"We've been expecting you." A stern dreadful voice welcomed the receptors that were behind the door to the office as a small rupture within the door was created.

Bright aggressive sunlight emitted from the luxurious golden windows basking in the midday ambiance engulfed the main figure of the office. An office of a width of about seven meters; squared-shaped and with a height of ten meters. On each side---left and right---there would be three bookshelves with full books; not a single one had a missing spot or any inconsistency in size. Painted in gold, they each had two meters and a half in height and one meter in width.

With nothing standing in between the door entrance---a door in shimmering gold---and the desk with gold and white stripes in which the main head of the mansion stood on his seat, the three individuals walked in.

On the front, a tall man reigning over almost two meters in height with a composed muscular structure walked in. This man first had dark yellow eyes and medium-sized spiky downward dark-ocean marine-colored hair. His pale skin was slightly tan though shaded in a paler sense. As for his clothes; his top side consisted of a red tuxedo with an inner golden border where the breast buttons would lie in. On the back side and mainly on the shoulders; golden bright spikes held tall. His pants were entirely black alongside his debonair black shoes.

Without delay, he proceeded to kneel down in front of the presence of the main figure. By placing his right hand on his heart's side and crooking his head down, he urged the other two individuals to do the same, though they arguably failed to replicate the flawless majestic stance he upheld.

"Enough." The main figure, without getting up from his golden chair that resembled that of an ancient modern royal throne, raised his right hand "Вверх." The tall man and the two children; one on each side, began to get up at his signal.

Aside from the tall man with a red tuxedo and the main figure, there were two other individuals present. Unlike the tall man that had a refined appearance yet a seemingly older look to him, the other two were clearly younger--- children. One of them had a curtain hairstyle with black color to his hair, whereas the other one had short spiky blonde hair. One had a shorter height than the other and they were both in black suits with red ties that suited their body composures; which were formidably shaped for their age.

"Old friend. Thank you for your time." The main figure on the throne thanked the tall man "No such thing, majesty. The moment I heard you needed assistance I immediately figured that my services would be to your liking." The majesty smiles a bit "I'm glad to know I wasn't wrong." The tall figure smiled back as well, but not before he urged the two children to move forward with the snap of his fingers.

With apathetic faces and a sense of obedience injected in their beings; they kneeled down in the presence of the majesty on his throne.

"Oh..." The majesty began to show a liking as he clapped "The Sargasov brothers. They are my primary masterpieces as they have survived every training menu, mission, exam, and all other tests of knowledge in the modernity of our current world I could offer to them. Unfortunately, for your daughter's protection, I am only able to offer one as the other will have to inevitably go back to the Gulag." The tall figure clarified as he placed his abnormally heavy eyes onto the two children who could not look up "Mhm... Most intriguing; though for my bloodline's sake, I must ensure my daughter's survival..." As the decision came forth, the Majesty spoke the critical decision "Which of them is best suited for this task, in your opinion?" Rarely does the majesty ever consult something of such degree of importance yet the fact that he did just now toward this tall mysterious man; speaks volumes "Vladimir." At that word, the boy of young age rose his head "Damianov." Likewise, the boy a year older in age, rose his head naturally.

Turning his physical back on the majesty, the tall man primarily spoke in the direction of the brothers with a cold merciless voice to it.

"Last one standing." He simply said those words as he took a relaxing stance on the golden couch with red stripes on the right side of the room.

The brothers had been given a mission in front of their leader and only one of them could win the spot for this specific task.

It would take one of them less than ten seconds to put the other on a complete full arm lock as the other expelled saliva mixed with blood while on the brick of death.

"Достаточно." The tall man got up from the couch and so, the winner of the short dispute began to isolate himself from his previous opponent "Most magnificent... Young one, how old are you?" The majesty spoke toward the blonde-haired child who had visibly red glowing eyes yet a completely monochromatic expression "I am nine years old, your majesty." With an elevated Russian accent yet still unable to speak fluent German, Damianov didn't hesitate to answer "From this day onward, you will be my daughter's most valiant guard. Her life---is in your hands." The majesty showed no possible delay when it came to declaring the intended purpose of the winner of the previous fight.

Silently, Damianov took a bow and kneeled down.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hell broke loose on the third floor. Bullets began to be shot in all directions and seemingly, no one was safe from being killed, despite wearing bullet vests underneath.

Viktor knew from the get-go the fact that the current number of black suits, the ones from Viktor's side which exceed that of twenty compared to the ten or so black-suited guards tasked with guarding the third floor, are largely favored to his side; meant nothing as there is an ambush awaiting them on the fourth floor.

At the crossroad between the middle section of the floor and the beginning of it, Viktor turned his back around after he saw that there were no more black-suited guards alive on the floor.

Climbing the staircase, Vladimir emerged from the floor below with blood on his black suit as well as a bullet coming his way.

"...?!" Vladimir instinctively tilted his torso to the back, decreasing his posture diagonally as a fraction of his nose was ripped off due to the bullet that pierced the wall instead.

He took cover, raised his gun with his two hands, and took a sneak peek at the hall which was covered in dead black suits basking under the prestigious moonlight.

"......." Vladimir raised his awareness as his nose started to drip down a monstrous quantity of blood.

In addition, he took out a smoke bomb and his X-ray glasses; threw the bomb with all of his strength toward the middle of the hall to which he couldn't identify whoever it was that shot him as there were only dead bodies. He recoiled back to the wall and waited until the smoke began to wildly disperse to his advantage.

When the smoke spread like wildfire, Vladimir raised his gun up with his arms along the way and started to carefully and slowly walk toward the hall as his X-ray glasses captured any organism with a green light; thus making it incredibly easy to narrow which individual to shoot and who not to.

However, this X-ray vision could not penetrate through walls, therefore, entering a new room is a completely other matter on its own.

".......I see... This type of pattern..." Vladimir spoke a bit to himself as he approached the first room from the right side of the hall; covered in specs of gold--reminiscing ancient German architecture "...Brother...?" He opens the first room as a grim wicked smile was born on the wide corners of his lips.

The X-ray vision wasn't able to capture anything as it entered the library containing a room of six vertical rows full of books each facing to the left, while the two rows in the north direction were facing forward. A small chandelier was on top as well as a central desk with a single chair.

As Vladimir searched the library, he didn't find a single person in it.

Vladimir's mind was swiftly taken back to a distant past.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The "leader" stood at the top of the dark entrance where the light would be the only source of solar power. His shadow loomed over every individual beneath his figure creating a difference of approximately twenty meters in distance.

"For Christmas, my greatest gift to all of you is the annual Gulag's special exam!" He clapped his hands as his vibrant biceps could be seen through "As you know or might not know, the Gulag has NO PLACE FOR WEAKNESS! As such, only ten of you will make it out! Every year, this tradition goes without failing, so, to the fifty hundred thousand of you---glory to the survival of the fittest." The looming shadow began to disappear as the fifty hundred thousand children with no equipment whatsoever and no clothing at all, began to fight against one another.

