We’re sleeping. We set up a small camp and decided to rest. Sem said they could’ve reached the target settlement by sunset if they’d kept their usual pace, but since I was with them, they opted for a stop. They quickly lit a small fire, had a light meal, and lay down around it. The pack I carried contained excellent insulated pads. Everyone sleeps except one guard on watch. They decided to rotate every two hours—and excluded me from the rotation.

  The twins, Larry and Mikhail, took the first shift, and now Beri had just woken up after them. She stared into the fire and occasionally scanned the surroundings. Scot mentioned that in this area, they likely wouldn’t encounter any creatures capable of matching them in battle. The watch was more out of habit—or perhaps discipline—than necessity. Since I can’t sleep, after tossing and turning a bit, I decided to join the girl by the fire.

  She still wore her hat. Resting on her knees was a spear wrapped in an old, thin leather strap. It belonged to Scot, but apparently he’d handed it to her for the night. Everyone’s weapons were different: the twins carried green and black bows, Scot had a spear, the big guy Drodul used a short axe and shield, Sem wielded two swords, while Beri usually carried nothing at all. At first, I hadn’t even thought about it—maybe she healed the team or did something else unusual.

  “I’ll sit down—mind?” I asked her through the artifact. It still felt strange hearing my own voice come from outside my body.

  “Sure,” her voice wasn’t sleepy, but not enthusiastic either. “Can’t sleep?”

  “Yeah. Amazing thing,” I lifted the medallion higher in my hand, examining it, “how does it do that?”

  The girl scanned the area once more, then turned her attention to the object I was showing. Her eyes glinted occasionally in the firelight:

  “It’s a second-tier Soul Artifact. As the captain said, it’s quite expensive and rare. Its main rarity lies in how weak its Backlash is.”

  “Soul Artifact?”

  “Yes. You don’t know?” She smiled, pointed at the medallion, and continued in her smooth tone: “This item—and others like it—are called Soul Artifacts. They use a fragment of the owner’s soul-force to produce an effect. But because the soul is involved, it sustains damage—that’s what we call Backlash. For example, temporary loss of movement in exchange for voicing thoughts. Or the spear on my knees—it can heat to extreme temperatures, but in return, you lose the ability to feel emotions. The hotter the spear, the longer you remain emotionless. For some people, such drastic mood swings can be devastating.”

  “Just like extreme temperature swings,” I remarked.

  “Oh,” her gaze shifted to me, “good point. They say the gods granted all living beings the ability to create artifacts.”

  So gods actually exist in this world! Wow. No one’s told me about that yet. I should learn more. — I nearly spoke the thought aloud.

  “They say a Great War happened long ago. The gods fought each other, and different peoples clashed over their faith in them. Millions died, and their souls couldn’t dissolve and be reabsorbed fast enough—so they began inhabiting objects. That’s how the first artifacts appeared. They weren’t very powerful; they merely granted abilities to those who used them by merging leftover soul fragments with the user’s own soul. The object holding the soul shards usually burned up afterward. These were called first-tier artifacts. You can find them on ancient battlefields or places where many people died.”

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  So such artifacts really exist. Is that similar to the scroll used by the greatest necromancer of all time—the baldest of the bald? Strange. Could he really have found something like that…?

  “Impressive,” my voice sounded, “but you said the medallion is second-tier—did I misunderstand?”

  “No, I just hadn’t gotten to that part yet,” she smiled again. “Midway through the war, when casualties grew so numerous that mountains of corpses blocked the sunrise, stronger souls began merging with objects and created a new kind of artifact. Those became known as second-tier artifacts. You rarely encounter them.”

  I turned my head toward her. Gesturing at the medallion in my hand and the spear on her lap, I shrugged and asked:

  “Rarely?”

  At my question, she laughed and brought a hand to her face, scratching her cheek with a finger:

  “We’re more of an exception. In our team, everyone carries at least one artifact, just in case. We face many dangers and acquire them regularly.”

  “And what happened next? How did the war end?”

  Her expression grew serious:

  “At the war’s end, third-tier artifacts were created. They were called City-Founders. Those who could wield them at full strength gained terrifying power and immense might. It was with these that the war finally ended. Many perished—even the gods weren’t spared. It’s said eleven remain. The most powerful beings in the world. You can see them in the night sky. Each god forms their own constellation, so that even in humanity’s darkest hours, people remember that the gods exist.”

  “What? So the gods are just stars in the sky? Has anyone ever met them in person?”

  “No. Or at least, I’ve never heard of it,” she scanned the surroundings again, then pointed upward. “Right there—you can see Arusadia. He always points his sharp sword toward one of the moons. They say he envies their light and power.”

  I looked up at the night sky, but the nearby fire made it hard to clearly see the figure Beri was indicating. She kept pointing to different parts of the heavens, naming long, strangely sounding names I couldn’t remember. We talked, and time stopped dragging for me. I tried to seize the chance to learn as much as possible. Eventually, though, the conversation drifted to small details of the girl’s life. She told me where she was born, that her parents died early, and she was sent to a church orphanage dedicated to one of the gods. Years later, she met Sem and the twins accompanying him. She learned she could become an adventurer and travel with them—and agreed almost immediately.

  Beri had seen countless creatures in her life and visited many corners of the world. Later, Drodul and Scot joined them. Their squad became famous for its strong composition and successful missions—tasks other adventurers feared to take.

  “Mostly thanks to Sem. He commands us brilliantly in battle. I heard he used to be a noble, but due to family debts, he set out to earn money and took a new name. And also…”

  Beri didn’t finish—just then, the captain appeared behind her, placed a hand on her shoulder, and said:

  “Seems you two have been here long enough. Time to switch. Beri, go get some sleep.”

  The girl, words still frozen on her lips, slowly nodded, set the spear aside, and immediately went to sleep.

  “I’ll go too,” I said through the artifact and headed off to pretend I was sleeping. My mind buzzed with new ideas and thoughts to occupy me until morning. When I lay down on the thick pad, only the sound of breathing and the soft crackle of the fire remained.