"Wonderful, another breathtaking sky, I'm glad I still have it."
He says these words while lying on the soft green grass of the Beautiful Horizon Academy of Magic, a stylish young man of nineteen saying it with a strange smile that is the only thing apparent from his features. And while he is immersed in his ecstasy, suddenly someone's face blocks his view; it's his brother and childhood best friend "Scorpy," the handsome boy who is very popular at the academy with his prominent fangs and his scorpion tail, doing so while saying:
"So you're here as usual, Headmistress 'Tafsuit' is asking for you... again."
The lazy one lying down replies while getting up:
"What does she want this time? I haven't done anything."
Then he looks down at the ground, thinking, and adds:
"At least not since that prank in gym class."
Scorpy:
"For your sake, 'Dayas,' you really need to stop with these things. What will my mom say if she finds out!"
Dayas turns to him with a sharp look and replies:
"My mom doesn't say... my mom does."
Then he adds:
"And she won't know... unless you tell her, of course."
Scorpy responds, annoyed:
"You know I won't do that, but it's my graduation year, just don't mess it up."
And while they are like that, Scorpy spots a large eagle with a lion's body flying towards them, warning his brother:
"Dayas, watch out, 'Bretna' is coming for you."
Dayas:
"Really! Where?"
And before he could avoid her, Bretna grabbed Dayas by his pants and flew him up towards the top of the academy's tower. Meanwhile, a beautiful girl with cold features and silky yellow hair cascading down, sitting at her desk, held a small white-covered book in her hands, reading it carefully through her glasses. Suddenly, Bretna entered through the academy office window, throwing Dayas to the ground. The girl said disdainfully while still looking at the pages of her book:
"You scoundrel Dayas, how dare you write that rude message to me."
Dayas replied, smiling and indifferent:
"And who said I was the one?"
The girl, still looking at her book:
"Who else in the academy has such rudeness and lack of manners to write that?"
Dayas:
"Wait, you are wronging me; just because I am rude and ill-mannered, you direct your accusation at me."
Then he added:
"Besides, I was just advising you; I only wanted you to smile a little... or by the way, I've always been curious about the story of that book you always have in your hands; you've been reading it since you were young, is it that long?"
The girl ignored Dayas's comment about the book, saying:
"So you admit you are the one... and that's not what bothered me."
Dayas:
"Oh, if you mean that part where I described you as an old woman discussing death to finish her book, it was just a joke."
The girl seriously:
"You are expelled."
Dayas adds happily:
"What really! I mean, damn it."
The girl:
You can leave now, the meeting is over.
Dayas:
"Come on, "Arenas," I just wanted to make you smile, after all, you are still my age... even though you are the headmistress."
Arenas:
"Is your job to make everyone your age smile? I don't think I need to repeat myself, and please close the door behind you..."
After a while, in front of the large outer door of the academy:
"If so, you did it, you got kicked out!"
Scorpy says angrily, then adds:
"This time, my mom will definitely know."
Dayas:
"I'm bored anyway..."
And before Dayas can finish his sentence, two men pass by him, talking loudly to each other, saying:
"Yes, yes, the boy had his feelings stolen when he was a child; I heard it from "Simi" himself."
"Oh! If Simi is the source, it must be true."
Dayas says to Scorby, confused:
"Damn, it seems Simi has spilled my little secret."
Scorpy:
"But why now?"
Dayas calls out to the two men, saying:
"Hey, gentlemen."
The two men turn around, responding:
"What?"
Dayas:
"I just overheard you talking about Simi the bird... Do you know where he is?"
One of them replies:
"I heard him yesterday at the town square telling his stories as he usually does; he's been camping there since he returned from his travels two days ago."
The man continues speaking and then leaves with his friend, prompting Dayas to say:
"It seems we should meet the old family friend."
Dayas and Scorpy arrive at the large Swan Fountain in the square at the end of the evening, surrounded by massive buildings and dazzling lights everywhere, with crowded sidewalks filled with pedestrians of various magical races and ethnicities. The brothers begin searching the area for the old family friend but cannot find him, stopping in front of a narrow alley to ask a passerby about Simi the bird. The passerby shakes his head and continues on his way. Dayas sighs and says,
"Where did that chatterbox go?"
