„What are they doing?” Karayel wondered. He was at that moment not that far from the Barrier, in a hidden place, along with Īramāṉatu, looking at the Coal Burners, who were carrying big rocks on their shoulders, bringing them from the rocky area to the Field Ātmā.

„What do I know?!” Replied Īramāṉatu dryly. „Just a way of chasing the boredom away?”

Karayel looked at his friend, frowning, as though asking that one, „Are you stupid or only pretending to be one?” Seeing his friend shrugging, bored, a hint that he didn’t know what the enemy was doing and that he would have preferred to be left alone, Karayel shook his head reproachfully, mumbling „You are definitely crazy!” After that, sneaking a little bit closer to the Barrier, he looked even more carefully at the rocks that had been brought by the Coal Burners closer to the Barrier.

There, Karayel could see that the rocks had similar size and form, and a white-gray color, pleasant to look at. What was unpleasant about those rocks was their lumpy surface that was injuring the skin of the Coal Burners’palms when they put them on their shoulders or let them on the ground, in a place already known and not random. Yet, despite the wounds on their palms, none of the Coal Burners said something or complained. They didn’t even moan and this was strange for Karayel, who kept observing their work. This made Karayel understand that they were acting strangely and that the fact that they brought those rocks there was incomprehensible, as though they thought to use them to protect themselves in case of an attack from Paṉi Makkaḷ people’s part.

Yet, even though all this was weird, Karayel made no sound while looking at it. Still, he had many questions spinning in his head and he was confused. Even so, he decided to look for answers to those questions later. What was essential for him at that moment was to understand how many rocks the Coal Burners brought on the field and for what reason. Because of this, he took thoughts, at one moment, looking as though he was far away from that place.

He winced eventually the moment Īramāṉatu touched his right shoulder. Thus, looking confused and scared at his friend, because he didn’t feel him coming closer, Karayel finally saw Īramāṉatu pointing with his head to the forest, to their left. There, they saw Vvokkam sitting, with his hands over his knees, somehow hanging, as though he was someone who suffered a defeat. Vvokkam also had his eyes closed and his head a little bowed in front. Yet, even if it seemed as though the King of the Coal Burners had accepted his defeat, Karayel didn’t allow it to deceive him and told the wind to his right, „They plan something! Especially that Vvokkam!”

„Well, that kind of goes without saying, because they’ve brought all these rocks on the Field Ātmā for something. Yet, what exactly do they plan, anyway?”

„Nothing good, I think! Actually, I’m sure of this because… look over there!”

Looking to his right where Karayel pointed with his arm, Īramāṉatu saw a Coal Burner sharpening a knife, which seemed one of those used for hunting. Yet, the top and the blade of the knife were different from a hunting weapon, and this made him attentive too. Especially, what made him attentive was a primitive chisel and a hammer used for carving. And, understanding this, Īramāṉatu winced, saying, barely heard, after this, „They want to carve these stones!”

„That’s right! They want to give a form to the stones!”

„Fake soldiers?”

„I’m more tempted to think that's a bait! That’s why I say to rush!”

„To rush? Where?” Asked Īramāṉatu, widening his eyes when he spotted Karayel sneaking to the Camp of Beast again.

„To tell others about what we’ve seen!” Whispered Karayel. After that, turning invisible, the wind straightened his back and, at a sure step, he headed north where his father was, along with other winds, having a Council.

Īramāṉatu, even though he didn’t understand great thing about what Karayel tried to do, followed him. Yet, he, even though also hid his body not to be seen leaving by taking that invisible form, didn’t look only in front, but also around. Thus, he saw as Vvokkam, who looked as though was wholly immersed in thoughts by then, spied on them from the corner of his eyes. And, seeing this, Īramāṉatu told himself, „Smart move! Cunning! One meant to deceive the winds! Well, great Vvokkam, it seems to me that you have to wait, and for a long time, to see this because it’s not as easy as it seems to be to deceive a wind. Just as it isn’t easy at all to plan an attack over them. Do you know why? Because these winds, which live on Paṉi Makkaḷ, have lost their minds since long ago and they are capable of anything when they have to protect their country.” After that, gnashing his teeth, Īramāṉatu rushed to catch up with Karayel, who was already far away from that place.

***

„Kkāṟṟu’s spies work well, as far as I see,” Vvokkam heard Tikil’s voice behind him. Because of this, he opened his eyes. Yet, he didn’t look at the Titan but at the Barrier, there where he felt the presence of the two winds, due to his magic power, which he got from Tikil. Nevertheless, even if he felt the winds’power, Vvokkam didn’t see them. Even so, he cunningly told Tikil eventually:

„I’m pretty sure of this, as of the fact that they work for us, thus.”

