XXXVI - Lost

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Philip woke up suddenly. He opened his eyes clueless about where he was. Darkness was all around. He couldn't figure out the place that the mage had sent him to.

"Juan, Verena, so much sadness... How much more will I be able to endure? Does being the bearer of magic imply losing everyone I love?"

He looked at all sides trying to get himself used to the darkness. He had to know where he was, and whether that place offered any potential threat or not. At that moment, he noticed that he was surrounded by people, still faces on every direction. The young wizard stood up at once, then stepped back holding his sword ready to defend himself.

"Who is there?"

Would it be possible that Klaus had already found out his destination? Would he have no rest at all? He took a few steps back, worried about the way things were developing, when he stumbled on something.

In a flash, he turned himself around and hit the thing with his sword mercilessly. He only heard the hollow sound of his sword hitting stone. Sighing, Philip realized it had always been a marbled statue like the ones at the palace's fountains or in the chapels. Philip smiled, taking himself for a fool for he had gotten scared just by that. He thought it was time to get out of there. He took a few steps when, suddenly, he got blinded by an intense light. Philip shouted, scared. It was like there were a million suns around him, but there was no heat. What kind of spell was that that he didn't know of?

"Freeze! Put your hands up! Put your sword down slowly..."

As soon as he eyes got used to the lights, he noticed that he was surrounded by a bunch of men. They wore grey clothes and a different kind of hat made of a cloth he couldn't recognize. Each one was holding a piece of iron he had never seen before. Unaware of which type of weapon those were, whether they were magical or not, he decided not to react and follow their orders. He raised his hands and dropped the sword, as requested. First, he had to understand what was going on.

Philip looked at his reflex through the glass of a painting. He noticed startled how his appearance had changed since he was touched by the Book of Souls. Would that be the Phantom Man's face? Who was he now? What had he become? Full of doubts, he snapped his fingers and resumed to his natural form. He did that automatically, as if that knowledge was already part of him.

Frightened, the men took a few steps back as they saw him shapeshifting. Considering their behavior, they were no mages or warlocks. They all pointed their piece of iron towards him. Before they could do anything, Philip asked:

"What happened? Why are you pointing those things to me?"

"You are under arrest for breaking into public estate," one of the police officers answered.

Philip had no idea what the man was talking about. He felt lost, chased, fearing what could possibly happen. Slowly, without him noticing, two men approached him and handcuffed his wrists with metal bracelets.

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law..."

As they spoke, they led Philip outside the room. Immediately after a giant door was opened, the young man's eyes opened wide and his jaw dropped in surprise. There was a confusion of sounds that he could not define. He wanted to cover his ears, but he couldn't. People of all sorts, wearing clothes he had never seen before, pointed towards him. Women in tight attires that showed their bodies in details made him feel uncomfortable. However, the thing that amazed him the most were the carriages they rode. They weren't drawn by horses, yet they could run in a speed unimaginable to the boy. The horses had changed, too. Their heads had shrunk, and their hoofs were now black circles that spun unstoppably, which produced the movement. There were enormous castles, and towers so high that one could lose the sight of them.

"Hurry up! You have a lot to explain at the station," one of the men said as he took Philip to one of the mysterious carriages.

Marveled and impressed with that place, Philip could only murmur a few words:

"Where am I? Juan, where the hell have you sent me to?"

The End

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