There were many rumours about witches. Some Church scholars had dedicated their whole lives to classifying the servants of the Evil One, understanding their different behaviours and how to deal with them, but information about them was scarce and hard to verify. The result was that, for practical purposes, Inquisitors often based their methods on general knowledge, sometimes making it difficult to distinguish truth from legend and superstition. According to some texts, witches offered their souls to the Evil One of their own free will, but some of them went further, offering their bodies, their families, and dedicating themselves to spreading its depravity by any means possible. What distinguished a witch from a damned was the awareness of their actions, what distinguished a shaman from a witch was the extent of their blasphemous madness. Shamans were said to gather followers for sacrificial rites, luring them with promises of wealth, well-being or lust, and to perform horrific ceremonies, devouring children, desecrating Church symbols and mating with animals.
Nene had never believed that the distinction was relevant: a servant of the Evil One remains such, regardless of their intentions, and as such shall be purged. Knowing Adanara had given her a different perspective on the matter, she had begun to understand that human emotions can deceive poor unfortunate souls, making them vulnerable to temptation by the promises of the Evil One. In her eyes, over time, Adanara had gone from being a monster, an enemy of all that is sacred and right, to a victim of circumstance, a desperate and foolish girl who had made a terrible mistake. For the first time in her life, Nene had considered the possibility that some of the servants of the Evil One were just people and that as such they could redeem themselves. However, not everyone was like Adanara. Those legends, those stories that she had believed to be excessive, made up only to warn children against the Evil One, were in front of her very eyes.
Kora remained motionless, kneeling over the corpse of the last knight she had struck down. The man's skull had been smashed with bare hands, his face covered in deep scratches that only the claws of a beast could inflict. The Warden loomed over the lifeless body and stared at it with unhealthy satisfaction, panting.
Nene's crisis of faith faded into terror, even though the weight of her victim was still pressing on her. She feared for her life, feared that Kora would devour her too. Adanara didn’t come to her help. She was paralyzed, shocked, staring at the havoc caused by her master. What they had witnessed was not the Kora who had welcomed them and hosted them despite her people's distrust, but something different: a ferocious monster, crazed by bloodlust, a horrid abomination that took pleasure in the death of others. Nene pushed with all her strength the corpse that was holding her to the ground. She managed to move him enough to crawl away from his cold embrace. As she shuffled away, Adanara found her voice again.
«Master?», she whispered.
Kora turned her head towards her. She was still catching her breath. She wiped the blood from her face and stared at her hands. Thick claws had emerged from her fingertips, causing painful-looking sores. She grimaced and her beastly blades slowly retracted.
«Are you hurt?», the Warden asked.
Her voice was calm, as if nothing noticeable had happened. Nene got to her feet and stood between her and Adanara. She took out the cross, the dagger and pointed them at Kora.
«What are you?», she asked.
Kora acted scared. She stood up and took a step back, raising her hands.
«What does that mean? Adanara?»
The witch didn't say a word. Despite their differences, she and Nene were sharing the same fear, that what they were facing was a terrible, furious beast, and that their lives were in danger.
«Speak! What are you? Do you praise the Evil One?»
«What are you talking about?! I am Kora, Warden of Tuatha!»
«You aren’t answering her», Adanara said. «What... what did you just do?»
«What, this? I defeated the invaders with the gifts of Salisander, spirit of flame and protector of my people. Why... are you afraid of me?»
«Gifts?»
«My ascension is not complete, but yes, her gifts are changing my body. I thought I'd explained it to you, so why are you looking at me like that?!»
Nene was on the verge of tears. The tension of the fight began to fade, leaving room for remorse. Four men had died, one by her hand, the others massacred by an incomprehensible, feral creature, just because they had the misfortune of crossing their path.
«You should see your face», she sobbed. «If you are trying to deceive me, at least take that grin off you, you monster!»
«I… don't…», Kora stammered. «Ascension is also affecting my mind, it's true, but... They were enemies!»
«Master, what is a monster if not one who takes pleasure in killing?»
The Warden took another step back, trembling. Part of her seemed to agree with them, another one was desperate to justify her actions.
«I am no monster… Moka ascended and… he has always been kind. He helped people, he caressed me when I was afraid...»
