Bond of the mind - part two - chapter 5

The group continued through the sewer, where they could hardly see a step ahead. Luckily for them, Senna was leading the way, as she could see more than the others. The sewers beneath the fortress were really spacious, but there were lots of smaller branches that always connected to the tunnel they were currently in. Since the space where they were was the widest, they decided not to turn anywhere.

The elf finally managed to see the end, which was again barred, but just before that there was a wooden ladder leading upwards.

"Stop," whispered Mirthana. Something wasn't right here. She could sense something bad coming from the foul water. Spark was also on guard and growling.

"Do you smell something?" asked Senna. Her eyes could see ahead, but they couldn't see through the water. If there was anything there, it wasn't giving itself away.

"I'll try to do something about it," said Lilly. She put both hands under the water and created a wall of water in front of her palms, which she pushed forward as she waded through the water. After a while, they reached the ladder.

"I wonder how we're going to get the dog up there," said Tragir. Yes, that was a real problem, and they had no solution yet. There wasn't much time, so they started climbing up the ladder one by one. Lilly decided to go last so that everyone else could get up safely. 

Senna was already at the end of the ladder and pushed on the hatch that was preventing them from climbing up. At first, it wouldn't budge, and the elf felt that the harder she pushed, the louder the cracking sound coming from the ladder she was standing on. After a while, however, the hatch gave way and she was able to climb up. Mirthana and Tragir climbed out after her. Only Lilly and Spark remained below. The female had to wait a moment at the bottom, as she was the last one. Lilly quickly climbed the ladder, causing the barrier she had created below to disappear. Spark began to slowly back away. She could feel that whatever was down there was starting to move. Lilly was already at the top. She already had a plan in her head, but she wasn't sure if it would work. She placed her hands around the opening she had crawled through, and it began to widen. Spark and Lilly stepped back a little further. She took a slight run-up and then jumped up, pushing off the wall and propelling herself upward. They could see something jump out of the water toward her. There was a loud snap of jaws and then a splash as it landed. They grabbed Spark and pulled her up. Everyone had to pull hard. As soon as Lilly took her hands off the ground, the opening shrunk back to its original size. 

Finally, everyone was safely above ground. At least, that's what they thought. They only had a moment to catch their breath. They knew they were still in enemy territory. They were in a small room with only one door. Although the room was not lit, there was definitely more visibility than downstairs. Of course, the air was much better. They took a good look around the room and soon realized where they were. There were shackles on the walls all around them. They agreed that this must be where prisoners were kept before they were disposed of. Senna decided to try opening the door. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found that it wasn't locked. There was obviously no reason for it to be. It was unlikely that anyone would be able to get out of here, even if they had survived this far. She looked around the hallway but didn't see any guards. After all, in a land of darkness, it was probably rare for anyone to voluntarily venture into this fortress. But she noticed something she hadn't seen before. In the middle of the hallway, something was floating and moving very slowly. This must be why there were no guards here.

"There are no guards here, but something is floating in the middle of the hallway. It's probably something they use against intruders," she whispered to the group. 

"What should we do?" Tragir was the first to ask. After all, it was a question everyone wanted to ask.

"I can try to shoot it down, but we don't know yet if it alerts anyone. For now, we should try to avoid it," Senna replied. It was the safest option, after all. The group gradually left the room and entered the hallway, while the object was clearly turned to the other side, and they began to slowly move down the hallway toward the other side. The hallway soon turned to the left. 

Soon they saw that the corridor ended again at the entrance to the hall. They didn't want to go inside because they had had some bad experiences there. Nothing good had ever awaited them inside such spaces. But they had no choice. The only option was to try to go back and somehow get past the flying object. So they cautiously entered the hall, and the entrance door, which had been wide open, closed behind them. They tried to open it immediately, but the door didn't even move. Lilly was the first to notice the presence of something dangerous. She could feel the power of darkness in the room. However, it was weaker than what she had felt from the unknown entity. She touched one of the pillars, and the stone, which contained the power of darkness, began to envelop her body. Everyone noticed figures flashing in front of them for a moment. 

"Watch out!" Senna shouted. From the shadows, she could guess who they were. Almost everyone managed to jump aside except for Lilly, who stepped forward. Her eyes could see it. She managed to grab the dark spear with her hand, but it was so powerful that it pushed her back a few steps. Only the power of darkness from the stone, which now partially covered her body, prevented her from being burned. 

