Every time Peck went to sleep the same thing happened and every time he woke up he forgot. Whether night or day, the cycle repeated itself over and over again.

Peck would close his eyes to rest and fall into an experience that could be called a 'nightmare'.

What Peck looks at in his sleep could be a lost memory or an invented reality, but whatever it is, the only thing certain is that it is haunting him.

***

In the present nightmare, Peck observes a city that from afar appears to be made of gold. It has nine towers rising as high as mountains. Above the golden city rose a skeletal-looking shadow, with a goat's skull and thick horns.

The shadow rested its hands on two of the towers and poked its head toward Peck.

Peck was wearing the same clothes he went to sleep in and the same haircut Sen gave him.

For some reason he couldn't move. When he looked to the sides he saw long landscapes of dead ground. He was trapped in a circle of dense fog.

The large skeleton with goat skull that stalked Peck extended a hand towards him. Before he was caught Peck closed his eyes and when he opened them everything changed.

He was now back in the orphanage, in the largest room of all; and it was in poor condition, with rotting wood, smashed furniture and broken windows. A putrid aroma harassed Peck's nose. He used his hand to cover his nose trying to evade the smell.

He walked through the familiar and unpleasant corridors of the orphanage in search of the exit, but as he was about to cross to the outside the door vanished and a staircase appeared leading him to the second floor.

The surroundings blackened, only the path of the staircase was illuminated. With no other choice, he began to climb. He ascended the steps, at the top the door to a room he did recognize awaited him: a room that led to his old room, which was small and cramped.

His trembling hand reached for the knob, replete with hesitation as his cold sweat dropped to the floor.

Peck opened the door.

Suddenly, Peck's shadow stretched out and the most peculiar thing was that tentacles seemed to grow from his back. When he looked back there was nothing, but one of those tentacles, still a shadow, manifested itself to wrap around his neck. 

And so, everything changed again.

Peck appeared in a landscape of grassy lawns and large hills. He was in the center of it all, where the earth was sunken.

On the hill appeared people in armor pointing at Peck. They were doing nothing more than pointing at him.

Two bodies of light appeared in front of him apparently to protect him.

Those in armor were repelled by the light bodies. After that, the same shadow that appeared at the beginning, with the goat skull, appeared to catch the beings that defended Peck and destroy them by crushing them with its hands.

A flash blinded Peck and the next moment there was a cage in front of him. In the cage a purple luminous figure was enclosed: it seemed to be made of fire. It had the figure of a human, it stood up to reach a hand towards Peck.

At that instant the dream ended.

In reality, one of Sen's fingers touched Peck's forehead. She used her magic to make him sleep peacefully. The sun was about to rise.

Sen's pajamas were damaged and she had some wounds all over her body. It didn't take long for her to heal herself as she finished soothing the sleeping Peck.

She looked to the sides, the whole room was a mess. When Peck woke up everything would be as good as new and he wouldn't remember anything about the nightmare he had.

*** 

Morning came.

Peck and Sen went to the garden.

The garden belonged entirely to Sen. Not many people visited the mansion, not to say no one did, but even if they did they would have to get Sen's permission to enter the garden.

Flowers of different colors and shapes spread everywhere. Roses, white, yellow, blue, lilac, light blue... all grouped according to their color and size. There was a thin channel of water running through the garden.

Sen used her magic so that any kind of flower could grow in that place. In the background there were trees grouped according to the fruit that grew from them, but the biggest attraction was the famous Batoru tree that stretched to the heavens.

In that place, Sen and Peck would have their first magic practice. Peck wore the same clothes he chose yesterday, instead, Sen wore a short white dress with embroidered flowers.

“Is it okay for us to do it here? We're not going to break anything?” Peck asked.

Sen walked ahead of Peck.

“I would never let anything happen to this place”.

Sen raised her arm and snapped her fingers, light blue sparks flashed and a shockwave erupted. It was harmless, but instinctively Peck shielded himself with his arms.

A dome was erected, encompassing the entire garden and at least half of the large tree that stood there. The walls of the dome were translucent, with the typical celestial light generated by Sen's magic.

“This spell was given the name Underworld. It required enormous amounts of mana”.

During her explanation, Peck circled around investigating the dome with his eyes.

“The great thing about this spell is that I can do anything”.

