The sight of an undead cat inspired awe and horror, but Alexander, despite the danger, raised his voice:

- We don't want war. Go away and let us continue on our way. - his words were decisive, but at the same time peaceful.

The cat growled in response. Quiet at first, and then deafening, it was a roar of such power that even the ground beneath their feet shook. However, Alexander's gaze was riveted on her green lights in her eye sockets. It seemed to him that those eyes, full of intelligence and understanding, seemed to be asking for something.

Alexander thought about this and decided to take a risky step. He dispelled the soul power from the dagger and raised his hands up in a sign of peace.

- We are not enemies! – he said confidently.

In response to his words, the bone cat took a step forward, approaching Alexander. He could feel her icy breath fanning his face. But instead of attacking, the cat simply stared at him for a moment, and then, in a couple of powerful leaps, disappeared, rushing towards the flying rocks. Alexander and Yulia were able to breathe freely. Their bodies were covered in sweat and their hearts were beating wildly. Having caught his breath, he continued on his way.

An hour had passed since the bone cat left when Alexander and Yulia reached the forest. The battle in the sky, which was visible even from behind the trees, died down, and only rare flashes of light still flickered on the horizon. For some reason, Alexander was sure that the cat had again emerged victorious in this fight and made a notch in his brain so that he would never become its enemy.

Meanwhile, the girl no longer leaned on the cane, but carried it in one hand and the dagger in the other. At first, her steps were uncertain and hesitant, but with every minute they became more and more stable. Her gait sometimes faltered on uneven surfaces, but for the most part she could control her body tolerably. Gradually, Yulia got used to the new reality, adapting her soul to control her virtual body in this world.

Alexander watched her with respect and quiet joy. He understood that every step she took was not easy for her, but despite this, she continued to move forward, becoming stronger each time. Continuing to observe the girl, Alexander crossed the invisible border of the Grani forest.

The Forest of Verge was unlike those seen in the real world. Instead of green leaves, the trees here sparkled with a thousand shades of lilac and blue. The crowns seemed dense and soft, as if they were made of clouds. The tree trunks were curved and intertwined with each other, creating patterns that resembled ornate designs.

It was not grass that grew on the ground, but something resembling iridescent fog, changing color from blue to purple. From time to time, luminous balls floated out of this fog, rose up and slowly disappeared. These glowing balls seemed to be something alive, as if they were souls wandering between worlds. But those were just visions.

A quiet but pervasive whisper filled the air. These were the voices of the past, their words mixed, creating a melody without end. The sounds coming from the depths of the forest were reminiscent of birdsong, but at the same time they were not similar to them. It was the music of the Edge, the music between life and death.

Alexander and Yulia walked a little deeper into the forest, passing between glowing trees, each of which emitted a blue, phosphorus-like light. This effect made the surrounding nature incredibly colorful and mysterious. Following the path, they soon came to glowing gaps in reality - spatial tunnels where time seemed to freeze.

The ubiquitous pyramids, crowned with daggers, emitted a light smoke as they stretched their ephemeral threads to the nearest portal. Each dagger was associated with the soul of the deceased. The light from the blades varied from bright white to dull gray, reflecting the strength and purity of the soul to which it belonged.

Alexander stopped next to one of the pyramids and, making sure that there was no danger around, squatted down next to it. Calling Yulia over, he began to explain the principle of choosing a dagger.

“This dagger...” he began, pointing to the sparkling blade at the top of the pyramid, “It’s not just a weapon.” It contains the story of a person's life. Everyone has their own memories, their own battles, their own joys and sorrows. Based on this, you can understand what kind of soul this person had. Do you see those glowing fragments in the blade? Take a closer look, they flash, replacing each other. These are memories. The brighter the light, the stronger the soul.

Julia carefully peered into each blade, trying to discern in them fragments of the past life of the deceased person. She saw wars, battles, love, passion, scientific research, the simple life of a peasant and many other moments.

“The main thing,” Alexander continued, “is to choose someone whose spirit will be weaker than yours.” Only then will you be able to fully control the dagger and win the battle of souls. And then, having gained strength, you will be able to use it as you wish. For example, in order to be healed. If you are sure that you can not lose yourself, take the dagger and pull it out of the pyramid.

Julia nodded, understanding the importance of this choice. Determination flashed in her eyes. She walked up to one of the pyramids and looked closely at the dagger.

Alexander watched as Yulia peered into the dagger and noticed that her face instantly turned pale. When she walked away, there was shock in her eyes.

- What did you see? - he asked, ready to support her.

Julia sighed, trying to collect her thoughts.

