The fog in the valley had thinned out slightly as the sun started to appear. However, the fog of uncertainty still remained throughout the operation camp. Sakashi (勇), along with the leader from Division 7 and Lt. Arimoto, were having urgent conversations about the next move.
"Anawa and Shaoyun, we may have to reevaluate this mission," In the middle of the uncertainty, Huashin spoke through her mic, "and that means we must avoid engaging with the humanoid directly."
After putting away the mic, Huashin looked at Araka again, then said softly: "Araka, it seemed to be you are the only one here in the rescue team who could negotiate with the humanoid."
"Wait, so Instructor Huashin, does that mean-"
"That's right. You're going into the cave and tell us what the humanoid actually wants," Huashin nodded while gesturing toward an SAIR agent to grab the earpods.
Araka, while looking at Huashin, still tried to understand the weight of this new mission: it was her first real mission, and especially the one only she was capable of. She looked at the Matake field map on the screen, seeing the stable but constant Matake field emitting from the humanoid. What was that thing, Araka thought, and was it really hostile?
"Well, Huashin," Haseku, after briefing with Weimin about the next steps, said: "Do you really think it's okay to send Araka in? After all, she was still a first year intern who just joined us a well ago, and we have already made a huge exception for letting her in. If something happens, then -"
"Then count me in," Okuri stood up from his seat and said, "I've grown up right beneath the foot of Nanyun, and I know what the risks are. Plus, if the humanoid were truly hostile toward us, I can take it out from a distance."
"Okuri, I understand your courage and concerns, but let's put it clear: you're just a first year - I mean first week - intern," Haseku said, "and you haven't really got your weapon assigned yet- "
"I have this," Okuri said while pointing at the stockpile of weapons at the corner, where his bow and arrows were stored, "Instructor Huashin had given me clearance to bring my own arrows and bow for today's mission 'for self defense'."
"Okay, I get it, Okuri. But let me phrase it clearly -"
"Enough," Huashin, slightly annoyed, blocked the conversation while looking at everyone in the command tent, "Let me clarify what I just said before: First, we will not send Araka in alone, and we will send two SAIR agents to join Araka; however, to keep our presence less hostile, we will intervene indirectly - through drones, rovers, and comm devices. If anything happens, we will intervene and retrieve Araka by force. As for Okuri, he will also come along, since we need someone who is familiar with the environment here."
The whole tent went silent again.
"I know this may sound risky, but this might be the only way we could get closer to find out whether Ayuna is still safe," Huashin said plainly.
"Maybe that's really what we can do for now," inside the joint video feed, Anawa's voice cut in. She turned her face toward the camera while talking through the mic on her headset: "By this stage, since we have a rough idea that the panther might not be the cause, and the victim might still be alive, we should have shifted to the negotiation and retrieval phase, and that means we will send someone in. And Araka, regardless of her current rank, is the key for us to understand what is inside the cave now."
Araka, previously distracted by the conversation, turned her face toward the scene in front of her.
"Araka, I know you may not expect this, but the thing is - you're the only one with a Matake field cognition among the team," Anawa said, each of her words chosen deliberately. "However, I would only have one reminder: if you find yourself under threat, flee and protect yourself; do not engage in direct confrontation."
The words landed inside Araka's ears: it was an approval, but a conditional one, and it was also a challenge. She took a look at the Matake field graph on the screen again, seeing the layered Matake field around where the humanoid was standing. Why does that thing have the same power as me? Could it hold the answer of how I acquired this power? She thought.
As the small team assembled, the group entered the cave with caution. The interior of the cave breathed with moisture and soft echoes. Araka, wearing the earpods issued by Huashin, was flanked by two SAIR Division 5 agents carrying advanced Matake field sensors. In the back, Okuri, carrying his bow and arrows, moved almost silently.
Outside, inside the Team 2 tent, Sukeo was looking at the live feed of the Rover Number 1, which followed the group. He folded his arms and commented: "Wait, Okuri's using his own bow?"
Huashin, who just entered the tent, replied: "Based on what during the entrance exam? He's probably more accurate than these bots."
As the group moved beyond the branching junction of the cave, lights dimmed. The formation of the group became tighter, and Okuri, now wearing the night vision goggles, was scanning the surroundings.
"Okuri, do you sense anything like panthers?" Araka lowered her volume and asked.