"What a pleasant surprise," said one of the two figures now standing clearly on the other side of the hall, continuing, "Who would have thought that someone would stop my spear with their bare hands, and an ordinary human at that?" It was none other than the pair of Two and Three, whom the group had already had the honor of meeting. This time, however, they believed they were stronger than during their previous encounter. After all, they had come a long way to get here. Everyone was already preparing for battle.

"You know very well why we are here," said Lilly, taking a deep breath before continuing, "It is time for me to do something for you..."

"No—" Senna tried to say, but she was interrupted.

"You have to trust me and keep going. They obviously know about us, so our time is running out," Lilly concluded. They couldn't agree with that. They couldn't leave her here alone against the two of them, but she was one of the few who had a chance of pulling this off. Besides, she was right. They knew about their presence, and their chances of success were dwindling.

"We'll come back for you..." said Senna, unable to hold back her tears. This was wrong, but she knew Lilly was right.

"I'll leave this here for you," said Mirthana, handing her one of the arrows. Then she hugged her and followed Senna. 

"Be good, girl," said Tragir, and Spark was the last to follow the rest through the side door into the next hallway. Everyone was gone, and Lilly stood alone against the dark duo.

"Normally we wouldn't have let you leave, but it was so touching..." said Three, laughing at her own joke and continuing, "I hope you'll entertain us at least a little before we finish you off." After that, they both immediately moved towards Lilly. It was quick, like the blink of an eye. They attacked her with their weapons, but things didn't go as they had expected. Lilly, incomprehensibly to them, stopped both blows with just her hands. You could see her red eyes burning. 

The rest of the group continued as quickly as possible down the hallway. Senna heard footsteps coming from ahead, but there was no time to stop. She was ready. She released the arrow before anyone even appeared in front of them. It was perfect timing. The heyen that entered the alley was already headless. She knew that this wouldn't kill the heyen, but it would suffice for now. The group continued on, not waiting for the enemy to regroup. This time, the corridor split into two directions. Without thinking, they chose the path to the right. There was no time to think long and hard about the best route. The path ended in another large hall. It was obvious to the group that it would probably be the same as the previous hall. Before entering, Mirthana grabbed Sennu's hand.

"It's quite likely that the same scenario will await us there as in the previous room. That's why you mustn't stop with Spark and keep going. This time it's my turn with Tragir," she said and smiled. The dwarf nodded in agreement. If anyone was to continue, it was Senna and Spark. None of them had any doubts about that. The elf was speechless. She wanted to disagree so badly. She felt as if everyone had been planning this all along. She couldn't understand how they could be so calm. It was as if they had come to terms with this long ago. After a moment, she simply bowed her head and nodded. 

The group entered the hall. They continued running quickly to the other side. A shadow began to appear and take shape in front of them. It was exactly as they had expected. Senna and Spark turned between the columns and continued forward. Tragir picked up speed and quickly jumped to the spot where the shadow was forming. He swung his hammer at it, forcing the shadow to move without being able to take shape. Meanwhile, the elf and the female elf had already run through the door at the end of the hall.

"How dare you!" said the voice of the shadow. It had now managed to form behind them. Both were ready to fight.

Senna and Spark continued on. The hallway they were running down ended in a staircase that led upward. It must have led up to the tower. They both ran up the stairs. The staircase twisted around and around and seemed almost endless. Finally, they reached the top. There was a huge open room . They were at the top of the tower. The room resembled a cave more than the usual halls they had passed through before. There was almost nothing there, and the room seemed empty. Finally, Senna saw why they were there. At the very end, she saw a girl sitting on a throne made of skulls and bones, shrouded in a cloak. She sat there motionless, almost as she had during their previous encounter. Both women slowly stepped toward the girl. Senna was certain that this was her. The reason why the stranger had led them here without telling them the real reason for their journey. She had felt it all along. 

They were almost in the middle of the room when the elf felt an overwhelming presence behind her, but she didn't have time to turn around. Her body reacted impulsively, without thinking. She jumped forward without realizing it. There was a loud crack and the whole room shook.

"That was unexpected," said a voice. She managed to look back. Standing there was a man she had never seen before. He was enormous. He was almost twice as tall as she was. He was wearing only pants held up by a large belt. His hands were bound with chains, but it didn't look like he had escaped from a prison. Rather, it seemed as if they were part of him, because the chains moved on their own. His eyes burned with darkness. 

