A Perfect Host

Jake's response was accompanied by a deep sigh, his eyes clouding over with a mixture of nostalgia and skepticism. "It's been passed down in my family for generations," he explained. "Our parents made sure we believed the myth, or at least pretended to."

His gaze turned vacant, like he was recalling a distant memory. "They sat us down and carved the story into our minds, telling us that the guardians of the artifact must protect it with their lives."

"It's comprehensible," Rachael said. "No matter how much they try to convince you that the legend is true, you'll only believe what you see with your own eyes."

"But I'm telling you now, the story is true. I saw the Anthropters from another planet come to claim my brother two days ago."

Jake's eyes regained their sparkles, and he placed his hands on his trembling legs to still them but his nervousness was too much for him to control at once.

"They… they came here?" he repeated, his voice barely above a whisper.

"You don't have to worry, they didn't stay for long," Christina, noticing his body movements, said in a soothing and reassuring voice. "They just took Mike and left."

Jake let out a puff in relief. His worst fear is not happening yet.

"But what about the book?" Stefan asked. "I mean, you'd want to feed your curiosity and read the book in the box to know if the story you've been told is true."

"Oh yeah! That's the most interesting part," Jake replied. "The book is written in different languages and symbols that aren't from our world. Even the best language translators couldn't identify it."

Rachael and Stefan shared disbelieving glances. Their surprise was boldly written on their faces.

"Is something wrong?" Christina asked.

"I remember Mike telling us that he was reading the book before... well, before he was chosen, or should I say, possessed?" Stefan clarified.

Rachael nodded in concurrence, her eyes clouding over as she recollected. "That's right, he even told us about the contents of the book – something about a mission he had to embark on and a problem he needed to solve," she said.

"If what you're saying is true, then..." Jake's voice trailed off, his eyebrows ascending. His reaction left the others hanging in anticipation.

"Then what?" everyone asked, leaning in.

"Your friend didn't just take the box out of curiosity or intrigue; he was drawn to it," Jake responded.

"I've thought about it long and hard, and I realized that Mike had gotten all the books he wanted," Rachael said, stroking her hair. "So, why would he risk being caught by carrying a locked box simply because he was curious about what was inside?"

"Now, everything makes sense," she added.

"He's a perfect host," Stefan muttered.

"You mean he was chosen even before the krara was released?" Tina rejoined. "That's simply impossible. We all know that, don't we?"

"Otherwise, how could he have read and understood the language in the book?" Jake chimed in curiously.

"With ease," Stefan added. "When he told us the contents of the book, it was clear that he didn't have any trouble understanding the language. He didn't seem to be using a translator either."

Jake nodded thoughtfully before standing up. "Give me a few minutes, I'll be right back," he said, hurrying upstairs. 

As he disappeared into the corridor, Tina turned to Rachael. "Have you been able to reach your brother since he left?" she inquired.

Rachael turned to Christina, giving her a quizzical look. Christina nodded positively. "We spoke last night, and he assured me he's fine," she replied.

"You spoke last night? How?" Tina wondered. "Don't tell me you guys used a phone."

"It's a long story," Stefan intervened and turned to Christina. "Try to reach him again, see if you can establish contact."

Meanwhile, Tina's gawking never left Stefan's face, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Hey, Mike! Are you there?" Christina called.

Tina finally lifted her gaze from Stefan and glanced at Christina, watching as she tapped her neck repeatedly, she shook her head slowly, obviously unaware of the lav's presence.

Just then, Jake arrived; his descending footsteps on the staircase resonated through the sitting room, the atmosphere shifted, and the conversation paused momentarily. He emerged from the staircase and settled onto the couch beside Christina and his daughter, while Stefan and Rachael sat opposite them.

Stefan seized the opportunity to pose a question that had been lingering on his mind. "Aren't you angry about Mike stealing the box?" he inquired.

Jake pondered the question for a moment before responding with a sigh. "I was, sincerely, until a moment ago when you told me Mike was able to understand the language in the book and the subtle description of his appearance."

"Even without you telling me that, what can I possibly do?" Jake continued. "I couldn't ask him to return the power that he's already wielded. I've always known I'd be the last guardian anyway."

"Guardian?" Everyone drawled.

"What do you mean? Can you please elaborate?"

"I'd rather not talk about that now, please," Jake said, his voice firm but polite.

Instead, he raised an old, worn journal in his hand and addressed the room. "This is a diary of my ancestor, passed down to me from my father," he explained, handing the journal to Tina. "Take, and read it aloud."

Tina took the journal and began to scrutinize the pages, her face scrunched up in distaste. "Who on earth wrote this?" she sniffed in distaste.

"It's written in French, I'm well aware that I taught you the language as you grew," Jake said. "Just read it, and I'll translate."

"It's not the language, it's the handwriting – I can barely see a thing!" Tina exclaimed, stretching the book back to Jake. "You read, and I'll translate."

Jake took the journal and began to read, his voice smooth and fluent. Tina translated almost simultaneously, their voices blending together in perfect harmony.

"It was around 8 p.m. when I opened my eyes and beheld dozens of lifeless soldiers surrounding me," Jake read. "The war between the French and the Spanish had come to an end. I glanced at my torso due to the pain I was feeling, and I saw that four bullets were buried in my body. I tried to..."

"Can you please just skip the lifeless soldiers and bullet part and jump to the climax?" Christina cut in, wincing as though she was seeing it with her imaginary eyes.

Jake delicately flipped the pages of the journal over, his eyes scanning the yellowed paper as he began to read again: 

"Just when I was about to succumb to despair, a creature appeared before me. She introduced herself as Vat, an Anthropter from the kingdom of Perebia, located on the distant planet of Noan. Her large, bat-like wings furled as she descended before me, her elongated ears and piercing red glowing eyes a stark contrast to anything I had ever laid eyes on."

"She claimed to have lived for over one thousand five hundred years, dying and being reborn again, a cycle that had repeated itself countless times."

"She said she would save my life if I swore an oath to become a guardian of an ancient artifact. I thought she was utterly mad, but without meeting me before she knew my name. She already possessed knowledge of everything about my life. I was desperate to survive, so I swore to do whatever she wanted." 

Tina's translation flowed smoothly, her voice weaving in and out of Jake's, painting a vivid picture in the minds of the listeners.