"No," Okuri sniffed around and said, "I think it's gone."
Araka nodded and turned her attention back to the front.
"Araka," Anawa's voice came through, "You're about to pass the drones and the rovers of the forward units. Be careful when you proceed further."
Araka nodded again and adjusted her headlamp.
However, as the group arrived around the forward units, Araka paused. Her breath caught: it was not out of fear, but a pull in her cognition. I could feel it, Araka told herself: it's something I had sensed before, but subtly different - a Matake wave, but not the sharp one the middle aged man had, nor the chaotic one of Ami. She listened closer: it has a specific rhythm and it does not try to overload me, like the whole channelling is a message.
"Araka, did you sense-" as Okuri tried to ask his question, Araka gestured to Okuri and the others to lower their volume.
As the surrounding became ambient, Araka closed her eyes: the wave she sensed earlier started to take shape inside her mind.
A smiling face. Vivid, warm, and joyful.
It's reaching out to me, but it's not hostile at all, Araka said to herself.
As the group moved past the forward units, suddenly, a stone landed right beside Araka. The two SAIR agents immediately shifted their stance and placed their hands near their Matake suppressors, thinking the confrontation would be inevitable. Araka, however, didn't move. Instead, she was standing there, face facing forward with eye closed. It was another sequence of Matake waves landing inside Araka's Matake field, while a new image emerged: a palm facing toward her, signaling the group to stop.
"Stop here," Araka turned toward the two SAIR agents and Okuri and whispered, with her lips barely lifted as she spoke, "and the humanoid said he wanted you two to lower your weapon."
The two agents hesitated. Okuri, meanwhile, decided to lower his bow.
"Araka, what did you see?" Anawa asked Araka through the earpods. "The Matake field has calmed down a bit."
Just as Araka tried to reply to Anawa's message, another image emerged inside her Matake field: this time, another smiley face.
"Instructor Anawa, tell everyone that the humanoid is not hostile, but he wants the encounter to be as peaceful as possible-"
As Araka opened her eyes, she found the silhouette slowly emerged from the wall of moss and came under the spotlight of her headlamp: the tall figure covered with thick hair, wearing a loose cloth as his pants, coming forward barefoot; his step was steady and calm, and his barely opened eyes looked toward the group.
"Araka, what did the humanoid say-"
Araka didn't respond. Instead, her eyes landed firmly on the humanoid: his right arm slowly raised, with the palm facing outward. It was not hostile, it was not a threat, but a message. Suddenly, a stream of Matake waves, stronger and clearer than ever, entered Araka's Matake field: the image started with another smile, but the mouth opened, creating the shape of someone talking.
Araka stepped forward at one slow pace. Then stopped. She closed her eyes again, and listened closely.
It was not a surge, but a current gently brushing against her mind. It spoke not in words, but images, patterns, and stories: at first, a glimpse of arched stone homes, illuminated with purple lights, nested in circular, underground cities; then, an atlas showing the world in layers, with tunnels connecting the surface to the core; and finally, rocks rolling down the mountain, showing the landslide.
Then, the "story" faded away - a pause, like a natural ending of a sentence.
Araka, now slowly opened her eyes: ... He is telling a story. He didn't try to overload my Matake field, but try to convince me with the world from his perspective.
"Any update, Araka?" It was Anawa's voice passing through her earpods. Araka didn't respond immediately. Instead, she nodded gently with full attention.
The humanoid's expression seemed to have been loosened a bit: his eyebrows became more relaxed, and his face now showed curiosity more than vigilance.
"Instructor Anawa, tell everyone that I need to get closer to the humanoid just by myself," Araka whispered, "it seemed to be that I had gained his trust."
Outside the cave, the tension remained. Inside the Team 2 tent, Huashin's eyes were fixed at the encounter through the footage of Drone Number 7, the one operated by Jun. The reading of Matake field from the sensor fluctuated throughout Araka's "conversation" with the humanoid, yet the wave seemed to have been neutralized whenever the reading approached safety thresholds. Was it because the humanoid is sentient, or Araka's field actively neutralize the impact of the humanoid's field? Huashin thought.
Jun, inside the drone control console, managed to keep a closer eye on the encounter. What are you doing, Araka? He whispered to himself.
