They continued through the lair running and sliding to leave behind the chained ones who jumped them along the way. The place was immense, with endless corridors, rooms and a labyrinthine design; there were bathrooms with three doors, long corridors with nothing at one end or the other, stairs that went up and immediately went down to the same floor, even doors that led to nothing. Even so, Erica managed to advance without major setbacks, because every time there was an intersection, she looked for the way with more guards trying to block their way.

—How do you know we have to go where there are more enemies?— asked Liliana.

—I don't know, force of habit.

—A habit?

—It's just that in the games it's always like that— answered the forteme.

Liliana hit her face with one hand, she couldn't believe that Erica was relying on what she had learned in video games to get through a labyrinth full of enemies.

—We have no clues, so it's the best way to go— indicated Arturo— Where there are more guards, that's where the Chainer will be.

—Haha! Very well, then I'll keep at it!

They passed through several more halls and corridors, until a vast number of guards stood in their way, in the middle of a large empty room.

Erica thought about jumping over their heads, but beyond that she saw large padlocked doors. As she was, with Liliana and Arturo in her arms, it would have been too risky to simply take a long leap and kick them open. She set them both on the ground and assumed a fighting stance.

—Get ready.

The guards closed the door through which they had emerged and surrounded them. They carried all kinds of weapons; rifles and pistols, swords and spears, bows and arrows, nunchucks, axes, daggers, whips and even some weapons they had never seen before. As soon as the doors closed, the chained ones rushed toward them.

Arturo stepped forward and stamped his foot on the ground. From his position large waves surged up and traveled across the concrete to knock several of their enemies off their feet. At the same time the girls each went one way to confront them; Erica knocked them down with her fists, while Liliana put them to sleep with Brontes.

The chained ones shot at Liliana, but Arturo raised concrete walls to protect her, then she went around the wall to finish off a handful with a single slash.

Erica slid back and forth, so fast that none of them saw her coming. She grabbed her enemies by the heads, arms and legs and threw them hard against the walls, the floor or against their companions. There were several of them, but they were no match for her strength. She kicked jaws, broke ribs and noses, smashed laser weapons with her fists and threw big guys over other big guys.

Liliana took advantage of the bodies bigger than her to hide and slash them with Brontes without them being able to defend themselves. Arturo took the chained ones' weapons to nail them in the sky, while burying the ones that got too close to him.

The fight did not last more than five minutes. Suddenly, after knocking one guy out, Erica looked in all directions and realized that there were no more enemies willing to fight. The three of them gathered in the center of the room.

—Well done!— cheered Liliana, as she raised both hands outstretched. The three clapped their hands together.

—Not bad, you've both improved a lot— observed Erica.

—Yes, Brontes and I feel the same way!— commented Liliana— Thanks for covering for me, Arturo.

—That's what I'm here for— he answered.

—Erica, you look very used to the timitio— observed Liliana.

—Yes! I don't know how I used to be able to fight without it, it's incredible!

—How are you and Brontes doing— asked Arturo.

—Excellent! We're very coordinated.

—Oh, that's right, he takes control of your body during the fights— Arturo remembered.

—It's not all the time, he only does it for moments— explained Liliana.

—Really?— Arturo pursed his lips and rocked back and forth— I really want to study that process.

—Can you measure things like spirits?— asked Liliana.

"No" answered Brontes.

—There is always a way— said Arturo— The nonis surely have some advanced machines than the ones we had in Mother.

—Hey, hey, we can investigate Lili's brain later— Erica cut him off— we're in an enemy base, remember?

—Oh, right. Sorry.

The three turned their attention to the next door.

—How many more chained ones are waiting for us?— asked Liliana.

—It's hard to say— said Arturo— there could be hundreds, thousands, or none.

They both looked at Erica for her opinion. They caught her with one hand on her chest and breathing a little more agitated than usual.

—Are you all right?— asked Erica.

—Yes, it's just...

But at that moment a golden chain appeared, a single one. This chain connected to her chest extended indefinitely and went through the door as if it were an illusion.

—I think he's close— she said.

—Fascinating— said Arturo— Only one? What do you feel different from the previous times?

—A little anxious— she admitted— but I don't think it appeared for anything I did.

Liliana and Arturo opened their eyes wide.

—Then...— Liliana mused— Behind that door...

—Yes, I think he's there— indicated Erica— Let's go carefully, are you ready?

Liliana twirled her fingers around Brontes.

—Yes— she said.

