Amelia clung to Marisse with all the strength she had left. Every breath her mother took felt like an echo of a past that was disintegrating before her eyes. The smell of dust and blood mixed with the metallic stench that permeated the room, making the air almost unbearable. Marisse, once a strong and imposing woman, now seemed like a shadow of herself. Her shoulders were slumped, her posture defeated, as if every piece of her soul had been torn out and left to wither. Her hair, once shiny, was now dull, with streaks of gray intertwined, and Amelia’s tears mixed with the sweat dripping down her mother’s forehead, as if their suffering was a pain that would never end.

The stone floor, stained with blood and dust, felt cold against Amelia’s skin as she struggled to stay upright, weakened by the ordeal. The house, once warm and inviting, now felt like a prison of ruins. The cracked walls and broken furniture told the story of brutal violence, of a world that had shattered. The furniture, now scattered like debris from a lost battle, was the only testament to what had once been a peaceful life.

The distant argument interrupted the heavy silence that hung in the room. Amelia tried to ignore it, focusing on the faint words that still came from Marisse, trying to understand what her mother was feeling, but the tension in the conversation between Tyler and the armored girl was impossible to ignore. Every shout, every word, seemed to tear through the silence with a painful echo.

— Do you have some kind of fetish for wiping people’s memories, Monica?! — Tyler’s voice was filled with indignation, and Amelia felt her stomach churn at the ferocity of his words.

She held Marisse even tighter, wishing the words coming out of Tyler’s mouth could be erased from reality. The sound of his voice was like a furious storm, a battle of emotions that Amelia didn’t know how to process. Her mind was too overwhelmed to make sense of anything.

— Mom... — she whispered, her voice trembling, her heart pounding uncontrollably in her chest. — Are you... are you okay...?

Marisse’s response was almost a whisper, a reflection of her inability to comprehend the world around her. Her eyes were cloudy, distant, and Amelia couldn’t help but feel a shiver of despair.

— Your... father... — Marisse tried to speak, but her voice faltered, her eyes fixed on a distant point, as if searching for something that no longer existed. — Ed... where is he...?

Before Amelia could offer a response, a new sound cut through the air. The armored girl appeared before them, her steps firm and echoing on the empty floor. The armor, made of imposing red metal, seemed to absorb the faint light in the room, making it even darker. Every movement the girl made was precise, carrying an authority that made her almost untouchable. Cuts and scratches covered her face, but her gray, intense eyes seemed to face the world with a hardness Amelia couldn’t understand.

— What do you suggest then? — the girl asked coldly, a harshness Amelia couldn’t ignore. — Do you think they should carry this trauma for the rest of their lives?

Amelia’s heart tightened. It wasn’t just the girl’s words, but the cruelty they carried, like a precise blow. Tyler’s gaze wavered under the pressure the girl exerted on him, the tension between them turning into an invisible battlefield.

— I... — Tyler began, but his voice failed, faltering under the weight of the accusation.

— You selfish bastard! — the girl shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at Tyler’s chest. — You don’t give a damn about their safety!

Tyler defended himself with his hands, his expression vulnerable, his body, once strong, now seeming small under the weight of her words. The silence in the room became almost deafening, the dust suspended in the air as if time itself had been held back by the tension. Amelia could barely breathe, and the girl’s words, like sharp blades, dug deep into her chest.

— What the hell... — she murmured, her throat tight with anguish. — What did you do...?

The silence was crushing. The armored girl finally spoke, her words resonating like a final blow.

— Loving and protecting requires sacrifice. — She looked directly at Tyler, a mix of disdain and resignation in her eyes. — Cut these people out of your life before more people die...

With those words, she turned, her heavy, determined steps echoing through the room like a distant lament, while Amelia felt the weight of the words, the pain of the choices being made before her.

— And you know what? I give up! — the girl shouted, her voice filled with bitterness. — You’re the Scarlet Arcanist, solve your own problems!

The shout echoed through the house, but Amelia felt the words were lost in the air, meaningless, unanswered. Her heart was broken, and the words coming out of her mouth were like a silent scream, a futile attempt to understand everything.

— What’s happening here? — she screamed, her voice echoing through the space like a desperate plea. — Someone tell me, for God’s sake!

Hyan stepped forward, his movements slow and careful, as if trying not to scare her further. He reached out a hand, but Amelia instinctively recoiled, her tear-filled eyes reflecting pure terror. She wanted answers, but all she felt was the confusion growing like an unstoppable tide.

— Amelia... — Tyler began, his voice choked as he took a shaky step toward her. The pain on his face was visible, and Amelia held her breath as she saw a tear slide down his cheek before he continued: — I swear I’ll protect all of you... no one else will get hurt around me, damn it!

Hyan remained silent, his arms at his sides. His eyes, usually calm, were now filled with an anguish he didn’t know how to express. He watched the scene, but seemed as lost as Amelia, caught between the desire to help and the inability to find the right words.

— Hyan, did you learn this damn forgetting thing too...? — Tyler turned to his brother, his voice filled with a mix of anger and desperation. He was searching for something, anything that could make sense.

Hyan hesitated. His mouth opened briefly, but no sound came out. The expression on his face wavered between guilt and frustration.

— Do you want...? — he finally replied, his voice low, almost a whisper lost in the chaos.

Amelia looked from one to the other, her mind spinning like a whirlwind. She wanted to scream again, demand that they stop speaking in riddles and just explain what was happening. But her voice failed her.

Tyler turned his face to Amelia once more, his eyes red and swollen with emotion. He tried to soften his expression, but the pain he felt overflowed, impossible to hide.

— Amelia... — he called again, his voice struggling not to break completely. — Your mom doesn’t need to suffer like this anymore, right...? Remembering all of this...

Amelia backed away against the wall, his words hitting her like a cold wave. A new, intense pain shot through her heart as the reality settled in before her.