"I've dedicated extra time to polishing the grammar of the English translation—I even consulted the Royal Spanish Academy (okay, not really, but almost)! I hope the story flows seamlessly and you can fully immerse yourself in the narrative."

Prologue - The Last Hope

He hated this stench, the stench of ash. It reminded him of the fire that ended his society, the smell of destruction that used to remind him of Milim and her vibrant joy, now a reminder of what had happened after the war that devastated his home... that left only New Uruk. An ancient oasis that was once the symbol of power and hope for his people, now it was only a refuge of hope for the helpless who remained. Its former glory was now nothing more than a ghost of the city of kings. Although the buildings were not destroyed as such, they no longer had the shine and grandeur they once had; now they were rather gloomy and somber. The streets, formerly silent and calm, a symbol that only the elite of society were in this place, were replaced by the sound of the laments of the few who remained... leaving the sound as a kind of shroud that made it clear all they had suffered without letting them forget and move on.

And for Naruto, to contemplate this place, the place where he grew up and reached his full potential, where he became the strongest of the strongest, turned into such a desolate landscape from the central palace of the city... it was simply heartbreaking. His red eyes, normally bright and intense, had lost much of their natural confident shine; now they shone with sadness and worry after everything that had happened, remembering with nostalgia the days before everything went to shit. New Uruk, the glory of the magical world, Camelot... the golden, Takamagahara, cities that once represented the prosperity of the magical world, were now completely gone. Now New Uruk was all they had. The elves, formerly arrogant who stayed in their forests, sirens who sang with their beautiful melodies, dragons that roared with power and pride... now they were not even a shadow of what they once were. And for Naruto, to see the majestic dragons look so... miserable was heartbreaking. His family, no, not only his family, but also the Pendragons, the Qins, the Uruks, the four great families that once ruled the magical world, were now reduced to a shadow of what they were. The Qins were gone, Uruk was reduced to one member, and the Pendragons and the Uzumaki now only had two members each... just one more reflection that sorcerers clung to their lifestyle with tooth and nail.

He thought about how they had gotten here. When the war against Kenjaku and Sukuna ended, he didn't think things were going to get even worse than they were, but to be honest, the idea of facing something worse than an army of "Stories" at that time seemed so far-fetched and so unlikely that he surely would have laughed. After all, what could be worse than an army of magical constructs of legends from the past whose sole purpose was to wreak havoc and destruction throughout the world? Really for him and for many more, there was nothing worse... now they regretted having underestimated the non-magicians.

Although thinking in retrospect, they should have expected it. If anything has characterized those animals, it is two things: their ability to hold a grudge for any offense they feel has been done to them, and their natural ability to kill... Yes, underestimating them was a mistake and now they were paying the consequences for it. In their fury at having been affected by the stories, they did not want to listen; instead, taking advantage of the fact that they were weakened by war, their fury descended like an enraged god... their cities, their homes... all that was now nothing more than a pile of ashes.

Simply everything that was on his mind right now made him close his eyes. To tell the truth, he didn't even know whether to be angry or sad about the whole thing. He had real reasons for both, as well as to be grateful in a way, although not to the non-magicians; he would kill them if leaving here would probably kill him. After all, the only reason they were still alive was because of the paranoia of his ancestors, who put the most powerful barriers around New Uruk and about a kilometer outside the city walls... those barriers being the only reason they are still alive and that this city has become a refuge for the few survivors left.

But for how long? Uruk was a desert... in the literal sense of the word. They had greenhouses, it is true, as well as some cattle of all kinds, but if the population increased they could not feed them all, and if it decreased they would end up dying from inbreeding, and he did not know what was worse. Right now the future of his people did not look very promising.

True, he had the ability to help, but... he didn't want to. He had his pride as a warrior after all, and he would not go from being a divine grade, the strongest of them, no less, to being a glorified vending machine.

He chose not to think about it. Getting angry and frustrated would only make thinking about everything he had to think about more difficult; he was never good at thinking with a hot head after all.

