly gorgeous: I cannot help but feel somewhat... attracted to her, for some reason. Still, that is not my biggest concern at the moment: just how did she enter the 'Astra-grid'? And why is she not surprised at the sight of both me and Lepris? Is this not the first time she deals with the... extraordinary?

“You appear to be experiencing quite a lot of trouble, caused by poor strategic choices: if you want, I can help you organize a better battle plan.” the lady comments, making us all raise our eyebrows “Would you like me to join the fray alongside you?” she inquires, looking at me specifically for whatever reason.

“Who are you, and why do you want to help us?” Dante inquires, probably too focused on keeping the shield intact to draw his blade on the girl who so mysteriously approached us.

“My name and my purpose are irrelevant at the moment; what is relevant is that I am here to help you defeat this 'Primal', and you do not look capable of dealing with it otherwise. You can choose whether to accept my aid, and most likely win, or not, and most likely lose: the choice is yours. I can wait, but I doubt you can.” she is being both polite and blunt at the same time... and the lack of any sort of intonation in her voice is so strange it is causing a chill to run down my spine. Also, did she just call this monster a 'Primal'? What does that even mean? Is she not going to explain that as well?

I do not know whether we should trust this woman, who is so unwilling to explain us her motives or even give us her name... and yet, we desperately need some kind of change to happen in order to win! What should we do?

“Alright, I guess you can help us...” Lepris speaks for the three of us, causing both me and the other human to look at him concerned “I don't know how you plan to help us, but... my friends need help, and maybe you can give it to them. So please, help us!” even now, he is more afraid for our safety than his own... I feel so bad for him that every word he utters feels like a knife stabbing me right in the heart. I promise you, Lepris... as soon as this is all over, I will make up for all of this.

“Thank you: I will attempt to be as useful as possible.” she says as she pretends to move away from our cover: before doing so, however, she is stopped by the same Lepris, who decides to introduce himself to the woman for whatever reason “My name's Lepris anyway: nice to meet you.” she remains idle for a few instants before replying “I already know that, just like I already know Red and Dante's names: still, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” she still relents in telling us her name... why do so? Moreover, how can she know the names of all three of us? Perhaps she was eavesdropping before and we simply did not notice her?

Either way, the lady moves away from the shield and exposes herself to the monster's attacks, though no crystal shard comes even close enough to graze her; the monster, at least from what I can see, is strangely ignoring her for whatever reason... I would like to know why is that, but right now I can only be thankful for the girl's apparent safety “Initializing all systems.” she thinks aloud as a whole lot of ethereal screens appear out of thin air in front of her, floating around randomly as she fiddles with them all, clearly busy “Battle mode, initialized. Now readying to scan the enemy: deploying 'Pixies'.” the woman throws what appear to be three small balls of light from her right hand, catching me unaware since I did not know that she was holding them during this whole time: the balls in question, although their appearance from afar does remind me of the fairies I read about in fairy-tales, are actually mechanical in nature, as I can clearly see in the few seconds they spend floating near me. Even though they possess realistic miniature wings that allow them to fly unhindered, the small lines that decorate their polished azure surfaces clearly do not belong to an organic being. The small devices immediately fly towards the 'Primal', who ignores them the same way it ignores the lady who summoned them, as small, seemingly innocuous beams of light appear from somewhere on their surface and begin inspecting it from head to toe, almost searching for something... which they eventually find, as the girl points out “Scan complete. Primal 'F.E.A.R.' recognized as 'Solitude'. Threat level: high.” 'Primal F.E.A.R.'? So my initial theory was correct... but this monster does not seem like a 'F.E.A.R.', does it? It looks and behaves so different from all the others... but I can see some analogies in that regard: both this exemplar and the others are viciously attracted to human feelings... and this one in particular is quite interested in Lepris, unfortunately.

“Weak points assessed. Battle tactic formulated.” the girls says as the small devices return to her and disappear in her right hand, never to be seen again “Now it's time to put it into practice.” does that mean she has figured out a way to damage this monster? Apparently, yes, since she immediately turns to me and advises “The 'Primal' is currently immune to all sorts of damage, both physical and magical: with your current load-out, victory through standard means is flat-out impossible.”

