“Strange, I've never seen you at the training arena.”

Nebula walked away again so all they had to do was get out of the stable. As they walked towards the exit, Marina couldn't help but notice their height difference. Shirei met her gaze for a moment before continuing the conversation.

“I don't train here, I'm used to elsewhere.”

“Let me guess, if I ask you where you won't answer me.”

The demigod nodded: “You're right.”

“You are the type of person to keep a thousand secrets too!” She replied, letting out a laugh. “So... do you want to train together?”

“Now?”

“So we can then take a break until lunch”, not being sure of convincing him she added, “Okay listen, last week a son of Sidal beat me and it must never happen again. Never!” She was surprised by the strange proud tone she used.

“Sidal, do you mean the god of war?”

“That's right, ten points to the children of Cragar! Apparently there isn't exactly good blood between our houses, you know, war isn't a wise choice... oh well, thanks to our parents” she had lost the thread of the conversation, “So? Are you afraid of losing to me?” she asked, trying to provoke him.

“I've already trained, but thanks for the invitation.”

“It's morning, Shirei. At least find a decent excuse if you really don't like me.”

But the boy's serious face made her understand that he wasn't joking. Marina was confused, it meant that he trained during the night. Cragar's children were always strange, she shouldn't forget that, and yet she kept making that mistake.

She wasn't about to give up, “How about a run? Let's go until...” she looked up, thinking of a suitable destination, “To the thirteenth house!”

The demigod sighed, “Okay, but I don't usually hold back.”

Marina was quite proud of her speed, she had once even won the relay race held in the park during the holidays, however, Shirei's security destabilized her.

Without waiting any longer, she decided to take him by surprise to gain an advantage.

She suddenly shouted the countdown and took off at the same time: “3-2-1-Go!”

Marina began to run as fast as she could, about twenty seconds passed in a flash. The boy hadn't overtaken her yet, so that meant her intent was successful, she just had to maintain her position. The plan was well organized and her route certainly as short as possible, after all she knew the place better than anyone. She would win, there was no doubt, at least until then. Shirei's aura suddenly manifested behind her shoulders, confusing her, and she nearly tripped. Her blood ran cold as Cragar's son darted to her side and, like lightning, quickly distanced her. Marina opened her blue eyes wide and tried to speed up but she had already reached her maximum speed. The landscape of the park passed before her eyes quickly, she was sure she was giving everything she had.

Shirei's figure gradually shrank until it disappeared from her sight completely. Marina continued to run until she was exhausted, but every trace of the demigod had disappeared. Eventually, she reached house thirteen: a small black wooden building.

Shirei was there waiting for her, sitting on the main steps, “It was easy” he commented as soon as he saw her.

Marina bent over to catch her breath. “Excuse me?”

“You're pretty fast.”

She looked up piqued, but the boy seemed completely sincere. Without thinking twice, she collapsed next to him, on the black steps of house thirteen.

“You certainly weren't joking when you said you exercise often.”

Shirei seemed focused on something specific on the horizon “I'm not the type to make jokes about these topics” he nodded into the distance, “And I think someone is looking for you.”

The demigoddess followed his gaze until she noticed a small silhouette quite far away. She looked at Shirei in amazement and narrowed her eyes trying to understand how he could see that far, after all she was wearing contact lenses so she was sure she didn't have vision problems at that moment. Slowly, she made out the distant boy's blond hair and stood up.

“Look who could it possibly be? Lore!” She waved with her right hand.

“Do you know him?”

“Yes, he is my half-brother, we are both sons of Ien.”

Cragar's son remained silent, this disturbed Marina slightly. For her, who was a knowledge and control freak, not being aware of other people's thoughts was heartbreaking. While Lorenzo reached them, the blonde took the opportunity to sit down again and look at Shirei out of the corner of her eye. His purple eyes attracted her, she had never seen such a shade, not even mythological creatures possessed that color. The boy was silent and his steps made no noise, almost as if he didn't want to be noticed. His aura and size definitely made him an impressive presence, yet he seemed to be capable of erasing himself and disappearing, both literally through spectral travels and figuratively. That boy was a living oxymoron.

“You know” Marina said casually, “If Mr. D'Agostini hadn't introduced you, I probably would have thought you were a ghost.”

Shirei sighed, “I thought so.”

The girl immediately realized she had said the wrong thing and tried to apologize: “I didn't mean it... really Shirei, I've only known you for a few hours. I would never allow myself to insinuate anything. I had no bad intentions. I’m sorry!”

She raised her hands in a prayer gesture but the boy simply looked away, covering his mouth with one hand.

“Oh, this amuses you!?” Ien's daughter blurted out, “Then, from now on, I'll call you Hollow!”

“Nicknames? All right. Hollow, ghost, phantom, whatever you like.”

“Fine!” She retorted with bravado.

Shirei didn't seem to mind and that knowledge reassured Marina. Lorenzo had finally arrived, however the expression on his face confused the blonde. Ien's son slowed his pace almost as if he was hesitating and gave her a rather obvious look. The demigoddess curiously raised her eyebrows before realizing what he was referring to and blushed. Without making it too obvious, she took advantage of her stepbrother's arrival to put a few more inches of distance between her and Shirei.