No light; only darkness engulfed the atmosphere of that horrendous cave beneath the Earth at least hundreds of thousands of meters---known only to a selective amount of specific humans on that planet. Each year, a variety of a number of children varying from the age of five to ten, would engage in mortal combat without any rules set and only the ten who survived would be selected for the Gulag.

Just like many among them, children would often gang up on isolated targets in order to somehow not die at that moment. Boulders and peebles were undoubtedly useful for killing off other children, and as such, Vladimir at the age of six was the target of a horde of seven children as they began to gang up on him by taking hold of his arms and legs.

"B-Brother...!!" His fading ragged voice as he started to get plummed by multiple fists to the dome called out to Damianov who was also busy fighting other hordes; except that unlike Vladimir, he excelled at unleashing his savagery onto others "AGHHH!!" Vladimir, at the sight of his brother winning, began to use his teeth to bite whatever fists came at him, regardless of the tooths that were broken in the process.

Even so, Damianov, though he watched Vladimir from afar, did not come to his aid.

As Damianov clobbered a sharp rock onto another child's forehead without mercy, he still wouldn't acknowledge Vladimir's struggle. This would make Vladimir, with his mouth, aim at the neck of the child that was halting his right arm, as his ferocious bite landed on an artery; causing the child to have a malfunction---ultimately releasing his right arm.

With a hunger for his brother's acknowledgment, Vladimir launched numerous fists with his right closed hand to the other children as Damianov tossed the sharp rock that he was using in Vladimir's direction.

"....Brother....!!" He looked at Damianov as he didn't waste any time and started to go on a killing spree with his bare hands; varying from breaking necks with his bare hands, utilizing finger-pokes to the eyes, penetrating skulls with his two hands intertwined "I need to become just like brother!" With the sharp rock that was accessible to him shortly on his right side now that his right arm was free, Vladimir clashed it with the children who were on top of him and then proceeded to kill the remaining others as the advantage between having a rock and not having became crystal clear.

At the end of it all, after a brutal three hours of what seemed to be Hell for Vladimir, only ten children remained.

With more bruises than Vladimir yet not too many to the point where the difference was staggering, Damianov spoke to Vladimir, who was beaten up to the point where he could only barely walk; had a broken left ankle, a bruised eye that disabled his vision from that eye partially, and several teeth missing.

"Oh? You're still alive?" Damianov, now on the muddy hill that would lead to the outside of the cave as the other remaining children who were still alive climbed to the top "Come on now, don't lag behind, Vladimir! You made it and as such... you need to behave yourself with the supremacy that comes with being a winner." Damianov entered the bright light leading to a place of a distant time "Never forget that." Vladimir absorbed those words and even to this day, at this specific time; they remain core to him.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A white room with two large rectangular windows of shimmering gold encompassing a lonely black piano in the middle of it with fluttering transparent curtains would be Vladimir's next location as the room to the left is where he would have to go in order to find whoever it was that shot him.

Though, by now, Vladimir somehow knew yet not why.

As he reached the piano, he pressed a piece of it, softly.

After that, he moved out of the room and went for the third room of the hall, with only two others left.

Slowly, he attempted to enter the third room, as he knows not what is in there. With care, Vladimir grasped the door hold, fully calm and prepared for what could come in case something went wrong.

He started to unwind the door to the right very, but very slowly, and then, with a shift of impulse---Vladimir unleashed a rapid brutal dark impulse as he forced the door to go down the right end.

This was countered by what seemed to be a force holding it from crushing it completely, which alerted Vladimir, who shot three bullets into the door immediately.

"BROTHER!!" Vladimir immediately realized that the door itself was an ambush as Viktor rolled to the right side; falling onto a red carpet---aiming straight at Vladimir who rolled to the left in a forward direction; placing himself behind one of the dining table's chairs.

Though not a dining hall entirely, it would be where the royal family would partake in taking breakfasts or tea ceremonies. Not only that, but it would serve as a reception room for estimated prestigious guests. Needless to say, aside from the paintings decorated on the walls, the entire area was gigantic as it contained almost two hundred meters in length as well as a considerable height of a hundred meters. It also had a closed golden door to the room on the left, but more importantly, the entire table was the main attraction.

Around it is a dark red carpet with borders of gold and as for the table itself, it's a rectangular royal table containing golden borders as well as a height of one meter, but amassing an enormous hundred and twenty-five meters in horizontal size. One chair would contrast the other at the very end, while the vertical rows of the table would have slightly taller chairs in comparison---all gold based in their design. Reigning tall and supreme, a translucent chandelier gave light to the entire room.

And then, Vladimir took a small opportunity to shoot in Viktor's direction, but he dodged it with a barrel roll toward the right side of the table as he hid behind a chair as well.

"Damian, what's the deal, huh?!" Vladimir reloaded the guns respectively as he looked at the chairs that contrasted his direction "Vladimir, we've done enough, we got the mother and the father!" Viktor tries to reason, but Vladimir first fires four bullets at the rightmost chair as they barely escape Viktor's top hairs "What the hell are you on about, Damian?! The leader said we had to kill all three, the mission has to be accomplished! What's going on exactly?! Not that I mind this as a sport, but the lack of sense is really bewildering me, haha!!" Vladimir throws a laugh while rolling to the other chair's back.

Viktor felt conflicted despite being fully committed to killing Vladimir. Nevertheless, he wanted to reason if he could although it wasn't a necessity.

"It's---Look, can you imagine what it's gonna be like for her?!" Viktor tried to reason once again "What? I don't have to imagine that because I'm going to put a bullet in her head, brother..." Vladimir says with the most cold voice "What I don't get is where you are coming from. Are you betraying the leader... Brother, are you..." Vladimir couldn't finish his sentence suddenly.

In a struggle to try to somehow justify his unreasonable upbringing, Viktor cursed himself.

"What the fuck am I doing?! Why am I even trying to convince him?! We are members of the Gulag; we kill as normally as we breathe oxygen so the very fact that I'm trying to convince Vladimir not to kill someone is a fool's behavior by default, damn it!" Viktor gets angry at himself "....Whatever... I knew from the start that there was no way I could reason with him, because... I'm at fault here. Always, Vladimir remained in my shadow for too long and for that very reason, he has become my shadow. It's like..." Viktor sighed "Like he's my damn reflection from this time..." Viktor reloaded his desert eagles.

Realizing that further reasoning would not work, Viktor narrowed his vision and aimed for the initial goal.

"Vlad, one last chance. Let the girl live and you get to walk away." Viktor said with trails of glacials in his voice "I don't know what has consumed you suddenly, but if you have gone rogue, or out of your mind, Damian, then I will not only put a bullet onto her head, but in yours too, BROTHER!!" Vladimir fully exposes himself and aims at the chair where Viktor was hiding; firing about five bullets.

