I stared at Stormy's paws, still resting on both 'Yes' and 'No' in response to my question about whether I was alive.

"Well," I muttered, "looks like I'm Schrödinger's witch. Both dead and alive until someone opens the box... or in this case, rips out my heart and eats it."

The joke fell flat, even to my own ears. The implications of my discovery were too profound, too unsettling.

I turned my attention back to the microscopic crystals I had extracted from my blood. They were similar to those found in Bobliss's blood, but with a distinct violet tint. These crystals were the key to understanding my own nature and that of the Champions and witches.

"Syntropic crystals," I whispered. "That's what these are... I think I'll call them... Hexacite."

I began to piece together a hypothesis.

These crystals weren't just storing energy or information; they were actively organizing and creating order within human bodies. They were writing us into existence, moment by moment, defying the mundane patterns of decay and entropy.

This explained why Bobliss was so hard to kill. He wasn't just healing; he was being continually rewritten into existence by the crystals in his blood. And I... I was no different.

I had died in the icy waters of Glinka two months ago. But something - the Understanding, the magic of this world, or perhaps Teya herself - had rewritten me into existence, using Ioan's body as a template but infusing it with these syntropic crystals.

This realization sent a chill, sparks dancing across my entire body. I was a thing suspended between life and death, propped up by crystalline dust in my veins. Were all witches dead and simply decaying away incredibly slowly? Were all Champions dead-alive too?

Did the power of a Champion or a Witch simply depend on how potent these crystals in the blood were, how syntropic they were, how much power they drew into themselves?

I looked at my hands, flexing my fingers. They felt real, solid.

Was I a ship of Theseus, a magic-formed concept that simply resembled what Ioan was?

Hypothesis: To kill a witch one simply had to carry the witch’s body from her domain. To kill a Champion, one had to stop the crystals in their blood from recreating them.

Dragonglass only burned away the blood, but it didn’t do shit to the crystals themselves.

How could a syntropic crystal be destroyed?

I poured more of the Champion's blood onto the Knell-blade waiting for the blood cells comprising it to burn away.

When I once again acquired a few piles of red-tinted dust, I tried everything I could think of to damage or destroy the Champion crystals extracted from Bobliss's blood.

I crushed them between two pieces of dragonglass - they remained intact. I subjected them to extreme heat using a makeshift ferronite furnace - they glowed red but didn't melt.

Feeling frustrated, I sat back and stared at the stubborn crystals. They glittered innocently on my workbench, mocking my efforts. It was clear that these weren't ordinary crystals - they were something far more resilient and complex.

"Alright," I muttered to myself, "if I can't just destroy you, maybe I can at least understand you better."

I turned to my ferronite and glass lens microscope, adjusting the lenses to focus on the microscopic structure of the crystals.

What I saw took my breath away. The internal structure was unlike anything I'd ever seen - constantly shifting and rearranging itself, almost as if it was alive, lattices folding into themselves seemingly forever.

As I watched, I noticed tiny flashes of red-tinted magic pulsing through the infinite crystal lattice. It reminded me of neurons firing in a brain, but on an impossibly small scale. These crystals weren't just storing information - they were processing it, constantly updating and refining their structure.

"They're not just data storage for what defines Bobliss into existence," I commented, my mind sliding into the deep abyss of trying to grasp what I was seeing. "Maybe… they're some kind of a... quantum effect. No wonder they're so hard to destroy - they're actively maintaining their own structure, and have an extra dimension, an edge to them... one that I can’t reach from my end!"

I fished out Glinka’s rock from its barrel and sliced its edge with the Knell-blade. The resulting powder showcased the same effect, except the extra-dimensional edges were barely visible to me, almost blurry. These crystals were projecting the fish spirit into being, probably animating Teya into existence too!

Examining the dust from Cali’s lavalier and the dust resulting from my blood featured the same thing. An extra-dimensional, very blurry, barely visible edge that I hadn't noticed before.

“The more clear the syntropic crystal is, the better it preserves a person,” I pondered, recalling the crystalline hearts of the two bandits. “The deeper crystals are in a human body, the more syntropic they likely are.”

Maybe the simplest way to halt the regeneration of Champion like Bobliss wasn’t to mess with the indestructible multi-dimensional crystals themselves, but to disrupt the magic they radiated?

I liquefied a small wooden cube and poured Champion-dust on it.

The dust refused to sink into the liquid-solid cube, simply hovering on the edge. It felt like burning, like an alien power that refused to succumb to me.

Damn it.

After another hour of peering at crystals and experimenting I didn’t manage to arrive at a solution.

Feeling frustrated, I decided to focus on my other mission.

If I were to face the Gygr in her swampy domain, I needed more power, needed to harvest absolutely everything of value in Svalbard. I needed to take Svalbard completely apart, to get all the dragonglass and human remains sorted. The horses of the Bernt warband had fled, but the bandit bodies remained in the pub, mixed in with a mountain of rubble.