As Araka managed to get closer , the reading spiked again. The shape of the humanoid's Matake field had become unstable again, and all these spiked were targeted toward Araka. "Don't push yourself too hard, Araka. I still have no idea how much this Matake power you have", Jun said under his breath.
————
As the resonance of the humanoid's Matake came through, Araka, now several steps in front of others, closed her eyes again. However, this time, she sensed something new: her consciousness seemed to become more advanced, and she felt that she was no longer inside a dark cave, but a new space, just like what she saw during her session with Ami - filtered, curated void.
Slowly but steadily, the emptiness gave away to slow, glowing wave of images washing through Araka's mind like slideshows: The humanoid, bent beneath a jagged ceiling, presumably gathering stones; he then stack them, and a shelter like structure came to stand; finally a gesture of hands showing the shape of a roof - the completion of the house. Without hearing a single word, Araka seemed to understand how the humanoid entered the cave - it was always his home.
Then, the "slideshow" changed again - this time, it went back to the landslide she saw earlier. However, this time, a new figure was added - a silhouette of a woman, showing blood dripping from her arm, running from a panther. The "woman" entered a space that became increasingly dark, and she fell; however, the humanoid, originally carrying a boulder, managed to find her and wrapped her arm in a string of vine. As the wound was covered by the vine, the humanoid carried the woman deeper into the cave.
The Matake resonance slowly faded away, like a movie reaching its end scene.
Araka slowly opened her eyes: she was still inside the same cave, wearing the same headlamp, surrounded by drones and rovers. However, she found the scene to be heavier than ever. She turned around, found the two SAIR agents still trying to understand what was going on.
One of the agents behind her, a young man, voiced low but slightly trembling: "... What did you see?"
Araka didn't respond immediately.
"Araka, can you hear me?" Anawa's voice came through again.
"Yes," Araka replied, while slightly adjusting her posture, "Ayuna is alive. The humanoid found her, saved her, and even healed her, but -"
"But what?"
"My Matake only allowed me to listen. I can see what he shares when I close my eyes, but I can't talk back."
The other end of the comm didn't respond. However, Araka was thinking about the next step: I have to find another way to answer the humanoid, something he can read, something says we come here to save the woman, not to harm him.
A spark. Something came out of her instinct.
"Maybe, there is the way - In the "slideshow" earlier, the silhouette of the "panther" was not exact - rather a rough outline with patterns on it, which the humanoid seemed to be afraid about. However, the humanoid saved Ayuna - an injured woman who couldn't move. If I became something less threatening, something without a pattern like the humanoid, then maybe - maybe I can get closer."
Araka glanced at her own clothing: the black zipped hoodie with letters said "SAIR - te se ka", along with a pair of navy blue running leggings. If I strip away all of these - become vulnerable, then maybe the humanoid may see me differently, Araka thought to herself.
————
Inside the Team 1 tent, Anawa received the voice from Araka.
"Instructor Anawa, I have an idea."
"Go ahead."
Araka explained the idea: "I'm going to strip off most of my outfit - down to the underwear. Maybe the humanoid would think I'm also one who needs help, and I was different from the predator he saw earlier."
The silence persisted on the other end. Then, Anawa replied: "Araka, that- that is bold. But I think your idea makes sense. How did you come up with this idea?"
Araka didn't answer. She looked at the humanoid again, eyes focused - she had her approach, but putting that in execution was something else: it was her first mission by her own call.
Then Huashin's voice cut in "I see. Araka, I will give a green light for that, but be careful. Remember: if you ever feel threatened, tap any one of the two earpods twice, and we will come in to extract you."
With the earpods returning to silence, the air inside the cave grew quieter. Just as what she planned earlier, after checking the surroundings, Araka slowly takes off her outfits and reveals her physique in her underwear: a graphite coloured sports bra paired with white briefs, covering her lean physique acquired from years of track and field training. She looked at the humanoid - his expression had softened further, but she could do better.
Araka bent down, gathered some wet soil from the ground, and rubbed it across both of her arms and thighs. That should do the job, she told herself.
As the humanoid remained calm, Araka took off her shoes. She then took one step forward, then another, with her eyes focused. Then, the Matake resonance passed through her mind again: a smiley face, but this time with more warmth on the expression. It must be an approval, Araka told herself.
At the same time, the posture of the humanoid softened: the Matake field had slowly faded away, and his arms opened up, as he was ready to accept Araka.