Scorpy replies,
"Well, I think he started another journey. You know him; he hates staying in one place for too long."
Dayas:
"He spread the news of my stolen feelings and ran away... He broke his promise to my father. Now I'll have to deal with strange people."
A faint voice from the dark alley:
"Hey you, short man."
Dayas and Scorby turn around, searching for the source of the voice, and that person calls out again:
"I'm down here."
He says this while slowly stepping forward, revealing himself from the darkness—a brown goblin in an old gray suit, with sadness and fear evident on his features. Dayas responds in surprise:
"I'm the short one!"
The goblin hesitantly asks,
"E-excuse me, are you Dayas, the one with nineteen wishes?"
Dayas replies, surprised:
"What! And who told you about the wishes?"
The goblin answers, with some fear and hesitation:
"Sisimi the bird, I heard your story yesterday from among his news."
Dayas:
"Oh, if so, then the news has been spread in detail."
The goblin:
"My name is 'Gorky', and they call me here 'Gorky the goblin'. I came looking for someone to help my town, and here I am now meeting you by chance."
Dayas:
"So you want me to help your town using my wishes? Sorry, my friend, my wishes have conditions."
Gorky, still hesitant in his speech:
"I know that, you need a situation that generates a feeling inside you that makes you want to wish for it, meaning that to wish, you must feel, and to regain that feeling, you must wish."
Dayas:
"And it's still complicated after all these years."
Scorpy whispers to Dayas:
"Hey Dayas, it seems he understands the conditions, it's our chance."
Daias then responds to Gorky enthusiastically:
"Very good, so where is your town?"
Gorky answers:
"It's a large city on the central planet of the second universe, but it's okay, I have a licensed universe ship."
The three of them boarded the ship heading to the town of Gorky until they arrived after a long journey, a miserable town filled with gloom, crowded with towering skyscrapers and advanced cars. All that could be heard was the sound of horns and construction machines, each worker engrossed in their task with a weary, frowning face, indifferent to others. Scorpy then asked:
"What happened here?"
Gorky replied:
"I wished that what befell my town was some sort of curse or something similar, so that the solution could be in the hands of one person. But unfortunately, when the solution is in the hands of an entire community, it becomes more difficult."
Then he began to sing a song in his old, worn-out voice, saying:
"City's breaking down on a camels back
They just have to go
Cause they dont khnow wack
So while you fill the streats its appeling to see you want get out the country
cause you're bad and free
You got a new horizon its ephemeral style
A melancholy town where we never smile
And all i wanna hear is the message beep
My dream they got a kissing
Cause i dont get sleep, no."
Scorpy, affected after Gorky finished his song, said:
"This is truly expressive."
Gorky:
"Because of the continuous routine we live in, every day in our city has literally become the same day, and time has stopped at one o'clock for some reason."
Dayas sarcastically:
"Ha really, and how do you know it's the same day?"
Gorky:
"All the wristwatches in our city are directly connected to the universe, meaning they never miss the time and cannot be tampered with."
Gorky rolls up his sleeve after finishing his speech, showing his wristwatch to Dayas and Scorpy, then randomly moves the hand, which returns by itself to thirteen o'clock. While the brothers are absorbed in understanding what happened, Gorky points with his finger to a massive stopped clock tower in the middle of the city and says:
"We must get the city clock working again, then the rest of the days will return to us."
At that moment, Dais and Scorby understand, saying in unison:
"Oh, got it."
Then Dayas adds, asking:
"So how will we do that?"
Gorky answers:
"The only solution is to enter the clock and kill the routine inside it."
Dayas and Scorby exclaim in amazement:
"Kill who!"
The three set off towards the clock tower, and on their way, Dayas notices something suspicious, as if all the goblins behind them are watching them stealthily. He says to his friends fearfully:
"Hey, my friends, I think something strange is happening, as if everyone is watching us."
Scorpy sarcastically replies:
"Ha, what? Are you scared? I thought you were emotionless."
