Walking through the subway, the atmosphere was extremely gloomy and desolate, darkness and silence was the only thing there was, broken from time to time by the distant sound of water drops filtering through the concrete walls. The air was full of moisture and mold, a strong smell of blood and rot was present in the environment, and the feeling of unhealthiness was total.

A constant oppressive atmosphere, narrow subway passages, the walls narrowed and the ceiling lowered, creating a claustrophobic sensation. The abandoned and wrecked carriages were silent witnesses to the devastation the place had suffered, the few still functional lights flickering on and off at regular intervals, barely providing a glimmer of illumination in the darkness. Strange bones were everywhere, interspersed with some clearly human ones, constant reminders of the violence that had taken place there. A tangle of corridors and tunnels, a labyrinthine network stretching beneath the city like a hidden and unknown world. Each abandoned station is a piece of an ancient puzzle, where the murmurs of the past still echo within the walls. The train tracks, now deserted, were once full of rushing people, but now they are only home to strange and dangerous creatures.

[https://i.imgur.com/lVRN8SD.png]

Had my brother really lived here for so long? Was this environment all he saw? Just darkness and tunnels?

My mother was walking next to me, holding my hand and Tifa's, who was on the other side of her. Our speed was quite slow because Levia had a lot of difficulty walking, even so, the twins were by her side helping her to walk every step, the mermaid was doing her best to learn as fast as possible, so little by little we could go faster and gaining a little speed.

But still, shortly after walking in there, the sound of heavy footsteps began to sound, it seemed that something was running in our direction really quickly.

From one of the corridors came out a monster, a very strange horse, in his face you could see a huge fury, which only remarked the fangs he had. On its head was a huge red horn, with several sharp marks as well as the ability to impale its victims, in the same traces of much blood there was no doubt of his most recent victim. Its body seemed to be partially made of glass but it was glowing an intense red as if fire was dwelling inside it. He made strange noises, a stiff terror, with his gestures it could be seen that he was ready to fight.

[https://i.imgur.com/hDKD1k3.png]

Tamamo, the kitsune did not hesitate for a second to throw herself into battle to protect us from the monster. In the midst of transforming into a giant fox, though not as large as we had seen her grow to be, she was of relatively equal or greater size than the horse in front of us, and with determination, she lunged at the animal with fury. With her mouth, she bit into the strange horse and attacked it so hard as to crush its body and tear off its head. It was so violent that it even frightened my mother and me, even though we knew that we were in no danger as it was really Tamamo and his intentions were good in nature.

When the fox saw that the animal was really dead, she pushed the body away and turned around to come back to us. But as soon as she returned her body tensed up and fell to the ground in just seconds.

"Tamamo!"

"Are you all right?"Said my mother screaming as she ran to help the big fox.

*Coughs up blood*

"What happened?"

"The horse did not attack her at any time!" Said a scared Levia.

As we gathered beside her we could see that the situation was bad, her look, once cunning and cautious, now reflects a helpless panic as her eyes remain open but unable to move. The expression on her face shows anguish and despair, for she was aware of her situation but unable to do anything about it. The sound the giant vixen emits is a pitiful, halting moan, a mixture of pain and a plea for help. Her breathing is labored and ragged, evidence of her struggle to stay alive despite the paralysis that consumes her. Tamamo's every attempt to move is a futile and desperate effort, her limbs barely twitching, and her body remains immobile and vulnerable.

"What happened was that she mistakenly consumed poison from the Dreadhorse."

"It was a bad idea on her part to attack it with her mouth directly."

"The Dreadhorse's body is poisonous if consumed as a method of defense against predators such as the Silknight."

"It can be healed if she consumes the Heart Crystal of a Scorchscale."

"Here, give this to her and insert it as deep as you can into her mouth, if you reach the esophagus, even better."

"That way she should be able to reach her stomach for it to take effect."

A red gem fell next to us, Adelis saw the object and did not hesitate in any second to take it and introduce it into the fox's muzzle with her whole arm, as a mother would fight for her daughter, having absolute confidence that the Kitsune would not bite her whole arm off.

"The medicine crystal should take only a few seconds to begin to work, but the effects of the poison will take a few minutes to wear off."

"It is best if she rests here for the time being."

"Dreadhorse is a solitary monster, so the probability of being discovered by a horde should be quite low."

We had not paid attention to the new voice due to the emergency, but we all realized with surprise at the same time that there was someone else next to us, so we slowly moved our heads in fear to try to see who it was.

[https://i.imgur.com/aHq5huP.jpg]

The figure standing in front of us was a young girl, her presence mysterious and enigmatic. Her skin was white and her eyes shone with an intense green glow like emeralds, giving her a supernatural appearance. On her head two horns protruded above, on her neck were worn two large necklaces, one was a choker necklace, one quite similar to the ones almost all the girls nearby wore, while the other was more traditional and normal, from which a very familiar green gem hung. She wore a thick jacket with fur at its ends but wide open, with her no other clothing at all, as if the cold did not exist for her, her jade hair falling in waves to her hips. Although she had a delicate and ethereal appearance, her gaze showed hidden wisdom and power.

