The three of them sat down in Nathanaël's living room. Marc had started the story and Elie was filling in what was missing.

“Incredible!”

Nathanaël couldn't believe it. They really were powerful. More powerful than Marc after he'd obtained this strength. Even if he'd managed to get rid of the white beings, the man in black remained at a level completely unattainable.

“He told you he was famous. Do you know who he is?”

“I really feel like I've seen him somewhere, but I'm having trouble figuring out who it is.”

“I have that same impression, but I can't see either.”

The three friends thought for a long time. This extremely handsome and charismatic man he'd told them he was known didn't tell them anything on earth. What's more, they now knew that he either lived in this world or was just a story or legend.

“Maybe he's a Greek god?”

“Or Egyptian?”

“Or the yeti?”

Elie seemed very serious in her development. Marc and Nathanaël wondered if she lacked a little IQ.

“How could a guy that good-looking be the yeti?”

“Maybe they don't have the same shape on earth.”

That seemed more logical.

“In that case, could it be a known human?”

“Maybe he's as handsome as over there?”

At this question, Marc thought again to himself. Was he handsome? It didn't look like it, but Marc cared a lot about his appearance. He often looked in the mirror to see if he was handsome or not. Even if he didn't think himself excellent, he didn't think himself ugly at all. His friends often told him he was lucky to be the way he was. But he wanted to know for sure.

“Hey, Elie? Am I handsome?”

Elie couldn't believe her ears. She turned a little red. As far as she was concerned, Marc wasn't ugly at all. But usually, when a girl said a guy was handsome, it was because she liked him. Elie wondered if he was missing a little IQ.

“Why are you asking me that?”

“Just like that.”

For Marc, the way to find out if a boy was really handsome or not was to ask a girl.

“Marc, are you serious? Let's focus.”

“Yeah, you're right.”

Elie breathed, reassured that he didn't have to answer. She had no desire to reveal her feelings like that.

“But what else can we find out? Maybe 'known' is his name?”

“Maybe? We really don't know anything about these guys. I'll summarize what we've got. The man in black is very strong. The world of these people is really weird. The known guy is 'known' in this world. The white beings are like anti-human guards, or rather anti-intrusion guards. And the passages between the worlds of this field no longer exist. We don't know the reason, but maybe it's the 'known man' he's shut down for fear of getting tapped by someone.”

“That's about all we've got.”

Marc was clearly not satisfied with their visit. He had no way of stopping these guys or saving his friends. He'd only advanced one square on a board of a hundred. Or a thousand. He had the impression that the die was only showing them the face of the number 1.

“What can we do?”

“Warn people?”

“No one will believe us.”

They began to get depressed. If there really was an end and it was near, there was absolutely nothing they could do. If the man in black decided to kill everyone that day, he'd kill everyone without a care in the world. Their vision came back to them. A nightmare they'd rather avoid.

“It's discouraging.”

“Let's keep researching. It's the only way we can.”

Nathanaël was trying to remotivate their group, but even he had his doubts. He hadn't even had the courage to go into this unknown world. If anyone could do something, it was Marc. But when he looked at him, Nathanael still saw that black aura around him. If Marc became an enemy, would he be able to defeat him?

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Good. Let's go then. Thanks again, Nath. Without you, I don't know what we'd have done.”

“You're welcome.”

Marc and Elie walked out of Nathanaël's house. It was still shining. They both got back into the car they'd been in. Elie went home.

“See you tomorrow, Marc.”

“Huh?”

Marc didn't have time to tell her not to come back every day when she was already gone. He really couldn't get rid of this girl for even one day. At the same time, he remembered that he had promised to protect her.

Marc arrived at his house and went inside. He found his parents. He looked at them for a long time without moving. If he did nothing, they would die too. But there was nothing he could do. The man in black was strong. Marc didn't want to lose them. Marc entered his house and greeted his parents. His father spoke first.

“Have you gone off and done something crazy with her again?”

What are you talking about?”

“You've been gone all day. It's so rare to see you out on weekends.”

Her mother had added a layer.

“So you were away with Elie Brudmand, master?"

Marc turned and saw Jin cooking with his mother.

“But...But...But what are you doing here?”

“I've come to help my master's mother cook.”

“Who said I was your master, and since when have you been showing up at my house like this.”

“Right now, I live alone. And since you said you'd make me stronger by entering this other world, I'm here to observe your daily routine.”

“If he lives alone, there's no problem. He can stay home.”

