We travel eight years into the past to learn about what Bredgy lived through. While in Canvas Village, Geal's dream was taking shape after meeting the Chosen One, Bredgy's reality was starkly different.
We find ourselves in a training facility where several men and women practice combat with staffs on their respective mats. Bredgy stands barefoot, her arms and legs marked with numerous wounds. She is on a black mat, gripping a long staff, surrounded by four boys her age. Unlike Bredgy, these boys wield real weapons—spears, tridents, and even a miniature halberd.
Dubh is there as well, observing.
"Take them down," orders the then-CEO.
The boys charge at Bredgy, initiating a fierce fight. Their weapons clash spectacularly, each of them clearly skilled in combat. Bredgy defends herself well but is soon taken down by a kick, falling off the mat and wincing in pain.
"Get up! Do it again!" Dubh commands.
"Y-Yes!" Bredgy replies, obediently.
Without complaint, the young girl gets back on her feet and resumes the fight. The boys are serious, each eager to defeat the daughter of the famous Dubh and earn prestige. But Bredgy takes the fight seriously too, managing to knock them all down after an intense exchange of blows.
Standing over them, Bredgy holds back, unwilling to inflict more harm.
"Don't be a coward! Hit them harder, harder!" Dubh shouts.
"But I don't want to..."
"*DO IT, USELESS GIRL!*"
Bredgy closes her eyes but knows she can't refuse. When she opens them again, she breaks one boy's arm and another's leg in an instant, using only her bare hands. The poor boys scream and begin to cry. Bredgy wants to cry too, guilt consuming her.
Dubh approaches his daughter and places his hand on her head with a smile.
"Well done. That's my daughter." The CEO gently strokes her hair. "You're strong. You're going to be very useful in the future."
"R-Really?" Bredgy's expression shifts, looking slightly calmer.
"Yes. After all, you have my blood."
The CEO walks toward the exit, and all the recruits present stop their fights to honor him. They are the early members of what was then the newly formed Royal Mechanic.
"Just remember one thing, Bredgy..." Dubh glances at her over his shoulder, his expression sinister. "You have no one but me. You can't make friends, and you can't talk to anyone else but me. You're a very special girl, so let your kind father guide you on the right path. All you have to do is obey. Do you understand?"
"Y-Yes, Mr. Dubh..." she answers, looking down.
"Now, keep training! Get stronger while you're still young," Dubh orders, opening the door and leaving.
*
Back in the present, Bredgy prepares to tell her story to her now 'former' friend. With her heart in her hands, she begins to explain.
"Mr. Dubh has been the only person who ever cared about me. My mom disappeared when I was a baby, so I don't even remember her," she explains. "He told me I can't have friends, dreams, or goals. I only live to inherit leadership of Royal Mechanic. I can't disobey him, no matter how far I go or who I'm with. He always knows where I am."
Accepting what's happening, Bredgy looks at Geal with sinister eyes, trying to see her for what she always was: just another target.
"I only live to fulfill my father's wishes. That's the destiny I was born into," Bredgy says, as thunder rumbles in the background.
Our heroine's face reflects a mix of fury and sorrow. She glares at Bredgy, unable to put her feelings into words. She doesn't even know how she feels. She stops thinking.
Without warning, Geal summons her shield and charges at Bredgy, hitting her with such force that she slams into the wall.
"You lied to me!" Geal screams, her fury so intense it seems to transform her face. "You pretended to be my friend just to hand me over to your father!"
Consumed by rage, Geal attacks Bredgy again and again, hitting her with her shield and fists, landing blow after blow on her face. She bloodies Bredgy's nose and mouth, unleashing her uncontrollable anger.
But Bredgy doesn't fight back. She takes every hit without resistance.
"Do you have any idea how scared I was when we were attacked?! Do you think I wasn't faking bravery when those robots cornered us? I wanted to cry in fear every time they came for us!" Geal shouts, still striking her. "You're a filthy, disgusting traitor! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!"
Bredgy, trembling from the beating, raises her arms as if to shield herself, but they shake too. Her lifeless eyes stare at the ground, her face covered in her own blood, mixing with the rain still falling.
Geal pauses to catch her breath, her mind a bit clearer now. She asks, "Why didn't you steal my Crystal?"
Geal's attacks stop momentarily.
"You had so many chances. If you'd taken it, Royal Mechanic wouldn't be after me anymore. You even fought alongside me to stop them. Tell me, Bredgy, why did you protect me before?!"
"I... I..." Bredgy whispers, barely able to speak.
Geal punches her in the stomach, slamming her against the wall. Bredgy slides down to the floor, her knees twisted beneath her. She can't lift her head.
"Answer me!" Geal demands.
After letting out several sobs, Bredgy begins to cry. Geal shows no mercy. Slowly, the punk girl gets to her feet, her eyes teary, her hand covering her mouth. Almost a minute passes before she speaks.
