The boy stood still behind both siblings. Ross stood with his arms folded and with a haughty look he surveyed the room, while his sister kept her hands clasped behind her back.
"It's not that I don't want to carry one of these weapons, but I feel it's a lot of responsibility."
"Ironic that you were summoned for a "big responsibility," Ross stated with a sigh and closing his eyes in disappointment.
"But you still haven't explained to me why I'm here!" he exclaimed excitedly, paused and asked a little calmer, "And which one do I have to take?"
The boy looked around and thought "I hope it's not something too heavy". That, because there were things that no matter how appealing they were, were not to his taste or were too tedious, like swords or axes and large sledgehammers. Besides, to his feeble appearance it didn't suit him at all.
"It will be a difficult task for you to meet the conditions imposed by the weapons," said the twin and continued enthusiastically, "Let's hope we get lucky!
"I still don't understand about the conditions... Why luck?"
"It happens that..." the twin tried to explain.
"Wait Beatrice, before you give any explanation. Kaito, do you see that black sword over there?" said Ross
"The one that seems to emanate frost?"
"That's the one, go wield it."
"Okay..."
At that instant, without Kaito noticing, Beatrice got a little upset and with a face full of doubt, she had to hide her nervousness after her brother asked the boy.
The young man started walking slowly towards the sword and thought "This is the typical cursed sword from video games that one should never pick up, isn't it?". Finally, standing in front of it he felt a shiver for an instant; however, it was no reason to worry, and he slowly moved his hand closer to the hilt.
The twin had a bead of sweat running down his forehead, he looked serious and concentrated on the situation, lowered his right arm relaxing it and then tensed his fingers as if he was about to attack.
Kaito, inches away from taking the sword, felt voices like screams coming from the same sword, in that instant all the concentration of the young man was focused on the sword when he heard things like "help", "get me out of here", "free me" or "end my life" in that instant his pupils contracted, his hair stood on end, the shiver became more intense and he jumped backwards as if he was an animal on alert.
The same instinct made the boy's body alert to the danger of approaching "that thing", flooding him with fear.
"Kaito! I know it must have been intense, but I need you to calm down."
"I don't even remember what happened during that moment, I just know I was scared," said the shaking boy as he looked down at his hands.
"I'm sorry for that, I needed to be sure of something," said Ross.
On the other hand, the now calm sister breathed a sigh of relief at the situation.
"I think you went too far this time Ross," said Beatrice looking at him annoyed, "It wasn't necessary to ask him that!
The twin just stared at his sister without answering, to which the young, summoned boy reacted.
"Could you give me an explanation once and for all? I'm really at a loss.
The blue-eyed young man gave a sigh and resumed the situation.
"I told you that these artifacts are unique, didn't I?" Ross asked and receiving an affirmative answer from Kaito, he continued, "However, almost no one is able to carry one of these objects, due to those very conditions."
"What my brother means is that all the artifacts, books, weapons and relics you see here ask as a requirement to fulfill a condition, and all of them have a different one. The problem comes when one does not comply with such a requirement.
"What happens when you don't comply?" he asked still agitated.
Beatrice looked at the boy with a pitiful smile and said:
"Punishment"
"Punishment?"
"Physical pain, mental pain, burns, loss of vision, even death itself," said Ross.
"So that's what I felt? "He asked, looking at his palms again and corrected himself, "No, it was more like what I might have felt."
The boy closed his eyes and tried to calm his body and his heart, and said:
"Didn't it seem a bit dangerous to you?"
"Yes... But don't worry, we know what weapons you don't have to take! I think..." said Beatrice uncertainly.
"That doesn't reassure me!" exclaimed the boy slightly annoyed; however, he knew that getting angry would get him nowhere.
"The weapon you tried to wield is known as the "despair of the dead", its condition consists of being a living dead, although the undead are nothing more than a legend," explained Ross.
"I'd say I'm quite alive."
"Listen carefully, this is when I will explain to you one of the most important things in this world. There is a saying that says, "No one will ever be able to understand magic in its entirety".
"How?" asked Kaito in confusion.
"Although it sounds like an excuse to cover our inability to understand magic, the truth is that in history there have been magicians who have reached unimaginable levels. However, even they have not fully achieved such understanding. Of course, there have been cases where certain behaviors have had no explanation, and then comes someone with the answer, the bad thing about this is how conservative the world of magic is, so there are magicians who hide secrets that they have discovered, either by selfishness or fear of being executed as "heretics".
"I am beginning to believe that this place is extremely dangerous, so is magic."
"Magic likes to punish?"
"You make it sound as if magic has a will of its own," said Kaito.
"To a certain extent it does," Ross said with his eyes closed.
