At first, I couldn't remember what had happened.

I could hardly believe what had happened right in front of my eyes, myself. If I told anyone what I saw, they would declare that I was crazy. It was a scene like something out of an action movie or a video game...

Siana, a mysterious girl, was able to split a massive lizard in two without hesitation. Also, this huge dog, no, this wolf of her, who followed her. Later that ominous older sister...

I spent the evening with her, and she was... perfectly normal. If I hadn't remembered this scene, I would never have suspected that she would be any different, despite my initial concerns. But I had seen it and could remember it... so, I couldn't look over it.

I approached Siana during a school break. Before I could say anything...

“Nicole, I still have something to do. I'll be right there."

She said goodbye to her classmate and turned to me.

"Sam, to what circumstances do I owe the honor?"

She smiled, but her tone told me that she wasn't in a good mood. I often felt that she was avoiding me.

“Siana… that day, you and the dog… that huge lizard. I remember everything!"

She tried not to show micro-expressions, but she was like me. Whenever I got nervous, I rubbed the nail of my index or middle finger with my thumb.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

She tried to lie about what had happened.

“Siana, I know what I've seen. So please, don't make this talk longer as it should be!?”

She looked me in the eye and made a *Tch* sound with her tongue.

"Well, and now?"

Annoyed, she stopped denying what had happened.

"What's going on here? Why did this lizard appear out of nowhere!?”

She looked thoughtful, had there been anything strange about my questions?

"They are following me, I think."

That was her answer, though it was rather vague and therefore didn't mean much.

"Are dark forces trying to kill you?"

She shrugged.

"I don't know."

Maybe my point of view was too rigid... In stories, often only the hero's journeys¹Wiki were told, in which the good fights against the bad, but everyone should know that nobody is only bad or only good.

I shook my head.

“The break will be over soon. Sam handle your life, ok? You worry about things that are none of your business."

Huh?

I was irritated. How could she treat the monster as no big deal? Well, she'd executed the lizard with a precise attack, but that didn't change that a creature came out of nowhere.

It didn't help. I put my thoughts on the back burner, at least until the end of the school day. At home, I went straight to the computer. My crash course in hacking was challenged. I prepared all the settings on the computer and started Pforte²Fictious version of Tor. *Tor is a German word for the gate, so I used the German synonym for the gate(Tor) as a replacement(Porte)..

"Let's see the citizen data..."

I hacked into the government register and searched for Siana. It didn't take me long to find her data.

What's going on here!?

Parts of their information had been blacked out. The blackening was done by an authority abbreviated to RP, but I had never heard of such an office.

Damn!? A dead-end…

The trail got lost in secret files, which meant that I had to look for a different approach. I found one too, for Siana's family name von Tyrn also described the place of their origin. I tried it on Fuuble Maps³Fuuble, a funny name version of Google.. There was actually one building in the east of the Czech Republic, but that seemed too easy. Siana spoke without an accent, but that would be if she were born and raised in the Czech Republic.⁴Just for you to know, I really searched in Google Maps and yes there is a single building found.

Hmm... So it's unlikely that she comes like the wizards of Parry Dotter⁵Harry Potter from a hidden second society. Maybe another planet? Or is it another reality?

I racked my mind when the vibrating of my smartphone puzzled me. It was a call from Siana.

"Hello?"

I asked questioningly into the phone. Nobody answered.

"Hello?"

I repeated it, but again no answer.

Odd, is that one of those pocket calls?

When I was about to hang up, I could hear a sentence from a voice I never heard before.

"Nobody can prevent it."

The call just ended as my smartphone started to ring again. The display said Siana, again.

"Hello? Who's there?"

“Huh? Sam, what's wrong with you? It's me, Siana."

Good thing no one could see my jaw-dropping.

"Ah, Siana, sorry, my display didn't show your name."

I lied to her.

“Not a thing, Sam. I just wanted to let you know that I want to take part in the eSport tournament. Do you want to join my team?"

Again, I struggled for words. Didn't she even know that there was something on her smartphone?

*Beep* *beep* *beep*

The smartphone beeped because another caller tried to reach me.

"Siana, I want to think about it. I'll let you know by the end of the week... I'm sorry, there is a second caller. Can you wait?"

I didn't give her much time and put her in the queue.

"Hello?"

"Yo, Sam!"

It was Desmond on the other end.

“Hey, Des. What is there?"

At first, there was no answer from him.

"Hey Sam, I know that sounds strange now, but I just got a call, and an ominous voice said something to me ..."

He paused. I took the chance.

"Des, did your phone display Siana's name for the call?"

*bam*

I could hear something on Desmond's side breaking on the floor. I could listen to Desmond's curses from his side.

“Sorry, Sam! I have to clean it up now. We'll talk later."

*Beep* *beep* *beep*

Desmond had hung up. I switched back to Siana, who was still in the queue.

"Siana?"

A crack came from the other side.

"Yes, finished?"

“Yes! Siana, you know what, I'll join you! My last tournament participation was a while ago."

"I know, I followed the tournament you won two years ago. There was a live stream on the internet."

I was at a loss for words.

How could anyone remember me?

“If you're wondering how do I remember that? I watched the replays the other day. So, to good cooperation!"

 She hung up without waiting for my answer.

Damn…

I was still at the beginning to discover what was hidden behind the thick layer of fog.