Yuu woke up with a strange sound as if someone tried to open a closed door.

He opened his eyes, his surroundings were pitch-black, and couldn't see anything. He wondered if it was still nighttime and moved his arms to rub his eyes, with that he felt with one elbow felt something like a wall next to him. Having now a clear mind he frowned, raised slightly the arms, and moved a bit the feet, realizing he was inside of what looked like a box. He was still processing his situation when heard something.

"Oh, no. People are coming," said a high-pitched voice from outside. "Gotta get an uniform while I still have..."

The same voice growled loudly as if it were making a lot of force. "The lid is too heavy!" It said exhausted.

Was that someone trying to open whatever he was inside? Yuu tried to say something, but the same voice started talking again: "Then, time for my secret move! Fnaaa!! There it is!"

The voice didn't finish their victory announcement when Yuu gasped as he saw some strange blue fire flames in front of him. His fear ended when the fire extinguished swiftly, but his confusion of being inside some box increased when the door in front of him opened slowly, seeing finally the exterior: a room filled with some elegant, floating coffins.

"Ok, ok," the voice said as they finished opening the door. "Now time to get that..." Yuu couldn't see anyone at first but jumped slightly as the unknown voice shrieked loudly just below him. "You... Why are you awake!?" It asked alarmingly.

He looked at them, it was a grey cat-like creature with blue, fiery ears he had never seen before. He had a black and white striped bow tied around his neck and he was standing up on his two hind legs, he also seemed more surprised than him. Yuu couldn't help but look at him and ask: "What? A... A talking raccoon!?"

The creature looked more like a cat, but had something that made him think of a raccoon.

"Who are ya callin' a raccoon!?" The creature asked angrily. "I'm the great Grim!!!!". But his angry expression turned into a smirk. "Well, whatever. You, human!" He exclaimed while pointing at him. "Hurry up and give me those clothes you're wearing!"

"What?" Yuu asked before realizing he was wearing some dark clothes he had never seen before.

"Do it or else..." Grim warned. "I'll roast ya!"

As soon as he said that, he spat out a great blast of blue fire that almost reached his feet.

Yuu screamed in fear and started running towards what seemed the exit. "Help!" He yelled as he opened the door.

"Where do you think you're goin'?!" Grim shouted from the distance.

Yuu ran down a long corridor located next to an inner courtyard centered around a well, looked around, and opened a door only to find no one in what appeared to be a classroom.

He kept running for what seemed like an eternity and managed to get outside. He tried to catch his breath as he carefully descended some stone stairs. He looked around - he had never seen a place like that. It was surrounded by many different buildings, including a huge coliseum.

After descending the steps, he turned around to see the place where he had woken up. He was impressed to see a lavish dark-colored architecture that reminded him of an European castle.

He hurried on his way and finished descending, then he saw a smaller building to his left. He quickened his pace and opened the doors, hoping to find answers.

The place turned out to be a library, there was no one there, but there was a strange scene with books floating magically.

After briefly inspecting the place no less confused than before, he sat down on a chair to catch his breath.

"Where in the world am I?" He asked to himself.

First he wakes up inside a coffin, he finds himself dressed in clothes he does not remember putting on before and some kind of fire cat tries to attack him.

He got up and walked around the place. He forgot about the strange creature and lost track of time reading the titles of the books that were there, all related to magic or what seemed to be 'history of magic'. He even dared to grab one of those that were floating, checking that they were not held by ropes or by the air.

If that was a bizarre dream, he wanted to wake up as soon as possible...

Blue flares made him jump out of his thoughts. "Did you really think you could run away from my great nose, stupid human?" Grim asked while approaching him with a menacing smile. "You better give me that robe of yours before I...!"

Some kind of whip resounded behind him and he was tied with it in less than a second.

"Ow! What's with this rope?" Grim asked, trying to break free.

"This is not a rope," a stern voice in front of them said, "but a 'whip of love'!"