„Are you saying this because they seem to have bitten the bite?” Asked Tikil, looking at the Coal Burners, who started to carve the stones with their big knives and at the stone pieces that were all around.

„Not only because of this. Also because, by coming here, they let us know that they are insecure and that they aren’t ready to prevent an attack from us.”

„I wouldn’t be that sure if I was you,” said Tikil, yawning, bored, sitting eventually on the grass, not that far from Vvokkam.

Looking over there, Vvokkam saw Tikil lying on the grass already, supporting his body with his elbows, having his eyes closed even if it seemed that he was watching the sky. He saw Tikil continuously yawning, bored because he hated to wait. Yet, he had nothing else better to do at that moment than wait. That’s why, as he could, the Titan tried to pass the time somehow, even if it wasn’t something he liked: to do nothing when he was already free to do a lot of things.

Vvokkam also knew that Tikil hated to do nothing. Even so, he did nothing to make Tikil feel better, just as he seemed not to be bothered by that state of mind of the Titan. All that mattered to Vvokkam was not to fail. That’s why he decided to risk using that plan with the stones, even if he wasn’t completely sure that it would work eventually. Even so, by bringing those stones in front of the Barrier, he decided to give them the same form of a bear as Rueb did with his stones, hoping to confuse his enemy and make him weak, taking him out of the hideout and finishing that useless fight. The reason? Well, Vvokkam considered that it was unworthy of a skillful king to stay hidden and avoid seeing the enemy face to face. What mattered to him was to fight and, this way, to show the enemy who was in charge in that battle. Yet, Inlan Diar, along with the rest of his enemies, whom she hid on her lands, preferred to be cowards instead of brave, and this made Vvokkam irritated. Nevertheless, as he couldn’t do anything else to bring them to the battlefield other than using cunning tricks, Vvokkam decided to use the plan of the stones.

Yes, he decided this, but everything was too slow for his taste, and those stones, even if they had brought them in a rush on the field, looked difficult to carve. It required a lot of work and it seemed as though they needed months and not days to give them the form they wanted. Months that Vvokkam didn’t have at his disposal. That’s why he told his Coal Burners to finish the work he gave them in a few days. Yet, even those days he gave to them seemed too much to him. He wanted a quick job, a perfect one to be the first on the battlefield. He would have preferred that the job be done in hours only. Yet, he understood that it was impossible because the rest of the Coal Burners didn’t have magic powers. Only Vvokkam had magic power. Even so, he wouldn’t have been able to do that job alone. Also, it wasn’t a good idea to give the Coal Burners magic power because he was afraid of a rebellion on their part, he was afraid to be dethroned. That’s why he accepted the smallest of the evils: waiting.

The same thing Tikil felt, who knew nothing about Vvokkam’s plan. He also considered that everything was too slow. That’s why he started his own plan. The Titan also didn’t say anything about that plan to his ally, considering that that one was unworthy to know something. Yet, even if he thought about his plan all that day, he couldn’t decide anything because nothing was perfect for him. All that Tikil knew was that it had to be something related to the Mago of the Black Stones and his power, but he wasn’t aware of what it could be. Even so, he was sure that if he had been able to make that plan, it would have been perfect to defeat Paṉi Makkaḷ, seeing that Kingdom falling apart eventually. Yet, even if he felt all this, he had no idea where to start and where to end.

Eventually, seeing the Coal Burners, at Vvokkam’s demand, bringing those stones to the Field Ātmā, he decided to make his perfect plan later and focus on what Vvokkam seemed to plan. That’s why he approached his ally in the end, thinking that Vvokkam was too focused on what he was doing and, talking to himself at some point, would reveal his plan in front of Tikil. Something that didn’t happen eventually and this made Tikil cook his nose, considering strange the fact that the Coal Burner kept silent at that moment when he talked a lot before, letting him know that he wasn’t comfortable with this or that. Only when he saw Īramāṉatu and Karayel spying on them from behind the Barrier and when he spotted Vvokkam spying on the winds even if he seemed too immersed in thoughts, Tikil understood the king’s plan and told himself, „Damn venomous cobra: he knew that the enemy is spying on him, but he let them do this. Something I hate but still something that seems to work for us too.” Yet, even if Tikil understood this, he said nothing in the end.