«Flesh-eating dragons», Nene concluded. «This is what you call “ascension”. Maybe you don't think of yourself as a monster, but you're becoming one! And I have to…»
Kora picked up her spear and held it towards them. Unlike during their previous fight, the Warden looked shocked, intimidated and deeply hurt.
«I am no monster…», she repeated. «I won't hurt you»
«You got hit straight in the face and just shrugged it off! You split open a man's head with your bare hands! How can we feel safe next to you?!»
«How... the way the lamb feels safe in the shepherd's arms...», she stammered.
«When the shepherd gets tired of taking care of the lamb, he cooks it and eats it», Adanara replied, stone cold. «How do we know you'll keep control?»
«I'm in control! Do you think I was in some sort of… frenzy? That I didn't know what I was doing? I would never direct my strength against my allies!»
«The fact that you were being yourself is perhaps even worse…»
The Warden gritted her teeth. The wood of her spear creaked under the strength of her grip.
«You judge me, again and again, but we are no different… you don't know how I feel! You don't understand me and my people!»
«You don't understand how we feel either! We are scared! We are afraid that what just happened will happen again!»
«Don't… don't…»
«Can you promise that it won't?»
Kora began to pant, then sob. She backed away again as she cried her eyes out. Her face was filled with pain, with resentment, her entire body was trembling.
Suddenly she turned back and ran away.
Nene should have chased her, purged her, but she couldn't, such was the fear that creature had instilled in her. She watched as it disappeared into the thicket of brush. She only lowered her guard when its footsteps could no longer be heard.
«This can’t be true. Tell me it's not»
«Hey, calm down, don't lose your head», the witch said. «Now is not the time, we need to figure out what to do»
«I killed him! I killed him!»
«You saved my life, Nene. You were trying to protect me… Thank you»
Adanara's kind words came unexpectedly and helped her not give in to panic. She was right, they had to decide what to do. She would have found the time to mourn the death of the knight she had killed, and think about the implications of her action, later.
«We need to get Oto and Nila, and get out of here», she suggested. «I'm afraid you will have to give up on the shaman's teachings»
«Fine by me, but how? We can't climb to the top of that tree»
«We need Kora to get up there…»
«By the way... where did she go? The tree is in the opposite direction to…»
The realisation hit them both out of the blue. Adanara stared at her with eyes wide open and began to move towards the woods where Kora had fled.
«The cave!», she shouted.
«She can’t free the dragon!»
«Of course she will! You heard her before, she's gone, obsessed with her Moka»
«Let's chase her!»
They ran at breakneck speed. They had no hope of reaching Kora, who knew the area better than them and boasted a physicality that was supernatural.
Nene run through her memories, recollecting anecdotes she had heard from master Inquisitors: although none of them ever met a shaman, some had chased some damned, in the rare cases in which they had arrived at a village too late, and the local inhabitants and priests had failed to restrain the beast. Their stories came all with the same recommendation: caution. The capabilities of the damned could not be assessed according to the standards of ordinary mortals, and the one they were chasing was not just any damned. She racked her brain trying to remember any scrap of useful information, without success. For the second time since she had left the monastery, she was facing something unknown, something that would have made even the most experienced of Inquisitors falter.
They ran through the rotten foliage of late autumn, thanks to which the signs of Kora's passage were very obvious. They kept going until their breath ran out and finally reached a place that looked familiar.
«There it is», Adanara said. «That’s the place, am I right?»
«Yes, that’s the rock»
The imposing boulder under which they had taken refuge a few days earlier, trying to escape the Lightbringers, looked more sinister than ever. It led to a magical prison, which contained a tremendous damned. It had been the hiding spot of two blasphemous spirits and a bloody shaman. Going in there meant almost certain death. The narrow tunnels was the perfect spot for Kora if she wanted to ambush them. Nene unsheathed her sword and handed it to Adanara.
«Do you know how to use it?»
«What?! Absolutely not!»
«You will have to defend yourself somehow»
«Do you think so? But, master...»
«I know that... we’ve had divergences, but I hope that this time you will agree with me: Kora is a threat, she is... basically a damned, even if not under the influence of the Evil One, but of something else»
«Do you think that the Salisander she always talks about is akin to the Evil One?!»
«Of course it is! You saw what she did! You saw how… she enjoyed killing»
«You see monsters everywhere!»
«What am I supposed to see?! Don't lie to yourself!»