But I was just one human with one pair of hands and a kitten.

I looked over in the direction of the river spirit. It was time to learn more about Teya.

“Stormy,” I said. “Should I trust Teya? Is she being honest? Will she aid our goals from here?”

The kitten tapped the word ‘yes’ thrice. I grabbed her and put her onto my shoulder.

. . .

In another minute, we made our way back to the river's edge.

As we approached, I saw Teya's magic-formed Avatar, waiting patiently, sitting atop her rock as she always did.

Stormy jumped off me and took a dip in the river and then jumped onto Teya’s megalith. I placed the Codex in front of Stormy.

The river spirit turned to look at the kitten.

"Teya," I began, speaking through Stormy, "I have a favor to ask of you. But first, I want to know... what would you like as a gift? Oh and remember to keep your answers simple, since Stormy struggles to convey human words."

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There was a long pause. Teya's Avatar seemed to flicker and shift, as if unsure how to respond. Then she seemed to have made up her mind.

The river’s Avatar shifted. Then, she made a pair of leg-fingers and did a motion of walking with them and pointed at herself.

"Mrr-ll-oeee-gss!" Stormy mewled.

"Legs?" I guessed "You want… legs?"

Stormy's paw tapped the word ‘yes’.

"Why?" I asked.

Teya's avatar seemed to sigh, a ripple passing through her watery form. Then she tried to gesticulate something, her expression trying to approximate a human face made up from a thousand human-like faces that kept shifting around.

"Ma-iiii... Wrrass... Mru-mayann," Stormy mewed out. “Iiii… Mremm-brrr.”

"You… you were human?” I asked. “You remember being human?”

Teya nodded and Stormy tapped ‘yes’ again.

“Huh,” I muttered.

I had jumped to a conclusion that Teya was a primordial spirit of nature, born from the river itself combined with magic of belief based on what Yaga Grandhilda told me. But if Teya had once been human... What had happened to her? And how did she become the river spirit?

"I... I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't realize. How long ago were you human?"

Teya’s Avatar shoulders fell as if carrying immense weight.

“M-rr-waa-nnnggg ttttt-rrrr-mmm,” Stormy let out.

“Long time, huh,” I said. “I do wonder what you know about the history of Thornwild.”

“Mrrrrall,” Stormy replied after Glinka’s lips moved.

“All?” I blinked. “You know all of Thornwild’s history?”

“Mrrruman,” Stormy added.

“All… human history on Thornwild?!” I gasped, watching as Glinka nodded.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up, my heartbeat accelerating as I understood the pivotal importance of what Teya was.

“I promise to give you legs,” I said boldly, taking a step forward. "I swear it on my rationality, on my Understanding and my power as a witch. Your knowledge, your experiences - they're incredibly valuable, likely more than you realize! You're not just a river; you're a living archive of all human history on Thornwild!”

I paused, drawing another breath.

"I promise to protect you from those who would seek to exploit or destroy you. I promise to learn from you, to honor your experiences and the wisdom you've gained over the centuries… and to teach you in turn, to help you be more than just a river.”

Teya's watery form seemed to shimmer with an emotion I couldn't quite decipher. Was it hope? Skepticism? Both?

“Your understanding of this world, its magic, its people - that’s an incredible treasure, something that can't be replicated or replaced. I promise to value that, to never take it for granted,” I added. "And I promise to find a way to restore your humanity, or at least give you the ability to walk on land again. It may take time, and it may be challenging, but I won't rest until I've found a solution. And I do realize that these are just words of a man you can’t even see…”

Teya nodded.

“But I hope you can sense the sincerity in my words," I added. "I'm not going to be like the others who simply made wishes on you. I'm already technically dead, don't need to sleep or breathe, and don't have very many desires. I simply... want to understand you. And, if we work hard at it, together, we can unlock all of the secrets of this world and find a way to restore your humanity… Does that sound good to you?”

The river spirit nodded again. I relaxed, trying to think of what else to say.

"Can you... inhabit Cali's body again?" I asked.

Teya shook her head and the kitten placed her paw on 'no'.

"Are you still bound to her magically?" I added.

Teya shrugged and Stormy tapped the inked paw between [YES] and [maybe.]

I sighed, wondering if this was because the Gygr's ritual wasn't complete yet.

“I can’t give you legs yet, then,” I said. “Not until we visit Uncle George's farm. But... for now, I can at least tell you about myself.”

Teya nodded.

“I’m from the 21st century, Teya,” I revealed. “A man from Earth. I can read the words written on the moon in English. What about you?”

Teya stared at me, with what was possibly a shocked expression made up from a thousand rippling, entwined human faces that folded into each other as if she was a liquid terminator.

"Mrrr-thhhh?" Stormy mewed out her words.

