The truth

“Over here, Iwamoto!”

I follow Nagamine through the woods, through some blackberry bushes and bushes. I'd like to stop and eat some. The herds crack under our feet and when I put aside a large bush, in front of me rises a castle and a spacious courtyard full of tables with all kinds of goodies and more people.

“Mrs. Tomiko?!” I say, running towards her.

The woman with the red hair and the incredible height spreads her arms, and I throw myself at her, squeezing her as hard as I can. A few tears well up in my eyes and I hear everyone around me clapping and squealing with happiness.

“Iwamoto, you did it!”

I nod and release Mrs. Tomiko's hug, looking at all the people who were waiting for me and who I don't know. A woman a little shorter than Mrs. Tomiko is sitting with her hands on her breast and a handkerchief as if made of gold threads and stifling her tears. He has black hair and looks away from me. I try to avoid her, although I unwittingly feel the need to go to her.

"Iwamoto, I have to go," Nagamine says.

I turn to face him, looking into his teary eyes. I approach him and touch his face lightly with the most delicate touch I can give him.

“See you soon, okay?”

Nagamine says nothing, and his silence makes me worried.

“I'll save you,” I confess in a whisper.

Nagamine shook his head and kissed me on the forehead, pushing his lips violently against my skin. I take him in my arms and take a deep breath, feeding on his linden scent as if it were the last time I could smell this food and feed on it. As if I were refilling my tank until I could see each other again.

“Take care of yourself, Nagamine”

“And you, Iwamoto.”

I see him come back, giving me a sad, empty smile. He walks slowly and I run towards him, throwing myself at him and taking him in my arms for the last time. I rest my head on his back and allow myself to shed the last tears for Nagamine. He turns and kisses me briefly on the lips, then pushes me lightly and leaves, becoming more and more transparent until he disappears completely. I wipe away my tears and turn around, seeing everyone shedding tears and moans as I watch the whole scene.

“Iwamoto, come here and introduce me to someone,” my name is called by Mrs. Tomiko, shaking her hand and wiping her nose. I comply and go to her, running. “Iwamoto Akiko,” says Mrs. Tomiko and winks at me, “she's your mother, Hayashida. Your real mother...”

"I know," I say, interrupting her.

I approach the woman with the black hair, shorter in stature and much more costly. She looks at me with frightened and skeptical eyes, but I allow myself to give her a big smile and hug her.

“Iwamoto,” Hayashida whispers to me.

Everyone applauds and soon we are seated at the table by some people who have no face.

“What are they?” I ask, sitting between Mrs. Tomiko and Hayashida.

“Wizards punished for doing illegal things.”

I suddenly remember my moment of madness in the NID where I most likely killed Tsutsui and his mother. I've done a lot of illegal things that I should be sorry about, but somehow I don't have any resentment towards them.

“Take some frog legs,” Hayashida hands me a bowl of fried cakes.

Out of politeness I take a few, and instinctively I smell them first. It doesn't sound very good or at least edible, but I trust all the people here.

“Where's Mr. Ak... I mean Dad?”

“In an important mission. He didn't want to miss this moment, but let's say he's going in search of Kaba,” my mother tells me without taking her eyes off me. She probably missed him a lot.

“Is this Heaven?” I wake up wondering.

Everyone at the table starts laughing and out of discomfort I laugh forcibly.

“This is the fourth world, the Collective Consciousness. The third world is Heaven. They are quite similar,” Mrs. Tomiko explains to me on Sundays. “This is an artificial world as it comes, made a very, very long time ago by a very powerful wizard. In fact, the greatest wizard of our time. People who go into a coma can visit this world, or wizards who take pills similar to the one I gave you. There are a few more warlocks that can enter this world, but only if they work here or are sent on a mission.”

“How did you create it?”

“Oh, well, you'll probably learn about it at school. Well, not with you at school, but with us at school. That's if we can get you out of the cell.”

I suddenly remember that this is not a real world and that my body is in a cell in a well-fortified prison, probably next to Mrs. Tomiko's sleeping body.

“I want to know more about our world, about Golden Power and about the Cursed Land Islands,” I say in an imposing voice.

“Hayashida, this is your specialty.”

"Well," Hayashida says, laughing. “I am a history teacher at the High School in Region 10. You should know that a few hundred years ago, pollution was very high. Humans were dying on their heads from various viruses, and the Earth's resources were running out. Wizards began to gather in large numbers, trying to protect nature, given that we operate with it. Then World War III began, and resources were running low. People were dying, there was famine everywhere, only torture. The wizards decided it was time to act and they ended World War III. Don't think, it was very difficult what followed. The wizards had no energy and had to restore nature. Then, the Golden Power resistance was formed from people who became afraid of wizards as a result of the massacres they committed in the Third World War. Later, Golden Power began the fourth war, the Great World War. The wizards lost, and Golden Power quickly came to power. However, out of fear, they made a pact. Golden Power would no longer pollute the planet, and wizards could live peacefully on the Islands they called Cursed Land. We were isolated, but we don't complain.”

“So that's what actually happened.”

Hayashida nods, and the table sinks into silence. They read on their faces the suffering and power of the story that is passed down from generation to generation, we being manipulated on the other side for Golden Power to have full control.

“Can you save someone from Purgatory?”

“Mhm, but don't come up with any crazy ideas. It's very complicated and you have to go through a lot to get Nagamine out of there.”

I blush and lower my head, realizing how easy it is to read. We continue to eat and talk. I tell Hayashida what Nagamine's death was like and everything I've been through, where the problems started and what happened in the last few hours, getting me to kill some people.

“Are those the guardian angels?” someone at the table I don't know asks.

We all turn our bodies on that side and can see two giant people approaching us, similar to those standing at the gates of Hell. They really look angelic, not monstrous. Mrs. Tomiko turns to face me and whispers to me:

“They are still wizards, but they have a different rank.”

“Iwamato Akiko?” asks one of the guardian angels, my gaze rising to his grand height. I raise a hand and look. “You are arrested for improper use of power and charged with murder by using magic.”

Everyone turns to me in shock, and I am soon picked up by a guardian angel. I am put in a cage that is the size of their palm and I look down on all the people who are talking to each other, panicking and trying to explain something. I close my eyes tightly, feeling something inside me being attacked by a force, causing me too much pain that I can't control.

I open my eyes and wake up in the dark. I feel the cold floor below me and soon I realize I'm in a cell. I woke up to reality. I feel my body exhausted from any kind of power, barely able to keep my eyes open.

“Iwamoto, are you here?” I hear Mrs. Tomiko's voice echoing from one side of the cell.

“Yes Yes Yes! YES! I'm here!” I say, whispering and feeling how I had already used all the powers I still had to speak