In the midst of desert lands and barren fields, where the horizon blurs between endless dunes and the sun falls like burning lead, there stands a titanic monument. Its gray concrete walls, imposing and weathered by time, extend like stone giants in an infinite labyrinth that devours the landscape. The wind blows with a sharp whistle, lifting dust that finds no place to settle. This inhospitable, dead, and silent place is my laboratory.

Before a dusty and wobbly camera, a man with a long face and wide, frantic eyes appears, filled with a wild gleam. His white coat is stained with burns and grease; his messy hair seems to battle gravity, as if even he is trapped in a constant electric storm. Smiling with infectious enthusiasm, he waves his hand.

"Hello everyone! My name is Lusto and I am a very important scientist," he says, puffing out his chest with pride. "My mission is none other than to discover teleportation."

He crouches down, rummaging through his pocket until he pulls out a small, worn card. His voice quickens as he carefully places it on the ground, as if handling a bomb.

"Sure, you'll say it's impossible, but I've already done it." His eyes shine even brighter. "Although... there's a tiny problem."

Before he finishes his sentence, the card begins to emit a deep, vibrating hum. A portal opens, tearing through the ground with a phosphorescent blue light that writhes like liquid flames. From within, a grotesque and enormous figure emerges: a pizza of monstrous proportions. Its body is made of crunchy dough that crackles as it moves, and melted cheese slides viscously like sweaty skin. On its surface, six large pepperonis pulse like red eyeballs, and one of them opens, revealing a serrated mouth that groans with a metallic, deep sound.

"Ah, damn it!" Lusto yells, pulling back. With clumsy yet rapid movements, he grabs a fireman's axe from the corner and lunges at the creature. The blade slices through the hot dough with a wet, sticky sound as the pepperoni eyes blink frantically.

"As you can see!" he gasps, ripping the card in one pull and closing the portal. "The cards open portals to random places... and my job, as a renowned scientist of the government, is to control them at will."

Suddenly, the laboratory door opens with a dry thud, and a giant ape enters, dragging its knuckles. Its brown fur shines like polished leather, and although it stands only about 1.80 meters tall, its presence feels titanic. The animal, with an expressionless face and eyes dark as coal, takes the camera in its hands and turns it off abruptly.

"What's wrong with you, Zooe?!" Lusto yells indignantly, hands on his hips. "The government needs proof of my research!"

The ape looks at him with exasperating calm and finally speaks in a deep, dry voice.

"Lusto, none of your videos have been answered."

"Shut up, Zooe!" Lusto exclaims, waving his arms. "I know my research is important... Now come, let's eat, the pizza is getting cold."

Hours later, Lusto climbs to the top of his laboratory, where the wind blows forcefully, dragging with it dust and the distant echo of shifting sands. From there, the building looks even more colossal and monotonous, like a titan sleeping in the desert. With a theatrical sigh, he turns the camera on again.

"Hello again," he says, his hair tousled by the wind. "As you'll remember, this is the lab they assigned me. It's clear how important I am because it's gigantic and completely empty." He gestures widely, pointing to the desolate horizon. "I've been conducting experiments every day. And lately, the creatures are starting to repeat themselves. That means my approach is working. I know, I'm a genius."

He turns off the camera with a sharp click and heads back into the lab.

Back in his sanctuary, he proudly shows off a pair of blue and black gloves connected to a plug sparking in the corner. The shiny metal of the gloves reflects the dim light of the place.

"During my research, I've found monsters with unique abilities," he comments, lifting the gloves delicately. "Like the one I called Controlus Electrus. With its fur and a little energy, I created these gloves, capable of controlling whatever I want. Watch!"

He puts on the gloves and extends his hands. An old, chipped mug begins to rise into the air, wobbling with the rhythm of his finger movements. A bluish-gray light envelops the scene.

"Cool, right?!" he shouts excitedly.

Suddenly, the lights flicker and go out, plunging the laboratory into darkness.

"Damn it!" Lusto growls, ripping off the gloves.

Later, the camera turns back on. This time, a figure sits in a chair at the back, tied with thick ropes. She is a woman with bronze skin and tribal clothing, shouting furiously in an incomprehensible language.