Senna didn't have time to react. One of the chains wrapped around her legs and threw her against the wall. There was a crack. The bow on her back broke when she hit the wall. The impact knocked the wind out of her, and she couldn't breathe for a moment before she recovered. The man was slowly walking toward her, ignoring Spark.

"Who would have thought that an ordinary elf could dodge an attack from one of the three highest-ranking warriors?" the man muttered to himself as he continued to approach Senna. It was already clear to her that she couldn't win in close combat.

He reached her and lifted the elf off the ground with one hand. First, he examined her closely.

"How could something so weak get this far..." he said to himself again, not expecting any answer. He slowly began to squeeze her hand. She began to feel pain. The man was preparing to strike Sennu with his other hand. She tried to pull away, but his grip was really strong and he wouldn't let go. She knew that this blow would be fatal for her. This time there was no barking, but a loud howl from Spark. The man's grip loosened for a moment, and Senna took advantage of it immediately. Instead of hitting her, he punched the wall, which immediately cracked and collapsed, revealing the outside. However, his movements were slower than usual. He let out a loud laugh.

Senna finally managed to stand up and immediately rushed as fast as she could toward the girl on the throne. The man was unable to react quickly enough to stop her. Even the chains around his hands moved too slowly. Now the girl stood up and drew her sword, her face still hidden by her hood. She lunged at the elf and was in front of her in an instant. This was too fast for Senna, and she knew she didn't have enough strength left to dodge the attack. She closed her eyes as the blade of the girl's sword was almost upon her. 

The sound of the sword passing through flesh could be heard. A deathly silence ensued. But Senna felt no pain. She opened her eyes again to see what had happened. What she saw made tears well up in her eyes. For a moment, she felt as if her heart had stopped. Right in front of her, she saw the bloody blade of the sword passing through Spark's body. The cloaked girl dropped the sword she had been clutching in her hand. In the blink of an eye, the girl disappeared, and in her place was a huge dark shadow . The only thing visible in it was something that resembled a huge mouth, which was now laughing loudly, so that the whole tower shook. When the laughter subsided, the dark shadow disappeared. Spark stood in front of Senna for a moment, then slowly slid to the ground. Blood flowed from her wound at an unstoppable pace. Elka immediately bent down to her and tried to stop the bleeding, but there was nothing she could do. The sword had pierced the female elf's heart. Senna couldn't help crying. She knew they had failed again. Soon after, Spark lifted her chest and breathed her last breath. The elf ran her hands over her fur, hoping that some miracle would bring her back. But now the dog was beginning to disappear before her eyes. When she was completely gone, all that remained was a pool of blood. 

Senna heard heavy footsteps, but she couldn't move. What had happened had shaken her to the core. She cried incessantly and paid no attention to anything else. The man, now unrestrained, walked over to where she was sitting. He felt no compassion for the elf. After all, this was something the dark side didn't know.

"Poor thing," muttered the man as he looked at the crying elf. He reached out his hand to grab her. But when he closed his palm, he felt nothing. Senna was gone. He looked around the room and noticed that the elf was lying on the floor on the other side of the room, and a man dressed entirely in black was standing next to her.

"Late as usual, but I was hoping you'd show up," said the huge man, laughing loudly. Then he ran towards the stranger, who ran towards him. Their fists met. There was a loud crack. The floor beneath them began to crack across the room. The man pushed the stranger back a few steps. After all, his strength was on a completely different level.

Blood ran down Lilly's face and hands. This was the limit of how long she could hold out against the two of them. She knew it was basically over. She was breathing heavily and just staying on her feet was difficult. The stone that protected her body like a shield was slowly crumbling and falling apart. She knew she couldn't hold them off any longer. After all, she was fighting them in their ideal environment. It was clear to her that she wouldn't be able to withstand the next attack. 

"You held on for a long time," Tia acknowledged. She had never encountered a human who could withstand her, let alone both of them, for so long. Two and Three prepared for their final attack.

"Unfortunately, this is the end," were Tia's last words. Her body reacted on its own again. The spear was already close to her body when she bit her thumb, as she had done several times before. At that moment, she was gone, and the two weapons struck nothing but empty space.

