Despite the unpleasant news, Tao continued his training. In fact, his determination to get stronger and learn new skills only strengthened. Learning to use the spirit power scanner was vital to Tao's plan, but it couldn't be done without Eleya's help. The forest spirit came and went as she pleased, though, so the boy could only eagerly await her next visit.

Two days after Neter's conversation with Tao's parents, the annual tournament for young warriors was held. Indre left for the venue soon after breakfast to take part in the preparations. The start of the competition was scheduled for closer to the middle of the day, so Sofra and the children still stayed at home in the morning.

Safia was not happy with this. She repeatedly asked her mother when she could finally go out and otherwise expressed her impatience. Sofra's problems with her eldest daughter allowed Tao to slip unnoticed into the children's bedroom to make the most of the time and continue to improve his skills.

Something strange caught the boy's attention.

One of Safia's rag dolls was in the middle of the bed. It was old, with a dark green dress, black hair, and missing feet and palms. the doll was in a sitting posture facing the door, its sewn-thread eyes seemed to watch Tao entering the room. The boy had not seen his sister playing with this doll recently. Tao was also sure the doll was not on the bed the last time he was in the room. As far as the boy could remember, no one else had been here also.

Even though it was daytime, Tao felt uneasy and eyed the doll suspiciously. Unexpectedly, it raised one of its fingerless hands.

"Hey, Tao!" came a young girl's voice.

The boy visually jumped. Unconsciously, he began to concentrate the spirit power within him, though he didn't know what to do with it.

The doll moved her hand as if to greet Tao. It was strange, but it didn't pose an immediate threat, so it allowed the boy to regain some of his judgment and realize that the voice from the doll seemed familiar.

"Eleya?" He asked softly.

The doll chuckled and began to wave both hands happily.

"Of course, silly! Who else?"

Tao still didn't quite know what to think or say. Although he felt glad that the cause was something familiar, a revived doll still seemed... scary. The lifeless eyes and unchanging smile on the doll's face contrasted strongly with the lively movements and energetic voice of the young girl.

The boy looked down the hallway and made sure the rest of the family was still in the kitchen, where Sofra was once again asking her eldest daughter to be patient. Tao closed the door and turned his attention back to the doll.

"Why are you... doing this?" He didn't quite know how to ask the question.

"Isn't it obvious? So that I can be around you unnoticed by others."

"Is that why you need this doll?"

"You don't have thick clothes and a hood for me to hide in now. And always waiting for the moment when you'll be alone is tiresome. This way we can be together in people too, like before."

"Unnoticed... Dolls don't move. And don't talk." Tao wasn't sure about the idea.

"That's why you're taking me with you. And you will put me closer to your ear when I want to talk."

"But... can't you just be invisible again?" Tao didn't quite understand why Eleya had to do something so strange.

A sigh came from the doll.

"I can't just leave the body I created. It will become dead."

"Dead? You said it wasn't a real body." The boy was even more confused.

"Yes, technically it's not alive... but if I stop keeping it warm, keeping the fluid flowing and other processes going, it will wither, become… lifeless. It's not easy to create a flesh-like structure, you know."

"But... where is your body now?"

Doll, still seated, leaned forward, almost folding in half. A sort of bulge appeared in her back, between the hair of the cloth, which grew rapidly larger. Like the nightmarish alien from its victim body, a tiny head with dark green hair and yellow eyes emerged from the doll's back.

So bizarre, Tao did not know how else to describe what he saw.

Eleya also got her shoulders and arms out of the slit on the doll's back. She smiled at the boy, satisfied.

For the past month, Tao and the forest spirit had met in the boy's home in the dark of night, so there was no need to hide from the eyes of others. Eleya hadn't stopped complaining about the fact that she didn't like being in the village, especially in the buildings where the protection from the spirits was stronger. Tao hadn't thought about how to meet Eleya in a different environment, so she found a solution on her own.