For a moment the three were silent, thoughtful, until the twin broke the ice, finally being honest with what it really meant to be there and declared:
"In this world you never know who might be against you: demons, beasts, assassins, enemy kingdoms, allies, witches, even your companions, even magic itself could be against you....
"Isn't this place too dangerous?!"
"IT'S NOT THAT DANGEROUS!" shouted Beatrice, who reacted by covering her mouth and calling the attention of both boys, and then continued a little self-consciously, "Sorry, it's just that I hadn't spoken for so long that I wanted to say something."
At that moment Kaito turned his eyes away and covered his face, holding back his laughter. The boy did not expect such a reaction from the twin, which calmed his heart.
"Despite the reality you've had to live through, you see things in a very optimistic way, Beatrice," Ross declared.
"And you are too negative!" exclaimed the twin.
"Sorry, I don't think we'll be able to move forward like this," said Kaito, rejoining the conversation.
Although the change of atmosphere had relieved him a little, he still considered the twins' words. What made more sense: the young man's reality or the girl's innocence? Despite everything, he preferred to wait before concluding anything.
"That's right, we can't stay here any longer, we have to go back to Neveral," said Ross.
"Back? Are we in another country?"
"I wouldn't really know how to answer that. The sacred hall is hidden, it can only be entered through portals, no one knows its location, it could be anywhere in this world.
"We Novatravel have been in charge of this room for generations," said Beatrice looking at Kaito, "after all, it contains extremely dangerous weapons.
"Better no one finds out where it is" said the brown-haired boy looking back at the "Despair of the Dead".
"Let's pick up where we started," said Ross nudging Kaito who moved him forward and added, "The Iratus Mare is too dangerous to sail."
The boy heard him but was confused looking at him.
"I meant that I'm running out of patience."
"I think we could introduce you to some artifacts, maybe you'll find some you can use."
"Go ahead, I'm listening," he gave the floor to Beatrice.
"Maybe you could try the bow of the elves, or the emperor of thunder or the spear of the gods or... Maybe," Beatrice explained enthusiastically until she turned around and looked at both boys disappointed.
"Beatrice, what did you see him as an elf?" Ross asked.
"I'd say I'm quite human."
"I thought maybe since you come from another world you might be another kind of elf! Sorry!" Beatrice exclaimed with her hands clapped.
"Besides, the spear of the gods is more dangerous than the despair of the dead itself."
"I wish the toy sword were here," declared Beatrice sadly, her head bowed and her arms hanging down.
"He's not a child either."
"It doesn't matter which one it is, does it?" asked Kaito unheard.
As the twins continued to argue the otherworldly boy began to walk around the room looking at each weapon and thought "I guess it doesn't matter, as long as he doesn't touch them." The young man walked around looking at every artifact, books, rings, swords, even things he had no idea what they were.
As he continued to watch, for an instant without realizing it, his eyes went out, as if all trace of willpower had been extinguished and although he was unaware of his actions, his soul became aware. This is what is known as "Deja Vu". His gaze was riveted on two Katanas similar to each other, one red and the other blue. Each had a pendant with a dragon's face on the edge of the hilt. His body without hesitation took them without knowing their condition or punishment. However, as he touched them he felt two imposing presences. And as soon as he finished he regained full consciousness.
"What are you doing, Kaito!" Beatrice reacted in fright.
"Wait Beatrice," Ross ordered, stopping his sister as he held her shoulder and thought seriously, "What was that? I know I was distracted, but I'm sure that, for an instant, I completely missed his presence."
The boy turned around looking at the siblings, however, he was no longer trembling, nor full of fear.
"Kaito?" asked Beatrice worriedly.
"Do you feel anything strange?" asked the twin.
"It's been a long time since I felt so... Calm," declared the boy, touching his chest with his left hand.
"That's good! I feel no signs of hostility or danger and he's still the same person; however," Ross thought and asked, 'How is it possible that you can wield the twin dragons' Katanas?
"Hey, it's true, you shouldn't be able to carry them..." said Beatrice softening her voice.
"What is the condition to carry them?"
"Possessing dragon blood, but I'm sure you don't have it," said Ross and thought, "Did Alisse make a mistake when she checked? No, I don't think so."
"How strange..." said the twin.
"In your world there are dragons?"
"No, in my world dragons are just a myth."
"I see... In our world dragons became extinct a long time ago."
The twin remained thoughtful and confused, he was more excited than usual, apparently it was an unbelievable event. However, he saw both his sister and the young man so worried that he decided to act.
"Let's better go, I don't want to stay here any longer."
"One of the 'Novatravel' ancestors found a perfect place to protect the legendary relics; however, one of his sons betrayed him and he was forced to mow down the son's life to hide the dangerous place known as "The Sacred Hall" from the eyes of the world." -Beatrice's compilation of short stories and tales.