Demoa took a deep breath. She glanced at Ray, who was still unmoving, and carefully made her way around the trap. The sharpened stakes looked deadly, and she didn’t want to imagine what might have happened if they’d charged forward carelessly and fallen in. She could almost feel the spikes piercing her lungs and forcing her to wake up…

  No! Focus. There are more important things, she reminded herself.

  Soon she reached the thicket where the strangers had vanished, and quickly followed Eri, who was forcing a path through the leaves and vines ahead of her. The noises and shouting were now easier to make out, and Demoa realized they were commands. Instructions to defend Glune, build barricades, and prepare for something…

  Oh, perfect…

  When she finally pushed through two leaves of a giant fern, she froze in place, and Sars nearly ran into her. Demoa jumped aside in alarm, clearing the way, but kept scanning the surroundings.

  Large, tree-like vines sprang up from the dark, muddy ground, though not everywhere. Some had clearly been cut down to make room for buildings. Those were woven around the remaining vine-trees, forming small, dome-shaped living units. Some of them were higher up, reachable only by ladders. Demoa wondered if those were reserved for people of higher status. Or maybe they had simply run out of room and had to build above the ground?

  Altogether, Glune was bathed in light, as there was no dense canopy overhead, and most of the plants and buildings glowed in the radiance of the setting sun.

  Between the buildings and across open spaces, people rushed around, driven by panic. They darted from place to place, constantly glancing at the evening sun, throwing up makeshift fences and dragging spears and stakes to set up defenses around the village. Some barked orders, while others did their best to reinforce their homes with more vines, as if expecting something massive to come crashing through at any moment.

  The man and woman who had picked them up waved them urgently to follow and headed toward a building that had been constructed at the center of Glune, rising to nearly three times the height of the other structures. It was also a dome-shaped house, bordering a wide plaza whose ground had been trampled flat and cleared of all plants. On that plaza, several people knelt and whispered prayers, though Demoa couldn’t quite make out what words exactly they muttered.

  They nearly collided with a some men carrying sharp stakes on their shoulders; Eri cursed and dodged around them and told everyone to keep moving. Their group didn’t go unnoticed, and at first Demoa felt herself under hostile, doubtful gazes - but those soon shifted to hopeful glimmers as the villagers recognized Eri. He ignored it all and marched straight ahead. The entrance to the central dome was covered with a curtain of vines that smelled freshly cut, and soon Demoa found herself inside.

  The room was large, with makeshift chairs scattered throughout. There was a faint scent of spices in the air, though Demoa couldn’t recall which ones, and the air itself was thick and heavy. Only two men stood in the room: one relatively young-looking, with yellowish skin and narrow gray eyes that darted around hungrily, trying to absorb his surroundings. He leaned forward slightly and was rather thin and tall, but in his smile there was a certainty that Demoa had never seen in the Dream before. The other man appeared older, with a half-bald head and a thick, unruly beard that sprouted like the vines around them. His hair was pale and his eyes tired, but he gave off an unusual strength of will.

  “Let! Krud! We have guests. Eri, the Lonely Wanderer, with two Radiant Ones and their guardians. We thought they might be able to help against…” began the woman who had picked them up, waving enthusiastically toward Eri, but stopped when seeing his dark gaze.

  The two men looked around in confusion, but when they saw Eri, their faces brightened and they approached with welcoming gestures.

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  “Greetings! I’m Krud. I’m responsible for our… defense. I don’t know if you remember me, Wanderer, it has been some time… This here is Let. He was the one who warned us,” the older man explained, pointing to the other, who smiled awkwardly.

  “Well, it is indeed not exactly good news I brought, is it? A terrible story is unfolding, and we are at its center… Forgive me, Eri, who exactly are these two?” Let asked, glancing in Demoa’s direction.

  “I am escorting these two young women to the monastery, as is proper…” Eri began, gesturing toward Demoa and Ray, who still hung motionless over Olver’s shoulder.

  He sounded slightly irritated, as if Let were asking something obvious, and was about to add something, but the tall man interrupted him, excited.