“We... already knew that, actually...” Lepris shyly points out, before inquiring “But there is a way to defeat that thing, right?”

“Yes, but you will have to do as I say.” she replies, earning our undivided attention “The creature seldom uses an attack that begins with it summoning a huge crystal: this ability requires a lot of power to be activated though... power that can be used against its user if you are quick and precise enough.” I recall the 'F.E.A.R.' used that attack once before... I ask how she expects us to do so, to which she replies “A small, precise and powerful projectile should be able to shatter the crystal into pieces before the 'Primal' has even a chance to fire it: the recoil coupled with the immediate loss of power should be enough to weaken the 'F.E.A.R.' for a few seconds at least, allowing you to harm it.” this does sound like a sensible plan... perhaps victory might be easier to obtain than we think!

In response to the lady's speech, Dante summons a new weapon from his incorporeal arsenal: a monster of a weapon, similar in facet to the other smaller ones he used up to this point but much longer and heavier to carry... I know not what this one does, but I need not know it to understand I do not want it to be pointed at me “Alright, are 'dot-three-hundred Winchester Magnums' good enough for the job? Because I got smaller rounds if you want.” I did not comprehend a word the human just spoke, but apparently the lady did as she immediately answers “I do not possess much data on guns... but the size appears to be approximately correct, so we can proceed with that if you are ready.”

“Wait, how the heck did you summon a freaking sniper rifle out of mid-air?” Lepris asks, almost shocked at the mere sight of Dante's weapon “You also summoned a scythe and two machine-guns as well, now that I think about it... where do you keep all this stuff?”

“Technically, those are sub-machine-guns.” he corrects the rabbit, before answering his question... or rather, does not “As for where I keep this stuff... don't ask. Seriously. You wouldn't understand.” honestly, I do not know who between Dante and the lady is being more cryptic... but at least now I know how to call his weapons, so that is a plus.

“Then it is settled: Dante will use his weapon to break the shard, then me and Lepris will move in and deal the finishing damage.” I repeat once again, ready to end this battle once and for all: after allowing the lady to take cover behind a nearby monument, just in case the fight gets too close to her, Dante de-summons the shield as we attempt to do all in our power (from vocal taunts to weak ranged attacks) to prompt the 'F.E.A.R.' to use that attack once again.

“ It's meaningless... ” the 'Primal' finally mutters as a big shining crystal begins forming in front of it; “Now!” I hear the lady shout as Dante points its weapon at the huge rock, ready to blast it apart “Eat this.” I hear him whisper as a small, sharp object comes out of the weapon's short barrel, accompanied by a loud noise that hurts my ears for one second: the projectile hits the shard right in the middle, causing it to shatter in a million edged pieces right in its caster's face, damaging it immensely... the woman's plan is turning out great! Now, time to finish what we started.

Me and my companion run towards the monster as I unsheathe my sword and he readies his ears to strike, hoping our next attack will be enough to reduce this 'F.E.A.R.' to nothingness: “ Blazing Sword! ” “ Furious Flurry! ” we both shout as we hit the creature with the best techniques we can think of, breaking a whole lot of the crystal mass that forms its body and causing it to cry in pain for a short while; however, before we can deal any more damage, the 'Primal' releases a wave of dark energy that takes us by surprise and shoves us back, its body already regenerating to some degree “ Useless... it's all... useless... ” it mutters as it releases another similar wave, though this one does not hurt us... instead, it causes a small army of goblin-like and other, bigger and slimmer 'F.E.A.R.'s to somehow appear a hundred feet or so behind our own group and dash towards us, ready for combat. Needless to say, the battle just got much, much more difficult.

“Dammit, I wasn't expecting more company...” Dante groans as it summons its 'sub-machine-guns' and prepares to engage the approaching fiends, coupled by me and Lepris; however, just before they can reach us, a feminine voice above us shouts the words “ Meteor Kick! ” as a familiar figure drops at high speed onto the incoming 'F.E.A.R.'s, disintegrating a few of them upon contact and blasting the others away with the help of the small blast wave that resulted from the impact: after the dust that the impact caused disappears, I realize the woman who saved us is none other than Fortune herself, wearing clothes that are... incredibly, even lighter than Lepris's, a quite angered expression on her face.

