„It’s so quiet here! Freakishly quiet” Murmured Tenebre, shivering inside, when she finally came to her senses and looked around. She was still in that room, known as the Karuvil of evil, with those thirteen doors around her. „Yet, where am I?” She asked eventually, afraid. Then, anxious, she started to haul on every single doorknob, looking for freedom.

Nevertheless, she couldn’t escape from there, for all those doors were closed or they were a simple imitation to deceive someone. Understanding this eventually, Tenebre started to yell like a desperate woman, „Release me! Let me go! I need to go!” No one, however, answered her or opened the door, not even after she started to hit those doors with both fists, shaking inside.

Suddenly, she stopped her madness. Thus, she could hear her ears buzzing because of the mad heartbeats from her chest. This made her feel fear. Moreover when she heard footsteps behind those doors. Then the anxiety took over her completely and she started to tap her ears with her palms, mumbling, „I don’t hear them! I hear nothing! This isn’t real! No, it isn’t!”

Yet, the noise of those footsteps was real. Sometimes it was heard like any other noise of someone’s footsteps. Other times it was heard as though someone was crawling his soles on a wooden floor. Thus, even though the noise lasted for a long time behind those doors, nobody opened them. Neither the master of those footsteps appeared in that room nor did something else happen. Something that seemed weird to Tenebre.

„Weird,” the Titanide mumbled, cooking her nose. „Did I imagine all this?” Yet, feeling her heart still madly beating in her chest, she understood that everything was real. That’s why she started to breathe fast. Moreover when she felt her legs as though they were from sugar that was melting at that moment. Something that made her eventually sit down right in the middle of the room. Nevertheless, when she felt a strange smell around her, she started to sniff the air as though she was a dog. She even mumbled, „I feel wet air here. In this closed space. Why? More than that, why do I feel that the noise of those footsteps is something I know?”

Nobody answered those questions. Something that she disliked eventually, for she was sure that someone else was there. Not in the same room, but somewhere behind those doors. Nevertheless, she couldn’t check it as those doors didn’t open. Yet, when she heard a moan from above, she winced and looked at the ceiling. Thus, she saw Ahi, caught in a kind of spider web, hanging right above the middle of the room.

This definitely amazed Tenebre, who stared thunderstruck at her son. Then, when she could think normally again, she felt fear for Ahi, even though she always said that she never loved him and that she cared about him only because she brought him into this world. At that moment, however, seeing him unconscious and hanging above the floor, caught in that weird net, she felt her heart madly beating again. Yet, understanding that only staring at him like a stupid won’t help them in anything, she started to call his name, „Ahi! Ahi, do you hear me?” He didn’t answer. Something the Titanide disliked. Even so, seeing that he didn’t talk, she started to jump up, intending to touch him and make him react.

However, something that seemed to be a short distance, the size of a hand raised up, between her and Ahi, was more than that in fact, for no matter how high she didn’t jump, she couldn’t touch him. That’s why she eventually hissed through her teeth, „What the hell is this? An illusion? Why? It seems so close to me, but I can’t touch him. More than that, why does it seem to me that my son doesn’t hear me? More than that, what does Ahi do on that net? Is he really possessed? Otherwise, I can’t explain how he got into that trap or why he couldn’t escape from there. Not even feeling the danger close. Something that I actually hate.”

Suddenly she winced, hearing Pakai’s voice behind her, „It’s because he has been separated into three equal parts.” This made Tenebre turn toward him and furiously watch him, intending to teach him some manners, for she remembered, and very well actually, that he lured her into his village and brainwashed her just to make her help him. Yet, seeing what he looked like at that moment: scratched and with a missing eye, Tenebre swallowed hard and took two steps behind her. Then, looking at him with contempt, she asked, „What the hell happened to you?”

This made the jackal growl at her. Then, gently touching the wounds on his face, something that made him gnash his teeth, Pakai said, „Let’s call it a memory!”

„A memory? From who?” She asked in amazement.

„From that red fox. Inmar I think is her name. Yet, I swear that when I have her in my paws, I leave her without both eyes and not only with one missing. I can’t believe she dared to cross me. Does she really not understand who Pakai is and what he can do?”

Tenebre smiled, hearing him talking like that. She was really happy, for Inmar managed to take revenge on Pakai even in Tenebre’s name, even though they never understood each other. More after the Titanide found out whose daughter Inmar was. Yet, for the daring of smiling when Pakai was burning in the flames of hell, Tenebre had been thrown against a door, something that made her gnash her teeth when she felt that hit on her back well. Then she gasped once again when she touched the floor and she even heard her bones cracking. Something that made her gnash her teeth again and murmur, „Damn you, idiot!”

The jackal, however, seeing hatred in her eyes, showed her his fangs. Then he told her, hissing the words through his teeth, „Well, I guess that nicely talking we won’t understand each other.”