- I saw everything a little blurry. It seems it was a man. He was in some village or small town. He was walking down the street, and I think he was enjoying every moment - the warm sun, the fresh air. You know, the man often looked up, I did that too when I was walking in the park. You always want to feel alive... He met familiar faces, they smiled at him, and everything was so peaceful. But then something went wrong. He got into some kind of fight, there was a lot of screaming, and then... darkness.

Alexander nodded.

“Those were the last moments of his life,” he said quietly. - The dagger contains the soul of this person, storing memories of his last moments before death.

Julia nodded.

- And now, if I decide to take this dagger, I will have to fight with this soul? I somehow don’t want to, I don’t like conflicts.

Alexander took her hand.

- You must be confident in your decision. If you're ready for this, I'll be there. But you have to be sure.

The girl refused this dagger and moved on to another. She carefully studied the next dagger, and Alexander watched her reaction, trying to guess what she was seeing.

This time... - Julia began, without taking her eyes off the dagger, - This is a woman. She looks in the mirror and she is gorgeous, wrapped in expensive fabrics and jewelry. She stands in a large hall that resembles a royal palace. There are a lot of people around - it seems that some kind of reception or celebration was taking place there. The woman was clearly the center of attention, and everyone around her admired her. But now something has changed. The musicians stopped playing, and warriors in black armor burst into the palace. Panic began. The woman tries to escape, but she is caught. I see the look of one of the warriors, it seems he killed her...

Alexander shrugged.

- This world is full of injustice and cruelty. Every soul that comes here carries its own story of pain and suffering.

Julia nodded again, but her eyes sparkled with determination.

- I think I'm ready to try with this soul. I think I can cope with it, and I like the surroundings, I’ve always wanted to go to the ball.

Alexander squeezed her hand tightly.

- I believe in you. But remember, it won't be easy. You must be ready to fight. These are other people's memories that can consume you, fool you, don't lose yourself in this story. - At Alexander’s words, the girl nodded, ready to act.

Julia took the dagger and, overwhelmed by an inner storm, fought for the dominance of her soul. Alexander thought that there was no need for him to just sit there, he needed strength, so he turned to the very dagger that Yulia had just refused.

Peering into his history, he saw the same actions as Yulia. He was this man walking along the streets of a warm and cozy town. However, suddenly, his ears were filled with realistic sounds of screaming and noise. He felt a light breeze on his face, saw familiar faces smiling back at him. Everything was so peaceful, and Alexander's heart was full of gratitude for this beautiful day.

Unexpectedly, he was drawn into a fight that took place in the main square of the city. Attempts to calm down and understand what was happening were in vain. He found himself in the center of the fight, his hands holding him tightly, and a rough voice shouting something in his ear.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

A quick and sharp blow to his side, and pain shot through his body. Alexander felt how blood began to ooze from the wound. His breathing became increasingly shallow, his heart pounding in his chest like a drum. And then, amid the screams and groans, the last glance fell on the bright blue sky, which was the only clear detail in this chaos. And darkness closed my eyes.

Alexander abruptly moved away from the dagger, catching his breath. The dagger turned to ash, falling on the pyramid, which crumbled and flew towards the nearest spatial tunnel. The emotions that took over him were so realistic that for a moment he forgot where he was. But then came the familiar feeling of soul absorption.

Alexander felt an unusual warmth rapidly spreading throughout his body. It was as if millions of sparkles were dancing randomly inside him before gathering together into a dense ball of energy that flowed down into his solar plexus area.

His breathing became smoother, his heart calmer. The warmth that began its journey as a chaotic flow now pulsated through the solar plexus, filling it with a feeling of peace and strength. He was intoxicated with energy for a moment, and then took a deep breath and calmed his thoughts.

Raising his gaze, Alexander looked at Yulia. She stood motionless, like a sculpture carved from marble. Her posture was unnatural: her arms were raised slightly, her head was thrown back, and her gaze was directed to the endless sky. Her face, which usually radiated warmth and vitality, was now motionless and pale, as if she were under the power of some unknown spell.

Knowing the power and danger of daggers, Alexander realized that Julia was in a deep battle with her soul, imprisoned in the dagger. He felt anxious and worried about her, but also understood that he could not help her yet. Now she had to fight on her own.

Alexander, still feeling the need for strength, looked through two more pyramids. The visions that appeared before him were vivid, but he remained outside of them, as if looking at pictures from an old album.

He saw a young woman looking at the sunset by the sea, and then committing suicide, and in another dagger - an old man sitting by the fireplace and carefully listening to the story of his grandson, he died there when his time came.

Reflecting on his experience with the daggers, Alexander began to wonder why some memories consumed him, while others allowed him to remain only a witness. This may have been due to the depth of emotion stored in the dagger, or the strength of the person's soul that was imprisoned within.

- Maybe when the soul was so powerful or eventful, it could attract me? As if giving the opportunity to absorb a person’s soul without a fight. Perhaps less intense memories were not as powerful? Or was it due to a certain harmony or resonance between me and the soul contained in the dagger?