Until the time when he saw the two winds heading north. Then, he decided that it was time to let Vvokkam know that he was there and make him talk to him about his plan. How to do that?! He didn’t know. Just as he didn’t know why the winds headed to the north of Paṉi Makkaḷ when the Palace was to the Est of the Kingdom. A thought that kept spinning in his head, making him confused while still lying on that grass with his eyes closed.

Eventually, when he remembered that Inlan Diar was cautious and that she wouldn’t have ever allowed the beasts and her people to live together, he winced. Then, sitting comfortably, Tikil looked at the Barrier, continuously frowning. A grimace that was spotted by Vvokkam in the end, who asked Tikil, soon after this, „Something happened?”

„Yeah, I think I know where the winds and the red foxes are.”

It’s been Vvokkam’s turn to frown. „Do you know this? How?”

„I suspect only. Yet, I think I’m right in thinking so and that our enemies have their camp in the North of Paṉi Makkaḷ.”

„Then, do you think we should attack from the North?”

„No, it’ll be a bad idea. Yet, it’s good to know where their camp is and if it’s necessary to act, we’ll make a plan B. That’s why, tell me: what’s the deal with the stones?”

„A trick only. I think we should give them a form. A bear one. After that, using my magic power, to give them „life” too. Thus, we’ll set a trap outside the Barrier, waiting for the perfect chance to attack.”

„What I say is to make a new plan. After you give life to the stone bears.”

„Another plan? What exactly do you have in mind?” Vvokkam asked, confused.

„At…,” Tikil kept silent eventually the moment he remembered about Coallar. Thus, aware that the King of Coal was more than capable of using fire and other kinds of explosives, Tikil jumped to his feet and, turning to Vvokkam, told him, „You should do what you’ve started. I’ll take care of the rest and I assure you that it’ll be damn effective!” After that, quickening his pace and putting on the hood of his cloak, Tikil entered the darkness of the forest.

„What is this one planning this time?” Vvokkam wondered, even more confused than before. He even stood up and took a few steps toward the forest, thinking to follow Tikil and see what was that one planning. He stopped eventually when he understood that Tikil was actually right and that it was important to finish carving those stone bears first. That’s why he suddenly turned his back to the woods and headed toward his soldiers, telling them to rush because it was time to finish that slow work.

Turning his back to the woods, Vvokkam didn’t notice someone's eyes spying on him. It looked as though many people were watching him, people hidden through the leaves and lianas, but there weren’t the eyes of the woods. Who was spying on the Coal Burners? The Nymphs. Those who were sent there by Melia, because it was absolutely necessary to know what the enemy was planning. And, coming there, the nymphs asked for nature’s help, aware that it was the only way not to be spotted by Tikil. To their great luck, Tikil didn’t „smell” them there, even if he passed a few meters by them. He, deciding so suddenly to enter the woods, forced the nymphs to stick practically to the trunks, covered by lianas later. Thus, due to their green hair and the vestment that had the same color as the trunks and the leaves, they’d been mistaken for nature itself. For how long they were safe? None of them knew. That’s why they decided that it was safer for them to enter the woods too, at least for the moment, but to keep an eye on the enemy’s camp too.

***

A weird clink was suddenly heard all over Tenebre Forest, especially in the northern area, where the Grotto of the King of Coal had once been. Hearing that clink, Nikkari, Melia, Zeal, and the rest of the nymphs suddenly stopped, carefully looking around. They found the forest too strange to their taste, thus, just as the green of the leaves was weird because it suddenly turned black, with strange blinks on their shiny surface. The same happened to the lianas that had stood still by then but which started to wrap one around the other so suddenly as though they were trying to impede themselves to react in another way than the one the forest itself wanted.

This strangeness of the lianas made Melia seem more worried than ever. And, carefully looking at them, she told the others, „I think we should rush now! Someone’s approaching us! An enemy!”

„Maranam?” Nikkari asked, frowning.

„No,” whispered Alena, barely heard. „This one is weaker than Maranam, but still stronger than us.”

„How do you know all this?” Inmar asked her, staring at Alena.

The fox smiled. Then, again in a whisper, she said, „Because I felt this power before. Inside the catacombs of Kaṟkaḷ Pēy, where I’ve been actually borned. A long story, this one, but cutting it short, I tell you that we should listen to the nymph and rush to leave this place.”

Alena’s answer confused everybody, especially Inmar, who, even if she had known her friend for two decades already, never heard Alena’s story before. At the same time, she never asked Alena about her past, thinking that if she decided to keep silent about this, it was probably because it was too painful for her. Inmar decided this for her friend’s good, but she never thought that behind a happy and courageous fox, a dark past was hiding. She never blamed Alena for not talking about her past, but even so, Inmar felt betrayed at that moment when she finally heard something about Alena. This happened because she felt unworthy and that she hadn’t ever been able to gain Alena’s confidence.