„To understand each other? You and me? Only if the water freezes without spells during the summer,” the Titanide replied, also hissing the words. After that, feeling great pain all over her body, she stood up and took a step toward the jackal, who didn’t move even a step back. „Yet, as I feel that you have a deal to offer, I say that’s a good idea to find out what your mind can invent.”

„My mind?” Mumbled Pakai, grinning. „This is something demonstrated already. Yet, you, with your chicken brain, had never understood this. That’s why you allied with Coallar. You even gave birth to two of his children.”

„Something that makes you jealous, right?” Said Tenebre in mockery.

„Jealous? I? On that rat that is afraid to get out of his hole?” The jackal almost shouted. „Never, for he isn’t smarter than me or stronger.” Yet, he was lying, in everything, for… on one hand, he was really jealous of Coallar because Tenebre chose the king when Pakai wanted her as his wife. Secondly, he was so stupid that he couldn’t see without help that Coallar was able to squash him with a single finger if he wanted and was still alive. Yet, as Pakai was even more stupid than the Foolishness was, he could only show his fangs and brag to the Titanide how „great” he was, something that she was definitely aware of.

More than that, Tenebre was also aware of Coallar’s death, for when she told Ahi that he „blew up,” it wasn’t her who talked, but Maranam, who controlled her mind at that moment. Yet, as she didn’t remember anything from what happened before, she also didn’t know what she told her son. Nevertheless, she knew what to tell Pakai. That’s why she eventually mumbled, irritably, „Let the dead ones alone and focus on important things better.”

Pakai, staring at her as though he saw an alien, asked, „The dead ones? Who is dead?”

„Coallar, who else?! He blew up his grotto. Six months ago.”

„And… you know that because…?” Murmured the jackal, afraid, for he knew very well what the Titanide was capable of when she was crazy. More than that, he was sure that she could blow Coallar up only to take revenge on him for something.

Tenebre, however, wasn’t lying. She definitely believed that Coallar was to blame for the explosion. Yet, she believed that only because she never knew that Nikkari was in fact real.

Actually, she saw her. Many times in that grotto. Among those ghosts that lived there. Yet, she thought that Nikkari was a ghost and nothing more. That’s why she didn’t pay too much attention to her or tried to find out who she really was.

She should have done this eventually. Thus, she could have found out the real story of the one who was her husband. Nevertheless, being careless, she could only be a witness to Coallar’s death. From far away actually, for she heard the explosion while she was at the edge of Tenebre Forest, heading toward Kiago Forest. Then, when the grotto exploded, not knowing what happened, Tenebre lay on the ground on her stomach, covering her head with her arms. Then she crawled on all four and hid behind a huge trunk. Later, when that deafening sound passed, she looked around and asked, afraid, „What the hell was that?”

Nobody answered that question. Not even the woods. Something strange in her opinion, for she thought thus that the trees didn’t listen to her anymore. More than that, she saw no cobra around. None of those that served her before and this was a real surprise. That’s why she closed her eyes and tried to see what happened while she hadn’t been around.

Thus, she could see the moment Anaya crossed that forest, heading toward the Realms of Ice. Yet, even though she saw the ghost of the old fox, she didn’t know who she was. Nevertheless, she recognized that big brown cobra, the savage body of Zeal. A cobra that charmed the other cobras, making them follow her, submissive.

This made Tenebre jerk to her feet and yell, like a crazy person, „How did she dare that little witch touch what is mine? How could she, bastard, lure my servants into her cage? I’ll teach her not to take what is mine!” Then, almost running, she headed toward Coallar’s grotto.

After 10 meters, however, as though someone set fire to her, Tenebre suddenly stopped. Then, feeling a weird sensation in her chest, she closed her eyes. Thus, she could see the last moments of Coallar’s life, before the grotto exploded.

That’s why she feverishly murmured, „It can’t be! Is Coallar really dead?” Yet, seeing that the forest wouldn't answer her, she ran, as fast as she could, toward the grotto.

Arriving in front of the grotto, she saw only ruins around. Something that made her heart stop, for, in a way, she also considered that grotto her home. She also loved Coallar, in the way she could. Yet, she abandoned him eventually, without saying at least goodbye to him because, that day, before Ahi and the red foxes came to visit Coallar, Tenebre asked her husband to help her with her plan. He, however, told her dryly and bored, „If you want this so much, play this stupid game alone. Nevertheless, it won’t serve for anything, Tenebre, for everything is lost. Just as this world is lost. That’s why, I won’t do anything to help you or do something else.”

At that moment, however, Tenebre felt that she should have told him at least „goodbye.” Thus, she could have shown him that she cared about him. It was too late already, for everything, and…

***

„Do you remember old times right now?” Pakai asked her in mockery. That’s why the Titanide looked with hatred at him. „Or maybe some… spicy moments with the one that’s only… stones now?”

„It's none of your business!” Tenebre hissed through her teeth. „More than that, if you don’t want to be a body, too, help me!”

„To help you? In what?” The jackal asked, frowning.