“Anything?”

“Anything”.

A hand rested on Peck's shoulder. When he turned around, Sen was at his back. Due to surprise he jumped away and fell to the ground.

There were two Sen.

“Is that because of the dome too?”

Sen let out a small laugh before answering him.

“No, I can do it independent of the dome. Just in here I can do it anywhere. You know, I like to send a copy of me to work when I don't want to, which is all the time”. A smirk appeared on her face when she said that. “Well, stand up. I'll give you your first lesson”.

“That doesn't give me much confidence...”

Peck stood up, still.

“Don't worry, I won't do anything too hard. First you have to know that magic is almighty. Magic can do everything, dividing it into types is something people did to study it better. It is not bound by the laws of humans”.

“Are there no limits?”

“The only limit is the body. Too much use of mana can end in an abuse of the body, you would end up collapsing. You know, no matter how strong our magic is, the body always has its limits. There is a training that consists of consciously flowing your mana over your body to accustom it to the experience”.

“Is that what we are going to do today?”

Sen's copy moved in front of Peck to face him.

“Today you're going to train with me, we're going to fight amicably”.

“To fight?! But I couldn't beat you!”

“It's not about winning, it's just to learn how you fight”.

“But... I have another problem...”

“What problem?”

“How do I call you? If Sen is Sen, and you are her copy... but you might get confused if I say the same name”.

“That's not so important," the copy replied. “I think...”

“May I call you 'Zen'?”

“I'll allow it!” said Sen from distance.

Then, 'Zen' took her distance and resigned herself to it. Although she was a copy of Sen, her attitude was slightly different.

“Anyway, today your challenge will be to try to touch me just once. Understood?”

'Zen' extended her arm towards Peck and pointed her finger at him. Peck touched that finger.

“Did I win already?” he asked.

“No! Don't resort to technicalities when we haven't even started”.

Zen looked annoyed.

“Can I say I won if I don't know what 'technicality' means?”

While Zen and Peck were having fun, Sen was seriously watching the progress of everything. At an appropriate distance, she posed with her arms crossed and thought:

How does this version of you fight, Peck?

“Hey, Peck” Sen called out to him.

“What?”

“When you do magic, don't forget to fully visualize what you want to do. From the time the mana circulates through your body until it materializes, think about it at all times. When you master it, you will do it instinctively”.

“How do I feel mana?”

“Sensing the mana is like feeling a tingling in the back of your neck, when it flows through you that sensation is transmitted through your body”.

“Oh! I understand, thank you!”

“And one more thing”.

“What is it?”

“Peck, I don't want you to forget this: there are those who need certain key words to do magic, that's what they call incantations. When you master magic enough, you can do it without using words, just your thoughts. You can already do it without speaking, that's impressive. When you go to start your duel with... 'Zen' I want you to keep in mind what I just said”.

“Huh? Well... okay!”

With that Sen tried to get Peck to acknowledge a little more of his own effort.

***

For the next two months Sen educated Peck. She taught him how to read, how to write, and also about magic. Sen helped Peck to meditate and be aware of his mana so he could control it. Peck's attacks became stronger, but Sen's Underworld contained the damage and the garden remained intact.

Every night the same phenomenon occurred: Peck having a nightmare, Sen assisting him to calm down, and her having to heal the wounds she suffered in the process. Along with that, Sen studied Peck's condition, knew something was wrong and wanted to give him a solution.

Because of that, Sen slept only one hour a day.

Eventually, Sen collapsed.

Visiting the cave didn't help her physical discomfort; she needed sleep.

They assigned a rest day where she would sleep during the day to replenish her strength. She told Peck that in the meantime he could read as he greatly improved his reading skills.

Sen's room had a hidden door which connected to a personal library filled with shelves of books, it was quite large. Sen left three books on a small table for Peck to read.

However, Peck was drawn to a particular book on one of the shelves. In fact, it is correct to say that he felt called by the book. A book that Sen said he could not read, the same Sen who was no longer watching him.

No, I must not. I promised her.

Peck turned his back on the book and walked away. Suddenly he felt something in his hands: it was the book. But he had left without taking it, that was a fact, so why was he doing holding it?

The title of that book was:

HELL'S GATE.

--- 

Next chapter arrives on Monday!