After spending some time searching for clues, Adam returned to the campfire with the ancient wizard. With a smile hidden by his beard and a cigarette in his mouth, the old wizard said cheerfully:

—Come on, kid, sit down and tell me what other clue you found.

Adam sat on the log beside the campfire, a bit puzzled by the friendly treatment, and said:

—It seems like the water tide pushes you to the island, and the footprints in the sand disappear after 19 steps. It's also very likely that we'll be attacked once the campfire goes out.

The old wizard took a puff and chuckled:

—Didn't notice the clue about the footprints in the sand, but it's a good one. Another clue you might discover is that the wood of the log we're sitting on used to be seen on the wooden floors before the ascent.

—How do you know it's the original wood from the wooden floors?—Adam asked with curiosity. He was carefully examining the log, but it didn't have the same color as the floors or walls of the hexagons on the middle floors —Was the magical citadel of the silver and gold floors that old?

—No, the citadel is more modern than the time of the ancient librarians— the ancient wizard replied as he smoked —If you go to the reverse world, you can see how the bookshelves originally looked on those floors. It's quite complicated for the bookshelves to make changes there, so it's a good way to look into the past.

—The time problem, I understand it by now— Adam commented calmly. At this point, he trusted that the old wizard would solve everything for him —But how did you discover that we'll be attacked? Couldn't something else happen? Also, what's the clue that tells us we'll be revived and return to the present?

—Well, I cheated a bit, to be honest...— the old wizard said shamelessly —I have a couple of magical abilities that warned me of my death, then others that provided me with the right answers, and finally, I followed the clues to reach that conclusion.

Adam got a little worried with the response. After all, he didn't have those magical abilities, and in the next magical book he'd read, the old wizard wouldn't be there to help him complete the challenge. Fearfully, Adam asked:

—If you were someone without those magical abilities, like me for example, how would you survive this book?

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—If I were your age, I wouldn't survive this book...— David said with concern —Books that use temporal paradoxes and resurrections in their riddles are complicated... but I don't want to scare you too much. Just follow my instructions, and you should be fine... I think... Hopefully...

—You doubt that everything will turn out okay?—Adam asked with even more fear, but the wizard ignored his question and just stroked his beard from top to bottom while looking at the fire. He seemed to be pondering something himself as he gazed into the flames.

After a while, the wizard started smoking again and replied in a somewhat downcast tone, as if he was still thinking about something else:

—Don't get involved in complicated books next time, unless you have a few life insurances... In fact, I'm a little worried about this matter. Even with my help, some books are too complicated for an uneducated slave... There are clues where I'm abusing the will of the book by revealing them. You should figure them out on your own... But without magical abilities, it's impossible for you to do so.

—Is there really no way to do it without magical abilities?—Adam asked with great concern.

—The clues are too convoluted for you to understand them— David replied, tossing his cigarette into the fire —For example, the 19 steps in the sand symbolize the journey to the future, as hexagon 0 represents the journey to the past, but since we're in the past, we're actually going to the present.

—Ascending means going back to the past?—Adam asked. It seemed like a big secret he needed to know.

—Ascending means starting over; going to the past is a bit simpler— the old wizard replied, happy to satisfy Adam's curiosity —Do you remember the riddle from the last paragraph about learning a language?

—He died to return to where it all began...—Adam murmured, understanding the clue left in the story of the young hero. Now that someone else was telling him, it seemed quite obvious that it was a clue about the reality of the ascent.

—The attack is symbolized by the burnt wood in the fire— David commented, pointing to the fire with his hand —There are some laurel leaves burning in the fire; in some stories, laurels symbolize inner peace. As I said, it's convoluted, but the book gives you plenty of time.

—How can you be sure that we'll be resurrected upon dying?—Adam asked. Everything else seemed to have some clue, so it wouldn't hurt to get the most crucial clue from the book.

—You can't see that clue because you haven't read enough magical books— David said with some regret —The book asks you to walk a certain part of the wizard's path to see that clue. Remember that the island you see and the one I see are different.

—Is the island you see so different...—Adam murmured, looking around. For the young boy, the island was quite small; you could walk around it completely in a few hours, and there were a few bushes in the middle. Besides, there was the campfire and the log to sit on, which were the most striking things on the island.

—Quite different, but the most important thing is in the sky above the island— David said, pointing to the sky.

Adam looked up in the direction indicated by the old wizard, but the night sky was dark and starless, surrounded by clouds.

—The stars in the sky are forming the constellation of the stork— David replied calmly —That could symbolize a rebirth, but never risk your life based on these clues. As I told you before, I cheated to check everything in advance.