Vladimir, however, immediately recoiled back to the back of his chair, waiting for a new opportunity to shoot back at Viktor.

"?!" A sudden anxiety attack consumed Vladimir as he was caught off guard by a bullet to the heart from behind ".....What...?!" From the part underneath the table, Viktor rose the table's cloth as he revealed himself from behind to Vladimir "You have a bad habit of being a slave to patterns..." Viktor delivered as he got up from the ground with blood on his suit.

Plain and simple, Vladimir's life came to an end, which would now simplify the entirety of the event and as such, Viktor had to be fast toward the top despite Vladimir being taken out of action.

"I have to get to the fourth floor and aid my side for now and then slowly let them all kill each other and with Vladimir out of the way, I will be able to rescue Naomi from this damn nightmare, once and for all." Viktor reassured of that himself with an apathetic look on his face.

Such confidence of his was astronomical to the point of overlooking the hailing right shaking hand with a single last bullet to it; in frail aim yet sufficiently strong for a deal with a death treaty.

"AHGH!!" Viktor's chest's right side was prematurely shot as Vladimir spoke his last words ".....I will....get....lonely in Hell....so....brother has....to come...too........" His head drops on the floor; his blood ensanguined on the carpet as the colors begin to intertwine.

Unfortunately for Viktor, although he thought that Vladimir was no longer a problem, he could barely walk to the door while staying up; his posture was authentically crooked only due to his sheer physical and mental effort on the line here.

Trembling, Viktor reached out to the back of his black tuxedo and began to search for something specific.

"...Damn you, Vladimir....!!!" He resented Vladimir as his right hand full of his own blood now reached out to a syringe containing a crystal blue serum with a full dose ready to be injected "I will not let it end like this---NOT YET!" Viktor elevated the syringe into the air desperately.

Lacking overall strength and fastly losing blood despite wearing a bullet chest, Viktor, with all of his possible strength, injected the serum into his heart arteria.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A few years back in Naomi's life, she was still being introduced to the importance of her lineage. Unlike a normal human being in current modernity, she holds royal blood and carries a genetic tree that goes almost over a millennium, if not one at all.

But, she could never quite accept the fact that this lineage was not a part of her choice.

"...Why...? Why was I born an aristocrat in an age where republics reign completely over kingdoms...?" Naomi asked herself that while closed on the windowless library on the third floor with a multitude of books in front of her "...I wish I was born in a different time; circumstance, just not..." Naomi, as she succumbed to her conundrum at the young age of nine, found herself listening to a piano musical piece from the room next to the library "...What? Someone's playing the piano...?" Naomi was shocked and withdrew herself from her golden chair with a height that utterly towered her.

It was unlike her to move with such haste toward the hall of balambing daylight as the summer wind breeze spun out of control through the open windows yet Naomi showed no hesitation as she got curious.

"I've never heard that piece before and I made sure to learn all of mother's piano pieces, so just who is...?!" She slammed the door; panting and saw an ethereal figure upon her; all alone in a room where symphony and harmony were balanced in its primordial ambiance.

Speechless, she couldn't help but silently admire the delicate way the boy was waving through the piano with such precision yet compactness in his movements as they felt empowering like a storm of winds but completely calm like the earth itself. A certain level of ephemerality lay in his smile as he performed the piece of unknown music to Naomi live; his short blonde spiky hair fluttered in her direction as she was taken back---authentically stunned at his performance and his majestic stance in his black suit.

"Well? I'm not a teacher, but I think I can do it just fine." He stopped momentarily as he engaged in an eye contact scenario with Naomi "My name is Damianov, but you can call me "Damian". Didn't your father tell you?" He asks as he created space within his seat for Naomi to come on over "...Tell me... what?" She was confused but nevertheless took a few steps forward "Oh? I'm your new bodyguard starting today, haha!" Damian laughed a bit while looking at her, emitting confidence "...Really...? You'll be... my bodyguard?" Naomi's eyes glowed in joy and her heartbeat rose to new levels.

Damian closed his eyes and flashed a bright smile in her direction almost immediately.

"Of course, Mimi!" Damian on his own decided to adopt a diminutive to Naomi's name by doubling on the end of her name "...Mimi...?" She became a bit ashamed as she felt comfortable enough to take a seat next to him in the piano seat "You don't like it? I think it's cute." Damian started to play the piano again, very gently ".....Thank you, Damian... You're really nice..." Naomi begins to be more confident toward Damian as she smiled openly at him.

On the outside garden full of various plants, in a certain small dining table for two, as one of the individuals sipped red tea from luxurious cups on that summer morning in a blazing July, he gained curiosity from the sound that was being transmitted to the outer atmosphere through the piano.

"Arabesque no.1..." The man that many call by the codename of "leader" looked in the direction of the third floor as he made that comment "I never taught him that piece. He can be full of surprises, even to the trained eye." He paused the golden white tea cup onto the golden tea plate as Naomi's father, the majesty himself, returned his word back "Can I take it that my daughter is safe?" He took a long sip of red tea as well "You don't have to worry about a thing, King. Your daughter has never been safer. If all goes well, your bloodline might just prosper." The tall man in his red suit giggled "Now, now---" But the king had something to say about that "Let's not get ahead of ourselves here." He laughs a bit as he jests "Just saying." They then began to talk about future events that would affect their upcoming years.

For over a year, Damian would remain Naomi's bodyguard and the two would begin to develop a relationship close to that of a friendship, if not more.

Every day without missing, Naomi would call out for Damian to study, play games, talk, or just do about anything. As a matter of fact, there were barely any things that they didn't do together. Of course, she was conscious to the point of not, for example, bath together.

However, the point was, Damian had become essential for her.

This is why, a year later, in July, as her birthday was coming up, she gathered a compassionate brainstorm while she stuffed her comfortable pillow around her chest and mouth. Her face was slightly red and bashful as her twin tails were scattered around her abnormally large bed. In a summer outfit that covered her torso, chest, and parts of her neck with a lingering tie in-between---the bottom part being pink shorts that went midway to the thigs' end---Naomi's heart beat faster than ever.

"I couldn't say it the last time because my birthday was a few days prior to his arrival but..." A solid heart bump after one another "I've mentioned it before that my birthday is on July 13th... But I wonder if Damian will remember...?" She pondered "....Maybe not... Father always remembers it, but mother always..." She started to get gloomy.

With a twist of the body to the right, Naomi felt a bit anxious.