Adanara glared at her. It wasn't the time to argue, yet Nene wanted to make sure she could count on her watching her back once inside the cave. Their differences in ideology could have waited, as Kora was about to attempt to unleash a terrible calamity upon the lands.
«I think our priority should be healing Moka. Then, master will see reason»
«Seriously? How do you still think it’s even possible?!»
«I don't know! But… I don't want to fight her… I feel sorry for her»
«Adanara, please. Believe me, I feel sorry for her too, but… I need to know I can rely on you. We don't know if Kora will be hostile or not, but if she were...»
The witch refused the offer of the sword. Nene almost despaired, fearing she was being abandoned to herself, but Adanara's look suggested otherwise.
«If she comes at us, I'll make her regret teaching me her magic», she said with determination. «I hate you, but I haven't forgotten what you did for me just now»
«Is that supposed to reassure me?»
«Deal with it»
The witch slid in the mud and leaves, towards the chasm that hid Shilfi and Rune's cave. Nene sheathed her sword and followed her through. They crawled among the slime and insects and fell into the opening of the tunnel that led to Moka's prison.
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«Just a little more, just...»
Kora's whispering voice was spreading through the cave like an unholy chant. Nene and Adanara, having reached the end of the tunnels, remained observing her from above, unsure what to do. The Warden lay on her knees on the resin suspended above a sea of stars, dangling obsessively.
«Moka…», she whimpered. «I'm almost done. It hurts…»
Adanara glared at Nene and motioned for her to go downstairs. She hesitated: it wasn’t a good idea to get in so impulsively. Kora wasn't sure she could undo her master's prison, and to face her meant facing a danger they didn't fully understand. These and other thoughts kept her from acting, but they were interrupted when, in front of her very eyes, Adanara jumped down.
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The woman landed with a thud. The fall was quite high and she fell on all fours. Kora turned around.
«Adanara…», she whispered.
«What are you doing? Stop it, you're putting your people in danger!»
Kora's face was purple as if she had a terrible fever. The white and alien light coming from the sea of stars illuminated her figure making her look like a faint shadow, a fragile being surrounded by a mystical and mysterious aura. Big tears rolled down her blissful face, together with a smile.
«I did it», she said.
The white light became pinkish and much more intense. The earth trembled, the sea of stars disappeared in the dazzling light that engulfed it. A deafening roar invaded the cave. Nene covered her ears, but still, her head felt like it was about to shatter from that noise. She watched in disbelief the vibrant resin gradually turning to sand. Adanara's feet began to sink.
«Run!» she shouted, reaching down. «Take my hand!»
The witch didn't even turn around. She probably couldn't even hear her. She was trying desperately not to sink, but the ground beneath her was unstable. After a few moments her clumsy steps betrayed her, she fell to all fours and was quickly swallowed up in a swirl of sand.
«No!»
Nene tried to get a glimpse of her in the sandy swirl, to no avail. A little further on, Kora was also sinking but was not being swallowed up. The sand swirled around her without ever touching her, as if she were protected by an invisible sphere. She sank further and further downward as the sand compacted. The ground level dropped several metres and began to reveal its secret.
At first, indistinguishable shapes. Then a large paw with long claws, powerful horns. The sand continued to fall until there were only small piles scattered here and there. Kora was about ten metres lower than Nene, and in front of her lay sleeping a monster of legends. An enormous scaly creature, more than twenty metres long, with brown skin and four powerful legs. It had a long, sinuous tail that culminated in a green fin. Large, bat-like wings emerged from its back. Its massive snout was covered with bony plates, it had a huge mouth from which long sharp teeth emerged. Its eyes were closed and its belly moved in rhythm with its deep breathing.
Nene couldn't locate Adanara and felt like crying. She had to go down and look for her, but she could not possibly make such a leap. Kora stood up, battered, and got closer to the creature. She caressed its belly and began to sob.
«Moka? Moka, wake up!», she begged. «Come back to me!»
The dragon opened its eyes. The vertical pupils constricted and dilated several times. Its rosy iris was bloodshot, its gaze darted in every direction as if frightened.
«Moka it's me»
Nene held back a retch. The Archangel's blessing twisted her guts in the presence of that extraordinary damned. Kora was about to be killed, blinded by love. Even though she was also a monster who deserved such an end, Nene foolishly felt pity for her.
