The Phantom Man 2 - The Book of the Dead

I - The Future

21st Century – Florence – Italy

Phillip, an impetuous young man, was learning, at a high price, that courage should walk hand in hand with wisdom. After all, he had lost all those that he loved. Verena, his true love whom he would never meet again; Juan, the mentor that saved him in the very last moment, and whose life was taken by the hands of the vicious Klaus Rizoni right before Phillip's eyes. Indeed, Phillip was an insufficiently experienced young man, therefore unable to put up a fight with the evil. He felt guilty for both deaths. He realized he was on his own from that moment on.

His greatest wish was to meet again his loved one and his master, even if it could only take place within the spiritual realm. Phillip had the gift to cross the thin line that separates the world of the living from the world of the dead. With such a power, he knew he could help people the same way he had helped Laigner by saving her baby brother. The desire to do the good would bring peace to the young man's soul and fulfill his soul.

His greatest wish was to meet again his loved one, and his master, even if it could only take place within the spiritual realm. Phillip was born with the gift of crossing the thin line that separates the world of the living from the world of the dead.

With such a power, he knew he could help people the same way he had helped Laigner by saving her baby brother. The desire to do the good would bring peace to the young man's soul and make him feel fulfilled.

Lost and lonely, Phillip wanted to know in which era he had arrived. He lifted his arms and got scared at the view of the handcuffs that shackled his hands.

He looked around and was impressed by the way the world had changed. He wondered if his master had sent him to some place in the future time. Things looked quite odd. Would he ever adapt to this new life?

The wizard had warned him to go slow during the confrontation with Klaus. Phillip learned the hard way that courage sometimes may cause a great loss. With teary eyes, he recalled the words of his wise mentor. And then he thought of his human parents.

"God, how I miss my mother and my father. They were so good and so concerned about my future. I hope they lived a happy life..."

Phillip thought of his sword. With a snap of his fingers, he made Night's Fury disappear from the police officer's hands. The object had been wrapped in cloth, and was being taken to inspection in order to confirm the suspicion that it was an antique stolen from the museum collection by the young man that they were conducting now.

Phillip also had with him a small bag full of valuable coins. He needed to hide them somewhere. The coins should be saved for later use. The precious sword was placed in the hands of a Viking warrior's statue inside the museum. Having hidden the blade so carefully, he would retrieve it later. As to the bag of coins, it was placed inside Houdini's pocket, where they would be kept safely.

The next day, during a school visitation to the museum, one teenaged student pointed towards the sword at the Viking warrior's hand, and said marveled: "Look at that! That sword looks like the one I saw in the movies."

The teacher used the opportunity to explain a bit more about that society of warriors: "Good point, Carlos. The Vikings were extraordinary warriors and seamen. Some believe that they landed in the Americas long before the Spanish did."

"Cool! I wish I could get inside that glass box and take the swords with my own hands. Look at those engravings... They're awesome!" the boy said, excited.

The other students stared at Night's Fury and the statues with sheer admiration.

"Don't even think about that... All things here are to be admired from a distance. Let's get back to our visiting," the teacher replied, and then led the students to another exhibition.