Mirthana and Tragir were holding their own against the Fifth surprisingly well. They had become quite coordinated during that time. Tragir had gotten used to defending anything that got close to Mirthana, allowing her to focus more on attacking than on defending. The Fifth clearly had problems with this pair, but in the land of darkness, there was no limit to the heyens' strength, so it was only a matter of time before Mirthana and Tragir ran out of strength. 

"How annoying!" thundered the Fifth's voice. No matter which side he tried to approach Mirthana from, the dwarf was immediately there, swinging his large hammer. In addition, he had to watch out for the tendrils that always shot out of the ground when Lmilr stopped and tried to trap him. But now his patience was running out.

"Let's end this!" said the Fifth. You could see him beginning to absorb the darkness around him. Gradually, the darkness around him grew and slowly expanded. Mirthana knew that this would be dangerous. Moreover, they knew from experience that anything the darkness touched would start to burn and consume it until nothing was left. Mirthana gathered leaves around them both, but she knew that this would not be enough this time.

"Goodbye," they both heard. There was an explosion that flooded the entire room with darkness. The fifth one snorted contentedly and began to turn away. He stopped. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something that really enraged him. Not only were they both still alive. There was another figure there now. Standing there, unknown to him, was a little girl with her arm outstretched, pushing back the darkness and protecting the dwarf and the forest spirit behind her. The little girl had a huge smile on her face. This enraged the fifth one even more. He began to absorb the darkness around him again, but without realizing it, his head rolled to the ground and a scythe was stuck in the wall behind him. He couldn't understand how he could have missed her attack. He let out a truly unnatural scream and shriek. 

"We have to go. There's no point in fighting them here," Yin said to the pair behind her, and without waiting for a response, she pushed them into the dark gate that was already behind them, which immediately closed behind them. 

"How dare you insult me like that!" the heyen shouted, but the girl had no intention of wasting her time with him. She snapped her fingers and she was gone too. She knew she had to find Lilly before she could join the stranger.

The stranger now stood before the enormous man who literally radiated darkness.

"I see you still have some strength left since we last met..." muttered the huge man. However, he did not expect an answer. Senna stood with her head bowed in the corner of the room, not moving. There was no reason for her to be there anymore. Everything was gone. Her mind was now shrouded in darkness. The huge man swung his fist at the stranger again, but this time he dodged the attack. He had no intention of wasting his strength. Besides, he knew that when it came to strength, the man was stronger. He just needed to buy some time for Yin before he could find everyone and join him. 

Suddenly, he realized that the darkness in the room had grown rapidly.

"I see you're all here," said the stranger. Two more figures emerged from the shadow of the huge man. One of them was male, but he was completely shrouded in a black robe, so nothing else could be seen. The second figure was smaller than the first. It was a woman. She had long, bright white hair and wore a short black dress that literally radiated darkness. She carried a sword at her waist. The woman laughed. 

"Attentive as always," she said and continued, "We haven't seen each other in a long time."

"I didn't expect Lord Darkness to send all three of his highest-ranking servants against me," replied the stranger.

"You are tiring Lord Darkness, so we have come to end it," said the man in the robe.

Yin tried to make her way through the rooms as quickly as she could, but she couldn't see any sign of Lilly. She knew she had to hurry. After all, even she could feel the darkness growing on the upper floor of the tower. She came across a door that wouldn't open. This must be it, she thought. She had to break down the door, which was easy for her. A figure rushed out of the room and tried to hit her, but it was slow, so it was easy to dodge the blow. Her fist hit the wall where she had been standing a moment ago. It was Lilly, breathing heavily. She was holding her side with one hand, which was bleeding. The other hand, which had been used to attack, was only partially covered with stones. She must have been really weak.

"I finally found you," said Yin, to show that she was not an enemy. Lilly looked at her. It calmed her down. Besides, she was no longer fit to fight. She had to lean against the wall to stay on her feet. 

"Anyway, we don't have time. We have to go now," added the little girl, then grabbed Lilly with one hand and both disappeared with a snap of their fingers. 

They appeared next to Senna. Lilly bent down to her. 

"Are you okay?" she managed to say. She had never seen an elf like this before. Her expression was exactly like that of someone who had given up everything and had no will to go on. Senna didn't answer. Lilly had the impression that the elf couldn't even hear her. 

"That took you long enough, Yin," said the stranger standing nearby.