Gorky says to Dayas:
"Really, even though you've lost your emotions, you still show reactions."
Dayas responds:
"That creature didn't steal all of them; in fact, it left me just one, and that's what I express my feelings through."
Gorky:
"So, I understand from that that your expressions are somewhat fake."
Dayas, surprised by Gorky's insight:
"Wow, that's a really good description."
At that moment, terrifying gray specters suddenly emerge from the goblins, attacking them unexpectedly. Dayas and Scorpy manage to avoid them, but the specters manage to reach Gorky, attempting to enter his mouth. Scorpy turns around and says:
"A wooden board, I want a wooden board."
He notices a wooden restaurant wall nearby and runs towards it, tapping it with the palm of his hand, creating a special tone. Suddenly, a brown horse resembling wood emerges from that wall, and Scorpy mounts it, heading towards Gorky. The horse kicks the specters surrounding Gorky, freeing him from them, allowing Dayas to also get rid of the specters in the meantime. He mounts the horse behind his companions, fleeing towards the clock tower. The three of them reach the clock tower with difficulty after overcoming the specters, dismounting on their feet and rushing inside, only to hear faint sounds of evil laughter as soon as they enter. They ignore it and continue their way up the dilapidated iron stairs. When the friends reach the top, they find a giant gray phantom holding the clock hands. Dayas turns to Gorky and says:
"How do we kill it?"
Gorky:
"I don't think physical attack will work; we need something else, something tangible."
At that moment, the illusion says to Dayas, astonished:
"Kill me! Why do you want to kill me!"
Dayas, sarcastically:
"Because controlling the goblins is boring, you fool."
Dayas completes his sentence and then recklessly attacks the illusion of routine, but he passes through it without being able to touch it, and the routine laughs quietly, saying:
"Hey, hahaha, you are attacking me now even though I did nothing. Look at them, these demons are the ones who decided their fate; they wanted to evolve and progress, but this is what they got. They are not even aware of that."
Then he adds:
"And on the other hand, I am just a result... a result of their ambition, their feelings... their desires."
Dayas thinks to himself after hearing the routine's words:
"Wait a moment, feeling, desire... I understand, but I still need something else to do it."
Gorky then looks at Dayas, who is deep in thought, and begins to sing in a melodious voice:
"Windmill, windmill for the land
Turn forever hand in hand
Take it all in on your stride
It is teaking, falling down
Love for ever, love is freely
Turned fo ever you and me
Windmill, windmill for the land is
every body in."
Finally, at that moment, a feeling of desire to save the goblins and restore his emotions arises in Dayas, and he stands on his feet saying:
"I wish the clock would work again."
At that moment, the routine realizes that it has lost the battle as it begins to fade away, looking at Dayas with a frightening coldness, saying with an indifferent calm face:
"Not everything is solved with magic or wishes, boy. Who said I am the villain here? You will understand that one day... when you get a job, perhaps."
He says these words and then disappears completely, and the city clock starts working again. Scorpy, Dayas, and Gorky exit the clock tower one after the other to find the goblins happy once more. Dayas turns his confused eyes to the sky, adding:
"I wonder what that was... a longing for his fight!"
At that moment, Scorpy remembers something important and says:
"Wait, Dayas, the scars?"
Dayas hits his head in remembrance and then lifts his shirt to reveal scars on his chest resembling stars, then stands up and says:
"Good, it's now eighteen."
Scorby asks Dayas:
"So what is the feeling you regained?"
Dayas smiles and replies:
"It's the feeling of desire. In the end, it makes sense that desire would be the first emotion I retrieve… in order to recover the rest."
Scorpy:
"Oh, so that's why we haven't succeeded until now." Then he turns to his horse, saying while wiping its forehead: "Thanks for the ride, 'Wooden One'. I guess it's time to head back now."
The horse replies:
"As you wish, sir."
Meanwhile, a mysterious figure, slightly small in stature, wearing a purple robe adorned with nineteen shining stars, is sitting on a chair in a dimly lit place overlooking outer space through a glass window. Suddenly, one of the stars loses its shine, and he bursts into mischievous laughter, saying: "Heh heh heh heh… finally."