The rest of the day was spent setting up a small camp, finding dry firewood, and sheltering from the heat that raged on the plain. They used the remains of some abandoned tents and took their places around one of the nearby extinguished fires. With the arrival of the afternoon, the heat seemed to decrease, and a slight breeze brought freshness to the shade of the tents.

Camiel and Aran lit the fire, and Hyon took care of preparing the evening meal with the game offered by Iak.

"Why that invisible barrier?" Elidana asked during dinner. Fez hadn't spoken the whole time, but he continued to clench the bolt and contort his face.

"That's why Dremis is the safest place on the continent," Hyon replied.

"I really don't think our arrival will be well received," Camiel said.

Marmorel held out a slice of apple to Poncee and smiled as he devoured it. "What are those things?" she asked. "They weren't even human."

"Miria and Elena: the first priestesses of Dormin. Devoted to the point of dedicating both life and death to him. He himself transformed them into beings of energy, putting them in charge of protecting the city."

"Why?" Cora asked.

"Their story has now been lost in the myths and legends of these old mountains. Now they live inside the stone, on the brink between eternity and our world."

Aran kicked the dirt. "Will we continue to camp out here until that damn Vega tracks us down?"

"We'll try again tomorrow. Now, please, grant me a night of rest." Hyon stood up, paused to straighten his back, and walked towards one of the tents.

"I'll keep watch. If someone comes, I don't want to be caught off guard," Camiel said. He looked like he needed more rest than the others. "And then, with such a clear sky, we can better enjoy the stars." He nodded to the others and dragged himself a few steps away towards the stacked wood.

"What's wrong with him?" Marmorel asked, bewildered. "He's been like this since we left."

"Hyon told me it's the effects of the oath he took in front of the other Hozmans. It won't be a great show, at least until he returns to his land," Elidana explained.

Cora looked at Aran, who was staring at the fire. "Hey, you should be more calm with those two..."

"What did you call him?" the young Allet asked him. "The bloody Hozman? Remind me because I've already forgotten."

Cora turned red. "He saved us!"

"I know, but it doesn't mean we have to take their choices as gold!" Aran stood up. "Rather than stay there waiting for them to tell you what to do, speak loudly! I may have been rude, but at least I have enough sense to understand that even they are not sure of their actions. We could be in Meliro... or Farendal, safe. Act in some way, but we're here waiting to be devoured by those tigers or who knows what." He too retired to a tent, with Marmorel following him.

Cora snorted and kicked the ground. "Let's end it here for tonight," he muttered. "I'm going to sleep."

In his bed, he couldn't fall asleep. Lying down, Cora stared at the sky, at the stars that shone through the holes in the tent. It was the first time he could spend the night alone, without Fez's kicks or Aran's slaps. A silence that brought to mind all the memories of the past weeks and stirred up a sense of guilt that he had not been able to overcome.

Elidana moved the fabric. "May I?" she asked.

Cora sat up and nodded. "If you wait a moment, I'll go look for a pebble that's worth giving you, I'm sorry for these days," he said.

She shook her head. "It wasn't your fault."

"You shouldn't be near me, there's a danger I could hurt you."

"You wouldn't hurt me..."

He shuddered, moved instinctively, and turned her forehead to face him. Elidana stretched a forced smile and tucked her hair back with the hairpin. She gave him a kiss and took more time than usual.

Cora looked up. "Goodnight, Elidana," he whispered, "may joyful dreams accompany you until dawn." This time, he wasn't pretending, no pretense behind that gesture. As far as it was worth, Cora really wanted her to forget everything for one night.

Elidana held her breath and stood up. She left the tent without even arguing or thanking him. He ran a hand over his eyes and slipped onto the bed.

His eyelids, in the end, became heavy and he could no longer distinguish sleep from wakefulness.

He heard a rumble, a deafening noise that made him jump to his feet and run outside. The idea that the Kharzanians had found them gripped his chest. He turned towards the now extinguished campfire and checked tent by tent, seeing that each of his friends was sleeping in their place. "But what..." he said aloud. He looked for Camiel, who was sleeping sitting up, clutching the hilt of Iak's sword, as if nothing had disturbed his rest.

With a growing doubt inside, Cora crossed the campsite. A gust of wind rose from the ground, tousling his hair and enveloping him in a whirlwind that pushed him forward.

Before he knew it, he found himself once again before the monoliths. He tried to observe the inside of the opening. There was something there. He squinted his eyes; perhaps it was just an illusion. But with a second glance, he caught a glimpse of a small flame, a flicker that began to pulsate. His heart began to beat with force. An inexplicable burning dried up his mouth, and his forehead was covered in sweat. That flame, as distant as a candle, had captured his attention.

Elena appeared less than an arm's length away from him. "Who are you?" she asked.

He took a step back. "Cora," he replied.

"What do you know about the Fourth Dogma?" Miria interjected. The twins were now just two simple women made of flesh; the moon's shadow only marked their outline.

"Huh?" Cora went back to observe the gallery.

"The colors of the Dormin tree are those of the sea and the sky, but the fire that fuels the Pact Rite is as red as blood, and you have just witnessed it," Elena said in a tone halfway between fear and curiosity.

Both remained still, facing him.

"What is that light?" Cora asked.

"We don't know. None of us was involved in what Dormin did not create," Miria spoke calmly, "A necessary lie so that the sacred land of Laeth could still smile at its children."

"Am I dreaming?" Cora asked; the light inside the tunnel clicked like a torch flame, and he flinched.

"This is our world, the place where our consciousness resides. Whether it's a dream or reality, what does it matter?" Elena asked, "You have seen beyond our judgment, Traveler. That's enough to spare you from death."

"We just want to find a place to hide, and you're capable of stopping those who want to harm us," Cora explained.

Elena and Miria looked at him again. Cora felt their eyes on him even though he couldn't scrutinize their expression. "A gift, yours. An ancient gift older than these mountains. Accept a flower that has not yet bloomed and that holds every drop of its essence waiting to awaken," Miria said.

"Will it be enough?" asked Elena.

Cora shifted his gaze between the two of them.

"Will you unravel Laeth's deception, Traveler? Are you capable of it?" they said in un unison. "In centuries past, you are the first to have discovered the hidden fire."

"I don't know what you're talking about, but if it's necessary to enter, I ask you to give me a chance."

They bowed their heads and wrapped themselves in their clothes. It seemed like a ritual. For Cora, it was approval given by a mere nod of the head. "So be it," they said at the same time.

Cora abruptly opened his eyes, stunned awake. Hyon and Elidana were screaming like mad.

"Hurry, let's go!" the girl shouted with her head in the tent.

"What happened?" he asked, drenched in sweat. It wasn't yet a day.

"Come on! Hyon said to grab our things. The guardians are not in the monoliths, the barrier has just opened in front of the passage."

Cora grabbed the sack and ran to the others. Camiel was already at the entrance and continued to throw stones into the gallery.

"Run!" said Hyon. He hopped with the sack in his arms and used his staff to avoid dropping anything. Aran, Fez, and Marmorel were by his side.

"Go through..." said Camiel. He entered last and the barrier closed behind him.

"But how..." Hyon exclaimed once inside. The light had returned to the large stones. Bewildered, she glanced at Camiel.

"Take it for what it is, master," the Hozman said. "A stroke of luck."

Hyon shook his head. "There is no such thing as luck around here, of that you can be certain.