«Get away! It’s damned! Run!»
Her voice seemed to startle the dragon who raised its head and looked around. It struggled to its feet, so massive that each of its movements echoed in the cave. When it was back on its paws, it looked at Kora.
«Don't you recognize me?», the Warden asked. «It’s me, Kora»
The monster growled. Its rows of sharp teeth could have easily torn apart anything, even the Warden's unnaturally strong body. She, however, seemed not to care: she stood still, dreamy, happy to have found her master, resigned to her end and indifferent to the consequences of her craziness.
Nene took out the cross and pointed it at the damned, who roared towards her in return. The dragon leapt upward and clung to the cave walls. The earth shook, the cavity was invaded by a cloud of dust. Nene almost fell over. She couldn’t react in time to the powerful paw that was reaching towards her. The dragon's claws tore at the rock and she felt the ground slipping from beneath her feet. She fell.
She screamed at the top of her lungs as she fell downwards. Dust and debris surrounded her, scratching her face. She watched the ceiling move further and further away, she waved her arms and legs as if that could slow her fall.
The fall slowed. She felt a sensation that she recognised from her first time in that cave. Below and above seemed reversed. She gently reached the ground. Above her, the dragon, still hanging on the walls, roared ferociously.
«Are you okay?», Kora asked.
Nene jumped up, startled by her voice. Kora had saved her, but she still wasn't about to let her guard down in her presence. She looked around for Adanara. Her priority was to find her and escape. She had no idea how, but first, she had to survive, and her best hope was to join forces with the witch. She likely was buried in one of the piles of sand scattered around the cave. She had to find her quickly before she died of suffocation.
«Now I will calm him down so you can heal him», the Warden said. «Yes?»
For a moment Nene met her gaze and saw no reason, no light in it. She nodded, hoping that by doing so Kora wouldn't mind her.
«Come, Moka! Come here! They are friends»
Nene ran at full speed towards a pile of sand and sank her hands into it. She began to dig, but a roar from behind caught her attention. The dragon had dropped to the ground and was aiming at Kora, who spread her arms and walked towards him.
A dragon's paw rose upwards and slammed down upon the Warden.
Nene couldn't believe her eyes. The dragon's paw settled on the ground in a cloud of dust. A chilling sound, which sent a shiver down her spine, confirmed that Kora's bones had been shattered with a single, powerful blow.
The dragon's paw closed like a fist. It lifted Kora's body, helpless, her arms and legs dangled broken and covered in bruises, emerging between its claws. Nene pulled out her dagger. Their plan had failed, Moka was damned, a threat to the entire world. As such he had to be purged. The beast needed to be purged. Its body was covered in thick scales, but there must have been an opening…
She stared into the creature's eyes. Her fear turned to anger. She didn't know much about Moka, but that idiot had given up his soul to the Evil One and deserved his unfortunate fate. His foolishness had caused suffering to him, to his people and in particular to Kora, which he had killed himself, unable to control his own body, reduced to a mere pawn in the power games of the Evil One. She made an oath that Kora would have been Warden Moka's last victim.
She darted forward.
The monster noticed her. It roared while still holding its disciple in its paw. It then dropped her to the floor. The sight of Kora's shattered body rekindled Nene's fear. She chased it away by screaming, but her voice was surpassed by the beast's roar.
The dragon galloped in her direction and raised an arm, ready to smash her to the ground. She planted her feet and stopped suddenly. The dragon's mighty blow crashed in front of her, missing her by a whisker. The earth shook and she almost lost her balance. She looked at her opponent, figuring it was impossible to reach for its eyes. She needed a more accessible target. She ran around the paw hoping its belly was exposed. The dragon stood on its hind legs, then dropped to the ground. Its blows crashed behind Nene, who kept running, her dagger clutched in her hand.
Could she take it down? All she had to do was try.
She recovered a shred of hope when she distinguished the skin of the beast's belly, devoid of scales. The dragon took a step back, trying to put distance between the two of them, but she didn't miss the opportunity. The monster's soft belly was a metre above her head. She held her weapon backwards, bent her legs and jumped. She lunged at the monster and, to her pleasant surprise, the blade tore through its skin.
Moka roared.
