Chapter 6

Maze Survival 101

「 ...Are you listening? 」 

Y‒yes. 

「 …Listen properly, brat. This is for you own sake. 」 

I‒I know! I mean, I am listening properly! 

「 ...Right. Remember, don’t try to hide or trick him. He can track you by scent, so tricks won’t work. And if you ever get caught‒ 」 

Just run, I got it. 

「 Just run. Because he’s stupid and he knows the maze as much as you do, just get as far away as possible, because he’s stupid and he knows the maze as m‒ 」 

Yeah, I said I got it. 

「 ...Right. And also, if you ever get cornered, it might be worth to try using the aether. 」 

...Eh? But you said it’s not possible in the... mana field‒something? 

「 It’s hard to do, but not not possible. The active mind and subconscious tend to resonate more in emergency or life-threatening situations. 」 

I‒is that so...? 

「 Yes... in theory, at least. So if you ever got into such situation, it might be worth to try using the aether, because it’s possible... in theory, at least. Remember; to use mana, you need to‒ 」 

Alignment of the will and the subconscious, right? Got it. 

◊ ◊ ◊

...I wish Hadda was here.

I wish I had listened properly to him.

Think, what did Hadda say next? What do I do in this situation?

As I think that, I look at the little trail of blood I leave in my tracks. My arm is still hurting with all the scratches from when I thrusted my arm into the machine. Hopefully it won’t lead the lifer to me.

‘Just run,’ Hadda had said.

But for how long?

‘... don’t try to hide or trick him.’

Maybe because it can smell and track from far away that hiding doesn’t work. 

In the first place, I don’t know what Hadda meant by “tricking” the lifer.

The bird had called it “stupid” before, so it might not have the capacity to work the maze’s puzzles. If so… why not tricks?  

Aah… if only the bird was here to answer these lowly student’s questions.  

Nevertheless, the puzzles seem to work, and I’ve been trying to find as much of those as I can.  

And then there’s that,

‘...it might be worth to try using the aether.’

Frankly, I don’t know about this idea. Although it does seem tempting “distort reality” and use it against the lifer with, the repercussions if I am to fail would be too much. I don’t even know what the magic would do in the first place. If I were to align my will with my subconscious, would I be able to create mighty fireballs to shower the lifer with, or conjure flowers from the folds of my dress?

That said, it’s still nice to have a back-up plan. Though, rather than a trump card, it’s more like a last resort, something to try when I’m out of options and on death’s door.

Oh, another puzzle. 

Alrighty, let’s do this thing. 

And then keep running, I guess? For how long, forever? 

...Forever running away... 

There was something like that, wasn’t it? Something... something about the lifer being chased endlessly by jailers. 

...Then, maybe if I can slow it down, somehow... it would eventually get caught? 

.... 

....... 

............ 

Nope. I can’t think of anything. 

All this thinking and running is having its toll on me. A nice, relaxing bath would be really great right about now. 

Come to think of it, the wolf said that I smell. Maybe that’s why the lifer could find me so easily? 

Hah. 

Perhaps my blood smells too.

Thinking that, I raise my arm near my nose but smell nothing. Of course, if I do smell, I wouldn’t be able to sense it, would I?

Wait. Maybe if I... 

‘Don’t try to hide or trick him.’

...Huh. I wonder if I’m going crazy, but... 

‘Just run.’ 

Shut up Hadda, you’re not here. 

That’s right, he's not here. This is my choice to make, and I think… well, I think it’s worth a shot.

It might be crazy, but so is all this. 

I observe the new puzzle as I start constructing the plan.

Another thing about this area is that the puzzles seem to all have these huge cubes around. In the previous section, the machine runs through entirely under the ground, but here, the main mechanism is contained inside these cubes – cheat cubes, I call them.

With effort, I open the cube as I did in the puzzle before. Although the puzzle differs, what’s inside the cube isn’t strictly different. It always has the same core functions, mainly the timed detent that prevents the gate from being closed for a fixed period. If I remove that detent, the gate would immediately close or in the case that it’s still in the process of opening, would close as soon as it fully opens.

…Hehe.

I got it.

This may be the riskiest thing yet, but the feeling that I’m fighting back rather than just running away is… exhilarating. Sure it might not work, and sure I might die from this plan, but at the very least, the lifer wouldn’t be the only one having fun. 

