Opening his eyes, Kiyeri saw the wooden rafters of the ceiling. His first thought was simply relief that he didn't have to visit the Beyond this time. He wasn't nauseous, his breathing was easy, that meant he wasn't dead. Was he just sleeping? Fainted? It was unclear. Already used to waking up in the most unexpected places, he didn't feel panic, but as his memories quickly returned, a slight anxiety began to flutter in his chest. If he’d been laid out this gently, not even restrained, that could only mean one of two things: either those three really meant what they said - and things went peacefully - or Ashiya, without a second thought for logic or consequence, had blasted his way through and dragged Kiyeri to safety.

  Quickly feeling around his waist, Kiyeri realized that the wound was still not healed, but it was already clean.

  Slowly and carefully raising himself to a sitting position, he scanned the room. “Simple furnishings, small room, but clean bedding. The noise coming from all sides. Probably a town inn? Well, the town hasn’t burned down, that’s a good start.”

  Kiyeri’s eyes stopped at a wicker basket on the table, covered with a towel. “Let this be food, let this be food!” Praying to some gods of fodder, he slowly lowered one foot after the other to the floor and, half-bent, crawled to the basket. For some reason, his sides, which had been healthy yesterday, felt like they had been kicked today. The anxiety only made him feel worse.

  Under the towel lay fresh, still warm buns with meat and a note: “If Kiye wakes up before I get back, I’m out looking for clothes. “ Kiyeri did not doubt for a second that Ashiya himself was alive and well, although it was not that the young man was invincible, Kiyeri had just always been convinced that Ashiya could get out of any situation, the only thing to worry about was what would happen to his surroundings.

  That smell of the buns made his stomach growl loudly, demanding sacrifices, there was nothing left to do but sit down and stuff it. Next to the basket stood a jug full of kvass. Although technically Kiyeri was now sick and really did not want to think about manners, he could’ve drunk straight from the jug but still bothered to get a cup. After pouring himself kvass and grabbing a bun, he snacked without hesitation.

  Once the food hit his stomach, something became clear. "When you're hungry, you really don't think with your whole head... Half of the arrow was stuck in my gut, I don't know what damage I did pulling it out. Then, I fainted for no reason and was probably kicked and now I'm stuffing buns down my throat..." Kiyeri’s face turned pale.

  Just as he started thinking about the one who had fired those arrows…, the door to the room slowly opened and a young man entered with quiet, small steps.

  Long black boots, light linen pants, and a long black tunic girded with a leather belt, the folds and edges of the tunic were trimmed with gold threads, national symbols of the Sun. Long black hair fluttered in all directions. For a moment, Kiyeri choked, not understanding whether he knew the young man or not. But this stranger, seeing Kiyeri at the table, grinned broadly and called his name, dispelling all doubts.

  “Kiye! How are you feeling?” Ashiya walked towards the table, dropping all the things he had brought along on the way, "Ah, please wait, I'll share some mana."

  "Someone‘s in a good mood..." Kiyeri thought, adding to his anxiety.

  Coming closer, Ashiya placed his hand on Kiyeri’s heart and sent energy threads, while other hand was already loosening the bandages.

  "Kiye, we have to start the treatment right away." He said with a worried face, then looked at the buns as if counting how many were missing.

  "You're wearing makeup...?" Kiyeri asked, still confused.

  "H-E-A-L-I-N-G “, Ashiya separated each syllable, thus forcing the patient to focus. “Yes. It‘s a border town, with mixed traditions. Today‘s a festival here, while buying clothes, I ran into such a stall."

  Kiyeri’s head began to spin, “Wait, wait, wait. Let's start from the beginning. Sit down and tell me what happened. First, why did I lose consciousness? And what happened after that?"

  "Really! I wonder why!" Ashiya snorted, but his face showed no positive emotions.

  Kiyeri's head went numb "No good, this face doesn't bode well."

  Making sure that the energy given would be enough for healing, Ashiya pulled his hand away, sat down on the chair, and chose a bun from the basket. Watching him, Kiyeri even stopped chewing.

  Ashiya continued after the first bite, "After Kiye lost consciousness, we couldn't escape far. They really came prepared in case we ran."