This made Tenebre stare at him. Thus, Pakai saw her eyes sparkling like burning embers because of anger, something that made him look for shelter. Yet, he swallowed hard eventually, when Tenebre yelled at him, „To take Ahi down from there. Or what, do you think I’ll do that alone when you have been who has climbed him there?”

„I? Did I climb him there?” Pakai asked, thunderstruck.

„Of course, not… me! So… move at once!” She snarled.

Nevertheless, Pakai moved from his place only when he saw a cobra in Tenebre’s hand, a pet she adored, but Pakai hated. Yet, once under the net in which Ahi was hanging, even though he jumped up, Pakai saw in amazement that he also couldn’t get to him or touch him. That’s why he intended to reproach Tenebre for that bad idea. However, he didn’t have time for thinking or saying something when he felt the fingers of a devilish thing grabbing him by the fur and lifting him up to get to Ahi. It was a strange wooden hand, made by Tenebre, to „help” Pakai to get to Ahi.

Yet, Pakai didn’t say even „thank you” for this, for, seeing himself hanging upside down and so high, the jackal felt his fur rising on his back. Then, shaking like hell, he murmured a barely heard, „Mama, help me!”

Tenebre, however, hearing him lamenting like a child, hissed through her teeth, „If you don’t want your mother to help you from the Other World, I suggest you stop complaining, and rush.”

„To rush? With what?” The jackal yelled, outraged.

„Chewing, idiot!” The Titanide screamed. „If not, I can send this beauty to caress your skin. She definitely can convince you to help me.” Then, Tenebre started to caress the cobra’s skin, which wrapped around her left arm.

This made Pakai understand that it was time to stop fooling around, for Tenebre was really crazy. Then, suddenly, he started chewing that net. Yet, it was damn sharp and strong as though made from iron. He even felt the wires entering between his teeth and cutting his gums to the bones. Even so, he didn’t give up because he better felt the pain than the cobra on his skin.

Then, after lots of effort and toothache, the jackal managed to chew that net, making a hole through which Ahi fell at Tenebre’s feet. After that, the jackal looked at her and told her in a crying voice, „Now let me go!”

Yet, Tenebre did not care about him. She only knelt next to her son and started to slap him, trying to wake him, for she was sure that he was the only one who knew how to get out of that place. However, as one can't clear the sky with a wet cloth, neither the „dead ones” can be awakened with slaps. Understanding this, after minutes of trying, Tenebre sat down on the floor and started to cry as though she was a child who lost his candy.

Seeing her acting like a mad person, Pakai looked askance at her. Then, understanding that it was getting worse, he frowned and mumbled, „She has definitely lost her mind. Anyway, why am I even surprised?! She has always been crazy!” Yet, loudly, he said, „What if I can take you out of here?” A question, which made Tenebre attentive. More than that, after that question, she looked with interest at him. Something that made Pakai grin, satisfied, „If you get me out of here, I have an extra bonus for you.”

„A bonus? Which one?”

„How to release Mannar?! But…” He gasped eventually when those fingers let go of his fur, and Pakai hit the floor with his stomach.

„Now that you are free, sing!” Tenebre hissed through her teeth, not losing sight of him.

Gasping because of the pain felt all over his body, Pakai murmured, „At least let me breathe.” After that, gnashing his teeth, he sat on the floor, turning into a human.

This amazed Tenebre even more, for she saw the same wounds on his face and the same blind eye, even though she had thought that only his animal body had suffered because of Inmar. Yet, she said nothing about this. She only fixed her glance on him, nervously tapping with her fingers the cobra’s body, making that one also nervously move, that even her forked tongue was thrown 1 meter in front, toward Pakai.

This made Pakai take a few steps aside. Then, staring at the cobra, he said, „When I meant to release Mannar, it’s exactly what I wanted to say.”

„Something damn difficult actually, for, as far as I know, the Black Magic of the first Titans can be broken only by one of the twins-shape. Yet, we have none of them by our side.”

„What if you are wrong?” Said Pakai said, grinning. Thus, feeling huge pleasure in his chest by seeing Tenebre’s curious glance, he said, „I mean now that the Black Magic can be also broken by the father of one of the twins.”

„Now I understand why Ahi is here!” Murmured Tenebre, confused.

„Exactly. Or what, do you think that I have lured you here for nothing?” After that, the jackal stood up and started to walk through the room. „We need him to release Mannar. Better to say we need his power. It’s because he has always been able to confront his brother when Coallar has spurred them to fight.”

„Because of the same reason, Ahi won’t ever accept to help us. Not even after you split him up into three parts and he is dead now,” she snarled.

„And you are definitely stupid,” said the jackal, shaking his head. „Did you really think that Ahi would have hung there if he had been dead? Don’t be stupid! He is useful alive, and not dead. Something that was decided by our new master - Maranam. He said that if we split Ahi’s body into three, we might have success. That’s why his body is here, his mind is… Hell knows where, and his power… well, I think that this is floating somewhere around this room.”