◊ ◊ ◊

Laying down a trap is as simple as playing it out in your mind. Playing it out for real, though, is not as simple. It’s not like it’s guaranteed to work to begin with, but even so, having something up your sleeve does make you feel better at times like this. 

My time is running out. I keep hearing the beast inching closer to me. My trick is as simple as it gets—that is, luring the lifer into the trap I had set for it. It sounds easy, and it would be if I wasn’t the bait.

Then I hear a bellow.

I start running, knowing by instinct that the lifer is soon to follow. 

Left. 

Right. 

Left. 

Left. 

I count each step after making every turn. The path is clear in my mind, but I know that any misstep can be my last. Maybe I slip and fall, and the lifer catches up, or maybe I remember the way wrong.

I don’t have the chance to further contemplate the possibilities of failure because another roar came, sounding very, very close. Which means it’s time for that.

I look into what’s inside my hands — a piece of red cloth crumpled into a messy ball. It’s not red originally. It was white like my dress because, well, it actually is my dress. I’d ripped it off and dyed it in my blood, sweat, as much musk as I can stain it with basically. It’s probably too much to ask for, but I hope the lifer might mistake the stench from this thing to mine, maybe confuse it a bit and buy me a moment.

So I throw it.

I used all my strength, but it still didn’t get thrown far. It’ll just have to do. Now the lifer can smell two of me and has to decide which one to follow, then I’ll have the time to prepare my trap.

An ominous feeling dawns on me as I make the last turn. My hairs are standing on end and my instincts are screaming at me to run away. 

My trap is to the left of the fork, and to the right... was the lifer. 

…Like I said, too much to ask for.

I start running like hell is on my back, not caring about my aching arm or my tired legs. Its heavy footsteps tell me that it’s chasing after me at full speed. 

It’s right behind me, just skip and hop away.

It’s gotten closer now.  

Closer. I can hear footsteps as if they’re right beside me.

It’s right behind me. I know from the sound of thumping, I know from the looming shadow, that it’s reaching his hand out at me.

But the opening is also there, right in front of me. The gate to my trap.

I make a turn into the gap, just as I see from the corner of my eye, the lifer’s large hand reaching out for me.

It’s like a boulder. My whole body feels numb from the impact. With this kind of effect, you’d think the lifer crashed into me, but it didn’t. It merely grazed me with its arm.

I made it into the puzzle area, just barely. Judging by the sound, the lifer couldn’t stop its momentum and crashed into a nearby wall. I probably have a few seconds before…

“There you are, my little prey.” 

 The lifer is right in front of the entrance – the gate that opened after I “completed” the puzzle.

There’s some kind of twisted hunger flashing in its eyes as the lifer starts walking towards me. I inched towards the cheat box, two crawls at a time. The lifer lumbers towards me, breathing the air around it as if they were intoxicating. Perhaps it is. It is my smell that he’s breathing. My fear.  

Three strides. 

Though it hurts, I stand and support myself on the container. 

“Where are you going...? There’s nowhere to run, little bird,” it said, its voice more distorted than I ever heard it.

I reach into the open vent, feeling my hand on the still parts while keeping my eyes on the beast. 

Two strides left. 

“Hmm, little bird with tender flesh… do you know what’s going to happen to you?” It asked with a smile I didn’t know it could make.

One stride. 

No, I don’t. But I know what’s going to happen to you.

As the lifer steps into the danger area, I firm my grip and pulled hard. 

I pull the detent out and in that instant, the mechanism starts moving again. The stone walls close in on the lifer, but not slowly. It’s like a rubber, held by the contrivance of which I just broke, and now that nothing’s holding it back, it snaps back shut – with the lifer right in the middle of it.

Hah! Whose flesh is tender now, you fu–

…Huh?

Wait, that’s not right.

The gate’s not closed yet. Or rather, something is holding it open. Something that was in the opening when it snapped shut. That ‘something’ now glares at me with eyes red as blood.

That’s just not fair.

The walls here may be shorter and thinner than the walls in the first area, but they’re still fifteen strides high of rigid stones. Being crushed from both sides is probably like having a stone tower collapse on you.

So how come it’s still alive?

Let alone crushed, it seems like it’s even pushing the walls, scraping its back on the stone as it slowly makes its way towards me.

Haha, well the trap worked at least. It’s just not enough to kill it, but now I’ve bought myself time to get away… is what I’d like the think, but I can’t stand.

