Numerous old furniture were scattered in a totally disharmonious way along with random animal paintings on the wall, you could barely call it a living room. Sitting in a large armchair, a short, long-haired old man scratched his hair as he put tobacco in his pipe. Above his head, mosquitoes fought for a place close to the light bulb.

In the corner of the room, wooden shelves supported small glass boxes with circular holes in its lids. After a short examination it was possible to recognize small beings with articulate and hairy legs. Tarantulas of all kinds and collors. One of them being particularly eye-catching. A beautiful red-legged tarantula with charcoal-black abdomen. The tarantula looked restless in its enclosure. The arthropod could barely stand still in its burrow without bolting in a random direction. An extremely uncommon behavior for a healthy tarantula.

Feeling the uneasiness of his pet, he got up and walked over to the enclosure in the shelf. As he opened the box, he spread out his hand and his little friend quickly crawled over to it.

“Tell me what you are feeling, my dear elise.” As if answering its owner's question, the tarantula shrank all its members and refused to make any kind of move.

"So, has it begun already ?" He asked.

She spread her legs and walked to the old man's forearm.

“Unfortunately, it was bound to happen. I just hope the kid made the wise choice. Like it or not, we already cling to him, did we not, Elise?”

The spider walked for a few more seconds on the man's arm before stepping back into its enclosure. About to return to his chair and prepare his tobacco, he heard two knocks on his door and the shout of a young person.

“Hey, senile old man, don't you miss me?"

Cracking up a smile, the old man said to himself: "Speaking of the devil, he's right outside my door and seems not to have made the wise choice."

He had just opened the door when he was surprised by the quick and strong hug from the young man in front of him.

"Wow, take it easy kid. You're not too weak that you can hug me like I'm made of iron. Also, the next time you call me that I'm gonna show you who is senile."

When he said that, they looked at each other for a moment until they burst out laughing.

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"Looking sharp, Ariel." He said while putting his hand in the young man shoulder.

"You are not looking too bad either, Master Kiu."

"Come on, sit down boy. A civilized conversation is made when all its members are seated.” In a split second, Kiu was already seated with his pipe in his mouth.

"Some would call it laziness." Ariel answered in a playful tone as he admired his master's tarantula species.

"Well, since I'm old enough, I can call it wisdom." A little fearful of the conversation to come, he continued. "The fact that you show up at my door right now is a sign that your choice has been made, I assume?"

"You got it right, old man. Can I then assume that you will give me the information I seek?"

Kiu's facial expression now seemed harder, he even changed his tone. “Don't come at me like that, kiddo. You know damn well how I would feel about this stupid decision were you to choose it someday.” Shifting his gaze to his peaceful tarantulas he didn't stop talking. “I won't have a heavy conscience in knowing that I had influence on my only disciple's death. This is a dangerous path that will inevitably lead you to this. You know how unfair it is to ask me that, Ariel."

Gritting his teeth and looking his master right in the eyes, he said in a decisiful tone: "You know how important he was to me, master. In the same way you are the closest I have as a father he was the closest I had as a brother. This isn't about revenge, it's about justice. As a brother, that is the minimum I should do for him."

Putting his hands on ariel's cheek, Kiu said sadly: "I don't doubt your pain, your seriousness nor the moral sense you developed in Taiaso. Ben was a good kid just like you and it's unforgivable what happened to him. But you must think of yourself too. You came from shit, yet you graduated in the best university in the country while having a great understanding of Taiaso. There is a bright future ahead for you."

“There is a lot of pain in your story and you deserve a chance to have a normal and happy life. All a father wishes is for his kid to be happy and safe. I hope you understand that.”

“Be at ease, master. I came here knowing that I might not obtain the information needed. I am and will always be grateful for you taking me in as an orphan, for teaching me how to deal with my past, my misgivings and my powerful emotions.”

“Therefore, I must withdraw. You've already given your answer and it's late at night, I don't want to bother you anymore. As you may know, I assumed both positions as a high school and Taiaso teacher. I will be very busy from now on and I do not know when or if we will meet ever again.“

Ariel hugged Kiu and said goodbye. He walked to the door while the old man watched him in silence. Just as he was about to open it, he heard his master's voice.

“Damn kid. I really didn't want to help you one bit. I prayed in my head that you would go back until the very last moment.”

“Heh?” Ariel was stunned as Kiu spoke.

Oh God. Is he actually going to help me?

“From the beginning I was planning to give you the information you wanted if you chose this path. We both know this is a path comparable to a war. And in a war, one cannot fight his battles unarmed.”

“Listen well boy, because this information wasn't easy to acquire. You might want to take some notes.”