On the bottom floor, crossing the door to the right, there is a large room divided into two. A thin wall with a horizontal opening that made it possible to see the appliances and pots hanging separates the narrow kitchen from the dining room. Attached to the wall, below the opening, there was a hanging counter. The dining floor itself was nothing more than a simple wooden table that could barely accommodate the twelve chairs that were part of the set; and,

—Is it to your liking, my lady? This humble dish that I prepared.

Both were eating the improvised menu of Aiden, spaghetti & meatballs, who had also proposed changing the scenery and using the dining room.

—Well, it's not bad at all. I'm actually a bit surprised.

Perhaps because of the excessive ridiculousness in the words of the boy on the other side of the wall, but Maika felt the desire to respond to her interlocutor with good spirits.

—Although I feel something is missing, —she said with a charming expression, bringing the fork to her cheek—, what could it be? —Maika honestly looked for the answer with her palate.

Aiden gave her the squinted eyes look. His culinary skills were not top class, but not bad either, only one ingredient was missing to prepare the most delicious food, love, as he had learned from his mother. Sadly, with constant surveillance from Maika and the fact that she carried a weapon in her hand, putting a lot of “love” in the dishes would have been the real feat.

—You don't tell… Oh, that's right, apparently, we don't have classes for the rest of the week. A group of thugs, or a psychopath maybe, set fire to one of the buildings, can you believe it? —Aiden made sure to observe Maika's reaction. He found some pleasure in the expression of embarrassment that began to form in his companion—. He burned an entire hallway and several classrooms. Oh, how scary. Where is our youth headed, dear?

Maika could not take it anymore, she dropped her fist on the railing, making the plates (and Aiden) jump.

—What are you suggesting!? It's also your fault. I'm not a lost cause! I swear I don't cause a scene wherever I go. Swear!

At first, he felt a little terror, but listening to her words accompanied by a red face and bitter expression, as if she had sucked a lemon, Aiden couldn't help but laugh out loud; which made Maika even more nervous. Maika desperately reach deep in her mind for excuses to regain her old image.

—Are we going to be okay? —Aiden asked, interrupting Maika's barrage—. The authorities will have investigated every possible angle of the scene.

—Yeah! —Maika cleared her throat as if to swallow the embarrassment before answering—. There's zero reason to worry. From evidence disappearing from the station to information altered in their database, the pros will take care of everything. With a simple message, they know what to do, that's the cleaning team for you.

—Ohh, praise to the clean-up team.

At that moment, Aiden could feel a person obsessed over squeezed in front of a pile of monitors, extending a thumb from somewhere.

The young people continued to exchange comments on a variety of casual and insignificant topics, laughter, and exaltation echoed through the halls of the lonely dormitory for minutes. Then he thought to ask something that had intrigued him from the beginning.

—Where did you come from? —The boy said, after having cleaned his mouth with the charred shirt he brought before his room—. Certainly, you don't see a wizard every day, regardless of where in the world it is. You must come from some special place, or am I wrong?

—You don't need to know —Unlike before, Maika put a clear barrier again.

Without knowing what's good for him, Aiden said the first occurrence he had.

—Oh, come on. The setting has to be the heir of an old and powerful family of wizards, or do you also come from a common and ordinary place? Oh, I know! You grew up in a dungeon or a cave, under a castle in the middle of nowhere, or were the favorite daughter of the leader of a cult, or…

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

He said the most out of place and crazy things that came to mind to get a reaction from Maika. But what he received in return was the sound of the fork crashing on the plate and then bouncing on the wooden floor.

—………

Maika looked at him wide-eyed and with her mouth open. Their eye contact lasted less than a second, both of them quickly looked away to opposite ends of the room. Aiden didn't know why, but it was hard for him to look at her then.

An uncomfortable silence filled their hearts, as both stood still for several seconds until Aiden decided he couldn't take it anymore.

—T-there's something I still don't understand. What exactly is that thing that attacked us?

Maika responded with whatever came to mind, also eager to change the subject.

—Until now, I've called them experiments and monsters, which is not entirely correct or wrong. Let me start by explaining roughly what magic is.

Here we go again, Maika would elaborate on nonsense for him, the young man thought, honestly relieved.

—Imagine reality as a flat sphere, with magic we can alter the surface of that sphere in a specific area, that creates a wave and these irregularities are what allows a magician to make a fireball appear in their hand.

Just as Aiden expected, soon his expression slowly began to change to that of someone who was being spoken to in a foreign language.

—When an idea spreads among millions of people, like the image of an angel, it generates a wave on the sphere, making it easier for us to use magic; let's say we deceive the world. Yes, something like that. —Said Maika, convinced that she had done a good job while ignoring the dumbfounded look on the boy's face—. As almost each person has their interpretation of what an angel should be, it's impossible for one to appear in reality.

—Thankfully that's the case —said Aiden—. I wouldn't want an angel or a Cthulhu in the news every Sunday.

—Of course not. The illusion must have shape, characteristics, and properties in common with the object or element that acts as a medium. Phenomena won't happen just because, soon, or at any time. Even magic, in a way, is governed by laws, not just logic, but also physics. We can't do something that wasn't possible from the beginning, or that will end messing up the spell.

—I assume, when you say that, you're referring to how it's not possible to light a match underwater or throw an electric bolt without oxygen to carry the electrons.

—Technically, it's possible, but it would be extinguished instantly with the water. An explosion would devour the oxygen from a wall of air and dust.

Maika’s eyes fell worryingly on Aiden, but he, not understanding her meaning and absorbed in the conversation, ignored the gesture completely.

—I see… This world is more fragile than it seems. It can't be as easy as just wishing for it, right?

—Right. Generally, we use symbols, metaphors, and all kinds of materials that can be associated with the result of magic to facilitate the process and obtain a better and more powerful result. In addition, without insurance, I would burn my remote control when throwing a spear of fire, as well as without insulation gloves, I would electrocute myself when manipulating a current cable, for example.

»For that reason, usually, magic is not direct, that is where the metaphor comes in. It is common for magic to borrow cultural elements or mythology to cement the image in the mind of the magician. Many even interpret a character or adopt aspects of the lifestyle of the figure on which their magic is based.

»This is a double-edged sword in its own way, as it makes it difficult for the spell to be analyzed when you face another magician. Even if the enemy hears the chant, they do not know how it is being interpreted, but if someone manages to guess what mental image you are evoking, they will always be able to prepare countermeasures.

—Sounds complicated.

—It is. Although that is not my style, I prefer to be direct, overwhelm the enemy with attacks while I set traps. You could say that my magic allows me to flow like water.

—Violent until the end, huh? And what was that, a Bruce Lee reference?

Aiden felt stabbed by the look Maika gave him back. Immediately, he made an apology gesture that Maika reluctantly accepted.

—Getting back to your initial question. What I have stumbled upon so far are originally faults, not monsters, attempts by the human unconscious of billions of people to create angels. Deformations of nature. It happens all the time, a spirit influenced by people's thoughts to take shape, a malformed copy that doesn't work correctly. That's what my teacher has to say about it.

The young man swallowed saliva abruptly, his imagination began to fly when he heard Maika, and she continued.

—Normally, they're not a problem and die on their own. The issue is that those faults, in their current state, it would be more correct to call them homunculi, are an experiment to produce the real thing. In truth, this world is full of sick people and their experiments. The real monster is born when a human intervenes.

A look full of hate appeared, directed at no one, but present nonetheless. That expression ruins your beautiful face, Aiden thought, but he would never dare to say it, he didn't want a bullet between his eyebrows after all.