No, it’s not because fear has me paralyzed. I can’t physically stand or make any movements larger than a crawl. I think I broke some ribs when the lifer hit me back then.

The lifer is pushing back against the compression, one hand out reaching wildly for me. It’s just a matter of time before it manages to slip out and get me. 

What would the bird do if he was here, I wonder? 

He’ll probably just fly away, right? Like he did when he left me all alone in this place. 

The lifer put one foot out, its reach getting closer and closer. Its eyes red and erratic, but still focused on me.  

…Stand up, girl.

This isn’t the end.

Ugh…

Stand up and run–

“Hey, pallid girl!” 

Then I’m suddenly moving away from the lifer.  

What the– hey?! 

“Don’t struggle, I’m trying to save you!” 

As he makes a turn, I look up at his face but with the way he’s carrying– that is, with one arm like a baggage, all I can see is the back of his head.

“I said stop struggling, oy!”

I’m not!

It’s just that the way he’s carrying me puts pressure on my broken ribs.

Who are you? Where are we even going? 

He doesn’t answer and keeps running, making practiced turns as if he remembers it like the back of his hand.

Uh... hey? 

A large rumble comes from the area we left, probably the lifer finally breaking free. Meanwhile, the man still shows no signs of stopping. 

H–Hey, where are you taking me? Answer me!

As suddenly as he started, the man stops running. I turn my head to see a dead end in front of us.

“This should be it,” the man said.

This should be what? Umm… hey–

Then he lifts my body, spins me around, and throws me at the wall.

---  ---  ---

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Oh, gods…

Ow, ow, my ribs… why did he throw me like… huh?

He clearly threw me at the wall, so… where’s the wall? 

“You alright?” a voice came from the darkness. It’s the same voice as the man who threw me.

This guy, what did he do? 

I look and feel my hands around, realizing that we’re in some dark, narrow place. There are walls on two sides, with slivers of misty light coming in from narrow gaps on the wall. One second we were in the maze, and now we’re in a dark, narrow corridor. Just what is going on here?

The man seems to notice my confusion and decides to address it, “Ever wondered why the walls are so thick?” 

The walls? The walls of the maze? Is he saying…

I look around again. The width of this corridor seems to match what he’s saying, and then the gaps on the wall... but how?

How we came here aside, it really does make sense. Especially in that first section of the maze, the walls are too tall and thick for anyone to hear anything from beyond them, yet I could clearly hear the lifer’s footsteps. If the walls are much lighter than they seem, that can also explain why my trap couldn’t kill the lifer.

“The watchers should be out for him right now, so it should be safe to use this passage, hopefully,” the man explained. Or, tried to explain.

Watchers?

“Big old Exy should be occupied with them too. If we’re fast enough, we should be able to get away.” 

Eggsy? 

Who the hell is Eggsy?

“Can you stand? Should I carry you again? 

N‒Never! 

I try to stand up, but a sharp pain causes me to hug the wall. At that point, the man rushes over and attempts to pick me up in the same way as before, so I push him back. 

“Oh, sorry. I guess I’m too used to carrying dead people.” 

No, it’s… wait, what did you say? 

“Don’t worry. I’ll do it right from now on.”

With one move, he picks me up with both arms. 

Umm… 

“Alright, then. Let’s go.” 

...What is this? 

This is probably better than being treated like baggage, but it’s somehow… uncomfortable.

Let me down. 

The man ignores me and starts walking at a fast pace. Thinking that I would probably slow us down otherwise, I decide to put up with this shame for survival’s sake.

With this new position he’s carrying me in, I can now look at his face, though being in this dark place, I can’t make out anything else other than his tall height and his dark hair. 

While watching him, he suddenly turns his head at me, making me realize that our faces are too close, so I turn my face away.  

“The name’s Thorne, by the way. What’s yours?” 

M–My name?

I don’t have one, though. Or rather, I don’t remember if I had one.

The man sighs at me, “I understand. You don’t want to share your name, that’s fine.”

Ah, no, that’s not what I–

“But you know, I did just save your life. You should say thank you, at the very least?”

There’s no scorn in his voice, only… irritation? I can’t tell because I can’t see his expression. 

I, uh… thank you for… saving me, I guess?  

Agh, that sounds really ungrateful.

Erm, sorry, I meant–

“Not a talker, eh? Well, fine. Have it your way.”

…Ah.

“Were you the one who opened the gate back there?” 

