Whistling a soft melody, Uriel entered the precinct's bathroom, heading straight to the shower area.
Upon entering, he heard shouts.
"What do you mean, no?! You just nodded your head! Do you think I'm stupid?"
'And they say I'm crazy,' said Shade, bewildered, seeing a young man with pale skin and black hair shouting at the wall.
'Isn't that the... Conqueror? I mean, the protagonist?' thought Uriel, addressing Shade.
'Well, technically, since most of the story happens from his point of view. Though at this stage, he's a jerk,' Shade recalled.
'Right,' Uriel said mentally.
"Hey, you imbecile, what are you staring at?" asked the protagonist, making Uriel frown.
"The only imbecile in this room is you, shouting at your shadow, which, by the way, nodded its head," responded Uriel, causing the young man to freeze.
'I bet he's thinking, "Shit, I was careless and got discovered so quickly."'
'I don't think so,' replied Uriel.
Sunny's mind: 'Shit, I was careless and got discovered so quickly.'
"Anyway, shorty, if you're done with the shouting, I need to relax. I just got out of a nightmare," said Uriel, entering a cubicle where he turned on the hot water and then switched it to cold.
After a few minutes, he was wearing a clean police tracksuit, looking at himself in the mirror to see his changes.
His hair color had changed, turning completely black as night. His skin went from a tanned color to a white one, not very different from Sunny's.
Finally, his height, which was previously 1.60 meters, had grown to about 1.67 meters. That was a big change of seven centimeters.
'Damn. Look at us. We're handsome, like Brad Pitt, Chayanne, or Henry Cavill,' said Shade.
'I think Chayanne and Henry Cavill are more handsome than us.'
'I won't argue against that logic,' replied Shade.
Uriel left the showers, looked around, and found Jet sitting at one of the tables with the protagonist.
Letting out a sigh, he walked towards the table and sat down, ignoring the murderous look from the dark-haired boy, which he returned with an amused smile.
"It seems you two know each other," commented Jet.
"He called me an imbecile, so I called him an imbecile too," summarized Uriel, causing the dark-haired boy to roll his eyes.
Jet seemed amused by their interaction.
"Anyway, help yourselves," she said, extending two trays of food that weren't much different from the food outside.
Uriel, looking at the food, didn't hesitate and started eating. It had been three days since he had eaten, and since he arrived, he had only eaten those pasty bars, so in comparison, this tasted delicious.
'Come on, Uriel, eat that! You can do it!'
'It's a bit annoying to hear you talk while I'm eating.'
'That's a terrible shame, but deal with it, bitch. I'm not going anywhere.'
"What are you thinking about so much?" asked Jet, looking at Uriel, whose gaze was unfocused and whose expressions changed every few seconds.
Even his companion next to him, who was lost in his own thoughts, looked at his expression with interest.
"Just arguing with a voice in my head, and I'm losing," said Uriel.
"I think you'll need psychological help," murmured Jet.
"I don't need it. This is something I've unfortunately had since I was little," he said with a sad expression, though neither of them believed his lie.
At that moment, the second dark-haired boy decided to change the subject of the conversation.
"And what happens now?" he asked.
Jet nodded.
"Alright. Since it seems you've finished your meals, then according to protocol, I'm obligated to inform you of a few things. It's more of a formality. First, regarding your nightmares..." she said, looking at both of them.
"You have the right to receive free psychological counseling," she said, looking at Uriel, who looked away. "No matter what traumatic experiences you've had, there's no shame in asking for help. Your mind is as important as your body; it's only fair to keep it healthy. Are you interested?"
Sunny tilted his head. Jet looked at Uriel, who had a serious face.
"I told you there's no way that if I kissed a frog, a cursed princess would appear," he said before blinking and looking at both of them.
"Sorry, but I'm fine mentally," he responded.
"Sure," said Sunny with a smile.
"You're not one to talk, kid who shouts at shadows." Sunny frowned as if he had eaten something bitter.
'His smile got wiped away,' sang Shade in Uriel's mind.
While Uriel continued his chat/argument with Shade, on the outside he maintained an attentive face to Jet's words, listening only superficially.
"And some might end up trying to take that life once inside the spell," said Sunny.
Uriel stopped arguing with Shade, paying attention, as the conversation seemed to have progressed quite a bit.
"True, but it seems you found a good companion for the Dream Realm," said Jet, looking at Uriel.
"I won't team up with that crazy person."
"I'm not crazy, you're the crazy one."
"Even your personalities are the same," said Jet. "You'll undoubtedly be great friends."
""No!"" they said at the same time.
"So, will you go to the Academy?" asked Jet.
"Yes," responded Uriel, while Sunny nodded.