Throughout the shattered village, where every shadow held a hidden threat, Lin and Eden prepared to move toward the place they believed Solarium controlled.
The atmosphere was charged with tension, and the silence around them reflected the gravity of what lay ahead.
Falcon insisted on accompanying them, saying: "You need to know me to get there alive."
As they made their way through the dark alleys, faint lights began to appear on the horizon, as if foreshadowing something to come.
Suddenly, their footsteps came to a halt when they heard a childish, playful voice echoing in the air: "I've been waiting... Come play with me!"
From the shadows, Julia appeared.
She hadn't changed much from her human form, her face still soft and innocent, but she wore a crazy smile and her black eyes narrowed in a gaze full of mockery.
She held a small, deformed doll in her hand, spinning it lightly, as if ready to start a deadly game.
Julia said, in a voice that was childlike but carried shades of madness: "Eden, Falcon, why did you leave me alone? Weren't we supposed to be friends forever? And now you've come with this stranger?"
She looked at Lin with a smile full of evil and added: "But I love strangers... Especially when they scream!"
Lin felt something cold pierce his soul at her words, but he gripped his sword tightly and took a step forward.
"You killed them all, didn't you?" Lin said steadily, trying not to show his fear.
Julia laughed maniacally and said, "They were boring, they didn't want to play with me anymore... But you look different!"
Suddenly, she raised her hand, releasing a wave of dark energy that shattered the floor beneath their feet.
The battle began.
Julia moved with amazing agility, as if she never touched the ground, using extraordinary speed and power to deliver her blows.
Every time she attacked, she would leave behind an echo of her childish laughter.
Lin tried to block her with an air sword, but Julia was faster and delivered several blows, forcing him to retreat.
Falcon, for his part, fired energy blades with his own weapon, trying to weaken Julia, while Aiden screamed: "Julia, stop! We're your friends!"
But his words were not reaching her.
In an instant, Lin took advantage of an opportunity when Julia paused for a brief moment.
He focused his power to release a powerful tornado, trying to restrict her movement.
But Julia, with a wide smile, used her dark energy to break the tornado as if manipulating it.
She screamed: "Oh, this game is fun! Can we continue?"
Lin began to realize that the battle against Julia would not be decided by force alone.
He remembered Falcon's words about the energy she controls.
Len shouted: "Falcon! Do you know anything about that energy?"
Falcon replied as he dodged one of Julia's attacks: "It's derived from the memory of her loss of control. Part of her power is tied to her repressed emotion. If we can exploit that... we might be able to break her control."
Lin thought quickly, then began to speak aloud, targeting Julia's psychological depths: "Julia, they loved you. You killed them, but deep down you know they were part of you, don't you? This world is not a game!"
Julia paused for a moment, her face showing signs of hesitation.
But that didn't last long, as she screamed in a voice tinged with pain and anger: "Liar! I don't need anyone!"
She unleashed another devastating energy wave, pushing everyone back.
The confrontation continued with Julia, who was manipulating everyone's emotions with her actions and words.
Despite her apparent insanity, Lin saw something else in her dark eyes: A glimpse of the child she once was, lost in the vortex of darkness.
Lin understood that Julia wasn't just an enemy; she was a victim of an irresistible dark energy.
Lin attacked again, using the air sword to create an explosive wave, but she easily blocked it with her agility.
It was like facing a shadow that couldn't be caught.
Lin concentrated and said loudly, "You don't know the truth! This is not the path you chose, you can escape this madness!"
Julia paused for a brief moment, a distorted smile on her face, and said, "Oh, you stranger who thinks he can teach me about myself!"
Then she added in a voice full of sarcasm: "But I love strangers... Especially when they scream!"
She raised her hand to unleash a dark wave that froze the ground beneath the feet of Lin and his companions.
Falcon said, trying to hold it together under the intense pressure: "Lin! We have to end this quickly, you can't rely on words with her. We have to beat her now!"
Lin replied, while dodging a new attack from Julia: "No, there is a way to break her control. Her energy is dark but it's based on things she used to love. We need to remind her of what she has lost."
That's when Eden intervened, speaking in a shaky voice: "Julia, you always loved to draw, didn't you? Do you remember when you used to tell me that you wanted to draw everyone happy?"
Aiden's voice was full of pain, but his words cut through the darkness around her.
Julia paused for a moment, her black eyes widening unnaturally, a hesitant expression on her face.
She said in a low voice: "Painting? No, I don't remember... I don't want to remember!"
But she was speaking in her real voice, far removed from the madness of energy.
Lin realized that this was the key.
He began to speak quickly: "Those memories were the hope, the hope that kept the darkness away from you. You don't have to be part of this madness, you can come back, Julia!"
But Nyx intervened with a voice ringing in the room, a voice full of warning and sarcasm: "What's this? Are you trying to save her, kid? She chose her own path. She can't go back, because she... She belongs to me now!"
Lin felt anger rising within him, but he focused on Julia and said, "Your choice is not over yet! There is still a way back. We can help you, but you must stop this."
In a moment of bravery, Lin jumped forward, using the air sword to unleash a powerful whirlwind that knocked Julia away from his comrades, and then took the opportunity to offer her some final words: "Julia, it's up to you now. Choose who you want to be."
Julia fell to her knees, her eyes gradually turning gray, as if the darkness was fading away.
She lifted her head and said in a weak voice: "I'm sorry... I was weak."
Before the darkness could fully fade, Nix intervened, trying to take control of the situation.
A giant shadow appeared in the sky, and his voice echoed: "Playtime is over. Now, you will face the truth."
Nex disappeared, but he left behind a clear message: "The next battle would be against Solarium itself".