Having still not found answers to his questions, Alexander looked up. The huge trees that surrounded them testified to the ancient past of the forest. The rays of the sun, a rare guest in Grani, penetrated the foliage and created a mosaic of light and shadow on the ground. Alexander was about to move on, but a sharp sound made him turn around. It was Julia. She sighed loudly and collapsed to the ground, as if the threads connecting her to reality had been cut.

Running up to her, Alexander made sure that everything was okay with Yulia. Her eyes sparkled with liveliness again, and a smile appeared on her face.

- Are you okay? - he asked.

Julia slowly sat up, leaning on her hands.

“Yes...” she smiled, looking tired but pleased. - It was something. Of course, watching someone else die is terrible. But I saw some potential in this. I was interested not in her feelings, but in her movements. The way she walks, the way she dances... And I thought it might be cool to try this in Grani, in a new body. I relived these memories over and over again, feeling every movement. It seems like I died ten times, but that doesn’t matter compared to the experience I didn’t have. And when I realized that I was ready to try, I just wanted to wake up and woke up.

Alexander looked at her in surprise. This approach to memories was new to him.

-You surprise me with your views on the world around you. - he said with a smile.

Julia smiled again and tried to get up. Alexander helped her. As she stood on her feet, Julia decided to repeat some of the movements she had seen in her memories. It looked comical and cute at the same time. Despite all the hardships and dangers of their journey, at such moments they found simple human happiness.

Suddenly the world of the Edge momentarily lost its gloomy atmosphere. Julia, as if giving the world a note of innocent joy, became the epicenter of warmth and light in this mysterious forest. She simply threw off all her fears and concerns and became real, alive.

Alexander, forgetting about his worries, looked at her, enjoying her every movement, every laugh. Something trembled deep inside him, as if a long-forgotten heartstring began to sound again. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen such joy and true happiness.

Julia was so carried away by her games that she didn’t even notice how she skinned her knee on a sharp branchy tree. She just laughed, seeing how droplets of blood on the grass created a picturesque pattern.

- Are you okay? - Alexander shouted, running up to her and taking her hand.

- Yes, everything is fine. It's just a scratch! Compared to what I can do, this is really nothing. I'm ready to rip off all my legs just to feel alive. - Julia answered smiling, extending her hand to him.

Under her influence, even this huge, mysterious forest began to seem less scary and hostile. Julia continued to have fun, feeling new freedom and joy from the fact that she could now move the way she wanted. She either ran away or approached Alexander. At one point, she stumbled and fell, but quickly got up, holding in her hands a deformed skull that she accidentally discovered. Her eyes shone with delight and curiosity.

Alexander came closer and carefully examined the object she was holding in her hands. It looked like a human skull, but there were rusty blocks sticking out of it, giving it the appearance of a miniature anti-tank hedgehog. This find was strange and unusual for Grani, which gave rise to speculation.

- It's warm and a little prickly. - said Julia, without taking her eyes off her find.

Alexander peered carefully into the empty eye sockets of the strange object. At that moment, he heard Cassandra’s familiar whisper: “Duplication.”

Alexander froze. Previously, Cassandra's whispers had always warned him of some kind of danger, but now there was something different. She simply said one word - "duplication". Alexander tried to understand what this could mean.

He turned his gaze to Yulia, who was still admiring her find, and thought. Could this duplication relate to the skull, or was it something more complex and confusing? How does this subject relate to their current situation? All these questions were spinning in Alexander’s head, but the answers were not obvious.

Alexander slowly approached Yulia, who was still holding this strange object, muttering out loud:

- Duplication? What does it mean?

Julia looked at him with bewilderment:

- What do you mean? “She didn’t hear Cassandra’s whisper and was completely unaware of what had just happened.

Alexander tried to comprehend all this, not noticing the girl’s question.

- Duplication... Maybe this is some kind of key or hint? What if this skull is a duplicate of something or someone? Or maybe this is a warning that there is another similar object somewhere nearby? - he was full of doubts and questions.

Soon Alexander felt that the atmosphere around them began to change. The trees became somehow darker, the shadows became longer, and the sounds of the forest were drowned out by some distant reverberation. He became sharply alert, looking around, but there was no danger. Only when the girl behind her yelped did he turn around and see how the veins on her arms turned black, and the object seemed to turn into a living liquid and penetrated her.

She tried to throw it off her hands, but the black liquid with rust penetrated her body. The veins on the girl’s body filled with blackness, making her look terrifying and frightening. Alexander didn't know what to do. The girl seemed frozen in shock, looking at the shaking hands and couldn’t believe her eyes. Suddenly everything stopped and the veins returned to normal, leaving not even a trace of the recent strangeness.