From Merlin's Eyes:

I had woken up in the first light of morning. The tremors had started to cause pain in my head, and a growing weakness was settling over me. I had breakfast and set off towards the forest for a little walk. The newly bloomed Verprimula flowers were so beautiful and fragrant; they were flowers that bloomed at the base of dead trees and had very interesting properties that nourished the soul. Sometimes, they were a valuable plant that was prevented from being discovered by people, and if it fell into the hands of mankind, they could engage in foolish endeavors just like Dr. Quinlan.

I sat there for a while, took my book in hand, and began to write down what I had discovered. At least this allowed me to stay a bit calmer and focus; I felt my soul finding peace, and I relaxed with the refreshing scent that filled my lungs. It was time to think about Plan A, which would be very difficult; I had formed a pure bond of love with him during every meeting, or was that just what I thought? Even now, I didn't know if the hurt I felt was truly my feelings, and the worst part was this: I felt something, but I doubted their authenticity. Was it real sadness, or was it a reaction to the false feelings that manipulation had made me experience?

As I walked from the forest towards home, I heard voices coming from a nearby meadow and headed in that direction. A few children were playing together, and looking at them brought back memories of Alvin, Alpha, and Luna; we would always run around and cause mischief. Especially Alvin, who had done everything to win Luna's heart since childhood, and after all that effort, they had finally found themselves in a beautiful relationship. I had always looked up to them in this regard. In the end, we were all just children, but very few of us remember that.

I turned around and took the boxes I had prepared to take to the children at the orphanage in my hands and set off. My entire time from noon to the afternoon was spent on this. Fortunately, I loved taking care of them and performing magic shows for them. There was one among them who always surprised me with the questions he asked, and today he had an interesting question:

Maison: Hey Merlin, can you show me how you hide those cards so quickly?

Merlin: Hahaha Maison, *looks innocently* A magician never reveals his secrets, but I can teach you when you grow up.

Maison: Come on, I'm old enough; I can do it.

Merlin: Is that so? Let's give it a try. Here, take these cards in your hand. *extends the cards*

Maison: Oh my God, are we really doing this?

Merlin: Yes, young man, today you will learn your first trick.

Maison: What do I need to do now?

Merlin: The important thing while doing this trick is to distract the audience with something completely unrelated. First, shuffle the cards.

Maison: Okay, what's the next step?

Merlin: In this part, you need to take the first three cards and turn them over, placing them at the bottom of the deck. This way, you have a deck ready for the trick, meaning you prepare it beforehand.

Maison: Okay, I got it. We prepare the trick in advance and distract them in another direction.

Merlin: Yes, my little friend, just like that. Now, what you need to do is pretend to shuffle the deck in front of the audience without showing the turned-over cards at the back.

Maison: *shuffles the cards* Like this?

Merlin: You're learning quickly, young Houdini.

Maison: This is so exciting! *extends the cards* Come on, pick a card.

Merlin: But I haven't explained the rest yet! *is surprised*

Maison: No problem, I want to improvise. Can I?

Merlin: Go ahead then.

Maison: Keep the card you picked in your mind, and let's place it back in the deck.

Merlin: Sure, here you go.

Maison: Think of a number between 1 and 10 and watch the magic.

Merlin: I thought—

Maison: *snaps his fingers*

Merlin: Show me.

Maison: Is this your card, the 4 of Spades?

Merlin: Hahaha, you did a great job, my friend, but my card was always in my hand. *rubs his hands and takes the card out*

Maison: Oh, of course, how did I miss that?

Merlin: The important thing is to distract the attention elsewhere. :)

After this sweet conversation, I left there and walked quietly through the forest towards home, when I came across Dr. Quinlan's building, which was horrifying and creepy, but when you look at it, it's actually a disgraceful building, yet people don't see it that way after all.

I was passing by here when I started to hear the children's screams and shouts again. I covered my ears and moved away from there. I was curious about what that guy was doing inside the old hospital; that was the subject of another book (The 4th Wall Breaks). When I got home, I had prepared everything to put Plan A into action, starting with myself.

As it approached seven o'clock, I texted Harley and told him to come to the old shack. This was the place we could get out with the least damage; at least if our fight escalated, the liveliness around us should be minimally affected. He said he would come but had a few things to do, so I sat down and started reading a book until he arrived.

