I inhale, yet the air remains trapped. I should not have been surprised, yet somehow I was. I grasp Ares tightly. All that surrounds me diminishes. Alex was my dad, my mother had passed away and I would never get to know her, and my stepmother was also my aunt. I closed myself off from everything. Feeling the need to concentrate, feeling the necessity to stay centered.

“Magenta? Are you alright?" I inquire, hoping to confirm that she is doing well.

"Certainly, it could have ...