Despite his sadness, Brontes proved to be a cheerful and polite boy. He told them with a smile on his face about his species and their habits. Sirivis were a peaceful and neutral species in Nudo disputes. Sometimes the nonis abused them, but instead of fighting, they ran away. Sometimes they built a few huts, but they tended to be nomadic.

—I've been told stories about humans, but you are the first ones I've seen— he assured them —I didn't think you were so cute.

—Ha, of course— replied Erica, trying to hide her blush with pride.

Liliana smiled, but said nothing.

They also told their stories to him. They talked about their worlds and the things they liked. They had a lot to talk about, since Brontes knew nothing about Mother and the girls were relatively new to Nudo.

As they talked, Erica noticed that Liliana was looking intently at the sirivi, as if trying to remember every part of his face.

—He's not that cute— Erica said to herself. She looked at him again to make sure. He wasn't hideous, but the angular features of his sirivi face gave him a strange appearance.

After a while they came to a fragile path, suspended in the air by narrow stone pillars. They did not show much stability, which was a bad thing, for downward opened a deep precipice into which they could fall from both sides. It was so deep that they couldn't see the bottom, as if it was covered in fog.

—What a strange place— commented Erica— I've never seen anything like this before.

—That looks dangerous— observed Liliana.

Brontes held her skirt tightly, frightened. She placed a hand on his head in response.

—It's very high— said the boy in a trembling voice.

—Take it easy, boy. I'll go first— offered Erica.

The girl went ahead of the other two, stepped carefully on the rock bridge and advanced a little, ready to jump at any moment in case it collapsed... but the ground didn't fall. She advanced several more steps, but nothing happened. More confident, she signaled to those behind her. Liliana and Brontes followed her.

As they walked, the abyss beneath their feet seemed to grow deeper and darker. Liliana imagined that Brontes would be more nervous because of the altitude or the religious silence of the place, but strangely he looked more relaxed, and for some reason, sad.

She told herself that it was normal for someone who had lost his family that very day, but it wasn't the feeling of loss she saw in him, but... What was it? What could his serene face and droopy eyes mean?

—Could it be guilt?— Liliana wondered.

But she had no time to think, for at that moment the sound of rocks sliding around alarmed them. They stopped in their tracks, ready to jump or run at any moment. They waited two, four, five seconds, but nothing happened.

Erica turned to her companions to signal them to continue, but as she looked back she noticed a large black mass overhead. She took a closer look, puzzled. The others did the same; behind them, attached to the wall with powerful claws was a huge monster with black scales and pointed fangs. It was as big as a mansion. It had no eyes, but it seemed to know where they were at every moment.

—Behind me!— bellowed Erica.

Liliana and Brontes ran for cover behind her back. At the same time the beast leaped towards them. Erica prepared to go and face it with her bare fist, but then the huge monster fell on the bridge and tore it apart. The first section collapsed, while the floor beneath them began to break and fall. The beast disappeared from sight into the abyss, Erica knew they would too if she didn't react. She quickly turned around, grabbed Liliana and Brontes in her arms and shot herself across the bridge. The second section began to break apart almost instantly, Erica had to jump high to reach solid ground. Even so, the impact traveled across the entire long bridge, cracking it quickly, section by section. The rock split under Erica's feet as she ran and jumped with all her might to keep herself and the others from falling into the abyss.

On top of that, the beast emerged again: it scaled one of the walls, chasing its prey.

—Watch out!— Liliana yelled.

Erica saw it, but she could not approach to hit it or wait for it, she could only run. Then the beast jumped again with incredible force and fell right in front of them. The bridge shattered, Liliana shrieked in horror, Brontes shouted excitedly. Erica jumped on the nose of the monster, which was plunging into the abyss. The brika had to move fast and jump back towards the bridge that was still breaking in front of her. She landed on a platform that immediately broke in two, jumped forward again and continued running at full speed.

—We're going to die!— shrieked Liliana.

Brontes laughed as if they were on a roller coaster. Erica was so focused that she barely paid attention to him. They rushed across the bridge, which led straight to a rock wall and continued through a tunnel.

—We can hide from the monster over there— thought Erica, relieved.

Again, however, she heard the beast's claws climbing up the rock walls. It was persistent. It didn't take long for it to loom its height, with its great black snout drooling a mysterious dark smoke, a rotten tongue and its scaly eyeless face.

—Just die!— Erica yelled at it.

