I move toward the red couch. Aris shifts aside without asking anything. I sit between them. The television keeps talking to itself. No one comments on what we are watching.

  Aris turns his head slightly toward me.

  — Heyo… are you aware?

  I keep my eyes on the screen.

  — Aware of what?

  He speaks calmly, without insisting.

  — We are your new teammates. Soon, we will be called to meet the person assigned to supervise us.

  — Great.

  Fortuna stands up.

  — Now that he is awake, it is time to decide who the leader is.

  I turn my head toward her. Aris does the same, more slowly.

  — The leader? I repeat.

  She smiles, confident.

  — Obviously. Aris lost. You didn’t.

  She continues without looking at anyone.

  — Aris will be my right hand.

  A brief moment of thought.

  — Heyo, you will be support.

  She waits. Not for approval. Just for an answer.

  I shrug.

  — Do as you like.

  Aris nods after a second.

  — That is fine with me.

  Fortuna claps her hands softly.

  — Perfect. My first order is stay here and watch TV quietly.

  Aris and I answer at the same time.

  — Yes, leader.

  She sits back down immediately.

  Images scroll by. Aris watches the screen without really seeing it. Fortuna swings her feet lightly, at ease, as if everything were obvious. She smiles.

  For a moment, I wonder how Aris could have lost to her. Then I let it go. The question probably has no simple answer.

  If we are together now, it means we are not supposed to fight anymore. Or that we will have to learn differently. I sink into the couch. I try to enjoy this calm, without really knowing what my body is trying to tell me.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  The TV turns off. The couch disappears.

  Valie is alone in the stands, standing, motionless. Her gaze passes over us without stopping, without any visible judgment, and that is precisely what is unsettling. I get the feeling she is not looking at what we are doing, but at what we are going to become.

  Without coordinating, the three of us turn at the same time. The movement is too sharp to be voluntary, almost mechanical, and our bodies step back immediately, guided by a reflex older than thought. The pressure falls without warning. No sound. No signal. Just weight.

  Aris inhales, then stops, as if the air had suddenly thickened. Beside me, Fortuna stops smiling. Her jaw tightens, her fingers clench for an instant before disappearing behind her back, as if she were ashamed of having reacted.

  No one speaks. She walks slowly, without haste, without hesitation. I am the one she chooses. Amber eyes, hard, loaded with raw animosity. My body understands first. My shoulders tense. My breath catches. I shrink.

  évra.

  The one who broke me. The one who made me believe I was dead. My posture closes in on itself. Not to defend. To comply.

  — Stand up.

  Her voice is calm, flat, without apparent threat.

  My muscles obey before I decide to move. To my right, Aris straightens immediately. To my left, Fortuna lifts her chin, just enough not to look like she is yielding first.

  évra observes us for a few seconds. Not our faces. Our footing, our breathing, what we are worth.

  — So these are the anomalies.

  It is not a judgment. It is a sorting.

  A slow smile forms on her face, without amusement, without cruelty, simply attentive.

  — Three are enough.

  She closes the distance. The pressure drops instantly, heavy, animal.

  — From today on, I train you. I do not have much time. You must become demon hunters. Otherwise, you disappear.

  She does not specify how. Disappear, no. But demon hunters…

  An image crosses my mind without warning. Chains. A terrifying gaze. Something that was already waiting. So demons exist. It was not a dream. It was an encounter. And if they are training me to hunt them, then I will inevitably see him again. My Opposite.

  My chest tightens slightly. No panic. Just a certainty settling in. I have no choice.

  évra’s voice cuts through my thoughts.

  — Introduce yourselves.

  Aris steps forward half a pace. His back stays straight, his hands still. He does not try to shine, only to hold.

  — Aris. Seventeen years old. My Word is Best. I want to become a demon hunter. I am tracking one in particular.

  He bows slightly, without submission, with controlled respect.

  évra nods, without comment.

  I feel her gaze slide toward me. I step forward in turn, without desire, because I have to.

  — Heyo. Seventeen years old. My Word is Free.

  Nothing else comes. No clear objective, no strong sentence, only that familiar emptiness. I could invent something. I have neither the desire nor the energy. I step back.

  Fortuna does not move right away. Arms crossed, perfectly at ease, as if the scene already belonged to her.

  — Fortuna. My Word is Luck.

  A short pause. A slight smile.

  — And I will lead this team.

  Silence settles. Aris does not react. Neither do I. évra tilts her head slightly.

  — Hmm.

  Fortuna holds her gaze without blinking for a single second. Then évra looks away, already moving on.

  — We will see.

  Her attention shifts to the Colosseum.

  — You are unstable, dangerous, poorly adapted. That is precisely why you are here.

  It returns to us. Her gaze lingers on me a little longer.

  — And it is also why you will die quickly if you continue like this.

  A shiver runs through me. Not fear. Memory. My body remembers the heat, the pressure, then the void. She is not human. She does not play by the same rules.

  Fortuna stretches lightly, as if all of this were just a prelude.

  — Perfect. So when do we start?

  évra smiles. This time, there is something sharper in it.

  — Now.