"I-I just wanted to stay your friend, Geal!" Bredgy cries.
Our heroine takes a step back, while memories of her father's abuse boil in Bredgy's mind.
"I'm so scared of my dad. I've always wanted to escape from him, but I can't!" Bredgy continues, raising her voice with anguish.
Looking up, she screams with all her might:
"I... I don't have a single memory in my life where I was happy!"
Hearing this, Geal lowers her shield.
*
We return to eight years ago. It's one of those cruel episodes again... Bredgy is sobbing uncontrollably, her forearms bruised and marked from blows. She's lying on the ground, her eyes filled with terror, shielding herself with her small arms from something larger looming over her.
Standing before her, Dubh is enraged.
"Papa... Stop! Please!" begs the little girl.
"How dare you disobey your father, you crazy child?!"
"Daddy... Please... Stop!"
The shadow cast by a lightning strike outside the site shows Dubh raising his hand while Bredgy recoils.
"You're crazy! Crazy!... Crazy!!!" yells the CEO.
Bredgy's screams echo beyond the room. What happens next is left to the imagination.
*
A revelation of this magnitude changes the atmosphere completely. Geal stands frozen, speechless, while Bredgy continues crying.
"All my life, I've endured his abuse. I have nowhere to run, no one to help me. Even now, whenever I disobey him, he..."
Bredgy can't finish the sentence. Her throat tightens, and she shakes her head as tears keep streaming down her bloodied face.
"The only happy memories I have are with you..." Bredgy continues. "Even though I was pretending at first, with every adventure we shared, I started to feel like our friendship was real. I didn't steal your Crystal because I wanted to keep traveling with you... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry!"
For the first time, Bredgy reveals her most vulnerable side. Her eyes, no longer sharp and piercing, now resemble those of a frightened puppy. Her emotions are laid bare for all to see.
"I-I wanted to keep being your best friend, Geal!" cries Bredgy.
Bredgy breaks down into uncontrollable sobs, releasing everything she's been holding back. The first tears start to roll down Geal's cheeks. Filled with regret, she approaches and places a hand on the punk girl's shoulder.
She can't speak either, her throat tightening into a knot.
"I... I didn't know... I'm so sorry," Geal stammers.
"I don't fully understand how human emotions work, but even I know how terrible it feels to be alone," interrupts Uruta, his melancholic tone adding weight to the moment.
With a heavy heart, Geal embraces Bredgy in the tightest hug she's ever given. The two cry together, sharing their pain.
"I'm sorry! I want to keep traveling with you too...! Bredgy! Please forgive me!" Geal sobs.
With everything out in the open, Bredgy returns the hug, though weakly, but—
"I'm really disappointed in you, Bredgy..."
Dubh appears! The villainous man descends from the sky, shattering the pavement as he lands with his fist and one knee. This is the real Dubh. Several electric sparks flicker around his body, fleeting but unmistakable. He looks like a true supervillain.
He strides into the alleyway at a slow, deliberate pace, his mere presence exuding fear.
"Oh no..." Bredgy thinks.
With a wave of his hand, Dubh pulls Bredgy toward him with something resembling telekinesis, as though she were a magnet. It seems Dubh has some kind of power after all. Geal reaches out, trying to grab her back, but fails.
"Bredgy!" Geal screams.
"Geal!"
They cry out for each other. Dubh restrains his daughter with his arm. She struggles, but his physical strength is far greater than it seems.
"So, you've learned who Bredgy really is, Geal. My condolences," Dubh says. "It must've been hard, finding out she deceived you all this time."
"Let her go! She doesn't want to be with you!" Geal shouts through gritted teeth.
"I'm sorry, but I won't do that. As her father, it's my duty to punish her properly," Dubh says with his usual cynical tone.
"I said let her go!!!" Geal screams.
In an act of courage, Geal leaps, aiming to slam her shield into Dubh savagely, but a force field surrounds him. She tries to break through it with consecutive strikes, but it's no use.
"Oh, yes, I'll also be taking this..."
Taking advantage of the moment, Dubh uses the same force to pull Geal's Crystal toward him. He catches it in his other hand as Geal stares in shock.
"My Crystal!!!"
The CEO examines the gem with a sinister grin, the most genuine smile he's shown yet.
"That was easier than I thought."
With his work done, Dubh begins to ascend into the sky, holding both Bredgy and Geal's Crystal. Our heroine jumps again and again, but her target is already too far above. Both friends look at each other, their hearts breaking.
"Don't go, Bredgy. Please," Geal cries.
"I'm so sorry... goodbye," Bredgy says, her voice heavy with sorrow.
And so, Dubh teleports away with Bredgy, vanishing in an aura that looks like it's made of pixels. As he disappears, the villain's wicked laughter echoes in the air.
With everything lost, utterly defeated, Geal collapses to her knees, tears streaming down her face. She raises her gaze and calls out desperately for her friend.
"Bredgy!!!"