Li stormed away from the treehouse, leaving Aira and Ainorrh alone.

  "I uand it may be overwhelming for a human to find out that their whole history is a lie," Ainorrh said. "But I'm also impressed that you are so calm after losing everything you've beeo."

  "I've sort of got used to it," Aira answered. "It's already... How many months had passed since I appeared in this world? You told me you se, so you may know the date eveer than me. But in any case, it was autumn then, and now it's spring. And for Li, she suspected that many things weren't as they were told. Still, it's all very o her."

  She followed the path Li took with her gaze and sighed.

  "Also, I at least still have the System and my powers," said Aira. "I unicate with you. And Li, she only has me and nobody else here. She just he time to get used to her atus. She had only retly came to terms with the fact that she isn't living among humans anymore. That she has to share every days with... an undead."

  "She'll be safe out there, don't worry about that," said Ainorrh. "No one would touch her, even if she is a human. We've long since had choseh of peace."

  That st ent made Aira turn her gaze to Ainorrh abruptly. Aira had met people who cimed to work for the greater good before. It often ended with them making their own is the first priority. Aira's eyes narrowed, her lips pressing into a thin line.

  "Why do we have to believe anything you say?" asked Aira a bit harshly. "For me, as an outsider, it seems that both sides of the flict will create their own version of history, spinning everything in a way that's more beneficial to their rulers. Or shamans, it doesn't really matter."

  "Aren't you a ic, Aira!" said Ainorrh with a smile. "But I uand, you don't know my agenda. And, of course, I have something to gain. I'm not even sure what make you both believe that I'm on your side."

  Ainorrh stood up and started pag. She seemed to be deeply immersed ihoughts for a moment. Theopped and looked at Aira.

  "You know… there is this ohing…" Ainorrh said. "I tell you something about the enlightehat may help you uand why we need humans and why we aren't their enemies."

  "And what could that be?" asked Aira. "Let me guess, it's either trade or some other sort of dependence."

  "You are right," said Ainorrh. "We depend on them because enlightened aren't born. We don't procreate. That's one of the reasons gender doesn't matter to us, as I mentioned before. Newly transdent are always verted humans. There's no other source. We tried different ways for us to bance or even increase our popution. But it always es back to attrag humans to join us. Without them there would be no us. It would take a few turies, or maybe even a couple thousand years. But we'll perish in the end."

  "And how does the version usually happen?" asked Aira.

  "In most cases, it is an energy-ing ritual that ects a human to the Nexus," expined Ainorrh. "As you've already seen, we need a ritual for almost any major transformation. These people are ged profoundly by this process. But sometimes it happen naturally. And the oute is a little bit different. I bet those humans that found you thought you were this retly ged… undead."

  Ainorrh's face showed a whe of emotions whetered that st word.

  "We had humans ing to us throughout these previous turies," she tinued. "They sehe elemental power of the city. Of all enlightened cities. Of course, if they survive the first tact with their fellow vilgers and the others. With the rangers..."

  "So, that's why the humans in Mountain View were debating from which settlement I came," said Aira, bringing back from memory the circumstances of her first days in this world. "They thought I'm one of these naturally verted undead. But I wasn't."

  "We prefer the he Nexus chose for us: enlightened," said Ainorrh.

  "Well, I guess humans would prefer if you didn't call them barbarians," said Aira with a smirk. "But I'll use your word. I don't want to make you upset."

  "I get your point as well," said Ainorrh. "I'll do my best to respect Li's presend mind my nguage."

  "So, what's the differeween the 'undead' and 'enlightened'?" asked Aira. "Are you really undead? Because my skills defihink you are."

  "That's what humans call us," said Ainorrh. "There is some debate between my people on the in of the term. And, as I said, there are some aspects of our nature that bear some simirities with the undead from the old legends and fairy tales. But I don't know why they chose that word and why did your Nexus decided to use it and not 'enlightened.'"

  "There should be a reason," said Aira. "Maybe I'll find it out someday. I hope I'll return to my old self before that, though."

  "Anyway," said Ainorrh. "Let's talk about something more exg. Like, what are your pns?"

  "Obviously, the first thing on my task list is to survive," said Aira and started to ugh nervously. "It wasn't a given in the beginning. I guess at some moment I rexed a bit too mud we had some… issues. But now, everything seems to go more smoothly. I have high hopes."

  Aira chuckled again.

  "That I've heard," said Ainorrh. "You remember that I had you watched."

  "By the way," said Aira. "Would that watcher intervene if we found ourselves in over our heads? And are we going to meet that person? Will you introduce us to each other?"

  "I'm sure you'll meet him," said Ainorrh with a smile. "And ing your first questio's say he was sent to assess your capabilities. And while some of your as were dubious, you survived. So, his orders don't matter anymore."

  "Alright, it's clear as mud, as Li likes to say," muttered Aira. "Anyway, I have no doubt there are still some risks waiting for me ahead. And then, I want to uand why I happeo be transferred to this world. And find my way back… But now I also have Li to care for. How I leave her alone?"

  "Do you think there's some will behind the Nexus that phis for you?" asked Ainorrh. "Like gods?"

  "Do you have a cept of gods in this world?" said Aira. "Somehow, it didn't pop up in my talks with humans. In my world, the System is worshipped by some. But gods are mostly the names from the old myths. No one believes they really exist."

  "It's simir here as well," said Ainorrh. "The old human civilization had a few pantheons. But as far as we know, there are no overpowered beings in our world. Well, some may say that we are overpowered pared to humans. And others would say that you are overpowered pared to us."

  Ainorrh paused and smiled cheekily at Aira.

  "You may say that's one of the reasons I want you on our side," Ainorrh tinued. "You are a powerful being. I saw at least some of your stats. The huh level, that's impressive."