  "Prepared...? Run?" The bun fell out of Kiyeri's hand, and a bad feeling like a giant spider began to crawl down his back, but Kiyeri tried his best not to show it on his face.

  "Yes. I grabbed Kiye and ran towards the door, but they blocked my way. Of course, it didn't help, they're like dry sticks against me." Ashiya laughed and Kiyeri broke out in a cold sweat.

  Buried memories clawed their way up - screams of people burning alive in Ashiya’s flames came flooding back. The piece of bun stuck in his throat refused to be swallowed after several attempts and he lowered his eyes.

  Ashiya obviously couldn't help but notice such a reaction. An empty cup appeared at the table spot where Kiyeri stared blankly. Then kvass from the jug began to flow into that cup. All this time, silence reigned in the room, which simply rang in Kiyeri’s ears. When the cup was full, Ashiya broke the silence using a much softer tone than before.

  "When I said they were just dry sticks, I didn't mean it directly... I meant that physically neither Dali nor Ruki could stop me... Kiye..." Ashiya pushed the glass closer, "Please drink."

  Kiyeri didn't know what to do and covered his face with his palms in despair.

  A year ago, while escaping from the dungeon, he accidentally came across Ashiya locked there. And although he knew why the latter was there, in a difficult situation, a decision had to be made quickly, pursuers were already on his heels, but his heart did not allow to leave the young man to his fate. Kiyeri knew that he was taking a ticking bomb with him, he knew how difficult it would be to control him and how dangerous he was. Maybe because Ashiya had never threatened him directly, maybe because the young man was the first to show him respect and intercede despite their status differences, or maybe for other reasons, but at that moment Kiyeri decided to take him along and promised himself that he would help Ashiya regain his honor and recover what was taken from him for those crimes. Most importantly, he promised to never look at Ashiya, like at the monster.

  But that promise had been broken many times before. And now, Kiyeri's face is hidden, buried in his palms. You don't have to be smart to understand what he's thinking, the image speaks for itself.

  I know,

  He knows,

  And I know that he knows.

  And none of it is just about this one thing.

  "What a fucking eloquent silence..." Kiyeri thought to himself. Deciding that there was no other way but forward, and having rehearsed the same parade countless times, he rubbed his face with his hands, took a few sips from that cup, and leaned on one elbow as if nothing had happened, resting his chin on his palm.

  “What happened after that? “ Kiyeri chose to push through the awkwardness.

  Ashiya cleared his throat and looked out the window, “I forced my way through. Even though they were chasing, they kept their distance and didn't raise their weapons, so I didn't attack until Seyre used a spell and raised the ground under my feet. I tripped and we both rolled down the street, I only managed to cover Kiye‘s head from the blows“, Ashiya cast a sharp glance at Kiyeri as he spoke again, “I was ready to end them“.

  Kiyeri could feel his skull go numb.

  “But when I got back on my feet, Ruki yelled something, only I could have known.“ He turned to face that window again, “Make him a barrier for sleep – she said“.

  “For me? “ Kiyeri asked, pointing at himself, “Why would I need that?“

  “I always felt it wasn't natural for Kiye to go Beyond while sleeping. Everyone knows soul will not leave the body in sleep, so how can this be? More to it, it‘s too simple to pull Kiye back, by just waking up.“

  Kiyeri knew, of course, that all those times could be dreams, but when you feel everything so vividly, he decided to just avoid sleep altogether until more info could be obtained. Suddenly, it made sense to him, “You suspect someone is putting a spell on me?“

  “I don‘t suspect anymore, now I KNOW it. Kiye was rarely sleeping recently, so I had little time to try, but it seems my Spirit Fire barrier works. I’m far from your level at barriers, but this – I can do. It blocks any interference with the target, as long as I stay awake and keep it up. I wanted to tell Kiye about that, but we were constantly on the run, or worse... Kiye has already died...“, Ashiya clenched his teeth, “We had no time.“

  “Let‘s get back to Ruki.“ Kiyeri interrupted that thought process. He wanted to know who could have sent him those dreams, but the ability to do this kind of magic already narrowed suspect list. The most important thing to know now is – what have Ashiya done to others.

  “Mhm,“ Ashiya continued more calmly, “I ordered them to stand back and explain themselves.“

  “Ordered...“ Kiyeri thought while sighing.

