It was the third day since they'd left camp, and the lively chatter that once filled the air had faded into a silence. Where there had been joy, now there was only quiet melancholy. All forgers and all the collected ore were already sent to their final destination, with the builders being next.

Ramus, the bush, would have been the first to reach their new home, but the creature refused and preferred to stick close to Samael.

Samael glanced down at his robe, where Ramus's four leaf-like fingers clung to the fabric. The creature's touch was gentle yet firm, as if he were drawing comfort from Samael's presence.

The upper part of the bush bent back and Samael could feel eyes on him and the positive energy of a smile. He awkwardly smiled back and patted the top of the bush before he glanced at the darkening sky. Then his eyes turned to Ayinel, who was walking beside him. "Why are you still here?"

"I enjoy your company too much to stay away." Ayinel smiled.

Samael narrowed his eyes. This is something he would say. "When did I started to rub off on you?"

"This morning." The smile slowly faded off his face as his gaze lowered to Ramus.

Did Ayinel stay to keep an eye on Ramus? The thought of it was absurd, but... "Not because of him?"

Ayinel shrugged.

"Really?"

Ayinel didn't answer. He instead said, "There's a stream ahead. heard a lot about tree-trunk riding. We could go. Though..." He glanced around. "They don't look as if they would be interested in it."

"This is a stream, not a river. It's not suitable for tree-trunk riding. It's too shallow and narrow. And right now, I doubt that they are interested in anything," Samael said. "But I do think, some sightseeing would be good to distract them." He called the scouts and ask them to look for a site nearby that they could go see.

They returned in the middle of the night, when the Shadows were setting up camp to rest by the brook. He was told there was nothing nearby, except the large half build ark.

"In the middle of the mainland? When all the water close by is a small stream?" Samael's eyebrows rose.

"I found it strange, too, my lord," the scout said. "There's a settlement nearby, but only one family is building it."

There was no way he put Shadows into a situation where they would be exposed to humans' eyes. But an ark in the middle of the mainland... That would be of interest to builders, which presence he could veil from humans' eyes. That is, if they were willing.

The builders were willing and after others learned about it, they wanted to see it too, but the anticipation and enthusiasm were missing, and as they, in the morning, walked toward the ark, their step was not as light as before.

Samael cloaked their presence even before they came into the ark's proximity, which was a good thing, since when they came closer, they saw a group of people ridiculing the builder, the old man with a beard.

"Humans." Samael shook his head, sighing.

Ayinel sighed, too.

"They also harass the ones of their own kind?" A Shadow tugged the edge of Samael's sleeve.

"Looks like it," Samael said.

"Do they hurt them, too?" another Shadow asked.

"Yes, unfortunately," Samael told them before he instructed the Shadows not to stray away from him.

The ark was large, the height of a few humans, and the width of a few of a few abodes.

"It's big," a Shadow commented loudly. The others agreed, awe evident on their faces.

They waited for the group to depart before they came closer to the ark.

The builder of the ark returned to work.

The Shadows made a wide detour around him as they neared the ark. When they reached it, they closely examined it, whispering among each other.

"Why would somebody build a monstrosity like that in the middle of the mainland?" Samael looked up at the wooden structure.

"Who knows." Ayinel's robe transformed into the tunic and trousers made from coarse fabric similar to those that the group of people wore. He flew away, only to a moment later appear again, walking towards the ark, uncloaked. He walked to the builder who was with a young man cutting planks out of a long trunk.

While keeping an eye on the Shadows, Samael moved closer to the builders and Ayinel. The scent of the wood, which had been noticeable when they first approached the ark, was even stronger here, reminding him of the pine forests

Ayinel greeted the men.

The man glanced at him warily.

Ayinel started to make small talk with the man and his son, who were both giving him one-syllable answers.

"You're not that good at this," Samael commented. "You should complement his work and the ark. It's really well done and huge. They had to put in a lot of work into it."

Ayinel gave him a glare, but he did listen to his instructions. At his word, the sharp lines around the old man's eyes thinned and even the darkness layering the young man's face faded.

A long moment of silence before Ayinel spoke again. "Is there a purpose behind its build?"

The sharp line on the old man's face returned, as did the darkness that was on the young man's before.

"Yeah, you're really bad at this." Samael nodded as he crossed his arms.

"Help me then," Ayinel whispered under his breath.

"Oh, you'll figure on your own. I have faith in you." Samael slapped Ayinel's back before he, with a short chuckle, walked to the Shadows' side. "What do you think?"

"The frame is sturdy," a Shadow commented. "Suitable for a long journey."

"They would need to seal it well," another one said. "Pitch would be the best. For this size, there would need a large amount of resin."

The Shadows started discussing what else could be used for the sealing.

Samael tuned them out and glanced up at the high structure. The side they were still didn't have any planks on the frame and he could see inside. There were a few floors. It was large enough to house all the Shadows that had come with him to the Fifth Heaven.

He heard barely audible voices. He turned into their direction.

A small distance away, three women, two women and a girl, walked to the small shed he just noticed that stood by the ark. They lowered the cloths that hang over their shoulder on the ground. One of them didn't seem to be tied too well, since it spread out and pieces of resin scattered.

The older woman said something to the girl before she, with the other one, moved into the shed.

The girl, looking annoyed, murmured under her breath as she gathered the resin and placed it on the cloth.

Samael quietly stepped closer, focusing on the girl's murmurs. Her voice was barely audible, but he caught scattered words: 'God. Destroy. Flood. Cypress wood.' She repeated the same refrain, her tone layered with irritation, her movements sharp and impatient.

The women walked out just as she managed to gather all the resins.

Samael returned to Shadows' side. He pointed at the planks. "This is Cypress wood, correct?"

"Yes, my lord."

"I see." Samael nodded. On the way back, he asked Ayinel. "What did you learn?"

"Big help you were." Ayinel wrinkled his nose.

"You're a big boy."

Ayinel snorted before he said. "They barely spoke, just said he's building it for his family and animals. And when I pressed him about why here, of all places, he clammed up completely."

"It's for the flood."

"What flood?"

"The flood that will be caused by God."

"God spoke to him? But his divinity is not..."

"What?"

"The divinity inside him is strong, but there's no sign of the light carried by God's voice. If there was, I would have noticed it. Are you certain God spoke to him?"

"No. But I have a suspicion that he believes that." Samael lifted his eyebrows as he glanced at Ayinel. "Gabriel?"

"Maybe." Ayinel looked as if he was deeply in thought. "Maybe it's nothing, just a figment of the man's imagination..."

"Or maybe the punishment has already been decided. You should go and verify."

"Yes, I should," Ayinel agreed. With a small nod, he moved away from Samael. His wings stretched out, and he flew out of Samael's and Shadows' view.