"Mimi?" A soft two-knock was heard on the outside of the door of Naomi's room "....!!!" Naomi immediately rolled over to the right side of her bed, ran as fast as possible to the door of her room, and opened it "Damian?! W-What brings you here so late?" Naomi had a fair point because it was midnight by this point and Naomi had to always go to bed at nine at night "What brings me here? Are you sure you don't know?" Damian teased Naomi with a playful question that had an obvious answer considering the specific time.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

The lights were off but the outer moonlight was sufficient for Naomi to know that it was Damian. Plus, unlike most times, Damian's outfit was a simple white tank top and black sports pants with red slippers on his feet. His hair was far longer than his initial length as his luminous blonde hair reached his shoulders by now.

Furthermore, his height had grown a bit more, meanwhile, Naomi was physically developing as well.

".....Uh...." She blushed a lot because she knew, and Naomi also started to fidget her right calf around while looking down "...My...?" She looked at Damian from below and he smiled in her direction as if to confirm her suspicions "Here, they'll look cute on you." Damian and Naomi went to the borders of the sleeping bed where Damian gave her two identical accessories to her hands "What are these?!" She got enthusiastic as she had no idea what she was holding "The other day when I was away I went to a faraway town and found these on a shelf and thought they would look cute on your twin-tails." Damian softly grasped her purple twin tails with the tip of his right fingertips causing Naomi to blush "Not that I have something against the ones you are using right now, but..." Damian reached out to the knots that were holding her twin tails together behind her head gently.

Slowly but surely, he unlocked the tie between her red knots and replaced them with a purple and yellow mini hook that would capture the strongest root of her lateral hair ultimately enabling her twin tails to become locked without constantly having to untie and tie a not repetitively. They stood aligned in an upper right diagonal direction.

"I really like these a lot more. Why not try and take a look?" Damian pointed at the tall mirror containing two meters and a half in height to the right side of her room.

Naomi's hairstyle currently consists of a frontal fringe with semi-long bangs that reach her face cheeks. Her ears are mildly visible but only the latter half as the bangs cover the right part most. The back of her head instead of going down, starts to mold toward the top as she has two twin tails on the right and left side. From there on, each twin tail leads up to her back fluently.

She took a look at it from all sides; diagonal, west, east, horizontal, vertical, just to grace upon her new look.

"They look magnificent..." She primarily was talking about how she liked the colors of purple and yellow in her new knots "I second that. Oh and, happy birthday!" Damian claps to her and Naomi happily jumps into the bed "Thank you so much! To be honest, I was kinda afraid you wouldn't remember..." She confessed her fear without hesitation with a bitter smile "No, no, I understand... If I'm honest with you I've been thinking about it for a long time now..." Damian looked at the ceiling as he lazily flopped onto her bed "...He's been... thinking about it...?" Naomi couldn't contain her surprise as she also lay her back on his right side in her bed.

A moment of silence was then created, as Naomi and Damian looked to one another. Though young, Naomi already had a developed consciousness in regards to her so-called desires and if the person to whom her desires are connected is close to her, she will...

"...Damian..." She started to question something as he looked at her with eagerness "...What do you think about me...?" Naomi moved a part of her fringe's right side with her right index finger in order to see Damian better "You're my precious mistress that I guard with all my life. Do you remember back in October?" Damian forcefully made her remember a somewhat uncomfortable "...Yeah..." Her eyesight became a bit closed "You're the last member of a royal tree that has been up and going for centuries, so of course there will be people that will target you like them." Damian explained.

What Damian was specifically saying was more toward the earlier event in October last year where a group of German terrorists had forcefully infiltrated the mansion secretly in order to kill Naomi. Most likely, a bounty on her head has been placed ever since there were several attempts to infiltrate the mansion as a means to get to her. However, this type of information is not known to her as Damian is mainly in charge of controlling the outer madness.

"...But my question---I didn't mean it like---" Damian uses his right hand as Naomi was speaking her doubts and places it on her face's right face's side soft pale skin "Mimi, just remember this----no matter how many times it takes, I will always save you. Regardless of how dangerous, or seemingly impossible it is, it's my duty. And because of that, I am ultimately tied to you and only..." He gently kisses her forehead as her eyes widened in surprise "But, this is where our paths begin to diverge, Naomi." No longer calling her by her nickname, Damian begins to get up from the bed "....Dami....an....?" Feeling extra sleepy, Naomi's eyes started to close, as she watched Damian go toward her room door "Happy birthday, Mimi." As her mind disconnected, she started to feel the effect of an earlier sleeping paralyzing agent in her dinner's water.

Her profound slumber would last for about ten hours as in the upcoming morning, Naomi would wake up---stretching her limbs in the process while yawning as well. Then, she would twitch her sleepy eyes as she couldn't quite remember how she went to bed or what had happened before that.

"....If I recall correctly I was having dinner and then went to bed...." But Naomi remembered the time when Damian secretly came into her room wishing her a happy birthday "That's right, he even gave me these!" She said out loud while taking the right one off just to physically grasp it while mildly admiring it "....And after that.... I really can't remember, I think I fell asleep." She concluded.

She stuffed her bare feet in her bunny slippers and started to walk down the third hall; blessed by radiant daylight but in a very empty hall nevertheless.

"Damiaaannnn!!" Lazily, Naomi shouted his name throughout the hall, and as expected, Damian came rushing in "......." Except he didn't, which went against her expectations.

No matter the occasion, Damin would come to Naomi's calling at a blinding speed the moment his name was called. Yet Damian was nowhere to be seen, which left Naomi a bit clueless.

"...Oh, I see. He's probably planning something with father since it's my birthday and they want to surprise me..." She grinned as she felt proud for figuring out something like that "Well, well, the joke's on you Damian because I will pretend to be surprised but I actually expected it all along!" She picked up the pace and went forward in the direction of stairs that would lead to the second floor below.

However, Naomi ignored the second floor entirely as she already knew where she had to go. Every year, without fail, on the first floor, there would be a party held for Naomi. And as she began to descend the stairway that would grow in horizontal size the deeper she went down, she began to observe a multitude of prestigious guests invited to attend her birthday.

Though not directly royal, many of the guests which would go beyond at least a hundred in sheer numbers, were consistent in their vastly luxurious appearances as well as their presences all over the years Naomi's birthday came up. Around the fine tables filled with plenty of expensive appetizers in a circular shape spreading over the large main hall on the first floor; the guests of honor in their suits/dresses saw the main star of the party rapidly descend from the stairs.

Her reception was welcomed with a loud round of applause in addition to a shower of compliments as her father immediately wished her a happy birthday.

"There's my girl!" He is quick to raise her up in the air while supporting her body weight with his two hands "Happy birthday, Naomiria!" Furthermore, he spins her in joy despite his old age as he nears his fifties.

Many other happy birthday wishes came forth from faces that Naomi knew but nonetheless didn't personally know at best. Because, for all intended purposes, her true family members and blood-related members were her mother and father only. The rest had been killed in action as the name of her family has been brought down to such a state.

