LUCEM
LXXXV Chapter

When I was able to control everything, I breathed a sigh of relief and refocused on the conversation.

Marbella looked at me silently for a moment, and then said.

“I can feel that very small shift. If it happens later and after the Maya power recedes, but before it is channeled into the new host body, it will dramatically disrupt our visuals about the world as a whole, the dimensional space or the world beyond this.

And at the moment that moment has not happened, and I make sure that Maria is still safe.” Marbella shrugged her shoulders. “But it can happen anytime now. Time really matters.”

"How do you know so much about this?" moonflower asked, her brows furrowed. “For many years I tried to get this information, and I found nothing, though so close to the source. But you seem to know all this on a personal level. That's amazing."

“That's not amazing,” said Marbella while shaking her head. “We just focused on our search. All groups have different core strengths or principles. For some, this is security. For others, it is war. For us, this is research. The things we have seen are available for all to see, there are always mistakes, but when you don't look for them, you won't notice. But I noticed. Jiso. It was one of the things that brought us together.”

Marbella and Jiso shared their views.

“We feel very confident that part of the oppression we experience is an illusion,” Jiso said. “And we have pursued the truth with every resource we have. Unfortunately, we still do not know everything.”

“But we are closer than ever,” said Jiso. He took a sharp breath, refocusing. “Part of the troops will withstand and cope with the situation in this house. Hopefully, by the time we get back, the squad has succeeded with our next goal.”

"You really think we'll be able to achieve that much in that short amount of time?" my question, wide eyes. "I hope we won't be gone more than a few days."

"I mean, this should be simpler.Save the troops and reach the end of the dimensional door, breathe out there like most others and find the people we want to find and—–" my voice slowed as my head came back to realize that the reality was not that simple, that I was not something that was not involved just because I refused to move faster.

I know very well.

Marbella smiled at me then, but it was a strange smile, a looking smile. "Didn't you understand?" she said. “This is it. Here's finally. This is the defining moment we have all fought for. If we do this correctly, we can tear everything down in a matter of days.”

"But it all depends on us getting to Mary in time" I said. “What if we are late?”

"You have to kill him."

"You're kidding me" I said. "Tell me you're kidding."

"Not kidding me one bit" he said. “If you get there and the king's body is dead and Mary takes his place, you must kill Maria. You must kill him and as many supreme commanders as you can.”

“What about all the bullshit you told Maria the nights we got here? What about friendship, humanity? What happened to all that shit?”

"Sentimentiles? Are you out of—”ll

Moonflower placed a soothing hand on my arm. “We will find another way. There must be another way.”

“It is impossible to reverse the process after applied,” Jiso said calmly. “ Time will erase every trace of your old friend who left. He will not be recognized. A soldier sometimes has to be super in everything. Beyond safety.”

"I'm not listening to this" I said angrily. "I'm not listening to this."

Marbella raised her hand. “This conversation may become unnecessary. As long as you get to see him in time, it doesn't matter. But inga, if you get there and Maria is still alive, you have to make sure that she kills Maya. Removing Maya is key. Once he left, his troops would be easy to conquer. Susceptible."

"Wait." I frowned, still angry. “Why should Mary kill Maya? Can't one of us do it?”

Marbella shook her head. "If it's that simple" he said, "didn't you think it was done a long time ago, by Magenta or something else?"

I raised my eyebrows. "Not if no one knows he exists."

"They know he exists" said Jiso quietly. " And Moonflower also knew about Maya for a long span of time."

Jiso continued. “Why do you think Magenta contacted our team? Why do you think Marbella risked the life of one of us to send a message to Maria and take the girl to Moonflower's house ? Why do you think we opened the door to get here, even when we knew we were going to open ourselves up to a possible attack? We are making a series of increasingly difficult decisions, risking the lives of all those who depend on us.” He's sighing. “But even now, having suffered a crushing defeat, We and I thought that, in the end, we did the right thing. Can you imagine why?

"Because of you . . The good rat who negotiated with my brother for independence and an island without humans?

“Because Marbella realized, months ago, that Maria was the only one strong enough to kill her own ancestors. We like him just as much as you.

But if Maria is able to kill Maya before any power can be transferred, then she has killed the greatest weapon of dimensional space. If he did not kill Maya now, while the power still flowed through the veins of the body that the Maya spirit inhabited, the dark forest dimensional space could continue to utilize and transfer that power to the new body.

“We once thought Mary had to fight her female ancestor,” Marbella said. “But based on the information Maria shared with us during her time here, it seems Maya cares deeply for Maria's father, Mr. Jhonatan.” Jiso shook his head. “Although so, killing him is not as simple as unplugging the plug. Mary will fight against the ghost of a genius who became her ancestor's ally. Princess Onanna undoubtedly put in many vaults to keep Maya immune to attacks from others and from herself. I don't know what Maria will face, but I guarantee it won't be easy.”

“Gosh.” I dropped my head on my hand. I thought I was already living with peak stress levels, but I was wrong. The stress I'm experiencing right now is on a whole new level.

I felt Moonflower's hand on my back and I looked up. His face looked as unsure as I felt, and somehow, it made me feel better.

“Take your bags, Mars” says Marbella. “I need to see someone. I'll meet the three of you at the entrance in twenty minutes.”