Ludi

The Capital Museum had opened its doors. They had been preparing the largest exhibition of works based on myths and legends in the world. Paintings, sculptures would be seen and musical pieces inspired by them would be constantly being played.    The exhibition was without place, the most beautiful ever seen. Thousands of works, separated by type, by artist or subject, were there, all together, and yet the one that drew the most attention occupied a room for itself.    A room that went unnoticed, since its doors were closed, with no one interested in opening them and discovering their interior.    Of those school trips that passed in front of that room, a boy fell in love with its doors. Solid white wooden doors, with angels and demons carved in it, stood like the entrance to an ancient cathedral.    That boy, with blond hair and sad eyes, flooded with seeing so much beauty, separated himself from his group, guided by his feet, he reached the interior of that magnificent room.    The doors closed behind him and he felt as if the world was left in a separate place, behind them.    The room was there for him alone. There was a beautiful teardrop chandelier with large and tiny stones, which brightened much more than usual, and the walls simulated a soft forest-green hue with pillars adorned with granite vines.    All this was to decorate the painting that was there.    It spanned the entire wall, from wall to wall; from floor to ceiling, creating an incredible vision.    The frame had carved leaves that protruded, merging with the walls at the ends.    The painting was a forest painted in its natural size. It looked like a gigantic window to a lost world in the middle of the asphalt and the black clouds that covered the city like a filthy layer of burned oil in pure water. The nearest tree seemed to be lost in the finite ceiling, and the roots seemed to touch the marble on the ground. The thickness of them was normal and as they got closer, you could see the details that gave life to that painting. The light that passed through the leaves, the insects that inhabited that forest and the natural brightness of everything that lived there; however, the brush strokes were still indistinguishable.    The young man was hypnotized with that paint. So much so that he got even closer to try to distinguish the brush strokes, which were lost between the details and instead more inhabitants appeared.    He wanted to take a closer look, he could even imagine the humid and heavy air of that beautiful place, feel the moist heat on his skin, the wet earth under his feet ...    The sound of birds ...    Steps approaching him ...    His imagination was too active. He felt inside the painting, as if he were truly in that forest ... but as much as he turned on himself to find the exit door, it was gone. The walls were not there, the door was not there, the tear lamp was not there ... The floor was not there!!    The steps grew louder and louder, indicating that someone was closer and closer.    Something was moving.    Something was running towards him.    It was impossible. It was impossible for him to be in that place; Where were the walls? And the door?    Without realizing it, what was running towards him was now in front of him.    It was a hooded person with his face covered in a grotesque demonic mask. This person had a blond-haired boy in front of him, he was static, watching him half terrified, half amazed. Seeing him move, he was on guard, ready to attack at any moment.    "Who are you?!" he asked knowing that perhaps this was his chance.  "Qu ... Quatre Winner ..."    "Which clan do you belong to?!"    "W-what ...? ... sorry, I don't understand ... I was just looking at the painting and ..."    In the distance you could hear footsteps approaching in the direction in which that strange person had arrived.    Quatre felt too uncomfortable to be watched so closely by the stranger, and without further words he was pulled by him towards an unknown path, ending up hidden under a small cave between the roots of a tree. For some reason he felt short of breath, and that stranger didn't make things better. Just the touch of his hand, and his firm grip made him shiver all over his body, and an electric current wherever he touched him.    That guy took off his hood and mask. The young boy could see up close his long black eyes contrasting in the dark.    He felt electricity ran through his body, reaching corners he never thought of.    "You will come with me," he whispered, implying that they should be silent.    The footsteps moved away somewhere, and even when they disappeared completely, they had not moved from where they were. Quatre was very close to that person who did not release his hand. Maybe he thought he was going to escape, but where? ... He didn't even know where he was.  The young man put the horrible mask back on, adjusted his hood and with Quatre holding his hand dragged him along invisible paths until he reached a cave hidden by long branches and long grass.    The humidity inside it was heavy. His lungs felt heavy and his back started to ache every time he moved forward.    Even so, the hand that held him did not release him at any moment.    They continued on their way until they spotted a soft light, indicating the exit.    The light blinded him for a few seconds, seconds in which he was put into a strange covered chariot along with the person who was carrying him and then he could get used to the light.    He was sitting between large cushions, with that person watching him from head to toe. It sure looked strange to him, since he was wearing the school uniform. He was somewhat hyperventilated, what was going to happen to him? It was disturbing the way he looked at him, but even more were the sensations that caused him ... he felt the colors rise to his face.  