Darkness, and then light. That was what Anyael saw when he woke up.
—You finally decided to wake up, Sleeping Beauty —Kael said, irritated.
—Huh? How long was I out? —Anyael asked, clearly confused.
—About three days —Dio replied, a bit apologetically.
After this curious exchange, both Kael and Dio brought Any up to speed on the current situation.
—So, if I didn't miss anything, Dio knows where there's a human settlement, right?
—Exactly —Dio answered calmly— and that's precisely where we're heading.
—And do you have a map or something? Because if not, how the hell do you expect to orient yourself? —Any snapped, his tone heavy with frustration and annoyance.
—Ah, right. I didn't explain how Niviro works —Dio replied, once again with that excessive calm of his.
—How does it work? —Any repeated, raising an eyebrow.
—Yeah, look, let me explain.
Dio then proceeded to explain what the Axis Mundi, or world axes, were: colossal pillars marked with a letter and a number to indicate their coordinates, always located near a settlement.
—So, did you get it now? —Dio asked, smiling.
—That makes sense —Any replied, while Kael watched them with a look that could only be compared to that of an egocentric biologist observing two primates having a pointless exchange.
—Then tell me, Dio. Exactly which Axis is closest to this settlement?
—Well, Any, I'm glad you asked. If I remember correctly, that Axis is Z-12748917.
—Ohhh. And what the hell do both the name and the numbers mean? And an even better question—how do you know we're going in the right direction? —Any asked, his voice and gaze mixing anxiety, uncertainty, and curiosity.
—That's a lot of questions. Are you an AI or something that needs to learn everything at once? Anyway, let's take it step by step. Which one do I answer first?
—Hmm. First tell me what the letters and numbers mean, and second, how the hell do you know where to go? I seriously doubt you memorized the path.
—Guys, sorry to interrupt your stupid conversation, but we need to move. So if you don't mind, you can talk while walking —Kael said, her brow slightly furrowed, clearly on the verge of yelling.
—Okay.
—Sure.
They replied in unison. As they moved forward, Dio began his boring explanation.
—First, Anyael, you need to understand that Niviro is infinite, right? Well, starting from that… damn it, where the hell do I even begin? Argh, forget it. Let's just say there's a central mother Axis, okay? And from it, all the others originate. A letter represents the direction—north, south, east, or west—and a number represents—
—Their order of creation. That's easy to deduce —Any interrupted, surprisingly bored by something he had asked for himself—. And those letters are?
—Glad you asked. The chosen letters were Z for south, V for east, Y for west, and X for north.
—Chosen? By who? —Any asked, not giving Dio a moment to breathe.
—No fucking clue —Dio replied without even blinking.
—Wow. Amazing piece of information —Kael commented, revealing that she might have been more interested than she let on, even though Dio had probably already explained this to her.
—And you, Anyael, what was your other question?
—Ah, right, how do you kno—
Before he could finish, Kael's scream cut him off.
—GET DOWN! —Kael shouted desperately.
The moment the boys followed the order, a barrage of arrows flew over their heads. Worried about Kael, Any turned toward her and saw that she had taken cover behind a large tree trunk.
Looking up from there, Any noticed a strange little creature. It was about the size of a child. It had huge eyes, almost amphibian-like—so large that not even the ugly tribal mask it wore could fully hide them. It had a cardboard-colored "mane," wore no clothes, and didn't seem to need any. Its green skin was slimy, and its limbs ended in three fingers, both on its hands and feet. It wielded a sharply honed spear, and its intent was unmistakable.
The second Any spotted it, he shouted at Kael:
—Up!
And as she reacted to the danger, he was pierced in the shoulder by an arrow.