Seyre looked pale, his entire reality turned upside down. Ashiya demanded to remove the chains, it was not known where he intended to go once released, in turn, Sonanta muttered under her breath without even intending to unlock it. Kiyeri was unexpectedly the calmest, after staring at the floor for a while he began to think aloud.

  "Did the Voidborne start appearing only after that? Is it possible that thousands of them in the afterlife are those victims?"

  "Not exactly,” Sonanta answered. “Before that tragedy, not a single Sigil Bearer had been in the afterlife, so no one knows whether the Beyond always looked like this or only became like this after sin. All rituals were very simple, the old Bearer poured all its energy back into the stone, thus returning the mark, and the new one then touched the same stone and absorbed the mana, thus ciming the Sigil.."

  The trio was stunned, Ashiya compined, “So simple? How is that possible?!”

  “It‘s just how it was,“ Sonanta confirmed, “Now not a single stone on this earth will accept our polluted energy anymore and we are forced to do that nasty transfusion, and then go through hell.”

  And indeed, the procedure was nasty, there’s no other way to call it. When one person transfers mana to another, you almost don’t feel anything, only light cold threads pass through the body, as if someone were running their hair through it, from the inside. However, when taking over a Sigil, everything is much more complicated.

  First, it’s done directly between two people: the old and the new.

  Secondly, it is impossible to give a Sigil, it can only be pulled out, or more precisely, uprooted. To speed up the process, the giver used up all his mana to the st drop. The puller would put his hands on the giver and suck out the energy, but since there was none, the Sigil was sucked out in return. The first suffered like hell. Some whimpered. Some squirmed. Some convulsed. Some even foamed blood, ter saying that it felt like someone was pulling their brains out through the back of their heads. The recipient had to hold the victim down, unable to stop the process for even a second because they would have to start all over again. Many felt sick to their stomachs, knowing the same fate awaited them in the future...

  And third. After successfully appropriating the Sigil, the recipient loses consciousness and, once on the other side, must walk along a narrow path between two boundaries, while the Boidborne tries to catch him. If they succeed, he will perish.

  If he successfully passes to the end, he will wake up.

  Although the candidates are informed, because no one needs a deserter during the ceremony, when you are actually there, you understand that no words could describe such feelings.

  Disgust twisted all their faces in unison.

  "Okay, so what do we get?" Kiyeri's voice brought everyone back from their thoughts. “Some priest, having received the information from unknown sources, obtained my blood without me noticing and performed the ceremony, seemingly for no reason, dying himself. On top of all that, I do not have any additional power, I am the same as I was before, but simply cannot die."

  The group nodded.

  "Is the legend true? Is there a way to check? Nothing binds." Kiyeri was impatient.

  "I think I know why you have no power. There is a way to check, if necessary, we can try.“ Sonanta commented.

  While she was talking, footsteps sounded in the distance. Zarine approached the cell, very strangely - without an escort.

  "It‘s confirmed?" She immediately shot a question.

  "Yes, everything matches," Sonanta replied.

  "Then why are they still chained?“

  From their short conversation, it became clear that they knew more than they seemed, and also that mockery about torture, which Ashiya certainly did not forget, judging by his demeanor, when the chains were dropped. Kiyeri was convinced for a second he would punch someone.

  Although Ashiya and Kiyeri were released, Seyre remained in pce, a little bewildered, "...you won't take me with you?"

  Zarine turned only half her face away as she left, answering, "There's no evidence against you, but there’s no reason to take you, either." After a short pause, she added, "The same blood flows through your veins as theirs."

  The group moved away from the cell. That expression “all of one blood” often used among the people somehow sounded again and again in Kiyeri’s head, seemingly for no reason. While he was thinking like that, he unconsciously looked at Ashiya, who looked a little distressed and maybe even worried. Kiyeri’s heart sank and he hurried to comfort him, putting his hand on his shoulder reassuringly, “It doesn’t concern you.“

  Ashiya lowered his head and blushed a little. Everything would have been very nice if it weren’t for the dies in front who couldn’t keep their opinions to themselves. One blurted out “Pffff”, the other “HM”.

  The four of them returned to the same hall from which they had come, only instead of royal white retives and a bunch of guards, only Mia was present, though she’d promised to stay at the border. Next to her on the table y Ashiya and Kiyeri's belts with weapons. Without bothering with the details, Kiyeri asked the more important question, "Where are Dali and Ruki?"

  "Locked up," Zarine answered coldly. "I left them here expecting answers, but they were both silent, which says a lot."

  "How did you know they were involved?" Kiyeri asked.

  "Information is the most important asset,“ Mia spoke, “ And I am responsible for collecting it. Rumors that something was wrong with you reached me soon after your ceremony. I sent capable people and learned many died during that event. You were imprisoned. Soon after, I received news that the young Lord Ashiya burned the generals and officials alive one by one at Zeni‘s headquarters to get to him, but before he could, he was also captured. Later, we learned that you both escaped from there."

  Kiyeri remembers how surprised he was when he heard the guard outside his cell talking about the events outside. He was accused of sabotaging the ritual and locked in the dungeon for several days. Pressed to confess what he had done, but with nothing to confess, he was brutally tortured by his own teacher and the only survivor, Master Zeni.

  At first, while he was still able to maintain his sanity, he heard Ashiya coming and demanding that the guards let him in, but soon the dungeon was completely closed and no one but Zeni could enter.

