"Join Dawn?" He still had trouble believing it.

"Oh, don’t act dumb, Silvano. I want you in the guild. You have a good power, can follow orders or act independently in difficult situations, and you showed me that you’re dependable during the ant extermination. There is no other reason. We need more people like you on our side."

"But still, you haven’t talked with the others about it!"

"I already did, and they all agreed. I’m not the leader; we agree that the condition for someone new to join was for everyone else to give their approval."

"Huh, you mean even the others who didn’t spend any time with me agreed?"

"Yes, Jacob and Nadine immediately say yes, and Emily says she wants to spend more time with you here. She’s going to ask you to show her the Rock when she comes, so be ready for that."

"But I’m not like you. All of you have incredible powers and have worked hard to build a civilization. I have been surviving only by pure luck and the sacrifices of others. I couldn’t help anyone; the chief and the whole tribe died. Even Lidia and Arnold, who only met me for a little time, died."

"Huh. I thought you got over the guilt, but it looks like you still have some of it inside. I don’t want to deal with it, but I can’t let a guildmate stay like this." He clapped his hands together. "You can’t revert time, so stop lamenting the past."

That was it; that was his advice. Silvano waited for a moment, thinking he was going to say something more deep or profound, but they only looked at each other in an awkward silence.

"Man, you’re bad at convincing people." Nathan came from behind, along with Nora, to break the awkwardness.

"You also need to work on the way you say things, Nathan."

"Why are you guys spying on us? That’s creepy."

"We couldn't let you handle the invitation alone. You make the rest of us look bad."

"Excuse me, you can talk about that later, but right now we need to respond to Silvano’s concerns." Nora cut the talk short and focused their attention back on the topic.

"You’re afraid you are going to cause us harm, is that it, Silvano?" She hit the nail on the head.

"Yes, I can’t bear it if someone else has to die for my fault. It's just not fair." His words were heavy and filled with regret.

If Silvano could, he would have chosen everyone else to live in his place. He tried to find meaning in so many ways that even now he was still thinking that the help he gave Silas and the others during the ant extermination was insufficient to pay for the lives lost.

"I think you’re being kind of disrespectful to your companions." Nathan said with confidence. "If it were me, I wouldn’t blame Silas, Nora, or anyone else for my death. My only power is to make a shield, yeah is cool and useful, but compared to being able to cast spells, steal the power of my enemies, or coordinate plans by talking between our minds, it's not really that special."

"Franco actually thinks like me in that sense. We both can take hits or punch hard; we’re strong and necessary on the battlefield but not irreplaceable. So, if I die, it will be to protect those who can do more. We both agreed to that on our own. If they choose you for your power or any other reason, like they just like you, then you can’t blame them for your guilt. That's kind of selfish."

Nathan wasn’t the type to talk like this, so Silas and Nora were surprised. Silvano didn’t have a way to respond.

"If they like me as a person? That’s still no way for them to die for my sake. What about my feelings? Don’t I have a say in all this?"

"The dead can change their feelings because they no longer are here. Although we have no idea what will happen if we die because of these strange powers and the System, you can work on your feelings right now. Start living for your own sake instead of someone else's dying wish."

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Nora approached him and gently took his hand. "You save our lives during the fight with the ants; you allow us to kill the queen and make a place for humans and pix inside this place. You may try to hide your desire to live Silvano, but there is nothing to be ashamed of. You can stay with us until you find your purpose to live."

"But I don’t deserve it."

"It’s not about deserving it. You can’t live your life until you let that guilt go. It wasn’t your fault or theirs. The System took us from our homes; he’s the one responsible for everything. If you can't find anything to live on now, stay and work with us to find a way back home."

"A way back home." His eyes light up with hope. Her words remind him about Lidia and Arnold's plan to escape back to earth. "Is it really possible to escape back home?"

"We’re working on it. It's a small chance, but there’s nothing saying we can’t try, right Silas?"

"Huh. Sure, I already told you I’m still thinking about it. If I have a plan for the guild, you guys are going to be the first ones to know."