I nod my head,

“Hah, what are you, a mute? 

I nod my head again.

“...Wait, seriously?”

Yeah… I can’t believe I forgot about that.

An awkward silence passes between us before he finally speaks out, “So, uh... I can’t really ask your name now, can I?” 

I shrug, or try to but just that little movement is already painful.

“Hmm, let’s see…”

Suddenly I feel his eyes scanning over me. Can he even see me in this dark place?

“I know! Let’s just call you Little Fay. You don’t mind, do you?”

Little Fa– wait, you’re kidding me, right? 

I shake my head furiously. 

“You don’t mind? Good! Then, Little Fay, I’m going to take you to where my friends are.” 

…What have I ever done to deserve‒ wait, what do you mean “friends”?

---  ---  ---

“Thorne” stands in front of a dim, blinking light on a wall inside the corridor. I look at him curiously, unsure of what he’s thinking. 

“It should be safe to go out, I think. Do you think we should go out?” 

I tilt my head at him. How should I know? 

He chuckles, then pats my head for some reason. “I don’t want to run into a watcher in these parts, so let’s go out.” 

I don’t know what “watchers” are, but don’t touch my head again. Only Hadda can touch my head.

I glare at him to convey my meaning but instead he pats me again with a smile on his face. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, Thorne. You better watch your fingers the next time–

“There, there. It’s alright. I’m sure it’s safe to go outside,’ he continues to stroke my head as if to comfort me.

Having made a decision, Thorne walks towards the wall right under the blinking light and then – poof, we’re outside again. How in the hell…?

“You know, you’re heavier than you look,” Thorne said before he gently puts me down against a wall and stretches his arms. “Let me rest for a bit, okay?” 

Even though he said that, he keeps standing on where he was while staring at me with curious eyes. I meet his stare, his appearance finally clear in view for the first time. 

Even in this dark maze, I can still see the clear blue of his eyes as well as his brunette hair. He looks to be around his late thirties, wears dark colored tunic and pants, as well as a long, dark travel cloak that reaches his feet.

Oh, speaking of his feet, there’s leather covering them.

That’s right. He has shoes. Blasphemous. Utterly blasphemous.

I have been barefooted for as long as I can remember, so it doesn’t really bother me anymore. But now that I see him having that luxury, I feel wronged. 

We keep staring at each other, as if appraising the person in front of our eyes. 

Uncomfortable under his gaze, I finally tilt my head at him. 

What is it? 

“Strip.” 

What? 

Did he just say... no, I probably heard it wrong–

“Strip,” he repeated, reaching his hand out at me.

I back away against his approach while clinging to my modest apparel. 

Bastard!

“Why are you... come here, Little Fay.” 

Why?! 

“Listen, it hurts to breathe, right? Let me have a look!” 

Back off! 

I slap his hand away. 

“Why, you... ah, fine, but let me treat you at least.” 

Giving up, Thorne releases his cloak and after eyeing it for a bit, he suddenly tears it apart. 

“Come here.” 

What are you doing? 

“I’ve been in a lot of battles, you know. I may not look like it, but I know a little bit about treating injuries,” he winked at me.

So that’s for me? He noticed that I’m injured? Or rather, did we stop just to treat my injuries?

“Come now, we haven’t got a lot of time,” he urges on, spreading the piece of cloth wide while comparing it to the size of my body.

I nod at him. He seems trustworthy so far, and even if he’s not… it probably can’t get any worse than ending up as sustenance for the lifer.

---  ---  ---

“There. Wasn’t that bad, was it?” he said with a big smile plastered on his face.

He really wasn’t kidding. Within a few minutes, he had transformed his cloak into something akin to both a sling and a splint, wrapped around my chest and right arm. And then he used the leftovers to immobilize my right ankle, which is quite swollen and hurting really bad now. 

I have to say, he wasn’t lying about knowing how to treat people, but…

It’s the wrong arm.

He probably did this to my right arm because it’s bloodied from that stunt with the cheat box, but it’s really my left that’s broken. I tried to tell him, but he misunderstood my signs as reluctance to be touched by him.

“Quite good, aren’t I? Told you so, you had nothing to fear,” he winked at me, again.

Please don’t do that. It’s unsettling. Also, now that my arm and foot are like this, how am I even supposed to stand? 

“Now then, we should go before we outstayed our welcome here.” 

Don’t tell me you’re planning to carry me for the rest of the way? 

