Ikaros observed the confused expression of his brother, sure of what he said, covered in a cold demeanor. “Power has blinded them. They have been infected and… their blindness makes them act erratically. They fear a power much stronger than theirs… That’s why they seek to destroy it and everything else that stands in the way of such destruction.”

The dark haired one could’ve sworn he had heard something similar to this before, but he could not remember when or where… Simply, those words were too familiar to be new. He wondered and thought profoundly on it, but nothing reached his head, only a feeling of small warmth… and the presence of someone he did not know of. Ikaros, on the other hand, could remember it… That road to the forest, that man carrying them to the village where they lived, those words he repeated. He had discovered it these years… The only thing that could make Witches act as strangely as this… was that infection that had once affected a person that used to be very close to them.

“An infection? But… but, if that’s what is it then, how do we heal them?” The boy had hope that a good solution was possible. If it was an infection, then they had to find a way to rid them of it and save the villagers. Yet, deep down inside, he knew the real answer…

“There is no other way to save them… unless we eliminate them. This infection… it’s something that runs inside every Witch. We are very susceptible to it because of our range of power and magic. Whenever we’ve been apart, I have been trying to find solutions, so you would never have to see such an unpleasant aspect of ourselves… But I never found a single thing… We can only assassinate them… or run away.”

“I… I cannot believe something like this… They cannot have gotten infected so easily. I don’t want to believe something like this. They are… They are good people.”

Ikaros lowered his head, his brother was too kind. That trait of him always hurt… But, he had to be strong for him. He knew this was the only way. The only solutions he had found were the ones that existed for them, the options they had been given due to not noticing the infection in time. He trusted Tier, he was the only person that could change the uncertain present, what everyone perceived and even how the world they lived in functioned. If someone could stop and eliminate the infection, it was Tier.

Sure of his own words, Tier stood up, arranging his long hair in a ponytail to then leave the bedroom. It was late, so surely everyone would be getting ready to sleep, but still, Tier wanted to find the way to prove the villagers weren’t infected quickly. So, he decided to look for one person… Yes, he looked for the daughter of the keepers of the village, the heir to that small kingdom – if it could be called that way – that existed between them, Ariadne.

Tier remembered her as one of the children he shared with when he was small and, even though they played in groups often he did not recall seeing Ikaros whenever she was a part of the games taking place. However, he did not doubt the girl was admirable; she became very strong with the power of constellations she possessed, aside from being well-loved by the villagers due to her gentle and hardworking nature… even though she could be strict and very serious. That’s why, he knew he could find her still hard at work, updating any work necessary for tomorrow. And he was right.

His steps turned lighter and lighter as he approached the girl’s office, the only one illuminated by light at that hour. Slowly, Tier peeked, curious eyes glancing at her work, waiting for the best moment to speak to her and not take her by surprise… That’s when he himself jolted as he heard her speak to herself.

“There must be a way to intercept those humans without being noticed… We must eliminate them as quickly as possible… They’ve created lethal weapons to fight against themselves. How naïve, they don’t know what’s coming. Soon, we will be able to annihilate them all.” She repeated some of those words: eliminate, humans, annihilate, quickly, as if they were part of a ritual of hers. Her eyes seemed to be completely illuminated by the candles she used to light up the papers before her. Even her fingers, holding onto the desk, seemed to tremble with fury, or maybe excitement. It was as if she were too excited to contain herself, wanting to commit that atrocity soon.

It was hard to keep himself quiet, but Tier managed to hear her for almost 5 whole minutes without moving, even though his face turned pale. He recognized those actions… Even though he could not remember it completely, they were so familiar, once again. And those familiar words were the ones that caused a strong headache to attack him. He placed his hand on his forehead, applying pressure to it in an attempt to suppress the pain, but this only caused for vivid images to appear on his head. His heart started to throb, agitated. His memories were those of danger… of an external fury that had tried to eliminate him. Of something or someone who looked for his death.

He knew it. He knew that the figure observing the papers on her desk and the one he remembered attacking him were the same person- no, they acted the same way. Both of them… were infected. It was true. What else could it be? His brother was right. That silhouette he recognized as his motherly figure of long ago, and the girl with whom he shared a great part of his childhood, had both been victims of one infection… Because normally they would not act that way.

Tier’s head spun all over that conclusion. There was no other way of understanding what was happening. He even tried denying that Ariadne was thinking of something so atrocious, but nothing happened, she kept on being the same, saying the same things. It was an infection; it definitely was one… And they had to get rid of it.

Concentrating his power, he moved towards the hallway, attempting to control the headache in silence, so as to not wake anyone or worse, alert Ariadne. He took a deep breath, he had to eradicate such an infection. Yes, he would do it… It does not exist. Something like this does not exist on this village. It doesn’t exist in the whole world. That infection cannot continue to exist, it must not… It will not. That was what he chanted, closing his eyes tightly, hoping to cause a change. He took another breath after repeating those words in whispers for a long while and he walked quietly towards the edge of the open door to the girl’s office. He peeked and… nothing changed. Ariadne’s voice confirmed this as she spoke:

“Starting tomorrow, I will ready the troops. The humans cannot continue living, they are harmful to the world, a danger to us all, even themselves. I have to do it starting tomorrow, I cannot waste any more time.”

Swallowing hard, the boy grew scared of the possibility of the other noticing him, and he turned around to step quickly and stealthily away into the dark hallway, until he reached the outside. Glancing back, his heart started beating slower, calming his beats as he noticed no one approached… but the conclusion roaming around his head was ever-present. Tier thought back to what happened, surprised by the fact that his power had failed during such a crucial moment as that one. Right now, him and his powers were useless, and his species was at risk of contracting an infection, of spreading… if they didn’t have it already. That was the only explanation he could think of for the failure of his powers… That was his assumption as he sat at the ground of the outside, contemplating the stars in the sky, shining with the color of revolution… of loss.

“What can I do? What could I do if I can’t even rid them of the infection? Ikaros… Where you right? I was naïve, no? Of course, you had already tried, one way or the other. We Witches… are impure, right? Then, what can I do if we were born this way?”

He thought time and time again. No solution he came up with made sense. Nothing worked. Nothing else would work.

“We can only assassinate them… or run away.”

Ikaros’ words rang true. Those were his only options… One of them saved the world, in other words, the other species… the other saved them both, temporarily. Tier did not want to run away… To him, running away and leaving everything in chaos did not make sense, it would cause the death of millions and maybe even the elimination of various species. They had to stop it all. And he returned to punish himself mentally. He had always been so blind… and had left Ikaros to carry the truths and cruelties, every burden. But no more. This time, he would be by his side, and he would fix all of the wrongdoings committed upon both him and his brother.