„Even so, you won’t be able to use that power,” the Titanide said in mockery. Yet, when the jackal grinned, she understood his trick, „You need me to have Ahi’s power.”

„At least for something your brain works. Yes, you are right: I need you to be able to place Maranam on the throne of the world, for he is the strongest on earth.”

„What if it isn’t as you think? What if there is someone, even stronger than Maranam?”

„Do you mean Eris?” Pakai grinned. The jackal, however, frowned, „As though a witch, old as the hills, closed God knows where in this Cosmos, can do something.”

„Then… we have no deal, Pakai, for if I help you, you must do something for me in exchange.”

„I thought that releasing Mannar would be enough,” Pakai snarled, furious. „Being greedy can be harmful, sister, and…”

Tenebre stopped him, furious, „I’m neither your sister nor your lover. So, stop talking and decide once, Pakai: you help me - I help you or there is no deal.”

„This is betrayal. If master Maranam finds out…”

„Then, you can run and tell him what I want to do. Meanwhile, I’ll stay right here and wait for you. Yet, if he hears my offer and understands that this is something even more useful than your useless help, who knows… there is a probability to end up dead and not only with one eye missing. So, it’s up to you!”

After that, Tenebre yawned, a hint that she was „bored.” She even lay on the floor, supporting her head on Ahi’s body. A trick that actually worked, for Pakai, who wasn’t thinking normally at that moment and more after he lost his eye, shouted soon after, „Alright, be as you wish. Nevertheless, if I find out that you have betrayed me and you have left me behind, I swear I will leave you headless, Tenebre. Then, for sure, none of your sister-cobras will help you to escape alive from my paws.”

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

„If you say so,” murmured Tenebre even more „bored.” After that, sitting, she looked contemptuously at him, „So, shall we start?”

„Yes,” snarled Pakai, outraged. After that, turning to a human and back to a jackal, he murmured, „We will definitely start, for there is no time to lose. Yet, first, make that green… animal, which is looking at me with her devilish eyes, vanish. Otherwise, she loses her head, definitely.” Then, he turned his back to Tenebre and approached Ahi.

Tenebre, grinning, made the cobra wrap around her own body after leaving her on the floor. Then, snapping her fingers, she made the animal vanish like green smoke. After that, still yawning, she headed toward Pakai, who was moving around Ahi at that moment. This really confused her, for she didn’t understand what he was doing. That’s why she asked him, „May I know what you are doing?”

„I catch fleas,” replied Pakai, furious. „What else can I do around an unconscious Mago as Ahi is if not looking for his source of power?! Otherwise, I would have sat down on my tail and licked my wounds.”

„A damn useful occupation for the good of the world. And… Do you know why? Because you are damn ugly right now,” the Titanide teased him. Yet, seeing that he was about to blow, she raised her hands up, laughing, a hint that she gave up.

Pakai, however, after finally being satisfied with grinning at Tenebre, lifted his right paw, which he started to move up and down Ahi’s body. Then, when he finally found the source of Mago’s energy, somewhere under his ribs, on the left side, he told Tenebre, „Come here!”

A demand Tenebre disliked, for she compared it with a command told to a dog. Yet, having no other choice, she approached him. At a slow step and cooking her nose, actually. Nevertheless, once next to the jackal, she saw him putting the snout on Ahi’s stomach, where he touched it before with the paw. After that, being sure that namely there was the source of his energy, Pakai looked at the Titanide and told her, „Carefully with what you do, Tenebre. If not, you kill this one with your own hand and, at the same time, you sentence Mannar to eternal prison.”

„So, what to do to keep them both alive?”

„Just…focus!” Pakai told her dryly. „I’m sure you will make it, at least this time.” Then, taking his paw off Ahi’s body, he pushed Tenebre from behind with his snout where he stood before that. After that, in a severe tone, he told her, „Just focus on what is felt as a black whirlwind. Only that source we need. Otherwise, you kill us all, for he is a volcano inside.”

„A volcano?” Tenebre asked, staring at him.

„I meant that he’s made from fire, inside, for, besides that black sphere I have told you to take out from its place, Ahi has one more: bigger and made from fire. Yet, if we touch that one, we will be a second Coallar: happy fireworks on the night sky.”

Tenebre didn’t taste the joke. Yet, she decided to punish the jackal for those spicy jokes after that. Then, after being tired of cooking her nose and mumbling unintelligible words addressed to Pakai, she focused on what she had to do, for she knew how to take a source of energy out of someone’s body. Different at that time was that she wasn’t stealing power from her enemies or from people she didn’t know, but from her own son, who she was leaving almost dead.

