[This chapter is completely useless.
Reading is recommended late at night or while drunk, when cognitive abilities are already compromised.]
~~~
The infinite void surrounded the two figures facing each other, ready to begin a discussion that could forever change the fate of the world.
"Kian… have I ever told you the story of the Detective Penguin?"
Kian looked coldly at the boy who had just spoken.
"…No, Terence. We've literally known each other for less than an hour."
Terence didn't concern himself with trivial things like logic.
"We still have plenty of time before the fusion. You should listen."
The world changed without warning. A room formed around them naturally: wooden walls, a soft carpet, an armchair, and a lit fireplace.
Terence was already seated, a book open in his hands, wearing a pair of glasses—probably not for medical use.
"You can sit on the carpet, Kian."
Kian remained still for a moment, then asked a fairly obvious question.
"Is all of this canon?"
Terence smiled.
"Does it really matter?"
Then he lowered his gaze to the book, cleared his throat, and began reading with a solemn air.
"Long before anyone spoke of wars, invaders, or power… there was only the ice: silent, vast, and indifferent to mortals.
And upon that ice lived them: the penguins. Not the small, clumsy animals we know today, but ancient creatures bearing the weight of centuries upon their shoulders.
They all looked the same, but one of them was different…"
"Different how?" Kian asked innocently.
Terence continued, smiling.
"He wasn't the strongest among his kind, nor the fastest, nor even a leader.
He seemed like a completely normal penguin. But he wasn't. He… saw."
"…Saw what?"
"Everything others ignored."
Dramatic pause.
"Scattered traces in the ice no one noticed, strange patterns in the movement of the sea, and lies hidden within silence.
He was a detective… no, he was THE detective."
"…The detective," Kian repeated softly. "And his name?"
"His name is Detective. His surname… Penguin."
"…."
"A name so majestic and legendary it would forever change the past, shape the present, and open new paths toward the future.
His existence was no coincidence… it had already been written in the herald of destiny."
Kian sensed something.
"…A prophecy."
Terence nodded like a teacher proud of his student's progress.
"A prophecy. The best way to fill plot holes… along with bringing back characters who died two seasons ago."
Kian didn't reply.
"At the beginning," Terence continued, "Detective Penguin and his assistant, Assistant Walrus, only handled small cases: fish disappearing without a trace, colonies arguing after long years of peace. Detective would arrive and solve the problem… always."
Kian was speechless.
"…How is that possible?"
Terence answered by continuing the story.
"He didn't search for the culprit—he didn't need to.
He searched for the truth people tried to hide, disguise, and distort.
But to Detective Penguin, everything was as clear as daylight. Deception and misdirection were useless."
"…And then?"
"Then they arrived."
"They who?"
"The greatest predators of the sea: the orcas."
DUN DUN DUUUN!
Somewhere, a piano began playing a dramatic note.
"Orcas, cunning and ruthless killing machines created by Mother Nature, known across all seas.
The most terrifying thing is that they didn't even attack out of hunger or instinct.
They attacked for… fun, for the thrill of the hunt… or at least that's how it seemed to the most innocent."
"That wasn't true?"
"Detective Penguin and his assistant were the only ones brave enough to oppose this spectacle of violence and cruelty.
They went against instinct and the logic of ordinary beings—but they were never ordinary to begin with."
Kian's mouth fell open.
"You don't mean…"
Terence nodded gravely.
"They walked toward them… toward a pack of predators… no, they walked straight to the Sacred Council of Orcas to demand answers!"
"And they didn't kill them?"
"No."
"…That makes no sense."
Terence stroked his imaginary beard.
"Neither does courage, Kian. Yet it exists—and those guided by it are the ones who rewrite history."
Silence.
"Detective Penguin was one of those fools guided by courage. He met the council and discovered the terrifying truth: the orcas were not the real enemies."
"…Then who?"
A thunderclap tore through the sky.
A window appeared out of nowhere behind Terence, lit by a sudden flash of lightning.
"Humans."
Kian tried to process the shocking revelation.
"…What."
Terence continued, his tone growing increasingly serious.
"They had arrived from the north with their ships and ambitions. They weren't there to survive like the other animals… they were there to conquer and dominate."
"…And the orcas?"
"The orcas were the first to realize everything and tried to save the people of Antarctica—even if it meant appearing as the villains of the story."
"They were the real heroes…"
"They sacrificed themselves for the greater good. When Detective Penguin learned the truth, he made the only logical choice: he united all peoples under one banner and declared a holy war against humans."
"A penguin."
"Yes."
"That's suicide."
Terence paused, as if he could see the truth hidden within the threads of fate.
"No, it wasn't suicide. The penguins held a secret as old as time itself, so ancient that only a chosen few among the races still knew of it.
Penguins… can fly."
Silence.
"…No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
Kian ran a hand through his hair.
"Why hide it? What were they waiting for?"
Terence studied his face for a moment.
"The question isn't what, Kian… but who."
Another solemn silence.
"They were waiting for him."
Terence closed his eyes briefly, as if recalling every word.
Then he spoke.
~~~
"When the ice is wounded by iron,
when the sea trembles beneath the steps of the featherless,
then shall be born the one who sees, the one who knows.
He will not be the strongest,
he will not be the fastest,
but he will be the one who understands.
His name shall be Detective Penguin.
He will walk between predator and prey
and break the cycle of fear.
When he raises his wing to the sky,
feathers shall remember their forgotten right.
And the world will witness…
the sky painted in black and white."
~~~
An even more solemn silence followed.
"…So they were waiting for him to fly."
"Yes."
"…And then?"
Terence took a few seconds to prepare for the crucial moment of the story.
"At Detective Penguin's signal, there was no hesitation. The sky filled—not with clouds, but with penguins. Thousands, millions, rising together, as if something within them had finally awakened. It wasn't sudden evolution, it wasn't a miracle—it was a return."
A heavy silence fell over the room; even the fire in the fireplace seemed to hold its breath for a moment.
"The war was brief. Not because it was easy, but because it was inevitable. When something is destined to happen, resistance is futile. They won, and the humans were driven back to their lands, left to lick their wounds."
"…And after the war?"
Terence lowered his voice slightly.
"On the still-bloodied battlefield, the detective and the assistant… for the first time… had no case to solve."
"…And then?"
"He told the truth."
Pause.
"That the hardest war… had not been against humans."
Silence.
"But against himself."
"…Terence…"
"Detective Penguin took Assistant Walrus's face between his flippers…"
A very long pause.
"I've spent my whole life trying to understand the world. But you… you're the only thing I can't explain."
A moment.
"And I don't want to."
Kian didn't move.
"Because if there's one thing I've learned… it's that some things aren't meant to be solved."
A breath.
"They're meant to be… lived."
Absolute silence.
"Assistant Walrus, I love you. Please marry me."
Terence stopped.
"And she said yes. In tears."
Kian remained still for what felt like an eternity.
"…Is it over?"
Terence didn't answer immediately.
"Of course. This is the end of the First Great Holy War against humanity."