This, however, did not make the boy any happier.

"I don't usually walk around with dolls in my arms." Tao's face soured.

"But I saw other kids doing it. Isn't that normal?"

Sometimes Tao played with wooden figurines representing heroes, animals, and monsters. Usually, though, the boy did this to convince his parents that he was more or less normal. He only played with soft dolls and animal toys together with his sisters. Walking around with a rag doll, a toy for girls, hurt his self-esteem.

"As long as I don't have to do it every day... once a week or less could be... possible," Tao somehow submitted.

He didn't want to become 'that boy who always walks around with a doll'.

On the one hand, Tao was aware that these feelings were silly, but for some reason, it was hard to ignore them.

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"Great! There's going to be a battle contest today? I want to see it!" Eleya cracked a smile again.

"That'll be later."

Tao was still struggling to accept the new circumstances.

"Oh! So... then, what shall we do for now? How are you doing with training?" The forest spirit's elation faded.

She leaned against the doll's back with her elbows.

"I'm getting a better feel for the spirit power in my mind, so I think we can try the next step... but before that, I need to tell you something."

"What's this about?" The yellow eyes looked at the boy.

"This enemy in the forest... do you know what he's been doing lately?" Tao decided to ask the question.

"Lately... nothing new? Continues to grow his power, I'd say."

"To grow power... how exactly?"

Tao hadn't thought much about how evil spirits can become stronger. But some time ago, Eleya had mentioned that the undead could gain power from living beings, so now he had a dark suspicion.

"Why are you asking about it now?" Eleya seemed to guess that Tao wasn't just curious.

He stepped closer to the bed and told her about the disappearances of people in the villages around the forest and the failed raid in the woods. Eleya listened intently, but her face remained calm, not letting her emotions show.

"It's this enemy that's kidnapping people, right?" Tao finally asked.

"That's what it looks like." The forest spirit cocked his head.

"You knew that?"

"No, I don't keep up with what's going on in other people's towns and villages. For now, I'm tied to this place."

"Do you know why people are being kidnapped?"

Eleya became thoughtful for a moment, then chuckled.

"Your question earlier... I think you're capable of guessing the truth yourself."

Tao swallowed the drool in his mouth.

"Kidnapped people make him stronger."

"I'd say he's using the kidnapped peoples' life to get stronger, but... that’s right." The forest spirit confirmed.

"Does he... eat them? The boy asked quietly.

"If the enemy is clothed in flesh, then perhaps... the spirit, however, can use dark magic to... kill someone clothed in flesh and become stronger absumeru his… life directly."

“Absu…meru?” It was the first time Tao had heard the word.

“Means to eat, but... to eat completely, all the way through,” Eleya explained.

Devouring, the boy guessed the meaning of the word

"Spirits can devour human lives?"

"It is dark magic, only spirits who serve Darkness know that. Don't ask me!" Eleya shook her head eagerly.

Tao was lost in thought for a moment, trying to think of what else to ask. Meanwhile, the forest spirit crawled fully inside the doll again and raised the head made from cloth towards the boy. The look on the lifeless doll’s face did not help him concentrate.

"That artifact the bat monster stole, it's connected to this somehow, isn't it?" Tao finally figured out what he wanted to know right now.

"Yes, it looks like it. The necromancer was probably the first to try to get stronger that way."

Eleya tried to stand up on the doll's legs, but they were too unsteady, without proper feet. The doll lost its balance and fell on its stomach.

Tao knew that the enemy was able to influence dreams months before the necromancer’s tower was found. The boy chose not to say anything about it to the adults, hoping that he would be able to find a way to defeat the enemy with Eleya's help. If Tao had decided to do things differently, the enemy might never have gotten his hands on the artifact. On the other hand, it was not easy for Indres to convince others of how dangerous the enemy was. Maybe nothing would have changed. Still, doubts remained...

"Eleya... " the boy involuntarily spoke up.