Inmar winced eventually when she felt Alena’s glance focused on her. Because of this, she looked straight into her friend’s eyes, who whispered eventually, „Don’t take it personally, Inmar! It has nothing to do with you, my silence.”

„Then? What’s the reason for your total silence?”

„I just… tried to survive, Inmar,” murmured Alena, sadly smiling. After that, when she felt that she was losing strength, she closed her eyes. She did not keep silent that time, but said, still eyes closed, „You know, I dream to survive now too. That’s why, let’s go north, to the rocky area of Kaṟkaḷ Pēy! The only place that can save us.”

Nikkari opposed the idea. „It’s dangerous,” she said. „Walking until we get, on foot, to the rocky area of Kaṟkaḷ Pēy, it’s suicide! Why? Because there is the snake Tetapas there, who, if he finds out that we’ve decided to pass by there, will use his power to drag us inside his grotto, taking our souls eventually by closing them inside of the Jar Koṭi.”

„As far as I know, Tetapas is tied by that damn grotto,” interfered Eṉōl in their talk. „Thus, even if he feels us, he won’t be able to do anything to us.”

„I have a different opinion, though,” said Zeal thoughtfully. Then, the moment she felt that everybody was with his eyes on her, waiting for her answer, the girl looked at them, saying, „The dream! The one I had not that long ago, where Tetapas appeared. Then… the message he sent to me through Argol, to look for the Priestesses Uyarvu. All this, it doesn’t seem random to me anymore.”

„He knew that we would head eventually over there,” murmured Nikkari, confused. „The question is still: how? How did he know that we would decide so?”

„Āram!” Melia suddenly whispered, and the tone of her voice, shaking and severe, made everybody wince. She, even if everybody looked at her, preferred to watch the ground. „It seems to me that what I heard from the Dryads is true: Āram fights by Maranam’s side this time. Because of this, she sent to Tetapas the thought that he’d have important guests. Tetapas, as anxious as always or maybe cunning, preferred to make sure that the message he received was the right one, and, for this, he showed up in the Princess’s dream, after „randomly” sending a message to Argol. This is what makes me think that’s not a good idea to go there. It can be a trap.”

„Then, let’s do exactly what he wanted us to do!” Zeal said, confidently.

„Are you crazy?” Inmar asked, staring at Zeal. „It’s suicide.”

„Not if we act wisely. At first, let’s split up! You should go north, then, suddenly, move east and find a way to cross the borders of our kingdom. Meanwhile, I’ll be the bait!” And, without waiting for the others’acceptance, she turned her back to them, advancing on the same path they got there.

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Eṉōl, seeing Zeal moving away from them, decided to leave Alena with the nymphs and follow his princess, as Inlan Diar asked him to do: to be always by Zeal’s side. He couldn’t do this eventually because Nikkari stopped him by grabbing his arm, telling him, „It’s dangerous, commander!”

„It’ll be even more dangerous if we leave her alone! She can fall into Maranam’s trap and… lose her, eventually!”

„Something impossible!” Melia replied, suddenly. „Not as long as I’m with her. Not alone, but with the other nymphs that can protect her. Meanwhile, commander, stay here because you can help Nikkari with Alena. We’ll take care of Zeal in your place.” After that, taking a harmonica from her waist, one made from an oak leaf, she followed Zeal, blowing the harmonica to send to the other nymphs to be ready for a fight if it’s necessary. Yet, she also told the nymphs to be careful because it was necessary not to fail that day.

Seeing Melia and Inmar, who followed the nymph right away, saying no word to the others, already losing themselves in the woods, Nikkari slowly frowned. It was strange for her to see two strange allies heading to defend Zeal: the nymph - who had climbed on a liana, moving away, and a fox, who suddenly hid in a bush to lose her footsteps. Eventually, understanding that, in times of war, nothing was strange, Nikkari looked at the commander, telling him, „Let’s go too! There is no time to waste!” Then, without waiting for his acceptance, Nikkari used her power to form a Portal from coals and rocks, taken from what was left of Coallar’s ex-hide-out. Then, when it was already formed, she passed first through that mirror from smoke, which was seen inside the Portal.

Eṉōl hesitated. He didn’t move from his place, staring toward the point into the woods where Zeal lost her traces eventually. The man was so worried that the preoccupation was sparkling in his eyes. At the same time, he felt his palms sweat, and that his heart was beating faster than usual. Heartbeats felt by Alena’s palms too, who was barely touching his chest. Something that made her whisper eventually, „It’ll be everything alright, commander! The princess-snake will be just fine!”