Arturo was quite hungry, an indication that he had exhausted a good part of his energy reserves. But he knew he could still continue.

—Yes— he said, not very sure.

Liliana noticed his tone, but avoided commenting.

—Alright!

Erica approached the double door, broke the lock with her timitio and opened it wide.

On the other side was a rather large meeting room. Spanning much of the room was a long table. Seated at the table were Tur, on the other side Alba and at the head was the Chainer, wearing his full white armor. All three turned to the newcomers.

For an awkward moment they looked at each other's faces; Tur looked slightly worried, Alba seemed bored, the Chainer couldn't express himself very well, as his helmet completely covered his face. Erica realized that her suspicions were correct.

—I knew it!— she said triumphantly, pointing at Tur— You were in cahoots with the Chainer!

—Yes— confirmed the First, calmer than the girl would have liked.

Alba took a watch out of her mouth, looked at it for a moment and then swallowed it again without a second thought.

—Good job for making it this far, young lady— she said— you did better than we expected.

—So you were waiting for us?— asked Arturo, next to the brika.

—No, only Erica.

—I knew the three of you were coming— Tur snorted— What did I tell you?

The Chainer nodded.

—But...— Erica was confused— We heard you say you thought you'd lost sight of us.

—Yes, what a coincidence that I said it right near where you were hiding, right?

Erica put a hand to her face, dumbfounded. Liliana also felt defeated.

—I should have noticed— she said to herself.

—But that doesn't matter, you're all here now— Alba gestured with her hand for them to come closer— come on, sit down. I made cookies.

The children came a little closer, but did not sit down. On the table was a plate full of cookies, big and warm, fresh from the oven. They smelled good, but they weren't going to take anything she gave them.

—What do they want from us now?

She looked at the Chainer with a blank look on her face. He was seated and a good distance away, but he still looked intimidating. His white armor did not stand still, but flowed as if it were made of milk. His luminous red eyes made her shudder.

—Not from you three, just you— Alba explained— We want you.

—Oh, right. You want to turn me into that key— Erica remembered— What makes you think I'll cooperate?

Tur leaned across the table.

—How about your world?— he offered— let us use you and we'll rid your world of the noni forces. All it takes is one call.

Erica was about to say "go to hell", but then she remembered her friends.

Curious as to what they thought, she turned to them. However, neither of them seemed very happy with the proposal.

—No way!— they exclaimed in chorus.

—Guys?— Erica muttered happily.

—We won't let you people hurt her!— yelled Liliana.

—So shove your offer up your ass!— Arturo bellowed.

Erica covered her mouth with one hand, excited. Alba and Tur sighed in disgust.

—I told you it wasn't going to work— said the woman in white.

—And why do they want to get to the Heart of Chains anyway?— Arturo argued— it can't be just because you want to punish Erica's dad, can it?

—The Heart of Chains is a very important place to leave abandoned— explained Tur— it is the Core of the Universe, from where all the chains emerge.

—Remember I told you that your dad has a certain affinity for the chains? — Alba asked her— From there he can control the big chains, he can make and break the bridges as he pleases. It's too dangerous to let him loose.

—And what do I care?— yelled Erica— My dad is great, he sure does a better job than you guys!

Alba and Tur were surprised, as if Erica had said something forbidden. A bit nervous, they looked at the Chainer, who began to tremble.

—My lord?— Alba called out to him.

The Chainer took a deep breath once to calm himself.

—The girl has made her point clear: she doesn't want to cooperate.

Alba and Tur looked at each other's faces in dismay, the children's eyes widened. For the first time they heard the Chainer speak. His voice was robotic and gravelly, as if through a filter.

Then he stood up, stood on the table and began to walk towards the intruders.

—Boss?— Tur wondered, ready to jump out of his seat.

—Calm down, I'll just capture them.

The teens prepared to fight; Liliana put Brontes in front of her, Arturo extracted compressed spears from the ground and Erica formed two daggers from the backs of her hands. Nervous, they waited for the first move of the Chainer. Then he disappeared.

—What?!— Erica shouted.

It took Liliana a few seconds to realize what he had done.

—He's a ghost!

At that very moment the Chainer reappeared in front of Erica. Before she could react, he grabbed her head with one hand and threw her like a cannonball against the door. Erica flew past it and disappeared into the previous room.

Liliana and Arturo stared at him in bewilderment. They realized that all their calculations had been wrong; this was not going to be a fight, it never was.

