The breeze over the cliffs and the roar of the waves were a single sound in the stillness of the coastline. Although the place seemed deserted, a soft rustling sound was heard among the bushes. It was Nicolas, who was wandering around the spot to escape from his worries. Suddenly he peered over the escarpment and leapt unperturbed, a twenty-meter drop from the edge of the rock to the water barrier and the treacherous currents.

Both by the way he dressed and by his peculiar way of speaking, although he did not look more than thirty years old, his habits were anchored in the last century. His gaze seemed to carry the aftertaste of a hundred years, it was that of one who had seen it all.

Once he dove in, Nicolas encountered a barracuda. Startled, he swore an oath in Italian. He immediately surfaced, took a breath and dived to the bottom, where he found a metal ring that he pulled hard until he managed to open a door wide enough for him to get inside. Once inside, he closed the door behind him. He repeated the process four more times, from conference room to conference room, until the water was reduced to an insignificant puddle around his feet, which soon seeped through a grate.

He looked around the small room with satisfaction. He had built it all.

He opened a delicate notebook full of notes, diagrams and extremely meticulous alchemical calculations. He turned the pages until he came to a recipe that had cost him a lifetime of work and helped him escape death. He knew that if he lost it, he would die; that is why Nicolas guarded the small notebook with determination.

The story of his finding began as if by chance, as he was walking through the streets of the port without any purpose. Suddenly he saw an extravagant man who seemed to be following him. He tried to give him the slip, but the man soon cornered him:

-You wouldn't think you could avoid me for so long," he told her.

Nicolas was speechless.

-I don't know you," he tried to get away, "Let me go!

The man laughed bitterly.

-I'm not here to kill you," he said without getting upset, "but to warn you of what awaits you. Something inevitable, that awaits us all.

-I don't know what you're talking about.

-Do you think you are the first person who has mocked death? -What an arrogant man you are, Nicolas! Not by a long shot. Years ago I knew a person as proud as you; he thought he had cheated death, but he met a horrible fate.

-What destiny? -s asked with a lump in his throat.

-Oh, I'm not going to ruin the surprise for you," the exteaño smiled coldly. I'll let you find out for yourself.

-What if I choose to die? I am free to do as I please! -he scolded.

-Even... You stopped being free years ago," he concluded before disappearing into the crowd.

Nicolas looked into his study - that underwater shelter - for the last time. Then he pulled down a candle and left: No one was to know the secret of immortality hidden in that room, his own philosopher's stone, hidden in those drawers. Although it was necessary for his creation to burn, he did not want to be a witness to it. With a last burst of willpower he tore out the pages of the notebook and tore them into pieces, to throw them into the sea. He watched, between horror and relief, as the water dissolved his manuscripts.

At that moment, Nicolas Flamel became mortal again, for he realized that by devoting his entire existence to dodging death, he had been missing out on life.