“Numbers ninety six to one twenty three shall stay here,” he said, unlocking the door. “Professor Leilani shall be expecting you inside. As for the rest, you can call me Professor Mystic. Our destination is on the other side of these woods,” he said, pointing to the direction where the sounds came from. “Don’t worry though, we won’t have to walk today.”

He spread his arms out and his costume turned red, with glowing golden symbols appearing on his arms. “Av aol mpmao'z iypknl,” he said and with that, for the briefest moment, everything was bathed in a red-golden light before going back to normal.

Well, normal was a relative term. Instead of the mansion, I was now looking at a few houses in the distance, spread about in a way that gave them all ample space while also leading to the city, which was now visible in the distance.

“This is awesome,” said Ivan beside me, and I couldn’t say I disagreed.

We both turned around only to be met with Professor Mystic’s back–his suit was still red–looking at a mansion identical to the one we were looking at not five seconds ago, except this one was on a tiny island a bit out of the shore. The only thing connecting the two islands was a stone bridge, level with the shore on our side.

“This,” said Mystic, “is going to be your main dormitory for the next four years–at least I hope it is. Next time I see you will be in your Hero History One. Very important subject, I suggest you all participate.

“For now, feel free to explore, or go to your dorm. Your items should be there already. In any case, I bid you all farewell, and the grandest of luck. Tf vmmpjl.” He once again raised his arms, this time teleporting himself out of here and leaving us behind.

There were a lot of murmurs after he left. Eventually everyone quieted down, with many people going in the direction of the city, others going to the building while some, me and Ivan included, stayed behind.

“So, how about it? Mansion or city?”

“Mansion,” I said quietly. “If you don’t mind, that is. I’d like to get settled.”

“Sure,” he smirked. He wrapped his arm around me. “Can you believe it?” he asked. “Atlantis! The cream of the crop, the top of the top…other English sayings about how awesome this whole thing is! We have to go get some food after this.”

Even if I did feel slightly odd about him touching me, I couldn’t help but laugh about his enthusiasm. “You know, you’re way too lean for someone who apparently eats three breakfasts.”

“As well as two lunches and dinners. I also snack constantly, so prepare to be annoyed,” he said as we started walking.

“Further proving my point, κοιλιόδουλε.”

“Jebi se.”

“What?”

“Now you know how it feels!” he said overly theatrically. “But, to answer your question, I have an extremely fast metabolism due to my power, which basically lets me run really fast. What about you?”

“Well, I’m pretty fast too, especially when it comes to running away.”

“No, you fool,” he chuckled. “What about your power?”

“Oh,” was all I could say for a while, until we eventually reached the end of the bridge.

Unlike the previous mansion which was surrounded by forests, this one was on top of a hill, which seemed to be the only thing on this island, alongside a few smaller hills surrounding it. There was a long staircase leading up to it.

“I can…destroy things,” I said while we were heading up the stairs. “That's why I wear the gloves.” It was still not an easy thing, mentioning my power so casually. Ivan noticed too probably, because he didn’t say anything else while we walked.

We eventually reached the top, only to be met by a large marble archway, and a wooden door that was slightly ajar.

The mansion was once again massive, with glass windows dotting it. The central part of it was jutting out the rest, with the two other parts on each side retreating further back, covered in vegetation.

For some reason, I felt my breath catch in my throat. It almost felt larger than life. Like it was too intimidating to enter.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

Ivan didn’t seem to have any problem however, as he pushed the door open. That snapped me out of my thoughts and I rushed to follow him.

The interior was just as massive as the exterior. In the middle was about a head taller than me, and it looked like it was a hero wearing a cowl that covered the upper part of his face and a cape that covered his entire body. It was on top of a platform which had The Hero inscribed on it. Around it was a circular staircase that led to the basement.

Behind it were twin staircases that framed a glass door and on the side walls were arches that headed to the rest of the house.

“We’re on separate floors,” I said to Ivan who let out a hum in response. “How about we meet here in half an hour?”

“How about we make it a full hour?” he asked with a smirk. “Get ready to, you know, settle in.”

