Her whole body ached, especially her head. Little by little Erica regained consciousness.

—I fell asleep?— she thought, surprised —ah, of course, the fight against the Chainer. This is becoming more of a habit than I would like.

Suddenly she felt soft fur brushing her face. She turned, immediately finding Papel curled around her neck. He also seemed to wake up and looked at her as if waiting for her to do something.

—Hello— the girl greeted him— Are you all right?

The little animal jumped from her shoulder to the ground. Erica realized that she was sitting up. Her arms and legs were bound by chains that stretched to the walls of the room. She tried to pull on them to break them, but no matter how much force she applied, it wasn't enough. Then she remembered the Chainer.

—Surely he put them up.

She sighed, somewhat discouraged. Remembering the fight with that guy only gave her a headache. She felt helpless, even stupid for trying to take him on. He was impossibly strong, he had beaten her and her friends, and he wanted to kill her dad. At least he knew where to hide and went to perhaps the only place where he would be safe. If there was one thing Erica was sure of, it was that her dad was still safe and sound. That was good, maybe good enough.

For a long time she contemplated running away, letting her dad hide in the Core and leaving, so that the Chainer couldn't hurt either of them.

She was tired, soon grew sleepy, fell asleep.

-----------------------------

When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in a different room; it was dark, with a chair in the middle and a spotlight that barely illuminated. A humanoid creature in black fur watched her nervously from a corner, his large, pale eyes glowing in the darkness. Then Erica recognized that room: it was her timitio's inner room.

She noticed she was high in the air. As she looked both ways she realized that she was still bound by the chains. Her arms hung in the sky and her feet were tied together towards the floor.

—What is this? I thought this place was imaginary!

Again she tried to break free of the chains, tried to break them, but to no avail. They were made of such a strong material that she couldn't even scratch them.

—Come on!

But not even her loudest screams would make a difference. She had no choice but to give up and try something else. She looked all around, searched for a solution with her head. She wondered how she had gotten into that room. More importantly, how the chains had done it.

The furry creature seemed to want to approach her, but suddenly stopped, as if it had heard something suspicious. Then it scurried off into the darkest corner of the room.

Then, in front of Erica, a golden flame emerged and concentrated on itself to form a kind of incandescent ball.

—What an ugly place— commented the sphere— Is this your interior?

Erica looked at the luminous sphere, puzzled.

—And what are you?— she pleaded, somewhat offended by its comment.

—I am the Power, you know me.

Erica stared at it for several seconds in silence, trying to make sense of those words.

—What?— she finally exclaimed— Speak well!

The sphere approached the chains that bound her arms and stopped there, silently. Then it did the same with the chains on her legs.

—The old one left you these chains.

—You mean the Chainer? Yes, that bastard...— she growled— They're very strong chains, I can't break them.

—No, you can't yet. The change has to be gradual.

Erica didn't understand it. She looked at the chain holding her right arm and pulled on it, but to no avail.

—I can't— she pleaded, but when she looked ahead again, she could not find the sphere of light. The "Power" had disappeared.

For a long while longer she struggled against the chains, but to no avail. The humanoid representation of her timitio watched her from the darkness, silently. Finally she got tired and stood still. In that place the passage of time was confusing, she didn't know if she had been there for hours or minutes, she didn't even know if it was a dream or not. She hung there for a long time, doing nothing. The little furry one fell asleep against a wall from waiting so long for her. Erica had nothing else to do, so she calmed down and began to think.

—Even if I run away from my chains in real life, how can I escape from the Chainer?

If she remembered correctly, the guy could create bridges wherever he pleased. He could follow her wherever he wanted.

—But I already ran away from him once— she said to herself— I should be able to run away again.

However, even if she succeeded, one doubt troubled her: Erica didn't know what would happen to her dad. It seemed she would never see him again, not as long as the Chainer was after both of them. Even if they somehow teamed up with her dad, Liliana and Arturo, Erica doubted that the four of them could defeat him. The power difference was tremendous.

Melancholic, she sighed. She missed her dad; his deep voice speaking lovingly to her, his solid body she could lean against, his radiant smile, his antics. He always knew what to do, always had some trick up his sleeve that she didn't expect. Erica could have a disaster on her hands, but he always found a way to solve it easily.

Rambling, she reminisced about happier times she had shared with him. When she was a child, he would carry her on his shoulders and run through valleys and over mountains at extreme speeds. She had always liked that. One day she grew tall enough to do the same with him. She remembered that they had celebrated in a big way.

Happy, Erica lost consciousness again and vanished from the dark room.

----------------------------

Suddenly everything became a blur. The silhouette of a man emerged before her. He was standing in one place, but she could not make out the floor or his surroundings, only him. He looked at her curiously, he didn't seem to be expecting her, but he didn't want to look too surprised either.

—My princess— her father called to her.

She could hear him, but she was not fully awake.

—D...dad— Erica called to him.

She didn't remember why, but she missed him. She felt that just a few hours ago she had said goodbye to him and yet all she wanted was to hold him in her arms and squeeze him, to feel him close to her. He smiled at her. She began to shed tears.