Even so, she decided not to give up, for at stake was Mannar’s future. That’s why she deeply breathed in, several times actually until she felt she was calm. After that, touching the right palm from the left one, she touched Ahi’s body, in the place Pakai told her that it was his source of power. Yet, she needed several minutes to feel it. However, when she finally felt it, she started to mumble unknown words, something that made Ahi moan. This, however, didn’t stop the Titanide. On the contrary, she started to murmur louder and louder, strange words that made Pakai’s ears buzz.

Nevertheless, her spell lasted only five minutes. Meanwhile, the room has been filled with thick smoke that has made the air feel so cold. Only then, Tenebre joined her palms again, as though she had an egg or something round between them. Something that made her smile eventually when she felt it pulsating. „I made it!” She murmured deliriously.

The same happened to Pakai, who was more than happy, for this was precisely what he was planning for so long: to steal Ahi’s power and be invincible. Yet, when he intended to put his snout between her palms and deeply inhale that energy, Tenebre slapped him so hard that made him yelp. He even felt the wounds burning. That’s why he started to tell her all the bad words he knew.

This, however, didn’t bother Tenebre at all. She only hid that small black sphere in her left sleeve. After that, she used her power to close the six Chakra points of Ahi's power, just not to allow anyone else to steal power from her son. Then, finishing her job, she demanded Pakai, „Now we are done here, let’s go!”

„Where?” The jackal snarled, still feeling pain in his wounds.

„Outside! Where else?” The Titanide told him in mockery. „Aaa, don’t forget to take Ahi with you. I’m not leaving him behind. If not, you’ll keep him company.”

Pakai snarled again, understanding that she wasn’t joking. More when he saw cobras on the floor, all around that room. Thus, seeing them hissing and moving toward them, he rushed to grab that net, on which Ahi „was sleeping” at that moment, with his teeth. Then he dragged him through the Portal formed by him before that, a Portal through which Tenebre crossed already. Yet, while doing this, the jackal kept mumbling, outraged, „I’ll finish what I have in mind. Then I swear I’ll show all of you what it means to make fun of me. Then, you’ll definitely know what…” Something that was heard like a snarl only…

***

„Oh, I feel so much fresh air around!” Murmured Kam happily while clapping.

This made Ahi cook his nose, for the child’s early joy was reckless. Yet, also feeling fresh air around, he deeply breathed in, smiled, and said, „Well, I see that I was right! We are on track!”

„Of course,” Taya happily shouted. Then, slowly tapping on Akka’s left shoulder, she said, „Let’s go there! Faster!"

Seeing them so happy, Akka also smiled. Yet, he did this discreetly. Then, quickening his pace, he left Ahi behind him. However, feeling that Ahi wasn’t following him, Akka stopped and, turning toward Ahi, asked him, confused, „What about you? Don’t you come with us?”

„Of course, I’m coming! I was just… thinking about something,” Ahi said randomly. After that, he quickened his pace to catch up with Tayakkam.

Arriving at the entrance to the grotto, they stopped. They did this so suddenly that they felt something shuddering inside them. It was because of what they saw there: a limitless abyss in front of their eyes, without any possibility to descend it or climb it. That’s why Taya became sad and murmured, „I said that it wasn’t the right choice.”

„Of course it was,” replied Ahi confidently. „Actually, this is the only place from where the fresh air is felt. More than that, if you are here and as far as I can see this is the only entrance and exit in this grotto, it must be somewhere a secret passage to get to the rest of the world.”

Ahi’s remark made the three Tayakkam look in amazement at him. Then, all together, Tayakkam said, „We… didn’t climb on anything to get here.”

„Then? How did you get into this grotto?”

„I think… to be honest… eh, I don’t remember,” murmured Akka, confused.

„Parca is to blame for this,” they heard Anaya’s voice from somewhere. Yet, looking around, they didn’t see her. Up to a certain point when she suddenly appeared in front of them, walking on the void as though it was hard soil. „It was the Titanide of Fate who brought them here by deceiving them.”

„When did this happen?” Asked Ahi.

„More than three thousand years ago. Actually, Ahi, you are the guilty one for they are closed in that grotto.” A remark that made Ahi stare at her with wide-open eyes. „I mean that you are to blame for the fact that they are here. Being only a child, you told them to find a house here, in the most dangerous area of the Mount of Fear, Kaṟkaḷ Pēy!”

„Tikil’s kingdom?”

„Tetapas’s too. Actually, Kaṟkaḷ Pēy isn’t far from here. About 6 kilometers from here. Yet, even though the distance between these two grottos isn’t that big, none of the two Titans met each other.”

„Why?” Ahi childishly asked.

„You should ask Parca this. Of course, if you see her, and you recover yourself, for…”

„Ooo, look! He becomes invisible!” Shouted Kam, pointing to Ahi with his finger.

Only then, Ahi understood that something strange was happening to him. Thus, looking at his palms and at the rest of his body, he saw that parts of it were transparent already. That’s why he asked, afraid, „Do I vanish now?”

