Lein slowly began to drift into sleep — the fatigue from listening to Kyle for so long was finally catching up to him.
It didn't help that his eyes were closed, and the knowledge he'd absorbed was laced with mysticism.
After a short struggle, he slipped into slumber.
Kyle stood up, quietly approached, and gently covered him with a blanket.
Lein lay peacefully by the fire, his body relaxed, breathing even.
At least, that's how it looked from the outside.
But in truth...
Lein had once again fallen into a lucid dream — if it could even still be called a dream.
«Can't I just... sleep normally? I'm tired... too damn tired.»
Lein sighed.
Once again, he saw Kyle.
He looked younger than ever — even more so than last time.
«So this must've happened before he left the tribe.»
The scene unfolded inside a vast cavern.
Kyle stood among towering figures, watching as they performed a sacrifice.
"Your death shall not be in vain. Your family will not be forsaken. You carry the blessing of our god. Rejoice, Alvein!"
The one speaking was an old man, bare-chested, with crimson tattoos sprawling across his body.
«Some kind of chieftain, maybe... Those white hairs — is that even natural?» Lein wondered.
His gaze shifted to the woman at the center of the pyre.
Alvein.
She was tied to a thick wooden pillar, her brown hair wrapped tightly around it.
Her eyes were wide with panic and horror.
A cloth gag muffled her voice, but she still tried to scream.
"Mmm! MMM!"
«Monsters... They're going to burn her alive? Like witches at the stake? Bastards...»
If he could, Lein would've gritted his teeth. But he couldn't — only watch.
Watch her fight with every ounce of strength.
Watch her scream and thrash.
Watch the crowd — silent, indifferent.
Some... even smiling.
"Alvein! Stop struggling! This is the greatest honor! I'm proud to have given birth to you!"
An old woman — her eyes ablaze with zeal — looked at Alvein as if she truly wished to take her place.
«That's no mother. That's a whore. A real mother would never do this to her child!» Lein thought, furious.
But he wasn't the only one who snapped.
Kyle, still among the crowd, suddenly shouted:
"Don't touch her! You bastards — don't you dare lay a hand on her!"
He made a move forward, but someone seized him.
Kyle turned — it was Velv.
The man shook his head slowly, sadness in his eyes.
Kyle opened his mouth to protest, but then—
Whispers echoed around them:
"Tsk. So uncultured. Just like his mother."
"I heard he doesn't even believe in our god."
"And I heard he—"
"Enough!" Velv snapped, clutching Kyle's shoulder.
"He's still a child. Ignore him."
Then he gave Kyle a hard look.
Kyle clenched his jaw and lowered his head.
«Of course he wouldn't want to save them. But... I told him I saw his tribe die in a dream... I should remember that.
What if he decides to help the demon destroy them?
That would be a shame.
Because I want to be the one who does it.»
Lein's eyes shifted back to the white-haired elder.
He now held a blazing torch.
A torch that burned brighter than the stars above.
Lein watched in silence as the man approached Alvein, murmuring a prayer:
"Oh great god of darkness, hear us again. We've done as you asked. We burn a beautiful virgin in your name. Accept our gratitude."
With those words, he raised the torch.
«Isn't there anyone? Someone who'll stop this?» Lein thought.
He looked at the crowd —
those who praised the god of darkness,
those who waited to see a girl die in flames,
those who had given up their humanity...
«No one? Really... no one?»
The elder lowered the torch.
The flames roared to life, stretching toward Alvein.
She screamed, twisted, fought with all she had—
But it was useless.
She kept struggling...
Until the fire was inches from her skin.
One last time, she looked to the crowd — the very people cheering for her death.
Her eyes burned with fury, pain... and sorrow.
She saw Kyle.
He tried to use the noise and chaos to break free and rush to her.
But his uncle held him fast.
She looked up...
As if searching for something beyond the cavern ceiling.
And when she realized there were people trying to save her...
She smiled, faintly.
Tears streamed down her face.
But that smile faded quickly.
The flames took her.
She screamed and twisted, slamming her head against the post —
trying to pass out and escape the pain.
Minutes passed. She went still.
Alvein was mercilessly burned by a fire that knew no mercy.
And just like that, Lein woke up.
No gasping for air.
No sweat.
But this one cut deepest of all.
People cheering for the death of a girl.
Kyle, helpless.
And the girl herself... who wanted to live.
Lein clenched his teeth.
Without realizing it, he'd bitten his lip hard enough to draw blood.
He didn't even know what hurt the most.
He didn't know Alvein.
But he remembered her smile.
Kyle wasn't the only one who'd tried to help her...
Lein had tried too.
And that final smile of hers...
It felt like it was for him.
He would never forget it.
«Hearing and seeing... aren't the same,» he thought bitterly.
When Kyle said the tribe performed blood rituals, it didn't really register.
But now... he had seen it.
And he knew exactly what had to be done.
"Lein? You're up already?" Kyle's voice came from beyond the snow.
Lein exhaled.
He managed a faint smile.
"Yeah. Morning."
Kyle gave him a strange look, though Lein didn't notice.
"Are you... okay?"
"Hm? Yeah, why?"
"Your lip's bleeding. And... your fists are clenched."
"Oh. I just... bit it in my sleep. And my hands... they just hurt a little."
Kyle sighed.
"Alright. Whatever."
He sat down beside Lein and tossed another log into the fire.
For a while, they said nothing.
Each lost in his own thoughts.
«Human life is priceless. And being human... means empathy.
Alvein... I don't know who you were,
but I'll make them pay.
For turning my dream into another nightmare.»
Lein sighed.
And Kyle sighed too.
"I... saw you, you know," Kyle said suddenly.
Lein froze.