⚠️Warning: The following content may be disturbing to some readers. It includes scenes of explicit violence, threats to life, psychological trauma, and content that could offend Christian believers. The author does not intend to handle these topics in a morbid way. Reader discretion is advised.
🫠Author's Note: You know, there is something personal I want to share with you. I am a believer in God and Jesus Christ; however, throughout my life, I have also questioned how God manipulates things and the world. So I will only say this: it doesn't matter what faith I have; the only thing that matters is what I decide to do with it. What was written before does not matter. What matters now is that we are the example that not everything from the past is bad. (Tholio; 2025)
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December 23, 1945
The war had already ended months ago. Between June and November, Jack and Dánae managed to master the basic languages: Russian, Mandarin, English, and Aramaic, although with some mistakes. Dánae could now speak normally with Jack, and during that time they also celebrated her birthday:
"Jack, I have a question…"
"I'm listening…"
"You know? Is there anything else we can do besides feeding the animals and walking through the forest? This place feels strange… besides, it's December, right? I wonder why it hasn't snowed yet."
Jack shrugged:"Well, yeah… wait, what is snow?"
Dánae looked at him, surprised:"You don't know what snow is? It exists in almost every country." She spoke with irony. "Right? Or are you going to tell me there's no snow in the United States?"
"There is snow in the United States," Kamei-san intervened. "It's just that Vermont, being a forest confined within a dimensional space in the Vermont area, is almost celestial and was created in spring… that's why it seems frozen in time… At least, that's my deduction, because in all the years I've been here, I've never seen snow."
"Seriously… what is snow?"
Kamei-san smiled:"But don't worry… I just thought of a good proposal."
From his pocket, he pulled out some gold nuggets and said:"I can exchange these nuggets."
"I found them while burying something important. I can secretly exchange them for money." Kamei-san thought: "Although, if I'm realistic, this could harm me since I don't have any identification… well, I'll see in due time…"
"What we'll do is buy some records and some food. I'll bring them here. How does that sound?"
Jack asked, intrigued:"Great… what is a record?"
"What bores me about all this is that this guy is really boring," Dánae replied mockingly. "He doesn't know what snow is, nor what records are."
Kamei-san laughed.
Jack commented:"Supposedly, you're a little girl… but when it comes to jokes, your tongue isn't light…?"
Dánae wanted to know if it was possible to go to the city… she wanted to see how Americans celebrated Christmas.
"Kamei-san… do you think we can leave here?" she asked with some hope.
He took a deep breath before responding:"Believe me… I want to try again. Last time was decades ago, but for some reason, the cave expels Jack as soon as he approaches the entrance…"
"Maybe it's a law… or some rule that prevents me from taking the Saints out of here. I can only put them in. That… that's the problem with Galton."
"Even though months have passed… where could Galton and the other two Saints be? It's normal for them to be delayed, I understand… but now that I think about it, I just hope they don't appear by sea. By a stolen ship… they don't know those waters are full of mines, they would sink, and it would be harder for me to find them."
At that moment, the cherub appeared.
"Awesome!" Dánae exclaimed, surprised. "The strange man with four heads and goat legs, again!"
Jack stood with his mouth open:"I haven't seen the cherub in several months…"
Kamei-san observed the cherub, and it spoke solemnly:"Kamei-san… listen carefully. God orders you to pack your things and leave Vermont… and head north."
"Galton is bringing the Saint of Lightning and the Saint of Wind… but they deviated from their original route and ended up in Greenland. God orders you to go after them.They will take a dangerous route… among all possibilities, through the timelines, they will take the riskiest path… without realizing it.You must arrive on time… or the lives of the Saints could be in danger…And this time, Galton will not be able to help them."
Kamei-san froze at the angel's warning. Then he said firmly:"Guys… let's do something. I'll go to the town first… I want you to stay with the records and everything else. I don't want to leave you like this…I'll go to town first to exchange these gold nuggets for what you need."
