Even though Mnou had tried to prepare herself for this situation the night before, she couldn't have imagined how much more devastating it would truly feel. It was like someone had hit her with a hammer. The world spun around her like a whirlpool. She could hear the beating of her own heart in her head, blood pulsing at her temples. She collapsed to the floor and covered her face with her hands. She bit her lip so hard it started to bleed, ruby-red blood spilling into her mouth, filling it with a metallic taste. She began to tug at her hair mindlessly. The more it hurt, the more relief she felt. Suddenly, someone grabbed her hands.
"Stop it! Please, please stop. Don't hurt yourself. It's not your fault," Esme begged through sobs. She embraced Mnou, as if trying to shield her from the entire world—and from herself.
Mnou felt that Esme was the last fragile thread keeping her sane. If she hadn't been there, she surely would have run into the woods and never come back. She returned the girl's embrace, clinging to her so tightly it must have hurt. But she didn't realize it in that moment. Esme didn't let go. She didn't loosen her grip.
Mnou was slowly beginning to come back to her senses when a voice shouted from behind them:
"Master Mnou, Lady Witch! He's breathing! He's alive!"
Dago stood by the bed, tears in his eyes, leaning over Azra. The witches stared at him in astonishment, for a moment not understanding the meaning of his words. Then they both jumped up at once and rushed to the boy, nearly tripping and falling over in the process.
One glance was enough for Mnou to see that Azra was alive. Colour was slowly returning to his face, and he was breathing faintly through dry lips. The contorted, painful expression had disappeared, though his forehead remained furrowed, and he twitched slightly now and then.
What is happening? What on earth is happening? Mnou's mind couldn't fully grasp the situation. Esme and Dago had already accepted the fact that Azra had basically risen from the dead and were crying tears of joy. Mnou wished she could feel the same, but it was all so unexpected and absurd that she didn't even know how to react.
Suddenly, as if life had surged back into the boy, he opened his eyes wide and shot up into a sitting position, blankets falling around him. His eyes darted around in confusion, and he flailed his arms like a madman. His father tried to calm him.
"Azra, Azra, it's me! Calm down, just calm down. You mustn't overexert yourself."
Esme began to speak to him soothingly as well. The boy calmed a bit, though a strange, confused look remained in his eyes. With squinted eyes, he examined everyone in the room, as if trying with all his might to remember who was speaking to him.
"Azra...," Mnou began, speaking as calmly as she could manage in that moment, "do you remember who you are, where you are, and who we are?"
The boy focused on her. His eyes pierced her as he searched for words. There was something strange in his gaze, as if someone else were looking through them. Mnou's heart began to race. A horrifying thought struck her. Please, let it not be what I think it is.
"You're… Mnou. Yes, Mnou," Azra said in a hoarse, rasping voice. Then he turned to the other two present. "Esme and Dago. That's right, isn't it? Surely, I wouldn't forget the names of my family and friends. I'm so glad to see you again. I had… a strange dream. I was afraid I wouldn't wake up. I closed my eyes and got lost in the void. I walked through a foggy land. I didn't know where I was going, but something… was calling me. Eventually, something like a crack emerged from the fog, hanging motionless in the air. The calling came from there. I vaguely sensed shadows and misty figures around me. Some moved toward it, but I saw many just standing around, and it even seemed like something occasionally emerged from the crack. I've never been so tempted in my life as to reach out and step into it with the others. I knew I belonged there, that it was what was expected of me. But just one step away from the fissure, I heard another voice. It was Azra's voice. Yes, I'm sure of it. It felt like he was calling me. I thought he was crying. I couldn't just leave him there alone; I had to come back. What kind of mother would I be if I didn't return?"
"Wait a moment," Mnou whispered in shock. She looked at the others. Dago and Esme watched the boy as if in a trance. The apprentice looked up at her master, eyes wide with horror.
"Master, it can't be true, that…," she didn't finish the sentence.
"What… what's your name?" Mnou asked the now relatively calm-looking boy in a trembling voice.
"My name? What kind of question is that Mnou? It's me, Ruth."
The silence that followed rang in their ears, relentless and deafening. The witches and Dago exchanged blank stares. Azra's body looked back at them, confused.
"I don't understand what's going on," the boy finally spoke. "Did I… did I do something wrong? I don't understand at all."
"No, no, nothing like that," Dago blurted out, grabbing his son by the shoulders and looking him straight in the eyes. "He's just confused. He almost died."
