Ryo woke up in the morning after his mother, Miko, barged into his room forcefully, as he tried to gather himself after his short sleep.
"Ryo! Wake up, it's time for school!" Miko shouted from outside his room, as if trying to force him to wake up.
"Alright, alright! Why all the shouting in the morning?" Ryo replied, squinting his eyes, trying to go back to sleep.
"You're always late for school! The principal complains about you a lot," Miko said with a groan, knocking on the door even harder.
"He's just exaggerating. I'm only five minutes late," Ryo answered softly, turning quickly on his bed.
"Enough talking, get up now!" Miko said, hands on her hips, her face showing determination.
"Fine, damn the person who invented this school," Ryo muttered as he got up sluggishly.
"You haven't had breakfast yet!" she called out to him before leaving the room.
"I'm not hungry," Ryo said as he quickly got dressed.
"Suit yourself," Miko replied with a sigh as she left.
"Goodbye," Ryo said as he left the house.
On his way to school, Kozo was speaking excitedly: "Did you hear? Today we meet the new teacher! I heard he's really strict, no one dares to talk to him!"
"I don't care who he is, as long as I'm not late today," Ryo replied, trying to hide a small smile.
"I hope he's at least nice. I don't like strict people," Sakura said with concern.
But Kozo laughed and said: "But they make things more exciting, don't they? At least we'll have a new experience today."
"I think today's going to be long," Ryo said, looking down, ready to face whatever comes.
Throughout the school day, Ryo felt as though he was living in another world. He participated in classes without much effort and always got high grades, even though he didn't care much. During the sports activity, everyone noticed his extraordinary abilities.
"Oh my God! How do you do all those moves? I'm still amazed by you!" Kozo said while watching Ryo effortlessly weave through the players.
"I'm not sure, I think I'm just doing what I always do," Ryo replied as he finished his activity without any difficulty.
Sakura smiled and said: "You're really amazing! I'm not sure how you can focus on everything at once."
"I just live in the moment, no need to overthink," Ryo said with a calm smile.
After returning home, Ryo threw himself onto his bed for a short nap. He was tired from the long day. When he woke up, he went to the window to breathe some air. But he stopped suddenly when he noticed someone standing on his balcony. The person was wearing wide black clothes, and his face was covered by a strange mask.
"Who's that? How did they get here?" Ryo muttered in astonishment as he watched the strange person through his window.
Ryo decided to go check on the person and cautiously walked toward the balcony. When he reached it, he looked at the strange man who was standing still, as if waiting for him.
"Who are you? How did you get here?" Ryo asked, his voice showing his annoyance at the situation.
The man looked at him calmly and said in a mysterious tone: "My name isn't important right now. What matters is that you... Ryo, right? You are the one who is the 'link' between the human world and the other world."
"What? How do you know my name? And what's the 'link'? This... seems impossible," Ryo said, staring at the man, confused.
"The prophecy has begun to unfold. I've been searching for you, Ryo. It's been a long time since we were warned about someone with this power. You're not just an ordinary student, Ryo. You're part of an ancient prophecy, the prophecy that says if what is coming is not stopped, our world will collapse," the man said, speaking with a deep tone.
"But I'm just a student at school! I don't understand... What do you mean by all this?" Ryo responded, raising his eyebrows in surprise.
The man smiled a mysterious smile and said: "I've told you, Ryo. If you are the one the prophecy speaks of, something will happen to your eyes when you see creatures from the other world. Your eyes will turn red, as if they're responding to their presence. I'm here to take you to a place where you'll see one of them, and then it'll all make sense."
Ryo: "Frustrated) "I want to understand. What's this prophecy? What does it say? What do my eyes have to do with this? What is this other world?"
The man: "Everything will become clear soon, but let me explain. The prophecy says that after a thousand years of peace between the human world and the other world, something will happen that has never happened before: all the races of the other world will agree, something that has never happened before. They will stop the old wars between them, and will attack the human world in an attempt to take control of it. You come from the lineage of the 'burning eyes,' and your eyes are the link between the worlds."
Ryo: "Surprised) "You're saying I come from the lineage of the burning eyes? But... what does that mean?"
The man: ( Calmly) "In the other world, there are many races. But there are always those who are exiled or cast out, and you are one of them. Over these years, I've gathered those who were cast out from their world, and they are now here in the human world. Their mission is to stop the attack coming from the other world and prevent the fall of the human world into the hands of those creatures."
The man paused for a moment, observing Ryo, who was beginning to feel the weight of these words. He wanted to know more, but still couldn't grasp everything that was happening.
Ryo: "But why me? Why am I the one among all these people? What if I can't do anything?"
The man: "You, Ryo, because you are from the burning eyes lineage. You have the ability to see what others cannot see, and perhaps you are the only one who can stop this attack. But you are not alone, there are others like you, but you must first learn how to control your power."
The man took a step forward, placing a hand on Ryo's shoulder as if to calm him.
The man: "Now, let's go. There's something you need to see, and the answers will be clear soon."
As they walked through the streets of the city, they were headed toward a hidden laboratory. Throughout the walk, the man didn't stop talking.
The man: "I've been hiding them in a safe place, but we can't wait any longer. The creatures I've released, you need to see them yourself to believe everything I've said. But you need to be prepared."
Ryo: "What do you mean by your words? What am I going to see?"
The man: "You'll see it soon. You'll be able to confirm what the prophecy says once you see it for yourself."
They arrived at the laboratory in a distant neighborhood, where they entered a dark room containing a large cage. In the corner, something was emerging from the darkness, clearly not human. It was a huge thing, gleaming with red eyes, moving cautiously inside the cage.
Ryo: ( gasping) "What is this?"
The man: ( Seriously) "This is one of them. A creature from the other world. If you look closely, you'll see that your eyes will change."
At that moment, Ryo felt something strange. His eyes began to burn suddenly, and then the color began to gradually change from blue to red, as if something within his eyes responded to the strange presence before him.
Ryo (Softly): "What's happening to me?"
The man: "It's happening. Your eyes have turned red. You are the chosen one, Ryo. You are from the lineage of the burning eyes. This is the mark."
Ryo felt a huge shock, but it seemed to him that the answers were starting to unfold before him. The prophecy was real, and the world he thought he knew was just a small part of a much bigger reality.
The man: "You are now part of this fight. The other world will not stop trying. If we don't stop them now, everything will collapse."
Faced with this devastating truth, Ryo felt the weight of responsibility, but at the same time, he felt relief because he was starting to understand what he had to do. This was the beginning of a long road, full of dangers and secrets he would discover with every step he took.