Aiden bent down to pick up one of the bandages next to his foot, then went for the next, and so on. One by one he gathered the pieces, putting them on his arm, pressing against his chest, so they wouldn't fall back to the ground. Getting dirty was not a concern for him at that moment.

Once he finished picking up the bandages and tossing them in the bathroom trash can, he moved the chair back, placed it in front of the desk, changed and made the sheets on his bed. Between that and this, Aiden did his best to take care of chores throughout the room without saying a word. Not complaining about the mess Maika left behind, not complaining about being left behind or trying to erase his memory, or the helplessness he felt, Aiden did not complain.

He finished cleaning and then fell on the bed he had just made and looked at the white ceiling with nothing except the old fan. He was immobile in the same position for a few hours until he started to feel something unpleasant, like the inside of him stirring.

—Maybe I should go outside for some air —said the young man to himself, got up from the bed and headed for the door.

Unconsciously, he was moved by the idea that, perhaps, if he went out he could meet Maika, even if not, he felt that he couldn't just sit around in that room for much longer.

He went down the dormitory stairs, which were almost in the middle of the dimly lit corridor. The stagnant air of an old and dusty dormitory gave the impression of it been haunted. A place where terrible incidents occurred eight years ago, after being reopened by the decision of the skeptical school principal.

Such a tangent, fully delving into his imagination as a means to escape the burning sensation in the pit of his stomach, more than anything, made him feel even more restless. His tried and true strategy per excellence was not working. Even thinking about things that could scare him worked only to stifle that feeling a little more.

The day had already changed colors, it was going to get dark soon. Aiden wondered how long it had been since he woke up in the first place, what time was it when he woke up, and how long was he in his room doing nothing?

—Haaah… —he thought he saw the heavy sigh furrow through the sky, taking hundreds of negative thoughts with it and, even so, it wasn't enough to get rid of all of them.

«You may be right, what kind of stupid hero did I try to be all this time? Having arrived at this junction, at the hour of truth, I would only have hindered her, frozen in the face of the horror of facing those creatures… Homunculi she called them. I see now, what I saw was not just a simple magician, but an alchemist. Damn, how fucking amazing that sounds.

»Science or magic, from human perversion, neither escape, and I, new life or old, can't do anything but know someone out there suffering, bearing everything alone. I can't save anyone. Pathetic… What do I have to do exactly not to feel like this?»

He associated the feeling, the weight on his body, with the failure of a year ago, when through a series of coincidences, he helped someone escape from a laboratory where they were conducting nefarious experiments. Today he doesn't know what happened to that person, maybe they were caught or silenced because they were not the only test subject. It begs the question; how did they escape that time, and why didn't they come for him? To this day, that answer eludes him.

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At that moment that Aiden was contemplating his possibilities and his worth, an unknown voice reached his ears, his instincts awakened and every fiber of his body tensed, ready to respond to whatever the new situation was. He hadn't understood what was said because he was focused inward, he only recognized the sound of a human voice.

“I said, do you want to save her?” The first thing he noticed was that the voice came from everywhere, Aiden thought he heard it in front, behind, from the second floor, he thought he heard it inside his head.

From the bedroom door, a shadow extended, that for some inexplicable reason he found terrifying, and behind it, the sound of footsteps approaching. The figure of a man emerged from the darkness of the doorway, that tall man, almost two meters and poorly shaven beard, dressed casually: a flat dark gray t-shirt, looking old and faded, pants between coffee and dark brown, and fine black shoes, also somewhat worn. The only striking thing was the white lab coat over the attire.

—Nice to meet you, Aiden. I come to propose a deal. You would do well to listen to what I have to say, it's the first time we meet, but I know more about you than you might yourself.

The man with the caricatured and neglected appearance of a researcher, there was something about him, not just his clothing, way of speaking, or the pressure his voice emitted; even his eyes that looked like those of someone exhausted. That man exuded a dominant aura. Aiden's instinct told him he shouldn't continue speaking with that man, but he was blocking his way.

—Let me guess. You read my file, and you want to use my case for your thesis or something like that. This is the first time I see someone so disturbing as to wait for me outside the dormitory. I'm sorry, but come back another day. Now, go!

Something like this had already happened before, that's why Aiden could say it with such certainty, despite feeling insecure in front of that man. Unfortunately, for him, he judged poorly who he was dealing with, the sinister figure continued to approach.

—What else do you want from me!? I tell you, I don't have time!

—Ehh? You've misunderstood everything, I'm not here because of your past, quite the opposite. What you're going to do, that's what interests me.

The instant he finished pronouncing that last word, he vaguely inspected the hallway and whispered something; then, he directed his gaze at Aiden, causing him a sick feeling. Black smoke appeared around him, stirring like he had never seen before, it seemed like thousands of insects writhing, convulsing, trying to emit a dull scream.

—How do I look in your eyes?

There was no doubt. He was referring to the black smoke that only he can see, of which science never gave an explanation.

—It's disappointing that you still need an input to see. Oh, well. It's a matter of experience, I suppose —he said, denying him of time to assimilate all of that—. Do you understand now, Aiden?

—You… You're a magic user!

With that connection, every word of that man carried a much greater weight than before, Aiden could feel that weight accumulate and turn into fear.

He didn't know what he had done, but the door had disappeared, when he turned, the staircase to the second floor, where he had just walked, was also gone. A blink, then the walls that until recently surrounded them were no longer. A docile breeze that reminded him of the sea, for some reason, stirred his hair. Soon he didn't recognize up from down, it was a strange sensation, like being submerged in a transparent chamber in the sea.

The floor spread like rubber at the wizard's feet and soon took the shape of a pair of chairs and a small round table. He sat down and snapped his fingers loosely. The space in front of his hand combusted, bringing to life a flaming rock the size of a ball. It rose and levitated a couple of meters above the table, swaying like it was on the surface, resisting the rocking of the waves.

The space welcomed the light, as well as Aiden. But even more so than before, the young man was at a loss for words.