“Hey, are you okay?” Lepris inquires, but the woman does not answer his question kindly “Yeah, sure... the real question is: are you okay!? You literally randomly bashed me and your friend over there, then ran away like a freaking crybaby and made me run all over the freaking city just to find you! I'm so going to kill you once we're done!” she has most likely not been informed of the shape-shifter's current mental status, but before I can do just that she quickly changes the subject “Anyway, I don't know who of you had the 'smart' idea of starting this party without me, but I sure as Hell am going to punch him in the face after we're done!” after striking fear in both my and Lepris's (and maybe, even Dante's) heart, she engages with the remaining 'F.E.A.R.'s by herself, punching and kicking her way through the enemy forces and preventing them from even coming near us “I can handle these guys by myself: you focus on the big one!” to be honest, I am quite glad she is venting her rage on those monsters and not on... well, us.

“Everyone, let us try again!” I say as I attempt to make the 'F.E.A.R.' use the same attack it used just a few minutes ago: we eventually succeed and once again the monster is left defenceless allowing us to hit it once more... but, just like before, the monster immediately pushes us back, regenerates its body and summons more enemies for Fortune to deal with.

“Alright then.” Dante summons his shield back and invites me, Lepris and the lady to seek refuge behind it... although I am getting quite bored of this passive style of fighting, I cannot afford to take risks in this moment, so every break I can get from fighting has to be treated like a festivity; as soon as we all reunite behind the safety of the man's floating defence, he grimly speaks to our newly-appointed tactician “Explain me why, even though we did everything to perfection, that thing's still alive.”

Instead of giving out a normal answer, the woman gives us a full explanation “'Primal F.E.A.R.'s are made out of the negative emotions of thousands, sometimes millions of people... but they only target specific individuals who possess a large quantitative of them: upon finding a good enough target, they snatch away their positive emotions by escalating the negative ones, basically turning them into an empty husk. In our case, the 'Primal' appears to be using the emotions it stole from its victim as a means to 'repair' itself, so to speak: as long as it has those inside of its body, it can potentially keep on fighting forever... especially if those feelings are very strong.”

“And why did you not tell us all this before?” Dante asks, perplexed.

“I thought one attack would have been enough to terminate it before it could recover: evidently, I was mistaken. I wanted to tell you that trying again would have been pointless, but your haste prevented me from doing so.” the lady excuses herself, before continuing “Unfortunately, I do not know how to recover the stolen emotions: as far as I know, they could be lost forever.” this is definitely not good... even if we do win this battle, Lepris might live without emotions for the rest of his life!

“This is bad... what can we do?” Lepris asks, scared and confused “How can we defeat that thing if it keeps using my own emotions against us?”

“I'll tell you how: stop acting like a pussycat and be a man for once!” the lifeless body of a 'F.E.A.R.' flies right by us as Fortune makes her way towards us, quite mad for whatever reason “Alright, I thought I could've let you boys handle things, but once again it falls on me to do your dirty work. You and I, Lepris, need to talk. Right. Now. Dante, go deal with those pests for a while.”

“You shouldn't talk with me like-” the miss squints at the man before he can finish his thought, causing him to sigh in defeat and comment “Seriously, not even my girlfriend looks at me like that... fine, but the shield won't last long if I'm not near it: whatever you want to do, do it quickly.” he teleports towards the ever-incoming monsters a moment later, leaving us four alone behind a now slightly unstable shield. Realizing her presence is unnecessary, the lady apologizes before returning to her cover behind the monument, allowing us to speak privately.

“Alright, what the Hell is wrong with you?” Fortune says as she presses the shape-shifter chest with her right index finger, still quite angered with the poor rabbit “I may have only seen you for a couple of minutes, but the way you're fighting right now is just plain disgusting: where the Hell did your fighting spirit go?”