It was a man with dark hair and pale complexion, elegantly dressed in a suit accompanied by a long jacket with feathers on his shoulders and a top hat adorned with three mirrors similar to the one on his belt. In one of his hands, he held a cane with a raven handle from which originated the whip he hit Grim with. The most curious things about him were his pointed ears and his face hidden under a bird-shaped mask that only revealed his eyes with a mysterious golden glow. Yuu had the feeling that he was not a human being.

The man looked at Yuu and his face relaxed. "Ah, found you at last," he said to him. "Are you one of the new students?" Then frowned again. "You shouldn't do things like leaving the gate on your own!"

"Gate?" The confused young boy asked, but the stranger did not listen to him.

"Besides," the man continued, "you should tame your familiar better, he has broken a lot of rules in this school!"

He was about to ask him what he was talking about when he walked over to Grim and grabbed him carelessly by the neck.

"Let me go!" The creature shouted. "And I'm nobody's familiar!"

"Sure, sure," the man said without believing him. "The most rebellious ones always say things like that. Just quiet down for a moment," he said before securing him to his arm and covering his mouth.

Grim tried to resist and Yuu raised an eyebrow at the scene.

"My goodness," the man sighed with closed eyes. "A new student shouldn't walk out the door just like that. How impatient can you be? Come on, the ceremony should still be on. Let's go to the Mirror Chamber".

"Mirror Chamber? What are you talking about, sir?" Yuu asked.

"It's the room you woke up in," answered the man. "All students who wish to attend this academy must pass through one of those doors to arrive here. Normally, students wake up only after the door is opened with a special key though."

"Oh, so the coffins are doors..." Yuu commented after realizing that they were the only thing there. "Mine must have opened with his fire," he said looking at Grim, still in the stranger's arms. "Why do they look like coffins?"

"The gates are shaped like that to represent the rebirth of a student in their new life as a magician in this academy. So in the end, the culprit of your gate opened before appears to be this familiar of yours..." He looked at Yuu. "If you are going to bring it with you, you must take responsibility and properly take care of it."

Yuu frowned nervously and pointed at Grim. "He is not actually my..."

"Oh! We can't stay here any longer," the man interrupted him. "The entrance ceremony will be over shortly, let's go."

"Wait a second!" Yuu exclaimed. "I mean... Excuse me, but where am I? And who exactly are you?"

"What's this? Still, dazed from the teleportation magic? It's ok, many students are often disoriented by that. I'll explain everything to you briefly on the way," he said cheerfully. "I'm very gracious after all!"

As they left the library, the man handed a hand mirror to Yuu, who blinked a couple of times in confusion, not just because he hadn't seen him get it out from somewhere.

"I don't want to sound rude to you, young one, but you should fix that a bit before entering the ceremony. You don't want to show yourself like that, right?"

He picked up the mirror and almost jumped as he saw himself reflected in it. He thought he had two huge dark circles under the eyes, but took a better look at what appeared to be a poorly blurred black eyeliner around his eyes.

Yuu had hardly ever applied eyeliner before, but apparently, he had woken up with it on and had ruined it by rubbing his eyes... He fixed it the best he could.

He lowered the hood of his robe to check the rest of his face and hair, which didn't show any unusual changes: his eyes had still a beautiful blue color and his jet-black hair was still short but voluminous, with neat bangs.

"Thank you, sir," he murmured handing him the mirror and putting the hood back on.

"Exactly, you look much better now!" The man commented cheerfully as he pulled Grim against himself in an attempt to keep him still.

After a while walking back, they entered the inner courtyard and the stranger interrupted the silence with a cough to clear his throat:

"This place is Night Raven College," he began with his introduction. "All those young magicians blessed with great aptitude for magic gather here, the most prestigious academy of magic in Twisted Wonderland," he said solemnly. "And I'm the headmaster, Dire Crowley."

"Magicians?" Yuu stuttered.

Thinking of an academy full of wizards made him think of different popular stories and movies with a similar plot. Why was he dreaming about something like that?

"Only those magicians seen as worthy by the Dark Mirror can attend this school," Crowley added. "Likewise, the chosen ones use the gates and are summoned here from anywhere in the world. A black carriage should have come to pick you up with the gate you woke up in, do you remember that?"