Jack, anxious, asked:"Wait… are they in danger? Are they hurt? Where are they? What is Greenland?"
Dánae intervened, with a hint of reproach:"Aren't you going to spend Christmas with us?"
Kamei-san looked at them calmly… and said:"You already understand their languages… I'm surprised how quickly you learned.Please… I ask you to stay here. You can't go anywhere else, but… try to have fun and keep each other company."
"I will go with a trusted friend to bring the records and the food, and after that… in about three or four hours, I'll prepare my things to head towards Greenland."
At the other end, in southern Greenland, we found ourselves crossing the Etah district. Adelaida almost fell into one of the sky voids that connect to the rivers.
"Thank you, Nuriel," Adelaida said. "It seems that the ice is fragile, and it's very hard to walk on it with these leather shoes, I slip, I look like a fool walking like this." Her hands were freezing.
To which Galton said:
"This is the reason why I wanted to go to Greenland from the start."
Nuriel responded:"You wanted us to go into these places? Do you realize how stupid that sounds?"
Galton replied:"Don't question my authority, boy. Understand? The only reason I don't do anything to you is because the angels don't allow me to. For some reason, I can't… and for some reason, I don't understand what's happening with me."
Nuriel, confused and upset, asked:"What's happening… with what?"
Galton was thinking:
"Since I left Iceland, for some reason I don't understand, my strength has decreased.I can no longer do the things I used to… and I noticed it since I carried Nuriel through Norway.
Before it didn't feel so heavy, but I don't know why, since I left Iceland, my body now reacts to the cold… more than usual.
Could it be that God is restricting the gifts I have?"
At that very moment, the cherub appeared to Galton, Nuriel, and Adelaida and said:
"Don't worry, Saints. God has seen the situation you are in, you have strayed too far from the original route. Your mission was south, not north."
"Galton, why didn't you go south?"
Galton responded:
"This is the only piece of land that has to the north an ice gap strong enough to cross to the other side of the continent."
"There's no town with boats large enough to cross, and there aren't materials to improvise a raft, the ice is too thick."
"And don't even get me started on those stupid mines in the ocean."
The cherub insisted:
"You only need to cross to the other side of the continent. So please, hurry. And don't worry, we sent a Saint to help you."
Galton, enraged, shouted at the angel:
"A Saint? Are you talking about Kamei-san?!"
The angel replied:
"Why are you upset, man?"
Galton answered:
"If you brought that idiot! I seriously assure you, this time I won't care if there's a divine redirection or whatever!"
The cherub responded:
"One thing is that you don't like Kamei-san, another is that God also chooses him to fulfill his purpose. Those are mistakes you make, Galton."
Nuriel sensed the tension filling the atmosphere. After the angel disappeared, both began to skirt the coasts, from southern to northern Greenland. Midway through, Nuriel had to carry Adelaida: her period pain was unbearable even for an immortal, and the cold only made things worse.
Being a Saint didn't mean being safe from human conditions. They could survive up to six months without food, yes, but that didn't prevent their bodies from reacting to hunger. Water and food were still necessary, even more so in case of illness. Divine invulnerability had limits.
The northern islands of Greenland were a deadly place for any average human. In those times, temperatures could drop to –40 °C. Snow was the only passable terrain, but beneath it hid traps: invisible cracks and phantom pits where anyone could disappear forever.
And as if that weren't enough, the light didn't arrive. January immersed them in an endless night, barely interrupted by a bluish glow on the horizon.
Finally, they reached the strait connecting the northern islands, advancing over ice plates that creaked under their steps. It was February 6, 1946, and the frozen silence of the Arctic surrounded them, already amid ice blocks crossing toward the gap that connected them with Canadian territory.
While walking, Galton wondered:
"What is happening to me? And why are they choosing Kamei-san? I was supposed to pick up the Saints. Why are they involving him in this now?"
He froze for a moment and said:
"Wait a moment!"