But aside from that, Naomi looked around from left to right; completely starting to ignore all the nice words given to her as she focused on finding a single person to whom she couldn't find, no matter how hard she tried.

"....Where is Damian, father...?" Her eyes became slightly hollow as well as her voice "Damian? If I recall correctly, none of the guests here have that name, my dear. But I could be wrong, shall I consult them about it?" While talking to other guests he is well-versed with and holding a glass of fine red wine, her father didn't mind aiding Naomi in her endeavor "No, no, no, father---that's not it. It's Damian... He's been with us for a full year now!" She started to get impatient and a bit paranoid "....?" He couldn't exactly see where she was coming from, so he decided to call the attention of all the present guests by tackling the cup of glass with a small iron spoon, causing Naomi to grow a certain delirium over her father's behavior "Attention---Is there a Damian present?!" His voice reached out to all the guests in the room in a quick way.

Silence hit the room immediately.

"Father!!" Naomi exulted herself "How could you not remember Damian?! He's my bodyguard! Stop lying to me!" Confused, her father wasn't able to understand her, or just about anyone present as Naomi started to emit small tears from her eyes as she gritted her teeth "But I don't understand! A bodyguard? Sweetheart, you never had one, and especially not someone with the name of... "Damian"!" Her father delivered the truth in spite of the specialty today ".......!?" Naomi began to feel perplexed as she couldn't understand what her father was trying to tell her "...No way...." Her footsteps started to increase toward the main central staircase that would lead to the second floor "NO WAY! WHY ARE YOU ALL LYING TO ME?! DAMIAN!!" Out of nowhere, Naomi started to run upstairs, shocking everyone present; her father was in utter shambles.

The second floor is mainly where the cooking rooms reside, although the first floor is where the food from the second floor which was in the process of preparation is transferred to the first floor in order to be delivered at demand.

In the direction of the second floor's third room, which, out of the five in total in the clear central one, Naomi was quick to slam the door---surprising the cooks that wore white uniforms and respectively tall cook hats.

"Bastian! You need to hear this, father has lost it!" The main cook on the central table cooking; Bastian being a twenty-nine-year-old tall male muscular chef---took immediate note of the presence of Naomi and put down his kitchen knife as the other present chefs did too "Mistress, calm down." He grasps a nearby glass of water and filled it up; ultimately giving it to her but Naomi didn't take it "Bastian, he was being so rude about Damian!" Naomi stomps the ground with closed fists ".....?" Bastian's wide facial structure became mildly perplexed "Damian?" He asked while looking at the other chefs who nodded sideways "Yes, Damian!! I know you remember him because Damian has always helped you out when it came to preparing my meals all the time!!" Bastian looked down as he thought extremely deeply about what Naomi had just spoken.

Ever since her young years, Bastion has been dedicated to making his mistress happy by performing his duty as a chef to the absolute core. However, besides being a chef, Bastion deeply cared about Naomi and her well-being.

For that exact reason, he was very angry at himself for not being able to positively answer her.

"Mistress, are you certain? I don't remember any Damian." Bastian gave her the truth, which made Naomi angry---her expression becoming distorted in natural annoyance "Bastian, what do you mean you don't remember?! You and Damian were always on good terms! You and he cooked my favorite meals regularly, and he was a great friend to you all! HOW DARE YOU ALL ACT LIKE HE NEVER EXISTED?!" She shouted with such impact that not a single person present didn't feel the emotion behind her screams.

Rushing through the door in order to form an escape with tears violently streaming down from her face as the bright morning began to transform into a thundering storm full of darkening clouds, Naomi went to the one place where she was sure that she would get a clear answer.

"Mistress! MISTRESS!!" Bastian attempted to reach out to her "LEAVE ME ALONE!! DON'T TALK TO ME IF YOU ARE GOING TO LIE TO ME TOO!!" Naomi's shouts increased in sound the more she screamed.

Thunder struck outside as Naomi recklessly climbed beyond the sixth floor and went to the top floor of the mansion where a large dark carpet engulfed the floor of the lengthy hall. Without any curtains to decorate the monstrous-sized windows, the storm outside only became more threatening.

Frequently, Naomi would avoid this specific floor of her mansion, but this time, she was feeling helpless and in need of an answer.

"There's just no way... No way! They're all lying to me! Those mean jerks! Damian has been with us all year and they just won't acknowledge that!" She came face to face with the one and only room on the final floor.

That particular menacingly looming door with two glass skulls as door holds midst dark stripes over the two halves of the door had always struck terror in Naomi. Even so, she took the will upon herself and opened it with a somewhat brute force; despite the figure in her chair not recognizing her existence.

"Mother!" Her voice reached out afar to a large black desk full of white papers as Naomi's mother engaged in political tasks---the thunder striking down at the same time "What is it, child of mine? Has your father not given you my present? I see no reason for your upbringin---" Her lack of cooperation in today's main event was out of the scope of Naomi's endeavor "Damian! You must know something about him! Last year, father hired him to come along and become my bodyguard! He has defended the mansion several times, saved me countless times yet everyone's telling me that they don't know who he is!" She pled to her mother, who refused to bat an eye on her daughter.

Naomi's mother was a fairly skeletal slim person nearing her forties. Her thin long hair though shined brilliantly in the presence of the thunder; only invigorating her exhausted facial muscles who dreamed to see rest. Through her thin fingers, she restlessly held a pen with masterful ink as she wrote down each word in precise timing.

Lacking any sense of decoration or perhaps simply refraining from unnecessarily adding furniture, aside from her desk, the rest of the room is tainted in black as the walls showed some clarity as the strong black opposed the rampageous white lightning. No shelves, no couches, no chandeliers, all that is in that room is a desk with a candle running on a small burning flame amidst endless rows of papers owned by a frozen-hearted individual who knows no rest.

"Daughter, I am not in the mood for jokes." Her voice lacked any emotion but wasn't spiteful by contrast---simply hollow "If your business here is done, then go elsewhere now." Another paper was finished and subsequently, she took hold of another from the top of a pile to the left "......!!!" Feeling extremely worthless and with a lingering pain in her throat; Naomi couldn't physically form a sentence.

Silently, Naomi turned around while she deeply cried. Her steps became limp and didn't have the same energy as they had before. Defeated and with her face down, she decided to leave the looming dark room.

Lost and without a sense of direction, she automatically went to her room; locking herself in it with her keys in order for no one to walk in potentially. Naturally, there was more than just one attempt to approach her, but they were all in vain as Naomi lent them no assistance in their pleas. Especially when it came down to her father.

With her dark blue room's curtains closed off and without any light being able to penetrate the solitude of the fortress that was Naomi's room, she sank into a depressive stage of grief as she swam deeply into her pillows covered in watery liquid from her tears.

