September 3, 2008 – Wednesday.
Brookhaven was peaceful, as always. The sun shined high, the air felt warm, and the quiet streets carried the soft rhythm of daily life. Nearby, the beach opened with a glowing view, gentle waves, soft sand, and the calm that made this place felt untouched.
In the Sunnyhill Neighborhood, specifically in Abodo's house, a teenager living alone was cooking on the grill for a camping trip. His name was Taro Abodo, and he was going with his only Italian friend, Vincenzo Giannsoni, though he preferred to be called Vincy instead.
While Taro was preparing lunch, someone knocked on the door. It was his friend Vincy.
"Yo Taro, ready for our trip?" Vincy asked, waving.
"Almost..." Taro replied, "just give me a few minutes."
"Take your time, pal!" Vincy said. "I'll do something at home. Let's meet up at the bus station!"
After a while, Taro finished packing his camping bag and went to meet Vincy at the station.
At night, after Taro and Vincy had their dinner, they sat by the campfire talking about many different things before going to sleep.
"So yeah, my mother and sister traveled to Italy yesterday," Vincy said.
"You live alone now?" Taro asked.
"Yeah, but it's not a big deal..." Vincy responded. "They went to help my father on his little farm. I'm used to that anyway."
Taro felt sorry for him and remembered how his own mother, Mona Abodo, often did the same, which was traveling to Paris for her work as a professional clothing designer.
"What about living with me?" Taro asked suddenly. "My mother won't mind, and we can stay together instead of just visiting each other. After all, both of our families are busy in different countries."
"You're right," Vincy replied after thinking for a moment. "But are you sure about that? Why would you live with a troublemaker, haha..."
"Don't say that, Vincy!" Taro responded. "You're my best friend... and even my only one. Honestly, I'd be relieved to stay with you."
"Sheesh, man..." Vincy said, surprised. "Alright old pal! I'll help you and become your loyal servant... hehe!"
"You're welcome anytime!" Taro said with a big smile. "Treat it as your home."
A little while later, they cleaned up the rest of their dinner and prepared the sleeping mats inside the tent.
"By the way, Vincy..." Taro said, "why didn't we go to the beach instead of the campsite?"
"Forget it," Vincy replied immediately, "the weather gets really cold over time. Besides, I can't swim, and I hate touching the sea!"
"Ah... you're right!" Taro said. After all, I was the one who rescued him from drowning the last three times...
"Ah, you naughty boy!" Vincy said after a short pause. "You probably just wanted to go there to peek at attractive women, didn't you?"
"I... I would never do that...!" Taro said, his face turning red.
"Ahaha... you're too easy!" Vincy laughed. "I'm just messing with you. I know you're not that kind of person."
Right… Taro thought. After all, he's the one who was spying. He's lucky for not getting caught before.
A few minutes later, Taro sat by the campfire, looking pale and unwell. He realized he had forgotten to bring his medicine and hadn't taken it that morning at home. On top of that, he was still exhausted from working part-time at the supermarket since last week. All of this had worsened due to the health problems he'd had since childhood. If it weren't for his former coworkers, Mia and Jack, he would have ended up working full days without any breaks. Given his health condition, that could've been dangerous. Fortunately, since he would be returning to high school next Friday, he had stopped working until the next mid-term holiday.
Taro, on the other hand, felt ashamed of being weak, lonely, and having no friends, except Vincy. He thought about how careless he had been with everything lately. He also thought about his father, who had died before he even got to know what he looked like. And he hadn't forgotten his mother, wondering whether she was doing well or not.
Time passed, and Taro drifted off to sleep... until he heard Vincy's voice calling him:
"Hey, Taro! Come on, man, are you going to sleep or not?"
"Just a few minutes..." Taro replied, "I need to get warm by the campfire."
"As you like!" Vincy said while yawning. "I'll go ahead first."
A short while later, as Taro was preparing to sleep, a huge, blue-colored portal suddenly appeared in the forest, accompanied by loud noises.
Taro was stunned by the sound. However, Vincy didn't hear anything, as he was already asleep. Taro decided to check where the noise had come from, thinking someone might be in trouble.
After about thirty minutes of searching, Taro couldn't find anyone or anything. He was just about to give up... until he noticed something: a faint, muddy trail leading deeper into the forest, as if someone had been dragged or limped away. That caught his attention immediately.
At the end of the muddy trail, he found an old man with a long white beard wearing a blue wizard coat and hat, lying injured on the ground. Without wasting a second, Taro rushed back to the campsite to retrieve his med kit.
When he returned, he noticed that the wizard had changed his position slightly. Taro was relieved... at least he was still alive. He checked his breathing to be sure.
As the wizard slowly regained consciousness and Taro treated his wounds, he was shocked to see how severe the injuries were. They didn't look natural. It felt like he had been in a battle with a monstrous creature.
"Are you feeling well?" Taro asked. "What happened to leave you in such a miserable state, sir?"
"Worry not, young one," the wizard replied with a weak smile, "your help has spared me a worse fate. I'm grateful."
As the wizard stood up, he saw something both dreadful and astonishing. With his {Soul-Vision}, he could see a floating purple shape just above Taro's stomach, and it appeared corrupted. Surrounding it was a tiny blue light, slowly fading, while the corruption grew rapidly.
The wizard couldn't tell exactly what the corrupted entity was, but he recognized the blue light, as it was a magical spell meant to block the corruption from damaging Taro's internal organs. He knew a way to not only maintain that light but to completely erase the corruption. However, due to an unknown twist, using that spell might endanger his own life.
But remembering how selflessly the boy had rushed to help a stranger, without hesitation, the wizard immediately cast aside his trepidation. He chose to save Taro, no matter the cost.
Without revealing the details, the wizard came up with a plan. He introduced himself as Enzo the magical wizard, and explained that he could make Taro stronger than ever before, along with other benefits.
The innocent boy was confused at first. He thought the wizard's outfit was part of a Halloween event or some local celebration. He didn't expect anything truly magical. But the idea of becoming better than he was now did feel tempting. Even though he didn't quite believe him, he agreed, still unsure of what would happen.
Enzo raised his magical staff and began casting the spell meant to heal Taro's body. As the spell charged, Enzo muttered quietly to himself:
"No one remains to stand against him... except you, young soul. I believe in you... end the darkness once and for all."
As the spell burst forth into a massive beam of blue light, Enzo began to vanish. Taro stood directly in its path. That moment marked a new path in Taro's life... the beginning of his journey.
September 4, 2008 – Thursday.
Vincy woke up in a panic after not finding Taro anywhere at the campsite. An hour later, he finally found Taro lying unconscious on the ground. Vincy rushed toward him, shouting his name again and again. Moments later, Taro finally regained his consciousness, and both were stunned by what they saw. Something about him had changed… deeply.
His appearance, his aura, even the air around him felt different. When Vincy asked what had happened, Taro tried to say something, but was no use...
...Taro couldn't speak!