  “So they did. Ruki said she heard about the dreams from the same secret source, from which came information about the plan to execute all of us with the Millennium Dagger.“

  Kiyeri’s hair stood on its ends. The Millennium Dagger is a relic from an ancient civilization, forged from one of the Celestial Stones of the Land of the Sun. Later it somehow ended up in this Moon kingdom and was displayed during the rituals. The body pierced by that dagger immediately returns to dust, and the soul is stripped of any earthly attachments, dismembered, and released. Apart from rituals, it has occasionally been used to punish traitors with the death penalty. "Theoretically, this way the Sigils would separate and return to the stones in the temples, but what's the point? Will the Sigils be able to be appropriated more quickly? Moreover, doing it to your grandchildren..."

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Ashiya seemed to know what Kiyeri was thinking, “It really is unbelievable, but she was right about the barrier, so I decided to give them a chance and told them to wait until tomorrow when Kiye will recover and we can all talk. Also, Ruki took care of the food and helped me with Kiye’s bandages...“

  Kiyeri‘s head was spinning from all that information, “So, where are they now?“

  Ashiya nodded his head towards the window.

  Kiyeri’s wounds had finished healing when the conversation was only halfway through, so he jumped up from his chair and leaned against the window. The room was on the second floor of the inn, so from above he had a wide view. The street was packed with people, there were a lot of movement, stalls being raised, people dressed in the most beautiful golden ornaments, string music was blowing lightly in the breeze and festive colored lanterns were fluttering in the wind. Below, under the window, there was a terrace full of people dining, trying to catch the last rays of the warm season's sun. At one of the round tables sat a trio, standing out with their noble aura and eye-catching clothes even against such a colorful background.

  “Kiye can get changed - I brought some clothes. I didn't talk to them alone, we should listen together. Also, I went back to the temple, and that stone is empty, just like others.“

  Although Kiyeri's head was still spinning, it seemed that decisions could not wait. Ashiya excused himself from the room and went to find the owner of the inn. While he was away, Kiyeri went through his purchases. The old clothes were dirty and torn, so there was nothing left to do but put on what was brought for him. When he pulled the clothes out of the bag, it turned out that they were the same as Ashiya's. An awkward "ha ha" escaped Kiyeri's lips.

  Soon the door opened again, and the young man who had returned to the room held out his hand, in which lay the key.

  “Bathroom key. To the left and at the end of the corridor.” Ashiya said.

  “Ooooooo, finally!” Kiyeri joyfully grabbed it and hurried to the drawers to look for towels, “Thank you. I was just thinking about the bath.”

  A voice behind him spoke: “Can I come with you?”

  The question made him turn around, and freeze in place. Ashiya stood sideways in the middle of the room, eyes locked on the window. Even from the profile, you could see how wide his eyes were. His lips were pressed together and his breath was held. This was enough for Kiyeri to conclude that Ashiya regretted asking and decided to give him a way out.

  "No, thank you, I'm completely healed, no help needed." The nervous smile he threw never reached the young man's eyes, as Kiyeri ran around the room gathering his things and leaving, Ashiya stood frozen in the same place and didn't move a single muscle.

  “Someone’s getting bolder… If this keeps up, I won’t be able to ignore it much longer,” Kiyeri thought as he walked towards the bathroom. After unlocking and opening the door, a column of steam burst through it, so Kiyeri hurried inside and closed door behind him. After taking a few steps deeper, he was greeted by the pleasant smell of wood, bread, and heat, his face lit up.

  "A Sauna!"

  Letting the steam wash over him, Kiyeri carefully rubbed the clotted blood off his body. When he finished, he began to soap his long and terribly dirty hair. It was unknown how much dirt he would have to comb out before they would regain their natural color. "What a week..."

  Not daring to make the others wait any longer, he sadly left the pleasures of the steam and went back to the room. Although Ashiya was no longer in it, the door was left unlocked. " I'm grateful you did not stay, but do you realize, anyone can come in and take whatever they like?" Looking out the window, Kiyeri saw the four of them sitting at the same table and munching on nuts. The sight made his heart flutter, "Like back in the camp days..." Unable to tear his eyes away, he stared at them for a long minute, his face taking on an incomprehensible expression as he felt his chest squeeze harder. Before all those unfortunate incidents, he and his group really got along well and sometimes even spent spare time together.

