Cragar's son murmured gently to the teacher, "Marina, is this part of the lesson?"

"Absolutely not, at least not yet."

The boy in the blood red sweatshirt smiled cockily, "What? Are you afraid of losing, son of Cragar?"

Marina remained silent and the entire group did the same. Shirei slowly dropped his purple irises onto Sidal's son who instinctively backed away.

"You can continue, Marina," he said, turning to the blonde.

"Yes," Ien's daughter turned towards the crowd, "I would like to point out that you do not inherit all the powers of your parent, which is why we must be careful who we are in front of. Knowing the enemy is a step towards victory."

Sidal's son looked at them trembling so Marina was sure that he would not continue to represent a problem for the continuation of the lesson.

"Dalia, can you give us a list of the powers of a child of Cragar?"

The little girl took a few steps forward and raised her hand with the palm facing herself.

"So... one," she raised her index finger, "There is 'presentment of death', we can feel when someone is about to die or has already kicked the bucket. Two, we can stay in the Underworld and not suffer its effects."

The demigods were taken by the little girl's words and longed to know more. Marina covered her face with one hand.

Is it possible that no one ever studies textbooks? It's all already written there...!

Dalia resumed her list, "Drum roll, there are other common powers for a child of Cragar. Do you want to know how many I know how to use? Maybe two," she raised her thumb with an annoyed face, "Oh well, anyway, I'm talking about: necromancy, geokinesis, spectral travel, life theft and spirituality."

Dalia scanned the assemblage of demigods, noting the attention they paid to her, and with a mocking smile, she pointed a hand at the ground. A general shiver passed through the arena where the demigods had gathered and a subtle sense of uneasiness permeated the atmosphere.

The ground began to shake slightly. Small pebbles skipped in the air, and the leaves of the surrounding trees rustled in response to an underground movement.

A skeletal hand, made of dirty, faded bones, began to emerge from the ground. The bones moved in a sinister symphony as he heaved and the skeleton soared upward.

The earth cracked under the force of the emerging skeleton as it violently pulled itself out. Having fully emerged, sunlight began to filter through his bones, until he stood staring at those present with empty, sunken eyes.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Dalia continued her speech despite the astonished eyes she had fixed on her: "Necromancy is the power to bring the dead back to life. It's nothing as sinister as you might think, at least I'm good at it. You can summon the bodies of the deceased and they will obey you."

"If they are people or creatures who recently died, they could also become zombies," added Shirei.

"That doesn't mean they can go around resurrecting people as they please!" Marina hastened to specify.

"True, unfortunately not. Dad is quite strict on this subject," the black-haired girl smiled, "Geokinesis is the second power on the list. It is the ability to manipulate the earth itself. With this power, you could create landslides and earthquakes or even open chasms in the ground."

The demigods expected some seismic shock, but Dalia immediately moved on to the next topic.

"Third, the spectral travel. This is interesting. It allows you to temporarily separate your physical body from the mortal world, allowing you to travel through the Interworld. It's as if you become invisible, disembodied ghosts and travel super-fast."

The little girl took on a serious expression and was surrounded by a swirl of shadows which, however, disappeared after a short while. Dalia smiled sheepishly, knowing she had just failed.

"It can be considered a door to the Interworld," Shirei corrected.

Marina came to their rescue and ignored what happened to divert attention from Dalia.

"The fourth power, the 'life theft', is a way in which the children of Cragar can convey life energy, absorb it from others to strengthen their own. Imagine being able to take energy from an external source to heal yourself, that's it."

"Like some kind of energy vampirism?" Michela asked, who in the meantime had started taking notes.

Cragar's daughter nodded, "Yes, but it is very rare indeed. Last but not least, Spirituality. This power is perhaps the most enigmatic of all. I think it's better if someone who knows how to use it explains it to you."

The demigods' gazes shifted to the purple-eyed boy.

Shirei sighed, "The strength of this power lies in the variability of its use. It allows you to come into contact with the Interworld and peer into it. We children of Cragar routinely see spirits, we can even talk to them and have discussions. All this happens thanks to what you call 'spirituality'."

Marina looked at the demigods, noting their expressions of wonder and confusion. That explained Shirei's little need to socialize. He spoke to spirits instead of speaking to demigods.

"These are the powers of a child of Cragar. Now, is there anything anyone has to add or shall we get down to business?"

No one answered.

"Good, then form groups of three and we will try to study how to fight against a son of Cragar."

The demigods gathered in groups, ready to face the children of Cragar with their powers and abilities. Marina felt torn between anxiety and determination. As the demigods prepared for the exercise, her thoughts reached Shirei. The more she spent time with him, the more she felt the weight of their complicated bond. She couldn't ignore the burning desire to prove herself to Aena and Mr. D'Agostini, but she wondered if it was the right choice. Until then, however, nothing had happened. The demigod was hiding something, it was certain, but Marina was confident that it was nothing bad. Once again, he had helped her and simply said the right thing, without showing anything of himself. He was an extraordinary demigod, but he decided to hide to go unnoticed even though everyone had already noticed. She struggled to understand how such a person could be evil, he was far too humble.

Perhaps her judgment was influenced by the different emotions she had felt in the last few days, but she couldn't deny space to those thoughts.