The beast jumped, this time aiming at them. It opened wide to devour them in one bite. Erica noticed it flying towards them and calculated that she would not be able to flee in time. She had only one option left, so she jumped high into the air, spun in mid-air and kicked it in its black nose. The monster paused for a moment on the bridge, while the two humans and the sirivi flew through the air in the opposite direction, towards the cave. The weight of the entity shattered the path, but the teens landed next to the section attached to the rock wall, still intact. Erica didn't wait a second longer; she secured Liliana and Brontes in her arms and launched herself into the cave.

The monster roared, the debris from the rock bridge rumbled as it fell and hit the walls below. Erica finally left the others on the ground and breathed easy.

—Whew, finally!

Liliana clutched her sore abdomen. With so much jiggling and jumping around, it had been impossible for Erica to avoid squeezing.

—What was that thing?— Liliana pleaded —It could climb walls like it was nothing.

—It was very persistent— noted Erica —It must be hungry to chase us like that.

Liliana turned to Brontes, worried about him. After witnessing the death of his family by a terrible monster, he had fled from one, perhaps the same beast that had committed such a tragedy.

—Brontes... she called out to him.

Then he turned to them, grinning from ear to ear.

—That was super fun!— cheered the boy —Hey, Erica, how are you so strong?

—Ah...— Erica looked at Liliana puzzled, but Liliana was as confused as she was —I... I was born this way. I'm a brika.

—No way! A brika?!— repeated Brontes.

—Yes, have you heard about brikas?

—Only that they're very scary. They're worse than monsters! I thought they were just stories my grandfather told me to scare me, but now I see it's true.

—Ah, ok.

Erica figured she wasn't going to gather much information about the mysterious brikas from a child. On the other hand, she was puzzled by his cheerful demeanor in the face of a ferocious monster like the one they'd seen, but not that she cared much. She had faced all kinds of ferocious animals as a child and never had any problems. For Liliana, however, it was different. Brontes' behavior was not only a mystery to her, but rather something impossible, a contradiction that was not meant to be. She wondered if an innocent child like him was hiding an important secret. Nor did she want to question him and bring up the subject of his family. She decided it would be best to forget about it for the time being.

Curious, they retraced their steps, walked out of the cave towards the bridge and looked down. They could not see the bottom of the abyss, nor could they see the monster. The bridge was completely broken, the only path left was the cave. They went back inside and set off.

The interior was dark, barely illuminated by a few crystals. Liliana clung to Erica's back, frightened.

—Are you afraid of the dark?— she asked.

—Not so much the darkness, but what might be hiding in there— Liliana clarified.

Brontes stepped forward at a fast pace and scurried around.

—Brontes, be careful— Liliana asked him.

—Don't worry, nothing can harm us around here— assured the boy.

—I'm not going to protect you if you get into trouble by being careless— said Erica.

Brontes stopped in his tracks, turned to her with an offended expression and reluctantly returned to their side. Liliana took him by the hand so he wouldn't get lost out there.

They crossed the cave almost groping in front so as not to hit any walls. They advanced slowly because of the lack of light, at least the girls did. Brontes always knew where to go and how to advance; he jumped holes without seeing them, avoided pillars and walls without looking. It was as if she knew that place like the back of his hand.

It didn't take long for the path to split in two.

—Where do you think we should go?— Liliana asked.

Erica tried to look for any difference between the two options, but the tunnels were identical. There was no way of knowing if one led to the exit.

—This one here— said Brontes.

Without waiting for the girls, the boy let go of Liliana's hand and went forward to the left path.

—Brontes, don't let go— she asked him.

But it was already too late. Worried, Liliana went after him, and Erica went after Liliana. It took them no time at all to get him back, but by the time they did, it felt useless to go back and make the decision again. Either path might or might not work for them, so they continued down the one the boy had chosen.

—It's very important that you don't go too far— Liliana told him after he shook his hand again— you could fall or find monsters.

—But there are no monsters— he argued.

—How do you know that?— Erica asked.

Brontes turned to her, curious. Erica was beginning to have some suspicions about the boy, but she still didn't know how to deal with him. Brontes smiled encouragingly at her.

—My tribe passed through here recently, remember? We didn't find any monsters.

—But what if they were hiding?— Liliana argued —You have to be cautious with these things.

—I really don't think there are monsters for kilometers. There is something I want to show you, that's why I took this path.

—What is it?— Erica asked.

—You'll see, it's phenomenal!

Erica, somewhat irritated, leaned over the boy's back and reached out a hand to grab him by the head. Before making contact, however, Brontes sidestepped her with a quick step without even looking at her. Erica stood upright again and refrained from trying again, puzzled. She wondered if the sirivi had some sort of super hearing or even a sixth sense. She glanced at Liliana, but Liliana hadn't noticed. She seemed too focused on Brontes to notice her.