About half an hour later, I heard the creaking of the door and the sound of a step echoed in my ears; it was Harley. Oh my God, even though I hated him for what had happened, he looked as beautiful as an angel. Damn it! He still continues to confuse my mind; I guess the benefits of the potion I prepared ended here. I have little tolerance for even the slightest effect, or there is a much stronger field of influence than I thought, and I am struggling to resist. Fortunately, I had also thought about the next ten steps and had placed Alvin nearby to trigger me in case of an adverse possibility. Luna was accompanying him; I couldn't tell Alpha about what was happening since he was her brother, and no one dared to do so after seeing how he defended her during the council incident. To resolve this as quickly as possible, I gathered myself and stood in front of him.

Merlin: Harley, we need to talk about something.

Harley: It's not hard to understand, Merlin. I can feel that the flowers I gave you have wilted. They are connected to me, and you must have discovered what some of them do.

Merlin: Yes, it took some time, but I finally figured it out, and I was actually curious about why you did this.

Harley: There was a problem with the bet we made. Yes, you had feelings for me, but it felt more like you loved a little girl, while I wanted more. I wanted to win, and here we are.

Merlin: So everything was just for a bet? Is that why you used the training? Did you learn nothing from what I taught you? Were they all lies? Of course, they were lies; those flowers were just pawns for you to manipulate me, right?

Harley: Now I understand why they call you the Merlin of all Merlins. You learn very quickly and are always wise, but there's a point you missed: the being you are trying to tame is a devil fox, a sorcerer. This time you were wrong; accept it.

Merlin: Yes, I was very wrong. You will be too cruel to ever learn to be loved! *starts shouting*

Harley: *starts to manipulate* So is that how it was? Was it like this when you hugged me? Was it like this when you kissed me, Merlin?! *gets angry*

Merlin: Hahaha, you still think you can manipulate me, little one. The fox has opened its eyes now.

Harley: You arrogant clown!

After the heated and ruthless war, Merlin falls to the ground, and Harley steps on his chest and says to him:

Harley: "Now it's my turn to play mind games, clown."

Merlin: "Don't hold back!"

"Mortifero Vita!"

Harley: "Hahaha, nice try, rookie."

Merlin: "You learned every trick from me, and now you think you're superior?"

Harley: "You're mistaken, clown. *Sylvia rises above him* We learned everything we know! Hahaha."

Merlin: "You?! No, no, you cursed—"

Harley: "Anıas Oblitare!"

An explosion occurs.

Merlin: "Y-you, what have you done, Harley?!"

Harley: "Now there is only one true memory that everyone will believe, Merlin." *suddenly disappears*

No, no, no, this can't be happening. He didn't change everyone's memory, damn it, I need to find Alvin immediately. I went to Alvin, and he looked a bit shaken.

Merlin: "Hey buddy, I'm here. Are you okay?"

Alvin: "You? You? You filthy pervert, what did you do to him!? 'Dividum Semprum'!"

Damn it! He had confused everyone's minds; everyone thought I had harmed him. The heavy pressure on me had made me furious.

Merlin: "Listen to me, you fool, none of this happened. He confused all of your minds; you have to trust me."

Alvin: "This can't be real; you can't have become this disgusting."

Merlin: "I TOLD YOU TO LISTEN TO ME, IDIOT!" *shows Alvin the events in his mind*

Alvin: "Oh no, did I hurt you, buddy?"

Merlin: "Not really, am I still handsome?"

Alvin: "Not really, you're still the annoying wizard."

Merlin: "Great, now I need to disappear to save my neck from Alpha and fix what happened."

Alvin: "No need for that; I can testify."

Merlin: "I don't think the council will treat me well."

Alvin: "You're right; we should definitely stay in touch. I'll cover for you, go."

Merlin: "I owe you one, partner."

Alvin: "Save it for our next meeting, buddy."

And I left, leaving everything behind. You already know the rest: Harley stirred up trouble, and Alpha put Kasparov in charge of hiding him from me. About three years later, this nonsense resulted in his imprisonment in Rein Orka and my exoneration. Now, however, we have another problem that everyone knows about but no one sees as an issue..