“I think that's enough.” I stop the woman before she can further insult my friend with such ridiculous accusations “Lepris might have lost his emotions to that 'F.E.A.R.', but he is fighting just as hard as everyone else is! You have no right to-” before I can finish my sentence, she forcibly closes my muzzle with both her hands, a gesture that is irreverent even for her.

“You don't want to win, do you?” she turns to face my friend, who does not seem to know how to answer “Before striking the 'final blow', you hesitated. Both times. Something's blocking you, and I need to know what is.” is she... actually serious? I was too focused on my own attacks to look at what Lepris was doing, but... to imply he might not want to win is just absurd!

And yet... Lepris is not truly standing up against the woman's claims: after a while, he meekly responds “It's not that I don't want to win: I do, I want you all to get out of here safely, but...” he is almost on the verge of tears, actually... but now, even I want to get to the bottom of this “I... I can't fight like I'm used to with these... thoughts in my mind...”

“What thoughts?” I inquire after pushing the woman's hands away from my mouth “Is it related to those things that 'Primal' said before? About you... being alone, about me using you as a tool?” perhaps I was wrong... I should not have delayed the help Lepris needed so much for so long.

“Yeah...” he looks downwards, almost ashamed of himself “I've met a lot of people in life... and a whole lot of them were bad. Those that weren't bad, well... they eventually left me. Each and every single one of them. And... knowing that you're gonna go back to your world in less than a week, knowing that you're never coming back... it makes me wonder why should I even bother staying with you. What's the point of creating a bond if it's gonna be torn down soon anyway?” Gods, I did not know he thought that way... but he is wrong! I do not plan to abandon him... not at all!

“Look Lepris...” I tell him, prompting him to turn to face me “It is true, I will have to go fight for what I love by the end of the week, but... know that I do not plan on leaving you, absolutely! You are more than a comrade: you are my friend, my closest supporter... the only one I can rely on; no offence, Fortune.” she shrugs my remark away, allowing me to continue “Listen, from what I have seen, you are not living an exactly 'happy' life... you deserve so much more than what you currently have. So, how about you come with me to Draconia? You will be able to do anything you wish, as long as you like it and are good at it; if you do not want however, we can work something out with Karma and find a way to meet up every now and then. Nevertheless, I would never leave you: our relationship is one of the most sincere I have ever had... and only a handful of other people can claim the same.” the rabbit begins crying quietly, while the 'Primal F.E.A.R.' in the background attempts to suffocate a cry of pain: there must be a correlation between the two things... I have to press forward!

Fortune seems to have realized the connection as well, since she immediately inquires the young man “Is there anything else that stresses you? If you want to speak about something, now's your chance!” he hesitates a few seconds, but then something inside him snaps and he decides to give us the whole, bare truth “Look, I know this is random and all, but I just... I just don't understand why you helped me when you did, that's all: when I was attacked by those thugs, you saved me even though you didn't know who I was, without asking me for anything in return... I just can't understand it. Why would you help someone who you don't even know... if you don't have a reason behind it? That's why... that's why I began thinking you did it only because you wanted me to help you, because you needed someone to drag into this whole inter-dimensional mess... I never brought it up because I feared I was just being melodramatic, because I began to realize you were better than everyone I've met so far, but now... now I need to know why you did what you did! So please, tell me this isn't true!” he is pouring out every last bit of despair he has in his soul... but I sense hope within his words! He is fighting the devil who possessed him, and he is winning! Now, it is my turn to help Lepris, just like he did with me.

“Alright, allow me to be frank: you are correct, to a certain extent. When I first arrived in this world, I was just as empty as you: the only thing keeping me alive was the promise of revenge, of salvation... but my likelihood of success would have been next to none were I to lack something as simple as a bed.” he turns away, saddened... but I reach for his face and force him to look at me in the eyes “But that's not why I saved you: when I found that park, last night, I thought of sleeping on a tree branch or something like that... but then I saw a man, lonely and defenceless, get beaten by some nasty people, and I would have never forgiven myself had I chosen not to intervene. In that moment, the thought that you could have helped me in some way did not even graze my mind: the only thing I wanted to do was saving an innocent man from those criminals... nothing more, and nothing less.”

