3.4

The old man was more intrigued than he had been. He had not expected such a childish response. He paused to think. Looking curiously at the book that had been returned to him, he asked himself some questions like: "How many other explanations do not exist or could he have given me that would have been better founded? What, as intelligent as he is, had it not occurred to him that there were different books? But what if maybe it is because they want to complicate something that intelligent beings make wrong decisions even though they have the answers right where they see them? There is no point in deciphering the reason why he asked that particular question," he thought. Without reservation, the old man asked:

"Can I trust you?"

As soon as Rey nodded his head, the Wise Wizard made motions with his hands as if he were drawing in the air and continued:

"I have power over occult forces, but, even if I teach you to speak and of history, I cannot give you "know". Instead, let me guide you along the path to find that which you seek. This stormy path is but an endurance test for you to see how much you want to learn and how much effort you are willing to give."

"Can't you transfer the knowledge and save me the trouble?" asked Rey looking from the bottom up.

The Great Wise Wizard continued:

"Oh, little one. You live within a world bound by the laws of balance and equal exchanges. To desire knowledge means to feed on something that makes it possible to obtain it. The process is necessary... But what better way to demonstrate to you what I say than by giving you an example?"

"I am listening," said Rey.

"If you are feared and hated all around you," said The Great Wise Wizard, "those circumstances are perfect and will be fine because the emotions that come with them will teach you to keep moving forward. The warrior's body is doomed to transform into war. Knowledge, power and strength are just conjugations of mere words that are easily said and do not even come close to fully describing true power, or true strength, let alone true knowledge. People must sometimes become a well and make their bodies a malleable material. The more they grow with the intention of making capacity for more power and more strength, the more cracks will also abound, and no matter how much they put in, they will never become full. Knowledge, even in the hands of those who never die, is easy to forget and almost impossible to remember. Power in the hands of the humblest ends up dragging him to the corruption and self-destruction of himself, as well as of that which surrounds him. Power in the hands of the tyrant will never be wrong and, in front of the weak, will always be right... Rey, can you remember, understand, feel and respect the sentiment of these words at all times?"

"No, just as I cannot understand them or feel them..." claimed the young man as if realizing something real: knowing is not the same as living.

"That's the point," said The Great Wise Wizard. "Knowing these sentences does not mean that, in truth, you can understand them because they are my knowledge. There will be nothing better than accumulating memories of your own so that you can create your own conclusions, even if those conclusions come too late to be used. Still, knowing all this, are you ready?"

"What should I do?" asked Rey with readiness.

The Great Wise Wizard:

"Walk through the past that once was present. You will walk beside your parents when they came to this place. Feel what they felt. Get close enough to learn from them and accept them, just as they are. Study their opinions. Live their experiences for yourself and then draw your own conclusions," said the old man.

As soon as he finished creating a whole little world of letters, images, emotions and thoughts in his hands, he made everything white turn black and everything black turn white. The colors merged, the sky was swallowed by the earth and the earth rose in an almost bottomless void. And before the intimidating lycanthrope, in the middle of a whole different scenario, Rey made his presence known without anyone seeing him.

It was the past, a place where he could not interfere, only see. Although it was his first time in the time before, Rey understood that it was not strange that he could not do anything, that it was normal that he could not speak and that his voice did not work for him. That no one could see him or speak to him or even feel him. Not the dust on the ground, not the leaves on the trees or the wind. Everything around him was static.

Strolling around the place, Rey inspected every little detail with his eyes. After thinking for a while, he came to the conclusion that he was inside the story that Heroclades had been telling him and his siblings, when his parents and the others escaped from the "bounty hunters". Rey also noticed how his father, Wulfgang, stood like a solid, wild mountain in front of everyone. He was not wearing his usual suit with vest, shirt and tie, nor his short-brimmed hat, but he did maintain his characteristic mole near his left eye, the muscular, solid, robust, arrogant and brave build of someone who had survived countless battles. With red hair, short on the sides but long on top, which he always pulled back, he now wore combat clothing, garments dedicated to protecting the vital organs of the torso without compromising mobility. Rey noticed how time began to resume its course, and with it the imposing body with his father's hand held high. Fang even flinched at the bites and jerks of the great black beast that nearly doubled his size as it stood upright on its two hind legs.

