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I raised my head and let my gaze get lost among the top of the white buildings that reflected the sky. Everything shone in this place, I felt like a stranger; like a spot in the center of the canvas, out of place. Diamond armor weighed me down while my sword rested lightly in my hands.
In front of the crowd of people was Merlon, his voice traveled strongly between the towers as he furiously explained the situation, behind the crowd I stayed, with silent steps and quiet comments.
“To bring you all here I had to travel through multiple worlds and timelines, bringing together the greatest heroes of all Karmaland universes.”
And as if he had been summoned, a man stood next to me, looking at Merlon with a strange determination in his eyes. This man stood with a strain on the soles of his shoes and with a firm hand grasping his sword he formed the image of a warrior. Beside me, I saw the hero that Merlon described. Among a multitude of black holes that destroyed everything that came near, a stubborn star refused to be swallowed.
“I'm Luzu.” I offered my hand, attracting the attention of the man, whose response was to give a smile and, with a voice perhaps a little high, he introduced himself.
"I am Quackity," he said with a foreign accent, shaking my hand.
The next time I talked to Quackity, I realized one thing: Quackity changed depending on the environment.
Beneath the shadows of the towers, Quackity reflected the light of heaven: a hero of Karmaland. But now, without armor or sword, Quackity looked more like a person, tangent and real, with a life ahead of him.
“Hi, Luzu!” He greeted, with a happy expression directed towards me. Behind him perched yellow wings that practically glowed in the evening light.
If with Quackity, the hero, I found strength; Now with Quackity, the man, I found honesty.
I decided to warn Quackity about the others, about the danger that lies ahead in the presence of such honesty, and between cautious words Quackity answered with his own doubts.
"I don't know, Luzu...”
But with one look at him I knew my warnings were not going to be forgotten. And with a joke from Quackity the topic of conversation died.
Quackity is a vulgar man, loud but unobtrusive, and sometimes downright stupid.
“Luzu!” I heard his cry among the trees “Luzu, a snake! A snake got into our house, Luzu!”
I ran towards his whereabouts, and between the tall grass I saw it, a "house" of wooden planks located on a base of dirt next to the lake.
“Calm down Quackity! I’m here!”
From inside the "house" (very poorly built, in my opinion) Quackity's cries could be heard, incredibly loud, echoing over the flowers and the waves of the lake.
"... Quackity, where is the door?"
When I managed to enter the "house" the snake was gone and the only thing left was Quackity, sitting next to his crafting table, with his bloody ankle.
I bandaged his ankle, gave him a piece of bread and a wooden sword to defend himself.
Sitting next to me was Quackity, clinging to his sword and burying his face in his knees with a slight tremor on his shoulders.
Something in my stomach turned, is he going to burst into tears again? Did the snake give him such a scare? An immense desire to hug him came over me, but I stayed there, sitting next to him, paralyzed, not knowing what to do to help him.
However, two seconds later Quackity raised his face and it turns out that his tremor was not from crying but from laughter. His laugh was exactly what I expected: completely loud and contagious.
I laughed at first out of confusion but then processing the image of Quackity, sitting next to me, laughing with abnormally sharp teeth, clutching his sword as if it were a toy, his wings pushing my shoulder to the rhythm of his laughter, I ended up next to him laughing louder and more sincerely a few seconds later.
It was that night under fragile wooden planks, inside a "house" where the two of us barely fit, where I made a promise to myself.
I will protect Quackity from any harm that may come in the future.