The dragon began to shake and flap its tail and legs wildly. Nene jumped a second time and hit it again. It rolled on its side and tumbled away from her. It quickly got back to its feet, even more ferocious than before. Its jaws opened wide and snapped in her direction.
Nene dropped onto her back. The dragon's bite closed a few centimetres above her abdomen. As teeth gnashed together, the dragon's hot breath hit her face and made her feel sick. When the monster's snout retreated, she rose to her feet.
She wasn't fast enough.
A paw came crashing down on her. Nene was unable to avoid it, so she fell onto her back again. The claws grazed her shoulders. The weight of the blow compresses her chest. Luckily, she sank into the sandy ground just enough to not get crushed, but she was stuck under the monster’s paw. Only her head was free to move.
She squirmed and managed to free her armed hand. She struck the beast and to her amazement discovered that her silver blade could penetrate even the scales. Moka, however, didn't seem intimidated. On the contrary, he pressed harder on the ground. Nene couldn’t breathe anymore. Her senses became foggy. She threw her head backwards trying to crawl out of that deadly grip, but she wasn't strong enough.
She looked at Kora, or what was left of her, crumpled like a pile of broken branches. Tears clouded Nene's eyes as her mind realised that there was no escape, that soon she too would have been a mess of shattered bones, a viscous lump of blood and flesh.
…
She felt something grab her arm. She turned to find herself face-to-face with Adanara.
«Sorry», the witch said.
She put something cold and smooth in her hand. It was the glass object she had brought with her to try to heal Moka. Did Adanara believe she could still proceed with the original plan? Nene closed her eyes. She wanted to shout at Adanara to flee, but she no longer had the strength to do so. In an instant, the dragon would have been upon both of them.
She had failed. She felt sorry for Nila and Oto, who were hoping for their return. They would have been disappointed, heartbroken. She felt relief at the idea that, since she too was about to die, she wouldn't have to face Nila, wouldn't have to witness her desperation over the loss of her sister. She felt comfort in hoping that Oto would return home and soon forget about her.
She felt pain as the shards of glass pierced her palm. She opened her eyes.
The dragon towered over her, its mighty muscles tense, yet it didn't move at all. Terrible gusts of wind crashed into its face. The creature appeared confused and had a hard time moving. Adanara was shouting something at her, but the roaring wind prevented her from understanding it. Nene looked at her hand: the witch was pressing it against the beast's paw. She had shattered the glass object, but Nene was the only one who was bleeding. The blood of the damned was also needed and they didn't have much time.
Adanara kept on shouting, showing her her dagger. Was she afraid that the silver would interfere with the ritual? Nene was unable to move, unable to reach her sword.
The dragon moved. The wind weakened and the monster pressed on her. She lost her breath. Moka raised his other front paw, ready to crush both.
A flicker of anger crossed Adanara's face. She gripped the dagger and stared at Nene's hand.
An excruciating pain assailed her when the witch stabbed her.
Nene screamed.
The numbness went away in an instant, her senses came back.
It was painful!
She squirmed, but with each of her movements, it hurt more. She felt like if she had moved too much she would have torn her hand off the wrist.
The dragon roared. Its eyes nearly popped out of its sockets. The gigantic being let go and tumbled to the ground, shaking as if in spasms. Likewise, Nene, finally free, pushed away Adanara with her free hand and curled up in pain over the wounded one. She screamed again, blinded by pain and anger.
But above all, she felt it.
The Evil One knocked on the front door of her soul, like a sweet song, a warm and comfortable caress. Her chest burned more than her wound, her forehead turned hot. She gasped and panted. The fear and humiliation she had suffered at the hands of Adanara flashed through her mind.
The witch had stabbed her. During their second attempt at healing a damned, Jiriel had helped her, protected her from the Evil One... Or had she? Hadn't she perhaps protected the infamous witch from Nene, instead? Her stomach clenched as the Evil One's whispers instilled in her thoughts that were not her own, emotions that brought her on the verge of madness.
She had to get up, she had to purge everyone. Moka, Kora, Adanara, finally herself. An Inquisitor who kills an innocent is not worthy of the name. Her heresy would end with her, but not in vain. She had to tear the silver dagger from her flesh and thrust it into the witch's throat. It was so easy… She was there, within arm's reach, leaning over her…
«Nene, forgive me», Adanara cried. «We did it»
Those tears, those false, deceiving tears. How she longed to see them dry on a pale dead face, a lifeless body finally pure. There was still hope of redeeming their souls, she just needed a little strength, she just had to reach out for her neck.