„How do you know this?” Eṉōl asked, without watching her.

„I… feel it! Unlike you, I also trust her because I know what Zeal can do to survive. Actually, we all know how cunning she can be. A cunningness that only a cobra can have, one that not even Tenebre, who’s considered the Queen of the Eternal Nights and the Titanide of Tenebres, ever had. This is what makes me trust Zeal and you should do the same, commander. You should trust yourself more because you've taught her many of the things she knows. And, as I know that Zeal is a good pupil too, she won’t ever forget what you’ve taught her.”

„Maybe you’re right, but still, it’s dangerous. More now when Maranam and Tikil are around.”

„They are also built from flesh and bones, commander. They can also be killed.”

„How do you know all this?” Eṉōl asked, confused, looking at her from the corner of his eyes. He saw Alena smiling, even if she had her eyes still closed. After that, he felt her arms wrapping closer to his throat. She didn’t do that afraid to fall off his back, but because she needed to send him all the trust she had inside. That’s why, when her arms wrapped more around his neck, Eṉōl felt a strange peace inside. This confused him a lot. Yet, even if he understood that that peace was due to Alena, who he knew as their enemy, he didn’t oppose it. He did that because he understood that, to be free to act and protect themselves, he needed to be calm and clearly think. That’s why, when Alena whispered, „I just know it!” He made the final decision: he turned his back to the path where Melia, Zeal, and Inmar left and, with his head up, he followed Nikkari, passing through the same Portal, which suddenly closed behind him. After that, when the Portal vanished, the stones and the coals that formed it fell with a bang to the ground.

One of the stones, touching the top of the pile on which it fell, rolled down on it eventually, getting to the ground. Once down, it started to smoke strangely as though letting someone know that something strange happened in that place. After that, as though receiving a command, the stone suddenly turned to a lump of burning coal while the other stones also started to smoke. Actually, the whole pile of stones started to smoke, filling the area with a thick smoke, difficult to breathe. This reduced considerably the visibility in that place as if nature was protecting itself this way.

Nikkari’s trick, because those stones started to smoke because of her, didn’t deceive Tikil eventually. This one, appearing next to that pile of stones, seconds only after Eṉōl, Nikkari, and Alena passed through the Portal, carefully looked around, saying, „A camouflage!” Then, strangely smiling, he added, „One I didn’t expect to see here, ever. Just as I’ve never thought that the King of Coal, the famous and fearsome Coallar, would be dust and ashes one day. Yet, all in good time, King! It has always been this way: an old dog dies when his time comes. After that, all is history. In your case, you left something behind: your source of power, which makes me think that I can have a benefit from it.”

Saying this, Tikil burst into a peal of hysterical laughter, a powerful one that made the horizon resound. Even the leaves in the trees started to shiver even weirder than before, and the black of their tiny and shaky bodies started to shine. Seconds only after this, the black of the leaves started to liquefy, dripping on the ground and making it steam because those were drops of pitch, falling off the leaves, drops controlled by someone’s power. Whose power? It was unclear.

What was clear was their form and their impressive power because, once touching the ground, the drops weren’t absorbed by the soil but were still seen on it, as small black beads. Then, when the next drop was falling from above, filling the air with more steam, it joined the first drop, forming a kind of chain. This was really strange because no matter how many drops of pitch didn’t fall from above, none of the leaves lost their form. Also, the black of those leaves kept their shine. It seemed that the shining of the leaves was what ramped up the number of the drops of pitch and the steam, making that pile of stones smoke denser and denser.

That process wasn’t invisible, just as the falling of those drops didn’t pass unnoticed. Yet, it was mute because no sound was heard while those leaves dropped. Even so, Tikil noticed it and heard the almost deaf noise of the drops, looking at that process from the corner of his eyes only. He was spying on them because it was strange. It seemed like that string of beads was targeting him. Even so, Tikil didn’t move from the place where he was. At the same time, he looked calm, at all worried about being hurt. Tikil was only curious to see to whom he owed that honor of being targeted by beads.

Nevertheless, his effort was worthless because he couldn’t understand who his enemy was. Even so, he didn’t give up or run away, just as he hasn’t been afraid of being liquefied. Tikil only cunningly smiled when he said, „A tactic worthy of a King of Coal.” He said that when only a few meters were left between him and the string of beads. Then, when those small drops of black liquid were only a meter away from him, Tikil used his power, forming a black sphere between his cupped palms, a sphere that exploded eventually, without hurting him, but which swept everything around.