  Suddenly, one of the four looked up at the window and their eyes met. For some reason, Kiyeri frightened, jumped away from the window, immediately scolding himself for behaving like a child. A few moments later, he pulled himself together and, having dressed in new clothes, went downstairs to meet his old friends, not forgetting to lock the door on his way out.

  When Kiyeri approached them, Seyre and Ruki stood up to meet him, while Dali remained in his place and did not even try to turn around. The boy's shining eyes showed he was waiting for a meeting, but his natural pride won out and he remained in his place, arms crossed, leaning back demonstratively on his chair. "Really like the old days," Kiyeri thought, smiling and bowing to each of them separately.

  “Prince Dali. Princess Ruki. Lord Seyre.“

  Ruki’s eyes filled with tears on the spot, Kiyeri wanted to scold her on the way warrior should carry himself but decided not to. He noticed Dali clench his fist and teeth repeatedly. Ashiya was quick to catch on to this provocation by Kiyeri, so he just crunched those nuts with no expression. Kiyeri thought all of them were so cute and also so dangerous at the same time, he hid his thoughts behind his typical light smile.

  “Master, please,“ Ruki was first to speak, “We already explained everything to Ashiya, no need for these formalities.“

  “With all due respect, Princess, Your distinguished Self shot me. Several times. Using a technique I invented myself.“

  Ruki’s head dropped and those tears finally began to fall, “I was....“, her voice was shaking, “I was targeting the spot near your feet, but could not control my mana in the last second and lost trajectory...“

  “You could see us?“ Kiyeri showed surprise, “When did you learn to do that?“

  “Right after you two disappeared, King issued an order for us to strengthen ourselves. Dali was sent back to camp and I was locked in the Temple to develop techniques. It took me six months in there“

  “Exceptional talent, as always “, Kiyeri thought to himself, remembering his four months of isolation in the temple. Mana sight was an extremely complex spell requiring a high level of control. It could only be learned by meditating day and night in the temple in complete silence and darkness, and MAYBE after long isolation from the outside world, the warrior would begin to see energy points. “You did a good job. “

  In the meantime, Dali smacked his tongue, annoyed, “Enough with this nonsense, let‘s talk business. Also, you obviously found the message. If you haven't been such cowards and ran off, everything would be already decided on. “

  Ashiya jumped from his seat, smacking the table, “ Who are you calling cowards?? Do you want me to drain you out, pierce you clean thou, and let you run from a pack of dogs??“

  “Are you calling us DOGS?”, Dali fused.

  “What else should I call you? Kiye cared for us all this time! But when he needed help, you bastards turned to bite!“

  Both of them just grabbed each other's lapels at this point.

  "Oooo it really is like in old times, Dali is even drooling, just like a rabid dog." Thought Kiyeri, not rushing to separate them. Over the years together, such fights between the two were a daily occurrence, being the same age and considering each other as rivals, the two always competed, but always fairly, so crossing the line was unlikely even from Ashiya's side. No need to worry either way, because Seyre sits next to them, and he could calm and tame even a rabid raccoon.

  “Silence.“ Seyre’s low voice commanded, and the young ones shut up immediately, but still did not let go of their fists, “You will attract unwanted attention. Kiyeri, please sit down.“

  Kiyeri watched the circus with a smile. He rarely saw Seyre, but highly valued his restraint and discipline. If anyone asked Kiyeri what an ideal warrior should look and act like, he would immediately think of this one. The realization of how much he had missed all of this warmed his heart, but at the same time, it hurt. He pulled up a chair and sat down between Ruki and Seyre.

  Seyer cleared his throat and began explaining in an even tone, "After you fled, a search party was sent after you. Naturally, fearing that the three of us would do the same, King gave us jobs. Dali was sent to a military camp for training, Ruki was locked in the Temple, and I was assigned to the king's personal guard. Everything was relatively calm, eventually, the generals began to whisper that Sigils should be left as they are, without a handover ceremony - after your death, it will naturally return to its Celestial Stone. At the moment, the probability of war is low, even if Ashiya does not return, the power of the other three should be enough."