“So, you only saw me as a random person, who deserved to be saved just because?” he turns away once again, but I correct him once more “Perhaps at first sight I did... but then, I got to know you better: we conversed together, we ate together and, most importantly, we fought together... we became comrades, companions, friends. I immediately recognized the potential within you and stopped regarding you as simply 'one amongst many', but as 'one above many': you are different from most other people I have encountered, and I am glad I got to know you more as a person.” Fortune steps in right after me and adds “Same goes for me: when I first met you, I only wanted to know you because Karma told me so... but then we talked for a bit, and I realized you are a much more sensible individual than most. People like you are rare where I'm from... that's why I stood up for you when those idiots tried to bully you: I can't stand seeing someone like you not fight for yourself, because you're worth much more than you give yourself credit for. I bet Dante would say the same, were he not so busy digging holes in those monsters over there.”

“What? Oh, yeah, sure.” the man responds from a distance “Could you go a little faster, please? That shield won't sustain itself for much longer, and these guys are multiplying by the second.” Dante's irony knows no bounds, even though I believe he agrees with what Fortune just said... oh well, I am sure he will have more than enough time to get to know Lepris after all is said and done.

“R-Really?” Lepris's face is now soaked in tear drops, but the expression he has on his face is one of... gladness, perhaps even happiness “Y-You're not kidding, are you?”

“Of course not.” I dry his face to the best of my ability as I smile to him, showing a kind of sincerity that I rarely show anyone “You are the sole reason why I want to help humans in trouble whenever I see them, after all: they remind me of you, in a sense... I want to believe that within them, beneath their stone-cold facades, lays a personality as beautiful and unique as yours. So please, stop thinking that I do not care about you: in truth, I could not care more.” uh... maybe I should rectify that statement a bit, before he gets the wrong idea “...Platonically speaking, of course. I mean, I could never love you like that, but... you understand what I mean.”

“R-Red...” he whispers as his eyes regain that light they had before “I-I'm sorry for doubting you, really... and you too, Fortune... now I know I'm not alone... n-now I know I never was!” his self-inspiring words cause another cry of pain from the monster as a white light pierces its chest from within; a small, yellow, heart-like object flows out of the creature's body through the newly-opened wound and flows towards Lepris, entering his body upon contact, making him shudder and close his eyes for a moment: when he reopens them, they are as bright and yellow as the midday Sun “Now I know what to do... I have to fight! And that 'F.E.A.R.' won't stop me this time!”

[2-05 – Justice: to do what is right - “Battlefield: Storm” from Etrian Odyssey IV by Yuzo Koshiro, Atlus (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCZjnuS6ESc)]

Without any hesitation whatsoever, the rabbit dashes past the shield and towards our enemy, who begins targeting him directly with his powerful crystal shards, seemingly in distress “ No... this can't be happening... give up! Give up! GIVE UP! ” the shape-shifter gracefully dodges the first ones, but he could get hit if he is not careful... I decide I should aid him a little bit, and use my 'Volcanic Barrage' to skilfully destroy the incoming projectiles before they can get even remotely close to Lepris; as soon as my friend enters melee range, the monster attempts to hit him with a quick punch aimed for the face, but the rabbit quickly parries it with his left ear before unleashing a flurry of kicks and 'punches', if we can call them that, with his agile legs and ears. After toying with the 'Primal' for a short while, the shape-shifter sends his opponent flying backwards with a well-placed kick in the belly, breaking a decent amount of its body in the process “Take that, you stupid joker! Your words can't hurt me now!” I thought the 'Primal' was immune to any form of damage unless priorly weakened... but that no longer appears to be the case! Thanks to Lepris fighting back against the fears that creature embedded in him, we can finally strike back!

“Wow, that was cool!” Fortune shouts marvelled as we forfeit the safety of the shield and get ready to engage, her eyes shining in awe “I knew he could do it... he just needed a little bit of confidence to show his true potential!” that's exactly what I was thinking: as long as someone believes firmly in something and their goals are pure and noble, they can achieve anything! Now, we just need to end this battle once and for all!