“Sure.”

To be frank, I wasn’t excited about living in a basement. At least there would be some view according to Professor Mystic. At the bottom of the stairs I found an empty hallway, leading to rooms on both sides. There was a white door in the wall, but it was taped off with a ‘Staff Only’ sign on it. The smaller doors–the ones I assumed lead to the dorm rooms–had the numbers of the people they were there for in them.

There were people going in and out of the rooms, or standing in front of them. Three were even in front of what I assumed was my room based on the eighty five and eighty six there.

A short but muscular dark skinned man with long hair and dual coloured eyes–pale blue, almost white, left eye and a green one–was chatting with two girls who were slightly taller than him. They were identical, tan skinned with the exact same soft facial features. Their only difference was that one had long dyed red hair and a nose ring, while the other had short brown hair with a single white streak.

I cleared my throat. “Excuse me?”

The guy turned to me, looking at me almost annoyed. “Yeah?”

“Um, I think you’re standing in front of my room.”

“Oh!” He widened his eyes and extended a hand outward. “I’m Sadid Al-Madini. We’ll be roommates. And these lovely ladies here will be our neighbours.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said while shaking his hand. “I’m Alexander Adamos, but you can call me Alex.”

“Nice to meet you too!” said the red-haired girl. “We’re Sofia!”

“What?”

“Our dear parents gave us the same name. Best thing you can do to identical twins, huh?” The other one rolled her eyes at her sister’s tactics.

“You can call me Sophie, and her Sofia,” said the red-haired-Sofia whilst also forcing Sofia into a hug. “Go and get settled, Alex. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of chances to get to know each other.”

“Just remember, I get the window bed,” saud Sadid before he got back to talking with the girls.

To be honest, I would have liked to have it, but I didn’t see a point in stirring up trouble on my first day. As I turned to open the door though, I saw that trouble seemed to have a way to follow me. There was no keyhole in the door. In place of it was a large rectangle with a handprint on it.

“Uh, Sadid?” I asked after taking a deep breath. “Can you open the door?”

“Why exactly can’t you do it?” he asked without turning around.

“I just can’t-It’s more of a glove issue. I can’t exactly take mine off to touch it.”

“I repeat my previous question.”

It looked like this was a conversation I couldn’t avoid.. Still, this was a new place. I needed to have an open mind about it. “If I touch something with all my fingers it will be…destroyed. So I’d rather not.”

He let out a chuckle at that. “That sounds pretty cool. Talk to whoever’s in charge around here though. Don’t want to get yourself locked in here if I’m not around, do you?”

I forced a chuckle of my own out before I said bye to the three of them, closing the door behind me. The room was relatively barren. There was a window opposite of the door, with the two beds and bedside tables on the left side of the room and the closets on the right.

I checked and my stuff was indeed in the wardrobe furthest from the window. I plopped myself on my bed and took my phone out. It was still pretty early, even though it felt like it’d been an eternity.

I looked at my hand. At the glove I was wearing.

I called Birgit. There was no answer.

Iraklis would be too busy to talk right now, we’d already scheduled a call for later.

A few minutes later, I called Birgit again. Still no answer, and suddenly my chest felt like it was on fire.

I thought back to Ahmed’s words. We weren’t the same, him and I, him and I. Far from it. But we were both weak in a sense. Him because of his powerlessness and me because of the sheer risk and hazard that my power was.

Plus, Jensen trusted him enough to mentor him. To sponsor him into Atlantis–whatever that meant. And if I couldn’t trust Jensen’s word then I wouldn’t be here. So I called him.

“Hello?” came from the other line.

“Ahmed? It-it’s me, Alex. You remember-”

“Yes, I do,” he said, and I could swear I heard a smile from his end. “You made it in?”

“I made it in,” I said, and my whole face split into a grin before I was brought back to reality. “I think we should talk.”

“About?”

“You know,”

“Do I, now?”

“I’m not in the mood,” I snapped at him.

“Twelve o'clock tomorrow,” he said curtly. “And you’ll understand everything.”