He finally understood, Araka thought and exhaled.
As Araka slowly raised her right arm, which now coated in soft, cool mud, the humanoid watched for a moment. Then, he responded: the humanoid extended his arms, welcoming Araka like someone familiar. He accepted me, Araka thought.
With Araka holding hands with the humanoid, both of them went deeper in the cave. The air grew warmer and heavier, and the only light source now was the faint glow of luminescent plants.
After a moment, the humanoid paused. Araka looked around, trying to figure out the reason why the humanoid stopped. Then, she saw it - the stone house, exactly the same as what she saw in the humanoid's project.
It was crude but well maintained - walls fitted tight with shaped slabs, the floor smoothed by years of use. At the further corner lay the stone bench, carved gently along the wall.
Then Araka saw her - Ayuna, the same woman in the picture she saw during the earlier debriefing.
She slept on a low bed, made of moss and folded leaves of the vines. From outside, she seemed unharmed - unlike the chaos Araka saw earlier at the camping site, Ayuna breathed steadily, body untouched except for crude wrappings made from her own clothes.
She had been taken care of, Araka thought, but I still needed to get her out.
While the humanoid walked to the closer corner of the stone house, Araka looked at the humanoid and pointed at the bench - suggesting she wanted to take a rest on the bench. The humanoid nodded, while continuing his own work on turning the moss layer into another blanket.
With the humanoid's approval, Araka sat down on the bench while getting closer to Ayuna, who was still silent, with her eyes closed.
The slight movement caught the humanoid's attention, and he turned his eyes back toward Araka. Araka, seeing this, tried to sense if the humanoid tried to talk to her.
Nothing. Just silence.
Araka exhaled.
Yet, after a moment of ease, Araka realized it was still not exactly possible to bring Ayuna out: despite all the previous trust between her and the humanoid, she could not talk back. I have to do it slowly, she thought.
She turned back to Ayuna, who moved slightly under the moss covering, lips parting in a soft breath.
Araka leaned close and touched her shoulder.
"Ayuna," she whispered.
Ayuna, just woke up, turned her face toward Araka.
"S-stay calm," Just as Ayuna was about to speak, Araka interrupted. She suppressed her volume to make the whisper barely audible. "Listen. I'm with the SAIR. I'm here to get you out."
Ayuna got up. She put away the cover made of moss and sat up, with her eyes widened: "But… he - he won't let me leave."
"I know," Araka said, "and that's why I was sent down here."
She looked back at the humanoid - still watching, still waiting. I came in as someone weak, and if I brought Ayuna out now, it would confuse the humanoid, Araka thought. Then, her instinct gave her another plan - a recall of her past memory.
"Listen, Ayuna," Araka got closer to Ayun's ears and whispered: "I have a plan, but I need you to play along - just like an act."
Ayuna frowned: "Act?"
"I'm going to act like I'm your child."
"Child?"
"Have you seen the mammals with their children? Well I will play that - you open your brace, and I crouch in."
Ayuna blinked: "That's - that he might not understand. He didn't even understand the language of us-"
"He will," Araka covered Ayuna's mouth before the voice got too loud, and I can assure that, "and all you need to do was to pat my head and shoulder."
Ayuna was still hesitant, yet Araka, now with a better roadmap, moved in quietly - she moved even closer, pressed herself forward, gently curling into Ayuna's arms. Her cheek resting against her chest like a child seeking protection from thunder.
Ayuna froze for a moment. Then, out of instinct, she padded Araka's shoulder, slowly wrapping her arms around her like a mother might. Keep it going, Araka thought while looking at the humanoid.
Then, the Matake resonance returned.
Not forceful. Not loud.
Just confirming:
An image of two figures, one taller, one smaller, bracing at each other. Above the two figures, the humanoid showed a curious expression - a way to convey the doubt without using the language.
"Are you blood related?" Araka interpreted the message.
She whispered into Ayuna's collarbone: "Nod."
Ayuna hesitated. But eventually, she nodded once - slow, uncertain, but didn't see other options.
Then, for the first time, the humanoid turned away: there was no rage, no confusion, just acknowledgement.
The humanoid finally believed our story, Araka told herself, but I still needed to convince him to let us go.
A lightbulb thought came across her mind.
While already inside Ayuna's brace, Araka rubbed her skin and underwear against the bench and Ayuna's clothes.
