"It's not possible," the girl denied, watching him wriggle, trying to remove it from his arm. "It manifested on its own."

"What's not possible? Who manifested?" Damian pleaded, desperate for answers. "Autumn, please!"

"Why did it manifest? Why did it choose you?!"

"What does this mean, damn it?!"

The two exchanged doubtful looks, neither seeming to have answers to such questions. That second of questioning was interrupted by an expected visitor. The window wall was shattered, and the apartment gained a hole as a decoration. Both shrank in shock, but Autumn was quick to recover. 

Her reaction, however, was in vain. Before opening her hidden rift and touching the spear, the hybrid reached her, putting its icy hands on the collar of her sweatshirt.

"No more tricks," the hybrid said and Damian shouted for her as he watched the hybrid easily toss her out of the apartment. "Now, where were we?"

The boy tried to flee but fell as he was grabbed by the leg. The hybrid pinned him to the ground with its foot on his back. The creature looked even more horrendous. The rest of its hair hadn't fully grown back, and its face appeared disfigured.

"It's painful, you know? Regenerating. Especially when you have only one arm to do the job. You know what's the worst part? Regaining consciousness," it said calmly yet determinedly. "It all becomes a mess... It's like a huge maze created for salvation. I mean, I should be grateful, shouldn't I? Yes, yes, yes. I should be thankful for this, a curse that allows me to live a little longer than everyone else. That brings me back, despite the suffering. It's a beautiful way to live, isn't it?" The hybrid smiled, staring at the boy trapped under its foot. Its expression changed quickly, noticing the armor covering the boy's arm. "What... No, no. This is..."

Damian tried to turn, seeking defense. He used the arm covered by the golden object, completely unaware of what would happen. An enigmatic force emanated from his left side, striking the hybrid with such force that it sent him flying against the hallway wall. The boy, surprised by such action, couldn't dwell on the feat. He ran to the hole, thinking of the girl who had been thrown there.

His heart calmed when he saw her hanging on a window grate, using the spear as support.

"Autumn!" he called out to her. The girl seemed surprised to see him there. Perhaps she had assumed the boy was already dead.

Even from where Autumn was, the fall would be almost fifteen meters. Not only that, curious heads were emerging. Soon, an emergency siren would sound. In the end, coming to her apartment wasn't the best of ideas. They misjudged his regeneration time; it was faster than they imagined. Things would only get worse if they stayed there, Damian concluded.

The boy tried to think, to think hard. How would he get her out of there? How could he prevent the hybrid from harming innocent people? It was only Autumn against the creature, which had come back even stronger. Could they defeat it this time? There was much to consider; he had never experienced anything like this before, believed no one had ever experienced anything like this before! What should he do?

"Dante!" He made the mistake of looking down when he heard her scream. "Behind you!"

"YOU HAVE TO DIE!" the furious hybrid exclaimed, aiming the axe once again — in less than ten hours — at the boy's head.

Damian scrambled, but it wasn't much help. He slipped away and lost his footing. The boy fell, feeling the anguish of free fall taking over his consciousness. He screamed as he fell.

In a matter of seconds, by sheer luck, he was caught by Autumn. Tension built up as they were not safe. Damian felt like he was about to faint; the girl struggled not to let go, but it wouldn't last long. The spear didn't shake, but Autumn's hand did.

"Hold on to me!" she gasped.

"I can't, I can't... I think I'm going to pass out."

"If you don't calm down, we're going to die."

"And why would I want to die calmly?!"

"Dante, you're slipping!" she exclaimed loudly, keeping the strength in her fingers.

"Let go of me! Otherwise, we'll both fall!" Their sweaty hands tried to remain together.

"No, I can do it, I just..." she cut off her own thought. "The armor! That's it! That on your arm is armor! You need to use it!"

"What?! HOW?" He shouted back, desperation in his voice.

"There are wings on it! The armor has wings! You have to use it!" she said each word with difficulty, gradually losing the boy's hand.

"WINGS?! I don't know what you're talking about!" he responded in agony. Up there, the hybrid awaited their fall. "I don't know how to do that!"

"You already did it! It's already within you, fused to your body. You just need to use your heart! Just accept it, idiot!"

"Calling me an idiot is going to help in any way?!"

She blinked.

"You're right. There's only one way to save us."

"Autumn, wait...!"

The girl opened her hand, which held the spear freely. The weapon disappeared, returning to its rift. The two plummeted toward the ground together. Damian closed his eyes, tired of seeing everything spinning. Autumn's voice echoed once more, "It's already within you. Just accept it, idiot." But where was the reason in that? What did he need to accept? He just wanted to be saved, wanted both of them to get out of there. Wanted to find his brother and uncover everything about him. Yes, that's it. That's what I want, I want to find out everything.

That day had been hell on earth. For days, when he received a phone call from Elio saying he would come for a visit, he felt strange. Part of him was happy, but the other knew that soon his brother would leave again. Damian wanted to ask him: Why? Why don't you just stay here?

He never had enough courage to pose that question. He never asked why Elio had gone away, just like their parents. That's why he needed to survive. He needed to understand why he always stayed behind, why he always watched the backs of the people he loved walking away. He remembered Elio's words, "Now, you're still a child." He loathed his older brother.

It was time to go after, to confront the hidden. He wouldn't ignore the turmoil within himself anymore. He needed to uncover what lay behind the hybrid, the waitress, and his brother. He wanted to know everything, needed to know everything. Damn it, I hate you, Elio. You shouldn't have left me behind. You shouldn't have.

Damian only opened his eyes again when he stopped falling.

He was standing, suspended in the air.

On his back, firm and thick wings formed, attached to an imposing garment. His head, torso, arms, and legs were all shielded by golden armor. With body and mind touched by a divergent aura and knowing exactly what to do, Damian swooped in the air, aiming for the girl in free fall. Just a few meters from the ground, he caught her.

The hybrid screamed, veins bulging from its enraged face.

"You did it," Autumn mouthed, not seeming to believe what she saw. "You're wearing the Wings of Justice."

The girl couldn't see Damian's entire face because it was covered by a pointed and refined helmet adorned with feathers.

"What did you say? I couldn't hear," he declared loudly.

"It was nothing!" she shouted in response, trying to breathe normally. "Just keep the flow! Try to find an area with fewer people; the hybrid must be after us. And fly higher if you can!"

"Got it!"

Autumn frowned.

"Aren't you going to ask anything?!"

"No! From now on, I won't ask anything for a long time!"