"What?" The doll responded, struggling to stand upright again.

Tao wanted to tell her to behave seriously, but just shook his head and sighed.

"This enemy, evil spirit or whatever he is... Did he come to this land to get the artifact and only then sensed my spirit power?"

Doll stopped trying to stand up and turned her head towards the boy. Despite seeing only ragdoll's face, Tao had the impression that the forest spirit inside was looking at him attentively.

"Strange question," Eleya responded thoughtfully.

"Really?"

"Perhaps he came for the artifact and accidentally discovered your presence. Perhaps it was the other way around. Why does it matter? He's here and getting stronger. If you want to win, you have to get stronger yourself. That's the truth."

Tao understood the logic of what was being said. In a way, he agreed with it.

What's done is done. I can't change the past, the boy sighed and decided not to pursue the matter any further.

Instead, he decided to ask something else.

"You... don't think that the people who are planning to go into the forest will succeed in defeating him?"

Eleya had previously expressed concern that human interference could lead to the possibility of her losing her old home. Tao had thought that the forest spirit would react more vividly to the news of an upcoming expedition into the forest. Instead, she seemed more preoccupied with her new disguise.

"If the enemy would agree to an open fight, then maybe... but will he? I doubt it." came a voice from the doll’s body.

Without seeing the tiny creature's face, it was hard to tell what she was truly feeling.

"But they can find my home, which would be the worst... " Eleya's voice showed a kind of worry.

"Why is that place so special?"

"It's a natural source of spirit power, attuned to my nature. As long as I lived there, I could easily restore my strength."

"Can't the enemy use it?"

"Well... maybe. He can try to corrupt it, to bend it to his nature, but it's not usually that easy, you know. And you could feel it right away, not just the spirits. Earth, water, plants, and animals - everything would change, and become corrupted. It hasn't happened yet, I know... "

"I see... " Tao nodded.

It occurred to him that a corrupted environment would make it easier for a human expedition to locate the enemy, but he decided there was no point in mentioning it.

"So, keep training, Tao!" Eleya exclaimed livelily and raised a puppet hand towards the boy. "When you're strong enough, we'll defeat this evil together. I will regain my home, but you will no longer be in danger."

Despite the forest spirit's energetic words, Tao's mouth twitched.

"What?" Eleya voiced her frustration.

"This exterior is too... " The boy struggled for words.

"Hmm... you don't like it? I can sneak into some other toy."

"That’s not the problem... " Tao sighed and shook his head.

He didn't know if there were horror stories in this world about animated dolls, so he didn't know if his feelings would be understood. Ironically, a magically animated doll-like body made of wood was less creepy than an ordinary rag doll that moved. The boy without a doubt preferred the first option, but decided there was no point in mentioning it aloud.

In the end, Tao was forced to bend to Eleya's will and join the family before leaving home, doll in hand. Safia, of course, noticed that her old toy.

"Dolly!" the girl shouted.

She did not ask her brother to give it back. The children in the village did not have many toys, so they quickly got used to sharing. In addition, her mother had given the eldest daughter the important task of carrying the food bag, so Safia's hands were full.

"Tao, do you want to take the doll outside with you?" Sofra, for her part, felt curious about her son's behavior.

"Yes... " the boy replied shortly, hoping to end the conversation.

"I see. So... what are you going to play with dolly?" Unfortunately, the mother continued to ask.

"A hero... and a princess." Tao couldn't look Sofra in the eyes and felt his cheeks redden.

The doll stirred a little in his hands, but not enough to be noticed by the others. The boy had the impression that Eleya was giggling to herself.

I swear to the Eternal, I'll give you to Sigi for a chew toy, Tao mentally threatened the forest spirit.

"Then protect the princess today, hero Tao!" Sofra seemed to be in a good mood and patted her son's head.

Although he didn't understand what made his mother happy, Tao felt a little better.

Just a little.

***