  "Do you have a the same level among the enlightened? "asked Aira.

  "I 't say," answered Ainorrh.

  "You 't, or you wouldn't?" asked Aira.

  Ainorrh's answer was another enigmatic smile.

  "Alright, be mysterious, I uand, trust has to be earned on both sides," said Aira. "But what about the System? About the Nexus? Philosophers of our world have argued for turies whether it is se. Or if it's a representation of the as of some powerful beings. Gods, if you want. Or just some blind force of nature that doesn't have any intelligence behind it. It's hard to do any experiments to research this, you know. Even the cept of a multitude of worlds isn't that popur, sihere's no possible firmation out there. Well, besides my existence. What do the schors of your world agree upon?"

  "Schors? Agree? You are joking, right?" said Ainorrh with a ugh. "In aimes, when I still was a human, this city was a bea of knowledge and power. Our aors built these towers to touch the sky. To realize their wildest dreams. Something that's not possible for us even with all of ic. We are but a shadow of what we once were from that point of view."

  "We had thinking maes that sometimes had visual representations very simir to the Nexus," Ainorrh tinued. "This was something that made at least some of the eldest enlighteo debate that we all live in an imaginary world. It would be iing to learn how your appearance affects their theories. But you are right, there aren't really any ways to find out if that, or any other hypothesis, is true."

  "Wow! Li had a bombshell dropped on her earlier today, and now you've dropped another one on me!" excimed Aira. "Imaginary world! That's definitely something our philosophers never even imagined. Or, at least, they never spoke about it publicly. It would create quite a stir! Are you pulling my leg?"

  "No, I'm just trying to paint you a detailed picture of my world," said Ainorrh. "And you are right, these theories aren't publiowledge. I shared them with you only because you already know a lot of things that are out of the ordinary. There would be no damage done."

  "Do you believe the Nexus has a will of its own, Ainorrh?" Aira asked. "Or is it merely a tool ute?"

  Ainorrh's gaze drifted upward, as though she could see the Nexus maing above them ihin air. Her voice softened, almost reverent.

  "The Nexus is both a guide and a mystery," she murmured, her firag invisible patterns in the air. "It flows through us like the wind—unseen, untouchable, yet undeniably present. We interpret its signs, but its true nature is beyond our uanding. Still, we are led by its currents. I know you feel that too."

  Ainorrh looked somewhere in the distance, her gaze unfocused.

  "Its flht you here."

  ***

  Li's pace quied as if she could outrun the words eg in her mind. Her hands balled into fists, her nails digging into her palms. Each step through the settleme like a betrayal of everything she'd ever known. She caught glimpses of enlighteending to the lush greenery, their calm focus so agly human and unhuman at the same time it made her chest tighten. Could Ainorrh's words hold truth?

  Undead or enlightened? Aira told her that even her magical System reized the hese people used to call themselves. But simultaneously, Aira's own skills were explicitly targeted at the undead.

  So, both of them were true?

  "Arrrgh!" growled Li. "Elder's breath! What am I going to do?!?"

  The flict between the humans and undead… enlightened, was turies-old. Was the expnation that simple? Was there someone who beed from keeping these two unities apart? If there was such a power there, to what end did they have to antagonize humans with the enlightened? Just to have more trol?

  One indisputable thing was that the enlightened were se. It was impossible to deny that anymore. They weren't the mindless undead of the scary stories every human child knew and shared during the darkest nights. "Undead shadowfooting to eat your brains!"

  Li chuckled involuntarily, remembering all that time she spent telling these stories as a child. She even asked her grandfather to tell her about his enters with those abominations to firm their horrifying habits.

  Her grandfather’s voice echoed in her mind, bringihe tales of mystery and narrow escapes. But now, those stories felt ed, their edges fraying uhe weight of doubt. Had his ughter masked half-truths? Had his stern warnings been woven with lies?

  In a panic, Li began to ret everythiold her about his enters with the undead. Yes, he had ughed over her childish stories. But no, he had old her anything of the sort. His tales were different. Stories about enters with ing foes who were hard to fight against. But even more often, those were foes who preferred avoiding frontation with humans.

  "Huh? By the roots, is that true?" Li thought, her mind rag. "Was Ainorrh actually speaking straight bark?"

  What didn't help was that the Elders weren't forthing in dissolving Li's doubts. But now, where there were even more questions, the elders… they were all killed in Garrick's revolt. Was there even anyo in Mountain View who khe reason why humans antagohe enlightened?

  Li tio mindlessly walk through the forest. The sery gradually ged as she moved. From the pound of the treehouses, she got to some orchard. And then to a forested area. Everywhere, there were lush pnts around her. Nothing even hihat it was still early spring outside of the enlightened city, and nature hadn't yet woken up fully.

  Never in her life had she imagihat the spooky and dangerous city of the undead could tain such a vibrant green area in its midst. Li flinched as an enlightened figure passed silently behiheir movements so fluid it sent a shiver down her spine. She pressed a hand to her chest, her breath catg at every rustle of leaves or shift of shadows. The lush green surroundings felt suffog, as if the city itself watched her every step.

  Li stumbled over a tree root, barely catg herself as she pressed a hand against a nearby trunk. Her breaths came fast and shallow, her vision swimming with the image of enlightened faces. The vibrant green around her felt oppressive, the forest closing in as her thoughts spiraled out of trol. Li didn't even notice how she got to an opening in the forest where several enlightened were participating in what seemed a ritual.

  Was it some sort of training routine?

  Their ways were so alien to Li, and there was no way to unicate with these people. So, it was hard to figure out what they were doing.

  She was taken out of her reverie quite abruptly by the tableau. It made her stop and ret her walk here. How did she eveo this clearing? Would she even be able to find her way back to their treehouse?