“You ready? Here we go, then.” 

And... he picks me up.

Ah well, let’s cut him some slack. Since he’s taking care of movement, that gives me room to think things over.

First of all, he’s a human.

I didn’t dawn on me until just now because of the whole running away thing, but when was the last time I saw a human being around these parts? That’s right. Never. Thorne is the first ever human I’ve seen in this place.

Hmm? That Cher-something lady, you say? Well, she took away my Hadda, so I think it’s only fair to think of her as an exception.

And then Thorne said “friends”, implying there’s more people out there.

Hmm?

Before I realize it, he had stopped walking. 

Thorne? 

I can see sweat on his face even though we’ve only just started to walk. Am I really that heavy? 

“I’m sorry, Little Fay. Seems like we weren’t fast enough,” he muttered with a mirthless smile. 

Eh, what do you mean? 

All of a sudden, everything starts to change. The air around us gradually turn crisp, and the mist becomes darker by the second. 

What is this? 

I look at Thorne with worry, but am met with a pair of eyes with dread in them. 

“A watcher.” 

As he says that, I feel something approaching from around the corner. Thorne notices as well, because he immediately puts a stance as if he’s ready to run.

There’s something there. Something… but what?

There’s something dark swirling around the corner of my eye, but there’s really nothing there… except there is. I don’t know how to explain it. I can’t see it, nor can I feel it with any of my other senses, but… I know it’s there.

“Can you see it?” Thorne whispered, as if afraid it would notice us.

That’s… is that a… watcher?

It’s as if the air– no, it’s like space itself distorts around it in a way that shouldn’t be possible. The corridor seems longer than it actually is, and the walls seem to spiral around it. I can’t see what it is, but… I can see what it’s doing to its surroundings. Just what is this “watcher”?

Before I can come to a conclusion, Thorne takes off, sprinting the opposite way.

Wha‒, hey?!

Don’t move so sudden. I’m injured, you know…

Then I look at his face, at how terrified he is. The face that seemed so jolly just a moment ago now looks like the face of a man that has convinced himself a dead man.

I look behind us to see the distortion in space closing in fast. It’s hard to pinpoint its location, but I can tell that it’s going after us.

It’s going to catch up. 

“It’s going to catch up,” he came to the same conclusion as he looks at me in a meaningful way.

What does that stare mean? Does he has a plan? With how things are going, neither of us are getting away unless he leaves me behind… oh.

…He wouldn’t just drop me, would he?

“Sorry about this,” he gives me a smile again, one that’s filled with regret. 

What are you... no, don’t! 

Then he throws me again. Not to a wall or a secret door, just… away. He threw me away.

I should’ve seen it coming. It’s every man for himself here

Ugh…

My vision is all blurry, and I can’t really think with this... pain. Bastard, if he’s going to leave me he could just drop me or something. There’s no need to throw me so roughly.

“Don’t be a baby, babe. It’ll get much worse soon enough.”

Eh?

I look towards the voice to see Thorne still standing there. 

What are you still doing here?

He lifts up a heptagon-shaped ornament he had hidden under his clothes and whispers to it,

“Athyra save us.”

He releases the necklace, pulls out something else from his side and aims it upward. With the sound of a click, a bright ball of light travels upward from the object, illuminating the maze in a sphere of brightness.

Within a few seconds, the light dissipates and the dark is back. 

...That’s it? 

A lightshow to fight off a being that distorts space?

“Don’t worry. At the very least, I’ll make sure they get to you,” he smiles at me. The dread on his face has been replaced by conviction.

What do you mean? Who’s “they”? 

Was that a flare? For his friends? Even if you sent that out now, there’s not enough time. Actually, why is he still here? Why isn’t he running away? That ‘thing’… that watcher is so close now.

“Heh... am I going crazy?” he mumbled as he positions himself between me and the passage we just came through. 

Thorne, what are you doing? 

“For me to be this selfless… I guess this place just busted my last screw,” he chuckled to himself. “Or maybe I’m just tired of it all and… urgh!”

Thorne?

...Something isn’t right. Is he okay? 

Wait, is that… blood? Right below him, a puddle of blood is beginning to form. What is... 

Thorne! 

His body falls lifelessly, revealing it in front of him.

The watcher… what did it do to him?

Even this close, I still can’t see anything but the warping of air around it.

W–What are you?