-"Who would have thought that joke between us would have ended up being real hope?"

He couldn't help but laugh ironically... a dry laugh that made it clear how much this situation hurt him.

"New Home," a joke that Apollo started at some point to make fun of how they could disappear from the world at any moment and the non-magicians would end up killing each other without them, the sorcerers, to prevent them from doing so, ended up becoming a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy in a way. It was ironic in a way, at least.

And now that constant joke they used to make in happier times was taken seriously and his companions started something they called "New Home Protocol". He wasn't going to lie, he had his conflicts about the name. After all, although he knew it was a way to honor Apollo and his sacrifice, the truth is that he couldn't help but feel it more like a mockery than a true honor, even if he knew it wasn't and that his feelings on the subject were solely due to the fact that his companions were not taking the time to think this through, but were simply taking a leap of faith. Which he felt was insulting.

He understood, he comprehended, he knew why, but it just didn't seem right to him to take a leap of faith when there was no real danger. He would have been the first to jump, or rather Milim would have made him be the first to jump at the prospect of a fun adventure, but now... things were not like before, they could not simply risk everything on a leap of faith. He felt it was not right, that this world had been his home for centuries was not important, the world was not his, it was only borrowed, at least in his way of seeing things. The non-magicians were not his problem, they caused their own disaster, in his opinion let them clean up and pay the consequences of acting recklessly. None of that had to do with his reasons for feeling uncomfortable with the prospect and the plans his companions were making right now. Oh no, his doubts came from the fact that he didn't know what to do.

It wasn't that he didn't think it wasn't a good plan; hell, he even joked in his time about how to make it possible and he knew it was possible, simply, unlike his companions, he knew it wasn't that easy.

His gaze once again swept over his city... New Uruk, the shadow of what was once the city of kings, reduced to a wasteland of the helpless that rises to the sky like a specter under a gray sky, the shadow of what it was, the idea of what it could be. The weight of the responsibility of those who still remained... the hope of those to come and his own uncertainties and fears were consuming him inside.

-"I can't believe I'm actually thinking about playing along with those idiots."

He felt like crying, he knew it was silly, but he couldn't just stay here without at least trying. He knew he wasn't going to die, hell and Sukuna couldn't kill him, but he liked the idea of charging forward without a plan.

But he thought about everything that had happened since the New Home protocol was revealed to the remaining sorcerers. Of course, they would not reveal it to the public... one of the few things he managed to get them to concede when the plan was revealed so far-fetched. He simply did not want to give them false hope if things went wrong.

The weight he carried on his shoulders, what he had, or rather, what he felt he had to do for his people, was a weight that was actually so heavy that he could actually feel it on his shoulders. He felt the expectations they had of them, the hopes he carried, the fear and despair they felt; sometimes he hated his empathic abilities. He knew that whatever decision they made was not one they could afford to make hastily, not only because of false hopes, but because they could not afford to lose anyone else. Every sorcerer counted in the protection of their last bastion, and to risk not one, but eight... well, he didn't even want to think about it.

-"Boss, are you okay? We haven't seen you in a long time."

Delta's voice snapped him out of his musings, and made his eyes shift from contemplating New Uruk to contemplating one of his shadows.

Red eyes clashing with the purple of his most faithful and devoted follower. He said nothing, although he loved Delta. She is silly... no, rather her mind is simple and does not understand complex thoughts. Even so, he simply gestured with his hand for her to come closer and allow him to stroke her head, which she did without hesitation for a moment. She wasn't very smart, but she knew when her lord needed more than someone to talk to; in this case, needing a presence, someone to keep him cool-headed while he thought about complicated things that she most likely wouldn't understand.

He stroked her head without paying much attention to anything at that moment; however, he soon noticed something: Delta's little tail, one that in better days always moved a mile a second to show her bubbly joy, now barely moved... it hurt. Delta was always so happy that the idea of her little tail not moving was painful to him, especially after remembering how she was actually so scared when Wendy argued with the shadows... not just her; Alpha, Beta, Neo, Zeta, Epsilon, Gamma, his seven shadows were all scared. He knew it, they practically grew up together and he knew them better than anyone.