"She's Solería, a stunning female from the Pilanin tribe." Lusto leans toward the camera, whispering. "I think she likes me, but don't tell anyone, I'm faithful to my Mary."

With a nervous cough, he changes the subject.

"This is my team," he says, pointing to Zooe, who watches him with his arms crossed. "Joiden is missing, but he shows up when I least expect him."

Finally, he takes the camera's memory card and carefully ties it to the leg of a bird that happened to pass by. The animal, confused, flaps its wings, trying to break free.

"Take it to the government for me!" he shouts, letting it go into the air. "I'm waiting for their response."

With a smile that oscillates between madness and excitement, Lusto shakes his hands and returns to his lab. Soon, the sounds of explosions, screams, and electric hums fill the silence as he continues with another experiment.

Zooe, worried, enters the lab and watches him firing wildly at tentacles that were holding him down, slamming him against the floor. With swift movements, Zooe breaks the card, sealing the portal and cutting off the tentacle from the titanic squid.

"Are you okay, Lusto?" Zooe asks, concerned.

Lusto gets up, shaking off some squid ink that was on his lab coat. "Yeah, I'm fine, just log today's experiment," he says weakly, stumbling toward a computer, adjusting his shoulder in the process. "Experiment 413 238, giant squid, code used 88'7'90'03." Pressing the save button, he adds, "Done. What were you saying, Zooe?"

Zooe, always with his mouth open when entering the lab, stops. "I wanted to tell you..." he pauses, suddenly waving his hand. "I have to show this to the government!"

Zooe, somewhat concerned, sees a card on the floor. Doubting, he says, "Did it fall from Lusto's hands? I'll return it." But an instinct tells him not to, so he hides it under his arm.

"Zooe, get out of my lab and help me feed Solería!" Lusto yells from across the lab.

Zooe looks at the destroyed computer and wonders, "How many years has Lusto been here?"

"Zooe, come help me! Oh, don't bite me, Solería, Zooe!"

Zooe takes one last look at the old computer before leaving the lab and turning off the lights.

The camera flickers on with a red light, and the first thing that appears on the screen is Lusto's long, tangled hair falling like a curtain in front of the lens. Then his face comes into focus: large, curious eyes that move incessantly and a prominent nose right in the center of the image.

"Hello, government!" he shouted with his characteristic enthusiasm, his voice echoing in the silence of the lab. He quickly adjusted, letting the white lab coat stained with ink and burns come into view. "Yes, I know what you're asking: 'Why hasn't our best scientist, the genius Lusto, sent videos in two months?'" He made a theatrical gesture with his hands. "Well, today your doubts will be answered."

He reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out two worn cards with charred edges and barely visible numerical codes on a blue crystal in the center.

"Look at this. These are the result of my experiments," he says, raising the cards to the camera so they can be seen clearly. The numbers glow faintly under the lab light. "Using a very specific code on my computer, I was able to connect two cards together."

Lusto places the cards face to face on the floor, three meters apart. Instantly, a sharp hum fills the space, and a blue portal crackles out from each card, slowly spinning like a whirlwind. The reflection of the blue light illuminated his excited face, casting strange shadows on his tired yet vibrant features.

"The most interesting part of my research!" he said, pointing at the portal with a burned finger. "Look at this… if I cross this portal..."

Lusto takes a decisive step and crosses the threshold, his silhouette disappearing into the blue flashes. As the portal where Lusto crossed begins to close, the card on the floor starts to release a black smoke. The camera stays focused on the portal that continues spinning in silence. Time seemed to freeze; seconds turned into minutes, and the screen remained unchanged, only capturing the faint hum.

After what seemed like an eternity, exactly 21 minutes, Lusto emerged through the other portal, stumbling slightly.

—And here I am —he continued, as if nothing had happened. His sweaty face gleamed with droplets of effort, but his smile remained intact—. That means I've discovered controlled teleportation. But there's a problem: the time it takes to cross is proportional to the distance. It was an instant for me to cover those 3 meters... but for you, it was 21 minutes. That gives us a formula: 1 meter equals 7 minutes. Not exactly convenient for calling it "instant teleportation," which is my ultimate goal...

