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La figura seguía allí en el medio sin moverse y lo extraño es que el lugar quedó completamente en silencio. Minutos después habló y dijo —Por fin alguien rompió el ciclo— dobde Barry y Tess pudieron ver la figura con claridad, donde está no era una criatura como las otras doce, vestía el uniforme de un antiguo director del teatro, aunque su ropa ya estaba desgastan, además su rostro seguía siendo humano, pero estaba cubierto por profundas grietas que brillaban con alta intensidad.

Barry estaba confundido y preguntó —¿Tú fuiste el primer restaurador?— La entidad sonrió con tristeza y respondió —No. Fui el fundador de este teatro hace más de trescientos años y yo fabriqué el tambor para que protegiera este lugar durante la de guerra. Pero realicé un ritual que exigía un guardián eterno, sin embargo, no funciono y mi alma quedó unida al tambor y cada restaurador que intentó repararlo terminó convirtiéndose en uno de sus guardianes— Tess no podía creerlo y ese mismo momento las cenizas de las doce sombras desvaneciéndose lentamente, además no eran monstruos, sino personas que intentaron salvar este lugar.

Pero todo ya era muy tarde y lugar comenzó a caerse, ya que sin el tambor, el hechizo que mantenía en pie al teatro estaba desapareciendo. Barry y Tess comenzaron a correr, mientras todo el sitio se cayó y casi para salir una enorme columna cayó frente a la puerta, Barry intentó levantarla, pero era imposible. Entonces la antigua entidad apareció detrás de ellos para ayudar, pero comentó —El teatro necesita una última alma para desaparecer en paz— Ambos jóvenes quedaron sorprendidos, ya que hicieron lo posible para salir los tres y el hombre se negó, ya que su historia ya había terminado hace años.

The figure was still standing there in the middle, motionless, and the strange thing was that the place had fallen completely silent. Minutes later, it spoke, saying, “Finally, someone has broken the cycle.” When Barry and Tess were able to see the figure clearly, they realized it wasn’t a creature like the other twelve; it was wearing the uniform of a former theater director, though its clothes were already worn out. Furthermore, its face was still human, but it was covered in deep cracks that glowed with intense brightness.

Barry was confused and asked, “Were you the first restorer?” The entity smiled sadly and replied, “No. I was the founder of this theater more than three hundred years ago, and I crafted the drum to protect this place during the war.” “But I performed a ritual that required an eternal guardian. However, it didn’t work, and my soul became bound to the drum. Every restorer who tried to repair it ended up becoming one of its guardians.” Tess couldn’t believe it. At that very moment, the ashes of the twelve shadows slowly faded away. They weren’t monsters after all, but people who had tried to save this place.

But it was already too late, and the place began to collapse, since without the drum, the spell that was keeping the theater standing was fading. Barry and Tess started running as the entire place came crashing down; just as they were about to get out, a huge column fell right in front of the door. Barry tried to lift it, but it was impossible. Then the ancient entity appeared behind them to help, but remarked, “The theater needs one last soul to disappear in peace.” Both young people were surprised, since they had done everything they could to get all three of them out, and the man refused, as his story had already ended years ago.

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Barry y Tess lograron salir de ese lugar, mientras detrás estaba el viejo teatro completamente destruido, donde no podían creer lo qué ocurrió, hasta que Tess miró su bolsillo y aún guardada la fotografía que Barry había recogido antes, sin embargo, nuevamente la foto había cambiado y ahora aparecía Barry y Tess sonriendo frente al teatro completamente restaurado y detrás de ellos, las doce personas que habían sido guardianes también sonreían, con rostros humanos y en el centro de todos, estaba el fundador del teatro.

En la parte de atrás de la fotografía tenía un pequeño escrito que decía —Toda restauración devuelve algo al mundo, a veces un objeto, a veces un alma— Barry y Tess nunca volvieron a hablar de lo ocurrido aquella noche y la gente no creyó que, durante siglos un tambor guardaba algo. Años después, ambos continuaron dedicándose a la restauración de tambores, pero ahora antes de trabajar en cualquier pieza antigua, investigarían toda su historia, porque comprendieron que algunos objetos no solo conservan el paso del tiempo, también conservan los secretos de quienes nunca lograron escapar de él.

Barry and Tess managed to get out of that place, while behind them stood the old theater, completely destroyed; they couldn’t believe what had happened—until Tess looked in her pocket and found the photograph Barry had picked up earlier still there, However, the photo had changed again, and now it showed Barry and Tess smiling in front of the fully restored theater, and behind them, the twelve people who had been guardians were also smiling, with human faces—and in the center of them all stood the theater’s founder.

On the back of the photograph was a short inscription that read: —Every restoration gives something back to the world—sometimes an object, sometimes a soul— Barry and Tess never spoke again about what had happened that night, and people didn’t believe that, for centuries, a drum had been guarding something. Years later, they both continued to devote themselves to restoring drums, but now, before working on any antique piece, they would research its entire history, because they understood that some objects not only preserve the passage of time, but also the secrets of those who never managed to escape it.

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