Yuu put a hand to his head. "Now that I think about it, I remember seeing a dark forest and a horse with a scary face..." He replied.

"The Ebony Carriage welcomes new students chosen by the Dark Mirror. They are special carriages that carry the doors to the academy. The market decided long age that carriages are used to welcome people on special days."

"So that carriage brought me here?"

Yuu tried to remember that event, but everything was very blurry. Also, what market was he talking about?

On the other hand, Grim tried again to free himself from the headmaster's hands.

"Come on, the ceremony is over here," Crowley urged, ignoring the little monster.

Yuu quickly recognized the place where he woke up. Voices could now be heard coming from the previously empty room.

He was able to identify a conversation that spoke of the headmaster's absence, someone even asked if he had withdrawn due to stomach problems.

"Of course not!" Crowley exclaimed in response, opening the doors wide with a single push.

"Ah, here he is," a young red-haired boy of a similar height to Yuu commented.

Yuu was surprised, the immense place was now packed with hundreds of people dressed in the same clothes as him. Everyone was sitting in chairs, except for five people standing, including the red-haired boy and, for some reason, a strange blue flying tablet.

"Sometimes I can't believe you all. We were missing one new student, so I went to find him," the headmaster explained.

Yuu was not exactly a shy boy, but feeling the weight of lots of glances on him made him make sure that the hood of his robe covered his face well.

Crowley spoke to him again: "You are the only one who still does not have an assigned dorm. I'll take care of the raccoon, so come on, step in front of the Dark Mirror."

Grim shook desperately into his arms again.

With many doubts in his head, Yuu did the indicated and got startled by the appearance of a strange, pale face with what seemed to be black lace around their eyes.

It all seemed more and more like a strange, dark dream.

"State thy name," the mirror commanded with a deep voice.

"Yuu Oshiro," he answered with intrigue.

"Yuu Oshiro, the shape of thy soul is..." Yuu waited for an answer, but the mirror frowned and was silent for a few long seconds. "...I do not know."

He looked up quickly, he had little idea what should have happened, but he had the feeling that something was wrong.

The headmaster seemed as confused as him. "What did you say?" He asked.

"I sense not a spark of magic from this one... Color, shape, there is nothing. Therefore, he is suited for no dormitory." It answered with a serious tone.

After hearing that, the other students began to murmur among themselves. No one understood what was happening, but Yuu wanted to be swallowed up by the earth at that very moment.

"The Ebony Carriage would absolutely never go to meet someone who can't use magic! In 100 years, there has not been once been a mistake in student selection." Crowley said with concern and looked at Yuu. "So why in the world..."

Grim took advantage of the headmaster's distraction to free himself from his arms. "Then let me take his place!" He insisted after falling to the ground.

"Wait a moment, raccoon!" Crowley shouted angrily. "Come back here!"

But the monster did not listen to him.

"Unlike that dumb human, I can use magic," he said with a wicked smile. "Let me enter instead of him! If you need me to prove it to you, I'll do it right now!"

The red-haired boy took a step back, fearing danger.

"Everybody, stay back!" He ordered.

Grim spat blue fire, igniting many parts of the ground and the backside of one of the boys leading the groups, specifically the one wearing what appeared to be a purple turban, who started running for help.

"At this rate, the school will turn into a sea of fire!" The headmaster exclaimed. "Someone catch that raccoon!"

Yuu took a better look at the people leading the groups, all of them looked different despite wearing the same clothes and having hooded heads.

The first to respond to the headmaster was a young man with long dark hair with lion ears, who promptly refused with a reproach.

"Aren't you good at hunting?" Asked him another young boy with blond hair with lilac dyed tips, who Yuu found very handsome. "Doesn't it look like a nice, big snack?"

"Why me? Do it yourself." He replied reluctantly.

A silver-haired boy with glasses approached. "Leave it to me, Mr. Crowley," he said in an elegant tone before turning his pleasant expression to a malicious one. "I am sure that the others will not want to hurt the poor creature, so I offer myself."

"Just as expected from you, Azul!" Said suddenly a voice from the tablet. "Always taking the chance to earn extra points."