He leaned toward the camera, lowering his voice with a proud gleam in his eyes.

—But still, it's a brilliant breakthrough! I'm pleased to show you my genius!

With a click, he turned off the camera. As the red light disappeared, his face changed; the smile faded like a mask falling to the ground. His shoulders slumped, and the excitement he had acted out dissipated in a long, heavy sigh.

At that moment, he heard metallic footsteps approaching. Lusto narrowed his eyes and reached for a fire axe resting against a wall. He grabbed it tightly, raising it with tense movements, his knuckles white. The electric door buzzed as it slowly opened, and with a roar, Lusto swung the axe, ready to attack.

A hand stopped the axe. A robust figure made of polished metal held it. Its gaze had a haunting quality.

—Hello, Lusto! —said a cold but friendly voice.

Lusto blinked, immediately dropping the axe. His face lit up, and without thinking, he threw himself toward the robot, hugging it tightly. The cold metal contrasted with the warmth of his arms.

—Joiden! It's been so long! —he shouted, smiling like a little child—. What brings you to my lab?

Joiden tilted his head slightly, emitting a soft buzz as he spoke.

—I bring news from the government. They've received all your videos with pleasure and… they sent you a gift.

Lusto's eyes widened, his hands moving like crazy.

—What is it?! What is it?! —he jumped with excitement, bouncing up and down.

Joiden raised a metallic hand, stopping his enthusiasm.

—Call 6'18. He'll want to know too.

Lusto turned to the door and yelled at the top of his lungs: —Zooe! Come quickly!

After a moment, the huge figure of Zooe appeared through the door, his body covered in thick brown fur, his eyes still half-closed, clearly still drowsy. He rubbed his eyes with a giant hand and yawned.

—What's up, Lusto? It's too early for your madness...

—Hello, 6'18 —Joiden said kindly, nodding his head.

Zooe blinked, still confused.

—Joiden... —scratching his head—. What are you doing here? It's been a while since I last saw you.

Unable to contain his energy, Lusto climbed onto Zooe's back, climbing like an anxious monkey. From there, he flexed his arms, making silly bodybuilding poses.

—The government received all my videos! And Joiden brought me a gift!

Joiden, undisturbed, nodded and opened a compartment in his chest. Slowly, he took out a glass jar, gleaming and sealed tightly. Inside, a small figure of barely two centimeters floated, surrounded by bright green liquid.

Lusto jumped off Zooe's back, crashing to the floor, quickly getting up and snatching the jar from Joiden's hands. With his clumsy hands, he nearly dropped it, but he managed to hold it tightly.

—What is this? —he said, bringing his eye close to the glass.

Without saying a word, Joiden took the jar from Lusto's hands and handed it to Zooe.

—Here, 6'18. I called it "14'21"... but I'm sure you'll come up with a better name for it.

Zooe gently took the jar, his huge hands carefully wrapping around it. Bringing the jar close to his face, his golden eyes widened. The tiny creature inside the liquid moved gently, hanging from a thin cord. Its face, covered in fine fur, bore a striking resemblance to his own.

—What is... —Zooe murmured, incredulously.

Joiden, leaving the room with a slow and sinister step. —A little gift. I know you'll appreciate it.

Lusto tried to climb back onto his back to see, but Zooe gently pushed him away.

—Let me… let me see it properly —he said in a trembling voice.

Zooe exited the lab, holding the jar as if it were the most fragile thing in the world. Outside, in the soft light of dawn, he brought his eye close to the glass. The little creature, with delicate movements, began to play with its tiny feet. Upon seeing it, the creature reached out a small hand toward the glass, as if trying to touch it.

Zooe smiled, and a tear slid down his cheek.

—Foot... —he whispered tenderly. —You'll be called Foot.

Inside the jar, the creature made a small joyful sound, as if it understood its new name.

Zooe gently placed his finger on the glass, comparing its size to the tiny hand of Foot. Although his finger was gigantic in comparison, it didn't take away his joy.

—Hello, Foot... —he said, with a broken voice but a sincere smile.

As he brought the jar closer to his body, he intended to keep the little creature warm inside it.

chapter 1 responsibility