Rubén barely had time to react.
The invisible force that had slammed him against the wall still kept him immobilized. José found himself in a similar situation, completely disconcerted by what had just occurred.
In front of them stood that mysterious young woman with intense red hair. Her expression was cold and her eyes observed them with a mixture of distrust and annoyance.
"I asked you who you are and why you entered my room."
Rubén breathed deeply before answering.
"We are soldiers of the County of Solomon. We form part of an expedition sent by our lord to explore this continent."
Freya narrowed her eyes.
"County of Solomon?"
"Yes."
"I had never heard that name."
"It is a fairly recent territory."
Freya remained in silence for a few seconds.
"How did you arrive here?"
"By sea."
That answer made Freya raise one eyebrow slightly.
"By sea?"
"That is right."
Freya looked toward the ice window.
"Then you are foreigners."
"Yes."
Freya finally withdrew the force that kept Rubén and José immobilized.
Both fell to the floor, but rapidly got back on their feet.
"We have no hostile intentions," Rubén explained. "We only want to explore this continent."
"That will be decided by our leader."
Freya walked toward a small table situated in a corner of the room.
On it there was a circular object similar to a mirror.
However, its surface did not reflect the face of whoever placed themselves in front of it. Instead, it showed a tenuous light.
Freya placed a hand on the object.
"Joanne, inform the leader that we have visitors."
A feminine voice answered from the other side.
"Understood."
"They are foreigners. They claim to belong to the County of Solomon and to have arrived by sea."
"How many are they?"
"I still do not know."
"Are they hostile?"
Freya glanced sideways at Rubén.
"For the moment they have not shown hostile intentions."
"Understood. I will inform the leader."
"That is all."
The surface of the mirror returned to remaining completely motionless.
Freya turned around.
However, she found Rubén and several of his men looking at her in a strange manner.
One of the soldiers approached another discreetly.
"Did you see that?"
"Yes."
"She is talking to a mirror."
"I know."
"Do you think she is all right?"
"I don't know…"
Rubén heard that and frowned.
"Stop talking."
But the soldiers continued whispering.
"Perhaps she has been alone too long."
"Look at this city. It is completely empty."
"It must be very sad to live here."
"Now I understand why she talks to a mirror."
"Poor woman…"
Rubén tried to contain himself.
"I told you to stop talking!"
Freya remained completely still.
She had heard absolutely everything.
Slowly she turned her head.
"Have you finished?"
The soldiers fell silent.
A small layer of ice began to spread across the floor.
"I believe you need another lesson."
Rubén immediately raised his hands.
"Wait! It was a misunderstanding!"
"Misunderstanding?"
"Yes. No one wanted to offend you."
Freya raised a hand.
The air began to cool.
"Our lord!"
Rubén shouted those words desperately.
Freya stopped.
"What does your lord have to do with this?"
"Our lord is an extremely powerful person."
Freya's expression changed slightly.
"Powerful?"
"Yes."
"How powerful?"
Rubén began to explain to her everything he could about André.
"Our lord is the Viscount of Solomon. He has an enormous army and possesses technologies that we have never seen in any other place."
Freya listened attentively.
"What is his name?"
"André Solomon."
Freya repeated that name mentally.
For the first time, a small hope appeared in her eyes.
Perhaps those foreigners had not arrived by chance.
Meanwhile, in another part of the city, Simón and his men continued exploring the enormous tower.
One of the soldiers advanced slowly along a corridor.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of him.
The man remained completely immobile.
"What…?"
The figure seemed human, but its body was strange and partially transparent.
The soldier turned pale.
"G-GHOST!"
Without thinking, he raised his weapon.
**Bang!**
The shot resonated throughout the entire room.
Simón turned around immediately.
"What happened?!"
The rest of the soldiers heard the shot and saw the strange figure in front of their companion.
Without having time to analyze the situation, they reacted instinctively.
"SHOOT!"
**Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!**
A rain of shots crossed the room.
The bullets passed directly through the body of the creature.
The smoke of the shots rapidly filled the place.
When finally everything fell silent, the soldiers observed with fear.
The creature was still there.
It did not seem to have received any damage.
"What the hell…?"
One of the soldiers retreated.
"It's a ghost!"
Simón was also disconcerted.
"Keep calm."
One of the soldiers approached slowly.
Then he saw something strange on the floor.
"Commander…"
He pointed to a thick metallic chain connected to the body of the creature.
"What is that?"
Simón approached.
"It seems a chain."
"And if it is tied?"
The soldiers looked at each other.
After a few seconds, several men threw themselves upon the creature.
"Grab it!"
"Don't let it escape!"
Among all of them they managed to hold it and used the chain itself to immobilize it.
"We have it!"
Simón observed the supposed ghost with a serious expression.
"I don't know what the hell it is, but we definitely must not let it escape."
Just then in the air in front of them a kind of portal opened, and only Simón noticed it, but upon seeing his men come out of it, although a little surprised he calmed himself a little.
Simón raised his weapon.
"Everyone alert!"
Freya appeared together with Rubén and several soldiers.
Her gaze rapidly ran through the room.
First she saw Simón.
Then she observed his men.
Finally she saw Olleg, completely surrounded and tied with a chain.
Her face changed immediately.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"
The soldiers remained paralyzed.
Rubén closed his eyes.
He could already imagine what was about to happen.
Freya walked rapidly toward them.
"Who gave you permission to do this to him?!"
Simón opened his mouth, but did not find an immediate answer.
Freya pointed to Olleg.
"It's Olleg!"
The soldiers looked at each other.
"We thought it was a ghost…"
"AND FOR THAT YOU SHOT HIM?!"
No one answered.
Freya breathed deeply, trying to contain her fury.
Then she began to untie the chains.
"Are you all right?"
Olleg rose slowly.
"I am perfectly fine."
He looked at the weapons of the soldiers and then at the chain that still surrounded his body.
"Although I must admit that I had never been received in such a particular manner."
Freya turned toward Simón.
"You and I have a great deal to talk about."
Simón slowly lowered his weapon.
"I believe you are right."
Freya remained looking at him for a few seconds.
Then she remembered again the name she had heard from Rubén.
André Solomon.
Perhaps those foreigners had arrived just when she needed them most.
---