The night was so calm it almost felt like a lie.
But inside the room, something was twisting and writhing.
A voice — if it could even be called a voice — began forcing its way into Tirio's mind like a knife sinking into flesh.
—Tell me something, Tirio. Who told you that you were allowed to dream of happiness…? Listen carefully to what I'm about to say. Your existence is nothing more than a massive system error… and I… hehehe… WILL BE THE ONE TO FIX IT… your fate is sealed, hahahaha…
The dark voice echoed in Tirio's mind as he slept deeply. Trapped inside that nightmare, he could only scream and sweat as if something was preventing him from escaping.
—Ahhhh… no, no, no, leave me alone… Who are you?! —Tirio twisted violently in bed beside his wife.
—Tirio… Tirio… Tirio… darling, wake up… I'm here… please wake up…!
—I hate you… I hate you… I hate youuuuu! You did this to me! Open your eyes! Look at me, Tiriooo! I said LOOK AT ME!
The voice grew closer… more threatening. He remained trapped while the faceless shadow tortured him without mercy or rest.
Laura, deeply worried about Tirio's condition, no longer knew what to do. They had lived through a long period of peace, love, and calm… but something had begun to torment Tirio. Something — or someone — inside his dreams. Every night was torture without explanation. Every night he lost another piece of his soul.
Their home was practically a fortress. Despite living in the middle of a forest whose dangers were unknown, they had managed to live in peace… until the storm arrived.
Desperate, Laura hugged him while he trembled and sweated on the bed.
—Listen to my voice… feel my voice… I'm here… nothing will happen to you… —she whispered into his ear.
Slowly, he stopped trembling. His temperature stabilized, almost as if under the effect of a magical remedy. After several minutes, he finally opened his eyes and told Laura what he had been experiencing.
He took a few seconds to regain composure, then spoke with a broken voice.
—That's what happens… that's what I see every night. But this time… this time it was different.
—Different how? —Laura asked, worried.
—The shadow stopped screaming. Suddenly… it turned around. As if someone had called it.
—Someone…?
—Yes… and then it began to change. It wasn't a monster anymore. It shrank… became smaller… until…
—Until what?
—Until it took the form of a child.
Laura widened her eyes in shock.
—A child? Are you sure?
—I am. I couldn't see its face clearly, but… it had the shape of a child.
—And what was it doing?
—It was standing with its back turned… as if it were waiting for me.
—Only that?
—No… there was something else. Something that doesn't make sense.
—What, Tirio? —Laura held his hand.
—Its chest.
—Its chest…?
—It was burning… like something inside it was burning from within. A light… fire… I don't know. Its chest was glowing.
—Tirio…
—I know. It sounds insane. I feel like I'm losing my mind, Laura.
—No… you're not crazy. Drink some water. I'm here. We'll figure this out… together.
Tirio drank, but his hand kept trembling.
—And… sorry for using the forbidden word.
—It's okay. What matters is that you're alright.
After that night, the nightmares stopped. Everything seemed to return to normal little by little… at least in the place where they lived.
Outside the forest, things had worsened.
Mutants had evolved from a rebellious community into entire territories ruled only by their own laws and regulations. Mutual hatred had grown so strong that even world maps had changed. Mutants who felt oppressed by others broke away, forming strongholds inhabited only by their own kind. Restrictions were no longer just between humans and mutants — now they existed between human–mutant and mutant–mutant factions. The entire world sank into chaos.
Anti-mutant technology continued to advance. Humanity now possessed not only firearms capable of easily eliminating mutants, but also armor, blades, and experimental large-scale weapons — all created using harvested parts of captured, dissected, and experimented mutants, transformed into tools to fight their own species.
Humanity remained the majority, and they exploited that advantage mercilessly.
But inside that hidden refuge among ancient trees… none of that mattered.
At least… until that day.
After the storm came calm.
Or so they believed.
—TIRIIIOOOO! TIRIO, TIRIO, TIRIOOOO! —Laura's voice trembled between pain and desperation.
Tirio was in the barn chopping firewood. He shook his hands, relaxed.
—I'm coming, darling… Don't scream so much, or I'll cut off a finger from the scare.
Then he heard another scream.
Deeper.
More animalistic.
—TIRIOOOOO, SON OF A— WHERE ARE YOU?! AH… AAAHHHH!
His heart tightened.
He dropped the axe and ran with all his strength toward the house.
