A being of shadow.

Before I went out, I picked up the translation device with me, and I went out of the house Angel of keys. Once I was outside, I saw the Roulos brothers there waiting for me. I gave the device to Thorus.

The device was still on, so Thorus, while carrying it, started talking.

Thorus said, "Well, let's get along, Mr--" 

"Nox."

"Okay, Nox, let's get along since we are going to be a group."

"Sure, let's get along with Mr Thorus and Mr Thimos."

"Mr Thorus, Angel of keys, said that you could help me with my color blindness."

For a second, he paused, then he answered, "I can help, but you owe me one."

"Okay, I will, but only if it is within my power. Thank you, Mr Thorus."

"That is fine. And something you should know is that we use titles based on our power level. It goes like this: disciple, Sorcerer, Master, Sage, Supreme. When referring to me or my brother, call us Master Thimos or Master Thorus. It is only when the lower rank refers to the higher rank that titles are used. Brother, lift the seal—it's bad for him to stay like that any longer. As for your non-urgent questions, I will answer them at another time. Anything you want to add?"

"No, I feel uncomfortable and a bit of pain in my body. I think it's because of the seal or is it because I have not gotten used to this body?"

Thimos came towards me and said, "Yes, it is both of them probably," as I held out my arm. He quickly grabbed my arm and unfolded the symbols on it.

Thorus told me to follow him, so he—

He started by giving me a lesson: there are four kingdoms in this world, which are Lumiere, Rhunord, Norith, and Kovard.

"We are currently in the Kingdom of Lumiere. There are three churches in power in this kingdom, which are the Church of the Goddess of Light, the Church of the Lord of Obsidian Inferno, and the Church of the Mother of Flowing Earth."

'They all sounded powerful.'

"They have influence in other kingdoms too. Besides those churches I mentioned, there are two more gods, which are the Church of the Goddess of the Silent Moon and the Church of the God of the Bloody Sun."

'God of the Bloody Sun—that sounds like an evil god.'

"Those churches are called orthodox churches. We are an organization under the Church of the Goddess of Light, so you could say you are part of it. The difference is that when there is a mission or problem, it will mostly be handed over to the organization under the church. But things that are problematic or involve those in great power will be handled by the church."

As I arrived at the big building, I didn't know what it was used for. He said, "The lesson ends. Now you will have to learn Lumiereian since you are living here, and I will have a teacher who will teach it to you. I know one, so that's no problem."

'Now we were inside, but there was no one here or outside. It felt disturbing, but they didn't seem to care about it, which made it even more disturbing. The first floor looked like it was used for a cafeteria.'

He went towards his brother and said:

"Thimos, show him to his room where he will be staying, and don't let people see him. You have to hide for now."

"See you later, Nox." After he said that, he went upstairs after giving him the translation device, and we went downstairs.

The downstairs looked like an old place that is rarely used by people. There was a lot of dust and spider webs around the corners.

After opening a wall that had a keyhole behind a closet on the third underground floor, using the gray key he had, we reached a staircase going downward. Thimos showed me my new room.

"You will be staying here for now, and don't come out of this room. Tomorrow my brother will come get you, and have the translation device with you until you learn the language, then return it to me." After showing me how it works, he left.

The room was clean, unlike outside, but it had just a bed.

'I don't know what to think about all the things that happened today—it's all too much to take in. I'm quite mentally tired now, so I will sleep for now. In the morning, I will do some thinking.'

So I went on the bed in my shadow form and closed my eyes.

I woke up to the sound of the door opening. I didn't know what time it was. It was Thorus who entered the room, and another man walked in with him. When I heard the door open, I quickly went under the bed to hide.

Thorus found the translation device still turned on and said,

"Nox, please show yourself. This is the teacher who will be teaching you Lumiereian. His name is Sorcerer Antus Kalos."

As I came out, I transformed into my human form. "Hello, Sorcerer Kalos. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Hello, Nox. It is my pleasure to meet you. Let's get along, Nox."

Thorus said, "He will be staying in the room next to you until you have grasped the basics of Lumiereian. I will bring whatever is needed for you guys, and I have something for you, Nox."

Thorus continued by saying:

"It is called The Practice of Gaining and Understanding the Essence of Shadow. It is written by the head of the Shadow family, who is a Sage. Learn it well. If you want to be strong, I'm sorry to tell you that you will be here for at least four months, but my brother and I will visit, so don't worry."

'I felt sad because if I explored the world, I might have regained some of my memories, but now I have no hopes of doing that.'

"Listen, you are doing this for your own safety. Four months from now, you will be able to hold your human form for longer and understand the language instead of carrying this big device around every time you want to understand something or say something. I will also make a costume that will cover your skin and face so you become an official member of the organization. I'm leaving since I have work to do, but see you later, Nox and Antus."

He left from where he came, and Antus too left and said we would start our lesson tomorrow.

'I still didn't like it. I want to remember my past, remember my family, remember my name, remember who I was. I almost started to cry but stopped. Crying is for the weak. I will never cry, not ever again. I don't remember who I was, so what. I don't know who my family was, so what. If I want my family, my name, my identity—I can't whine, but I must try.'

So that is what I did. After sitting in a lotus position and calming myself down, I went over to my teacher's room and said, could we start our lesson today? He said that he was happy to do so.