"Do you think you have time to pay attention to someone else?" said a woman with white hair who was now standing behind the stranger and attacking him with her sword. The stranger dodged, but he was still bleeding. It was the first time Yin had seen anyone hurt him. She had no idea who the woman was, but she was so fast that she couldn't follow her movements or the sword strike she had made. The woman sneered. 

"You used to be better. The company of weaklings clearly doesn't suit you," she said. She had no intention of letting the stranger catch his breath and pursued him as he tried to dodge her.

"I've got you," said the man in the robe. A giant mouth appeared out of the darkness behind the stranger, and he disappeared inside it when the jaws snapped shut. There was an explosion, and the stranger emerged, but it was clear that it had taken a lot of strength. Blood began to run down his hand. But he didn't have time. A huge man was already standing in front of him, and a blow came from above. The stranger managed to block the attack, but he felt the floor crack beneath his feet. The woman hit him again. Fortunately, they didn't notice the three in the corner. Yin had already managed to open the dark gate and threw both of them through it.

"We have to go," she called to the stranger. He nodded his head in her direction to indicate that she should go.

"Hurry!" Yin urged, but the gate began to close. The stranger didn't have time. He had to focus all his attention on the three. 

"Go," said the stranger. The girl barely managed to jump through the gate before it closed completely and disappeared. Everyone was back in the unknown world. Except for the one who belonged there.

Tragir and Mirthana were in the best shape. Lilly was really exhausted, and the forest woman immediately sat down next to her to heal the wound she was still holding. Senna just sat with her head down and a blank expression on her face. They waited a moment for Lilly to be able to get up. For the moment, everyone refrained from asking any questions, because they knew that the elf wouldn't say anything to them right now. In any case, it was obvious to them that there was one less of them again.

"If you can get up, let's head back to the house," said Yin. Everyone nodded except Senna. The group got up and prepared to follow the girl. The elf, however, remained seated. Yin had no intention of persuading anyone, so she left her be. With the exception of Senna, everyone headed toward the house. 

"How do you feel about him staying behind? Aren't you worried about him?" Mirthana asked the girl. She shook her head.

"It's not easy, but if something serious happened, we would all know," replied Yin.

"What do you mean?" Mirthana continued.

"If he were seriously injured, the world that belongs to him and exists in his mind would begin to fall apart," added Yin, and Mirthana simply nodded.

Soon, everyone arrived at the house they had been to so many times before. The little girl instructed them to make themselves at home and then excused herself and left the house. Yin headed back to where they had left Senna. She was still sitting there, motionless. The little girl came up to her and crouched down in front of her.

"Are you just going to sit there?" Yin asked. She just sat there with her head down.

"I have a favor to ask you..." Senna said after a moment, without raising her head.

"What could that be?" asked the little girl.

"Can you make me a gate near Naarkhu?" the elf continued. This took Yin quite by surprise. She stared at Senna, but she didn't move. She felt as if she were looking at a pile of misery. Of course, she couldn't see inside her head, but she hadn't expected this from her.

"If that is your wish, then yes. You are not prisoners here. Don't you want to at least say goodbye to the others or tell them your plans?" Yin asked. The elf just shook her head. The little girl breathed a sigh of relief. She knew that if she had made up her mind, she would not be able to change it. They weren't that close after all. 

"All right," Yin said. She immediately began to open the gate.

"This is the closest I can send you," she said.

"Thank you for everything..." were the last words Senna heard. Then she stroked her hair without looking at her and disappeared through the gate, which closed behind her. Yin stood there for a moment. Now, however, she headed back to the house. The rest of the group stood outside and watched the little girl return.

She walked up to them.

"Did Senna stay there?" Mirthana asked her as soon as Yin was with them. She shook her head.

"She asked me to create a gate, so she's gone," said the girl.

"What?!" Mirthana exclaimed. The rest of the group had the same question on their lips. Senna hadn't mentioned that she wanted to go anywhere. 

"You have to send us after her right away," she continued.

"Unfortunately, that won't be possible. She went to the land of the elves, and you can't just go there," Yin replied, then entered the house.

"So what now?" Tragir asked. None of them knew the answer to that.

"I guess we'll wait for the stranger and then... then we'll see if he can help us," said Mirthana, confused. 

"We probably don't have any other choice," added Lilly.  Tragir grunted in agreement, and then they all entered the house.

