The room at the back of Ashen's abode seemed suddenly too small to contain the weight of the moment. The last evening light slipped through the single window in a thin silver band, cutting across the floorboards and stopping between them like a quiet boundary. Outside, the herb fields rustled softly in the wind, but inside the room the air felt dense and unmoving. Mokai sat on the edge of the bed, while Fengyu leaned forward in the chair opposite him, elbows resting on his knees.
The silence stretched.
Whatever was spoken next would not simply be a conversation. It would decide whether they walked the path ahead as strangers forced together by circumstance or as allies who had chosen, fully aware of the risks, to trust one another.
Mokai smiled slightly, but the smile was false. He knew he had been caught red-handed.
At the same time, he knew he was not the only one whose secrets had begun to show. Too many things this day had slipped out from behind their careful disguises.
Only Fengyu seemed not to fully grasp the mechanics behind it all. Or perhaps he understood and simply chose not to show it.
Mokai studied him quietly for a moment, measuring the calm intensity in Fengyu's eyes. For the first time since they had met, he wondered whether this Soliraean young lord was truly as unguarded as he had first appeared - or whether that irreverent openness had always been a mask of its own.
Fengyu held Mokai's gaze, letting the silence stretch. In that pause, he saw him differently. Mokai was calm, but there was a tension beneath it. For the first time, Fengyu felt the full measure of what it meant to be in the other man's presence - that Mokai was not just an observer or a companion, but a participant fully aware of the stakes.
Finally, Mokai exhaled softly and spoke.
"I won't deny it," he said. "I know more."
He leaned back slightly, the tension in his shoulders easing now that the first words were out.
"Before coming here, I had a long conversation with my father," he continued quietly. "He confessed something I didn't expect. Pantax… had once tried to explore new - or rather old - worlds. We had been tempted, drawn by the chance to see what lay beyond our borders, maybe to conquer, maybe to rule… My father… he participated in that mission. The mission to Firme. And he was the only one to return."
He looked straight into Fengyu's eyes.
"He met… what lies hidden beneath the green mist," he said slowly. "The second layer of mist."
"The civilization he encountered… it was unlike anything we had ever known. He saw wonders that no one else could. Architecture that was glass and memory crystals. Cities that hummed with power. Structures that shifted subtly creating the mazes of mirrors. The air that felt charged, as if it carried memory and thought. Even the food… tasted unlike anything he had known, rich in flavour yet faintly ethereal."
Mokai's eyes darkened slightly as he continued.
"It was all because of the concordance. Every person, sometimes even animals, seemed connected - linked in thought, in memory, in ways we cannot fully grasp. They were one. Those who had surrendered themselves most completely were called the Unvoiced. The Unvoiced had let go. They had given up speech, surrendered individuality, and communicated through shared memory and resonance. They were considered sacred, the true guides of the civilization. Those, who clang to speech and individuality, lived ordinary, grounded lives and were called the Voiced. But even the Voiced, shared a weight of understanding you couldn't measure. It was beautiful and terrifying."
"The mission participants became deeply affected. One began dreaming of things that hadn't happened yet. Another fell into trance, gave up speech, and became Unvoiced. One simply disappeared. Father… he felt something pulling at his mind, pulling at memories he couldn't be sure were even his own."
"Firme is not cruel. It's… seductive. It offers understanding and peace. The Concord is a place of mind, a place to discard pain and join. Father refused… or maybe he accepted in part. Something of him stayed behind. Something came back with him."
He shifted slightly on the bed.
"Father… he didn't come back the way anyone expected. One night, he ran. Left the mission while the others were still in Firme. None of the remaining participants wanted to return to Pantax. The pull of the Concord had changed them. They couldn't bear the thought of leaving that world behind and returning to one that could never understand them fully. My father… he left to protect himself. And to protect Pantax. After that, Pantax never tried exploration again. And the Gates were sealed for that space of higher dimensions. We never told anyone."
Fengyu's brow furrowed as he absorbed the weight of Mokai's words. "That… is what they call the Pantax Blindspot, isn't it?" he said slowly. "I've heard the rumors. That Pantax… inexplicably sealed some space, and refused to give any answers. Soon, you refused even to acknowledge the fact and it became some sort of a ridiculous taboo."
"Oh," Mokai replied, a faint edge in his voice, as if slightly insulted. "I did not know."
"You just… swept the thing under the carpet," Fengyu said, his voice tight. "Hoping that nobody would ever stumble onto that world again?"