«I'm sorry! I had to!»
Adanara took her sane hand and squeezed it. Nene was so close to her throat...
Maybe she could have done it even without the dagger? It would have been so satisfying to tear the life out of her with her fingernails. It would have been so… satisfying… so….
An Inquisitor never kills the innocents.
The thought flashed through her mind like a bolt. What was wrong with her? Adanara, that Adanara, an innocent? It was absurd to even think about it. She was a witch, an enemy of all that is right.
Nene had to fight for her life before the witch could finish her off.
Although the witch had hurt her, but only to complete the ritual, to save her life.
She inhaled.
«Nene? Can you hear me?»
Nene gulped loudly. She was breathing heavily. The whispers stopped. Heavy sweat gathered on her forehead. The stinging pain was still there as she made the mistake of looking down at the wound. Her dagger was stuck in the back of her hand. She could not feel her fingers anymore, which had assumed an unnatural position. The whole thing was a disgusting lump of blood and glass fragments.
«It hurts», she complained.
«I'm sorry, I... I... had to...»
«The Evil One, I no longer feel it»
«It worked! We are safe!»
Adanara helped her sit up. The dragon lay at the back of the cave, on its side. It was breathing heavily but had stopped fidgeting. Had they managed to free Moka from the Evil One?
«You're alive», Nene said.
Tears flooded her vision. She had given up Adanara for dead. She looked at her in disbelief above the pink light coming from the bottom of the cave. Her hair was full of sand and her face was covered in several abrasions, but she was alive.
«I almost suffocated», she laughed nervously. «Where is Master?»
Nene wanted to avoid her seeing Kora in the state she was in, but she gave herself away by instinctively turning towards the Warden’s remains. Adanara's gaze followed hers and was stunned by the sight.
«Oh… no…»
A deep roar caught their attention. The dragon was getting back on its feet. It shook its body and tail, freeing it from some debris and sand.
«What now?»
«Let's hope it worked...»
The idea of losing her life made Nene tremble. She contracted every muscle, her battered hand hurt even more. With the healthy one, she clung to Adanara. She was one step away from giving in to despair. The witch wrapped her arms around her and hugged her, covering her with her body. The dragon spotted them. It took an uncertain step towards them. The pierced paw forced him to hobble, his belly was moving irregularly. It looked exhausted and in pain. It was getting close. When it was a couple of metres away, it stopped.
«What have you done to me?»
A deep, hoarse voice echoed all around. It took them a moment to realise that the voice was coming from the dragon.
«Did it... speak?» Adanara asked.
«I don't hear the whispers anymore», Moka insisted. «What have you done to me?»
«The Evil One, we... The spirit that whispers. We have… drove it away»
«Liars! Humans invade our land, they kill our children!»
«It’s the truth. Kora, she freed you! She brought us here to…»
«Kora!»
The dragon raised its snout as if struck by a sudden memory. It searched the surrounding area until it identified the remains of its disciple. It got as close as its size would allow it and inhaled.
«Kora…»
«She wanted to save you. She wanted you to protect Tuatha from invaders»
«Uhm…»
Moka planted its paws firmly on the ground and spread its wings. It moved them gently as if stretching, then finally walked towards them again.
«I don't believe you, but she'll tell me whether you're lying or not»
«What? She... is alive?»
«Now you will come with me»
Without waiting for a response, the dragon stretched out a powerful paw towards them. Nene began to panic. She wanted to draw her sword and defend herself. Adanara, however, held her even tighter, pressed her face against her until she could no longer see anything.
«He won't hurt us», she whispered to her.
«How can you know that?»
«We have no choice but to trust. Calm down»
The reptile's grip lifted them off the ground. They were almost completely enveloped by its scaly paw. Each jolt rekindled the terrible pain Nene felt. She began to tremble. She wanted to go back to Nila.
«Hold your breath», Moka ordered.
A stronger shake, then a flap of wings. A loud crash followed by a roar told them that Moka was climbing the cave walls.
Nene inhaled as much as she could. It was difficult to take in air in her condition, but she hurried to do so when she heard the splash of water coming from above. The water enveloped her and Adanara in an instant. She closed her eyes and prayed for her life once again.