I opened my eyes to the view I had once seen. Every detail of the island had never been clearer than before, and I could make out the beach where we had gotten stranded and also the far end of the island we hadn’t yet explored.

I frantically searched our surroundings and saw Rico by my side. The pistol was in his hand, and he was more alert than anyone could be. I couldn’t help but smile.

Priscilla was shackled beside him, and Dr. Shawn lay next to her; his shoulder was bleeding rather seriously.

What should I do?

From what I understood, I could create anything in this realm, so that might mean I could also create a doctor to help him or something. I imagined the image of one appearing beside Dr. Shawn, but nothing happened.

How the heck was I supposed to create, anyhow?

At the far north of the island, I noticed Josh and Rex on the ground. They were both wincing and crying in pain.

How could I help Josh? Please, someone or anything on this island, help Josh!

Understood.

I opened my eyes and gasped for air. I had a hard time breathing. What just happened?

Rico was quick to take my elbow and support me up. “What did you find?”

“Someone talked to me.” I gasped for more air.

“Someone? I thought you were creating something already.”

“No, I found Josh in a very critical situation, so I cried for help. And then someone answered.”

“It could be something the previous creator knew. Was it intelligible?”

“Yes, and in a deep voice.”

He just looked at me and didn’t say anything. I rushed to Dr. Shawn’s side and examined his wound. It was worse than I had thought.

“This is bad. He’ll probably die if we can’t replenish his blood soon. He’s losing too much!”

“What can we do? Can you save him using your power?”

“I tried, but it’s not working!”

“How a—”

A large tree passed overhead. It landed upside down with a loud thud. The trunk swayed, careening our way. Rico hoisted Priscilla and Dr. Shawn, and we swerved to the corner, watching in horror as the humongous tree settled on the ground.

“What in the world…” Rico broke off as we saw a group of giants on the opposite hillside. I could make out two small figures standing below them, their thoughts active.

The twins.

We counted approximately eleven in total. How were we supposed to wipe them all?

“Rico, buy me some time. I’ll see what I can do.” I hid behind the crown of the fallen tree and focused.

I was overlooking the island once again.

The giants were uprooting lots of coconut-looking trees, piling them on top of each other. The twins had retreated and summoned more giants at a small opening in the woods.

It looked like one tree toss wasn’t enough for them.

I did what I had done earlier. I cried for help. Then, the voice answered again.

What would you like us to do?

“Wait, who are you?”

We are the beasts that Maximus created. We’ve been inherited to you.

“For now, help us, please!”

Understood.

It felt like the climactic scene of Avengers: Endgame where everyone gathered and prepared to face Thanos' army.

The pegasus-like beasts descended from the heavens, landing with precision. They surrounded us, their sole purpose clear—to protect us at all costs. Dr. Shawn had guarded me well, and now it was my turn to repay him.

Then came the creatures that answered my call. They appeared from every direction, both land and air. Rhino beasts, terrifying packs of wolves, and massive, big-eared monkeys joined the fray.

A cloud of butterfly-shaped mosquitoes emerged from the woods, swarming the giants. The giants trembled as they swatted at them, inadvertently striking one another. Soon, bulges and rashes appeared across their bodies.

In unison, the rest of the beasts attacked. The big-eared monkeys scaled the giants' torsos, biting at their exposed skin. Meanwhile, the wolves zeroed in on the giants' legs, weakening their footing. Once the giants were down, the rhino beasts charged, their horns slamming into their flesh, creating deep, bloody wounds.

The twins panicked, frantically trying to find a solution.

Then, I spotted Finlay. He was hidden in the woods on our side of the hill, and I had completely forgotten about him. I quickly warned the pegasus-like beasts, but it was too late. They turned into mist. Rico reacted, but his shot at Finlay missed.

The twins summoned more giants, reshaping the remaining limbs and body parts into their new monstrous forms. They even tore some into tinier pieces so they could summon double the number of their giants.

Maintaining them all should tax them, right?

The giants started to push back, thinning out the number of beasts fighting them. When the giants overpowered the creatures, they hurled uprooted trees into the waterfall basin, splashing waves across the hillside. Some of the remaining beasts retreated, and the basin overflowed and was absorbed into the soil.

The giants had made a bridge. One giant seized the twins, carrying them across the basin, followed by the rest of the giants. They cornered us as they reached our side of the hill.

“Should we kill them now or—”

“—should we bind them and wait for Sir to decide when he returns?”

The giant set the twins down next to Finlay, who had stolen the cursed item from Rico and tossed it away.

“Are you mocking me with that?” he sneered.

The twins snickered in response.

I rushed back, gasping for air, but Finlay caught me, shoving me against the trunk of an uprooted coconut-like tree. He leaned close, his breath cold against my ear, and whispered something that stunned me.

