Adam pondered the words of the ancient wizard. Unfortunately, living in a cave in solitude for so many years had made him accustomed to silence, so he didn't notice that David was feeling uncomfortable for some reason due to this silence.

The ancient wizard stood up from the log, breaking the silence, and spoke with a somewhat animated voice:

—Well, we have work to do: there's a story to complete so you can gain your next magical ability, young wizard.

—What do we have to do?— Adam asked cautiously.

—You, on the other hand, don't do anything— David said with some concern—I have a feeling we'll be attacked from the island's coast soon.

—How do we survive the attack?— Adam asked worriedly, as he had no way to defend himself other than escaping with his shadow.

As he asked that, Adam noticed something moving in the sand. It seemed to be a sandball rolling toward him; the ball wasn't very big, about the size of a tennis ball.

The ball rolled until it hit the old wizard's foot, and the sand splashed onto the ground, revealing a miniature David on the ground. The ancient wizard stooped, picked up his tiny copy, and brought it close to his mouth, hidden behind his beard. He swallowed the copy and chewed it for a while, while cries of pain and hatred emanated from the miniature copy as it died in the wizard's mouth. With his beard stained with blood and bits of flesh, the wizard finished swallowing his miniature copy and said cheerfully:

—We won't survive the attack. The key is to die in the attack.

—What?!— Adam asked, stunned by the scene of the miniature person being eaten and even more bewildered by his supposed savior's response.

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The wizard started removing some bits of flesh that had spread in his white beard. Meanwhile, he calmly explained:

—We are in the past, so we'll die and travel to the present. In the present, we'll have to survive until we figure out how to stay alive. Then we'll kill ourselves and travel back to the past again. In the past, we'll use what we've learned in the present to stay alive, or so I believe... I'm somewhat confused too, but it should work...

Adam looked at the old wizard eating the bits of flesh from his beard as if he were a lunatic. What David said had some relation to the only clue given by the book: that is, the opening paragraph. But the idea of dying to achieve their goals was impossible to grasp.

—How do we know we're in the past?— Adam questioned the plan with doubts.

—Because it's nighttime— the old wizard replied —Also, because the present, past, and future are the key to the riddle. Moreover, there's another clue. Look, take some sand from the beach and toss it on your hand.

Adam followed the instruction, grabbing a handful of sand from the ground. He then lifted his fist and tossed the sand on his hand, but instead of falling, the sand started rising into the sky.

—How did you figure this out? I didn't see you do the trick!— Adam said, astonished by the discovery. His general knowledge told him that hourglasses worked in reverse.

—Magical books don't aim to kill you with their challenges...— the wizard replied calmly, sitting back on the log and looking at the fire —They just want to test you, so they leave clues all around. Look at the fire, you'll notice another clue.

Adam followed the old wizard's advice and approached the fire. At first, he didn't notice anything strange, but then he saw that the logs of the fire weren't burning; they seemed as if they were already burnt and were now regenerating in the fire.

He could even see some ashes reuniting with the wood, showing everything going back in time. The effect seemed obvious, but the fire concealed it well, so one had to concentrate to notice it.

The ancient wizard, seeing that Adam had noticed the effect, said cheerfully:

—Well, now that you have the right answer, try to find more clues on your own. We have some time until the attack.

As he said that, the old wizard took a metal box from his robe, opened it, and several cigarettes were neatly arranged inside. Calmly, he took one and lit it with the fire from the bonfire. Adam followed the ancient wizard's instruction and started searching for clues along the beach.