"Could anyone help me!?" The boy in the turban desperately asked, still on fire.

"Drop... drop to the ground and spin on the floor! That way you will put out the flames!" Yuu exclaimed aloud in an attempt to do something in the midst of the chaos.

Fortunately, the boy listened to him, understood what he meant, and could put the fire out of his body.

"Are you even listening to me?!" Crowley asked angrily when he saw that no one was doing anything to stop Grim, who continued making chaos.

The young man with the lion's ears crossed his arms. "It's just catching a stupid raccoon, can't you do it yourself, professor?" He asked as if he didn't care about the situation.

Grim ran around nearby and heard him.

"How many times do I have to tell you!? I'm not a raccoon!" He yelled angrily before returning to his wicked grin. "I, the great Grim, will become the most powerful magician in the world!"

With that, he ran again to continue showing his fire powers.

"This seems complicated," Azul commented before turning to the young red-haired boy, "could you help me, Riddle?"

"Let's hurry," the one now known as Riddle urged, "I can't let those who break the rules pass."

Both young men chased after Grim for a long time, throwing magical attacks with what Yuu could identify as magic wands. Finally, Riddle found the perfect opportunity and yelled: "Off with your head!"

Grim screamed as he felt a strange heart-shaped collar close around his neck.

"What the heck is this!?" He asked in shock as he was grabbed by Riddle.

"Law of the Queen of Hearts #23," the young boy simply said: "'Cats aren't allowed on a celebration'. The fact that you are a cat makes you break the rules, so I have to make sure you leave as soon as possible."

"I'm not a cat!" The creature insisted furiously. "You'll see! I'm going to burn this collar right away...!" He tried to blow fire, but nothing came out. "Eh?! I can't use my fire!" He yelled worriedly.

Riddle boasted. "You will not be able to use any magic until I remove it, until then you will be nothing more than a mere cat."

"What!? I'm not a cat or anything like a pet!"

"Don't worry, I wouldn't have something like you as a pet either," he told him sternly. "I'll take it from you as soon as you leave this place."

"Wow, amazing as ever, Riddle!" exclaimed Azul in wonder. "You are capable of sealing any kind of magic with your Unique Magic." His gaze turned for a moment into one of a hungry carnivore and he muttered something that Yuu didn't understand, but quickly changed to the earlier cordial expression. "I would never wish that being cast on me."

Still, in his confused state, Yuu got startled when the headmaster turned his attention back to him.

"You must do something about this!" He said with a firm voice. "He's your familiar, right?" Yuu shook his head fervently. "Properly discip...! Eh? It is not yours?"

"This is the first time in my life I see him, sir." He finally answered. "I've tried to tell you before..."

"Oh... you did?" He asked self-consciously before clearing his throat and turning to Grim again. "Anyway, let's get you out of school as soon as possible. We will not cook you, since I am very gracious. Someone help us with this, please."

One of the hooded students grabbed him and headed for the door.

"Let me go!" Grim shouted, trying to free himself again. "You'll see, one day... I'll become the greatest magician ever!"

He was able to say that before the door closed.

"Suddenly I feel sorry for him..." Yuu commented to himself. "But why was he so eager to enter this school?"

No one heard him, not even Crowley, who continued speaking to the rest of the students: "Well, we had a bit of trouble along the way but this brings the entrance ceremony to a close. Dorm leaders, take the students to the dorms." He seemed to notice something. "Now that I think about it, I don't see the leader of Diasomnia, the young Draconia, anywhere."

"As always, right?" The lion-eared man asked without surprise.

"Eh? Didn't anyone tell him about the ceremony?" The boy on the turban asked.

"If you're going to complain, you could have done it yourself before," the handsome boy replied.

"But I don't really know anything about that guy..."

The students murmured among themselves again.

"Draconia? Are they talking about THAT Malleus Draconia?"

"Does he really attend the same school as us? Right here?"

"So scary!"

Yuu supposed that the person they were talking about had to be very scary if people trembled like that with their sole mention.