"Yes, Earth," I confirmed. "I'm not from Thornwild. The memories in my head, the Understanding is from a place called Earth, from a different time.... from a long, long time ago, I think."

Teya's avatar seemed to vibrate with excitement at that. Her watery form rippled and shifted rapidly, as if she was trying to communicate a thousand things at once.

Stormy let out a series of incomprehensible chirps as if she was chatting at a bird.

"Slow down," I said. "Stormy can only translate so fast."

Teya nodded vigorously, her water-hair swirling around her head.

"Meerrr-thhhh... Wrrr-thhhh," Stormy struggled to articulate. "Haaa-llleeyyy..."

"Earth... Werth... Halley?" I repeated, my mind racing. "Halley? As in Halley's Comet? Or something else?"

Teya's avatar waved her hands again, more excitedly this time as if she was close to unlocking the secrets of the universe.

"Haaa-llleeyyy Krrr-prrr-thhhyyy," Stormy mewed, her little face scrunched up in concentration.

"Karpathy?" I asked. "Who is that?"

Teya's watery form seemed to swell with pride. She pointed at herself, then made a series of gestures that Stormy struggled to interpret.

"Mraw gggrrrrttt… grrr-nnn-drrr-mrrr-thrrr," Stormy finally managed.

"Grandmother?" I said. "Halley Karpathy was your great-grandmother?"

Teya nodded emphatically.

Then her figure seemed to ignite with purpose. She waved her hands in the air and the river beside us exploded upwards forming what appeared to be a ruin of a space shuttle composed entirely from water streams suspended in the air. I stared at it, not believing my eyes.

It was late evening now and the entire phantasmagorical liquid sculpture danced with a thousand violet-blue reflections cast by the rings of Endalaus overhead.

“That almost looks like a space shuttle,” I said. “Rotting and broken, but the wings and the engines are there!”

Teya’s gesticulation went wild, small waves forming cascades of smiles on her liquid face.

“Ccccc–pprrrr-tttt-nnnn Haaa-mrrllleeyyy,” Stormy outputted, after squinting at the Avatar.

“Captain,” I repeated. “Your great-grandmother was Halley Karpathy and she flew that ship here… from Earth?”

Teya nodded at everything except for the last word.

“Weeerrrrrrthhhfff,” Stormy mewled.

“W-Earth?” I asked. "Werth?"

Teya clapped her hands together and Stormy pawed the word ‘yes’.

“Huh. What century are you from?” I asked. “Do you remember what year it was when you were human?”

Teya opened and closed her fingers twice and then showed me four fingers.

“Myawnerr-tyyy frrrrr-ffff,” Stormy added.

“Twenty fourth century,” I blinked. “We were born around three hundred years apart then if we're on the same century-counting scale from Earth."

Teya nodded and Stormy pawed 'yes'.

"Life sure is strange, ain't it," I smiled at her, brushing the hair on the back of my head.

Teya's watery form shifted, becoming more human-like, watery dress rippling in the invisible wind. She leaned forward, pressing a hand to where her heart would be if she were flesh and blood. Then, in a surprisingly shy gesture, she put one leg back, almost as if she were curtsying. At that moment she looked almost endearing.

She then sat down on her broken column and patted the space beside her, next to where Stormy was perched. I took the invitation and sat down, feeling a spark of camaraderie I hadn't experienced since I woke up under the ice as Ioan and crawled towards the ruins of Svalbard.

As I settled onto the sideways megalith shard, Stormy jumped on my lap, purring.

Teya's liquid-current head turned my way, searching for my face, looking a bit past me. I noted her obvious frustration at not being able to hear or see me directly. Despite this, there was something incredibly touching about her efforts to connect with me.

The megalith I was sitting on felt cold, like a distant, weak ocean of sparks grinding against me. I wondered if she felt something like it too and knew approximately where I was.

Her hand pawed at the spot where my fingers were sparking against her megalith, passing through mine. I didn’t feel anything from her Avatar intersecting my own hand, but I smiled regardless.

“Tthh-rrrnkk-yaauu,” Stormy mewled softly, speaking for Teya.

“I didn’t do anything yet,” I pointed out. “There’s nothing to thank me for.”

“Mrrrnnn-oott awwlooon-ee,” Stormy said.

“Yeah,” I nodded. “We’re not alone anymore.”

Stormy buried herself into my hands, warming her wet fur against my fingers.

I looked up at the night sky overhead. Violet stars that framed arrays of vast megastructures spun overhead, shimmering in the breaks between clouds.

For the first time since I'd awakened in this strange world of monsters and magic, I felt like I'd found someone I might be able to trust wholeheartedly. Someone who, despite our vast differences, was more like me than anyone else I'd encountered.

Here we were, two children of Earth separated by centuries and, in Teya's case, millennia of existence as a river spirit.

Yet somehow, we'd found each other. What were the odds?