Time ceased to be static to proceed forward. Wulfgang, with his right arm, proceeded to squeeze the aggressor's throat, making him recoil and then lifting him off the ground and projecting him back against the floor, thus exerting even more pressure against the well protected furry neck.

One on top of the other, the two beings roared at each other, faced fierce war faces, full of teeth and wrinkled facial expressions. Rey thought that, if his father was a mountain, in the situation, the big cat was more like a rock. "What harm could a simple rock do to him against something massive and gigantic?" he wondered.

Indeed, Rey turned his head and witnessed that, despite being in front of a dangerous situation, none of the group members dared to interfere or even show interest, except for Ehimus and Katherine, who were suffering more for the animal than for their companion. They were neither interested nor sensed any danger. Looking back, Rey noticed the sad face of Wulfgang, who continued to exert gradual pressure until with his arm he broke one of the animal's upper fangs, causing it to give up in pain. As soon as the lycanthrope undid its grip, that immense being got back on all fours and, with its head bowed, moved away the way it came.

"Why did you do that, I could have hurt you!"

The female voice seemed to have found an opportunity to complain. A voice that caught the little boy's attention, for he well recognized her. It was Maryam, of very young body and short stature, with long white hair, which reached to her waist, but at the moment she had it tied back. She was wearing fine blue earrings, a tight-fitting one-piece dress of the same color, which revealed her thighs to the hips on the sides and back.

"There is no merit in solving a complicated situation in a complicated way if there is a simple solution waiting to be employed. Intimidating her with my strength left her alive and also warned the other observers" said the lycanthrope with the shadow of a half smile on his face.

"It is better to die in battle than not in disgrace. Stop being so selfish and think of others... Fang" said the muscular vampire, who folded her hands and still held her chin up high.

Katherine, she didn't have an appearance that had changed much from how Rey remembered her. With long, flowing white hair, she wore the same combat garments: boots that came up to her knees, gauntlets that came up to her elbows, both made of solid, sturdy metal. On her torso she wore two close-fitting garments, one that covered her breasts a little and another that covered her pelvic area very little. All other areas with defined muscles were exposed to the air. Not to mention the gigantic sword she carried on her back.

From one moment to the next, Rey noticed how the atmosphere was submerged by the presence of another being. Someone strong enough to put those present on guard, including the muscular vampire. With this behavior from the group, the small spectator was able to draw his conclusions as the tension of the moment lingered.

Wulfgang said quietly:

"I can't smell her scent" Thereupon, he almost roared from deep within his chest. "Show yourself! It's inconsiderate for someone like you to send scum to do your dirty work."

Rey circled the place, he couldn't sense the danger that the elders felt, so he had no choice but to wait until he saw how out of the darkness came someone looking particularly at him.

"It can't be, his eyes are looking at me in a world where no one can see me," he thought with a racing heart. At this event, the little boy also noticed how all the other black shadows slowly withdrew as if they had lost interest in the newcomers. Mijan muttered to Heroclades and Katherine, who were standing side by side:

"I think he was watching us from the beginning. This place feels like a "Zone", maybe that's why it has no smell."

Rey could hear the comment coming from the light elf in the group. Mijan maintained his slim build, but with defined muscles. His somewhat long and unkempt silver hair, green eyes, just like Ehimus. He wore a tight-fitting one-piece suit, a double belt at the waist and silver shoulder pads, just like his boots.

None of those present knew who it was that was approaching, which was why they were so excited. Rey calmed down when he recognized the unmistakable metallic gray eyes, black skin and shaven head that were becoming more visible. "It's the Great Wise Wizard," he said to himself. With this thought, the subject changed the direction of his gaze.

"If you seek to harm mine, you will not have my forgiveness" Wulfgang warned, more like a threat, more like a true leader, one who was not afraid to step to the forefront of battle when he knew one of the allies would die.