Today, Tara went with her grandmother to visit May again. As usual, she picked her up after school and they headed straight to the hospital where May was. They were soon inside and entering the room where Tara's sister was lying. Everything looked the same as it had when they were last there. Spark came to greet them both. Tara immediately took her for a walk. They weren't gone for long and soon returned to the room. Tara noticed that her grandmother had fallen asleep while holding May's hand. But something seemed different. She came over to her sister to take a closer look. There really was a difference. Tears were streaming from under May's closed eyelids. But these weren't the usual tears Tara knew. These were black and left black marks on the skin where they flowed. She immediately woke her grandmother, who was just dozing, to see what was happening, but even she had never seen anything like this before. They called a nurse to the room because they didn't know what else to do, but even she had never seen anything like it before. Soon the doctor arrived, but like the nurse, he had never encountered anything like it before. Soon, however, it stopped. They ran some tests to make sure everything was okay and then left the room because there was nothing more they could do.

"Grandma, do you think May will be okay?" Tara asked.

"I'm sure she will. It will probably take a while, but she'll be back with us soon," she replied. Even at her young age, Tara sensed that she was probably just saying that to reassure her. But at that moment, it really helped. That was what she needed to hear. Outside the windows, it was already beginning to get dark, and they knew they would have to leave soon. They said goodbye to May first, then to Spark, and soon they were on their way. Tara had to go back to school tomorrow, and her grandmother wanted to walk her home before it got completely dark outside. 

May opened her eyes. At least she thought she did, but she couldn't see anything. There was only pitch black darkness all around her. She couldn't hear a sound, not even her own breathing or when she tried to say something. She didn't know if she had actually said anything or if she had just thought it. Slowly, she checked herself in the endless darkness to see if she was still in one piece. She remembered what had happened last. An unpleasant thought flashed through her mind. The thought that she had died in the fight. She checked her side but couldn't feel any wounds. This was probably what the afterlife was like, she thought. One big, endless nothingness. She could only tell that there was something beneath her because she could feel the cold surface under her feet. She felt as if she had been there for months or years. Time seemed to pass so quickly in the darkness. Thoughts of the others and what had happened raced through her mind. She couldn't stop them. It hurt. All she could do was curl up and cry silently. She knew she was crying only because she felt the tears running down her face. But that didn't change her situation. The endless darkness and silence around her were unbearable...

The stranger returned to the house. The rest of the group was already waiting for him in the dining room at the table. Mirthana paced impatiently around the room, her impatience palpable. Tragir and Lilly were sitting at the table. While Lilly was dozing off from exhaustion, the dwarf had to eat so he wouldn't get too stressed, according to him. As soon as they heard the door, they knew he was back. But what they saw was unexpected. The stranger entered the room and Yin, who had sensed his presence, went to meet him and supported him. Because they were sitting inside, they hadn't noticed, but the sky outside had turned red, the leaves had fallen from the trees, and everything seemed to be withering away. Mirthana was the first to notice them. Part of his right leg was missing from the knee down, and his right arm ended at the shoulder. It was a truly terrifying sight. It was surprising that he had managed to return and escape the three highest-ranking members. It took a while before any of them spoke.

"I'm sorry about what happened, but you have to help us... we don't know what to do..." Mirthana finally said, beginning to sob softly, but she pulled herself together and continued, "May and Spark are gone, Sennu was taken and left... tell us what to do now... I don't know anymore... none of us do..." 

The rest of the group stared at the stranger, waiting for some answer that would point them in the right direction. The stranger took a deep breath. It was obvious how tired and exhausted he was.

"Everything is as it should be... You should return to Arnu," was his reply. Everyone stared at him in confusion.

"How could this be the way it was supposed to be!?" Tragir exclaimed angrily.

"We cannot accept this, but we understand that you want us to leave, so we will go," Mirthana replied after she had calmed down and managed to collect her thoughts. There was no point in discussing anything furth nd here. The stranger and Yin turned around, and the little girl helped him to his room. She soon returned to the rest of the group. 

"If you're ready, we can go," said Yin. Everyone agreed without hesitation. They had planned to leave anyway. The little girl led them away from the house, where she created a dark gate for them.

"This is all I can do for you," she said.

They all thanked her and said goodbye. Lilly and Tragir had already passed through the gate. Mirthana paused for a moment and looked at the little girl.

