Suddenly she woke up.

She stretched out her hands, but her dad was nowhere to be found. She was alone in a bed. She opened her eyes, but saw no white sheets or walls, just a nice damask color, worn in several places by fights and gunshots.

Puzzled, she sat up and looked around. She was alone in a generic, unadorned room that did not stand out, like a hotel room. Confused, she stood up and began to walk around. She immediately noticed that she was in her underwear. She looked around. Her clothes were at the foot of the bed, her slippers underneath. As soon as she put them on, she opened the door and went out.

She found herself in the middle of a hallway. She continued on the right and approached a large office with a balcony. She could tell it had once been very nice, with a large desk, an archway with flower prints to go outside, bookshelves, filing cabinets and beautifully designed armchairs, but at the moment there was a lot of dust everywhere, the walls were missing some pieces, the desk was broken in half and the balcony had only half of the railing intact. Erica looked out and saw Mother's streets in the middle of a clear day. It was a little warm.

—Isn't it the middle of the year?— she wondered, puzzled, until then she remembered that they were on a different continent.

She turned around to look for someone who could tell her what had happened to the nonis and Tur. Had they won? Had they lost? Would she have to serve him from then on? She had no idea and was dying to know. But as she turned around, she noticed two pairs of eyes staring at her with surprise, from the office entrance. Erica also stared at them. They were two children no more than six years old, both similar and at the same time they looked like little versions of Arturo to her.

—Who...?— she tried to ask.

In that moment, a young woman appeared from the hallway, grabbed both children's heads and smashed them together. The children rubbed themselves, in pain.

—I told you two not to come this way!— yelled the woman, who then saw Erica in front of her.

They both looked at each other, not knowing what to say. The woman behind the children was young, somewhat short, with large green eyes and lurid pink, sharp hair.

—Oh, you're awake— she noticed.

—See?— one of the children demanded— You didn't have to hit us!

—Oh, really? Are you sure you shit-heads didn't wake her up?

The woman grabbed the children's heads again, threateningly. They took off at full speed and ran towards Erica. To her surprise, they embraced her confidently and sunk their heads on her hips. The girl blushed a little at the sight.

—They think I'm a good person!— she thought for a moment, pleased.

—Hey, don't wipe your boogers on her!— the woman exclaimed.

—What?!— Erica exclaimed.

Immediately the children ran away and fluttered around a bit, not knowing what to do, until the woman walked away from the hallway. Then the children went that way, thinking they had escaped trouble.

—Little fuckers...— muttered the pink-haired girl.

Then she approached Erica and held out her hand.

—Sorry about all that. They're stupid, but they're good kids at heart. I'm Liatris, you can call me Lia.

Erica shook her hand, still confused.

—My name is Erica.

Liatris smiled sideways.

—Yes, I know. Lili has told me a lot about you.

This caught the brika's attention.

—Lili? Liliana?

—Yes, I'm her sister. Didn't Lili tell you about me?

Then Erica looked into her eyes and was surprised to find the same big green irises as her friend. However they were both very different; Liatris dressed very psychedelic and asymmetrical, with heavy boots and leather straps everywhere. It was the complete opposite of her sister's conservative, feminine style.

Erica made more connections, surprised.

—So those kids...

—Ah, the twins? They are Arturo's little brothers.

—What?!— shouted Erica.

Liatris laughed, amused by Erica's exaggerated expressions. Then she took her by the hand and led her down the hallway.

—Come, you need to eat.

—Ah...

Erica couldn't say no. Not that she was very hungry, but she wanted to see the others, and also to sit down; her muscles still ached a little.

Liatris led her to the elevator. There they went down to the second floor and then headed to a dining room, with a good part of the ceiling and one wall gone. Even so, it had been thoroughly cleaned and fitted out. In the center was a long table, with a white tablecloth, piles of food and a few people talking animatedly. Erica looked at them all with a certain distance, she didn't feel she had the energy to face so many new people, but suddenly she heard her name.

—Erica!— exclaimed a little female voice. It was Liliana.

—Erica!— said the soft voice of a boy. It was Arturo.

The girl looked for them and soon found them at one end of the table. They had both stood up and were running towards her.

—Erica!— Liliana called out to her again, before pulling her into a hug.

Arturo approached her slower, but still surrounded her and hugged her on the other side.

—How are you? Aren't you in pain? Are you hungry?— Liliana asked.

—I'm fine, I'm just a little tired. What about you both?

—The same— summed up Arturo.

—So... did we win?— asked Erica— Is it true?

They both smiled from ear to ear.

—We won!— they answered at the same time.

—Tur is withdrawing his troops— said Liliana— Mother will be free again in a few months!

—Months? Why don't they all leave right away?— the brika pleaded.