—I... miss you...— she admitted between pouts.

He remained smiling.

—Don't give up— he asked— we'll see each other again, but you must stand firm.

—Dad...

She wanted to reach out her hand to him, but nothing happened. It became harder and harder for her to notice him. Everything went black, she lost consciousness again.

She suddenly woke up.

It took her several seconds to realize that she had come back to reality. She rubbed her eyes and looked around: she was in a cell made of dark stone. In front, containing her, there was nothing more than a grille with weak bars.

—Why did they put me in a cell with a grille? I can get out whenever I want.

Then she remembered the chains that held her. She looked in both directions, but could not find them. Then she examined her arms, on her wrists she found marks. She wasn't hurt, but they had been squeezed tight enough to be noticeable. It hadn't been just a dream.

—When did I get them off— she wondered.

She remembered her encounter with the luminous sphere in her timitio's room. That thing had given her a clue, but what was it? Something about not being ready yet... no, she didn't remember.

—A trick to get rid of the chains— she remarked— If I can understand what happened, it might be helpful in the future.

She also remembered that she had dreamed of meeting her dad. She missed him, very much, she wanted to see him again. She realized that she could not worry about the Chainer. At that moment she made up her mind, even if she had to face the whole Universe, she would find him. There would be no more doubts about it.

Determined, she went to the bars of the cell and broke them with a jerk. Immediately Papel appeared from the back of the room, jumped up and perched on her shoulder.

—Come on, Papel! We'll rescue my dad.

—Eeeeeeek!— he shrieked in response.

---------------------------------------

It didn't take her long to find Liliana and Arturo's cells. Both were in adjoining rooms, so close that they could even talk. Liliana was seated, handcuffed and with a plate covering her chest, while Arturo had a helmet full of circuits and wires inside, which could only be removed with a key.

—Erica!— they were surprised to see her.

She smiled. She immediately went to Liliana's cell to break the bars and remove the plate. Then she did the same with Arturo's cell and helmet.

—Did they hurt you?— asked the brika.

—No, they only put these things on us to prevent us from escaping— Liliana pointed to the plate that had been on her chest.

—Nothing that I remember.

—Did they catch you too?— asked Arturo— Did they put you to sleep like us?

Erica remembered, but she couldn't recall the last moments of her fight with the Chainer.

—I remember he sent me crashing into a wall— she said— after that, I don't know.

The three remained silent, not knowing quite what to say. The memories of their fight with the white knight were still fresh and stirred in their palates, but they didn't know whether to say them or not. Liliana, sensing that her friends were thinking the same thing, was the first to allow herself to speak.

—I was no match for him, he dodged my attacks so easily that it seemed he was mocking me. At one point he let himself be hit, but Brontes' blade didn't go through him. It's the same thing that happened with Ungrar— she hugged herself, feeling weak— I haven't felt so helpless since I was a slave. Now I understand why he is treated as a god.

Erica frowned, disgruntled. Arturo took his turn.

—When I tried to use magic to attack him, I could not. I realized he was forbidding it by controlling every solid particle around us. Kan'fera is an impressive mage compared to me, but the Chainer is inhuman, it could even be that his intelligence level goes beyond nine— he put a hand to his head, meditative— you can't fight against something like that, it's impossible.

They both looked at her with pity.

—Erica, I think that... — Liliana stopped to swallow saliva— maybe it would be better if you give up the search for your dad.

—What?!

—The Chainer probably locked you up to use you as a key when the time comes, and us as hostages to force you to open the Core— deduced Arturo— he kept us alive because we're useful to him, but at any moment he can change his mind. He will kill you for sure when he has everything ready to generate the key, he said so himself.

Erica wanted to protest, but Liliana beat her to it.

—Even if we manage to escape today, if you keep looking for your dad, you'll only meet the Chainer again— she assured her— I fully understand your desire to see him again, but...— she sighed helplessly— if you die, then you won't be able to reunite with him for sure.

Erica gritted her teeth and frowned. She looked angry. Liliana and Arturo thought she was going to raise her voice in protest, but the brika only turned around and walked a few steps away.

—You're afraid, it's to be expected— she said without looking at them— you're just ordinary people, you're not as tough as me.

—Erica...— Liliana called her.

She sighed. She turned around, her face full of resignation.

—Look for your families, go back to Mother or hide somewhere in Nudo. Come, I'll open the way and get you out of here, you don't even have to walk beside me.

—Erica, are you going to keep looking for your dad?— Arturo muttered— The Chainer is going to kill you.

Erica clenched her fists.

—My dad is all I have left— she pleaded— he's all I've had my whole life. No mom, no friends, no community. Just my dad. I'm going to find him or die looking for him. I won't accept anyone else telling me what to do.

Without giving them time to answer, she turned around and slid toward the exit.

—Let's go, Papel!

Liliana and Arturo wanted to stop her, but Erica took off in a flash. In the blink of an eye she was out of sight. Both looked at each other for a moment, inquisitive, then anxious. Without a word, they agreed and broke into a run after her.