Behind the door was a not very large room, with wooden walls and ceilings following the style of the corridors through which the young man had arrived. Unlike the rooms in Apolo's mansion, this room was sparsely furnished, but the decoration was very fine and elegant, creating an aesthetically pleasing room. The most striking feature of this room, apart from its refined aesthetics, was that on one of the walls, there was a lit fireplace, illuminating the room with a faint and unusual green fire emitted by the few logs left to fuel the flame, which was very close to going out.

The dim light provided by the fireplace allowed Apolo to see that in the middle of the room were two black leather armchairs facing the fireplace: one of the armchairs was empty, while the other was occupied by someone. However, the person in question was looking at the fireplace, and his face was not visible from the door, so Apolo could not recognize him at first glance.

In search of answers, Apolo approached the empty chair in silence and sat down to observe the other person who seemed to be ignoring his presence, more interested in being mesmerized by the scarce green flames dancing in the fireplace than in the intruder who had just entered the room. The mesmerized person was as tall as Apolo and also seemed to be enjoying the joyful times of youth. As for his appearance, this young man had black hair and black eyes, and the most distinctive feature of his face was a nose that was overly long for most people's taste.

If this description didn't already grab the attention of any reader, upon reading the following curiosity, the eavesdropper will understand the logical problem posed by the writer. Since the young man enjoying the flames was wearing a gold ring with the symbol of the colossi of the Black Forest. To make the untold plot more evident, the boy was dressed in a traditional black toga similar to the one Apolo always wore when he was alive, not to mention that he had the same shield that the nobleman had created along with his toga.

Already quite confused by this person's appearance, Apolo could discern while silently investigating this individual that there was a gold chain on the young man's chest, binding a rusty bronze ring. Seeing the characteristic bronze ring, Apolo instinctively touched his chest and realized that he wasn't wearing the chain. Shocked by the discovery, Apolo tried to see the face of the mesmerized person more closely, but his face was hidden behind a silver mask, so the young noble couldn't distinguish who he really was. However, according to the clues gathered, the person in this chair was none other than his own reflection!

—Hello, can you hear me?—Apolo asked with doubts, noticing that no matter how he observed this person from top to bottom and from right to left, he did not seem to react to his presence.

Upon hearing Apolo's voice, the person in the chair slowly stopped gazing at the fireplace and instead saw Apolo's bewildered face. With an abnormally wide smile, the young man exclaimed:

—Finally, you've arrived!

Apolo felt a little stunned hearing this person speak because this individual had exactly the same voice as him, so Apolo felt very strange hearing his own voice coming from someone else. Nevertheless, the young nobleman fought against the strangeness of the situation and asked the burning question that had driven him to this place:

—So, what's my next step? Since I died, I don't know what my path is as an ancestor, and I feel lost. Because of my mistake, that poor young man died in the earthquake, but I couldn't do anything except watch him die. Are we destined to suffer these hardships for eternity, limited to being observers of people's misfortune whom we swore to protect?

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—You're not dead; you're dying right now, Apolo—replied the masked young man calmly.

—How?!—exclaimed Apolo, bewildered.

—Do you remember that I told you not long ago that you were in a memory?—asked the masked young man.

—Yes, I distinctly remember hearing that from Helena when she was masked with the silver mask, but I don't remember ever living what happened in the forest—Apolo replied, vaguely understanding that the masked person must always be the same.

—It's because it's not your memory; it was Helena's. You forgot a long time ago what really happened in the forest. Intuitively, your subconscious led you to spend years trying to remember it, to discover the truth and protect yourself from this fate. But unfortunately, with each failed attempt, the truth became more diluted until finally, the truth became a memory so foreign to your life that it seemed like a crazy dream to you—the masked young man replied.

—But they always let me explore the forest...—Apolo questioned with doubts. This was his main concern and what had generated the most doubts throughout the "dream." Besides the events that provoked a more than logical doubt, such as being a child, encountering the deceased Helena, and meeting some people wearing the much-mentioned silver mask. But these doubts were resolved if Apolo assumed that what he was experiencing was a memory, where the guides were the people wearing the silver mask. However, Apolo found it incredible to think that he could forget something as basic as not being allowed to explore the forest in his childhood.

—Always? Or did your parents just get tired of you ignoring their orders to sneak out every day to look for the cliff?—the masked man asked with a smile—In any case, you don't need to answer me; I already know that you completely forgot what really happened, or rather, that you were forced to distort that reality.

—They forced me? The ring? Is it responsible for making me forget the truth?—Apolo asked as he tried to answer the question the masked man had posed in his mind, although it ended up being in vain since he couldn't remember the truth.

Despite that, now that he started to think about this hypothesis, Apolo noticed that he had a particular lack of memories about what happened every time he returned to the castle. Although it was difficult for any human being to remember exactly what happened so many years ago, especially when it concerned their own childhood.

—It's possible, or maybe not; the ring is as complex as the mask I'm wearing, and the truth is, we'll never know what it's truly capable of. But I do know that Helena is the one primarily responsible for everything that happened to you—the masked young man replied, adjusting the silver mask he was wearing to emphasize his statement.

—Helena?!—exclaimed Apolo upon hearing the name of his deceased friend.

—It's easier to explain if I show you the 'reality'...—the masked young man commented, getting up from the chair while leaning on a golden-capped staff. The staff had been hidden behind the chair, so Apolo never saw it, but at a glance, the young noble recognized that the staff was identical to the one he always used.

Recognizing the staff raised many doubts in Apolo's mind, and when combined with the other clues he had, it piqued his curiosity to the limit, and he finally wanted to ask the masked man about his true identity. But before he could ask, Apolo watched as the masked young man began to walk towards one of the room's walls, interrupting Apolo's question and preventing it from leaving his mouth.

Walking slowly, the masked young man headed towards one of the room's walls. Upon reaching the wall, he did not stop; instead, he passed right through it, showing that the wall was merely an illusion. Seeing the young man disappear before his eyes, Apolo stood up abruptly from the chair and rushed towards the wall where the masked young man had gone, fearing to miss the explanations he promised to give.