The humanoid, seeing the move, channeled another wave toward Araka: The same doubt expression, but now with the image of the mouth of the cave, with lights coming in.
"You want to go? Is it safe outside?"
Araka nodded out of instinct. However, deeper in her mind, she started to sense something: her cognition now became sharper when interpreting the humanoid's message and planning her next move. Was this - the power of Matake?
Before Araka could answer her own doubts, the humanoid came forward, extended his arms. Then, he gently grabbed Araka and Ayuna, lifted them onto his arm, and carried them - an act completely defied his earlier demeanour. For the first time, Araka felt she understood the humanoid - the fact her instinct didn't resist against the humanoid when he extended his arms.
The path upward had grown warmer as the stone house became more distant - the smell of moss giving way to wind, and faint echoes of surface voices trickling into the tunnel.
I should let the humanoid leave us on foot before he sees the rovers and drones again, Araka thought.
She shifted slightly, tapped her foot - once, then again.
The humanoid paused and gently lowered them both onto the ground. Yet, he didn't move.
A new Matake wave pulsed through Araka's cognition: this time, multiple figures emerged beyond the mouth of the cave, each with different facial expressions: some smiling, some doubting, some simply watching.
"If I let you go, will they accept you?"
Araka inhaled softly, then she turned to Ayuna, who was still holding her hand while breathing unsteady.
"…He's afraid," Araka whispered.
Ayuna blinked: "Afraid of what?"
"That the people outside will hurt us - he was treating us like the same kind as his."
"So how can we tell him?"
"Just like this," Araka turned her face toward the humanoid, smiled and nodded - a signal of relief.
Ayuna hesitated, but quickly followed.
The humanoid initially hesitated, but eventually he relaxed his posture.
Then, the Matake vision faded, and for the first time, the humanoid turned backward, and slowly stepped back into the dark.
————
The lights of the rovers and drones broke across Araka's eyes as she stepped from the upper section of the cave, with her hands holding Ayuna's shoulder.
A cool wind touched her sweat-damp skin and her underwear—her first breath of sky in hours.
Immediately, Huashin, who had already got inside the cave along with two agents and two medics, rushed to Araka. She didn't waste time.
"Are you injured?"
Araka shook her head slowly: "No. Neither of us."
She looked toward the drones and the rovers, then back toward Huashin: "The humanoid… he wasn't hostile. He was highly intelligent - not just smart, but a whole view of the world without speaking a word. It - it feels like a parallel civilization, one we've never heard about until now."
Ayuna, still dizzy but standing, was taken gently by the medics.
Meanwhile, Tenka, along with more medics, ran in with a first aid kit and some towels.
"Sara-cha!" she immediately put her hands onto Araka's both shoulders: "Did the humanoid hurt you? I saw you came in half naked."
Araka shook her head: "No, and I tried to talk him out."
"How the hell did you even talk to it?" Tenka asked, still digesting what Araka just said: "It didn't even open its mouth."
Araka shrugged slightly, accepting the towel, and grinned a little "I didn't. I just somehow recalled a trick I saw once."
Tenka blinked. "What do you mean?"
Araka looked back into the cave, then turned to Tenka: "Have you been to a zoo?"
"Of course. But how could that help?"
"Well, the monkeys don't speak, but they understand something simple just by watching - if I came in calmly, naked, not aggressive, then I'm not a threat - unlike the panther that chased Ayuna into the cave," Araka said.
The temporary SAIR command camp had quieted by the dusk, leaving only the low murmur of devices in idle, and distant helicopters punctuated the evening mist.
Inside the central tent, the discussion table was surrounded by major SAIR staff onsite. Unlike the earlier meeting, Araka was also invited.
Huashin stood before the darkened screen, arms folded. She spoke first: "The Matake levels inside the cave are stable now. However, we still have one major discovery: the sighting of a highly intelligent humanoid who is capable of Matake channeling, as Araka's encounter had proved."
Araka nodded.
"And that enough had brought more questions than answers - how could there even be a seemingly self-sustaining habitat inside a cave that didn't exist on maps at all?"
The participants went quiet. Araka, however, was recalling some of the details of the humanoid's Matake projection: the mentioning of the existence of a subterranean civilization, the description that it had passages leading to the ground, and more importantly, the cave was actively maintained by the humanoid to make it sealed. However, just as mysterious as the origin of her Matake, Araka couldn't raise a point - even she couldn't fully understand these myths.