He began to deduce and called the cherub:
"Idiot! Where are you? Show yourself! Show yourself, fool!"
While saying this, Nuriel stayed behind with Adelaida, saying:
"What's happening to him now?"
Adelaida responded:
"I don't know. He's gone hysterical since the cherub appeared, and frankly, I don't want to get even two meters near him."
Galton shouted at them:
"Why are you looking at me like that?! Tell me! Haven't I done a lot for you?!"
"What are you waiting for?! You're waiting for the Saint to arrive, right?!"
"Are you waiting for Kamei-san?! No!"
"You don't even know him! You don't know who he is!"
Nuriel, trying to protect Adelaida behind his back, said:
"I think that's enough, isn't it?"
Galton, in a fit of rage, lost control and hit Nuriel, throwing him into the snow.
Adelaida was scared, because it was the first time Galton had hit them in so long, since they left Germany, and said:
"Do you know something?! I'm tired of this! I'm tired of everything! I'm beginning to think that maybe God's plans aren't right! Or I'm even thinking that maybe you're not the Saints!"
Galton replied:
"You know something, girl?! I don't care! I don't care what you think! I've lived many years! Too many! To not know that humanity will never be worthy! Now I know why we are the way we are, but knowing it only boils my blood, gives me anguish, and at the same time rage!"
Adelaida, pointing the rifle she carried at Galton to stop him, said:
"I'm tired of listening to you, of you having lived many years and having all that experience! What fault do we have?! The only thing we did was leave our home to cling, maybe, to the hope that the prophecy is real!"
"And even if, deep down, you're not completely sure of that… that doesn't mean we aren't the Saints!"
"If the cherubs said so, and the cherubs protect us, then yes, we are the Saints!"
Galton, upon hearing this and seeing Adelaida stand in front of him, Nuriel fired a warning shot and aimed at Galton, saying:
"Galton, stay away from Adelaida. I know you plan to hit her. I'm very sorry, but you can't protect yourself with bullets, right? So I'm going to ask you to step away from her."
Galton approached angrily, holding the weapon, and said:
"Then why don't you shoot?"
Nuriel couldn't help feeling fear. Suddenly, Galton jumped toward him and deflected the weapon, gripping his hand with force. Adelaida, paralyzed, was terrified: she didn't know whether to shoot or not. In her mind, there was only one thought: one wrong move could cost Nuriel his life.
"Maybe you're a Saint, but you're still not capable of facing me, boy!"
He began yelling at Nuriel:
"You are not the Saint of Lightning, you are not! There was a Saint before you, there have been many Saints before you, and those kids were more capable than you! Xiaoxui! She was more capable than you!"
"Since I found you, I haven't stopped asking myself why the hell I'm helping you! The frustration of just seeing you, of you being part of my people, even makes me sick!"
"You're not capable of controlling your gift! You're not even capable of facing me! At least the others could stop me, even for a moment, but you face me with a weapon! A coward's weapon! With this crap that throws metal balls!"
"Nuriel, I don't care what you say! I don't care what you think of me! I don't believe you're the Saint of Lightning! You're nobody! You're not, and you never will be, a chosen one!"
At that moment, two bears appeared in the distance.
Adelaida asked, her voice trembling:"Nuriel… are those bears?"
Nuriel observed them carefully and confirmed in a grave tone:"Yes… two. Polar bears."
The bears advanced violently, kicking up snow with each stride. Galton, without hesitation, released Nuriel and stepped forward to face them. He grabbed the weapon he had only practiced with a few months ago and, with a sharp motion, tried to shoot at them.
However, the gun was jammed, so Galton could only scream—a scream that reflected not only exhaustion but also the arrogance of not knowing how to forgive or ask for forgiveness.
Galton shouted:
"I will not be intimidated again! Whether by God, by a cherub, or by the new Saints that have come and will come! I'm sure they will die, and God will send me to find others! I cannot say I know how to identify them for sure; they are not the ones!"
