And then... It all went silent. No white silence, just silence.

   For a moment, Callisthenes thought he was dead.
   But then, he felt a small, familiar breeze drift past his hair. This soothing, pasture wind put his mind slightly at ease, and hinted towards him meeting her again.
   He was in shock however.

  "Where am I...?" He mumbled wearily, as he slowly pushed himself up into a criss-cross sitting position.

   His eyes wandered with a lost look, to only be met with pure white wherever he glanced. On second thought... He might have just arrived in heaven.

  "There's no way I could be dead..." He whispered with doubt, his mind swirling.

   The vest he wore was still unbuttoned, and his tie was also still lose from when his ''murderer'': the perverted, monstrous Yanny, had attempted to kiss him. She had also done well on taking him out so quickly. All she needed to do was wait for the opening and pounce.

  (No, there's no way I could die so quickly.) He protested within his mind. (I won't accept it!)

   He got up almost instantly from his sitting position and started running around the empty, mysterious white room in hopes finding at least one thing that could prove that he was alive.

  (I want to see Great Aunt J again, and I want to see all my friends...) He thought panicked as he quickened his pace.

  (I can't just leave without saying goodbye!)

   But with every step, and with every minute that passed as Callisthenes continued running, he could feel his belief falter, along with his strength to run. No matter how far he ran, all he could see was white.

   Soon, he succumbed to his fatigue, and felt his hands fall to his knees, his legs burning and begging for him to sit down.

  He sighed with tiredness and disbelief. "I'm dead..." He whispered hopelessly. "And I'll never see anyone ever again-"

  "Then tell me, O' dramatic of all, if you're really dead, then why do you feel tired after running?"

   His head jolted up in surprise from the high-pitched, feminine voice that answered him from behind. This voice wasn't unfamiliar to him, in fact, he remembered the voice with all the cells in his mind. He turned around with suspense to face the voice...

   And saw an old friend, Renee Ajello.

   She was wearing a nostalgic, pure white camisole dress from when she was a child, and had two symmetrical, black braids that rested on her shoulders, opposite from one another. Her eyes were an elegant dark brown, however, it's elegance was mostly covered by rage.

  "Ugh, Gods above Cal, what the hell were you thinking out there?!" She yelled with anger, her arms's gestures showing off how angry she was. "Why didn't you bring your phone with you?! You could've DIED!"

   At this point, Callisthenes didn't even care if he was dead or not, he was just so happy to see Renee again. After so many years, he never thought he'd meet her so soon.

   Without thinking, he threw his arms around her, embracing her into a tight hug, and stunning her temporarily.

  "Renee... Dammit, I missed you so, so much..." Callisthenes said, the negative emotions leaving his body by seconds.

  She sighed at his happiness and hugged him back. "Yeah, I've missed you too, Callisthenes." He could sense that Renee was just as happy to see him that he was to see her, if not, even more chipper.

  "Seriously though, you shouldn't be too surprised. I was the one that was texting you those forewarnings- don't you know that already?" His eyes widened at her explanation, and he looked back at her, his arms in a loose hug formation.

  "Forewarnings... Oh, so you were the weird text girl. I thought she just had the same name as you." He responded to her without thinking.

  She gave him a raised eyebrow, but quickly switched to being serious. "I gave you those texts because you are very special Cal, you're the new Vrontí, or aka, the fabled boy/man. You're gonna need some real guidance if you want to get rid of the beasts."

  Callisthenes cocked his head to the side, confused by her sudden change in subject.. "What do you mean by Verr... on tea?"

  Renee laughed at his confusion, assuming that he was possibly kidding on not knowing that he was the new Vrontí. "Oh, don't joke around Cal, this is serious! You know that you're the Vrontí, didn't I tell you when I was still alive?"

   A twinge of nostalgic sadness hit his heart when he heard her say ''when I was still alive'', but he quickly switched to the concentration of his memories, seeing if he could remember anything about him being a Vrontí.