„No, you are just turning into a real ghost,” Anaya joked. „Anyway, no need for panic. It’s something that will pass soon. A kind of side effect of your mind, which cannot get used to the idea that it doesn’t have control over your body and power at the same time. That’s all. That’s why we must rush to get to Rophion Forest, where Tenebre, who has your power, is also heading to. Actually, she’s not alone. She’s with that jackal, Pakai I think is his name.”

„What about my body? Where did they leave it?” Ahi asked, outraged.

„This is something I don’t know already. Yet, you will find out the moment your power, your body, and your mind will be together again. However, before this happens, be grateful that you are a ghost and not something else. Otherwise, you would have vanished by now for sure.”

„Well, being invisible and doubting about this it’s a little bit… Wait a minute, Doubt!” Ahi shouted, looking at Tayakkam, who were also looking at him, thunderstruck, not understanding what could have made the Mago so happy.

Anaya, however, understood what he wanted to say. That’s why she told him in a joyful voice, „At least you didn’t lose your enthusiasm. Something damn good actually. So, let’s act wisely from now on and recover the time we’ve lost. Eventually, having Mayar again by our side, we will survive, for we need her if we want to live. Yet, there is a long way to Rophion Forest. That’s why we must quicken our pace. So, follow me and carefully step where I step, for this path is damn narrow. One wrong step and you definitely see the bottom of this abyss. The same goes for ghosts!”

Understanding what Anaya meant, saying, „Same goes for ghosts!” Ahi snarled, barely heard. Yet, seeing that Anaya was already far away and was moving away fast, he decided to follow her. However, what impressed even him was that after stepping on that invisible bridge, he also became invisible.

Behind them, Tayakkam scratched the back of their head, for it was weird for them to step on something they didn’t see. Nevertheless, understanding that there wasn’t anything else to do to escape that prison, they also headed toward that invisible path.

Arriving next to it, Akka murmured, „I hope it holds us all.” After that, he stepped on that bridge. Yet, right after feeling that invisible path moving, he withdrew, mumbling, „No, this won’t hold us all. So, it’s better for us to stay here. If not, we will die for sure!”

„If you want to stay there, another eternity surrounded by darkness, Tayakkam, stay there. Another chance to see the daylight, you won’t have. A chance you had thanks to Ahi. That’s why you must be grateful to him forever, for his mind remembered you after being separated from his body. That’s why he wanted to save you, but as far as I can see you are still cowards.” After that, Anaya’s voice, who talked to the three Tayakkam, vanished like an echo. Even so, even though it seemed that she scolded them, the Titan understood that it was a piece of good advice. More than that, he understood that it was time to leave that place. That’s why they followed the two ghosts.

***

A loud growl, something that made those who heard it shudder inside, was heard everywhere on the Field of Illāmal. The same growl made the wolves Vanamar stand up too eventually and, terrified, they looked around. Nevertheless, they didn’t see anything, just as it happened to Colte and Kaṇkaḷ, for, no matter where they didn’t look, they saw only the field and nothing more.

The Virgins Yatricar, however, unlike the Vanamars, didn’t even move from their place. They kept standing straight, as though they were stone statues. Thus, if they hadn’t blinked, they would have been definitely considered statues. For them, it was more important not to reveal that they were there than to show others that they were afraid of something.

Not the same happened to Colte. He didn’t buy that „normality” felt around. That’s why he started to walk up and down in front of his soldiers, growling, „I feel the scent of mold here. Something that reminds me of the afterlife.”

„The afterlife? What do you mean exactly?” Kaṇkaḷ asked him, preoccupied.

„To be honest, I’m not sure. I just feel that there is something that’s not on our side here. Same for this wind that cuts to the bones.” After that, shuddering from top to toe, Colte, shook his fur.

Kaṇkaḷ stared at him, thunderstruck, „What the hell are you talking about right now, Mūlai? There is no wind here!”

Colte snarled, watching her, „If you don’t feel it, it doesn’t mean that there is no wind. To be more precise: only you can’t feel it because you are dead. We, however, the alive ones, still feel Afterlife’s breath. That’s why we are shivering right now.”

Hearing him talking like that, Kaṇkaḷ frowned. Then she asked herself, „What the hell is he talking about? Does he have visions or what? What wind? What afterlife? Or what, for waiting so long, he sees things right now?” Yet, seeing that the skirts of her long robe started to move around her feet, she understood that Colte wasn’t beating about the bush. „He didn’t lie eventually! Just as I know who is approaching us!” Loudly she said, „I think I know who comes! It’s Kkāṟṟu! Along with his dogs Kaṇṇīr!”

„Kaṇṇīr?” Asked Colte, thunderstruck. „The Cerberus…?”

„Yep, they are: the Cerberus of the Underworld,” said Kaṇkaḷ confidently. „And… as always, our Great Master of the Deserts of the Wastes decided that it was better to hide than to look into our eyes.” Eventually, she winced, hearing Kkāṟṟu’s high-pitched laughter, the same Anaya had heard when she went to see the abyss Iṭaiyil. The same day she and Kkāṟṟu looked at the Gates of Maranam’s Kingdom.