  “Incredibl! Two Enlightened Ones? So much Lucidity? That is rare even under normal circumstances. And the Lonely Wanderer, here and now... what a miracle! I have been asking about you ever since you and Elga tested me, so long ago. You were already such a mysterious man back then… People told me a lot about you - mostly myths,” Let exclaimed, his gaze darting between Demoa, Eri, and Ray.

  “That’s all they are. Myths! Nonsense! What matters is what’s happening here,” Eri growled.

  Krud looked at him, then turned to the tall man next to him, clearly looking for a way to escape Eri‘s presence.

  “I think you can explain it better, Let. I need to get back out there, make sure everything runs smoothly,” he said, then hurried out of the room.

  “So here we are, alone,” Let said, trying to smile, though Demoa could tell he was uncomfortable.

  Eri glared at him.

  “What’s going on here? I am not used to ask something twice,” he snarled, and Let, despite his yellowish teint, turned pale.

  “It’s… you do not know? Of course not, I beg your pardon… Well, the sun...! It shines, resting among the heavens, and brings Light and life…” Let began.

  “Yes, we know that,” Demoa said quickly, glancing over to Ray as discreetly as she could.

  “Indeed, yes! However, then you must also realize it is fading! It is moving ever closer toward the horizon and gradually growing weaker and more frail…” Let continued.

  “And?” Olver asked.

  Let fell silent for a moment, then went on, “Well, is it not obvious? What if the sun disappears? What comes… then?“

  Demoa froze. She hadn’t thought about that, but somehow she had felt it. A question rising at the back of her mind.

  What happens when the day ends? What comes after?

  Would pure darkness descend? It seemed plausible, but she couldn’t remember. What came after day…?

  Eri asked the same question.

  Let whispered, looking around nervously: “Well, it’s not entirely clear. Some believe another day will rise. But I do not! Darkness is approaching! A terrible, warped darkness that will fall over us! And we will not be able to stop it... The darkness will come - and with it… things. Creatures. That thrive within. That will tear us apart…”.

  Eri narrowed his eyes and leaned forward in disbelief.

  “Really? That’s it? You’re afraid that once the sun fades, darkness will come and devour you? Isn’t that a bit far-fetched?” he challenged.

  Let let out a hollow laugh and looked Eri straight in the eyes for the first time.

  “Normally, yes! It would be just a guess. A foolish idea. But here, now… it’ is indeed something else,” he said, and Demoa got the sense he was choosing his words very carefully.

  “Why is it something else?” she asked just as cautiously, glancing at Eri to see if he would shoot her one of his dark looks for asking.

  It doesn’t matter! Even if it’s a foolish question, we need answers, don’t we? Demoa thought.

  But the Pilgrim only furrowed his brow and stared at Let with even more intensity.

  “She’s right. Why is it different?” he asked bluntly.

  “The sun appeared, during one of my meditations,” Let began. “I was in my dwelling, turned inward, looking for new stories. I am something of an entertainer here. A jester. A comedian. I tell stories, and people get cheered up or start thinking in new ways. I love giving them something to imagine, so I am always searching for something new, something exciting! But today… I was deep in thought as always, sitting in my treetop-dome, just reflecting. And then... I was pulled away…”

  Let stared thoughtfully at the wall.

  Demoa didn’t like his expression. It was too distant, too detached,and she felt sure the man was getting dangerously lost in his own thoughts.

  “Where to?” she asked quickly, trying to steer him back to what mattered.

  He flinched and looked at Demoa in confusion, then continued hesitantly.

  “There was something strange inside me, almost like a wall I had to break through, and rushing torrents pushing me forward. It was maddening - I could not resist. I had to give in to the current that swept me away. Around me, there was only the indescribable. Like a color you cannot name, cannot imagine - but that is still there. It did not last long, and then… I emerged in a new place. A forest - bare and brownish, half-decayed. The air stank, and the wind was cold. I stood on the ground of another realm. An astral journey…” Let whispered, looking at each of them in turn.

  Eri’s face had gone pale.

  “And then?” he urged.