Gael shook his head while looking at his colleagues. Everyone was making a mess out of nothing. The boys were talking and hitting on the girls, while the girls were speaking in their own groups, trying to ignore the boys.

The white walls and the chairs distributed through the room gave him a familiar feeling, but nothing that he felt drawn to. The smell of perfumes used by the girls were too strong for his taste, they were like peacocks trying to vie for attention.

These things happened everyday during his life, but it was unlikely for him to take part in them. The only link he had with that world was his sister that talked and interacted with others around her. Unlike him she was a sociable person that could fit into any situation, Gael even thought that she could interact with a rock.

However, he was her opposite. Gael rarely interacted with other people, enjoying the company of his books and computer much more. “How could twins be so different?” some asked. Gaael just shrugged and said that it was how things were. In his view, being different was not a bad thing, but for others, that was not true.

Ding dong…

The bells meant time to go home arrived, the hectic conversations that were happening in the class escalated to another level. “THERE IS HOMEWORK!! PAGE 100 TO 110 OF BOOK TWO!” The teacher shouted while trying to remember the students. However, only a few paid attention to what she said, most were so eager to go home and enjoy the weekend that her words were not ignored, but not even heard by most of them.

Gael picked the backpack that was beneath his desk and felt the weight of the books on it, he put some strength on his scrawny arms, lifted his backpack, and walked toward the door. “Hey.” He felt someone tugging on his shoulder. He looked back and saw Emily, his dear sister, calling him.

“I’ll be going home now, will you go as well?” She asked as she approached his ear to speak. The surroundings were so noisy that if she didn’t do that, he was sure that he wouldn’t have heard a thing.

“I’ll go to the hill to read a little before going home. It’s a nice day to read.” He looked outside and saw the clear blue sky and the fluffy white clouds. He was more of an indoors person, but the day was so inviting that he couldn’t help but walk to the nearest hill, sit beneath a tree and read the fantasy book that he had to enjoy the day.

Emily's face had a clear expression of surprise. Her jaw almost fell after hearing what he said. “Gael going to another place and not going home after school…. what a weird day.” She thought while saying with a weird expression on her face. “Okay then, see you later.” She bypassed him and walked away.

Gael left the school while avoiding the groups of students. He quickly walked to the hill that was located next to the school and sat on the soft grass. The cool breeze blew on his face like a kiss from an angel, and the sound of the chirping birds made the place even more relaxing.

He grabbed his book and opened it at the marked page, The words about a great adventure were reflected on his eyes, he enjoyed the breeze while he read.

The world was burning around him, and everything was being destroyed. Creatures made of rock and fire run amok amidst a city that looked majestical and ancient at the same time. People screamed and shouted in fear, the smelling of burning flesh and blood was so strong that the air was almost red in his vision.

The scene changed, he was holding a spear in front of a bonfire, many people were facing the green creatures that were coming their way. He shouted in fear and thrusted his spear forward, stabbing the creature that was coming in his direction.

Flashes after flashes of memories and images appeared in his mind, most of them were blurred and confusing, but he knew that there was some important meaning behind some of them, unfortunately, he couldn’t decipher them. But one thing he was sure, many people died in each of these visions, the horrible scenes impacted him deeply.

The scenery changed another time, and a man appeared in front of him. They were located in a grassfield, with mists surrounding it. It looked like an eternal green plain to where his eyes could see, the smell of fresh grass and dew was intoxicating and relaxing at the same time.

The man in front of him looked older than him, but not much. His eyes were glued in a fixed frowning position, as if many things were weighting upon his back. His messy hair and unfixed clothes told the history of someone that didn’t care for the opinion of others, while the many scars on his face showed that he went through many things. However, the most striking features of the man were both his bloodied glaive and his armor. He looked directly into Gael and said.

“The world as you know will end!” The voice sounded like thunder in Gael’s ears. The man said it with such surety that there was no room for discussion. The strangest thing was that Gael’s mind was clear, and unlike many other dreams he had there was no difference from reality.

Confusion was clear on Gael’s face, what was happening to him? He was sure that he was reading a book just before he fell asleep, however, he had some strange dreams and now he was staying in front of this strange man.

“What do you want from me? What is happening?” He asked. The man just shook his head and said.

“You’ll lose your sister after you wake up. She will forever disappear from this world. If you want a chance to meet her again you’ll have to struggle and fight for everything in front of you.” The cold voice resonated whintin Gael. He knew that the man’s words were true somehow.

“How… How can I stop that? How can I save her?” Fear was clear in Gael’s eyes. After their parents died, the only person left to him was his sister, nothing else mattered. If she disappeared he would be truly lost.

“I don’t have enough time to explain things properly to you. But know that you have received the greatest gift you could ever have. Your sister will surely disappear, but if you are powerful enough there’s a chance to save her.” Amidst the man's cold voice, Gael could clearly feel a hint of sadness. “Wake up and fight for your life! Everything will change for you. Struggle and you survive, stop and you die!”