"Who are you?" my mother asked, keeping her hand on Tamamo's head, who was still fighting the effects of the poison

"It can't be!"

"Could it be her?" I said.

"My father named me Luna"

"I have been observing your situation from a distance and decided to step in to offer my help."

"I'm sure that's what he would have wanted me to do."

"Are you Luna?"

"Are you really her?" asked my mother.

"I'm just a wandering traveler, one more shadow in the darkness of the subway."

"Someone who has lived in these tunnels for a long time, just like your brother."

"I know a little about the creatures that lurk in this place, so a little about how to coexist in this environment."

"No need to thank me, glad to have been of service" Her voice was calm and melodic

"Oh my"

"I can't believe it"

"So this is really you, this is what you look like."

"But this place is dangerous, it is not safe to stay here for long."

"We should go a little further on."

"Near here there are some stairs that can take us to the level above the subway."

"Subway creatures don't like to go there because of the cold weather."

"The chance of being attacked again is lower."

"Are you sure it's not a trap instead?"

"If something attacks us I'll cut your head off first!"

Lisa the demon said aggressively, she had appeared from the darkness behind the dragon girl, placing her crude scythe almost touching the girl's throat, clearly indicating that she didn't want any risk to Tamamo's life.

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"You can trust me, I would never put my father's family at risk."

"Up ahead is one of the observation points my father used to have."

"In it, there is a bed where we could put the big beast that accompanies you to rest until it fully recovers."

The new girl approached Tamamo and in spite of the enormous size of the fox, she lifted her without problems and carried her on her back, then she started to walk with a small flashlight that barely glowed, she used it in short moments, just enough to orient herself. Lisa had to take Levia in her arms because it was almost impossible for her to walk this way when she is still not used to walk on her feet, while the twins were walking in the dark.

As we followed Luna through the labyrinth of subway tunnels, I couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions. Her sudden appearance and mysterious knowledge about my brother and the creatures in the subway were both intriguing and unsettling. However, she seemed genuine and willing to help, which eased some of my concerns.

A little further on in the subway we found a rather rusty entrance full of hides that sealed it, Luna shone her small lintel back on one of the walls next to it and saw on the wall some claw chews in a strange pattern, she touched them with her hand as if to make sure they had the right shape, and then determinedly started to move the debris without any effort.

"The stairs are at the end of the corridor on the right."

"In a vault before going up there should be several coats for humans that my father used to use."

"Please use them before going up, as the temperatures are even colder up there."

We all followed the instructions that Luna had given us, she even took out a big blanket and put it over Tamamo who was still on her back, then we started to climb the stairs. Only when we turned around after climbing the first set of stairs the temperature had dropped a lot more, it was even more frightening the change, but we were still without the fire of the Goddess, because she was still recovering.

We went up a little more until we reached a small corridor where a light was still working, the number three on one of the walls was the only sign of orientation that was there, a little further into the corridor there was a small room that led to nowhere, but a couple of chairs and a makeshift bed covered with tattered blankets and a few supplies that Luna had gathered over time, providing a somewhat safer space for us to rest and tend to Tamamo. But perhaps the most important thing of the whole place was the only window there was, an old and decrepit window, that the same cold seemed to try to destroy was all there was to look at the outside world, it did not show an encouraging panorama, a destroyed city consumed by ice was all that could be seen through it, at the same time the world was covered by a faint dark Magenta color quite abnormal, making even more emphasis on how broken this world was.

[https://i.imgur.com/HpmE5ZZ.jpg]

"Place your companion here," Luna said, gently guiding Tamamo onto the bed

"May we ask what you are doing here Luna?"

"Exploring the tunnels, learning about the creatures that inhabit them, and looking for answers about Death"

"This is the place where I should be."

"This is the Moscow subway, isn't it?"

"It looks even worse than I thought it would." I asked the girl.

"Oh no, this is not the Moscow subway."

"This is the fading world, where only darkness and cold reside."

"The Fading World?"

"What is that?"

"The fading world"

"The day after the apocalypse"

"The earth waiting to die"

"The wasteland left by man"

"Any of these names is correct"

"Do you live here?"

"Oh no, I live somewhere else, near Lost Valley."

"I come here regularly to learn about the subway monsters and try to become stronger to survive."

While talking to the dragon girl, Tamamo who was lying on the bed transformed back to a girl as before, after that she sat on the bed and placed the blanket around her, seeking protection from the cold.

"Tamamo!"

"Are you feeling better?"

"Are you in pain? Do you need help?" asked my mother attentively beside her.

"Don't worry, I'm feeling much better."

"Thank you for your concerns"

"...."

"It was very careless of me to attack the monster like that."

"...."

"It took me by surprise how lethal dragons can be."

"Oh, that thing?"