Mokai met Fengyu's gaze evenly. "Forcing the Gates to open where no counterpart exists… even if here they exist… it is still an expensive undertaking. Few worlds could even afford it, and few Gates are capable of it. There are not many who would even consider such an endeavour - discovering new worlds, searching through higher-dimensional space. Pantax had the means. Who else does?"
"The Guild" deadpanned Fengyu. "And the Temple has the Nyx Void."
Mokai's expression remained steady, but a faint shadow passed over his eyes.
"Yes," he said quietly.
Was that the reason they were all here right now?
"How did they find it in the first place?" asked Fengyu.
"What?"
"Firme. Why the mission, and why here?"
"I do not clearly know," Mokai said slowly. "Father mentioned some ancient scripts. He never fully explained."
"How the poachers did find the place?" asked Fengyu again. "Was it Ashen following Karsh or Karsh being led by Ashen?"
"You are speculating right now!"
"Yes, I am. But why not?"
"Are you suggesting that the Guild did it. The Guild led some outsider poachers to set up an outpost here, to scout the level of danger?"
"Somehow… I cannot stop thinking about it," Fengyu answered steadily, his gaze fixed on Mokai. "It feels like someone wanted this world to be found."
And then Mokai deadpanned. "Or this world wanted to be found."
"Like the concordance thing?!" Fengyu's eyes became wide. "Do they want to conquer the charted universe?"
"How would I know?" answered Mokai. "But why wouldn't they want it? We had wanted to conquer them, somewhat…"
"Does the Guild know? How much does the Guild know?" asked Fengyu again, before falling silent.
Silence stretched as they both pondered on the wild spectrum of possible conspiracies laying in front of them.
"Why do you tell me all this just now? Why not before?" Fengyu's voice sounded accusatory.
Mokai shifted uncomfortably. "I know we went through a lot in Firme before… but I never wanted to share the Pantax secrets. And I was ashamed. Because of Pantax failed mission to conquer, and because of my fathers shameful return. It is just not something you talk about lightly."
"But I am here now." Mokai looked up into Fengyu's eyes, somehow lost for words, searching for connection, maybe understanding.
Fengyu's gaze softened slightly. He did not speak at first, only studied Mokai, weighing the sincerity behind his words. After a long moment, he let out a slow breath.
"…I see," he said quietly.
"And I also think Ashen lied," he stated.
Mokai's eyes sharpened. "Then we have only one option," he said. "We need answers from him. If Ashen is hiding something… we find out now."
They rose from their seats.
"Are you not telling me something more?" Fengyu asked suddenly, his voice sharper now, edged with suspicion.
Mokai hesitated. "They can kill with this concordance..."
"???"
"How???"
"They just… make your mind touch something too big, too foreign," Mokai explained, "and you collapse in on yourself."
Fengyu drew in a slow breath. That sounded terrifying and… easy… for a thing like that concordance.
"We have to know what Ashen is hiding," Mokai urged him towards the door.
Before they could reach the corridor, Fengyu's bodyguards appeared, emerging silently from behind the doors.
Lao Zhan's eyes met Fengyu's, somewhat questioning. Whatever he wanted would be done—that was the message carried in those worn, steady eyes.
"What do you order?" he asked.
They left the abode first, walking in silence until they reached the open fields. There, they crouched low among the grass, far enough from the house to be certain they were beyond its ears.
"Where is Ashen?" Fengyu started. "What did he do this afternoon?"
"He did not leave the rooms in the back," answered Tie Dun.
"I want the truth from him," Fengyu said coldly. "And the truth he carries, even if he does not know he carries it."
He paused, his gaze hardening.
"What does the Guild really plan to do with him?"
No one answered immediately. The wind moved through the grass around them, carrying the faint sounds of the house far behind.
"I think the Guild never sends anyone for just one purpose," Mokai said, his tone unreadable. "His role here may not be finished yet, but I agree he is kept in the dark just as we are."
Fengyu remained silent for a moment. He glanced toward the dark outline of the house in the distance.
"Then perhaps the better question is… what does Ashen think he was sent here to do?" he said quietly. After a brief pause he added, "And what else he could do with it."
"Let's use the fact that we are Soliraean," Fengyu said at last. "I may be a useless pawn, but there is power behind me."
He turned his head and looked at Lao Zhan.
"Let's try to strike a deal with him. After all… we are famous for buying people everywhere."
"Once he's on our side - even if only pretending - he'll be less guarded," Fengyu continued. "He will start talking even if only to make as believe he really switched sides. He'll spill things he thinks are useless… old breadcrumbs from the past. How it really started. Who hinted what to whom. Those small details. His true role is hidden somewhere in them."
"But what can we offer him?" asked Mokai.