Nevertheless, even his laughter didn’t impress Kaṇkaḷ, she still turned to the right where she heard Kkāṟṟu laughing. She didn’t see him there. Only the Field Illāmal, which was completely covered by red air, just as the horizon was red, something that made the wolves Vanamar and the Virgins Yātrīkar seem as though they were red ghosts.

Seeing this, something that was really impressive, the Yātrīkars and their commander didn’t move from their place. Not the same happened to the Vanamars, who, seeing the Cerberus Kaṇṇīr, took a step behind them. They, yes, were afraid, seeing those wide-open mouths and those fangs off which poisonous saliva was dripping. Moreover, surrounded by that red air, Kaṇṇīr seemed to be demons, who escaped from hell.

Kaṇkaḷ, however, seeing those dogs, smiled. Even more, when she realized that by showing their fangs to each other, the Vanamars and the Kaṇṇīrs seemed so pathetic because, without the order of their master, they couldn’t do anything. Even so, even though he didn’t hear Kkāṟṟu commanding something to his Cerberus, Colte told his wolves, „Nobody moves! Not even one of you! The same for you, Kkāṟṟu: keep your dogs in place, for there is no need to fight once we are in the same camp.”

He winced eventually when he heard Kkāṟṟu telling him in mockery, „Are you sure that we are in the same camp, wolf? If yes, you are definitely stupid, for Kkāṟṟu isn't on anybody’s side. Even more, after you invaded this field I love so much, the one you touched with your stinky paws. Thus, you made me wish to rip off your skin while you are still alive. That's why, only one command will be enough for your wolves to be only bones on this field eventually. You have seen my „dogs” already, haven’t you?”

„The same can happen to your „dogs” if the Vanamars pounce on them!” Kaṇkaḷ hissed through her teeth. „Let’s not forget that the Vanamars have sharp teeth, even stronger than of the Kaṇṇīrs'. Thus, who knows who can be eventually broken into pieces?!”

„Bla-bla-bla!” The wind replied in mockery. „We decided to be philosophers while we are on this field.” Then… he burst out laughing, „Well, I’m a poet right now!”

„What I think is that you have lost your mind!”

„Are you sure about this?”

„Absolutely. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been on the brink of war with Maranam’s army. This… for who knows whose mean aims. That’s why I think I will ask you this: who are you serving now? Eris? Dike? Ahi?”

„What will I win if I tell you that?”

„Stay alive?!”

„As though you have something important to offer. So, doll Yātrīkar, do you really think that the Wind of the Deserts is afraid of a crazy girl like you? The one who killed her own mother and sister just to have their power!”

This made Kaṇkaḷ freeze. She was afraid. She couldn’t understand how Kkāṟṟu found out about her biggest secret. How did he find out that for power she sold her mother to the Diges? That she later killed Keyṉ when she found that that one was Karina in fact. She never told anyone about this. She was even sure that the wind couldn’t read her mind. Yet, another explanation for this she didn’t find. That’s why she asked him, „Where did you find this out?” Kaṇkaḷ stuttered. „This is something…”

„…should have remained a secret?” Replied Kkāṟṟu ironically. „Well, no secret can remain a secret in this world. The same happens to your past. Yet, how I found this out or who told me would remain a secret. A big one actually, for… I don’t really intend to make your life easier. Ups, sorry, I forgot that you have no damn idea how being alive feels!”

„As though you know how this feels!” Kaṇkaḷ snarled. After that, Kkāṟṟu felt the bones of his face cracking.

Even so, he didn’t give up, even though that feeling was something damn unpleasant. He only moved his head to the left and to the right until he didn’t hear his bones cracking anymore. After that, squeezing the fingers of his right hand, in a fist, which he pressed later with the thumb, made them crack a little, a sound that made Kaṇkaḷ feel her ears buzzing as though someone hit her head with a sledgehammer. That’s why she shook her head several times while Kkāṟṟu cracked the bones of his fingers. Then, furious, she colored her eyes bright red, something that set fire to Kkāṟṟu’s body.

Seeing their master burning, Kkāṟṟu’s dogs started to yelp desperately. Others were snarling, something that enraged the wind, who eventually yelled at them, „Keep quiet! I need to focus here!” After that, slapping his body with his palms, he started to extinguish the fire. Nevertheless, no matter how hard he wasn’t slapping, the extinguished flames were igniting again right away. Something that was driving him crazy. Thus, to show his enemies that he wasn’t weak, the wind used his power and Kaṇkaḷ felt as thus a sledgehammer hit the top of her head, lying her to the ground, that she even saw birds flying in front of her eyes when she hit the ground with her head again. Yet, even though everything was moving around her, she still saw Colte jumping up and down while a big fist, made from red sand, was hitting to the left and to the right.