Thus, when the impact of that explosion stopped being felt around him, Tikil suddenly moved his palms away from each other, stopping that hot string of beads movement. After that, when he positioned his palms face-to-face, forming ninety-degree angles with his arms, that string raised in the air and started to snake. Then, waving his arms around him, the Titan drew different lines in the air, painting the strange image of an oval and forming a kind of sack, one tailored from black material, the color of coal, with lines of fire on it. And, when the sack was completely outlined in front of Tikil, the black liquid, which was dripping on the leaves and which snaked around him by then, controlled by Tikil’s power, suddenly headed toward the sack, entering it at the Titan’s command. After that, when the sack swallowed all the liquid, Tikil squeezed his fists and, as though pulling two ropes to the sides, he tied that sack, and the snakes of pitch from inside it started to agitate, feeling the unpleasant sensation of captivity.

That „anxiety” of the snakes of pitch made Tikil smile. After that, he burst into laughter, feeling himself a mighty God. And he was actually powerful because, suddenly pulling that sack toward him, he used his power to turn it very small, grabbing it to his waist eventually. Then, when he knew that the sack was safe, he slowly tapped over it, murmuring, „We are good now!” He was happy when he turned his back to that place, entering the forest and taking the same path Zeal, Inmar, and Melia took when they entered the woods. By doing this, Tikil seemed to know exactly what path to take or what the three were planning to deceive him.

Behind him, so suddenly that seemed unreal, Poṟi Ivar showed up. The wild boar didn’t appear there by magic, but he was revealed by that black smoke and steam from around the pile of stones. Then, when the smoke vanished and the steam evaporated, he looked behind Tikil, who didn’t see him. The boar’s eyes even started to burn when the voice of the King of Coal had been heard around him, „You won a battle, Tikil, not the war! I swear I’ll win the next battle, seeing your head falling off your shoulders, a head cut by the sword of one of my heirs. Undoubtedly.” After that, slowly turning his back to the pile of stones that started to smoke again, Poṟi Ivar jumped over a rock, running away from that place, to meet the other Paṉṟi wild boars that were waiting for him. It was absolutely necessary for them to enter the fight because this was their role in that war: to fight! It’s because of this that Nikkari turned her son into a beast, willing to win the war, not only a single battle.

***

„You seem to know this place very well,” Eṉōl mentioned when he saw Nikkari heading straight, without hesitation.

„A truth in fact,” replied Nikkari, watching in front only. After that, opening her right palm, she made a few lit coals appear, floating around them to show them the path.

„May I ask where you know this place from?” The commander insisted.

Nikkari sadly smiled. After that, she sighed, feeling tremendous pressure over her chest when she said, „I’ve been born here, commander. That’s why I know this place as the palm of my hand. A place I always wanted to leave behind, escaping from it.”

„Escaping what? The destiny you have since you’ve appeared in this world? Something impossible, I say.”

„I also know this, but… it’s still a freedom I dream about.”

„A dream you want to fulfill at any cost. Why?”

„Because it’s the only way I can feel freedom running through my veins,” murmured Nikkari, barely heard, feeling sadness taking over her again. After that, sighing, she bowed her head and closed her eyes, allowing herself to feel the magic of that place.

Seeing her sad after such words, Eṉōl kept silent even if he wanted to ask more questions about that strange place Nikkari seemed to know. However, he didn’t dare to ask them because it seemed worthless for him to know something if at stake was someone’s inner peace. He felt that Nikkari suffered because of her destiny, something that made her not want it. At the same time, he decided to say nothing about his thoughts and questions because he understood that it was something hers, something she didn’t want to tell others, only to give them a second chance to survive and fulfill their dreams even if she hadn’t been able to do that.

Eventually, when Nikkari asked, „How does it feel to be a human, commander?” Eṉōl looked at her, confused.

„To be human? What exactly do you mean?”

„At a human being’s existence. I want to know how it feels to be one.”

Even more confused than before, Eṉōl stared behind her, trying to understand, from the way Nikkari was walking, what exactly she wanted to find out from him. Looking at her, Eṉōl saw her hunched when she proudly walked by then. Even her voice was different from the time she passed through the Portal. What was different? The shaking of her voice. Yes, that shaking of her voice, barely felt, like the one felt at an upset child. Yet, she was stubborn not to show it freely, trying to make justice on her own even if she knew that her power was limited. This was what made Eṉōl wonder when he understood this, „What should all that mean? More than that… why does Nikkari ask such strange questions now?”