They advanced through the cold tunnels of the cave, ever descending. They met two more divisions on the way, and at each Brontes again chose their path without any doubt. After a good while, the narrow tunnel gave way to a wide, wide chamber. It was so large that an entire village could have dwelled inside with no problem of space.

The first thing they noticed was a huge structure in the middle of the room: a tower that reached almost to the rocky sky. It was marked by several thin lines of green light that slowly circulated inside fissures in the structure. Curious, the girls and Brontes approached it.

They carefully descended the stairs and walked towards the tower, taking care not to step on the opaque or luminescent rocks. Soon they heard water running.

—A subway river— commented Erica, though they couldn't see it from where they were.

They continued carefully towards the huge structure, with many questions in their heads.

—What is this?— Erica wanted to know.

—It's the shakma, the monster tower— the boy explained.

—Monster tower?— Liliana jumped in —Does it have anything to do with that horrible beast from before?

—I thought he was pretty cute— protested Brontes —but to answer your question, this is where he lives, isn't it great?

—How do you know...?— Erica wanted to ask, when suddenly a growl behind them made them turn around.

Right there, behind them was the beast, the same one that had caused them so much trouble outside.

—Shit!— Erica shouted —Run!

Liliana grabbed Brontes by the hand and dragged him in a hurry towards the tower. The monster jumped to chase them, but Erica jumped up and kneed it in the jaw. The monster's huge body was pushed back by the blow. Then it noticed the culprit; Erica. Liliana stopped in her tracks, worried.

—Erica, come!— she demanded.

—No, go to the tower! I'll distract this thing! Quickly!

Liliana wanted to protest. At that very moment the monster threw itself towards Erica to impale her with a bite. Its jaws closed on her, but the brika held its fangs with her arms and legs, resisting. Liliana realized, much to her chagrin, that she was only making things more difficult for Erica by staying there, so she continued running towards the tower in a hurry.

—Aren't you going to help her?— Brontes asked —Wow, you're cold. I guess you don't have a choice, though.

—Erica can take that monster!— Liliana pleaded.

Brontes' words had touched her in a sensitive place that she was nowhere near overcoming. For the first time she felt irritated with him, but she didn't let it show. She didn't plan to take it out on a child. More importantly, she had a chance to tie up some loose ends.

They ran as fast as they could, hoping the roars of the beast they heard behind them were of frustration and Erica's screams were not of pain. They approached the tower, climbed onto the large platform that acted as a base, ascended ominous black stairs with fissures of bright green, ran the last flight to the door and rushed inside.

The first thing they noticed was the sound of the doors closing on their own behind them. Liliana turned around, puzzled. She raised a hand to grab them, but stopped herself. There was no reason to leave at that moment, not while the huge beast could kill them with a bite or a stomp.

She turned again to study the interior of the tower. They were in a square room, with a smooth stone floor, concave sky and black walls like the outside. There was only one door, through which they continued.

They came to another room, much larger. It was round, arranged in a spiral; on one side there were stairs going down, on the other there were stairs going up. Around it were more doors leading to different rooms.

—Let's go to the basement— Liliana commanded.

She dragged Brontes with her to the stairs going down, but as she approached, lumps of smoke appeared from there. Liliana stopped, confused at first. These lumps of smoke slowly took shape, as if the process was difficult. Then they coalesced and divided from each other until they decided on a fixed shape. Then two transparent sockets and two rows of rotten teeth appeared. Liliana could see them, but she could also see through them. They were creatures that floated and passed through solid objects with no problem. The girl turned paler than she already was, fell down on her butt and crawled backwards, terrified.

—Gho... gho...— she tried to say.

The creatures flew around the room. Little by little more came out of the basement. Liliana tried to stand up, but her trembling arms barely responded. She thought she would die there, when suddenly Brontes grabbed her arm.

—Come on, we have to run!— he leaded.

This made her react. She had a child with her, she had to behave like an adult. She quickly got up and with Brontes by the hand, they ran away in a hurry. They headed for the nearest door, but as soon as they opened it, more ghosts appeared. Liliana jumped back, arms over her head and screeching in fear. She ran into the next room, but a third group of ghosts appeared in her face.

Terrified, she ran to the center of the room. The ghosts emerged in great numbers and spread through the central room like smoke in a fire. Their faces were terrifying, their fangs sharp and their claws so large that they could pierce her torso if they came too close. Liliana wanted to scream, desperate.