"Dreadhorse is just a level one dragon, no big deal, hardly counts as a dragon"

"They're on the lowest rung, they usually work as scouts but they're pretty easy to hunt."

"Daddy does it all the time with a pickaxe and rope."

"He usually scares them a little to run down maintenance corridor 4 until they fall to their death at the precipice of water well 2 which is empty,"

"That's just the lower monsters!?"

"Well, the one that attacked you was a relatively adult Dreadhorse."

"It must have been more than 4 months old."

"The younger ones look a bit simpler, they don't usually live to be adults."

"Normally level 5 dragons use them as food."

"Wasn't that horse poisonous?"

"Oh, of course it is."

"Level 5 dragons simply don't care."

"They will simply ignore the poison and let their bodies regenerate from the damage."

"Those things care more about being stuffed to be eaten later by level 6 dragons since they are not poisonous and have more meat."

"Wow, that's heavy as fuck"

"Nature is wild around here"

I could sense a deep sincerity in Luna's words. She was not just a stranger; she was someone who understood the dangers of the underground and had a genuine desire to protect those who ventured into its depths. The dragon girl looked around at the others, it seemed that with her gaze she was judging us, trying to understand us better. But her gaze stopped at a moment, her gaze was on the twins, who were holding hands. I don't know why, but when she saw them she smiled and approached the androids.

"You two must be Kazumi and Charlotte, right?"

"Daddy has told me so much about you two"

"It's nice to finally get to meet you"

"I'm Luna, but please call me big sister"

"Big Sister?"

"Big Sister?"

"That's right!"

"You guys are prettier than I thought!"

"But this is not a place that Dad would like you to visit."

"May I ask what happened to you and why are you here?"

"Do you need help?"

"If so, leave everything to your beautiful big sister and she'll take care of the problem!"

"You'll see! Everything will be fine!"

"Big sister, we have a big problem!"

"It's Dad, he's missing!"

"We can't find him anywhere!" Kasumi spoke in a rush.

"Big Sis, Big Sis, no matter how hard we look, we can't find Daddy!"

"Dad is lost and scared, when Dad is scared he usually hides alone!"

"We have to find Dad!"

"We have to talk to Daddy to get him to come home!" Her sister Charlotte said right after.

Both androids continued with their usual serious face, their voice was still monotonous as if they were speaking sarcastically, but we all knew that in their way of speaking the uncertainty was as clear as their determination to look for my brother. Luna covered her mouth for a moment in surprise, her eyes watering as she watched the identical girls ask for help in such an honest way.

"Don't worry!"

"I will help you find Dad!"

"In fact, before I met you I was on my way to meet him!"

"The truth is that since the Emperor returned there are a lot of things that have changed strangely here."

"He should be in the Jade Throne somewhere in the upper castle on the floating island of Atlantis."

"If we get out of here we should be near the entrance."

"Do you think you can lead us there?"

"I need to meet Goshujin-sama, I have to help him get back."

"He needs me! This time I have to be the one to rescue him!"

"I have to be there for him!"

"It's the least I can do for him after all he has given me!"

"Be more careful Mom!"

"You are not fully recovered yet."

"You must be more careful, Daddy will be very upset if something happens to you!" Said Luna standing up to help the fox girl.

Although we all wanted to wait longer, at the insistence of the Goddess we set off again, returning to the main subway tunnel. Luna resealed the entrance to the staircase with the window with the same debris as before, leaving everything carefully in the same order, trying not to let it be noticed that it had been moved or the presence of the shelter for the other creatures.

We continued walking for a moment more until Tamamo had fully recovered and was back to using his magic, never before had he missed his blue fireball and its warmth so much. Luna for her part was worried, indicating that such an action could attract the attention of more dangerous creatures. But as she spoke it was the Kitsune herself who extinguished her fire and told us all to hide, in her voice we could hear fear, real fear. On the other side of the corridor there was a truly terrifying creature. A vaguely human figure, with a devilish grin, accompanied only by a look of the real demon. Its presence so terrifying even though far away it was enough to sense the overwhelming danger we had witnessed. The only thing that had saved us was that our fear was so great that no one could even cry out in despair. After looking terrifyingly through the tunnel the abominable creation of the underworld moved without walking into the darkness of another tunnel. Even Lisa had stepped out of the shadows for fear of sharing the same existential plane as the real demon. Even though the danger had passed, my breathing was heavy and fast, I felt exhausted just hiding on the ground, my mother was shivering next to me. Momo was praying, next to her Levia had fainted along with Tifa. The only three who had kept their sanity were Cesar's three daughters, two of whom were not even alive to begin with.

"Big Sister, what was that?"

"Sister Luna, what was that creature?" Both twins asked at the same time in a strangely calm manner.

[https://i.imgur.com/9blq2PS.png]

"That there was Orion the Emperor of Atlantis"

"The True Dragon of Death, the brutal one."

"He is seeking revenge on my father for the gruesome way in which he was slaughtered" Luna replied while holding her green gemstone.