  Kiyeri leaned back in his chair, "Sounds very logical... I've heard that somewhere."

  Everyone looked away, avoiding Kiyeri’s eyes. Only Ashiya looked directly at him, raising his eyebrows and shaking his head. It was Kiyeri's own suggestion after that incident, he promised to continue serving his country, even with such a defective Sigil, but they wanted nothing to do with a “traitor“.

  Seyre cleared his throat again, "Yes. Well, after half a year, there was still nothing to hear from you, Ruki left the Temple, and Dali returned from camp. Both of them were burdened with bureaucratic work by their teachers, HE assigned me to guard them, and it seemed that everything would pass, but as the autumn equinox approached, there was a commotion again, and Master Zeni disappeared without a trace."

  Kiyeri's hands shook slightly at the sound of that name. Memories from the dungeon flashed before his eyes, one image replacing the other. Chained hands and feet, damp bricks, weeks without food or water. Each breath cut like a knife into broken ribs. An unfamiliar scream came from a dry throat. Mist. Then Beyond. Then the Voidborne. And the cycle repeats.

  “Kiye? “ a gentle voice disturbed Kiyeri’s memories, “Kiye?“

  Kiyeri blinked a few times before realizing he was surrounded by worried faces. Even Dali couldn't help but peek in Kiyeri’s direction.

  “Mmm, I‘m fine, let‘s continue“, he waved his hand.

  So Seyre did so, “Master Zeni disappeared a month ago. We looked everywhere, but it was like he vanished.“

  Kiyeri‘s and Ashiyas‘s eyes met for a split second, before Kiyeri asked, “Disappeared?“

  "Yes“, Seyre confirmed, “As the search for Zeni expanded, the King gave three of us orders to search for you and Ashiya. We were told to bring you back at any cost. This was strange in itself after a period of peace and still not having any knowledge of Zeni." Seyre looked up at Ruki and waved his hand.

  Ruki took a deep breath, "The night before we left, that is, two weeks ago, I visited the Temple for meditation. I didn't want to be disturbed, so I locked the door when I entered and, as always, climbed up to the tower to sit down. After a good half hour, someone unlocked the door and came inside. At first, I couldn't understand who was saying what, I didn't want to be seen, so I used my hearing.“ Ruki's hands involuntarily began to stroke her braid, a habit Kiyeri had seen hundreds of times. “I didn't recognize the voices, my ability is still too weak, but I heard the words clearly..." She fell silent, then opened her mouth to speak several times, but the sound never left her throat.

  Apparently losing patience, or perhaps feeling sorry for his sister, Dali spoke up "They said – ‘That filthy stray barely even sleeps. Now he’s playing smart - the dreams won’t work anymore. That gutter-born mutt won’t come crawling back on his own. And you think they'll find him? They'll find him, bring him back, and then they can all die together, you take care of getting the dagger, I'll take care of the parasites.’" Dali said in one breath, without even blinking.

  "Wow, such a DETAILED description," thought Kiyeri, " Well. Guess the royal vocabulary hasn’t changed much"

  Everyone knew what he was talking about. Trying to change the atmosphere, Ruki hurried to continue, "Those two men exchanged a few more sentences, I don't remember exactly, but it became clear that someone was sending you some kind of dreams so that you would return for help, but now the barrier is preventing it. They said, that the King would give them the Millennium Dagger of his own free will and that we were all some kind of sacrifice. Afraid that they would catch me when I left, I spent the night in the temple. At dawn, I met the others at the stables and told them everything on the way."

  " So? What’s the plan? Where do we start digging?" The question flew from the usually very lazy and uninterested Dali.

  Everyone kept their eyes fixed on Kiyeri. "Well, it's good for you that you managed to process the information, but for me everything is like a natural disaster."

  Kiyeri looked around. Crowds of people were streaming down the streets, music and laughter drifted from every direction, the air was filled with the scent of various delicacies, and festive lanterns decorated the darkening sky. The last few weeks had given him an inexplicable feeling, as if he was being rushed somewhere. The endless, increasingly frequent persecutions, the approaching equinox, old friends, and conspiracies. And the search was a dead end.

  “Rest is most needed when it seems there is no time for it at all,” Kiyeri thought, and turning to the others, he said firmly “Today we will participate in the festival!”