—I'm here! What's wrong? Tell me!
Laura leaned against the table, sweating, breathing as if air were escaping her chest.
Her mutation-bright eyes lifted toward him.
—It's coming… —she whispered hoarsely.
—Who is coming? Laura, what—
—THE BABY, TIRIO! THE BABY IS ABOUT TO COME OUT, DAMN IT!
He blinked.
Once. Twice. Three times.
—Okay… okay… calm down… I know what to do…
—Are you sure…? —she growled through clenched teeth.
—Well… actually, no…
—WHAT?!
—I mean… I've never done this before… and the books I bought… didn't explain how it works if… if the mother is a mutant…
—I SWEAR IF YOU SAY ONE MORE STUPID THING I'LL RIP YOUR HEAD OFF! —she roared as another contraction bent her over.
—Okay, okay, okay… idea: I'll go to Nkoho-Eboho, find a doctor, and come back flying.
—GO RIGHT NOW IF YOU DON'T WANT TO DIE HERE!
Tirio turned to run, but before taking two steps, another scream stopped him.
—AHHHHHH… TIRIOOO!
He froze.
—What now?!
Laura, breathing shakily, stared at him.
—I think… I don't have time.
—What do you mean you don't have time?
—I think… it's already coming out…
Tirio's face lost color. Literally.
—What do you mean it's coming out?! What do I do, Laura?!
—GRAB A TOWEL, IDIOT!
—AHHH, OKAY, OKAY!
—AND HOT WATER!
—Hot water? Why hot water?!
—I DON'T KNOW! EVERYONE SAYS IT IN MOVIES!
Another contraction made her scream.
The air inside the room changed.
It became dense… electric… like the moment before lightning strikes.
And then… something else happened.
Something that made Tirio freeze.
The baby's head slowly began to appear. When it fully emerged… there they were… two eyes as dark as night itself. No pupil. No iris. Just complete darkness. There was no crying… only a fixed gaze staring directly at Tirio.
—Laura… —he whispered, voice breaking.
—What…?
—Laura… I think… our child isn't a normal baby.
—DO YOU THINK THAT MATTERS RIGHT NOW?! Ahhg…
—No, sorry! Push… push, you can do it!
Nñeee… Nñeee… Nñeee…
Finally, the cry of a new life broke the silence of the refuge.
A fragile, warm… almost sacred sound.
The sound announcing a mother's joy.
Laura, exhausted beyond her limits, collapsed onto the blankets. Her chest rose and fell with difficulty, and although she tried to smile, exhaustion defeated her.
Tirio, still trembling from the adrenaline of the birth, held the small body in his arms.
He had been born one month early.
And yet…
He was normal.
Too normal.
Suspiciously normal for being the child of a mutated human and a man haunted by dark dreams.
—It's a… baby… —Tirio whispered, unsure whether to feel joy or fear— A normal baby…
But there were no answers.
No books.
No witches.
Nothing could explain what this meant.
He approached Laura to speak to her, to tell her they had made it, that they were parents, that they had finally defeated fate…
But she didn't move.
—Laura… —he called softly at first.
Nothing.
—Laura… darling… look at me…
Nothing.
A freezing chill ran down his spine as he placed the baby in a small basket covered with cloth. He rushed back to her.
—Laura… LAURA!
He shook her. He screamed. He begged.
Then he saw it.
The blood.
Too much.
A dark pool spreading beneath Laura's body, soaking the blankets… and his hands.
The birth had been too perfect to be real.
His face lost all color within seconds.
His eyes trembled.
His chest collapsed with every breath of horror.
And then, like an invisible blade, he was dragged into a buried memory from his childhood…
His pet.
That small creature he had loved.
The one that bled to death while he — a weak, useless child — watched helplessly.
And along with that image, the voice returned:
—This is your fault… look at it… dying slowly because of you…
—Those who are not willing to do whatever it takes to achieve happiness do not deserve it…
—Life has no value… and yours is no exception…
The past bit him again.
The wound reopened.
His soul tore apart under an old pain and a new one at the same time.
Tirio collapsed to his knees, covered in blood and despair, while the baby's crying filled the room like a cruel echo of fate.
Everything felt lost.
Laura gasped, trembling, sliding toward a terrifying silence…
And Tirio, with blood-stained hands, could barely stand.
But something inside him awakened.
Like a suffocating phoenix buried in ashes, he decided this time he would not surrender… nor repeat the past.