Suddenly she felt a tugging at her side. Looking up, she found Brontes tugging at her pants. He was pointing in one direction. Liliana looked: it was the stairs going up. No ghosts appeared from there.

—Let's go!

She grabbed Brontes and dragged him with her in a hurry towards the stairs. They dodged the ghosts on the way, crossed the distance and began to climb. Liliana was not very athletic and not very rested, but at that moment her legs felt like a flying machine, her ankles had wings and her heels jet propulsions. They went up in an instant to the second floor and didn't stop to look, they continued up the stairs to the third and fourth. Liliana could hear the ghosts chasing them, not as fast as she was, but on her back nonetheless. Brontes was doing his best to keep up.

They climbed twelve stories in a flash. At the top of the tower Liliana stopped, checked that there were no more stairs and fell defeated to the ground. Her lungs and throat burned, her feet felt like lead, her body radiated heat. She couldn't remember ever running so fast in her life, not even in her days as a thief.

Still frightened, she looked back at the stairs. At that very moment Brontes covered them with a trap door, locking them there, in the last chamber of the tower.

—Well... done...— said Liliana, catching her breath.

Brontes approached her. It took her a while to notice him, because she was very tired and out of breath, but the boy did not look tired at all.

A little breeze was blowing. Liliana looked around; the room was round, only about ten meters in diameter. It had several glassless windows looking all around. She could hear banging, screaming and roaring outside. She got up to look and noticed the monster fighting. Then she noticed Erica, on top of the beast, hitting it with all her might. The monster was too big and slow to reach her, Erica was hitting so hard that each blow must have at least broken a few bones. However, the monster was getting up as if nothing to continue the fight. It was odd, Liliana had never seen any monster last so long against the brika.

She turned to Brontes, who was watching the fight from another window. She was still breathing heavily, while he was calm as could be. It didn't bother her that he was acting so strange, but if there was a chance that because of him Erica would be harmed, Liliana would not forgive him. She had to clear up her fears.

—Who are you?— she pleaded.

The boy turned to her, curious.

—I am a sirivi orphan— he answered.

But Liliana shook her head.

—You are not an orphan, at least not of those people we saw at the entrance— she assured.

Brontes covered his mouth with one hand.

—What are you talking about? I just lost my parents, I'm a poor victim— he said in a calm, controlled, almost smiling tone.

Liliana pressed her lips together. She didn't like where all that was going.

—What were their names— she asked.

Brontes thought about it for a moment.

—Emh... Brumhilda, Count, Strafanos... Ámili....

—You don't know their names, do you? —Liliana cut him off.

Brontes stopped pretending and smiled with complicity.

—How did you know?— he asked.

—You're not the best actor in the world— Liliana told him.

She sighed, still trembling. She looked at the trapdoor for a moment, she didn't know how long it would take for the ghosts to appear. She hoped with all her might that they wouldn't, and she had the impression that they wouldn't as long as Brontes was interested in the conversation.

—Look, whoever you are, I don't care that you lied to us— she assured him —I just want to know, what's your relationship with that monster? Why did you lead us here?

—Oh? — Brontes smiled from ear to ear — What do you think, Liliana? Why do you think I have any relation with that monster?

Liliana gritted her teeth. If only Arturo were there, he could tell her the right answer. Not even that, he would have deduced everything even before entering the cave. But there was only her, a normal girl with a normal mind. She quickly thought of the clues that pointed to something odd.

—You seemed pretty sure there were no other monsters than that one— she indicated— you led us here, right to where it was waiting for us, so... You're in charge of feeding it?

Brontes shook his head from side to side.

—More or less. I'll grant you that, anyway. It is true that I feed the beast.

Then the trapdoor opened wide. Ghosts poured out from the lower floor and flooded the room. However, before they saturated it, they diverted and entered Brontes' body. Their entire being was absorbed by the child. Liliana watched in astonishment as the stream of ghosts like a whirlpool decanted into the boy she had held by the hand until recently.

—What... What's going on?!— she pleaded.

As he absorbed the ghosts, Brontes raised a hand toward one of the windows. Liliana looked, at the same time that a rumble shook the tower. When she looked again, she found a row of large fangs covering the window. The beast had jumped up and was climbing the tower to answer its master's call. Before it could attempt anything, however, its huge monster body dissolved into the same black smoke as the ghosts. The monster broke apart, entered through the window and was absorbed by the child. Only then did Liliana understand.

—You were the beast— she argued —you killed those people... Who... What are you?