Then another person entered the chamber, someone of short stature, similar to Riddle's, with large magenta eyes. He looked young and adorable, but Yuu was surprised to hear his unexpectedly deep voice. "I knew it," he said. "I thought he might come this time, but Malleus really didn't. It seems that, once again, he did not 'receive' the invitation again."

"My deepest apologies," Azul said. "I promise we did not intend to exclude you."

"His aura on him makes it hard to approach him," Riddle added.

"It's okay," the newcomer said. "The members of Diasomnia can come with me." he announced before muttering to himself: "I hope this doesn't upset him..."

The room gradually emptied among the murmurs of the young people who spoke among themselves.

The blond dorm leader took a little longer to talk for a few minutes with a tall, strong guy. On the other hand, the leader with the turban on his head approached Yuu. "Excuse me," he called him.

"Yes?" He was the first person after Grim and Crowley to talk to him in that strange place.

"I just wanted to thank you for helping me with the fire, I owe you one!" He said with a warm smile.

He looked so charming that Yuu felt his cheeks burn a bit. "It was nothing! Anyone could have done it." He insisted. "I just wanted to do something in the middle of the chaos..."

"Still, thank you very much! Oh, I better go! Bye!" He said before leaving with another dark-skinned boy who was looking at him impatiently.

Finally, everyone left, so Yuu was left alone with the headmaster. He was feeling uncomfortable and wondered what he was going to do now.

"Young Yuu," Crowley called him back to reality. "I don't mean to be rude, and I'm really sorry to tell you this, but I must make you leave this academy. Those who have no talent for magic can't stay here."

He felt upset, on one hand, because those words sounded a bit sad, even if the headmaster had a good reason; but on the other hand, he was relieved to be able to get out of that madness. "Okay, I understand," he replied. "Where is the exit? I'll leave as soon as possible."

"Don't worry, the Dark Mirror will take you back to the place you came from," he said as he urged him to approach the mirror.

"Okay." He looked thoughtfully at the mirror in front of him and looked back at the headmaster. "Thank you very much for your help, sir. And... I'm sorry for any inconvenience I may have caused."

"Don't say that, young boy! As the person in charge of this place, I am the one who apologizes for this confusion." He said in a formal tone. "All right, now stand in front of the gate and picture your home clearly in your mind."

Yuu stood firm, closed his eyes and thought deeply about his bedroom.

That had been a very strange dream, he hoped to remember in the morning to tell everything Yukiko in detail, who would surely ask him why he would have dreamed something like that if they had not seen any fantasy movies in a long time.

"Oh, Dark Mirror," Crowley summoned. "Send this being back to the place it belongs!"

Yuu expected to wake up from the dream or enter into a turbulent journey, but the face in the mirror kept a serious expression, without saying a single word...

The boy opened an eye when he felt nothing new. "Does it usually take a long time? Or am I doing something wrong?" He asked the headmaster.

Crowley cleared his throat, puzzled as he was." Let's try it one more time. Dark Mirror, guide this one...!"

But the spirit of the mirror interrupted him with chilling words:" There is no place."

"Eh?" Crowley asked confused.

"This being does not belong to any part of this world. Therefore, their place of origin is non-existent."

Yuu frowned worriedly. "What?"

Even the headmaster himself seemed appalled. "What did you say? I can't believe this! Although... many incredible things have happened today without a stop!"

The Dark Mirror did not reply.

"This is the first time something like this has happened since I became the headmaster. What should be..?" He turned to see Yuu sternly. "You. Where do you exactly come from?"

That only made Yuu even more nervous. "I... I'm from Chiba! A city that is not far away from Tokyo, the capital of my country."

"I've never heard of that place," the headmaster thoughtfully replied. "I have a general knowledge of the place of origin of the students, but this is the first time that I have heard those names. Come with me, let's do some research in the library."

"Okay..." That was the only thing he could think of to reply.

They returned to the library where they met. Yuu lost track of time in his attempt to search for answers.

"There really isn't anything," Crowley commented seriously. "Not only the world map but the name of your home isn't written in any book or document."

Yuu was so focused on processing the situation that he was unable to answer. The map before him on the table clearly showed a world very different from the one he knew. He would never dream of something as clear and elaborate as that...