The commander winced eventually the moment he heard Nikkari saying, „There’s nothing strange with the questions I make. I just… want to know what humans feel because I’ve never lived among them. I’ve always lived among magic beings like Coallar, Ahi, or Inlan Diar. You… you seem to have human blood.” This answer and the fact that Nikkari could read his thoughts made Eṉōl stare at her with wide-opened eyes. He seemed even more surprised when he noticed Nikkari watching him. Moreover, when she said, „You probably wonder how I know all this.” Eṉōl mechanically nodded yes. „I saw it, in your eyes.”

„In my eyes? Is there a mirror or something there?”

„Yes, you’re right. Actually, the glance of each human being is a mirror. Yet, even if all of them know this, that through the humans’eyes one can read the soul and see the past and the future, none of them seems to be aware of this. Yet, I’m not only aware of that mirror, but I can also look in it.”

„And? What is my future?” Eṉōl asked, after a few seconds of hesitation. Yet, seconds later, when Nikkari was about to answer his question, he shook his head. „No, I don’t want to know it.”

„Why? It can bring you luck in the future. Also, it can be an advantage for you.”

„Or… it can bring me closer to my death. At the same time, I don’t think that knowing my future will help me in anything. No, it’ll preoccupy me more.”

Nikkari smiled again. „The typical human behavior. I mean now the fact that you prefer to live in the shadow when it’s so easy to live bathed by the light.”

„It also depends on the light because… there are different types of light: those that are blessed, born from a pure heart, or coming from the sky while there are other lights that seem bright but are tricky in fact. The light of the fire for example: it seems alive and friendly, but it still burns. The same happens to the light of the sun: it can scorch if Helyos is angry.”

„Now you’re wrong, commander!”

„In what exactly?” Eṉōl asked, staring at her.

„That the light of the fire only burns and that it’s tricky,” replied Nikkari, turning her back to him. An answer that made Eṉōl feel that he’d been wrong in something. „Do you know why I think you are wrong?”

„Because I don’t know this world?”

„Not only. It’s because you don’t know yourself. Just as it happens to any alive being in this world. You assume that you know everything, but you know nothing in fact. Like… everybody talks about the elements that created the world, but none of these creatures can name these elements.”

„Water, air, land, and fire,” whispered Alena, a whisper that made Eṉōl wince. This happened because the commander wasn’t aware that she was awakened. Actually, he remembered that she lost consciousness at one point. Looking at her, he saw that Alena still had her eyes closed while her head was slowly swinging on his left shoulder.

Nikkari, at all surprised by the fox’s answer, said, „She’s right. The fire, along with the other three elements she mentioned, created this earth. Then, when the four elements joined their power, they made other elements appear in this world, which created everything we see right now.”

Eṉōl shook his head, confused. „I thought Father Chaos created everything.”

„And you aren’t mistaken now. He did that. Yet, he was able to do that only by controlling the power of the four elements he found in Cosmos. Today, in Cosmos, only two of the elements still exist there.”

„Only two? Where did the other two vanish then?” Eṉōl asked, even more surprised than before.

„They didn’t vanish. Those elements have just… returned to the place they belong to, to Īṭaṉ Ellaiyaṟṟa or the Eden, as it is still known nowadays.”

Saying this, Nikkari stopped. The same Eṉōl did. However, he stopped only because he saw that Nikkari stopped. Nevertheless, he didn’t understand what exactly made her act this way. Seconds later, after watching her, the commander became attentive, seeing a torch appearing in her right hand - a red torch. Then, seconds after that, another torch, blue this time, appeared in her left hand. Torches Nikkari threw in front so suddenly. To the commander’s great surprise, the torches didn’t fall to the ground but kept floating in the air, approximately two meters above the ground, forming a kind of cross, in the air. Thus, when the light of the two torches joined, two circles were seen outlining in front of them. The external one had a red color while the inner one had a blue one. Then, when the light of the two circles was powerful enough to allow them to see clearly around, they saw two massive stone gates in front of them, gates that made Eṉōl watch them, with wide-open mouth. „What… is that?” He wondered eventually, stuttering.

„The Gate of Infinite or Ellaiyaṟṟa Vāyil!”

„The Gate of Infinite?” Eṉōl asked, his eyes pumped. „What you try to say is that this is the Gate toward that world where you say that Father Chaos took the four elements to create our world?” Nikkari shook her head. „Then?”

„It’s… just a gate, commander! One of the seven gates that connect this world with the Cosmos and with the other worlds.”

„To be damn! What you say is that there are many planets like ours in Cosmos?”

