In a few minutes, I regretted that I did not bring a notebook and a pen, because it was impossible to fit in my head all the raising questions. The new ones kept coming, and the old ones kept disappearing.

"Eugene?" the man at the table was surprised in earnest. "What are you doing here? Why did you bring a human here?"

I smiled, secretly hoping that Eugene would get a good scolding.

"Tol, with all due respect, I would not be able to tell her everything she needs to know and explain the rules. That's why I brought her here. I'd like you to help. Moreover, we also need a place to train. The streets of Boston are not meant for it!"

"Look, he's not that silly! He knows the name of the city!" I said sarcastically.

The man at the table, whom I had not been introduced to, but apparently his name was Tol, stood up and approached me. He offered his hand and said,

"My name is Tol! I am the Commander of the Guardians! You have nothing to fear. You're safe here"

"What is the "Commander"?"

"That means I'm in charge here."

We shook hands, and I couldn't resist remarking,

"So, not everyone's a savage like this one over here, right?"

Tol laughed. He looked like he was in his early thirties. A small spot of black hair, which could barely be called a beard, made him look older, and one could think that he was forty already. His eyes were purple-rimmed of a completely unusual color. He was slightly taller than Eugene and seemed to be very intelligent. All the Guardians whom I saw in the hall, including these two, were overly muscled, like weightlifters and sprinters.

"Tol had been living with people for many years. He studied them and looked after the demigod, who managed to fall in love with a mortal," it was said with particular disgust.

"Eugene is still young. He has not come into contact with people of this century. And I had the privilege to live in human society for a few decades of the last century when people were a bit different. I'm not thrilled with what you're turning life into, but it's your choice and I respect that. The younger Guardians are much more categorical about your race…"

"I've already figured that out. Wait a minute. Did you say "the last century"? How old are you then?"

"I'm a little over 400 years old."

"Wow! Are you immortal like vampires? To be honest, I did not really believe in the supernatural until this day. And now everything looks like a dream, but if it's real then it's amazing that you can live for so long! And there's so much to learn!"

"We're not immortal! But we live several times longer than people. Vampires don't live as long as they do on TV."

"Are they real too?"

"Sure! How else would you know about them? But they are simple parasites that are even lower in the hierarchy than people."

"It's nice to hear we're not at the bottom!"

Tol and I laughed, and only Eugene pursed his lips in dissatisfaction. It was amazing how beautiful he was on the outside and how absolutely disgusting he was on the inside. I wish I met someone else as the first person of this world.

"Can we stop wasting time and tell her everything?" the guy clearly wanted to get rid of me as soon as possible. It would be better if he went about his business and left us alone.

"Yes!" Tol coughed. He put his hands behind his back and pondered. "What do you know from Greek myths?" he started from afar.

"Wait, wait! Are you telling me now that everything in the children's books is true?"

"Most of it. There are some differences between the works of fiction and reality. As you know, we have supreme Gods: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Athena, Ares, Aphrodite, Persephone, Hephaestus, Hermes, Apollo, Artemis, and Dionysus. All of them, besides the last two, reside at the Heavenly Palace on Olympus but rarely descend to the Earth. The reason is that they can only remain as mortal on earth. The Gods in this guise can be killed, and many creatures know that. They wait for the right moment to attack, so the Gods don't risk anymore. They seldom come to us in the form of spirits or voices. Hades is the only exception. He spent many thousands of years to adapt to the world of the living and the dead, so he can wander on the Earth in his usual form. As a rule, his visits are accompanied by global cataclysms.

But he acts in the framework of the Balance that is above all the things. If the Balance is broken, the Chaos will awaken and swallow the whole world, including the Gods. It just so happened that the Balance depends on many factors. We are working day and night to protect it, but there are moments when things get out of control," while Tol was speaking, we wandered through the spacious corridors of the Guardians' Abode, and Eugene trailed somewhere behind.

"I understand what you mean by the Balance, the Chaos, and all the rest, though it's challenging to accept this, but can't we move further to the part where you're going to tell me of my role in this story?"

"Be patient! I'm about to get there. A few days ago, Charon, the Guardian of the River of Times, or Styx as you call it, escaped from his post. During his absence, several souls, which still haven't found peace, also escaped. That broke the Balance, which should be restored in the near future until the irreparable damage is caused," Tol stopped.

"I still don't get how this is connected to me."

"Charon had already run away before and had been brought back. He was punished but it didn't help. He left his post again. All this happened because of the awakening of his humanity. The only way he could find to free himself was to give away his Force. No one had ever done this before. However, he managed to improve his Force in order to perform this ritual. Prior to that, he was able to take powers from those who were dying and transfer them to the Repository. Now you have this Force. In fact, you're just unlucky enough to get in his way, but you'll have to pay his debt."

"What debt are you talking about? Can't you get that out of me?"

"Only Charon can. He is now invisible for us because he became a mere mortal, having given up his Force to you. Now it's your debt to pay. You must take one hundred souls from the impure ones to restore the Balance. The only way to relieve you of the debt is to kill you, thus, the Force will pass to another person. But it's unnecessary. You certainly don't want to die, and the other person might not agree to such a life either."

"What will happen if I disagree?"

"You have no choice. If you do not restore the Balance, the Chaos will absorb everything. Haven't you listened to me well?" Tol began to lose his temper but, seeing my expression, relented. "It will be hard for the Guardians to maintain the Balance without your help. But if you do not go the destined path, then everyone will face irreparable consequences. It means death to you. The Force of Charon is too great for the mortal woman. It will consume you, drive you mad. You will become dangerous not only for yourself, but also for your family. Eventually, you will die. But it doesn't end there. You will be hunted by all creatures to acquire what is inside you. Neither mortal nor immortal has the ability to take the power of others, only Charon does. That's why you, or rather what's inside you, are of great value. You will be either killed or tortured for the sake of the Force. The attack can happen at any moment and liquidate those who are close to you. The Marker that you killed is the lowest creature with almost no power. You're lucky he was the first. Otherwise, you'd had already been dead."