“Mom.”

Marc couldn't believe how serious this was. But Jin still wore the same look. The black look filled with lust for power. And that even while cooking.

“I'll follow you until I can beat you.”

“Stop being so formal.”

Marc told himself he'd gotten a strange brother, then left for his room.

“Never mind, maybe you'll be better off by my side.”

Jin bowed ninety degrees.

“Thank you, master.”

“Stop calling me master.”

Marc sat down on his bed. It had been a busy day. He'd met the man in black for the first time in real life. Even if he hadn't killed him in his dream, he hadn't hesitated thirty seconds before trying to stab him. The light escaping from Nathanaël's sword had protected him.

“How is this possible? Can this sword also increase its power level by going over there? Maybe if I find another entry I can get a sword that cuts mountains?”

Marc took the sword Nathanaël had given him. A sword made of pure-looking metal. Even so, since its passage into the other world, it seemed to exude the same aura as Marc. He took it and began to wield it like the characters in anime. He had the gift of copying a lot of techniques just by seeing her once. Of course, it wasn't enough to call him a master swordsman, but for him it was an incredible feeling.

He started with the basics. A vertical cut, then a horizontal one. Then he tried some more technical ones. With the skills he had, he knew he could cut through a wall without any problem. He went out into his garden to cut a tree, a flying pebble, a falling leaf... He wanted to understand the very essence of swordplay. He knew that other people could do this without super abilities. So he tried to restrain himself.

He split the earth in his garden several times. Beneath his feet, clear marks appeared more and more numerous. Marc looked at the marks. All more or less straight.

“It's not perfect.”

So he continued to cut the air. He tried several other techniques he'd seen. Then he realized that in this art, the legs were also indispensable. He began to move from left to right. He tried several moves with a jump. Although at first it didn't look like much, precision gradually came with his movements. He cut more and more falling leaves. More and more pebbles in flight. His movements became faster and more precise.

It occurred to Marc that moving like this didn't make sense.

“What if I tried?”

Marc used the shadow to imagine an opponent. An opponent who had traumatized him. His laughter, which housed a billion laughs, had been enough to immobilize him. His blood-red, black eyes. And that aura, darker than the word itself, enveloping everything he could see.

No image emerged. Marc could only see darkness.

“That's the way it is. Wait and see.”

Marc first imagined the wings he'd seen from behind. Then the blood-spotted black robe, then the gaze, then the footsteps. Little by little, the powerful being appeared before Marc. Marc looked at him. He was far less impressive than he had been then.

Marc wanted to move forward, but before he could think of anything else, he was cut off. The illusion stopped immediately. Marc was sweating profusely. Once again, there was nothing he could do. While this powerful being was not even a tenth of what he really was, Marc hadn't been able to move.

Marc resumed his training. It was a full moon that day. The blue moon was huge in the sky. Its rays touched Marc's blade. The sword seemed to glow softly before absorbing all the light coming from the moon. Marc was dark as the moon sent him a vessel of intense light. As if it wanted to pull him out of the gloom.

Marc sliced through the air. Over and over again. Then he looked at the vessel of light the moon was sending him. He positioned his sword, then sliced through the vessel itself. The light, cut in two, stopped shining on Marc. Instead, it began to rain.

Marc looked up at the sky. Even though it was cliché, he let every raindrop fall on his face.

“Are those your tears, Lune?”

The rain continued to fall. Marc took out his sword again and tried to cut off as many drops as possible.

“Stop crying. I'm not a man worthy of your attention.”

The raindrops gradually diminished. Marc had almost missed them all. He wiped his blade and prepared to go inside when he saw Jin hiding at the bottom of his garden.

“Master. That was beautiful.”

A tear rolled down his cheek.

“I thought you were insensitive. Don't just stand there, you'll catch a cold.”

They returned together and each went to his room.

Sunday passed quickly. Marc had spent the day cutting the aire with new and old techniques. His art was certainly improving, but he still couldn't stop the man in black. He was getting sliced every time.

Elie had come to see Marc. She met Jin before starting to train with them.

Jin had spent the day imitating her. Since Marc wasn't a master swordsman, he clearly couldn't teach him anything. They'd gone to Nathanaël's to get another sword.

“This is the last one I'm lending. My father will kill me if I keep giving it away like this.”

Then Marc did his homework and went to bed. It was the last week before his vacation. Marc didn't find it particularly exciting. The week passed quickly, and Thursday was just like any other.