"You're not as bad as I thought you were at first," she said with a slight smile, then she too disappeared into the dark gate, which closed behind her.

The group looked around to get their bearings. They were in a clearing near the forest. Through the trees to the north, they could see the towers of the city of Arn. So they set off in that direction. It was clear to them that they couldn't climb out of the dark gate near the city. After all, people might think they belonged to the followers of Darkness. It didn't take long before they entered the city. They headed straight for the hunters' guild because they didn't know where else to go. Besides, they knew they would always be welcome there. After all, the hunters' guild had always maintained a neutral stance, so they were relatively safe inside if anyone was still looking for them. First, they headed to the reception desk because they needed to register Lilly with the guild. Once they were done and had booked their rooms, they decided to eat while they were downstairs. During the meal, there was complete silence at the table. None of them felt like talking, and they didn't really know what to talk about. When they had finished eating, they all headed for the staircase and went to the top floor towards their rooms. At the door, they all said good night and disappeared behind their doors.

Senna had already reached the forests where the land of Naarkhu began. It had been some time since she had been here, ever since she left the forests in search of adventure. She was slowly beginning to feel nostalgic. As she got closer, she realized that she was being followed. She couldn't see anyone yet because they were able to hide very well in the woods, considering that they belonged there. She was almost inside when two figures emerged from behind the trees. She recognized them immediately. It was a man and a woman. Twins. She knew who they were because they were distant relatives.

"Look who's back," said the man.

"Could it be the one who abandoned her own kind?" asked the woman, but it wasn't really a question that needed an answer. Elves who left their homeland were forbidden to return.

"I know I left, but I would like to return," said Senna, looking at the couple.

"Shall we let her in?" asked the man this time.

"We will allow her to enter if she wishes, but we must take her to the king, and he will decide what to do with her," replied the woman. Senna knew that this was an inevitable process. She hesitated for a moment and, for some reason, looked back behind her. The landscape behind her looked the same as before. She turned her head back to the couple.

"I agree," she said and approached them. Then all three disappeared into the shadows of the forest.

The stranger woke up in his bed in his apartment. He still felt pain, mainly in his leg and the hand he had lost. He had to get ready because he had to leave for work soon. In this world, he was a calm and quiet man. It would be difficult for anyone on the other side to recognize him because he acted completely differently there, but he had spent a lot of time there after all. His work was the same as every day. He had been working at for many years, so it was easy for him. The work passed quickly, and it was time to go home again. Today, however, he received a message that didn't come very often. He had been invited to a family celebration, but these events weren't his thing. He liked his space and spent his time as he wanted. He wasn't sure what to decide yet. He usually turned down such invitations, but in the end he went anyway. At the moment, he didn't want to worry about it and, as usual, he headed to the store on his way home to buy everything he needed. Soon he was home, where he prepared dinner. The next day was behind him, and another evening spent on the other side awaited him. His battle with darkness was already a daily routine for him, and he couldn't imagine what else he would do. It had been some time since he had been on an expedition. He had almost forgotten the time when he was there for the first time. Once he had everything done and ready for the next day, he went to bed. It didn't take long before he fell asleep and set off for the other side again.

It was morning again. The rest of the group gathered in the guild hall for breakfast. All around, he could hear the voices of the other hunters chatting and making plans for the day, but at their table, the silence continued. Soon everyone had finished eating and remained seated at the table in silence. The dwarf was the one who finally decided to break the uncomfortable silence.

"I'm going to see what's new here," he said, and then headed out of the guild. Only Mirthana and Lilly remained at the table. After a moment, the forest girl also began to get up.

"Can you show me here, please?" Lilly blurted out suddenly and continued, "I've never been to a city like this before..."

"Sure," Mirthana replied with a smile. She was really glad Lilly had said something, because anything was better than thinking about what was going to happen next. At least this way she could forget about it all for a little while. So they left the guild building together and headed for the streets of the city. Mirthana hadn't noticed it yesterday, but people were behaving as they had before the attack on the kingdom's capital. It almost seemed as if nothing had happened. Outside, the city was bustling again, with crowds of people streaming in, most of them coming to work or do business. First, they walked through the rest of the city and then headed to the market together. Mirthana could see Lilly's eyes light up. It must have been the first time she had seen so many different things in one place, Mirthana thought. Lilly immediately ran to the first stall and looked at everything they had to offer. It was like discovering the world. After all, the desert people lived in isolation and no merchants ever ventured into those parts because crossing the desert was very difficult and, above all, dangerous. Mirthana felt her mood improve as she watched Lilly's enthusiasm and tried to describe everything she asked about, if she knew it herself. 