As he heard the man’s words, the world around him turned black and everything disappeared. An infinite emptiness surrounded him, and after a while he saw the light coming from the distance and filling his eyes….

A soft breeze rustled the trees, and the swaying grass pricked his butt. The teenager opened his eyes and the blue sky filled his view. He rubbed his eyes and said to himself. “What a crazy dream that I just had.” Getting up, he grabbed the backpack that was leaning on the tree.

Just as he was about to put the bag on his back, he froze, the drowsiness disappeared from his eyes, he looked around making a surprised face. “What the hell happened to me?” He looked around and saw the city below the hill. The city looked peaceful, and everything seemed normal. The cars were going from place to place, people were walking on the street.

He felt a great fear gripping his heart, he remembered the man’s words one by one. That everything would change, that nothing would be the same anymore. He remembered what the man said about his sister disappearing. He panicked for a bit, but after little hesitation, ran like a crazy man.

He ran downhill as if there was nothing that could stop him. Fear gripped his heart and he felt as if he was about to explode! He knew somehow that his sister would disappear, and he didn’t have time to waste.

“It doesn’t matter what happens, I have to stop her from disappearing!” He muttered in his mind, but somehow he knew that her disappearance was inevitable.

He simply couldn’t explain what just happened to him. He felt as if he dreamed of the end of the world. Crazy stuff happened one after the other, and people died like leaves falling from the trees in autumn.

The dream was somehow foggy in his mind. But even though they were fuzzy, he knew that they weren’t just a simple dream, but more like memories that truly didn’t belong to him.

Running through the streets, everyone looked at him with puzzlement in their eyes. But he ignored the strange looks and kept running. After a few minutes, he arrived in front of a house, and without even unlocking the door, he rammed at it with his shoulder, forcing it open.

“KYAAAAAA.” A girl screamed from inside the house. She had dark hair, and white skin. Her deep blue eyes opened like sparking diamonds. “What are you doing Gael! ARE YOU CRAZY?!” She shouted at him.

At the moment he looked into her eyes, he was sure that nothing he could do would stop her from disappearing, he took a deep breath and said.

“Sis, look into my eyes, I have something serious to say, it’s a matter of life or death!” Gael knew his sister better than anyone else, and speaking like this, he knew she would pay attention to him. Just like he expected, her eyes narrowed, and she said. “Say it.”

Without even taking a breath, he said. “You’re going to be transported to a strange place in a few moments. I don’t have enough time to explain, But I’ll say only this, don’t trust anyone, and no matter what, survive!”

Just as she was about to nod, she disappeared in thin air, as if she was never there. He looked at the place that she was, and hopped in his heart that his words would change her destiny.

The strange place he talked about was something he saw in the fuzzy images of the dream. He knew that people would appear there, he just knew..

Gael looked at his hand and thought. “Just as he expected, it wasn’t a crazy dream that I had, but a prelude of what was to come.” He sat on the couch, and looked at the ceiling. He felt lost, everything that was left of his family disappeared.

Both he and his sister had lost their parents in an accident, the two of them lived together. There was only a distant aunt that used the pretext of taking care of them to take their money away. From the life insurance and money from their parents, she only sent enough for them to live.

After panicking for a bit, he began to take deep breaths and remember what the man in his dream said to him. Each of the man’s words began to repeat in his mind. But from everything the man said, there was one thing that he must have, power! He remembered that the man said that by only being strong he could save his sister. He didn’t know that to do initially, but he knew that only by getting stronger he could save his sister, and what kind of strength was it that they were talking about? Martial strength! The man that in his dream was wielding a bloodied glaive and an armor. He looked at his scrawny body and knew that to do. He had to train and get stronger!

Gael woke up early everyday, and began his routine by running. After that, he did some anaerobic exercises, working on the muscles all over his body. Even though he was missing school, nobody came after him. After all, with so many people disappearing, no one would care for an orphan. And like that, his days passed.

“My body is too weak!” Gael though. Luckly, his seventeen years old body was strong and quickly regenerated. His youth gave him the strength to go on.

The beginning was gruesome, and he even passed out some times, but everyday, he ate like a wolf and trained like a madman. In the first two weeks, he had some difficulty with the training, but from then on, his willpower and insistence made his body grow stronger every day.

After the first batch of disappearances, more and more people began to mysteriously vanish. Panic reigned everywhere. But knowing what was to come, Gael bought enough supplies and trained in his house everyday. Unlike his sister, he was not handsome. He was just a normal high schooler with normal features. Even his eyes were black, unlike Emily’s blue gems. “How could twins be like that” He thought to himself when he looked at the family photos.

Although he was scrawny, by working out every day, Gael made his body stronger and resilient. Even though he hit the bed like a log everyday, he felt satisfied with the results.

He grabbed a wooden pole and swung it at a nearby tree everyday. His fair hand became calloused, and his muscles grew.

