After comprehending that the momentous moment had finally arrived, the magician Helena proceeded to sit in the vacant chair on the machine. As she sat down, the magician observed how the restraints and cuffs on the chair bound her as if they had a life of their own, while her disciple looked at her as if trying to find the last drop of compassion from the magician. However, not a hint of compassion could be seen on the woman's face.

When the two chairs were occupied, the metal doll in the middle of the machine began to stretch as if awakening from a long slumber, while it spoke the following words with an angelic voice that had the power to move the emotions of everyone present:

—It seems we have many spectators, just like the last time I came to this grand stage, but it appears that very few faces have survived the passage of time, and the only face I wanted to see no longer seems to be among the audience...

—Shut up and start it already, put me inside my acolyte's head!—Shouted Magician Helena, concerned that the machine wouldn't start immediately; the last time she tried it, everything seemed to be working fine, and the machine hadn't started talking to anyone.

—How impatient, but I hope you can help the girl solve her problems...—Responded the machine, closing its eyes. Coordinated with the woman and the girl, they closed their eyes along with the doll, and their bodies began to tremble vigorously, while the tubes with colorful liquids in the machine began to deplete.

The process itself was incredibly fast, and in just a few minutes, the woman and the girl opened their eyes in coordination with the doll. However, the woman's eyes seemed more alive than ever, while the girl stared into nothingness without displaying any emotion. As for the doll, it had returned to complete immobility, as it had always been before speaking.

The restraints and cuffs that bound the woman began to loosen and allowed her to stand up to carefully inspect the lack of reaction from the girl. After a careful examination that took her time, Magician Helena concluded that, just like the previous time, she had succeeded in destroying her acolyte's subconscious. The last thing left was the final and most delicate step: carrying out the method of Minos and transplanting her mind into the empty vessel she had just created.

*Plaf, plaf, plaf *...Magician Helena clapped three times, causing a guard in silver armor to approach with what appeared to be a wooden box placed carefully on a red cushion.

—Good luck, young lady. I hope you surprise us all and succeed—commented one of the magicians in the box; it seemed that many in the room already knew what was inside.

Helena responded with a friendly smile and opened the box, revealing two fluorescent slugs moving around inside the box, which was completely filled with a thick, sticky, bluish liquid. Helena picked up one of the slugs and placed it on her acolyte's ear, causing the slug to instinctively slide inside. Immediately afterward, she took the other slug and placed it on her own ear, causing it to enter as well. In less than a minute, the woman's body collapsed onto the stage floor.

*Agggggg!*...The girl screamed in pain while writhing in the chair, her eyes darting around, and her facial expressions constantly changing.

—Another attempt, another failure, what a waste of time...—said one of the council magicians, showing no compassion. Some even stopped watching immediately and left their boxes, realizing that their role as witnesses had already ended.

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—He who seeks heaven must know hell, and time solves everything, even this hell. Not all is lost, little Helena...—said one of the magicians, apparently one of the few touched by the magician's failure. However, the children couldn't peek to see who it was, as the voice came from the box directly above them.

—It seems they have already obtained what they wanted—exclaimed the cat on the minister's lap, but it no longer wagged its tail happily and seemed somewhat depressed.

—No, Helena is still alive, and we have to find her head. Why did they say it was a failure?—Apolo asked, listening to Helena's screams of pain. Despite his young age, thanks to the magician's simple explanations, the boy had managed to understand some of what had happened, although some parts were still unknown to him.

—I'm afraid Helena died. What is above the stage is nothing more and nothing less than an incomplete mixture of both people. Apparently, the girl's subconscious could not be erased, although I'm afraid the only one who knows what really happened is your little brother—said the cat, looking at Homero with curiosity. This caused the round-faced child to contort his face completely and look incredulously at the expressionless minister, fearing that what he was thinking might really be possible.

—Do you know why the magician failed, Homero?—Apolo asked, bewildered.

—His name is not Homero, in reality, his name is...—the minister's cat immediately responded.

—Apolo from...—Homero murmured, staring fixedly at the minister.

—... his name is Apolo from the Black Forest—said the minister's cat without any apparent change.

—No, kitty, I'm Apolo, and the chubby one is Homero—Apolo responded childishly.

—I'm afraid it's not like that; although it's illogical that this person is not Homero, the truth is that a memory doesn't have to be logical or exact in its nature—commented the minister's cat, surprising Homero, who was incredulous that the minister could deduce that this wasn't reality.

—Eh?—Apolo asked, not understanding what they had just been told.

—Mmmm!—The cat tried to respond, but to the children's surprise, its mouth began to sew itself shut with the hairs around its mouth. While the children watched the disturbing scene, the minister's lips began to unsew, and with a voice completely unlike a human's, he said:

—That's not my cat; the person speaking to you is the one deceiving you, boy. You're in a memory, and a false one at that. I already died a long time ago, or rather, I was murdered by... Deo and Thais. Unfortunately, they found out that I discovered the truth about the Blue Plague epidemic that is plaguing the Ring City. However, all of that hasn't happened yet, even though it will in the future. I'm afraid this memory doesn't belong to me, and it doesn't belong to anyone, really, as I'm just a product of Helena's imagination. Otherwise, I could show you the reality that I saw with my own eyes. But not all is lost, as you heard: he who seeks heaven must know hell, and if you survive it, you must promise me that you will tell the truth to the emperor. The empire must know that it is under attack.

Apolo wanted to tell the old man that he didn't understand what he was saying, but before he could open his mouth, he saw his younger brother running towards him and ruthlessly throwing him out of the box's window onto the stage floor.

—What did you do, idiot!—cursed the Minister of Magic.

—You're the idiot here. That information would only end up killing my brother. Did you really think I was going to let you use him? Let other idiots die for this damn empire!—shouted the chubby boy, glaring at the Minister of Magic.

—He also lives in the empire!—the Minister of Magic responded immediately.

—Yes, and our family is not affected by the Blue Plague, so the boy will happily live among the corpses, blissfully ignorant of ever remembering you...—the chubby boy replied cruelly.

While the argument unfolded, Apolo fell from the box, looking at the stunned faces of all the magicians present who stared at him without understanding what was happening and without the ability to react to the event they were witnessing.

*Splash*...Without giving him time to understand that his very own younger brother had killed him, the boy fell onto the hard stone floor, shattering his head into a thousand pieces in an exaggerated manner, as if he were a watermelon.