The silence that followed Gaetano's sacrifice felt as if the air itself had become too heavy to breathe. It wasn't the silence that follows a battle won, but the one that accompanies a victory achieved at a price no one was prepared to pay.

  Brando stared at the orange crystal statue that had once been Gaetano. The expression on their friend's crystallized face was strangely serene, as if in the final moments of transformation he'd finally found that peace he'd sought for twenty years. His crystal arms were still wrapped around Giordano, who was breathing normally beside the statue. Gaetano's sacrifice had worked: he'd absorbed all the deadly crystallization onto himself, saving his friend but losing his own life forever.

  In all his years in Rione Sanità, Brando had learned that different types of pain existed. There was physical pain, which you could endure by gritting your teeth. There was the pain of humiliation, which you could transform into anger. And then there was this type of pain, the kind that emptied you from within, leaving you with the burning awareness that someone had given their life so you could continue living.

  But Brando wasn't the type to wallow in despair. He'd never allowed himself that luxury, not even when Rione bullies beat him until he bled. Pain was fuel, not paralysis. And in that moment, as he watched Gaetano's final sacrifice, he felt that familiar rage begin to boil in his chest. A rage toward the injustice of a world that continued forcing good people to pay the price for others' survival.

  Giordano sat on the ground beside the statue, staring at the Frozen Vortex Ring glowing around his finger with an intensity he'd never seen before. Until recently, every attempt with that Cold Enhancer had been torture. The ring's energy fought against his Cold Veins like two enemy forces repelling each other, causing piercing pain that radiated throughout his body.

  But now something had completely changed.

  Slowly, almost without realizing it, he raised his right hand. He focused his will toward the ring, expecting the usual excruciating pain that had accompanied every previous attempt. Instead, the energy flowed with an ease that left him breathless.

  A perfect ice tornado materialized before him, tall as a person, rotating elegantly in the air with a stability and precision that had been impossible before. Now he had absolute control of the ability.

  The Frozen Vortex Ring pulsed with constant light, completely synchronized with his Cold Veins. It was as if Gaetano's sacrifice had shattered some invisible barrier that prevented perfect harmony between the Cold Enhancer and his body.

  Instead of joy for the newly acquired power, Giordano's face showed only a profound emptiness. Every time he looked at that perfect tornado, he thought of Gaetano. That perfection was a reminder of the price paid to obtain it.

  "It's really over," Eleonora murmured. Tears ran down her cheeks. "Gaetano is really gone."

  Tommaso kept his fists clenched so tight that his rocky knuckles seemed ready to break at any moment. "In all these years I never told him how important he was to us. I thought there would always be time for that."

  Alessio, who had remained silent through it all, approached the statue with slow, reverent steps. His usual military composure had completely disappeared, replaced by something more human. "He was the heart of our group," he said in a voice full of rare tenderness for him. "Not the strongest, not the bravest, but... the one who reminded us why it was worth continuing to live."

  Rusty moved restlessly against Brando's chest, emitting small plaintive sounds that seemed to echo all their pain. The little Pseudo-Glacial had always sensed the emotions of those around him, and in that moment he was absorbing an ocean of collective grief.

  Looking at his companion, Brando couldn't help but reflect on how different Rusty's experience with his Cold Enhancer had been. The Assault Form seemed to have caused no negative side effects, yet the Frozen Vortex Ring had almost killed Giordano. Why?

  Thinking about it, Rusty used the transformation sparingly. Brief bursts of power when truly necessary, then immediately returning to his normal form, allowing his body to recover. During the fight against the Frost Goblins, just seconds of transformation. Against the Pyromaniac, lightning attacks followed by immediate deactivations.

  Giordano, instead, had pushed the Frozen Vortex Ring beyond every limit. Tornado after tornado, vortex after vortex, completely ignoring the warning signals his body was sending. He'd abused that power in desperation to save them all, and in the end had paid the price for his lack of moderation.

  It was a terrible lesson to learn: even the greatest power had limits, and surpassing them meant risking catastrophic consequences. Rusty, with his instinctive animal wisdom, had understood when to stop. Giordano, driven by human emotion, hadn't.

  Giordano moved toward the group, looking at the Cold Enhancer that glowed. "It shouldn't work like this," he murmured, watching the crystalline formations that formed and dissolved around his fingers. "Before it hurt, but now..."

  "Now it's like it's always been part of you," Brando completed, recognizing the expression on his friend's face. It was the same one he'd had when he first felt Predator Ice respond completely to his control.

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  "Guys," Alessio said in a tense voice, "look at the statue."

  They all turned toward the orange crystal that had been Gaetano. For a moment that seemed to defy logic, the luminous filaments inside the crystallized body pulsed weakly, synchronizing with the energy Giordano was emanating.

  "Is he still... here?" Eleonora whispered, slowly approaching the statue. "Not in the way we understand, but..."

  Tommaso approached too, carefully studying the light patterns dancing inside the crystal. "In ancient cryogenic tradition," he said slowly, "it was believed that when someone sacrificed themselves to save another, part of their essence remained bound to that person forever."

