The little girl's smile lit up the outskirts of Aris, a small beacon of rediscovered innocence. Kael felt the warmth of that success, the deep sense of fulfillment that came with being a Keeper who had done his part.
But the joy lasted only an instant.
A cold shiver ran down his spine, a premonition that was not just instinct but a distant echo of a connection resonating in the Dream Realm. Then, the voice of Master Elian, no longer a faint touch, but a pressing alarm that boomed in his mind, nearly forcing him to his knees.
"Kael! What have you done?! Your resonance! The Silent Ones are returning! You must come back now! Fall asleep, Kael! NOW!"
A bitter sense of guilt gripped him. His compassion and desire to help had betrayed him. He had ignored the precautions; he had exposed himself and, consequently, the village.
He sprang to his feet, the little girl looking up at him, confused. "I have to go, little one. Go home, now." Kael rushed toward the center of the village, his mind panicked, his heart pounding wildly in his chest.
He ran breathlessly, his steps echoing on the dirt path. The air seemed to grow thicker, time slower. He felt the nearness of the threat like a weight on his chest. His legs, still not fully accustomed to this frenzy after months of stillness, tripped over a protruding root.
Kael fell heavily to the ground, with a burst of pain in his knee and the palm of his hand. He immediately got up without even looking at the scrapes, pushing himself forward with renewed terror.
He sped past a pair of farmers returning from the fields. He heard them murmuring, their perplexity palpable: "Kael? What's wrong with him? He looks like demons are chasing him!" But Kael didn't stop; their voices faded behind him. He had to reach his room, his refuge.
Meanwhile, in the depths of the forest, the Silent Ones were moving.
They didn't run; they didn't need to. Their hooded figures slipped between the trees with a macabre grace, their movements almost liquid, like smoke condensing and dissolving. Every step was silent; every curve of their path tracked with unnatural precision.
They were a few kilometers from Aris, their speed terrifying, driven by a sense of urgency that was not their own, but the Whispering One's.
The Whispering One, awakened by that single, unmistakable resonance from Kael, felt the Ash's hunger sharpen, an almost palpable impatience. Its "thought" was an electric shock of compelling necessity: "Find him! Take him! He cannot escape this time!" The frustration of the previous false lead had transformed into a cold, almost desperate determination.
The Silent Ones were merely extensions, but the urgency with which It manipulated them was unequivocal. The prey was within reach.
In the meantime, Elian's voice returned to Kael's mind, now calmer but firm. "Reach for your room, Kael. We cannot allow them to find you awake. Your body must be protected."
Kael barely managed to climb the stairs leading to his room above the shop, his breath ragged, his heart in his throat. Uncle Borin, hearing the commotion, looked out of the kitchen, his face puzzled. "Kael, what's happening? You're all dirty!"
"Nothing, Uncle! I just need to... rest, right now!" Kael threw himself onto the bed, desperately trying to concentrate, to let himself fall asleep.
It was not like entering the Dream Realm willingly, but a forced return, driven by pure necessity. His mind raced, full of fear and regret for his mistake.
In the Breathing Hall, Master Elian and Lyra were already in full activity. Anya, still slightly groggy from her rest but with the fog completely dissipated from her eyes, had gotten up; her empathy allowed her to perceive the urgency of the situation.
"Elian, I feel his resonance, but it's... agitated!" Lyra said.
"I know," the Master replied, his voice concentrated. "Kael made a mistake. He emitted a clear resonance while awake. But it's a mistake we were, in part, prepared for. Listen closely, both of you."
While Kael, in the real world, struggled to fall asleep, Elian projected the new protection strategy into his mind in a rapid and concise flow.
"Kael, now you won't just have to fall asleep. We have prepared a series of dream protection spells around your physical body. They are sophisticated layers, anchored not only to your Garden but also to strong points in the Realm. They will wrap around you like a cocoon, making your body almost invisible to the Whispering One's direct perception, even if the Silent Ones were to reach the village walls. It is not invisibility, but a deep dissimulation."
Elian continued, his voice taking on a note of relief as he sensed Kael slipping into deep, protected sleep.
"Anya, now! Recreate the Silent Guardian! But not where it was before. Generate it in the fields to the northwest, near the old mills. Create a strong signal, but not one that lasts too long. Lyra, prepare yourself. When the Guardian dissolves, you and the other Custodians must provide energy to Anya. In shifts, for short periods, so as not to overly fatigue her. Anya, next time, generate the Guardian in a completely different spot. We must make their hunt a torture of illusions. They must believe the resonances are random, disconnected, that we are playing hide-and-seek with them."
Anya closed her eyes, her concentration sharp again.
Her energy flowed, powerful and controlled. The image of the Silent Guardian instantly materialized in the fields northwest of Aris, in a vibrant echo that erupted in the Dream Realm, immediately reaching the Whispering One's senses.
In the waking world, the Silent Ones, who were a few kilometers from Aris and moving with increasing speed toward the village, perceived that new, powerful signal. Their route abruptly diverted with an almost unsettling fluidity. They abandoned their trajectory toward the village and rushed toward the latest source of dream energy.
The Whispering One's hunger drove them.
Elian sensed the change. "We did it, Kael," he projected into the mind of the young Custodian, who was now resting deeply, his body protected by the spells. "You are safe. The village is out of danger again, at least for now. Now it is time to face the next Veil."