“ This can't be happening... ” the 'F.E.AR.' shivers as it somehow gets back on its feet “ You... why can't you just die!? ” the creature immediately shoots out a fast, small crystal shard towards Lepris, who is not looking in that direction at the moment; “Be careful!” I shout as I run in his direction before pushing him away from the projectile's trajectory, saving him at the cost of making us both fall on the ground, momentarily helpless. Another crystal is shot at us, but Fortune positions herself between it and us and demolishes it with one mere kick, saving us from... well, maybe not death, but a whole lot of pain at least.

“I don't know what the Hell you're supposed to be, but you're going down anyway!” the miss shouts as she taunts the monster into attacking us, a tactic that succeeds in mere instants “ You... you're all deluding yourselves... why won't you surrender and die peacefully? ” the monster prepares to use its highly-devastating attack once more, but the crystal gets instantly destroyed by a well-placed bullet from very far away: Dante somehow managed to sneak in one fateful bullet while fending off the ever-incoming hordes of monsters, and quickly turns away to continue his job whilst yelling “Now! Finish that thing!” the same words, more or less, are shouted by the unknown lady, who is inciting us to end this battle from behind a monument; knowing what must be done, me and Lepris nod at each other before charging at the 'F.E.A.R.' yet again, our two minds momentarily operating as one.

“ Blazing Sword! ” I shout as I swing my sword at the weakened creature, destroying large chunks of its edged body as it emits increasingly louder cries of pain and feeble insults; before the 'Primal' can push me back as it did once before, however, I slash him vertically from bottom to top, sending him flying upwards: my friend, on the other hand, immediately jumps way higher than I ever saw him do as his body begins burning (literally) of a bright yellow light.

“_ Let's dance! _ Super Bunny Hop! ” Lepris shouts as he swiftly dives towards his enemy and hits it with a powerful dive-kick... then teleports above and strikes once more, then again from the right, from the left, even from below... from literally every direction! I do not recall him ever being able to teleport though... and, in fact, Fortune soon comments “He's moving so fast even I'm having trouble looking at him... this is fantastic! Oh, he's going to be so much fun to train...” oh, I did not know she planned to train him... that sounds quite good for him, actually, except that the way she spoke would make me fear for my life were I the one she was referring to... weirdly enough I cannot help but be worried for my friend's safety.

And so, after being sent flying in a hundred or so directions only to be thrown in another just a few instants later, the 'Primal F.E.A.R.' is finally hit by a final, much stronger kick that sends it flying towards the big monument in the centre of the plaza, causing the former to sink into the obelisk's compact walls and the latter to fall apart rather quickly, crushing what is left of the monster below its massive weight.

“Take that, you freak!” the rabbit yells as it drops to the ground, a contented expression on his face “It's dead, it has to be dead... right?” he turns to face us, hopeful; “You did fantastically well, Lepris: I am quite proud of you.” I smile at him, making him a hundred times happier “And even I do not believe that thing can still be alive after what just happened.” I then point out, hoping this will not turn into another nasty surprise.

“Hey, check this out.” Dante nonchalantly calls us from a dozen feet away: apparently, all the 'F.E.A.R.'s he was fighting suddenly turned to goo before his very eyes... mere moments after the 'Primal' got crushed by the crumbling monument “So, you actually did it. Congrats.”

“Indeed.” the lady comments as she approaches us, just as serious and inexpressive as she was before “I still monitor a faint signal from beneath the ruins... but it is so little it can hardly be considered a threat. All other 'F.E:A.R.' signals have been incapacitated and are no longer a threat. All things considered, this mission was a huge success: good job, everyone.”

As the smoke caused by the fall of the obelisk hastily disappears, I can see the 'F.E.A.R.' rising from the debris, tired and defeated; its body is now once again the exact same as my friend's and the crystals that once emerged from it have either broken down to nothingness or entirely disappeared... still, it does not seem like it wants to keep on fighting. Perhaps the battle truly is over.

“ How... ” it mutters, sad and sore “ How... how could I... lose...? ” it inquires, confused.