At that, the white knight looked at Arturo and made a circular gesture with his finger. Immediately the floor beneath the boy's feet swallowed him up to his ankles, pulled his legs together against his will and that piece of floor tore itself away from the rest to rise into the air. Arturo was left hanging upside down.

For a moment Liliana noticed that the Chainer had looked away from her. She took a chance and tried to attack him from behind, but as she did so, he disappeared again.

—No!

"Behind you!" warned Brontes.

Liliana immediately turned around, but her face collided with the knight's armor. Terrified, she leapt back to gain distance and lashed out with Brontes' blade, with all the might she could muster. However, the Chainer dodged her slash with ease. Liliana attacked again, but the Chainer deflected Brontes' blade with his index finger. Liliana continued to attack quickly, but the Chainer barely made an effort to deflect or dodge it. Liliana began to despair, when suddenly Brontes' blade hit him. They clashed metal on metal, but the munima failed to pierce even a dent.

—What... are you?— she muttered, no longer hoping to escape.

The Chainer brought a hand close to the young girl's face. Suddenly her body lost strength and her eyelids felt very heavy. In seconds, the girl fell asleep in the knight's arms.

—Lili!— cried Arturo, frightened.

He tried to undo the piece of rock that held his feet, but for some reason his magic did not work on that specific mass. Then he tried to lift a piece of rock off the floor, but he couldn't do anything either. Finally he took control of the table, but it didn't move either.

—Why doesn't my magic work!— he yelled in his mind.

He racked his brain trying to figure out what was going on. He felt his mental hands grasping the solids he was trying to control, but nothing he did was having any effect.

Then he looked at the Chainer and found it looking back at him. A tickle on the back of his neck revealed the truth: it was him. Just as a mage could lift things with his mind, a stronger one could hold them in their relative position. Arturo realized that the Chainer was a mage, a very powerful one. He was holding everything with magic, the whole room at the same time.

—No... it can't be— he said to himself.

The Chainer approached him and did the same thing he had done before with Liliana. In a moment Arturo fell asleep, still dangling from the piece of rock that floated to the ground with his feet.

Finally, a knock near the door drew the attention of those present; Erica returned. Her head was bleeding a little from the blow against the door, but she didn't pay much attention to it.

—Get your hands off them!— she cried out.

She rushed towards him. However, he grabbed her on the fly and used her momentum to send her crashing into a wall. The impact knocked out a couple of boulders and formed some cracks. The girl fell onto her back and looked up at the Chainer from that position. She slowly stood up and looked at her friends lying on the floor.

—Damn...— she muttered, in pain.

She lunged at him again, but the god deflected her with a swipe. Erica spun in the air several times before falling back to the ground. Then five thick ribbons appeared beside her and wrapped around her limbs; two on her arms, two on her legs and one on her neck. The ribbons held her tightly and prevented her from moving. The Chainer approached her, and then Erica noticed the ribbons emerging from his armor.

—It can't be...— she mumbled— Is that... timitio?!

It was white, but besides that, it behaved in the same way as timitio. If that was the case, the Chainer had so much that it could form a full suit of armor. Tur was the only other forteme person Erica knew capable of covering his entire body, and he was in service to the Chainer. If this one was even stronger than the First noni, Erica couldn't imagine how she could fight him.

The Lord of the Chains at that moment crouched down beside her and placed a hand gently on her forehead, like a concerned father measuring the temperature of his sick daughter.

—Sleep— he asked.

Erica's eyelids grew heavy, her breathing calmed. In a few seconds she lost consciousness.

Finally the Chainer took the bodies of the three and laid them on the table.

—What did you think of them, my lord?— asked Alba.

—What about me? How about "Mr. Tur'non"?

—Oh, but you'll always be little Tur— she said. Then she turned to the Chainer— Anyway, what did you think of them? Are they useful for our plans?

—No, not yet— he concluded.

—Do you think they'll be ready when the time comes?— asked Tur— How much time do we have, anyway?

—I'm not sure— replied the Chainer— but we have to make it count.

He looked at Erica in silence. Then he opened a bridge on the surface of the table, just below the three of them, to be swallowed up.

—I have a whole empire, we can use my resources— Tur offered.

—Thank you, but it won't be enough— said the Chainer— I will gather our friends. We will execute the plan of the seven rings. We will use all the power of the chains.

Tur showed his teeth, worried. Alba nodded. The Chainer made visible the chains coming from his chest; eight chains. With his fingers he caressed the most recent, the most precious, the chain that connected him to the only person who made him shudder.