Adam sighed looking at Irina who was listening attentively to the conversation. Mia's attention was also focused on the discussion between the two men, but she did not hesitate to devour her breakfast. She wasn't the type to skip a meal, even if the serious atmosphere around the table was enough to suppress the appetite.

"It wasn't planned, honestly. When Vassili found out that Mia was your soul mate and told Ellana about it, she took the opportunity to introduce you as a symbol of the Resistance. The soldiers witnessed the way you went wild when she sounded the retreat, they consider you half a hero."

"Ironically when you know I was forced into it," Ethan sneered sarcastically. "What are they going to do if we refuse to fight for them?"

"I do not know. I know that's not what you want to hear, but you won't escape your symbol image. Not in Impervia's eyes anyway. She's going to make you two her main target, believe me. She knows very well that there is no stronger message than killing your own son, especially when this one is considered a hero for the opposing camp, whether you like it or not. She won't stop menacing you until she wipes us all out. Or until someone kills her."

"Why not you? You are also his son, and you have experience."

"You can't inspire the next generation with relics from the past, Ethan," Irina said for the first time. "Especially when those relics are supposed to be dead."

"Risking that it turns against you because we refuse this role is not better."

A few seconds of silence settled during which only the sounds of chewing and cutlery were heard. Even Liam stood back and didn't speak. The atmosphere was tense enough for a child of his age to understand that it was better to be forgotten.

"What do you think about all that, Mia?" Irina asked.

The blonde swallowed her sip of tea and put down her cup, taking advantage of the action to think for a few seconds about what she was going to answer. Addressing such a serious subject when she had just got up did not particularly delight her. Especially since she hadn't really taken the time to think about the question.

"I don't know if you realize," she began in an ironic tone, "but I do not come from your world. At home, we don't learn to fight, peace has lasted for decades, and my generation has no notion of combat or what it is to be at war, except that it's pure horror. My point is that even if I wanted to help you, I wouldn't be of any use to you, I don't know how to fight. I'm not a symbol of anything."

“I can teach you to shoot a gun if you want,” Irina offered. "Even if you don't want to fight, it could come in handy if you ever need to defend yourself. With your senses and abilities enhanced by the soulmate link, you will learn very quickly."

Handling firearms was, it is true, within everyone's reach. With her new heightened senses, the young human could indeed master them quickly and become a real sniper. She was also curious to see if their weapons were similar to those on Earth. The design seemed older, but with the possibility of magic, Mia expected anything. She was no expert, but the subject had never disinterested her. Since their lives were in danger, perhaps this was a good opportunity to learn how to defend themselves, even if they weren't actively fighting.

"Why not... It could indeed be useful."

"Great! There's a bit of room in the garden for close targets, that might be a good start. If you like, we can go right after we finish eating?"

Mia nodded smiling. Ethan didn't seem so enthusiastic about the prospect of her wielding those weapons, but he preferred to keep his protests quiet for now. She didn't get the impression that the Arena students were familiar with firearms, so she deduced that the technology was recent, or at least post-genocide. In addition to the fearsome effectiveness of these rifles, they had a devastating element of surprise if other races were unaware of their potential.

Pew-pew.

"I want to learn too, mom!" their child exclaimed with determination.

"You're too young to handle firearms, Liam," Adam snapped.

It was obviously not the first time the subject had been broached, judging by the expeditious response from the older Vila. He was still young, it was not an essential skill for a child to have even in times of war. There were adults for that. It was important to preserve the little beings' innocence as long as possible.

The rest of the meal took place in a more relaxed atmosphere, to the delight of Mia who was finally able to enjoy her breakfast without having to think about stressful subjects. She was almost eager to learn to shoot, having never had the opportunity to handle a weapon. It had never counted in her passions on Earth, but it had to be said that at the time her life was not threatened by terrifying creatures capable of killing her with a well-placed blow. All of a sudden, being able to defend herself seemed a vital skill.

"Sounds dangerous, I don't really like the idea of ​​you handling that stuff," Ethan grumbled while their hosts were clearing the table. "I've never seen this kind of weapon, I have a bad feeling about this."

"I've seen it before," Mia said flatly, not liking the way he was trying to influence her actions with his opinion. "We have the same kind of guns in my world."

"Really?" Ethan replied in surprise. "Holy coincidence."

"It's no coincidence," Irina said, coming back after finishing cleaning the dining room. "The technology comes from your world. Well, the concept anyway."

"There's another human that appeared on Istarea like me?"

The prospect of not being the only one going through the ordeal she was going through filled her with new hope. She had gotten used to her life here, but being able to talk about her home world with someone who could understand her credentials was great news. Her enthusiasm did not last long, however.

"There was. Edward Campbell died ten years ago. He was already sixty-six when he passed through a portal to land on Istarea. Luckily, he got to Callis."

"He told us a lot about your world and its technology, it allowed us to be inspired by certain things to improve our daily lives and our military power," Adam continued to complete his wife's story.

"How long was he on Istarea?" Mia inquired thoughtfully.

"About twenty?" replied Irina, looking at her husband to confirm her answer. "It happened about thirty years ago."

If time flowed similarly between the two worlds, Edward Campbell had left Earth during the 90s. Technology had evolved a lot in thirty years, which left Mia the possibility of making them discover new things. It wasn't actually as simple as it looked since even though she could explain to them the general concept of an object and its use, she had no idea how they were made and by what processes technological humanity had arrived there in the details.

Between describing the look and function of a smartphone, and explaining how it's made... I study classics, I'm not an engineer. I doubt they are interested in Hesiod's Theogony.

"Were there others?"

"Not to my knowledge. It is quite rare as a phenomenon, as it is impossible to predict where and when the portals appear."

"And the other way around? That's possible too, right?"

"It's complicated to know if a disappearance is linked to a portal or not if there is no direct witness."

"Impervia claimed that a wizard disappeared before her eyes through a portal during the war as she was about to kill him," Adam interrupted. "She even claimed that it was not a coincidence, but no one believed her since it is impossible."

"So much the better. Would be a shame if she could voluntarily go to another world," Ethan sneered. "She would make it her mission to conquer it."

"Certainly," confirmed his big brother, laughing.

"Come on, enough talk! Let's shoot!" concluded Irina, inviting the couple to follow her into the garden.