"Ah... That is for Leonardo; it was his wife who sent it!"
It was impossible for most of those present to contain their expression of surprise.
"What do you mean?" shouted Kawã. "He is married?"
It seemed this was a secret known only to André and Leonardo, so it must have been very secret for the other heroes, including those closest to Leonardo, to be unaware of such a fact.
Léo received the book and stared at it for a few seconds with a sad expression; his eyes watered, his breathing accelerated, his lips trembled. Léo turned his back to the others and walked toward the exit; while everyone watched in silence, he only said:
"You can continue without me..."
Even if they didn't understand exactly why he was withdrawing so abruptly, it was impossible to comprehend that the content of that book was more important at that moment than the meeting. The heroes preferred not to interfere in Leonardo's personal affairs.
As soon as Léo left and the door closed behind him, the meeting resumed, with Jonas interrogating André.
"Now I would like you to explain to me how you managed to cross over to here, if the last key was destroyed."
"Simple!" André replied. "I discovered that there are three ways to travel between the two worlds. The first is through the keys, but each key can only be used once; actually, there are no more keys for the doors. But there is a second way: a key to open a 'window.' This one can be used as many times as needed. I managed to discover where it was, but I also discovered a third way to travel. I call it 'breaking the wall.' It consists of sacrificing your power, your hands, and losing a lot of blood in a macabre and painful ritual..."
"What do you mean?" Jonas interrupted. "Why didn't you use the second way?"
"I had the opportunity to rid myself of that curse, which, because of you, had been impregnated in my soul for the last 11 years..."
Jonas swallowed hard and didn't retort to André's comment; he just lowered his head waiting to hear the rest of the story.
"I found the ruins of Motog, the Temple of the Dead..." André continued. "And the eighth key was there, but it also spoke of how the worlds are separated by a kind of 'veil,' which was built by the gods to contain the different forms of mystical energy within their respective worlds."
Anne raised her hand, signaling she wanted to speak; André nodded.
"I remember that once Felipe theorized that there was a possibility of infinite alternative realities existing, superimposed and separated by... uh... I don't remember the name..."
"The fabric of reality," Felipe completed.
André nodded again, agreeing with the girl. Then he continued.
"What is written in Motog matches Felipe's theory. There is something that separates the worlds, but it can be ruptured. The doors are stable holes that need to be opened and then closed, whereas the windows, upon being opened, close by themselves after a while. But it is possible to tear the fabric of reality with your own hands, if you are strong enough and willing to abandon almost everything. And that was what I did; I sacrificed my arms, my blood, and that cursed power, and now I am free..."
"So you only did that to get rid of your powers?" asked Lucas. "Attempt suicide just to get rid of a curse?"
"No! A new relic has appeared; you know this means that the power has been unbalanced again. Soon a new crisis will ravage those lands, and the 7 kingdoms will fall into a war of epic proportions!" André retorted. "Even the Sons of the East are preparing. This time it will be bigger, and you won't be there!"
"Neither will you!" shouted Kawã arrogantly. "How can you abandon those people in the face of the threat of a large-scale crisis? People will die! And you will bear the guilt of having fled..."
André stared at Kawã, walked slowly toward him, and looking directly into his eyes, said:
"Don't forget, you were the ones chosen by the gods of that world to be heroes. I went there by accident; my power was just a curse. I killed, destroyed, and caused suffering, but I am not a hero; that is your responsibility... But tell me, what good did you do? As far as I remember, all of you have blood on your hands!"
"I never killed anyone!" Felipe retorted in a harsh tone.
"But you elaborated the attack plan on the Eastern cities; your strategy caused the death of innocent people!" André shouted while turning to face Felipe. "Each of you made an oath to protect that world, but when the war ended you thought your duty was done, and left without looking back."
"And you, as always, are going to run away?" asked Lucas.
"No, I tore the fabric of reality to find the damn Silver Knight. I'm going to take him back, and force him to undo all the shit you did under his command... But this time I will make my own choices; I won't be manipulated by anyone, be it hero, king, or god!"
André was quite agitated at this point in the meeting; his facial expression was of deep hatred.
"While you stay here with your families, living your happy little lives, I was trying to prevent a second war, and now I had to come after the person I hate most to save that world I hate so much, and I have nothing left but to ask for help from you, whom I also hate!"
"It's mutual," Jonas murmured.
"So much hatred!" Felipe exclaimed.
"You aren't the first to tell me that..."
Zita walked slowly to André, positioning herself behind him. She touched his shoulder and said:
"I, Elizabeth Cruz, Heiress of the Flame, disciple of the Phoenix God, promise to help you, just as I promised to protect the mystical world, in the name of the priests of the fire mountain!"
Eduardo made the same movement, touching André's other shoulder, and proclaimed:
"I, Eduardo Sales, Protector of the Sacred Forest, disciple of Mother Earth, promise to help you, just as I promised to protect the mystical world, in the name of the priests of the Forest Temple."
After Eduardo, it was Felipe's turn, who even though hesitating a little, repeated the same act of touching André's shoulder. Placing his hand over Zita's, he said:
"I, Felipe Lins, Guardian of Wisdom, disciple of Divine Wisdom, promise to help you, just as I promised to protect the mystical world, in the name of the Sages of the Tower."
Finally, Lucas repeated the same action as the other three, placing his hand over Eduardo's.
"I, Lucas Queiroz, Herald of the Gales, disciple of the Storm, promise to help you, just as I promised to protect the mystical world, in the name of the Nomadic Warriors."
The others didn't manifest in support of André; they were still reluctant to accept his words, even though it was impossible to refute them.
Jonas stood in front of André, with an arrogant posture, both hands behind his back, nose in the air, and in a harsh tone said:
"I believe all of us are willing to return to that place again, if it is to prevent a possible war! But if it is necessary to reach that point, know that I won't do it for you! What's more, it is personal; as far as I'm concerned, you'd be dead!"
"I understand," André replied. "I acknowledge that some here have already tried to kill me, and I only haven't killed you, Jonas, because I think you haven't suffered enough yet. Your death won't erase your sins."
Upon saying these words, André turned his back and left; right behind him went Zita and Lucas. Felipe decided then to end the meeting, while thinking:
At least this time we didn't have anyone seriously injured...