The weekend had arrived. Marc was relieved not to have school that day. He really hated school.
Marc didn't usually go out at the weekend. As he was very anti-social, he didn't see anyone at weekends. Marc used to play soccer. He went out every Saturday and/or Sunday to play. But his passion for his favorite sport had faded with time. He didn't run as much as he used to and didn't want to as much. Nevertheless, he continued to run to stay in shape.
However, Marc couldn't really stay on his own anymore. Elie rang his doorbell several times.
"I'm coming. I'm coming."
It had become one of his only reasons for going out.
"You might only ring once next time. I can hear you, you know."
"Yes. But I know you'll only really come down if I ring a few times."
"What do you want this time?"
"Let's go to Nathanael's."
"I don't even know where that is."
"But you've already been there."
"Yes, but I forgot."
"We'll ask my mother to take us there."
"No way. She'll kill me."
"Yours, then."
"It's okay, we can walk. It's an hour away."
"I don't want to walk."
"And why is that, princess?"
At the word "princess," Elie blushed a little.
"I suppose it'll tire you out too much."
"Yes."
"Very well, then. Bicycles then? Unless my queen wants me to carry it."
Elie definitely turned red. She tried to slap Marc, but he dodged easily.
"Wow, you wanted to kill me."
"It wouldn't have done you any good anyway."
"I agree. Well, I'll have Nathanaël send someone over."
"Can you do that?"
"Yes, he said I could."
Marc telephoned Nathanaël and another butler than Fred came at once.
"Isn't it Fred this time?"
"Fred must stay with Monsieur Nathanaël. Please get in."
Marc opened the door and held out his hand to Elie. She was surprised.
"I know manners all the same."
The two climbed into the car while Elie's mother watched them with a pair of binoculars from her window.
"If he's rich like that, maybe I could ask him for money every time he sees Elie?"
They arrived at Nathanaël's house very quickly. Marc gently closed the door behind Elie.
"Thanks, Jean."
"You're welcome."
Marc wondered why they were all so polite. He turned to go to the front door. He tried to look up at the house but it seemed bright. Much too bright. Marc found it hard to look. He put his hand in front of his face to try and shield his eyes, but nothing helped. The house shone like the sun.
"Well then, are you coming?"
Finally, Marc managed to enter, squinting.
"Is it just me, or is this house shining a little too brightly?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I can't see it properly."
At these words, Elie sketched a small smile.
"Wouldn't you be jealous?"
"Huh?"
Marc understood. Only he could see the house glowing so brightly. He still tried to look around so as not to look ridiculous in front of the others. His vision adjusted and he managed to see the house correctly after a while.
They entered the house. Nathanaël sat staring at his computer, concentrating with all his might. He looked like a teacher trying to correct a student's badly-written copy.
"Always doing research. "
"I've got no choice. We've got to sort this out."
Nathanaël was probably the one who wanted to stop this problem the most. He was constantly researching everything he'd seen. He was always taking the slightest note and counting even the most subtle details in his research. His motivation was encuragant, no one could contradict him.
"Say, why is your house so shiny?"
At these words, Nathanaël stopped and looked at his friend as if he'd understood what he was talking about. Indeed, in this room, they were the only two people who knew what was going on with this house.
"I thought so. You see it too."
"Of course."
Elie didn't understand at all. As far as she was concerned, Nathanael's house was the same as last time.
"Was it because those two had been in the other world?"
"I think only we can see it and..."
Suddenly, Marc and Nathanaël both stopped. Their vision of the person in front of them was not at all the same. For Marc, Nathanaël shone brighter than his house. But to Nathanaël, Marc was dark. Darker than anything he'd ever imagined. He didn't give off a good impression at all. He was absorbing all the light around them.
"Wow. Looking at you, you really did look like an angel."
Nathanaël couldn't understand why Marc was so dark. An unparalleled darkness had fled into his body. His gaze couldn't tear itself away from his comrade even though he'd seen him countless times.
"Is it because of guilt?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Well. From my point of view, you're very dark. You give off a certain aura that's not very reassuring."