—Moving so many soldiers takes time— explained Arturo— not to mention the paperwork that needs to be done. A couple of months to vacate the whole world is unbelievable. If there were no bridges, it would take years.

—Ah.

—But come, come! You need to eat!— said Liliana.

—That's true, let's go to the table— agreed Arturo— we were just finishing, but there was a lot left over.

—Of course.

They sat her at the table and gave her five times what she could have eaten in a normal lunch. She had a good time anyway. The other people next to her were her friends' families; Arturo's mom with her two little brothers, whom she had already met, and also Liliana's parents and older sister. They were all very nice and bombarded her with questions about her and her journey through Nudo, until Liliana stopped them and made them leave to let her have breakfast. Erica asked her friends to fill her in on what had happened after defeating Tur.

—It was total chaos— remembered Liliana— first you took his ring and went crazy. You started talking to yourself and looked everywhere as if there was something.

Erica nodded, she remembered at least that part.

—And then you disappeared— Arturo indicated.

Erica choked. She coughed hard until she managed to spit out the piece of meat in her throat.

—So it was true!— she exclaimed.

Her friends looked at her puzzled, so Erica explained her experience after taking the ring and the strange moment she had shared with her dad. Liliana and Arturo couldn't believe their surprise, they would have fallen over if they hadn't been sitting down.

—You saw your dad?!— they exclaimed.

Erica nodded several times, as she couldn't quite believe it either.

—I think that was the power of the ring, although I no longer see the chains or hear any voices.

—And why didn't you stay there?— Liliana asked.

—I don't know! Suddenly I was with him, and then I appeared here! What do you want me to do? — but in spite of everything, she didn't see it as a bad thing — I think he knew we couldn't be together for long, but seeing him gave me hope. We already have one ring, we only have six left, could you help me get them?

Liliana and Arturo smiled at her.

—Of course!— exclaimed Arturo.

—After all we've been through, do you think we're going to say no?— asked Liliana.

Erica held their hands, happy.

—But anyway, what happened next? When did I come back?

—We found you after a few hours— recalled Liliana— In the meantime, the nonis helped us; they gave us food and let us rest.

—They put you on a coat, then the three of us were examined by a medical team— continued Arturo— and then Tur woke up and came to see us. He congratulated us for defeating him and said he would keep his word. Then he left us a team of soldiers to take care of us. I think he went to organize his troops.

—And when we got here, our families were waiting for us— Liliana added— Fir managed to find them all and sent them to this place, with a special escort.

—So that's why!— figured Erica.

She took a look at both families. They all seemed to know each other well, they trusted each other.

—Do they know each other already?— she asked.

—Yes, our parents have been friends since school— Arturo revealed.

Erica put a hand to her head.

—Of course!— she exclaimed— you already told me, sorry.

—Its alright.

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

After eating and relaxing, the children entertained themselves by introducing Erica to both families and telling her story. It took them a lot of time to explain what it was and how timitio, magic and munimas worked, and even then, the adults didn't understand half of it.

Arturo's little brothers were very curious and close. The eldest, Lautaro, was unruly and defiant, while the youngest, Altiro, was shy and quiet.

Liatris didn't look much like Liliana, except for her large, mesmerizing eyes. She was more aggressive and bold in the way she expressed herself, and according to Arturo, just as adept at manipulating people. It wasn't hard for Erica to imagine, since Liatris was so charismatic and it was hard to take her eyes off her. It was as if Liliana had grown up rebellious instead of being a good girl.

They played and talked for a long time. Suddenly a soldier came in and stood next to Erica. It was one of the nonis who had been assigned to attend them.

—Miss— called the noni— the director is looking for you.

—The director?!— yelled the girl— The school's director?! What the hell is that old man doing...?!

—No, Erica. He's the director of the United Nations— corrected Liliana.

—Ah... What?

—Ah, yes, we forgot to tell you— said Arturo— besides us, we are with the leaders of the eight most powerful nations in the world... or the ones that were the most powerful before the invasion. They were hostages until we won the fight.

—Tur was going to execute them, don't you remember?— Liliana told her.

Erica looked at the noni, confused.

— And you say the director is looking for me?

—That's right, miss.

—Ok.

Erica stood up, followed by her friends. The three of them left the room and went where the soldier led them, to a small meeting room, one that had not received as much damage as the rest of the place. Waiting for them were eight old people in wrinkled, stained and torn suits. It was obvious that they did not have many changes of clothes on hand.

As the children entered, the elders approached them and greeted them one by one with smiles and gentle handshakes, especially Erica, whom they looked at as if she was a religious icon. Then one of them, a skinny and completely bald one, invited them to sit on some armchairs and sat down across from them, with the rest of the elders standing behind him, although there was room for everyone.

