Chapter 1: The chaos wave

Part 3

 When Agustín entered the house, he found a terrible mess. The vast majority of the furniture was broken into many pieces, there was broken glass in every window, and even the mosaics in the entryway were shattered.

 He ran to where his mother was lying on the floor in the middle of the living room, pale and dull-eyed. He shook his mother's shoulders as she screamed desperately, but it was completely useless.

-Calm down..." The voices echoed in Agustín's head with a tone of kindness. Your mother is still alive, she's just in a vegetative state.

-What does that mean?

-In other words, it's like an empty vase. You must defeat the shadow that has your mother's soul.

 Agustin became uneasy when he heard again about his mother's soul.

-Why would these "shadows" want my mother's soul?

-The dark presence needs the soul of a living being in order to manifest itself. Until then, they can only be seen by the eyes of those who possess the necklaces of chaos.

-Damn shadows, this is terrible," Agustin stood up. How do I get his soul back?

-You must use your necklace to destroy the darkness that holds your mother's light. Only then can she be herself again.

 With nothing more to say, he went up the stairs, only to find more clutter. Entering her room, she found her middle brother lying on the floor. As she approached him, she raised her head, waking him up.

-You saved your brother's soul," the voices said.

-Agustíntine? -The middle brother was completely disoriented.

 Agustin didn't know what to do or what to say in this situation. His brother was too young to understand what had just happened and explaining it to him would only leave him more confused. So he simply told him to wait there because he would go look for his other brother.

 It didn't take him long to find him, he was hiding inside the closet in his parents' room. The little brother was very scared, he had probably witnessed much of what had happened, but one thing was for sure, the little one had managed to save himself.

 It wouldn't be long before the father would be home from work, but there was no time to lose. With the strength provided by the necklace, he carried his mother to her room and laid her on her bed, then tidied and cleaned the house as best he could. Now all that remained was to wait for his father. He didn't know what to do, it didn't occur to him to use his mother's cell phone to call him, nor to turn to the neighbors for help, he was already too deep in his thoughts, searching and visualizing ways to save his mother.

 But no matter what was going through his mind, the voices could also see and hear his thoughts, so Agustin's plans always ended badly in several ways. In other words, he was still too weak. The probability of hitting the target shadow was quite low and he could barely fight a single one, therefore, he would have to find it and it would have to be a one-on-one combat, the probability of such a scenario happening was almost nil.

 §

Finally, the father arrived and seeing the furniture and broken glass piled in a corner, he couldn't help but ask what had happened. To simplify things, the voices asked Agustin to touch his father's forehead with the necklace.

 When he did, the voices explained to the father everything that had happened so far. At first he doubted the veracity of it all, but seeing his wife lying on the bed, he had no choice but to believe the voices.

 The father rested his hands on Agustín's shoulders:

-Son, please... save your mother.

 The young man's eyes widened like saucers when he saw his father's reaction, and then he nodded.

-All ready, let's go at once," Agustin left his parents' room.

-Not so fast," said the voices. What do you plan to do if you run into a dozen shadows?

 Agustin stopped when he heard the voices:

-Well, fight.

-Don't be a fool, they will kill you quickly at best.

 The father and his brothers watched as Agustin talked to himself as if he were crazy, but the father knew perfectly well who his son was talking to.

-So what am I supposed to do? Let that shadow do whatever it wants with my mother's soul? Do you want me to leave her to her fate?

-We're not asking you to do that.

-Then what?

-As we already told you... You are too weak, therefore, you will have to limit yourself to what you are currently capable of.

 Agustin seems to think about it for a moment, leaning on the railing:

-Well... What should I do?

-No, no, no, no, nothing like that. You are the leader, look for a solution.

-Okay... Is there a way to get stronger without having to fight the shadows?

-Well done, that's the right way. Find a place where you can be quiet and uninterrupted.

 A few minutes later, Agustin was on the rooftop of his home, under a partly cloudy sky and a softly whispering wind. He wondered what the next step in his journey would be.

-The power of the necklace will allow you to generate an extremely realistic combat simulation in your mind," the voices explained.

-Wow, that sounds impressive," Agustin replied, amazed.

-It would be, if it weren't for the fact that the blows you receive in your mind also affect your physical body. Still, it's preferable to risking your life fighting real shadows.

-I don't mind. If it helps me become stronger, I'm willing to do it," Agustin declared with determination.

 Following the voices' directions, he sat down and clasped his hands together, taking a deep breath. First he had to visualize the battlefield and concentrate, feel as if he were really there.

 But there was an obstacle: the more detailed the scenario, the more difficult it was to enter it. The worst thing was that he could only do this with places he already knew and was familiar with.

 Every time he tried to visualize a street, followed by a car or a tree, everything vanished in a dense curtain of smoke. He tried a simple meadow, but when he tried to imagine grass, it was as if his brain went into overload and everything suddenly disappeared. Even if he tried without the grass, he wasn't very familiar with that scenario, so the result was the same.

 Agustíntine fell backwards, dizzy and with a severe headache.

-This is very difficult... and it's giving me a terrible headache," he complained.

-It's strange... nothing like this has ever happened before," replied the voices.

-What do you mean?

-Creating a scenario should be the easiest thing to do, but you can't even do that. However, it's not for lack of skill. On the contrary, you create a perfect scenario.

-And why does everything disintegrate like dust? -Agustin asked.

-It's as if your mind is in conflict. One part of you wants one thing and the other part wants something different," the voices explained.

 Agustin frowned, disappointed with himself. But instead of continuing to lament, he decided to concentrate on what he really wanted to materialize, on what that "other part" wanted. He sat back down, determined to achieve his goal.

-I didn't want to have to do this... but if it's what I have to do to save my mother... then I'll go into that place on my own," he declared.

 Closing his eyes, he concentrated on one thing. His whole body and mind became synchronized with the environment he was creating. He could feel a great sadness and loneliness invading his mind, filling every corner of his soul.

 When he finally managed to materialize his thought, he slowly opened his eyes, only to find himself in an infinite void of darkness. He stood up and felt his body, feeling as if he were in a dream, though he knew he was awake. He looked around, only to see an eternal void. There seemed to be no floor, as the white light emitting from his body did not reflect under his feet.

-At least there's not that scary man around.... -he muttered.

-Agustin, do you know what this place is? -asked the voices.

-Of course I know. I've been dreaming about this place a lot lately, only this time I'm awake.

-You... you have no idea what this place is like," the voices replied, clearly upset. How could a child like you dream about this place? Do you know what this place can do to your mind?

-Don't worry," a new voice interrupted. A bright blue boy suddenly appeared in Agustin's field of vision. The thought infection won't affect you.

 Agustíntine was so startled that he fell on his backside, hitting something solid, although there didn't seem to be anything underneath him.

-I'm sorry if I startled you. I've never seen anyone but the boss," said the blue boy, standing up to Agustín.