-"Boss."

Delta's normally erect ears folded down in confusion; her normally lively eyes now looked at him with concern.

Naruto did not answer her, at least not with words. He simply pulled her towards him to hug her tightly, but not roughly, which made Delta actually feel a little more confused. Naruto was not one to hug, his affection was shown in other ways and he only allowed himself to be hugged by Mrs. Milim, and sometimes by the infernal clown (the way he refers to Charlie). For him, hugging was really unnatural, that for a few moments Delta did not know how to react really.

In the end she simply let herself melt into the hug. She probably wouldn't get one for a long time and wanted to enjoy his warmth for as long as possible, so she buried her head deep in his chest, which allowed Naruto to rest his own head on hers.

He let out a deep sigh. He knew that she most likely wasn't going to understand what he meant, but at least he could trust that she would listen to him, wouldn't ask him difficult questions to answer, would simply be there to provide him with two cute ears to listen to what he had in mind.

-"I've been thinking a lot lately," Naruto said, causing Delta's head to come out of his chest before simply looking into his lord's worried eyes. "I think I have an idea to fix this whole thing... but I don't want to do it alone."

He really could, but he didn't want to. He was tired of just fighting alone. He was supposed to have founded the shadows to be his sword and he would be their shield. When was it that they went from that to a cult of his glory? Oh wait, it was when he started to feel almighty and his insecurities made him cling to that image so as not to break down and sob inconsolably from all the weight and expectations he carried on his shoulders.

-"Boss."

Delta's eyes showed her genuine concern for him. She didn't know what was going through his mind, but the girl knew he was thinking about something complicated and painful right now. His eyes were very revealing after all, and even someone not as bright as her could see the pain and guilt shining in them.

He simply let out a sigh once more, and forced her back to the position before. He would never admit it out loud, but he liked to hug, he was just too proud to admit it and was deeply grateful to Milim for her total lack of respect for personal space, and to Charlie for knowing when he needed a hug.

-"I think at the end of the day I'm going to have to take a leap of faith, but I don't want to do it alone."

Delta couldn't help but open her eyes at that statement; she knew better than anyone that Naruto would never act that way.

He was arrogant, it was true, but even so she never thought he was perfect. She was silly, it was true, but unlike her companions, she never thought of him as almighty. He wouldn't have formed the group if that were the case, after all, why would he form an exceptionally powerful group to be his sword? To her understanding, certainly quite simple, he was not perfect because someone perfect would not need help, and she was happy that he was not perfect because if he were she would not have had the experiences she had by his side.

Uh... what was the point she wanted to make right now? Oh yeah, his "leap of faith" and how unnatural it was for her boss to do this. He would really never do it. For Naruto, taking a leap of faith was like saying day is night and night is day, something completely unthinkable given his calculating personality.

-"Delta will take the leap with you, boss."

Her statement, though he would never admit it aloud, was like a balm to soothe a pain he didn't know he had.

He really needed to hear that right now, more than he would ever admit to anyone, even if he was sure Delta didn't quite understand what he meant right now.

Even so, he simply remained in the embrace, without saying another word.

After that, he simply returned his gaze to the horizon once more, the desolate New Uruk. His melancholic gaze slowly shifted to one of determination. He knew he was being a reckless fool right now, but when his plans had gone well... they went well in drills, of course, but that didn't count, it was a simulation, things were clearly going to go well.

But other than that, no matter how much they planned, things were going to go completely wrong eventually, and yet he would do this, he would lead this. Not for his people, Wendy was right, they were ungrateful bastards who did not deserve him to keep fighting for them and their future, but he would fight for his sister, his beautiful shadows, his friends... the few he still had left. For them and only for them he would keep fighting, even if the other shadows did not help him in this, the mere idea of having Delta by his side, that was enough for him and would give him enough strength to at least want to try.

End of Chapter