Fengyu considered the question, eyes narrowing as he weighed possibilities
"What could it be?" he murmured, more to himself than anyone else.
He remembered the sight of Ashen's eyes when he had spoken of his dream - a vision of a new life, unbound by the Guild. Something flickered there then, a glimpse of desire and fear tangled together. Fengyu knew that spark could be a lever, if only they could reach it.
"Maybe," he said slowly, "what he truly wants is a life out of their control. A chance to be free… if we can promise that, perhaps we can turn the tables."
"Fetch him," he ordered.
His three bodyguards exchanged glances, then bowed to their young master and departed without a word.
"What do you plan?" Mokai asked quietly, his eyes narrowing.
Fengyu grinned, the faint curve of his lips sharp with anticipation.
"I want a night of confessions," he said. "You've had your part… now it's Ashen's turn."
It didn't take long before Lao Zhan returned, motioning for them to follow.
He led them up the slope rising behind the house. The incline was steep and thickly covered in forest. They had to choose their footing carefully through roots and underbrush.
Surprisingly, midway up, a cavern opened into the hillside.
"How did you find this?" Fengyu asked, eyeing the hidden entrance.
"Following animals," Lao Zhan replied calmly.
"Animals?" Mokai echoed, incredulous.
"Yes," Lao Zhan said, his voice steady. "A very beautiful fox. But the creature is clever - we did not manage to catch it."
"Are you sure it was just a fox?" Mokai asked. "If it was that beautiful… that was definitely a mythical beast."
Lao Zhan looked at him, a faint edge of annoyance in his worn features.
"So what?" he said. "And they are not mythical anymore. They are in abundance here."
Fengyu felt a sudden lift in his mood at the sight and sound of defiance in his servant-bodyguard's behaviour. Yes, that he liked.
He entered the cave in far higher spirits than he had expected.
There, on the cave floor, lay a bundle representing Ashen. Tie Dun and Huo Yan lounged casually near the entrance. Ashen made no move.
Mokai stepped forward and tapped Ashen lightly with his foot.
"Get up," he ordered.
Ashen looked at him leisurely, but he obeyed. He sat up, stretching just enough to seem casual, and waited.
A long pause followed. Each of them measured the strength, the intent, and the patience of the others, the air thick with unspoken calculation.
Finally, Fengyu broke the silence.
"What do you think the Guild will do with you?" he asked.
"They will get all the information from me," Ashen replied slowly, "maybe set me to a few errands, and then either expel me for good… or get rid of me entirely. Or… perhaps send me to some other gods and civilizations forgotten place."
"I am a small pawn," he continued, unquestioned, "and here…the game has become elevated. There is no space for small pawns anymore."
"Maybe… if you make yourself useful…" Fengyu began, his voice careful.
"Useful? To whom?" Ashen hissed, his tone bitter. "The Guild takes what it wants - and it is already gone."
"I'm not that convinced," Fengyu countered. "There is more to this world."
"There are things you know," he continued, his voice low and deliberate, "but you don't know that you know."
Ashen looked at him as one might look at a fool.
"Are you sure?"
"Tell us everything," Fengyu said. "All the details - how you ended up in this world, every little fact that might indicate someone steering your actions without your knowing it."
"Are you telling me it was all someone's plan?" Ashen asked, disbelief sharpening his voice. "I knew I was a pawn…but not to that extent."
"I think the Guild can make use of everybody and everything," Fengyu said, his gaze fixed on Ashen. "No matter who is discarded or expelled. So… why not you? Why not the poachers? Was it planned from the beginning, or from the middle? I don't know. But I want to know. Don't you want to know as well?"
"Sure, but what is there in it for me?" Ashen switched the mode. "What do I get from siding with you, antagonizing the archimage? Who are you, anyway? Will you secure me a safe passage when all this blows up?"
"Will Paronel secure you a passage?" Fengyu asked. "He already secured you… as an asset. You're an object to him. You've lived a couple of years here. You felt free, didn't you? That was an illusion. You were free because they didn't look. Now… they want to control you, because they regard you as theirs. Are you theirs? Will you always be theirs and on theirs conditions?"
Ashen did not answer.
Fengyu studied him closely. He had guessed correctly.
Ashen had tasted freedom - independence, self-determination - even if only for a brief moment. He had felt the control of his own existence, felt in command. Even if it was an illusion, his body remembered. It lingered in his bones. And now, having it taken from him was painful.
Ashen did not fully understand what was happening, but Fengyu did.
And he bet on it.
"So… what is the plan?" Ashen asked, his tone wary. "Do you even have a plan? Do you want this world for Solirae… or for Pantax?"