“You lost because you were alone, and I wasn't.” Lepris responds vehemently as he turns to face first me, then Fortune, then Dante: his gaze... it reeks of passion, of trust, of hope “You're right: I was alone, and I've suffered a lot because of some people... but that doesn't mean things won't ever change! In fact, they already did! Now I know... I've got lots of friends too: Red, Fortune, maybe even Dexter... and I guess Dante too, now. I may be weak by myself, but... as long as I fight for what is right alongside my friends, I won't ever lose!” I truly am glad Lepris finally got rid of his doubts and anxieties, and I show him my newfound respect and admiration with a tough pat on his... no, that is not what he wants most, is it? I should give him the gift he truly desires, as a sign of gratitude for his trust in me... even if I am not used to show this kind of 'affection'.

Although it stings my pride quite so, I... hug him, and strongly as well since I am not used to hugging people; my embrace proves to be far too tight for the man, and he instantaneously begs me to let him go, prompting me to do just that as I blush embarrassed. Although I am quite mortified by what just happened, Lepris seems to have appreciated my gesture very much... and immediately returns it as well: his embrace, although it only lasts a few seconds is much different from mine... it actually feels a lot like hers... it feels good, it truly does.

“ I... was mistaken, then... ” the monster mutters on its knees, his expression shifting into something... happy and sad at the same time “ I thought you were alone... but you clearly aren't... maybe, you do have a chance at happiness, unlike me... I just wanted a nice word, a kind smile, a warm cuddle... but... ” Lepris is looking sadly at the 'F.E.A.R.', almost sorry “Ah, screw it.” without warning, Lepris dashes forward towards the monster and, shocking me once again, hugs it tightly between his arms, holding him like a mother would hold her child “It's alright... I'm here with you now. I won't let you go.” the creature is just as surprised and confused by Lepris's demeanour as we all are but, after hearing his reassuring words, it finally lets go tears it had long suppressed as it thanks him “ Thank you... now, I can finally rest in peace... ” as the red light of the now dying Sun breaks through the thick layer of clouds and shines down on the 'F.E.A.R.', whose body is now rapidly disappearing into nothingness, it leaves Lepris its last words of departure before disintegrating entirely “ Goodbye... friend. ”

As the shape-shifter lets his arms fall down, I wonder whether he needs some more emotional support or not... however, my fears fade away as the rabbit immediately gets up, punches his open left hand with his right fist and shouts, determined “I feel good! Very good!” well, maybe everything did end well after all... even for the villain. I never thought I would ever sympathize with a 'F.E.A.R.'... especially one as vicious and powerful as that one was. I guess there really is a first time for everything.

Meanwhile, we start transitioning from the 'EmotionGrid' to the real world as the rain that plagued the field for the whole battle dies down: the damages the battle caused to the environment heals in mere seconds as the monuments are restored and the ground is rid of all the leftover crystal shards... wait, where did all the mosaics go? The ground is now entirely grey, but I swear it was not like this before... what happened to all those beautiful figures?

“Hey, what are you guys doing over there? You've already spent way too much time in boring sentimentalisms!” Another familiar and very annoying voice coming from behind me impolitely interrupts my thoughts and disturbs the rest of my group as well: we all turn around and, surprising only my friend Lepris, the cat named Karma is right behind us, still wearing their usual long robe and smug expression “So you actually beat that monster: I shouldn't have expected anything less from Dante and... the rest of you!” they chuckle, but their humour is definitely not to my liking.

“Uhm... who are you?” Lepris inquires, confused; “Karma's the name, memes my game: it's a pleasure to meet you, you little gullible rabbit!” they offer my friend their hand to shake, something he does after hesitating for a few seconds... but they retract it as soon as they make contact, a pained expression on Lepris's face “Ouch! A shock trap, really?” what is he talking about? Apparently, about a small button-like gadget the cat is wearing between their thumb and the rest of their fingers that they immediately remove, a huge grin on their face “Oh, if you fall for something so simple, then I can't wait to unleash my whole arsenal on you, boy!” understanding Karma has become even more difficult than before... but, if I were in a position to do so, I would gladly punch them in the teeth in this very instant.