—It is an honor to finally meet you, Miss Sanz— said the bald man.

—Ah... hello— she replied awkwardly.

—I am the director of the United Nations, Bernard Labadie. On behalf of humanity, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking back our world. Erica, Liliana, Arturo, you three are our heroes. I assure you that your names will go down in history.

The children were silent, not knowing what to say, but they did not need to do anything. Suddenly one of the old men began to clap his hands, slowly, alone. Soon he was joined by another one, and another, and suddenly everyone was clapping loudly, even the director. Erica looked at her friends, surprised, who smiled at the ovation. After several seconds, the applause stopped.

—We thought of this meeting to get to know you, and also to plan for the future.

—The future?— Erica wondered.

—Yes, you see. We've discussed it a lot among ourselves— the director waved his hand broadly, showing the other leaders— and we'd like to ask the three of you to agree to be Mother's champions. Before the invasion, people could live peacefully, but now we know that there are other worlds with greater military might and technology that surpasses us by at least a thousand years. After the troops of the First withdraw, we will need to rebuild Mother and reinforce it. We must learn quickly about these advanced technologies to imitate them, much of our defenses will be based on that, but we will also need the three of you for when our basic military strength is not enough. We need you to be Mother's champions.

—Champions?— Arturo repeated, surprised.

—It is true that your work will consist essentially of military defense of this world, but you must not forget that the people have suffered countless atrocities since the invasion. In your fight with the First you not only won Mother back, but you did it while the whole world was watching. People know it is you three. Seeing you become important and active figures in Mother's defense will give them hope. So, as champions, everyone will celebrate you.

—Celebrate?— mused Liliana.

—Of course, your labors will be justly rewarded— intervened a tall, pot-bellied man with a bushy mustache— You will never again have to worry about work or studies, the states of the world will support you and grant you a life full of luxuries in exchange for your services.

—So what do you say?— asked the director— We know it is quite a lot, and perhaps you do not want so much responsibility, but it is extremely important for the reconstruction of Mother. Please keep it in mind.

When they finished, the world leaders stared at the children expectantly. Erica sighed, somewhat jaded.

—No...— she said at last.

—Wha... What?— pleaded the director.

—I don't want to do it. I have more important things to worry about, I don't have time to play heroine.

—But... But this is very important! What could be even bigger than this?!— protested the director.

—I'm looking for my dad— stated Erica.

—Ah, but that will be easy! I assure you that recovery efforts are one of our priorities.

—No, my dad wasn't taken by the nonis— she ran a hand through her hair, she didn't feel like explaining the whole story to him— Look, it's complicated, but I can't stay here for long.

—What about MY idea?— asked a loud voice from the other side of the room.

Everyone turned around in surprise. Then, from a corner, Tur himself approached them with a slow step and a good-natured walk. With all the comfort in the world, he sat down in a single armchair, next to the children.

Erica examined him; he had several patches and bandages all over his body, from their fight. When she saw him she tensed her whole body, but after noticing him so relaxed and hurt, she realized that they were not going to face him again, not on that occasion. Tur looked back at her.

—They told me you woke up. How are you feeling, princess?

—I'm... fine... You?

—My body hurts, but my ego more so. Still, I'm glad we fought. You three weren't bad.

Erica smiled and nodded.

—What did you mean by your idea?— asked Arturo.

Tur grimaced uncomfortably.

—I lost the ring the Chainer gave me— he said— this is not only a serious offense, it's a betrayal. I don't think he wants my head, but I doubt I'll ever be invited back for tea.

—Ah, yes, that makes sense— agreed Erica.

—So you're no longer involved with the chained ones?— asked Arturo.

—I don't think we'll break up overnight— commented the noni— but technically I'm not a chained one anymore. I have come to propose a deal to Mother's champions.

The three children frowned tensely.

—Another bet?— Erica pleaded.

—No, no, not a bet. A deal— Tur insisted— Tell me, you guys are planning to take on the Chainer, aren't you?

The three of them nodded.

—And for that you are going to take the other rings?

The three nodded again.

—Yes, you won't make it. Don't even try.

—And why should we listen to you?— Erica argued.

—Because I'm telling you the truth. Do you think that just because you beat me you're going to force the other rings as well? Don't be delusional. I'm far from being the strongest of the seven, let alone being able to touch the Chainer.

—So what do you want us to do, then?— asked Erica.

—You three need much more power to face the rings, even three against one as you did with me. Luckily, you three have a lot of potential. For that you guys need to train and strengthen your skills. That's where I come in. How about I use my vast resources and guide you to where you can hone your skills?

—So my timitio will evolve into a nomitio?— asked Erica.

—I can't promise, but that's the idea.

—And I'll learn about magic?— asked Arturo.