—I won't… not this time… I have to do something…!
He looked around desperately. Nothing.
Until, in the darkest corner of the room, he saw a faint glow.
The phone.
He ran as if his life depended on it — because it did — grabbed it with trembling fingers and dialed.
—Hello…?
—Yes, how may I assist you?
—Please… my wife is dying! I don't know what to do!
—Calm down, sir. I need you to tell me what happened.
—I-she… she was… giving birth…
—Alright. And the baby? Is it breathing?
—I DON'T KNOW! I NEED HELP NOW!
—Understood. What is your location? We will send assistance.
—Okay… thank you… thank you…
—One last question, sir…
—Yes…?
—Is the patient human… or… a… mon— I mean… mutant?
Silence.
Silence sharp as a blade.
Tirio swallowed.
—She… she is a mutant… —he whispered, like confessing an unforgivable sin.
Beeeeep… Beeeeep… Beeeeep…
The call ended.
No real explanation.
A thousand excuses.
No humanity.
He tried again.
And again.
And again.
Hospitals. Clinics. Guard posts. Rural assistance centers…
Fifteen calls.
Fifteen rejections.
Fifteen reminders that the world preferred Laura dead rather than helping a mutant.
Until he collapsed.
He fell to his knees, held his head, and for the first time in a long time cried like a child.
His breathing shattered.
His fingers tangled in his own hair.
And the echo of his sobbing filled the house as if the entire forest listened to his despair.
He had broken.
He had reached the bottom.
The baby's crying blended with Tirio's broken sobs.
Two souls — one just entering the world, the other shattered by fear — crying in the same rhythm.
Then…
Ring. Ring. Ring.
The sound cut through the house like lightning.
Tirio lifted his head in disbelief and grabbed the phone.
—Hel…
—Is this the number that called regarding a childbirth emergency?
Tirio's heart flipped.
—Y-yes…
—Good. I am Dr. Jesús, calling from ELECHOS. I don't know the patient's current condition, but I will tell you EXACTLY what to do. You will follow it step by step. Understood?
—Yes… I will…
The doctor's voice was firm, calm, secure…
The opposite of everything Tirio felt.
For an hour, step by step, the doctor guided him as if he could see everything through the line.
How to press.
Where to hold.
What to lift.
When to breathe.
And what seemed impossible… happened.
The bleeding began to stop.
Laura's trembling eased.
Her breathing returned to normal.
—How is the patient now? —asked the doctor.
Tirio looked at his wife.
Alive. Pale, but alive.
—Her breathing… it's… it's normalizing! The bleeding stopped!
—Good. That is a very good sign. Now I need your location so I can treat her in person.
And then… came the problem.
—We… we are in the Forbidden Forest.
Silence.
—Young man… are you telling me you are inside that forest?
—Yes, sir… I'm sorry… it's a long story…
—No, don't apologize. That place is not suitable for raising a baby, but that does not matter now. I will contact some people who will visit tomorrow morning to check on both of them. You are near Nkoho-Eboho, correct?
—Yes.
—Much better. Three of my students will meet you there tomorrow. For now, feed the baby and get some rest… you will need it.
—Thank you very much, sir…
—Don't thank me yet —the doctor interrupted—. I know what it feels like to lose a wife during childbirth… and I would not want you to go through that as well.
His words fell like another weight onto Tirio's chest.
He followed the instructions, fed the baby, and settled Laura.
Then he tried to sleep.
He tried… because fear would not release him.
Morning came.
The night that almost stole everything from him faded into a grey memory that still hurt… but no longer bled.
Ring… Ring… Ring…
The phone rang again early.
—Hello…? —Tirio answered, voice heavy with exhaustion.
—Good morning, young man. Did you wake up well?
—Yes… thanks to you.
—I'm calling to inform you that at 10 a.m. they will be waiting at the main gate. Three nurses I personally sent will perform the diagnosis. They will handle everything.
—Alright… thank you… truly… I don't know how to repay you…
The doctor chuckled softly.
—Hahaha… relax. The only thing I want… is for the human species to continue growing and reclaim its place in this world.
Tirio froze.
Swallowed hard.
The doctor…
The man who saved Laura…
Still did not know she was a mutant.
And now he was sending three nurses.
To the gate.
Inside the forest.
With clear orders.
Something inside Tirio tightened… as if the forest itself had begun holding its breath again.
And there…
The calm ended.