  One evening, there was a great commotion outside and explosions were heard. The screams of people penetrated through the yers of the dungeon to Kiyeri's ears. With so many problems outside, Zeni did not visit the dungeon for a while and Kiyeri had recovered somewhat. As the guard changed, a story was told from hearsay. The young lord came to Zeni's headquarters, under which the dungeon was located, demanding the release of the prisoner. The generals and other subordinates drove him away, rejecting any request. The young man lost his patience and began to kill. Many lives were lost before he was neutralized. He barely survived and was also thrown into solitary confinement.

  “Was Zeni draining my mana not to force a confession, but to try and cim an empty Sigil for himself?" Kiyeri reasoned.

  "And why else?" Ashiya interjected, "The only one who could benefit from the ritual was HIM. He had pnned to be reborn from the beginning, but for some reason, he didn't succeed."

  "Well, that's impossible." Zarine ughed. "Our ancestors tried. It's a shame you had to prove it to him like that, Kiyeri."

  "How did you two escape in such a state?" Sonanta asked.

  "I wasn't tortured." Ashiya quickly added.

  “My mother…”

  The way he said it, cracked at the edges - made it clear: the escape had cost him dearly.

  “For a whole month, she did everything she could. She used every connection she had and made new ones. Most of the pace workers, some guards, even their families - they were people like her. Ordinary people. She managed to convince one of the guards who watched over my cell and a few others who agreed to help by starting a commotion to distract the rest.

  One night, that commotion began. Not long after, she came to my cell with another man. She even brought my weapons. Both of them donated mana — to give me strength. The guard even let himself be id out, to make the story look convincing ter. And the three of us ran.

  But in the tunnels… we ran into a patrol. Too many. I was still too weak. I couldn’t protect her. I didn’t have time.”

  He looked down at his open hands as if something were still in them. For a moment, he didn’t move - then slowly lowered them, voice steady again.

  “As I reached the outer chamber, I heard Ashiya calling me. I helped him out. From then on, it was… simple.”

  Mia pced a hand over her heart. “Honor to the sister,” she said with deep respect. The others nodded in agreement.

  “We knew you were on the run,” she added. “But not why. And without an official word from the Moon, we couldn’t act - though we certainly didn’t suspect this. Over time, rumors reached us from different regions, until yesterday, when you decided to put on a little show at the border.”

  “You’re a great actress,” Kiyeri remarked with a faint smile.

  “When I saw your self-made mark, I thought. You can’t possibly think I won’t fg it immediately, but clearly, the performance was not for us” Mia said.

  “It’s impossible to resolve such case without an international conflict.” Zarine’s stern tone echoed in the hall. “That dagger must be found and destroyed immediately, while Kiyeri is here. Ashiya, you must return home and find it.”

  “Return?” Kiyeri was surprised, “No, we are where we should be, the dagger is here.”

  Mia frowned and suddenly stepped closer, “Does brother say we have it?”

  Kiyeri sighed "Brother says — the enemy is already here. Zeni got his hands on the ritual, sure, but only half of it. Someone fed him lies. Then, he tortured me in search of the truth, and then he let me walk freely for a year. A month before the equinox, he suddenly disappears without a trace, where do you think he went? A week before the equinox, his retives show up looking for me and suddenly want to deepen their knowledge and help. They're making every effort to invade your nd. Now I'm here. The dagger is here. I'm very sorry, dies, but I'm not looking for refuge, I'm pointing the finger at the enemy."

  There was silence in the hall.

  Kiyeri continued "I don't know how much of your legend is true, how much is a lie, I am proof of that, but from what we know it is impossible to predict their pn, maybe even Dali and Ruki don't know what they are doing. They have been rushing, so I believe that the equinox is special in some way, probably on that day they will come to seek me because they will be able to take this Sigil of the reborn. Zarine, you only have a few days to get that rat out of your house and I am their target."

  The mistress shook her head "This is a threat, but not that terrible. How much can he find out? All secrets are only for the chosen ones."

  Kiyeri was overcome by bad feelings, "We must urgently bring Ruki, Dali and Seyre! Who is watching them?!"

  "Calm down," Zarine pouted, "no one has escaped from our dungeons yet, but if you want to..." - she didn't finish her sentence when her face suddenly froze, quickly darkening. “...barrier!"

  She waved her hand at Mia and Sonanta, and they shot out of the hall like arrows. A few seconds ter, explosions began to thunder from all around outside. In the distance, thick bck smoke could be seen through the windows, guards were surrounding the pace territory, ready to defend.

  Kiyeri and Ashiya looked at each other and started to run, but immediately heard a stern ‘STOP’ and faltered.

  "Kiyeri must stay here," Zarine emphasized.

  "Then I'll stay too!" Ashiya stepped closer to him.

  "No, you're more useful outside. Find one of the sisters. Do what they say," Kiyeri said, gncing for approval from Zarine.

  "Do whatever you want, just don't mess around." She waved, “Where are my reports?!"

  And really, why isn't anyone coming? Generals, guards, tacticians, officers, someone has to present themselves to receive instructions. To discuss such sensitive matters in private, everyone who was not involved was sent away from the hall, but not that far.

  "There will be no reports." A voice came from behind the open door, making Kiyeri's blood run cold. All three of them stared at the entrance.