   But unfortunately, he couldn't remember a single memory that had the word Vrontí within them. He looked up at her with a serious look on his face.

  "... No. I don't think you've ever said that to me." Renee's eyes instantly widened in shock, and quickly jumped out of Callisthenes's grasp, causing him to give her a look of disappointment. 

  "Oh dangit! I can't believe I forgot to mention that to you when we were still in middle school! Dang it all, I'm an idiot..." She said to herself, clearly panicking.

   For some reason, he just couldn't wipe this silly grin off his face after he had hugged her. It had been so long after all, so of course he would be gleeful... But he wasn't expected to be feeling like he was on cloud nine. Still, he was a bit worried about Renee.

  "So this Vrontí thing; is it some kind of cult thing?" He questioned her calmly, his smile unwavering.

  She looked back at him quickly and shook her head, clearly stressed out. "Nonono- you aren't part of a cult! You just have a family-traditional... er- prophecy."

  Callisthenes nodded simply at her answer, pretending that he actually understand what she just said. "And what is this prophecy? Do I have to save or kill something?"

  "Well, to put it short... Yes, you technically have to kill something. But multiple somethings. You need to get rid of a bunch of beasts who are disguised as humans, that are trying to disturb the peace- at least I think that's what they're doing- and seal their powers for their lifetime, or kill them. Your  ''thunder powers'' were unlocked thanks to your near-death experience, and they are very important." He nodded slowly at Renee's quick and slightly vague explanation, and paused before he spoke.

   Another small silence thickened between them... Before he finally spoke.

  "I don't get it."

  Renee groaned at his pointless reply, and looked back at him, extremely peeved.

  "Don't you get it, Cal?! You're the descendant of the man of thunder, you're the fabled boy who's said to take down ancient beasts in disguise! Should I be more specific, or do you understand your purpose now?" 

  Callisthenes was a bit startled by her angered outburst, but with that info she blurted out, things sort of came together. All he needed to know was who exactly ''Man of Thunder'' is.

  "So according to this ''prophecy,'' I'm supposed to protect San Francisco from these beasts? But who are they? And- how? I get that I have powers but how will I learn to use them?" He asked her curiously.

   Renee smiled cleverly and put her palms to her hips. That bright smile of her's always gave him the hint that she was either proud, or planning revenge.

  "Now you're asking the good questions," She began enthusiastically. "For your first question, we don't know yet. But I get weird feeling whenever I sense a beast aura nearby," She explained as she backed away from him, most likely to demonstrate something. 

  "And for your second question... You don't even need  to worry. I will explain everything when the time comes. But before you get serious with thunder," She paused, getting in a strange position.

  "You'll have to get your hands on your ancestor's old weapon, the lightning trident." Before Callisthenes could ask her where the weapon could be, she read his mind and answered him.

  "Don't worry Cal, once I revive you, I'll help you find it." He felt some mental weight on his shoulders disappear.

  "That's good to hear, but don't you have time limit whenever you talk to me or text me?" He asked simply. Renee smiled again, stiffening her position.

  "Once again, your sacr- I mean near-death experience has opened up a lot of things. Such as me being able to talk to you more! So don't worry about the texting issue anymore." She then made a circle motion with her hands, and a magic circle appeared at Callisthenes's feet.

  "Woah. Are you going to revive me with this?" He asked, his pupils full of astonishment.

   The magic circle had a strange, fluid pattern in the middle, showing a kind, goddess-like woman with her arms open and her face serene.

  "Yep, I am. We'll see each other very soon after this, anyways, time to wake up!"

   Suddenly, green light flew up from the magic circle, quickly hindering his vision of Renee, which gave him a sad pang within his heart. He felt his disconnect from the ground, and felt his consciousness was slowly coming back to him...

  (Vrontí... Fabled boy... It's all so stressful. But I'm willing to take all of this if it means to see her again.)