“Is there a reason why you're here or do you only want to ruin everyone's mood?” Dante asks, perhaps even more annoyed than the rest of us; “As a matter of fact, I actually do have some things I have to do here.” the cat responds, but before they can explain they look around and notice “Wait, wasn't there a girl here with you?” surprised, we start looking for the mysterious lady as well, but cannot find her: she disappeared while we were not looking, and now is nowhere to be found.

“Strange, I didn't notice her go away... I didn't even notice her come, to be honest.” Dante comments, making the cat silently wonder something “Hmm, weird... anyway!” they turn towards Lepris, their expression having turned into a much calmer one “I already congratulated you for your splendid victory, so let's move on to the second point: I found this bag laying around a random plaza while... 'walking around', so to say, and I thought I'd give it back to whoever it belonged to.” they show him a bag I recognize as the one containing the shirt he bought some hours ago... wait, did he really lose it? It seems like it, since he is now hugging it like a long-lost treasure “Oh, I've missed you so much... I promise, I won't abandon you ever again!” Gods, this is so... no, I do not want to think that of my friend, at all.

“As for you...” they turn to face me, holding something else between their paws “I found this yesterday at the clock tower shortly after you left, and it looks like it belongs to you; I should've told you before, I know, but... well, let's just say I forgot.” they hand me a golden pendant resembling the face of a mighty dragon, its eyes made out of shining red rubies... wait, I recognize this ornament!

“This is Sol's pendant, is it not?” I ask, and receive a positive answer from the white-eyed being “Indeed: this is everything she has left to you, so I figured you might want to hold on to it... so, do you want it?” I nod as I grab the pendant: Sol's stern expression comes to mind as I clench my fist around it, but it only lasts a second... despite not finding the ornament very fitting for someone like me, I wear it around my neck nevertheless and suddenly feel just a little bit better about myself and my mission.

“Well, that's all I had to say and do: right now, I'm kinda busy figuring out what these 'Primal F.E.A.R.'s are and who the heck was that woman... maybe I'll need some extra help, and I already know who to call. For now, you're all free to do whatever you wish... yes, even you Dante: you didn't expect this, did you?” they turn around and wave goodbye at all of us, still smirking for whatever reason, before rapidly fading out until nothing of them is left. Am I childish for wanting to be able to teleport as well? It seems like a very useful power to possess, and almost everyone seems capable of using it.

“Well, I know what we're going to do now, Lepris.” Fortune says as she grabs him by the arm and begins dragging him away from me and the other man “You said you wanted me to teach you a few things about fighting, and what a better time to start than now? Besides, I need you to pay me back for ditching me at the garden before: that was rude of you, very rude...”

The young man does not appear to be as... enthusiastic as the lady, and is attempting to flee from captivity, in vain “No, please! I just want to go home and rest!”

“Oh no dear, you can't escape me now: after pulling off such a complicated move there at the end, there's no way I could let you go that easily... I want to see just how far you can go without breaking your neck! Stop whining and get moving, you dork!” the rabbit eventually stops fighting back and starts heading with the miss, but then suddenly remembers something and asks her to stop for a second: he grabs some keys from his pants' pockets and throws them at me, saying “These open the door to my house: you'll probably get home way earlier than I will, so get in, close the door and wait for me, alright?” I nod, but remind him that I do not know his house's address; he replies by sighing and asking Dante if he knows the area and, after receiving an... uncertain response, he decides to communicate him his address anyway, which the man repeats twice to make sure he does not forget it. A few seconds later, the rabbit is once again caught by miss Fortune and forced to walk (or better, run) against his own will, but I have a feeling he will enjoy the strengthening experience... somewhat, at least. It is a shame I could not have a good conversation with my friend, but I suppose there will be enough time to do that over the course of the week. After all, I have more than enough time to do everything... at least, I think so.

“Alright, I think I passed by this place some time ago on our way here: do you want to go now or is there somewhere you need to go to first? I don't have any idea on how to spend this 'free time', as Karma called it, so don't worry about time restraints.” the human says, to which I immediately answer “Do not worry, just bring me home: there are a few things I need to check, just to make sure.”