At that moment, the bear lunged and rose on its hind legs. Galton believed that a single punch could defeat it; it was not the first time he faced such beasts. He threw all his strength into a blow to the animal's chest. The bear recoiled… but did not fall.
It did not explode as in other occasions. This evidenced an undeniable truth: Galton's divine strength was fading.
The bear charged him again, and this time sank its fangs into his chest. Galton struggled, trying to scream with all his might to break its jaw, but the pressure was unbearable.
The fangs sank deeper into his flesh, and his chest began to fill with blood.
Nuriel panicked seeing that Galton could not defend them. He grabbed Adelaida's hand, and both ran south to lose themselves in the rocky hills, trying to distract the bears. But the one biting Galton released him and went straight for them. Another appeared from the left, blocking their path.
The bear on the left began closing in. Running on the snow was useless. Instead of using the rifle on her back, Adelaida drew her pistols.
Backing up, she fired at the closest bear. There were two bears: the one on the right was about six meters away, while the one on the left was closing in from fourteen meters. Adelaida felt fear, comparing her size to that of the animal.
"Adelaida! What are you doing?!" Nuriel shouted. "We have to run, please!""Quiet! I'm aiming at its head!" she replied.
Even so, the bear barely flinched. Although Adelaida managed to hit its eye, the beast sensed her fear, and in an attempt to knock her down, it grabbed her calf—she didn't notice until they had run a few meters. Seeing this, Nuriel pulled her with all his strength, and they ran to a steep rocky hill. As soon as they arrived, Adelaida collapsed: her leg was bleeding, and she could no longer stand.
The bears on the left and right had them surrounded.
"Nuriel, what are we going to do?" she asked."Listen to me. You're going to climb the snow and escape. Go, now!""I can't!" groaned Adelaida. "I'm hurt, I can't move my foot, it hurts too much!""Make an effort! Wrap it! Do something!""How can I wrap it if I have nothing? Nothing!" she shouted in desperation.
Strange things were happening. The angels didn't intervene. Galton, lying on the ground, had been ignored by the bears. The bears acted as if they only wanted to kill the Saints.
Nuriel was so nervous he didn't notice what was happening in his hands. They were heating up.
A faint smoke rose from his gloves. The dagger, his only weapon, he held tightly, but the wooden handle was burning for some reason.
Nuriel didn't have his pistol; Galton had taken it from him during the struggle.
But why was smoke coming out? Was it his divine gift responding? Or just a desperate illusion?
Adelaida, with cold blood, finally drew the rifle and aimed at the bear on the left, the closest one. The animal advanced slowly but not enough to attack. The one on the right, however, was already getting closer.
"Nuriel… should I shoot? Should I shoot?!"
Nuriel thought at high speed, but at the same time, he was losing strength over worthless things.
"Why does this always happen to me? Why always me? I don't understand, why do I always feel oppressed by someone, whether it's a country, a man, or an animal?
In Auschwitz or Buchenwald, or in Iceland, or here in this stupid land called Greenland? Did they take me from my country for this?
Why do I always feel like a prisoner, no matter where I am? It's as if I never left Auschwitz. I'm condemned to suffer, whether in this cold, there, or in Iceland or…"
…
...
He didn't have time to continue thinking. Adelaida screamed. The bear had grabbed her leg.
Nuriel carried too much. Used to receiving help, he always carried guilt: guilt for Mrs. Friederike and her daughters in Auschwitz, guilt for the old man's death, guilt for Élodie's death, guilt for the death of his parents and sisters.
And now he felt even more guilt because he himself had come to hate Adelaida, a person who only wanted a home. Adelaida cared for him, but he felt resentment, and she knew it, although she never said anything.
He believed that everything connected to him ended in death, and now Adelaida would die just like Élodie.
He had an instant memory: he saw Élodie screaming in pain… a courtyard… the medical block… German dogs…
"Did she die because of an animal, and now Adelaida will die because of another animal?"