The man looked around as if he were lost, dropped the sack on the floor and approached Mikael. He stopped so close that his face almost touched the boy's, staring at him with an intensity that seemed to search through his soul.
"But what a crazy thing… your energy is strange." He grabbed Mikael's right hand and examined the mark on his wrist. "This mark… I've never seen anything like it. What family are you from?"
"You want to know who my parents are, sir?" Mikael kept his eyes half-closed, pulling back a little.
"Hahaha… HAHAHAHA!" The man covered his eyes with his hand and let out a loud, uncontrolled laughter.
"WHAT IS ALL THIS SCREAMING?!" Nari opened her bedroom door with force and ran into the hallway. When she saw the man, she jumped at him and hugged him. "Grandpa!"
Mikael raised one eyebrow and pulled the hand Dan was still holding. "What do you mean? Grandpa?"
"Nari, can you tell me who this homeless man on our couch is?" He pointed directly at Mikael's face.
Mikael lowered his head and shrank. 'I'm not that messed up… am I?' He quickly composed himself, stood up and faced the man. "I'm Mikael. And you?"
"Dan. You can call me Dan. I liked you. It's like you don't exist but you're still in front of me." Dan continued looking at Mikael with curiosity.
It didn't take long for Kenta to start coming down the stairs. Dan noticed the boy, and in the moment their eyes met, his body froze for a second.
"Yesterday didn't do me any good, I'm even seeing the devil." Kenta muttered and turned around, going back up the stairs.
Dan looked at Kenta's audacity and calmly walked toward the stairs, climbing in complete silence. When he reached the upper floor, Kenta's desperate screams could be heard. In an instant, the boy came rolling down the stairs.
Kenta quickly went behind Nari and positioned himself as if using her as a human shield. Mikael watched from side to side as if he were watching a play.
Dan walked down the stairs, looked at Kenta, closed his eyes and sighed. "You have to stop being like this. You're going back to training, aren't you?"
The boy who looked like a coward completely changed his expression. "Training? Stop saying useless things. You know I wasn't born to be a hunter."
Dan looked at Mikael, then fixed his eyes on Kenta. "That one has a broken rib, and your energy is all messed up. Anything to say?"
Kenta ran his left hand over his forehead and sighed. "Mikael and I were attacked last night by an Errant, and look… it wasn't very nice."
Dan seemed to understand with the summary, but his eyes showed he felt something out of place. He spotted Mikael's backpack in the middle of the room and saw the amulet split in half. Curious, he picked it up and analyzed it.
'A common luck amulet, but strangely worn out, as if it blocked something far beyond its original purpose… But it activating makes no sense… unless destiny was changed.' Dan put the torn amulet in his pocket and sighed. 'It must be just my imagination, but one thing is certain: this boy is strange.'
Suddenly, Dan changed his posture. "Are you ready?"
"Ready for what?" Mikael asked, suspicious.
Dan went to the end of the hallway and opened a door. Mikael hesitated when he saw a completely dark corridor. Kenta noticed and gave a slight push on his back.
Everyone entered and began walking. Mikael was sweating cold. "Isn't there any light?"
"Relax, we're almost there," Kenta said beside him.
A light appeared at the end. When Mikael crossed it, he found himself inside an empty store.
"Since when is there a store behind your house, Kenta?" Mikael looked around, confused by the total lack of products.
"Come here, kid," Dan called.
He opened a curtain of beads, and the light invaded the place, strong and golden, making Mikael close his eyes. A wave of heat and a sharp buzz filled his ears, followed by a sudden feeling of free fall. His stomach twisted. When he opened his eyes, the world around him had completely changed.
For a moment, he had to lean against the door so he wouldn't fall while his vision adjusted to the impossible reality in front of him. Horses and creatures he had never seen pulled heavy carts. People wearing clothing of various old styles walked through the dirt street, many carrying swords, axes and bows. The buildings were simple, made of wood and stone, without any trace of the modern world.
'What the fuck is this?'
His eyes shone with a long-lost enchantment. For the first time, he felt the chains in his mind break. He was so amazed that he bumped into a tall woman with long red hair. Her gaze was cold, her pupils empty.
"What the he—" She stopped the sentence when she saw Kenta. "Kenta? How long has it been! I like your style."
Kenta's posture changed slightly. "Scarlet? How are you?" His voice showed a bit of nervousness.
"I'm great. Now I have to go, I'm late. Good to see you. I hope to see you at the academy." She quickly said goodbye and continued on her way.
Mikael looked at Kenta with a relaxed smile, and Nari let out a giggle. Kenta blushed. "Stop it!" He noticed even his grandfather looked at him differently. "This has to be a joke." Annoyed, he walked toward a carriage.
Everyone entered except Mikael, who was still processing everything.
"Are you coming or not?" Nari tilted her head out. Mikael entered quickly, and the trip began.
During the ride, a heavy silence filled the air. Mikael spent the whole time looking at the landscapes through the window: crop fields, rural houses and a wide, clear sky. About thirty minutes later, the carriage stopped.
Mikael was the last to get off. His foot touched the packed earth ground, and his eyes met a gigantic, imposing and beautiful building that looked more like a castle than a school.
'Seriously, isn't this way too cliché?' That was the first thought that came to him, but his expression was pure excitement, like a child in front of an amusement park.
"Welcome to Miran Academy," Dan announced.
Inside the main building, they received ceremonial dark-green uniforms with golden borders and a white-and-gold lotus emblem on the chest — exactly like the one Scarlet wore.
Kenta took Mikael to the locker room to change clothes. While walking down the hallways after dressing up, a sound coming from a door caught Mikael's attention.
"Kenta, what's behind this door?"
"Curious? Open it."
Mikael opened the door and found an unexpected scene: a physical-training hall, with men and women with sculpted bodies lifting absurd weights. He saw a man lifting half a ton from the ground as if it were nothing.
'You've got to be kidding me,' he thought, jaw dropping.