Chapter 1

The alarm clock rang in the morning, meanwhile Alfred barely opened his eyes and with a slap he turned off the device. He slowly gets up and looks at the time

"Damn I'm going to be late for school!" - he says exalted.

He went to the bathroom, rinsed his face with a splash, quickly returned to his bedroom where he hurriedly put on his school uniform while brushing his teeth at the same time.

"Ahh… it can't be!" - He exclaimed. His uniform had torn right in the middle of his legs. But there was no time to waste. He finishes dressing and rushes out of the apartment with his laces undone. He runs straight to the bus stop and finally arrives. The stop was full of students from the same school wearing the same uniform.

Alfred watched as everyone was having a conversation and laughed happily. While he was there just watching them socialize.

"Hehehe… hello, do you go to the same school?" - Alfred said trying to join the conversation, but he was just ignored.

"Ugh... this day will be very long" - he said to himself.

Suddenly, the bus arrives and the young students rush on. No one queued to enter, but everyone piled up to get on, while Alfred was at the back of the crowd, trying to pass through the people.

"Excuse me, excuse me!" - He said timidly while he made space with his arms and legs among the crowd of people.

"Hey, move over!" - They exclaimed among the crowd and Alfred receives a push, flies away and falls to the ground with a slap. Everyone looks at him laughing instead of helping him up.

"This is not my day" - Alfred said silently, as he subtly stood up from the ground. Then the bus left in a hurry, leaving Alfred stranded. He just stood there, smelling the smoke from the truck all over his face and watching them abandon him at the stop.

"The day is just beginning and I already want it to end. Well, I haven't had breakfast, I better go eat something" - said Alfred.

He left the place walking along the sidewalk, looking at the reality of his dirty city. The streets were full of garbage, there were strange people on the sidewalks.

"Hey hey you! Pss! Lend me some money!" - Some strange guys told him, but Alfred just ignored them with distrust and continued on his way.

It was cold but he had forgotten his coat, so he put his hands in his pants pockets to try to warm them. He arrives at a convenience store and begins to wander the aisles. He grabs an instant soup and a soda. But when he goes to pay the cashier, he runs into a long line.

"Ohh no! It can't be that there's only one cashier." - he said to himself as he looked up, tired of the bad luck he had to live with. However, soon the line emptied, he paid for his food and left the store. He sat on the sidewalk and proceeded to eat the soup. There was Alfred, looking bitter and waiting for the day to end. When he tasted the hot soup, he began to feel relief, since the heat of the soup calmed the cold he was suffering.

"Well, not everything is so bad, it could be worse." - He said.

Suddenly, while he was pouring his soup, he looked at a stone lying on the ground, right in the middle of the street. A stone very different from the rest, a crystalline red stone.

"Hmmm what a strange stone." - he thought, and looked around to see if no one was seeing him and if there were no cars passing by. He got up from the sidewalk, walked toward the street, picked up the stone, and began to admire it meticulously.

"Wow, it looks like a gem! I had never seen a stone like that. Maybe my luck will improve with this stone. Well I think I have to go, I already missed the first class but I'm sure I'll make it to the second." - he said. 

Alfred threw the empty soup can into the trash and continued on his way to the bus stop. As he walked down the street he looked at the stone, holding it with his two fingers. His eyes stared at the stone, as if a magic spell had hypnotized him.

Due to the distraction, he collides with a group of students waiting for the bus stop.

"Hey, watch where you're walking, loser!" - the guy exclaimed

"I'm... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." - Alfred said, scared and with his head down.

"I think he wants trouble, Bill." - one of them said.

The guy throws a punch at Alfred's face with such force that he ends up knocking him down.

"Hey, I told you I didn't mean to!" - Alfred said, slowly getting up, frowning and showing anger.

"The virgin wants to fight hahaha!" - shouts one of the bullies

Alfred stands up, clenching his hands. His face showed some traces of blood but he hadn't let himself be totally intimidated, yet.

"I'm not afraid of you!" - shouted Alfred.

He receives another blow but this time in the abdomen. Alfred falls back to the ground, clutching his stomach.

Alfred gets up again.

"Wow this loser is stubborn!"

"We have to teach him a lesson."

The bullies approached Alfred one more time.

"What am I doing! This is crazy, I'm an idiot!" - thought Alfred

But something happened. A smoke emerged from the ground behind Alfred. The smoke took the shape of a black hood, carrying a sword which it proceeded to raise.

"What the hell is going on!" - the bullies shouted when they saw the black hood.

"Let's go!" - they said as they ran in fear.

"Hey? Why do they run?" - Alfred said.

Alfred slowly turned back and looked at the hood with his sword drawn. He was petrified seeing it.

"Ah...who are...you...you?!" - Alfred said with a brittle voice and with his mouth open with fright.

"The stone... give me the stone..." - the black hood said, extending his hand and speaking in a deep voice, and with a low tone, as if he was whispering.

But Alfred began to run terrified without a fixed direction, all in order to escape from that hood.

