Helped by the faint light emitted by the crystals, Apolo descended the mossy steps, being careful not to slip until he finally touched the floor of the underground hideout. With curiosity, Apolo turned and examined the hideout closely. It was quite small and dimly lit by some crystals emitting a red light. The walls of the hideout were made of earth and were too smooth for Apolo to think they had been dug with a shovel, just like the entrance to the hideout. Despite this perfection, on the earth ceiling of the underground refuge, you could see how the roots of the surface trees had grown, penetrating a large part of the hideout's roof. This allowed the ceiling of the refuge to be filled with earth-filled roots that were gradually gaining ground in their battle to destroy this place, and in fact, some of these roots were already seen advancing on the upper parts of the hideout's walls. With this information, anyone curious enough could deduce that this refuge was made a long time ago, as it would take several years for the surface trees to grow their roots in this way.

On the other hand, in the hideout, there were only a few old wooden boxes, and not a single piece of furniture, so this place looked more like a secret storage than a secret lair.

—Where are your pets?—Apolo asked with curiosity as he inspected the boxes in the hideout near him; they seemed to be filled with cans of food, although the contents of the cans had been eaten a long time ago, so only empty rusty cans could be seen.

—Over here!—Helena replied, walking slowly to a particular box, to take out a dusty rolled-up cloth from inside. When she unrolled the cloth, Helena revealed a small box inside, in very good condition. Carefully, the girl opened the box in her hand, allowing Apolo to see that inside the box were two quite beautiful fluorescent slugs moving on a sticky and thick blueish liquid.

—...—Apolo silently stared at the two slugs; they were indeed quite beautiful, and the dim light in the underground refuge highlighted their fluorescence. But the big problem Apolo had with these slugs was that they felt strangely familiar, as if he had seen them before. The boy could even swear that for some reason, if he brought these slugs close to his ears, they would try to crawl inside.

—Do you like them?—Helena asked, noticing Apolo's skeptical look.

—I love them. Where in the forest did you find them?—Apolo questioned, reaching into the box to touch the viscous bluish liquid the slugs were moving on. It seemed strange to him that he would swear to have seen these creatures in the past, yet he couldn't remember how viscous this liquid was or exactly where he had seen them.

—Following the stream, I found them under some rocks!—Helena replied with excitement, though the speed of her response suggested that it had been prearranged.

—That makes sense...—Apolo replied, finding an excuse in his mind: Most likely the boy had seen them on one of his many adventures in the forests but didn't remember where.

—What were you saying?—Helena asked with curiosity, noticing that Apolo had stopped talking.

—That makes sense... They're so cute!—Apolo replied, completely stunned; the boy wanted to say, "That's why they seemed familiar to me", but the words that came out of his mouth were different—That makes sense... They're so precious!

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Apolo grabbed his throat in astonishment, not understanding why his words were coming out on their own.

—...—He tried to speak again, but he realized that no matter how he formed the words in his mouth, no sound came out.

Meanwhile, noticing the boy's silence, Helena commented:

—Would you like to hold them? They're a bit slimy, but the sensation of feeling them slide through your fingers is fabulous.

Tired of trying to speak in vain, Apolo picked up one of the slugs from the box and let it slide through his fingers. Then he tried to speak again, but his words still didn't come out.

—How does it feel?—Helena asked with a friendly smile, taking the other slug from the box and letting it slide through her hands.

—Very fun—Apolo replied, surprised to finally be able to speak again. However, when he tried to say something else, he realized that his words had once again stopped coming out of his mouth.

—See how fabulous they are, it's worth having these slugs as pets!—Helena exclaimed with a smile—Do you know what's most special about these slugs?

—What?—Apolo asked, holding his throat, feeling the discomfort of his words trying to escape.

—If you let the slugs crawl into your ears, the sensation they create as they move inside you is fabulous—Helena replied with confidence.

—Who in their right mind would put an insect in their ear?!—Apolo exclaimed while looking uncomfortably at Helena; the boy didn't expect that question to come out of his mouth.

—If it were a normal insect, of course, I wouldn't do it. But these slugs are special; they won't hurt you. I've tried it many times: Look!—Helena replied confidently as she brought the slug close to her ear, and it instinctively slid into the ear canal—See, nothing happens, and the sensation is fabulous.

—...—Apolo wanted to tell the girl that what she had just done was crazy, but this time his words didn't come out. This caused Apolo to fall silent and look in consternation at the slug in his hand, understanding that he probably had to put the creature in his ear to discover the true meaning of this dream.

However, as Apolo looked at the slug in his hand with doubts and Helena eagerly looked at him, the secret hideout began to shake violently as if an earthquake were happening. The crystals on the hideout's walls fell to the ground, leaving the place in complete darkness, while small pieces of earth began to fall from the hideout's ceiling, showing the hell that was looming if the two children didn't escape soon.

Despite this, Helena continued to impatiently watch Apolo, while the boy tried to mention the dangerous situation they were in right now to the girl. However, his words didn't come out, and Apolo realized that the girl didn't seem to be aware that an earthquake was happening right now, just like what had happened to her descendant Tea during the earthquake in the village.

Afraid that the same result would repeat itself and the earthquake would cause him to appear in a different place, becoming an ancestor again without having learned anything from this dream, Apolo quickly put his hand on his ear and made sure the slug slid into his ear before the hideout collapsed, burying them alive. When the boy brought his hand close to his ear, the slug quickly slid into his ear canal, immediately Helena fell abruptly to the ground, and Apolo remained petrified, staring at nothing, while the refuge around him collapsed.

At the very moment Helena hit the earth floor of the hideout, the hideout's door burst open, illuminating the inside of the hideout.

*Poof*...Immediately, one of the guards who had been waiting patiently outside threw himself into the hideout entrance without using the steps, crashing onto the ground and injuring his legs in the process. Despite this, the guard did not utter a single complaint and limped with effort towards the stunned boy who was staring into nothingness as pieces of earth fell around him, hitting his childlike body. After a few seconds, the guard arrived in front of Apolo. Then, the man took off his silver mask and put it on the boy, causing a green flash to flood the collapsing hideout.