„It’s a theory. Nobody knows this, in fact. Neither I, the one who is taking her power from here.”

„Then, how do you know that this is one of the seven gates that connects Earth to other worlds?”

Nikkari smiled. „A secret I can’t reveal, commander. Yet, it’s a secret you see now with your eyes.”

„Why?”

„Because it was written this way: for you, to see Infinite, the one you won’t ever be able to touch.” After that, covering her head with the hood of her gray cloak, Nikkari told Eṉōl, „Put Alena right next to the gate and move a few steps behind. I don’t want to hurt you by staying there. This is not my intention. Only… to save her!” Then, touching her palms as though praying, Nikkari closed her eyes and bowed her head.

Eṉōl, who didn’t understand too much from what Nikkari said and this happened because it was too much to process from what he heard in a single day, did what she asked him to do eventually. Then, taking a few steps back, far more than it was necessary, he looked at the two Gates of Infinite. Thus, he saw that the Gate from the left had rocks engraved on it and paintings that represented the mountains while the gate from the right was the representation of the limitless sky and of the water that covered the earth completely. And, right across the two gates, when Nikkari sent a wave of black shining energy toward there, he saw a huge black snake, the one that was known as Ṭirākaṉ. That animal seemed to the commander more like a dragon than a snake, which symbolized the union between Yin and Yang, and the power of the four elements of the earth, a creature with impressive power, which was considered the protector of the underground power and of the sky, the one considered to be also created from fire. Yet, even if everybody knew the name of this mystical creature, only a few people in the world knew the true value of the snake legend, the one who was only a carving on a stone gate that was joining the power of those gates. Nevertheless, even if the snake still lived in the shadow of the world, Ṭirākaṉ was still protecting it, using his great power to keep the world’s balance, assuring the stability and the continuity of Planet Earth, a snake whose birth was unknown, just as nobody knew when Ṭirākaṉ vanished from this world actually. Yet, those who knew about him kept saying that Ṭirākaṉ never died. He only hid to live far from others because it was the only way to keep his power and heart pure.

Thus, when the power of Nikkari joined the power of Ṭirākaṉ, in the center of the two circles created by the power of the torches a Titan was seen. No one other than Atlas, the one who wore the burden of Planet Earth on his shoulders and who had his head bowed. At Atlas’s waist, the commander saw the torches formed by Nikkari and, right next to the torches, a mini-jar, like the one worn by Gaea at her waist, and a small horn like the one used by Boor to control the winds, were also seen. Thus, when the image was completed, right above the place where Alena was lying, unconscious this time, a bubble, similar to the one created by Ionas when the enemy was close, appeared.

Seeing that bubble, Eṉōl thought that he had visions and rubbed his eyes. Yet, he wasn’t seeing unreal things, but true ones. He clearly saw Alena being dragged inside of that bubble and, after she took the position of a baby in his mother’s womb, thin blue and red lights had been sent toward her, like laser lights, which seemed to heal her body by using an unseen technique before. One that worked because Eṉōl saw Alena floating on her back soon, also inside of that bubble, and how her skin got the natural color when she was almost livid by then. After that, he saw a smile on the fox’s face, a smile similar to a baby’s smile when his mother took him into her arms. It’s when Nikkari said, „Vāḻkkai maṟṟum ataṉ mūlam vāḻum aṉaittum ācīrvatikkappaṭaṭṭum!” (Life be blessed and everything that lives through it!) Then, looking at Eṉōl, Nikkari smiled and, giving him the torch with blue light, she told him, „Now you can touch the Infinite, commander. It’s the only chance you have to feel it deep inside. Fully enjoy the energy that is felt here, the one that fills the soul and the one that will give you strength on the battlefield. You’ll need it. Meanwhile, I’ll wait for you not that far from this place because my presence here impedes you two from filling your souls with energy.”

„What about you? Don’t you also need energy?”

„I have it already, commander. I wear it in my soul because, just like these gates, I’m part of the Stream of Energy, the one that fills itself to the brim with energy only by being close to these gates. Also, I receive back the energy I use to give life or heal by being here. Just as it happened in Alena’s case or as it happens to humans when they spend some time in nature’s lap. There, they stop thinking about bad things, strange desires, avarice, and weaknesses. Thus, they fill themselves with energy by chasing the darkness away from their souls. A true connection human-nature, in fact.” Saying this, Nikkari moved away, watched by the commander leaving. He was smiling this time because he understood that Nikkari wasn’t only a stream of energy but also one of wisdom, a stream that the world needed so much… especially in times of war…