She stranded her pillow's boarders with her shaking fingertips as her heartbeat approached levels of convulsion that would be medically alarming; as well as her constant inhaling and exhaling process which was frequently faster out of her sheer anxiety.

"Damian....!!" Her sorrow reached new heights as her own heartbeat became physically painful for her to bear "It's so painful without you here... Where did you go...?!" Her eyes could barely be open due to the swelling from her tears "Everyone keeps saying they don't remember you but I know you were real, and--and---" The pauses between her words became more prevalent "Why... Why did you go away... You mean so much to me and I can't do anything on my own... Damian, why...?!" The volume of her cry-out increased as she screamed at her pillow.

Roaring through the dark sky, thunderbolts came crashing down during that day. Noise so outstandingly loud that the ugliest screams of despairs or even the heartbreaking moments felt during a merciless storm---would nevertheless take away their audition from it.

Even so, a cohesive ethereal voice could clearly be heard from Naomi's side as her grief prolonged.

"Hey." A mysterious voice echoed into Naomi's mind as she put a halt to her sorrow.

Quickly, she rose to mid-height and twisted her head in the right direction and then to the left; crawling aimlessly in her bed in the hope of identifying where the voice came from.

"Not there---here." The voice briefly gave a more noticeable trait to its location as a glimpse of the truth behind it could be seen in a mirage in her room "...Damian...? Oh my God, is that you...?!" Naomi weakly got out of her bed and went face to face with the mirror adjoined to her room's right side.

Though Naomi didn't notice, this mirror was completely different from the one she was familiar with yet the lack of light in the room didn't allow her to make the distinguishing difference. It was a mirror in theory, but it was essentially a glowing mirage under the surface of a glimmering yellow portal as it alluded to a distant temple on a faraway shore.

"I missed you so much! Come back, Damian! Father, Bastian, and the others don't believe you exist but if you show up, I'm sure they'll remember! It's really weird, I have no idea what's going on!" Naomi didn't hesitate to explain the difficult feelings that she was feeling to the voice that is, for that matter, the Damian she is familiar with "I can't, Naomi." The voice felt closer but no other person appeared "But why...?" Naomi wondered as she got closer to the mirage "Come here, I'll explain everything---there's not much time, Naomi." He said "We can be together again if you just follow through." Damian's voice started to become incredibly distant "...D-Damian...?!" But this time, no response came forward.

Shackled by a sense of despair and anxiety, Naomi thought little about what she would do next and immediately started to walk forward into the bright portal that would unravel unknown contents to her description yet she cared not as she only wanted one thing.

The glowing light transformed into an open path of bright light with no clear end in sight, but Naomi saw in the north direction, a boy running forward while saying something despite not looking back.

"This way, Mimi!" He extended his right hand from the back in her direction but he was too far away "Damian! Where are we going?!" She got slightly afraid but nevertheless started to run in his direction "That doesn't matter! Once we reach the temple, we can be together--forever, just the two of us!" Damian spoke his intention as the path began to show an end in the form of a closed door.

However, by the time the door was physically accessible to Naomi, Damian was no longer there.

"Damian?! Where did you go?!" She started to get scared in front of the three-meter-tall dark door containing two cryptic halves "I'm on the other side! Just push through the door and get in here! It's beautiful! There are water fountains everywhere, Naomi!" Damian's voice became enthusiastic and lively, making Naomi no longer hesitant about going forward.

All Naomi had to do was push the door holds in a downward direction and she would be able to access a scenario she would finally be able to see.

"Just for how long do you intend on sleeping for exactly?" Another voice, from behind, called out to Naomi "...This voice..." Naomi looked back, where the previous light had become engulfed with a penetrating darkness "Hey, Mimi, hurry up!" Damian tells her to rush the opening of the door "I'll be there in a second, just wait!" Naomi said "No, you won't." The voice counter-argues "This is not real. Wake up." The voice started to repeat itself until it completely fizzled out as Naomi's mind started to become disconnected, without a sense of ground backing it up.

The night's suave light embraced the atmosphere gracefully through the moonlight illuminated by the open windows---the fluttering blue curtains reigning freely in the directions that they deemed right to go.

As Naomi felt the soft touch of a hand on her right face's cheek, her eyes started to slowly open. Admittedly, she was feeling extremely sleepy to the point she had to brush her eyes with her right hand.

".....There we go..." The individual behind the voice took his hand out of her face and greeted her with a smile "Had a good sleep, princess?" Viktor asked with a soft smile on his lips "Viktor...? I... That's weird..." She said as she got up.

On the borderline of her bed, after putting the cushions away, she sat side by side with Viktor, who was wearing a familiar black suit with a red tie. Naomi stretched her arms to the top a little bit before speaking once again in her pink comfortably soft pajamas.

"I had a dream---or maybe a nightmare. It was long and a bit painful, it was back when I was ten years old... It's weird because I remember it all so vividly..." Her right hand intertwined with her left as she took them together to her chest area "Is that so? I think I have good news for you though!" Viktor said and Naomi became curious "The nightmare is over. It was a bit complicated at first, but it was essentially just an assassination attempt on you and all I had to do was to stop it. So, we can get out of here and go to the next one. Well?" Viktor proposed.

He explained the situation and Naomi then recalled something particularly similar that Viktor had with another person.

"Viktor, you... A-Are you...?" She became shocked at the realization but Viktor denied it immediately "No---we are not the same. If you're thinking about him, then just remember, that it's not me." He clearly denied it and got up from the bed, as a transparent way of saying that they should move on "Viktor, what are you talking?!" She became spasmodic with her movements as she got up from the bed as well "You're clearly Damian! You two even look identical! Yet how come...?" She couldn't quite figure out why Viktor and Damian were so alike and just exactly what was keeping them from being the same person altogether "He's a past incarnation of mine." Naomi became perplexed almost immediately "Damianov is one of my previous lives from a most likely alternative universe, a different Earth---so, Naomi, by all means, don't think we are the same person; physical indeticies and such don't mean much when it comes down to the core. Alright?" Viktor concludes.

A bit disappointed, Naomi had to digest that, but even so, she was quite curious about a few things. They started to leave the room and they came into contact with the hall on the sixth floor, which had multiple dead bodies.

Of course, Naomi was quick to jump to Viktor's back, utterly afraid and terrorized by the brutal sight of multiple dead black suits.

"OH MY GOD! SO MANY, WHY?!" Afraid, she refused to open her eyes as she hid behind Viktor who kept on going nevertheless "Can't you stop walking?! I can't digest this, I think I'm going to throw up!" Viktor took another step but after looking outside from the windows and realizing something, he halted his tracks "...It's not there..." His voice emitted a certain type of skepticism as he turned around to Naomi who was opening her eyes out of curiosity toward what Viktor had just said "...What?" Now fully open, she faced Viktor "The portal is not where I started. I know for a fact because I started there, at that exact entrance." Viktor pointed at it from afar.