Gael was seated at the couch, looking at his family photos, almost as if he was trying to burn the image into his mind. All they ever had in their life was their parents. They had always been moving from place to place because of their parents' work, not forming deep bondings with anyone. Gael grew up distant from other people, thinking that it was not worth it to make friends or to even get a girlfriend if they would just separate after some time.

Living alone brought its consequences on someone. Everyday during his training he thought about his sister. “How was Emily? Was she alive?” In this dark world of his, she was his only ray of hope, the other side of his coin.

Most brothers and sisters were not so close as they were, but they were different. Relying on each other was necessary to go through all they had, and losing the only person he loved in his life was a huge blow to his already crumbling mind.

Everyday Gael tried to remember the visions from his dream, He took notes and even compiled a notebook with what he could remember. Most memories were strange and incoherent, but some were important and he knew they would be useful someday.

He trained his body and began to train in martial arts. He used the money sent by his aunt to eat and keep training, and just like that, time slowly passed.

The first month of training after his sister’s disappearance was the worst. The physical and emotional pain consumed him everyday. He even thought of giving up many times, of just laying on his bed and letting things go, or just jumping from a bridge and ending everything. But the memory kept him going, he wouldn’t just let go of her.

The second month was easier on the physical side, his body was beginning to get used to the intensive training, but his mind was still in shambles, he was anxious for the day he would disappear and go to the place his sister went to. He trained in many dojos, his daily routine revolved around training his body and going to several dojos. Martial arts like Kung fu, Jiu-jitsu, Aikido, Krav-maga, and muay thai were his bread and butter. He even tried going to a dojo to learn glaive wielding, but their techniques were too simple, and he trained more by himself than by learning what the master had to teach.

Soon enough, the months passed and one year went by. More people disappeared around the world, but these events were ignored, as the people who disappeared were random, and their numbers were too low and nothing could be done about it. Gael was now eighteen years old, and his scrawny body was now nowhere to be seen. His body was now made up of toned muscles, and even though he was not huge, his muscles allowed him to show much power and strength.

“When will my time arrive??!” Gael asked himself while looking at the mirror. He saw the scars that adorned his body, consequences of his reckless training and intensive routine.

He definitely wasn’t in a good mood these days, some lawyers had appeared in order to help him reclaim the inheritance left by his parents. He wanted to deny them, but in the end he agreed to let them help him. He wanted his aunt to lose everything, After he lost his parents, she even tried to take away from him what they left. She deserved to suffer.

Time slowly passed, and Gael became lost in his own world. Two years after his sister disappeared, the lawyers helped him take his inheritance back, together with a lot of money from his aunt. Of course, they were handsomely paid by achieving what they proposed, but even making his aunt suffer and getting his inheritance back was nothing to him. Seeing her fat face pale in the tribunal while hearing the sentence was amazing, but nothing that mattered too much for him.

While he trained like a madman in the dojos, some guys tried to approach him in order to become friends, and even girls tried to flirt with him. But he ignored everyone that tried to get closer to him. He had a goal in mind, and nothing would make him deviate from that. The only things that motivated him were training and reading the notebooks about the visions on his dream. He went through the notebook many times, trying to recall every detail and remember everything that happened in those visions. Monsters appeared a lot of times, and he tried to recall how they fought and how to engage them.

Three years passed, and he couldn’t learn anything more from dojo’s. After he was sure that there was nothing more to be learnt, he made some survival courses and made a crazy decision, he went to live in a jungle in the middle of africa in order to hone his survival skills.

The jungle he decided to train in was full of guerrillas. He tried to avoid them as much as possible, but some things were inevitable. The guerrillas raided villages and killed innocent people. He couldn’t just stand there and do nothing about that.

He looked at all that killing and destruction and couldn’t hold on anymore. He took a deep breath and entered in a meditative state. He had learnt many breathing techniques from ancient china and wushu, but they only served to calm the mind and steady one’s breath, what Gael was doing right now was taking control of his mana, the energy that permeated all life, and controlling it to get stronger.

Everyone in the present world had mana in their bodies, but the amount was so small that taking control of it was impossible, or almost. Gael used the visions from his dream and a surge of enlightenment that came to him to learn how to control his mana. He only achieved that two years and a half after his sister disappeared. He had trained in controlling it for six months, but he felt that he had enough experience to fight the guerrillas.

The following four years were hectic to say the least. His body was full of scars, and even though his face was spared of them because he didn’t have to take a wound to the head, his head was not well for many reasons.

He walked through the part of the jungle where he now reigned. The guerrillas didn’t even dare to set foot in his territory, they knew that doing it was a death sentence. Gael walked through the jungle with a glaive in his hand. He looked ahead and saw a lion. He grinned at the thought of confronting such a beast another time. Of course, he wouldn’t kill the creature, but facing it head on would be funny. He circulated his mana around his body, reinforcing his body, making it stronger and faster.

Just as he was about to rush forward, a light enveloped his vision, and he disappeared from the jungle. Leaving only the glaive that fell to the ground. Seven years had passed, but he was finally going to the place where his sister disappeared to.