“Is that true? How come?” I pretended to ask.

“We’re capable of killing,” Finlay whispered, his voice dark. “Killing you all would be easy. It's just a matter of time.”

The twins howled in unison, their voices rising in arrogance. “Don’t underestimate us! We—”

“—will kill you next, after you’ve transferred the realm to Sir.”

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Rico, sitting nearby, gave me a signal from where he sat, hands behind his back. He was about to carry out Finlay’s plan.

“Hey, Momo and Mimi, you wouldn’t kill us, right?” I pleaded desperately.

The twins paused, then they grinned wickedly. “Huh? Only if you get on your knees—”

“—and lick our feet.”

They laughed uncontrollably.

I glanced at Rico. “Come on, please, please, please,” I silently urged.

Rico lunged forward, tackling the twins to the ground. Both were momentarily stunned, their concentration broken by his massive weight. For a brief moment, some of the giants flickered and disappeared.

But the twins quickly recovered.

“Goodbye, fatty. Our—”

“—giants will take care of your death.”

One of the giants grabbed an uprooted tree from the basin, stripping the crown to sharpen it roughly. He hurled it in our direction.

It missed.

The tree landed upside down just a meter away, its tip sticking deep into the ground. The giant faltered, half of it vanishing into the air.

“Wait, what’s happening, aren’t we—” one of the twins muttered.

“Yes, for God’s sake! We’re still in control of our giants!” the other twin snapped, breaking from their rhythm.

Maintaining the giants took a toll on them.

Rico slammed the twins back to the ground. As they struggled beneath him, Finlay approached them, looking as if he was about to do something he’d regret for the rest of his life. What he was about to do would change everything for him.

“I’m sorry,” Finlay whispered.

With that, a thought expanded from his temple, and one by one, the giants evaporated.

The twins froze in shock, their eyes wide as the reality of what was happening hit them. They wailed and shrieked, cursing Finlay for his betrayal. Words like “Traitor,” “Master will be mad,” “You’re done for,” “Skunk,” and “Coward” spilled from their mouths in a chaotic mess.

Their speech faltered as their words became incoherent, and soon, they passed out.

Rico lifted his thick biceps, letting them fall by his sides, and bowed his head, sobbing softly.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

He lifted his head, offering me a small, bittersweet smile. With a heavy sigh, he groaned, “Those were my crewmates.”

“Who? What cre—”

Oh, the giants. Understanding washed over me, and I moved closer, wrapping my arms around his shoulders in a semi-hug. He gave a weak grin, returning the gesture by lightly holding my arm.

Finlay scrambled over to Dr. Shawn, collapsing beside him. His breath was heavy, sweat dripping from his face. He apologized for what he’d done to the pegasus-like beasts, explaining that he had to gain the twins' trust.

He needed them vulnerable, just like when Rico tackled them. What he whispered to me was he had told Rico what to do just before he snatched the pistol out of his hands.

Finlay had been waiting for the perfect moment to act. If the other council members had been there, everything would have turned out differently.

Dr. Shawn stirred, his eyelids fluttering open. "What... happened?" he whispered, his voice weak.

We exchanged quiet smiles, and he somehow understood.

Dawn broke over the island. The first rays of sunlight painted the stratus clouds drifting across the sky in soft gold. Warmth settled over the land, as though everything had finally ended.

But it hadn’t.

Momo woke. No—she had been awake all along. The moment we turned our backs, she snatched up a jagged rock and hurled it at Dr. Shawn. I opened my mouth to scream, but he already noticed. At the last second, he rolled aside, and the stone missed him—smashing instead against the inverted tree.

At first, the tree didn’t budge. Then, it groaned, tilted, and toppled.

It fell straight toward Momo and Mimi.

“Move!” I shouted, but Momo stood frozen, gaping at the massive trunk descending toward her.

She already had one foot in the grave.

The tree crashed down with a sickening crunch.

Blood seeped beneath the massive trunk. An eyeball rolled free.

I collapsed, wailing. Rico wrapped his arms around me, holding me as I wept for what felt like forever.

*****

Chevonne and Josh returned, battered and bruised, Josh far worse than her. The sun had risen higher now, and we were just waiting for two more thinkers to arrive.

Josh explained that Chevonne had contacted her father earlier, just after burying Rex and Joseph. A warper and a healer were coming to retrieve us along with the bodies of those who died on this island—including Priscilla, who was still unconscious.

While we waited, Rico gathered food, and Dr. Shawn and Josh rested on the hillside near the silent waterfall.

I sat beside them on the grass.

“Where do you think teacher Samuel is?” Josh asked, swallowing a handful of berries. His voice was tight, his face still pale from what he’d endured. I knew what had happened between him and his nephew. Since their return, something had shifted in him as if a weight pressed heavily on his heart. “It’s weird he wasn’t around. Did he... abandon them?”

