He was about to take a break when he heard it. A tremor, faint as the flutter of a butterfly's wings, but undeniably present. Shirei clung to that feeling, feeding it with mana. Slowly, the thrill grew, transforming into a wave of energy. He inhaled deeply, feeling the cold air of the cave fill his lungs. He exhaled, letting the tension leave his body.

Gradually, Shirei began to feel a change. It was as if the boundaries of his being began to blur, to become less defined. He could feel the energy of the cave flowing through him, as if his body had become permeable to the world around him.

With one last deep breath, Shirei let go. He felt a tearing sensation, as if something inside him had broken. Then, he felt free.

When he opened his eyes, the demigod found himself floating in the stormy sea.

The Interworld Shirei knew, once dark but strangely familiar, had become utterly hostile and furious. The shadows seemed to come alive with a will of their own, a latent anger that pulsated in the dense and oppressive air. Every sensation in that world screamed the desire to see it fall. His balance, usually solid, began to falter; Shirei could no longer orient himself. The ground beneath his feet seemed to waver, shift. He tried to lower himself, trying to stabilize his center of gravity, but that gesture proved useless: the Interworld did not follow the same rules as reality, and his movements seemed to drown in a void devoid of references. Every step was torture, every breath a gasp. Added to the physical disorientation was a growing nausea, a vortex of discomfort that tightened his stomach and made him stagger. He felt the Interworld swirling around him, accompanied by a searing pain in his temples that intensified every moment. The Interworld was trying to expel him, rejecting his presence with a violence he had never felt before. The sense of dizziness and suffering were dragging him towards an abyss whose bottom he could not see.

I can't stop now, otherwise I'll have to start over again.

If he had to be honest with himself, he wouldn't have bothered dealing with the feeling, but it was there. Going back would have been a waste of time that he might not get back.

If Havel and Ada were in danger, I certainly couldn't stay here.

Shirei turned to face the wall, which now looked different to his ghostly eyes. He could see the energy that permeated it, the currents of power that flowed through it like streams of water. And most importantly, he could see beyond. In its ghostly state, the rock offered no resistance. He passed through the barrier as if it was made of mist, feeling a slight tingle as the wall's energies interacted with his ghostly essence.

Cragar's son continued to advance with enormous difficulty. He felt his body tearing apart from the inside, as if every limb was desperately fighting to stay attached to his torso. His arms and legs throbbed with pain, shaken by an invisible force that seemed to want to dismember him piece by piece. It was a new sensation, an agony he had never felt, and he didn't know how to react. Why was the Interworld treating him like that? Why now, when he most needed stability and control? Thoughts crowded into his mind, confused and overwhelmed by pain. He found himself struggling not only with the place, but also with his own limits, pushed to the breaking point. With the last remaining strength, Shirei managed to push back the darkness, tearing himself away from the furious embrace of the Interworld and re-emerging into “reality”.

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As soon as his feet hit a solid soil, he collapsed to the ground, exhausted. He remained there, lying on the cold, unfamiliar surface, his chest rising and falling frantically as he tried to catch his breath.

After a few seconds, the demigod opened his eyes and forced himself to look at the area where he had resurfaced. On the other side, Shirei found himself in a new environment, completely different from the cave he had left behind. It was a vast open space, lit by a soft light that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

The demigod walked forward, gazing in wonder at the surreal landscape around him. Crystalline formations rose from the ground, reflecting and refracting light into myriad colors.

A noise pierced the silence. Shirei whirled around, just in time to see a swarm of rocks hurled towards him. Instinctively, he tried to call upon his powers to protect himself, but he was still too inexperienced.

He dropped to avoid the impact, which did not occur. The demigod felt the ground slipping beneath his feet. The world around him became a whirlwind of shadows as he fell into the void.

For a moment that seemed to last an eternity, Shirei floated in total darkness. There was no up or down, right or left. It was as if the path itself had swallowed him, erasing every point of reference.

When he finally landed, it was with a dull thud that knocked the air from his lungs. Cragar's son stood still for a few moments, trying to catch his breath and understand what had happened. Slowly, he sat up, scanning his surroundings.

He was back where he started.

He recognized the altar and heard the sound of rushing water.

What's happening?

The Calm Sovereign, his double, reappeared before him to provide an answer to that question.

“I fear that time is up, a wayfarer is approaching.”

Shirei had questions, but that strange word distracted him, so he asked, “A wayfarer?”

“A bearer of the fragments of Darkness, there is no time to explain anything else to you.”

Cragar's son swallowed, thinking back to the strange creature he had noticed in the director's office.

“Are they hostile?”

“It depends, but that's not the problem. You must try to avoid them,” the double paused and added, “For the sake of the world.”

The situation was more than serious, but Shirei had understood it for a while now. All he had to do was ask the last question, the one that was most pressing in his aching head.

“How am I going to get into this place again?”

The path began to fade before his eyes, as did the figure of his past self. Before he awoke from what had seemed like an endless dream, he heard the words of the Calm Sovereign.

“You will find the way, getting over the wall is much easier than you think. Now go back to the fight and remember what you learned here.”