  Giordano looked at his own finger, where the Cold Enhancer glowed with a light that seemed to respond to the statue's movements. "So it means that every time I use this power..."

  "Gaetano will be with you," Alessio said with a certainty that surprised him. He could feel something in the energy Giordano was emanating, something familiar and reassuring that hadn't been there before.

  It was then that a crystalline sound resonated in the air, different from usual. It wasn't cheerful as always, but nervous, almost feverish. A small white whale appeared floating among them, but something about her was completely changed.

  Her enormous eyes no longer shone with their usual sarcastic light. They seemed... agitated. The mini-whale spun around in the air, as if she couldn't stay still.

  【Oh, oh, OH! What have you done?!】

  "What do you mean?" Brando asked, instinctively materializing Predator Ice. He wanted to massacre her. "We defeated the Pyromaniac, didn't we?"

  【Yes, BUT! You defeated him DEFINITIVELY! In twenty years of active simulation, TWENTY YEARS, your veteran friends had never managed to eliminate him completely! Never!】

  The Custodian flew quickly around Gaetano's statue, studying it from every angle like a cat that had seen something completely incomprehensible.

  "And that's a problem?" Giordano asked, still confused by the new power he felt flowing in his veins. He too wanted to disintegrate her with the Cold Enhancer but decided to stop. That creature could erase him in an instant.

  【Problem? PROBLEM?! It's... it's... it's WONDERFUL!】

  The whale performed a series of frantic somersaults in the air.

  【The Pyromaniac was recurring, guys! Designed to be temporarily defeated, never eliminated! But your friend managed an extraordinary feat!】

  She stopped in front of Giordano, staring at him with her enormous eyes.

  【Your Cold Enhancer now works perfectly! Gaetano's sacrifice eliminated all interference. Too bad the price was so high...】

  "TOO BAD?!" Giordano exploded, jumping up with clenched fists. "TOO BAD the price was high?! Gaetano was our friend! He wasn't a fucking price to pay!"

  His voice trembled with rage and pain. "Don't talk about his sacrifice like it was a goddamn banknote, you damned piece of shit whale!"

  The Frozen Vortex Ring began pulsing intensely as Giordano's anger grew, and small ice vortices formed involuntarily around his hands.

  The Custodian didn't retreat. In fact, she seemed amused by the reaction.

  【Oh, how passionate! But that's exactly what it was, dear Giordano. A transaction. Gaetano traded his life for yours. Pure mathematics!】

  "Bastard!" Giordano snarled, taking a threatening step toward the floating whale.

  【Tsk tsk, such language! But I understand your emotionality. Humans get so attached to these... sentimental bonds.】

  Eleonora approached Giordano, placing a hand on his arm. "Don't listen to her, Giordano. She's deliberately trying to hurt you."

  【Oh, clever little fox! Yes, I know exactly what I'm doing. Twenty years of watching you has taught me a lot about your weak points.】

  The Custodian performed a sarcastic pirouette in the air.

  【The truth is that pain makes you stronger. Gaetano knew this and that's why he sacrificed himself. He sacrificed himself not just to save you, but to temper you all. How romantic!】

  Tommaso stepped forward with his rock fists clenched. "Enough. Don't say another word about him."

  【Oh, the stone giant gets offended! But tell me, Tommaso, in these twenty years how many times have you thought of sacrificing yourself for others? How many times have you had the courage to do what Gaetano did?】

  Tommaso didn't waver. Instead, his rock eyes became even harder.

  "Gaetano had the chance and took it. I would have done the same without hesitation."

  Alessio stepped forward. "You're truly disgusting."

  【I'm effective! My job is to push you beyond your limits. Pain, anger, and guilt are all tools. And look! They work perfectly!】

  Brando felt his anger rising, but forced himself to remain calm. "Why do you do it? What does it cost you to show a minimum of respect?"

  【Because respect makes you weak! Kindness makes you complacent! Gaetano had to die. The moment Giordano put on that ring, one of you two was doomed. The only variable was discovering which of you would survive.】

  The words hit like punches. The cold certainty with which the Custodian spoke of their friend's fate.

  【But I admit the result was unexpected. I hadn't foreseen that the sacrifice could be so effective. However, I see you're learning. The guilt will drive you to be better on the second level. To not hesitate when it's time to act.】

  Giordano gritted his teeth so hard they seemed about to break. "You're a monster."

  【I'm an artificial intelligence designed to maximize your survival chances. If this requires being a "monster," so be it.】

  Eleonora looked at her companions, then at the Custodian with disgust. "Tell me one thing: did you say we can access the second level?"

  【Of course! The second level is unlocked. But it won't be like before. The system has evolved thanks to your little drama.】

  "What does that mean?" Alessio asked, still furious.

  【It means that spectacle awaits you now! Excitement! Sacrifice! The first level was just the appetizer. The second... oh, the second will be delicious!】

  Tommaso looked at her with horror. "Are you saying you'll deliberately put us in situations where we'll have to sacrifice ourselves?"

  【I don't put anything, dear Tommaso. The system itself will do it. It has learned that sacrifice produces interesting results. And now it wants to see more.】