Dead bodies aside, Viktor thus far had been able to go through a portal that was in the exact same location from where he initially initiated the nightmare. The very fact that this was not true, for Viktor, meant that there was something going on to which he most likely had no power around it.

"Naomi, where do you think the portal is...?" He asked; his eyes becoming slightly blurry as well as his breath coming as ragged "What? How should I know?" Naomi, who had no idea, gave the obvious answer to which, Viktor sighed with a little smile "Silly, take a guess... It doesn't matter if you don't really know where it is, just where you think it is..." Viktor emphasized "It's your nightmare, so, you might have a clear idea where it might be... I'm open to suggestions, that's basically what I'm saying." He concluded as he placed his right palm on his burning forehead "...Oh..." Naomi realized his point.

She thought for a while as Viktor looked at her very carefully; not interrupting her---except she was taking so much time that he made a proposition.

"A place where you wouldn't want to be in, Naomi..." He sounded impatient "....." She realized a place like that at the top of her mind right away "I think I know where the portal is then!" She sounded brightly enthusiastic like a child making a new discovery as she smiled at Viktor who gave her a weak smile in return "...That so... Looks like the princess Naomiria can be useful after all..." Viktor chuckled a bit as he mocked Naomi "What's that supposed to mean?! I can be useful, you know?!" Embarrassed and ashamed, she was quick to rebuke "Lead the way then..." Viktor still insisted as he lagged behind "Fine! You'll see!" Determined to prove herself, she started to pick up the pace ever slightly as she overthrew Viktor.

With impatience, Naomi began to walk to the left side of the hall, which would ultimately lead to a staircase allowing full access to the last floor of the mansion at the very top; the seventh floor.

Puffing at Viktor's previous words, she got somewhat bitter while crossing the part of the hall that didn't have dead bodies.

"Also, you are totally Damian, Viktor! I don't care about your theory, you two are carbon copies alike! You two talk the same way, look the same way---you have the same blonde hair in the right direction, and most importantly, your red eyes are identical! Yet somehow you mean to tell me that you are not him just because he's supposedly from a different time?! Well, I don't care about that!" She shouted as she began to climb the stairway steps that went on in an upper diagonal direction "But it's really weird at the same time! Because before you woke me up I was in a dream---well, maybe nightmare is the best word for it---" She silently corrected herself "Damian was leading me to a faraway place and he described it just like... The temple where we met... But why can't I... remember anything after that...? How did I get into the temple in the first place...?" Questions began to pile up as Naomi couldn't find the answer to them.

Viktor's steps started to cease as Naomi continued to climb; almost at the top of the ladder where the brilliant moonlight encapsulated the harmonic essence of the night through the windows.

"Ahhh, it's all so confusing!!" She began to scramble her frontal hair strands in sequence "Hey, Viktor? You said that you wanted to go to Hell for some reason, but if you're here, then does that mean you don't exist in the timeline where I'm in? Or is that Damian's timeline? If so, then does that mean...?" Naomi reached the top of the ladder where the seventh floor would start.

A place with little discretion to its upbringing yet a tumbling sound in the staircase called out to Naomi's attention as she found something weird going on.

"Viktor? What's wrong, you've been really quiet. That's not like you at all, is it?" She looked back at the stairway behind her that would have ten degrees downward and then it would turn to the left leading downwards once again "Viktor...?" Behind her, she didn't find Viktor whatsoever, which was strange for her "...Oh come on now, you are a bit of a prankster but this is a little too inappropriate, after all, I am speaking my true feelings here..." Naomi descended the stairs little by little with a condescending smile on her face "...Uh, can you at least say something? I don't really like this, you know? I've agreed that we should do this faster because, well, a part of me really wants to go back to reality, and having to go through these nightmares can be really bad for my mental health. I'm having trouble distinguishing what is real and what isn't because this all feels real. Too much real, if I may add..." She added.

On the verge of turning to the left side, still without Viktor in sight, Naomi turned around and faced the previous staircase that would be connected to the sixth floor.

Amidst those stair degrees, a trail of scarlet liquid could be seen as it was mapped all the way down below to the original source.

Her eyes widened in shock and dismay as the lifeless figure remained cold at the beginning of the staircase with its right arm reaching out; his body posture completely lacking any regularity in posture.

"...Viktor.....?" Naomi started to slowly approach the pool of blood that was still far away from her "That's not funny, hey... Viktor, come on, get up..." Her steps increased in velocity, causing her to stumble upon the degrees as she lost sight of them; ultimately leading her to fall down the stairs in pain "Agh!" Her tumbling down process made her come across Viktor's body as his face was facing down fully.

In pain, she struggled to get up at the beginning of the staircase, as Naomi placed her hands on Viktor's back; her hands swimming in dark-colored blood.

"Viktor?! VIKTOR?!" Ignoring the pain in her limbs, Naomi shook Viktor's body as his face lay facedown; his legs were completely limp as well as his upper body part "No, no---NO! This can't be happening! This blood----When?! When did it begin?!" She began to cry almost immediately as she clung to Viktor's body just to see his face; revealing a pale hollow expression with blood dripping out of the corners of his mouth---his eyes authentically colorless "No, no, no, no, no, noooo!!!" She grieved as Naomi's head adjoined to Viktor's left face of his face with tears streaming down her face.

In plain sight, Viktor is out of life energy; facing death.

The skin necklace around Viktor's neck that is almost never present shuns its presence in that present time. Skirmishing around with its retina, it looked at Naomi's teary face as it acknowledged the grief from the individual.

It also recognized that its wielder was no longer alive and as such, it entered a state of recovery by talking to the other individual whose life had not been stripped away from her.

"Feed him; creature." A ghostly voice spoke out of the glossy eyeball "...?!" Naomi didn't notice the existence of the eye until now but after taking a look at Viktor's neck area, she caught a glimpse of it as its stare clearly was capturing Naomi's essence "F-Feed him?! Feed him what?! Do you know how I can help Viktor?! He's not dead, isn't he?!" Naomi, in denial, didn't question the existence of the talking eyeball and was quick to wish for assistance "His time in this realm is dissecting; feed me to him for he longs to say something to you and you alone." It requested.

Bewildered at what exactly should she do, Naomi was confused, to say the least. Especially at the part when it said that it required Viktor to be fed upon the living talking eyeball.

However, as Naomi didn't want Viktor to die, she took ahold of the eyeball from the necklace around Viktor's neck; took it off from that area, and then stood mildly exasperated when it came down to the task itself.

"This is weird! Feed him how?! Do I shove you onto his throat or something?! It's also extremely inconvenient that you are somehow connected to a skin necklace!" Naomi complained toward the eyeball "Do as you see fit." It refused to elaborate "....!!" Naomi became furious at the current ambiguity, so she acted out of impulse by putting the entire necklace alongside the live eyeball in her mouth; ultimately driving it to Viktor's mouth in order for him to receive what the eyeball was talking about earlier.