As Alfred ran away with all his strength from him, he felt a tug on his arm. Someone had taken him by the hand, then he heard a female voice telling him

"Come with me!"

Alfred turns to see her. She was a young woman with short dark hair, approximately his age, wearing a blue dress and a witch's hat with a red ribbon in the middle.

The young woman headed towards a dirty and dark alley, where they hid from the black hood.

"And who are you…? What's going on here?" - Alfred asked scared.

"Shhh... here it comes" - she said.

In front of them a whirlwind of purple smoke begins to emerge. The smoke takes shape and is the black hood that had chased them. He raises her sword again but suddenly, the girl points her staff and fires a bolt of lightning, which hits the hood, disappearing it in an explosion of smoke.

"Phew... we are saved" - said the girl. At this point, Alfred no longer had anything to say, but he was completely in suspense by the spectacle that had passed before his eyes. He proceeded to walk out of the alley, and stood on the sidewalk, touching his head.

"Have I gone crazy?... You're not real!" - Alfred said, pointing his finger at the girl. She, for her part, walked towards him, took his arm and put it down gently.

"My name is Merydia… hehehe and yes, everything you saw is real, and there is still a lot to see."

"Is there much left to see?" - Alfred exclaimed, grabbing his hair.

"That hood came looking for something. My staff can detect when one of those hoods is nearby or when he crosses over to the other world, that is, to this world. I came as soon as I could to see what was happening and luckily I saved your life." - said Merydia.

"Ah the stone!" - Alfred thought, then he put his hand in his pocket and extended it towards Merydia showing her the stone.

"He's looking for this stone, take it, I don't want it!" - Alfred said, agitated by fright.

"It's the stone of Elendor, you found it!" - said Merydia.

"Whatever it is, I don't want it!" - Alfred said as he raised his arm to throw the stone.

"No, don't throw it away, it's a very valuable item!" - said Merydia

Alfred lowered his hand and slowly calmed down.

"The stone of Elendor grants the power of immortality, which was stolen from the gods and stored in that stone. Our enemies seek it to possess it" - said Merydia

"You mean that horrible thing is going to keep chasing me as long as I have the stone?!"

"Yes" - Merydia said with a smile - "but don't worry, I'm here to help you. As long as you are with me you will be safe. Besides, I have many things to show you."

"Show more? Ehmm.. I have to go to school, you know I have a life, a normal life." - Alfred said, then proceeded to take out his cell phone and look at the time.

"Wow... I'm late again for being here, it's my first day of school. "

"Hehehe… do you really want to stay here and have that life? Don't you want to know the real world? I mean, the truly real world. Don't you want to know more where I come from?" - said Merydia.

"Umm...well, I don't know, I'm very confused right now, my head is spinning" - Alfred said as he sat on the sidewalk and scratched his head in confusion.

Merydia proceeded to sit next to him on the sidewalk.

"That's normal, it happened to me the first time too." - said Merydia

"What are you talking about?" - Alfred asked.

"I was like you too, I was a normal girl and all that... it's a long story. Everything you just saw is real. There is a world out there called Alandir. Which is the real real world. You see, the real world is not this."

"Ehmm… I don't know if I should follow you" - said Alfred.

"Do you think I'm joking? haha.. Come, follow me!" - Merydia said as she stood up and extended her hand towards Alfred.

Alfred proceeded to get up from the sidewalk taking Merydia's hand.

"And well, how will we get to that place?...by the way, my name is Alfred."

Merydia took out a small watch with a button.

"Look at this watch, Alfred. With this watch we can travel instantly to any place on Earth."

Merydia touched the button and in a whirlwind of smoke, they disappeared and suddenly arrived in a dirty alley.

"Wow, this is Alandir" - Alfred said sarcastically.

"Hehe. No! It's here, come with me." - Merydia said smiling. As they exited the alley they saw an ordinary train station.

"Come let's get on the train."

"Ummm… are you serious?" - said Alfred

"Do you still not trust me?" - answered Merydia

They boarded the train and sat on some horizontal seats.

"How strange, the train cabin is practically empty." - said Alfred.

The train started and Alfred just looked out the window without any surprise.

"And the train is supposed to take us to Alandir?" - said Alfred

"That's how it is!" - Merydia said showing a big smile.

They went through a long dark tunnel and when they came out of it, little by little the windows began to show a completely different world from the one they had seen. There were no longer concrete buildings or towers full of glass, nor traffic lights or asphalt streets. All the modern architecture that Alfred was familiar with was gone. A medieval city emerged, now you could see brick and wooden buildings, stone bridges, mounted griffins flying through the clouds and nature everywhere. In the distance, through the fog, they could see an immense castle. Gothic architecture had replaced modern buildings. Alfred looked out the window open-mouthed and amazed by the paradise before his eyes.

"Wow… it's incredible."- he said.

"I know." - Merydia responded with a smile.

The train slowly stopped. They both got out and walked through the train station. It was full of people coming out of the cars, like an ordinary train station but with vintage architecture.

"Look, there are other people who come to this place too!" - said Alfred

"This world is almost a secret..." - Merydia responded, winking at him.