It was the ultimate proof that he was not dreaming, that he was living in reality ...

... and trapped in a world he couldn't possibly get out of.

"Are you really from where you say you are?" Crowley asked questioningly. "You're not lying to me by any chance?"

"No, sir, I swear!" Yuu insisted, concerned. "I would never lie about something like this! I'm not looking for trouble! I really don't!"

"Then, based on all this, it looks like you came from another planet. We even have the probability that you come from a different world."

"What!? A different world?! Is that even possible?"

It seemed to him one of the most typical and cliched arguments for an anime, but much more terrifying since he was the one who was living it and without even knowing how or why he got there.

Crowley continued with the questions: "Did you have something on you when you woke up here? Any identification like a license to drive a magical vehicle or the name on a shoe? You seem to be empty-handed."

Yuu searched for something among the clothes he was wearing, feeling the little hope he had left vanished. "Now that you mention it, I don't have my wallet or my cell phone, I don't even remember wearing these clothes before I woke up..." He replied.

"This is concerning," Crowley said thoughtfully. "I can't allow someone without magic to stay in this school..."

Yuu feared the worst, he did not know anything or anyone in that world at all, and apparently, it was going to be impossible to survive without the ability to use magic. But the headmaster had not finished speaking.

"However, as an educator, I can't just toss a penniless teenager out on the street with no form of communication." He smiled suddenly. "For I am kind."

After thinking for a minute, he found a solution: "Oh, that's right! There is an unused building on the campus. It was once used as a dormitory the past so if you can clean it up, you should at least be able to sleep there. For the time being, I shall allow you to stay there for a while! Meanwhile, I will find some way to return you to your world. Ah, I am so gracious! I am a model for all educators!"

That didn't relieve Yuu of all his worries, but he was relieved to have at least a place to go.

"We'd better go as soon as possible," Crowley said, snapping out of his reverie of graciousness. "I will take you to the dormitory. As I said it is a bit old, but it has a certain charm to it!"

"Okay..." replied Yuu and followed him.

On the way, Crowley could see the worried expression of the boy. Now he could better understand the reason for his bewilderment and his clear ignorance of Night Raven College. He had to forcefully process many things in a very short time...

"It's here, we've arrived. I present to you Ramshackle dorm!"

Yuu stared at the place in disbelief, which had all the signs of being abandoned years ago, it was in ruins and there were even tombstones and cobwebs everywhere possible. "That's too much charm..." He commented without daring to say that the place seemed to be literally haunted. Only the ghosts were missing.

"Right, right?" Crowley asked excitedly without catching his sarcasm. "Please, come inside."

It was hardly necessary to open the doors of the double entrance gate since one of them was even out of the frame."Wait for a second," Crowley said before fixing it with a wave of his hand with magic so that at least it could be closed.

They reached what seemed to be the living room.

"You can at least keep out of the rain here," Crowley said. "I'll go investigate a little more, so make yourself at home. And do not wander around the campus! Now, if you excuse me, I'll see you soon."

And he left the place after saying goodbye with a hand gesture.

It wasn't like he wanted to wander around in a place he didn't know, much less in the dark of the night.

"Well, at least it's better than nothing," Yuu commented out loud after making sure he was completely alone.

He pulled down the hood of his robe and glanced around: the accumulated dust on the fireplace's ledge was so thick it looked like snow, the large sofas had to be cleaned to even sit down, the pictures were crooked, the wallpapers needed an urgent change, there were many cobwebs and for some reason the rocking chair and the small table that were there were upside down.

He turned these last two pieces of furniture as best he could and shook the sofa next to the large window out a bit to sit down. After thinking for a while about his situation, he decided to investigate a little the place that would become his new residence for who knows how long.

The nearest door led to the kitchen, which was connected to the dining room, where there was a large table and several chairs. At the entrance was a small room with various cleaning supplies, including a couple of mops and brooms, a bucket, and several rags. This encouraged him to clean at least the living room, dust, and sweep the floor. After all, he didn't have much else to do at that moment...