There’s something in there, within the epicenter. I can’t see it, but I know it’s there. It’s reaching out to me.

What do you want from me?

It has limbs– the tendrils that I can’t see are all around me, probing around… for what?

There’s no sense of touch, but I know it’s wrapping around me, like a spider folding its prey in web. What is it... doing to me?

This is bad. What should I do? I can’t even stand, much less run away. Even if I could, that would mean leaving Thorne behind. There’s a chance that he’s already dead, but... I can’t just leave him, not after what he did. 

‘Remember.’

...Hadda? 

Alignment of the will...’

...and the subconscious. 

...Ahh, so this is it.  

My trump card – no, my last resort.

I close my eyes and start to meditate in the same manner as I did many times before. This time, though, I must succeed. 

‘It is within us and all around us, everywhere, and everywhen’

I can feel the dark mass coiling around my fingers, going up my arms.

‘Reach out...’

They start to twine around all my limbs, and then my whole body.

‘...and connect.’

They finally swirl around my neck. The cold touch of it sends me shivers, even if I can’t feel it in the conventional sense. But then, there’s something else. Something is dragging my consciousness away, tugging at it in a tempting way. It’s hard to explain. It feels like how you hear and feel your own heartbeat. Rather than discovering something new, it’s like realizing something that has always been there, but was overlapped by the reality around us. 

It’s everywhere. Inside the grounds and the walls. 

Within me... and the watcher. 

Somehow.... I feel like I can reach out to the watcher. They’re... the same? Not exactly the same, but the dark mass feels to be made entirely of the same substance as... what do you call it, mana? aether? 

I focus my consciousness at the watcher, feeling my “reach” against it.

< Error: access restricted. >

...Who? I hear a voice—is it a voice? Perhaps a ‘thought’ is a better description, preventing me from going further. I put in more force against the barrier. 

< Arbiter credentials confirmed; indolantFay. >

Go away!

I scream back at the voice.

Leave us alone!

It pauses as if it’s thinking, then it slowly pulls back from me. The next thing I know, the deformation of space is gone, and everything’s back to the way it was; dark and quiet.

Did it work?

“...Little Fay...” 

Oh, right! Thorne!

I start crawling towards him. With every pull of my arm, the searing pain worsens and with every shallow breath I can manage, I feel my ribs creaking and groaning in protest. 

Just a little more... 

Thorne... is he okay? I think he lost a lot of blood. It even reaches to where I am now... huh? This isn’t his blood, though... 

...My blood? 

Am I bleeding? No wonder I’m feeling kind of... lightheaded. When did this happen?

The blood is coming out from my neck, where the watcher touched me. There’s so much that I hardly believe I had that much liquid inside me.

So... dizzy. My vision is darkening, and my limbs are going numb. 

Am I still conscious? 

“Hmm, little bird with tender flesh… do you know what’s going to happen to you?” 

The lifer’s eerie face appears in the darkness with a wicked grin. Then that face changes, the grin turns into a beak, and the pale skin turns into dark feathers.

「 Are you listening, brat? 」 

Hadda, you… bastard. Why did you leave me?

「 Remember, alignment of the will and the subconscious. 」 

  Yeah, I did what you told me to do, so… will you come back?

Hadda.

「 Remember, alignment of the will and… 」

The figure turns into haze, the world around me becoming distant as I drown into a deeper darkness.

◊ ◊ ◊

Blackness welcomes me into its fold. There’s nothing but my own thoughts as I float through, drifting, unsure if my consciousness is even real.

How did I get here?

I remember passing out after that watcher, and Thorne… I hope he’s okay.

…Wait, that’s not right.

Thorne is… dead.

He’s been dead for a long time, but it wasn’t the watcher that killed him. It was something else, something far more horrible. But what was it?

His friends… Nile, Arty… they’re dead too. All of them.

I was alone again, but then… I can’t remember. What happened after that? I remember seeing red. It was red everywhere, and then… Eretz came.

…I remember a deal.

I deal I made with a face in the blackness.

What was it?

‘Find that person.’

Find… who?

‘Find the true king.’

…I see something. There’s a light in the darkness. A small flickering light, with sounds coming from it. Sounds like… whispers.

I float towards it. As I get closer, the light turns bigger, and the whispers louder.

They’re no longer whispers. They’re people… talking.  

Suddenly, the light blinds me and the darkness disappears.

“Ssh, she’s awake.”

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