Disconnecting from mouth to mouth, a thread of saliva mixed with blood was formed as Naomi rose her head; hoping to see some sort of reaction from Viktor.

A large heartbeat could then be heard, as Viktor's upper torso was devastated by a random impulse.

"ARGH!!" Viktor unleashed a shout in agony "Viktor?! Oh my God, I knew you were alive!!" Naomi rejoiced as soon as possible "....Naomi...!" Unable to get up and with only a lasting strength, Viktor looked at Naomi as he grabbed her right arm with his weak grip from his right hand "...Get me to the portal.... This is only fucking temporary, I'm actually dead....!!" Viktor coughed extreme amounts of blood as his eyes started to bleed out as well "What?! You're dead?!" The illusion was broken "...Now's not the time to overreact!! These wounds will cease to exist if I'm in another realm, in other words, by taking the portal I can..." Viktor gave the most he could as a form of explanation, considering his poor condition "I get it! I'm not dumb, geez! Just wait, I'll carry you over!" Naomi started to attach herself to Viktor despite the vast blood from within.

Wrapping her shoulders around his chest and placing Viktor's right arm on Naomi's right side, she started to forcefully drag Viktor from the staircase albeit struggling to do so as this particular task took a heavy physical toll on her.

"Just wait, Viktor!!" She began to climb the stairs that now seemed to stretch to infinity; with tears in her eyes "I'll save you, no matter what! I won't let you die! So please, just hold on!!" Through a physical struggle, Naomi continued to climb up the stairs as Viktor's body revealed a trail of blood covering the stairs the further Naomi took him up.

Though with little life to his body, his eyes still emitted a type of resistance that indicated that he was trying to somehow fight the inevitable.

Little by little, Naomi had gotten to the seventh floor; panting all over the place as she physically struggled to move. Her joints hurt from the earlier fall and her breathing was becoming chromatic.

"....Naomi...." Viktor looked at Naomi, though frail "....Just.... wait.... I'll... get you... to the...." Viktor's body was escaping her physical grasp as her hands had grown somewhat numb, but even so, she tried to get to the door to her mother's office "......." Viktor looked at how much Naomi was fighting despite the clear adversity.

Meekly, Naomi grasped the door hold with her left hand, but Viktor, on the other hand, took the right one; and with little to no strength in their bodies they had gotten a successful result as the two halves that encapsulated the door's structure began to slowly open.

"Oh, finally, we are...!" Naomi didn't hesitate to show joy as she saw a glowing portal completely identical to the previous ones on the right side of the looming dark office.

Yet, there was a particular feature that took Naomi and even Viktor by surprise.

Not only was there a portal with a width of over two meters circulating in a glimpsing light on the right side of the wall of the room---but there was an equal portal on the left side of the room, which immediately confused them.

However, their confusion only aggravated as a voice came to life by applying a twisting spin on the desk's black chair; now facing Viktor and Naomi.

"That hurt a bit... I thought you were coming with me..." The figure placed his right fist on the right side of the face by supporting the right elbow onto the desk's surface "...Damian...?" Naomi was taken aback as she caught the glimpse of Damian seating on the very same chair that her mother would frequently be in "The one and only. Why the sudden change of heart, Mimi? I thought you said you missed me and wanted to be with me yet..." Damian pointed at Viktor aggressively "You'd abandon our commitment for someone like him? Someone whose time together doesn't hold a candle in comparison to ours?" Damian showed angst towards Naomi's relationship with Viktor.

Particularly confused and unable to make a correct judgment, Naomi kept switching from Viktor and Damian as they looked completely the same---lacking in absolutely nothing. It's as if two twin brothers were present in the same room.

"I...." Naomi became vulnerable as she saw Damian getting up from his chair "Shhh... It's alright---you might not realize it at first, but I'm a forgiving person." Damian approached Naomi as Viktor was hanging by a thread on her side "I'm hurt, but I think you were just confused, Mimi... Especially, by the lies of this... impostor." He looks at Viktor, who despite his lingering condition, is looking at Damian with rage "...Naomi...!! He's not real... Don't fall for his words...!! We need to get to the portal...!!" Viktor reinforced the real priorities however, it went to deaf ears, as Naomi was listening only to Damian.

With his right hand, Damian took ahold of Viktor's head and allowed him to fall on the ground; subsequently reaching his right fingertips to Naomi's lips as she was utterly absorbed onto Damian's face; his words sounding like a lullaby.

"Viktor..." She looked at Viktor who was struggling to get up with massive indecision "Now, now..." Damian twisted her head gently in his direction "He's not a problem anymore. Because----we can be together, forever. All you have to do is... abandon him and we will go through that portal..." Damian looked at the right side of the room where one of the portals was allocated "...Abandon... Viktor...?" Her eyesight shifted from Damian to Viktor as she questioned Damian's words, ultimately going back to Damian---as his lips grew closer to hers "That's right... Leave him to die---he doesn't have much time anyways... Plus, he really is only using you to achieve his personal goal, isn't he?" Damian looked at Viktor with a mocking grin "...What...?" But this was sufficient to shock Naomi as she instantly wanted to know what Damian meant.

Losing the strength to act and being physically incapacitated to do anything, Viktor was left powerless as he had to watch the upcoming development unfold in front of his eyes.

"This fraud is just using you, Mimi. Truth is, he finds you beyond annoying and unbearable, so all he wants is to do a quick speed run through your nightmares. And with that, everything can go in his favor..." Naomi becomes shocked and perplexed as she couldn't believe what Damian was saying "...No, no... No way, Viktor wouldn't... do..." Damian felt the river of tears flowing through her eyes as he comforted her face's surface with soft facial touches "He really couldn't care less... After all, you just have to know one thing, Mimi. He's a Hell convict. Lying, deception, manipulation, and treachery---those are all parts of him and you were a target of such cruelty..." He hugs Naomi as she begins to cry once again.

Feeling completely in the presence of warmth and comfort from the cold truth that she had just discovered, Naomi had then decided.

"...We will be together, forever, right...?" Naomi asks while looking at Damian, who gave a confident reply "We will, Mimi. You'll never have to go through another nightmare again... In that place, you will know peace and we can finally love each other---that's what you always wanted... my love." Damian promised and Naomi blushed while feeling genuinely affectionate for his words "...Alright..." She replied to Damian and then looked toward Viktor, who was bleeding out on the floor "...I'm sorry, Viktor, but I think... I think that he's the one I really want---not you." She spearheaded those words to Viktor; his eyes widening respectively.

Damian elevated his supreme stare towards Viktor; clearly emphasizing who the winner of the story was as he and Naomi began to walk to the portal---where their distant promised land lay.