The place looked a bit more decent to live in when he finished. Just at that moment, it started to rain, he put away the things he used and leaned his arms on the back of the sofa next to the window to watch the rain fall. "Such a strong rain..." He commented at the speed it had formed.

The walls of the room became damp and in no time leaks appeared in the ceiling.

"Hyii! It's really coming down!"

That familiar high-pitched voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he rolled over on the couch with a start. "Who's there?! How did you get in?!"

The cat-like intruder laughed. "You should see that stupid look of yours! You look like a spider being attacked by a water gun!" He changed his expression to one of his malicious glances. "I had no problem sneaking into the school again, come on! If those guys think kicking me out will change my mind, they're truly mistaken!"

Yuu hadn't forgotten that that cat-monster had tried to attack him. "Help!!! He's back!"

Grim got alarmed and put a paw to his mouth. "Hey! Shh!! Lower your voice!" He begged. "I don't want to be kicked out again!"

Seeing him act like this removed the feeling of danger, so Yuu sat calmly on the couch and looked at him suspiciously. "Okay, okay... But why do you want so much to enter into this school?" He asked him.

Grim blinked a few times before answering. "The answer is simple: because I'm a genius who's destined to be a great magician! I've been waiting for the Ebony Carriage to pick me up for a long time, but... but...". His huge blue eyes watered, but he held his pride and snorted. "The Dark Mirror doesn't have enough eye for this. That's why I came here on my own!"

Yuu listened carefully.

"Not letting me in here would be a great loss for the world," he continued as he approached him. "Humans can't understand that."

The leaks grew in size and a drop of water fell very close to Grim. "So cold!" He cried with a meow. "The roof is leaking!" Another drop fell on his left shoulder. "Uah! And it still goes on! At this rate, my lovely fire ears will go out!" He said after getting on the sofa next to Yuu in search of refuge.

"We'll have to find a bucket," the human said as he remembered the one he had seen earlier and looked for the source of the leaks.

"Magic should fix this leak up in no time," Grim commented before looking at Yuu expectantly.

"I can't use magic..." He answered uneasily.

"Eh? You can't? Ha!" He laughed mockingly. "How useless!"

Yuu frowned and got up to get the bucket. "Well, if you are such a great magician, you could help me with this, right?"

"Help you? No way! Right now I'm just a simple monster looking for shelter from the rain." Yuu thought that only contradicted everything he had just said about being a powerful wizard. "You better have a can of tuna ready before I do any work."

The number of leaks increased, so Yuu rushed to place the first bucket under a nearby one. "I'd better find another bucket..." He muttered as he saw that one would not be enough.

He decided to upstairs to look for more, he would also explore the building better that way. At first, Grim did not want to follow him, but when he felt alone in that old place, a feeling of fear invaded him throughout his body and followed him.

The young boy decided to try looking in a long corridor with some doors, but as soon as he passed by, he heard a noise. It could have been Grim walking behind him or the creaking of an old plank of wood, but he had suddenly a horrible feeling.

At that very moment, the pale figures of three ghosts appeared in front of him.

Yuu gasped and wished he was hallucinating, he was speechless with fear. He was already trapped in an unknown world, the last thing he needed was to run into actual ghosts!

The ghosts disappeared, but Yuu knew that things weren't going to stay that way. He took several steps back.

"Hee, hee, hee, hee!" Laughed grimly the voice of one of them. "Hee, hee, hee, hee! It's been a long time since we had guests... I was really looking forward to some action. Hee, hee, hee, hee!"

The ghosts appeared before him again. He couldn't take it anymore and screamed in horror.

Grim was behind him right then. "Why are you screaming?" He asked before noticing the ghosts and screaming in horror as well. "Aaahhh! Gho-...! Ghosts!"

"The people who lived here got scared of us and left," said the medium-sized ghost.

"We've been looking for new ghost companions," the bigger, plump-looking ghost continued. "What about you two? Do you want to join us?"

That was basically a death threat. Yuu wanted to run away, but the ghosts were moving quickly towards them.

"Help!" He screamed.

[Published on 28-5-2021]