Before I could answer, a man with a dragon tattoo coiled around his biceps appeared out of nowhere—a beautiful blonde woman cuffed to him.

Chevonne’s face lit up. She ran to them and hugged both tightly.

Their hug took a long time. When Chevonne pulled away, her expression changed.

“This is Romulo,” she said, motioning to the tattooed man, “my cousin.” Then, nodding at the blonde, she added, “And this is Daizyrie. She’s... family, too.”

The moment her cuffs were off, Daizyrie tensed. “Where’s the esper?” she demanded, and when we pointed, she bolted toward Dr. Shawn.

A surge of amber energy erupted from her. She placed her hands over Dr. Shawn’s wounded shoulder, and his bloodied bandages unraveled on their own. Skin knitted together beneath her touch, the wound closing before our eyes.

I stared in awe. “Can you—can you grow his arm back, too?”

Her eyes darkened. The warmth in her expression vanished.

“It doesn’t work like that,” she snapped. “If it did, no one would be dying in this world.”

She turned away, leaving me speechless.

Romulo stepped in, cuffing us all—except someone was missing.

Finlay.

Dr. Shawn and I asked the others to wait while we searched. We found him alone beneath a coconut-like tree, his head bowed, shoulders shaking.

And that tree—just looking at it unlocked something deep inside me.

A fragment of Maximus’ memory stirred. Bit by bit, this realm had been revealing itself to me since I arrived. Now, I understood.

However, Dr. Shawn told me I hadn’t fully mastered my power yet. He offered me an invitation to train under the Ladra family where he could watch over me closely. He explained that Maximus hadn’t completed the transference, leaving me only partially awakened. I didn’t fully understand, but he assured me I was the next creator.

He said the realm would dissolve the moment I stepped out, turning into just another ordinary island. But once I became a fully-fledged creator, I’d be able to shape my own realm—one I could truly call my own.

Not long ago, I was just daydreaming about worlds in our cramped, provisional bedroom. Now, I could create an entire world for real.

“Finlay, what’s wrong?” Dr. Shawn asked gently, kneeling beside him.

Finlay shook his head. “Nothing. Just... leave me here. No one’s going to accept me anyway.”

“No one? Who told you that?”

“I’m from the Garcia family. Every thinker knows what we do.”

Dr. Shawn hesitated. I placed a hand on his shoulder, and he seemed to understand, clearing his throat before speaking again.

“Yes, we know,” he said softly, “but we won’t condemn you just because of that.”

Finlay’s voice cracked. “I’m in the direct bloodline. Now that I’ve betrayed them, they’ll hunt me down and—”

“Don’t even think like that,” Dr. Shawn interrupted. “We’ll protect you.”

Finlay’s eyes brimmed with tears. “How could you?”

I knelt beside him. “Why do you think you helped us back there, Finlay?”

He hesitated, his lips trembling. “I... I don’t know. I just felt what they were doing was wrong.”

“There.” I nodded firmly. “That’s what makes you different from them. You might be their black sheep, but you’re our little angel. You saved our lives.”

He wiped his face, meeting my gaze as if searching for reassurance. Then, he turned back to Dr. Shawn.

“Would you really... adopt me into your family?”

Dr. Shawn smiled softly. “We’ll find a way. But for now, focus on being strong. You did good today. You need to accept that, not punish yourself for it.”

Finlay swallowed hard. “What are the chances I’ll be accepted?”

Dr. Shawn scratched his head, then he gently pinched Finlay’s cheeks. “A hundred percent, kid. Trust me.”

Finlay pouted. “Okay... I trust you.”

“Good. Now, let’s go.”

We returned to the others and wore the cuffs given to us—cursed items from the Amamapaw family. Romulo carefully checked each cuff, ensuring they were tightly secured around our wrists.

When he reached Daizyrie, he shot out a thought. Just as he prepared to warp, he noticed Finlay trembling at the back of the group.

“Kid, relax,” Romulo said with a grin. “Warping’s just like riding a rollercoaster—only way cooler. You’ll miss it once you get used to it.”

Finlay flinched. “I—I’ve never done this before. What if you’re just tricking me? What if you send me somewhere else?”

Romulo let out a booming laugh. “Trick you? Seriously? We don’t have time for jokes. Now, steady yourself.”

“But... What if my cuff unlatches during the warp?”

Romulo’s face grew serious. He inhaled deeply, then he nodded to everyone, signaling for us to prepare.

“Well,” he said with a smirk, “I guess you’ll just have to be lucky, kid.”

We warped.

But after the eleventh jump, someone unclasped my cuffs and shoved me.

I tumbled through the air, plummeting into the sea.

Water slammed against me. My thoughts blurred, the cold swallowing me whole.

Darkness crept along the edges of my vision, and then—

Nothing.