"Really?"
Elie looked at Marc in turn. He didn't look any different. She'd always seen him as the Marc he'd always been. Apart from the fact that he'd had a bit of a breakdown and still felt guilty about killing so many people, he'd managed to overcome that. This was what Elie saw.
"Maybe I'm contaminated?"
"Yet you show no signs of contamination."
"Perhaps it will come with time."
"Have you been feeling strange lately?"
"No."
"It's really strange. We'll see how it develops."
Nathanaël didn't want to put Marc aside just for this strange aura. He thought he'd suffered enough as it was.
"Why else did you come to see me?"
"It was Elie who wanted to come, not me."
"You may have information. Leads or clues."
"You sound like a detective. I really don't have anything yet. The words come from nowhere. The cathedral doesn't look like any cathedral in existence. Neither do the symbols you described to me. It seems that if we want information, we're going to have to get it from over there. And that's really not a good idea."
"I also don't think all the answers are here."
The three remained silent. All their hopes of making progress in this case were blocked by a world they didn't know. A world surely dangerous and full of mysteries. Marc was well aware of this. There's no way to stop these things. They were only human, after all. The man in black and the beings in white were not.
All they could do from the height of their humanity was survive. It was the first time he'd felt this way. An abyss that made him feel completely powerless. He couldn't protect his parents. He couldn't protect Elie. He couldn't protect his family. And even if Nathanaël had become strong, he probably couldn't protect him either. Therein lay human helplessness.
Without a weapon, human beings weren't that strong. He couldn't win against a lion or even a bear. Apart from Sanson, who would dare attack a lion with his bare hands? That's why human beings invented weapons. Muscles had never been enough. First to protect themselves from other species, then to protect themselves from themselves. If you took away everything human and put him up against a gorilla, no matter how many martial arts he tried, he wouldn't win.
This was certainly not the case with these strange beings. Marc knew it. Even if he, at that moment, could win against a lion. He probably wouldn't win against the man in black.
But...
"We've got to go back."
Marc didn't care anymore.
"If that's the only way, ..."
He didn't want to remain powerless.
"Then I'm going."
"Out of the question. You could die out there."
"I know."
"You're really serious."
"But we won't make any headway if we don't. And you know it."
Nathanaël stared at the ground. Even though they'd inherited great strength, it didn't make them invincible. Far from it. He'd rather stay here helpless than go there helpless. However, he knew that Marc was very angry about what he had done and that nothing could stop him from going to the other world. His eyes didn't indicate courage, but indifference.
"I'm not following you, but I refuse to let you sacrifice yourself for nothing."
"Don't worry. I'm strong, you know?"
"What you're about to do, far exceeds your strength Marc."
Nathanaël looked at Marc. Both saw again the auras surrounding them. Light and darkness clashed.
"I know, but I don't want to let this happen without me trying anything."
Nathanaël didn't want to. It wasn't a good idea. But was he simply going to wait until the end? Was he going to sacrifice a friend for one of these?
"Very well. You'll go alone. I'm not going with you."
"I'm going."
Elie wouldn't let Marc go alone. Everyone knew it was a bad idea because only Mark had been there. The strength he'd received from it surpassed human limits. Elie was just a frail, helpless girl from his point of view.
"I wouldn't let you go without me this time."
"It's dangerous, you know."
"I know. That's why it's better to be two."
Marc knew he wasn't going to convince her. He didn't want to take her, but he had no choice. In any case, he and Nathanaël had survived the first time he'd gone in.
"Right, let's go then."
"Yes."
Nathanaël watched the two walk away. Marc's aura gave off a very bad feeling, but Elie's gave off something else. Neither good, nor bad. Neither strong nor weak. Completely neutral.
"Be careful. I'll walk you to the field."
"Okay."
Marc had turned to look at Nathanaël. He really gave off a benevolent aura. The light he emitted formed like wings.
"Is he really an angel?"
On his way, Marc looked out the window. All seemed dark to him. The sky became overcast. Rain began to fall.