That game made her have visions. Or maybe only her eyes were dancing on the orbits?! Just as Kkāṟṟu was dancing in front of her eyes. Even so, the Devilish Virgin found eventually the strength to sit, shaking her head to clear her mind. Nevertheless, the moment she saw a huge fist in flames coming toward her from the heights, not being able to move, she closed her eyes and stunted.

Eventually, she didn't feel the hit. Only the noise to her right and that she was moving from that place. That’s why she opened her eyes after hearing the sound of the hit to her right. Then, looking to her left, she saw Colte, who grabbed the skirts of her robe and moved her away from that fist.

Colte’s decision wasn’t a wise one eventually, for this enraged the wind even more. Then, right in front of Colte’s eyes, who was looking terrified at that fire fist, it doubled, then tripled, and so on until it got to twelve fists. Right after that, the wolf also saw Kkāṟṟu’s body, bending in front, hitting left and right with all those twelve fists, completely out of his mind and intending to finish with all his enemies at once. Actually, he was lucky and made many victims, for the Virgins and the Vanamars, who didn’t receive an order to move from their place, were easy victims for Kkāṟṟu. That’s why, here and there, flying bodies were seen around.

That game, however, of „hitting the ball,” played by Kkāṟṟu, was a real torture for Kaṇkaḷ. Thus, looking at those flying „balls,” she felt even dizzier than before. Something that made her close her eyes to clear her mind. Yet, the moment she felt that she was rising in the air, she opened her eyes again and saw herself hanging upside down. It was because of Kkāṟṟu, who grabbed her with the left hand, right from her waist. Then, he squeezed that waist so much as though he wanted to break it into two.

Even so, understanding that Kkāṟṟu was stronger than her, Kaṇkaḷ decided not to give up. That’s why she tried to push her body up, supporting her palms on the wind’s fingers, using her power to make him release her. She even asked Mūlai for help. Yet, the wolf couldn’t do too much for her because the moment he tried to bite Kkāṟṟu’s right leg, the wind grabbed the wolf’s fur with three fingers, then he started to shake him so fast as though the wolf was a jar, inside of which was something that had to be mixed. Eventually, grabbing him by the rear legs, he started to hit the ground as though he was clearing carpets with a stick.

That’s why the Vanamar was yelping and asking for help, feeling each bone cracking when he was hitting the ground. He even thought that he wouldn’t make it eventually to stay alive. Yet, he was lucky, for, looking to his right, unwillingly, when he hit the ground once again, he finally saw his salvation: the monsters Veḷḷam or Surge as they were still known. Those monsters were Tikil’s monsters, whom he created in the depths of the earth, and who, at his command, pounced on the wind, intending to break him into pieces.

Veḷḷam were terrifying. Not only how they looked, but also how they acted. They had the face of a devil and a Cerberus’s body, being able to liquefy when they were caught in a trap. More than that, they had the power to liquefy the victim’s body after immobilizing her. That’s why the monsters Kaṇṇīr started to desperately yelp when the Veḷḷam’s paws were touching their bodies, for, created from burning sand, they were losing power when they were touched by the liquefied hands of Tikil’s monsters. Something that surrounded that place with a thick smoke, a dark-reddish one, so difficult to breathe and which was burning everyone’s throat while entering their lungs.

Thus, feeling that he couldn’t also normally breathe, Kkāṟṟu released his victims, who, touching the soil, moaned, and felt dizzy. Then he covered his mouth and his nose with the sleeve and started to cough. Yet, seeing that this didn’t help him, Kkāṟṟu shouted, „Back! Hide in the depths of the ground! Now!”

He had been forced eventually to suddenly turn to the left when he heard Tikil saying to him, „You won’t have this luck, Kkāṟṟu!” After that, before Kkāṟṟu could react, Tikil grabbed him by the waist, trying to put him to the ground. Yet, being both powerful, he couldn’t do it so easily. That’s why Kkāṟṟu also started to share slaps and fists just as he was receiving, something that made them seem as though they had been enemies since the beginning of the world.

Thus, focused on their own fight, none of them was able to control his monsters. That’s why, out of their master’s control, the monsters attacked each other, breaking their enemies into pieces. Yet, not only Kkāṟṟu’s monsters suffered in that fight. Tikil’s monsters too. Even the Yātrīkars and the Vanamars have been hurt, for, being out of Tikil’s control, Veḷḷam weren’t able to make the difference between enemy and ally. That’s why they attacked everyone they saw in front of them.

Then, in the middle of that madness, Inmar’s voice was suddenly heard, „Attack! All of them! Now! Don’t leave any of them alive!” After that, from that black and red air, Inmar’s foxes pounced on the Vanamars and the Devilish Virgins, ripping off their skin or setting fire to them by throwing fireballs over them. This way, the foxes managed to bring hell to earth, right on the Field of Illāmal, which was burning and smoking at that moment, something that made even Colte and Kaṇkaḷ shudder when they came back to their senses. Yet, it was too late to change something. Even for them…