Klaus walked to the garden's entrance, rubbing his neck, stretching his arms to prepare the muscles of his back, a hole in his shirt, covered, closed with velcro, right in the trapezius area, was visible.

“So now that I finally can…”

Having a good distance from the others, Klaus crouched down and let his fleshy, bat-like wings out through that opening in the back of his shirt. Flapping his wings, he rose into the sky and left at high speed in the direction of the nearest subway station.

Erick and Arles watched Klaus leave from the Gate, while Cloe entered the house carrying Cloud. Aubrey, who was inside, approached the boy somewhat worried.

“Erick, so, do you want me to wait for Jake with you?”

The officer noticed that the girl also had several wounds, a band-aid across the top of her left cheek and three scratches on her right shoulder, on top of a noticeable reddish birthmark in the shape of a three-pointed crown.

“I won’t complain, but it’s kind of late and we still haven’t found Lady.”

“I’m sorry Bry, we’ll keep looking tomorrow. You better go home.”

“What if that thing comes back? What if that thing has my cat?!”

A loud meow interrupted the children who slowly turned to it, the cat used the chance when Cloe got Cloud out of the car to get out and approach the door, recognizing the smell of her little girl.

“Lady!” Bry picked up the creature “my baby kitten, mommy was looking for you everywhere.”

Bry hugged Lady tightly, the cat looking somewhat uncomfortable, but accepting the girl's affection. Arles interrupted the reunion.

“Kids, why is your face all hurt?”

“Cause the search for that cat has been a bit hard” Erick answered, looking annoyed at the reunion.

“Really? Isn't that vampire's fault? You can tell me, he's not here to hear it.”

Erick's face turned red and his speech became frantic, indignant at such insinuation.

“OF COURSE NOT! He rescued us, if it weren't for him we'd have ended up worse.”

“Hey, where do I take Cloud?” Cloe, again, got in between the arguing people.

“Follow me.”

Erick walked angrily up the stairs. Arles was about to go in and help Cloe carry the unconscious young man, but Aubrey intercepted him.

“Officer, could you take me home? It’s already dark and I’m a little scared to go alone.”

“Oh, of course, tho first I have to help them get that boy into a room.”

“It’s done.” Cloe appeared next to them, empty-handed.

“Or not… get in my car.”

Aubrey looked into the house, making eye contact with Erick, she smiled and said goodbye to him with great joy.

“See you tomorrow, I hope to meet your cousin soon, bye.”

The girl ran to the officer’s car and they both set off. Erick closed the door, asked Cloe if she needed anything else and when she gave a negative reply, he wished her a good night and locked himself in his room.

Exhausted, he leaned against his door letting out a heavy sigh, began to undress, looking in his mirror at the birthmark he had on his left shoulder, a three-pointed crown, an exact parallel to Bry’s mark.

Already in his pajamas he looked to the side of his closet, walked to his bookshelf and took the photograph of the man who had legally adopted Jake, General Yang, thinking about him and his own family, the one that he didn't remember.

Everything he knew about his past, before he was nine years old, he only knew what Jake had told him.

When he was five years old his parents were murdered by someone close to their family, after which he set himself and the house on fire.

Jake, Erick's twin sister, now lost, and himself had witnessed everything. From that moment until they met Klaus Erick stopped talking and communicating completely.

When Jake related this to Erick he seemed more saddened by the death of that murderous person than that of his uncle and aunt. Sometimes his throat closed up and he swallowed his words when mentioning it.

The three of them ended up together in the same orphanage, the people in charge of the place stole the money granted by the government and exploited the children to gain even more.

They were treated more like objects than people and that is why Jake planned to escape from there, unfortunately or fortunately his sister was adopted just the day before the escape.

From then on it was just the two of them against the world. Later it was three, with the addition of Klaus to their lives, when Erick regained self-awareness.

That happened two years after Jake was adopted by General Yang, who used his influence to have both boys tutored, taking them with him on his missions without restrictions, using Jake's abilities as an excuse to enlist him early onto his platoon, disguised as alchemy.

This influence was what had gotten Jake a job in the police force.

He put the photograph back in its place and continued thinking while sitting on the bed.

The general had found them at the mercy of a criminal group. Jake worked making deliveries for one of them in exchange for food, asylum and protection for Erick.

The general got a lead from an anonymous source and thus first located all the children under the clutches of those criminals, including them. It was at that very moment that the general became fond of them and decided to take them along, or at least that's what he said.

The only reason Yang hadn't adopted Erick was at Jake's request, who wanted to have custody of his cousin as soon as he was old enough, this didn't quite work out due to their age difference and lack of legal traces of their true identities, which was why Klaus had taken primary legal custody of Erick.

Technically, legally, and as far as the boy was concerned, Klaus was his father.

The loss of his biological parents, who no longer held any meaning to him, happened a year after another tragedy, when Jake's baby brother was kidnapped.

This in turn happened two years after their mother died of a sudden, incurable illness, causing Jake to move with his remaining family into Erick's parents' house.

These were difficult years for his entire family.

He laid down staring at the ceiling, looked back at the clock, it was 1:49, anxious about his cousin's absence.

«You're taking too long, Jake.»

He looked at the ceiling again.

While Erick waited restless at home, Jake and Cloud continued to walk through the corridors of that labyrinth in the illusory world of the Diagvelia.

The two cousins ​​walked calmly, looking around for any sign of other people.

After that, the pictures with the images of the demon melted out until they completely emptied on the floor, slowly coming together to form a large, amorphous, viscous mass, stalking the two young men from behind.

Jake noticed the presence of that threat. Just when the Diagvelia launched its first blow, the young detective lunged at his cousin, dodging it, and with a twist of his waist and his arm he made a cut on the entity.

This did not seem to affect it at all.

Using his body, he covered his cousin on the ground, took out his wings, covering both of them completely with them, closed his eyes tightly and prepared for the painful impact of being covered by that black mass.

Once they were devoured by it, Jake opened his eyes worried, his cousin had vanished, he desperately searched around him, finding himself surrounded by nothingness in total darkness, his sword being the only light source.

Regaining his composure he remembered his situation.

«Ah, of course, illusory world.»