Then, Anawa broke the silence: "Huashin, could you turn on the screen for a bit - I have some discoveries I would like to share with all of you."
As the screen was turned on again, Anawa tapped her tablet and zoomed in on the picture the team took earlier inside the cave.
"These carvings didn't really match any archeological artifacts related to ancient Shinari or known proto-Shinari civilizations. I have not yet received the answer from the SAIR headquarters, yet, but the result would be paradigm-shifting. If we bury the cave mouth simply for safety, we may have lost the first real trace of a pre-Metonian civilization."
Haseku added quietly, "And we don't even know what the humanoid was - where did he come from? How long had he lived in the cave? We can't just bury that."
The room went silent again.
Lt. Arimoto, standing near the entrance flap, spoke for the first time in the meeting. He didn't raise his voice, but left an authoritative tone: "This cave wasn't even marked on the registry."
"Arimoto was right," Weimin cut in: "Even if we want to do the mapping, we can use other technologies without getting ourselves inside the cave. After all, the fact that it was the habitat of this highly intelligent humanoid means before we can fully understand the history of this unknown civilization, it's better just to make sure no more passer by would accidentally stumble into this one."
As Weimin finished his sentence, he looked at all the participants all, then toward the forest shadows.
"Maybe it's better to leave some mystery behind," Weimin said, "before we can understand the true power behind it."
Lt. Arimoto nodded. Then surprisingly, Huashin also followed: "I would agree with that, given the presence of a highly Matake field capable species inside the cave, if it's not posing threats toward us, we should not disrupt its habitat."
No one spoke further.
Then, everyone nodded, one by one - the consensus was reached: the cave will be sealed.
However, Araka was still thinking: "Before I can talk to the humanoid with my Matake, maybe it's better to keep it sealed."
——
Outside the medical tent set up by the emergency service, Ayuna sat under the final threads of sunlight, wrapped in a thermal blanket. Across from her, stood Haseku flanked by two other State Police officers taking notes.
"What you described earlier is appreciated," Haseku said, "but as for the details regarding your encounters with the humanoid, we will keep it under SAIR classified files under the clauses of the National Security Act for Supernatural Incidents - it means the case will be considered as 'conditionally disclosed' by law enforcements."
Ayuna nodded slowly: "I understand"
However, as she looked back at the cave mouth, now with the barrier set up, she then spoke: "But… if you seal the cave mouth, what if someone else finds it one day?"
"She's right," a voice cut in - it was Huashin, who just came back from the main tent.
"But the SAIR is not trying to hide it forever," she knelt beside Ayuna: "We're working on how to communicate with him."
Ayuna, upon hearing this, smiled: "Even though I didn't understand what that caveman said, I'm still grateful he saved me."
Later at night, in the Division 2 Bakju Complex, Anawa, Huashin, and Weimin remained in the lab while everyone else was dismissed. Anawa stood by the screen as Weimin zoomed in on the picture the drone took earlier.
"Hold on," Anawa made the call while adjusting her glasses. She stared at the symbols.
"This symbol—" she pointed to the three clean triangles, "Isn't it the crest of the Otanaku clan without the ornaments?"
"Or is it the flipped, simplified version of the crest of the Peni clan?" Huashin said while rubbing her chin.
Weimin, however, decided to select the image and then put it through the SAIR's catalog search. After browsing through some results, he turned toward the two. "Not only that, but there are two strands of results that somewhat matched this image. One matched archeological discovery of four sites deeper in the Wuyun Range (舞雲山脈) in the east, which so far said the symbol was hypothesized to be an undocumented native tribe," he then paused a bit while opened the other: "but what was more interesting is this - this one is still in active use for some occasions, especially ceremonial ones."
"Hikuyomi Shrine (北見宮) in Meidon (梅東), Kenzan State (琴山)?" Huashin gasped while seeing the symbol on some banners during the ceremony, "That's the head of the 18 Shrines Network, the one who kept the original archives of almost all Matake spells and theories."
Anawa, stared a bit longer, then added: "But more importantly, that symbol wasn't the same as either the Otanaku clan nor the registered crest for the shrine."
Huashin, still processing what she had seen, stepped backward. "…So the cave was more than a shelter, but hosted the key where Matake began."