Silvano cried more, and Nora gave him the same handkerchief when she listened to his history with all the other members of Dawn. He could see past his own guilt and accept the gesture for what it truly was. They didn’t do it out of obligation or courtesy; they saw him as one of them.

"Thank you; I’ll work and make it happen. If my power has any hope of making it back, then I’ll find a way. I’m going to master it and take us everywhere. To the ends of this world and all the others, I promise to find it!"

They didn’t say anything else. Silvano walked back with them and ate dinner. The mood or the way they treated him didn’t change; after all, he was one of them from the start.

***

Two days passed since Silvano officially joined Dawn as their ninth member. They wanted to throw a party to celebrate his incorporation, but they were still dealing with the few ant colonies inside the Rock and, more importantly, the threat of the Crimson Caravan.

Today was the day. As part of the conquest of the Rock, Cink sent a lot of soldiers and squadrons to help in taking over the territory and accompanied some pix that were going to settle here to live in the villages.

Puy was in charge of helping the newcomers settle in the abandoned villages and show them how to cultivate food and mine stones without causing the tunnels to collapse on their heads. On the outside, they were building walls around the Rock for defense; that was when a pix soldier noticed the beast in the distance approaching.

"Alert! Ring the alarm! Something is coming!" he yelled to his companions. The bell didn’t take long to sound across the walls; all the soldiers grabbed their weapons and took positions just as they had practiced.

The workers ran inside and spread the word about the alarm. Unfortunately, there weren’t any Dawn members around, so they had to hold the line in case of an attack.

The leader at that moment was Karkus, a captain in the pix army. "All the archers take positions and hold fire! "We don’t know what they are capable of; we only attack if they come for us first!"

A soldier's job is not to make threats or negations, but to defend his people and their land. Karkus's intention was only to buy time, but he started to doubt if he could do that as the beast came close.

It wasn’t a single creature; they were four. They looked like lizards with red scales; they were red as blood, and they were pulling a giant bandwagon on their backs. Three massive bandwagons on metal wheels; on top, massive red and white tents concealing the interior.

The drivers whipped the lizards, and the bandwagon stopped right in front of the walls. Karkus couldn’t see them very well from so far away, but they were wearing crimson cloaks and hoods.

"That must be the Crimson Caravan. I have never seen any of those races." Despite the cloaks hiding their faces, he could tell by the shape of their bodies, the number of legs, and the sounds they made that they were different species.

Some were covered in hair, and others had snake-like skin. He could see some pix working below the wheels with dirty clothes and scars on their backs; the hooded figures lashed out with their whips like they were beasts.

"They’re using our kind as slaves." Rage built up in his heart as he saw the way they beat down and screamed at those defenseless pix.

Finally, the tent opened, and a dazzling figure came out using the stairs the slaves had raised. His clothes were more elegant and of better quality, but he still wore the same red and white pattern. He was escorted by several cloaked members and some elementals on the side. Karkus was shocked, but the biggest thing to worry about weren’t the elementals or the number of enemies. The one leading them was a human, just like Dawn members.

"A human. Could he also have powers from the System?" If that was the case, there was very little they could do. He still remembered the beating Franco gave him and his men during the conquest of the forest tribes.

"Archers send a warning barrage to call their attention!" They shot the arrows far from their position, making sure they wouldn't take it as an attack.

The human turn around and look over the wall at Karkus. "You’re on the border of our territory. Tell us your name and your reason for coming here!"

"Oh, a pix who wants to talk first instead of running in fear. "How unusual your kind does not like conflicts, unless someone else is pulling your string." The human smiled.

"I have a lot of questions, but let’s start with the easy ones. First, tell me who’s your leader. Is he inside the Rock, or a group came to conquer your tribe?"

"I’m the one asking questions? Who are you and what do you want here?" He didn’t give an inch; his voice was full of command, but the human only saw him like a small animal.

"You're still resisting; don’t worry, we can talk more when you get over here." He made a move with his hand, and the soldiers attacked. "Don’t hurt him too much. We need to ask him if he knows what happened to Se’ky."