It was getting dark when they reached the last stall. At the end of the market, several people could be seen preparing a stage. There was a performance in town that evening.

"What's going on there?" asked Lilly.

"I have no idea. I've never seen anything like this before, but we can find out," replied Mirthana. Just then, Tragir joined them.

"Are you also going to the show?" the dwarf asked them.

"A show?" asked Lilly. She had no idea what he was talking about. Tragir nodded.

"A play with talking," he replied.

"That sounds interesting. Shall we stay here for it?" asked Lilly, looking at Mirthana.

"Sure, we can," she said. She knew they had no other plans at the moment, and this seemed like a good way to spend the evening. She was curious to find out what it was all about. Soon, a little girl walked by the group, handing out small flyers to everyone. She gave one to them as well. The flyer read "The Beginning of the World." 

It was now completely dark, and the streetlights bathed the city in light. The stage was ready, and people were gathering, expecting it to start soon. Everyone was clearly full of anticipation, because this was a truly special occasion. There weren't many people who traveled the world organizing this kind of entertainment for people, because after all, these were dangerous times. That's why it usually took a long time for something like this to come to town, and the next day they were already on their way to other towns. Finally, a person appeared on the stage.

"Good evening. I welcome everyone who has come to see our performance and listen to the story we are about to tell. I hope and believe that you will find it interesting and enjoyable. Now we can begin," said the man. He then bowed and left the stage. As soon as he was gone, the curtains slowly began to open. The actors stepped in front of the audience and immediately began to perform. There was also a narrator who began to tell the story together with them. It went something like this:

"Once upon a time, long before our world, the moon, or the sun existed, there were two siblings. An older boy and a younger girl. The boy's name was Daro and the girl's name was Lua. They lived in the sky, deep among the stars, where they played together. They never got tired, so their games never ended. One day, however, they realized that they were no longer enjoying their games up there in the sky among the stars, so they decided together to create something completely new. Their own world, where they could play. So Daro created our world. There was no life here, because everything was covered and engulfed in darkness. So Lua decided to add light to bring our world to life. First, she created the sun, and then the moon, which would reflect the sun's rays even in the deepest darkness. Then, together, they began to create the inhabitants of our world. The girl had real talent and creativity, so everything beautiful and pleasant was created by her. The boy, on the other hand, had no talent for this, and everything he created was a failure. The boy began to envy the girl's talent. It bothered him that everything the girl created looked really beautiful, while his creations looked much worse. So the boy decided to improve all his creations with the powers of darkness. This led to a division of the inhabitants of this world between those who live in darkness and serve it, and those who worship the sun or the moon. The boy noticed that the inhabitants of the land worshipped Luu as their creator and the creator of all light, and he began to feel jealous of the girl. This brought the two into conflict. Daro then decided to intervene in the affairs of the earth and became an immortal demon king and leader of all darkness. The girl refused to get involved because she felt no resentment, hatred, or anything else towards her brother, whom she loved. There was no reason for her to fight Daro. She gave the land only one thing. Instead of descending from the sky, she created faithful creatures to bring people to this world to help its inhabitants. These creatures were, of course, dogs. They were guides and, one might say, creatures that shared some of Luu's powers. It is said that one such creature shares her time among the stars while her brother is away. At least, that is how the story of the beginning of the world is told among the people of this land."

With that, the narrator and the other actors lined up in front of the audience and bowed together. Amidst thunderous applause, the curtain fell again and the performance was over. It was clear to everyone who had come to see the performance that they were truly thrilled. The applause continued for a while after the stage was completely covered by the curtain. It was a really interesting story, but of course, its truth could not be verified. Soon, all the spectators began to slowly disperse, and Tragir, Mirthana, and Lilly also headed back to the guild. During dinner, they talked for a while about what they had just heard. They had heard various legends about this world and how it was created, but this one sounded really interesting. Above all, they were finally able to talk and have fun with each other again . When they were done, they went to their rooms together, said goodbye, and went to bed. After all, it was already late in the evening.