Maika prepared herself to begin the long and unwanted explanation of the current situation that affected both of them.

—Aiden, I…, I don't know how to tell you this, but I have something important to tell you.

—It seems that we both have to talk, huh? —said the young man casually, interrupting the words of the anguished girl—. I want some fresh air. —He added.

With some difficulty because of his state, the fatigue was taking effect again, he dragged Maika by the hand to the door of his room.

—Wait, Ai—

—I hope you don't mind doing this first —Interrupted Aiden.

With a boyish demeanor in his joyful actions, Aiden pulled the beautiful girl, Maika, to the shed at the entrance of the dormitory. An act which she didn’t hate at that exact moment.

He opened both doors, but before crossing through them, he turned on the light switch.

The wind blew sweetly and strongly through the entrance, caressing the cheeks of both.

Both Aiden and Maika remained motionless at the entrance, both, who arrived at that place taken by the hand, remained connected and watching the same landscape.

A red-orange band crossed the night bathed in stars, above one of the mountains that surrounded the opposite side of the coast of the city, several kilometers from where the reserve dormitory was.

As they looked at the dark curtain, along with the lights on it, of which only a few kept their brightness for a moment after being devoured by the light of dawn, brought a comforting feeling to both. Particularly, seeing how the night was devoured by the new day, brought a peculiar feeling of hope for the boy.

Their gazes were focused beyond, above the horizon, in the fleeting dawn. They remained still until the sky was practically divided into two parts above them. The first to speak was Aiden.

—I've refreshed myself enough —he said with a pleasant smile written on his face.

He released Maika's hand to walk to the first step at the entrance and then sit on it. He then said.

—I understand that you had something to tell me, right?

—Yes… —responded Maika and did the same sitting next to him.

As they talked, the night continued to be swallowed by the dawn.

—I have new orders, and they are to stay here and teach you to control your 'power' while I study it.

—Really!?

Excitement broke out of Aiden as he heard that she would stay, so much so that it was obvious to Maika. Which, although little, made her feel happy.

He was ready to listen to anything that Maika had to say, but if that's what she says, what better thing could he wish for? However, the girl in question said in response.

—This is not something you should be happy about.

—What are you talking about? Of course, I should be happy to hear that!

—You don't understand, it means that you will fall deeper and deeper into this world, and when you have done so, you will be surrounded by danger. There will be those who want to take advantage of you, those who seek your life and so on. Even if what you want is to protect others, the path of magic is corruption itself. You will definitely find those who take advantage of your desire to help others to make you fall to your lowest, until the time comes when you stab anyone, including yourself, to fulfill your hidden desires.

Maika looked at him fixedly, took him by the arm gently, while with the other, she pressed against her chest.

—I don't want you to see that side of this world! So… why don't we run away!? It will be difficult, but I know that if I try, I may be able to hide you in time, enough to find a way to return you to normalcy. Then I will disappear from your life forever, and thus you can live a normal and peaceful life.

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She didn't understand her behavior, much less her own words. Where did that come from? What was driving her to sacrifice herself in that way for that boy?

Aiden looked at Maika's worried face without making a sound or even showing a sign that he would do so.

—It's the only way for you to regain your world, Aiden!

But he had heard enough.

—Maika, I…, I never said I wanted a normal life.

She was willing to sacrifice everything for him, Aiden had already decided what to do before, but hearing Maika's determination only strengthened his resolution twenty times more.

—You're right, you're right about everything you said —said the boy—. Maybe it is the best option for the two of us to run away, I would rather not imagine myself being corrupted and betraying my loved ones.

—Then why!? —Maika shook Aiden with both arms, trying to get him to spit of some sense—. I don’t have a choice, can’t you see? Why would you choose to be a part of his world?

—It's just like you said before. It took a while to see it, but it's the truth. Although that’s not exactly it, I do want to help others to the point of putting myself in danger. I can't abandon someone if I see them in trouble. Perhaps I have not accepted it completely; could be that, just like you said some time ago, I have some kind of hero complex, but I intend not to become one. In fact, I'm sure I can't become one.

—Then become a psychologist or something!

—Haha… That’s right, maybe that would do the trick, but just as possibly that won’t cut it either. Until now, I never thought about whether every time I helped strangers it was because I was a good person or if I just did it to feel good about myself; that, at least, doesn't matter to me anymore. I want to change, and be able to save you, and to be able to do the same for anyone if I want to someday, even if they don't ask for my help.

Aiden gathered strength in his legs; at the same time, the already clear sky was obscured by a much stronger brightness.

—If that's the case, I have to be the one to say it first. And ask to be let in…

The moment Aiden stood up, he created a barrier between the rising sun and Maika. The rays of light that came from behind Aiden anyway reached Maika's eyes, preventing her from seeing Aiden's figure clearly and forcing her to close them for a second.

—As they say: When you have to fight, you have to fight. And when you have to take someone's hand, you have to reach out.

When she opened them again, what she saw was Aiden stretching the palm of his left hand towards her with a warm smile, then he said.

—You said that magic is corruption and that you can't save anyone with your magic, and then I denied it. But that's still not true, not until you really feel it and the only one who can change that, is yourself. So, why not take a feather and rewrite your life the way you want? That's what I'll do from now on. In fact, I've already started writing my own story, and it's not a story where you and I run away, it's one where I'm helping the brilliant, beautiful and strong heroine to start hers, in other words, our story, so… Let me be by your side from now on! Please.

The serenity in Aiden's eyes were also accompanied by both warmth and an unusual type of strength in his words. At least Maika felt them like so.

—Seriously.

Maika accepted Aiden's gesture, with her left hand just like him, and as soon as she stood up, she pulled him with all her strength. Aiden lost his balance, falling directly into the arms of the person holding his hand.

Maika hugged Aiden, resting her head on his right shoulder while still holding him with her left-hand so that he couldn't see her expression at this moment.

Nothing like this had been seen before, not even she could explain this happiness she was feeling and couldn't stop.

And all of this was reflected in her face, it was an expression she had never made before and also the purest and most beautiful of all.

—I've been thinking about it for a while —said the embarrassed but incredibly happy girl. «Definitely, you're an idiot, you have the bad habit of saying what you please at the worst time, so you can be easily misunderstood. Think more about things before you say them, idiot!... But...»

Maika squeezed Aiden even tighter at that moment, she couldn't hold back her tears anymore.

—Thank you.

Those were the words that came out of Maika's arched lips.

«Can I be misunderstood, huh? Well, as they are now, things don’t sound so bad. I must be crazy, confessing to a girl I've known for less than three days», thought Aiden. «Besides, first I have to become stronger to endure the changes happening to my body and my mind. I can feel it, like something inside of me started to change, but more than anything and before my problems, I have to become a great man who is worthy of you».

One last thought came to Aiden's mind.

«But seriously… What kind of face will she be making? I'm dying to know».

As for the rest, there is still much to come, but together they were willing to accept it all; the challenges, the tragedies, the victories, the defeats. Everything that made up the selfish decision and overcome it.

That is the kind of story that, this very moment, both decided to create.

And so, the protagonist crosses paths with the heroine, then their story begins!

Oh, and as Aiden had desired, this story ended with Maika smiling.