Still, that mask was so horrible that it took away all the courage he had to speak to him. Would he have answers?  Suddenly the chariot stopped and the man in the mask got out.    Through the half-open curtain, he could see how a couple of young people dressed in very simple and baggy clothes, took the mask and carefully placed it in a box, and took their cape, to store them in another place.    Suddenly the curtain opened wide and Quatre was able to take a closer look at the person who had led him there.    He was exquisitely dressed, in a long white and green tunic with gold embroidery, over green pants and shoes. She was somewhat older than him, but still young. A long black braid, which held all his hair, fell down his back, and his long black eyes watched him from head to toe. They were so black that they didn't seem to have a pupil.    He held out his hand and offered him a kind look.    Quatre, fearful of the situation, accepted his hand, trying not to react to the sea of sensations that caused him and got out of the chariot, to find himself inside a huge hallway, with walls adorned with granite vines ... same to those in the room where that painting was.    "Young Winner... welcome to our land of Lüdí ... my name is WuFei Chang and I will serve you in everything you ask"    He was in Lüdí... He was in Lüdí... He was no longer at home ...    It wasn't an illusion or anything like that ...    Tiredness and all the accumulated tension took its toll on him, and before hitting the ground, while his captor extended his arms to prevent his fall, he was already completely unconscious, with only one question hanging around his head. What had happened?    In the dark, he could feel his mother's hand holding his tightly, while in front of them was a traffic light. They were waiting for the green light to cross the street.    His stomach hurt; his head felt so bad that he didn't mind sitting on the floor. At that time, they were heading to the nearest hospital and had to cross the part of the city that he liked the least: the city center.    So many vehicles, so many people together, so much noise... he wanted to go home.    In his hand he still felt the sensation of his mother's hand.    He had had a dream and surely everything before his fainting had also been ... but he did not remember that his bed had a canopy, or that it was so large ... or that there were pillars ...    The young man who called himself WuFei was standing by one of the pillars, watching him closely.    "Young Winner, are you alright?"    "It was not a dream ... I really am on the other side of the painting ..."    "The painting?"    "I was looking at a gigantic painting, in the museum ... and then I met you, Mr. Chang ..." Quatre felt that his heart was going to come out, from how hard it beat. It sounded loudly in his ears, as if it had gone to his head.  "Let's take a walk, young Winner." The young man made a gesture inviting him to leave the room, and without knowing why, followed him.    The gardens were immense. There were statues adorned with flowers everywhere and many young people knelt before them in clear sign of prayer.    The sun was shining brightly and, in the distance, you could hear the noise of the people.    Quatre observed everything around him with great interest, he had never seen such sculptures, nor similar flowers. The young man next to him seemed to be patient with him as he often stopped to observe something carefully, and waited for him until he was ready to continue marching. They continued their journey in silence, until they reached a fountain with cloudy water.    "Dirty water?"    "So is..."    In the distance, Quatre could see beautiful shapes and carvings around the fountain. These rose along the edge and continued inside the fountain. He leaned on the edge to try to see the carvings at the bottom of it, but the water did not allow.    Suddenly his stomach began to feel heavy, as if he had eaten a lot, and with one of his hands he covered his mouth, thinking that at any moment he was going to vomit.    WuFei moved closer to him and started stroking his back, and with his other hand he took Quatre's free hand and dipped it into the water.    "What are you d...?"    "Show me that you are Sandrock"    Quatre, unable to understand what he was saying, could not contain himself any longer and next to the fountain, without being released by WuFei, he began to vomit everything in his stomach: a dark and dry mass came out of his mouth.    His throat was drying, but even so his body kept expelling that strange substance that he did not know, that he did not remember having eaten at all.    His hand was released from the water and then he stopped vomiting. He continued to cough up what was left in his throat and mouth, and when he finished, some young men came to clean everything while WuFei gave him a jug with a liquid between white and gray.    "Please drink this. It's milk"    Quatre felt so exhausted and sore, as to claim or try to flee, so he did as he was told, and began to feel better.    -What did you...?" He asked between annoyed and embarrassed "I'm sorry for what happened ... I think I wasn't very well, after all ..." the young man stared at him with something like tenderness? He wasn't sure, he didn't know him, but he knew deep inside that he wouldn't hurt him.    "Please check the fountain"    Quatre looked at the fountain as he had asked, and found that the water was crystal clear. You could see perfectly the carving in the bottom of it: some strange hieroglyphs that he had never seen in his life.    It had passed before his eyes, and in a way, it amazed him, but it didn't seem strange to him.    "How...? What...?"    "You did it, Sandrock ... you can save our world ... you have just purified the water in this part of the temple through your body"