"He did die," Mnou whispered as she sat down.
"No! He's sitting right here in front of us, talking to us!"
"That… that's not your son. Only his vessel."
"Can someone explain what you're arguing about? It's me, Ruth, don't you recognize me? Dago? Esme? Mnou? Anyone?"
"Look at yourself… Ruth. Look closely at your body," Mnou prompted.
The boy did so. He pushed aside blankets and began to timidly examine himself, both visually and by touch. Slowly, his expression shifted from confused to shocked.
"What in God's name happened to my body?!" he pleaded with Mnou. "How… how do I have a boy's body?! This must be some kind of nightmare!"
"That's the body… of your son… Ruth," Esme replied, still shaken but with a firm voice.
"What? Azra's… Azra's body? What is this nonsense, Esme? Where's my son?!"
"Ruth, please calm down," the older witch cut her off firmly. "Panicking won't help you now. Listen to me. You need to understand, because… because you missed quite a bit while you were… while you were… dead."
"What? Dead?"
Mnou nodded gravely, took a deep breath, and began to recount what had happened. Esme occasionally added details, while Dago stood frozen, and Ruth listened. In short, Mnou recounted all the events following her death and concluded with her theory about how they ended up in this bizarre situation.
"It pains me to say this, but Azra… really did die. His soul left his body, and it remained an empty shell. An empty vessel, which you then inhabited. I've never heard of anything like this happening before, but lately, the situation on Kalkha has been strange. I think a rift has formed between the physical and astral worlds, which you confirmed in your story. Therefore, the boundary between these worlds is extremely thin. The magical staves are themselves links—they exist in both spheres simultaneously. Looking at all of this together, we can conclude that due to the unstable balance between the spheres, you were able to latch onto the nearest empty body. Maybe your bond with him also played a role. You probably did it unconsciously."
"But this… this is insane!" Ruth gasped in an angry whisper. "I can't live in my son's body. That's… that's disgusting."
Mnou sighed deeply and rubbed her forehead. She still couldn't get used to addressing the boy as his mother. But she believed it was for the best. After all, he was no longer Azra. He only looked like him.
"You have to do something, Mnou," Dago said in a strained voice, his first contribution to the conversation. He looked utterly shaken. Understandably so—he was in a truly bizarre situation. "Can't she… I don't know, reincarnate back into her own body or something?"
"I hate to say it, but… Ruth's body is surely already in a state of decomposition." Just thinking about it made Mnou feel nauseated. And for some reason, she felt incredibly awkward explaining such unpleasant facts.
"Mnou, I'm willing to give up this body if there's a way for my son's soul to return to it."
"Ruth, that's impossible. What happened with you is one in a million chance. There's no record of anything like it ever happening. This might be the first time ever."
"But… if I came back, why not Azra?"
Mnou sighed again and turned away from the boy's pleading gaze.
"Master," Esme spoke up, "what if it is possible?"
"Esme, you of all people should understand that—"
"Wait, hear me out. We must consider the strange situation on the island. Souls are coming and going, and some are looking for vessels in which to live again. Whether intentionally or accidentally. Ruth mentioned that souls were gathering before the rift to the astral realm. Maybe some simply didn't want to leave, and no one forced them. We have no real idea how this all works, but I think we can say the normal rules of death don't apply here. Isn't it possible that… Azra's soul is still somewhere? If not at the entrance, then in the higher layers of the astral world?"
Though the apprentice tried to keep a calm expression, her facial muscles twitched with nervousness, and her eyes were full of both hope and fear of rejection. Mnou was at her limit. She didn't want to dismiss the idea outright, but she also didn't want to raise false hopes.
"Yes, it's not impossible," she began, but as the girl's face lit up with joy and hope, she quickly added, "but it's also not likely. We're playing with theories and concepts that even the greatest minds in Ashakntt know nothing about. I don't know if we should trust such a flimsy theory."
"I want to believe it, and I will," Ruth said firmly. "If there's even the slightest chance that Azra is still out there and we can bring him back, I'll believe it—and gladly give up this body so he can return."
Mnou still sat uncertainly, her head bowed, saying nothing. She weighed the options and the risks. Then she felt Esme's hand on her shoulder. She looked up and found herself face-to-face with her apprentice. Never had she seen her with such a serious and determined expression. Her look said it clearly: I won't give up hope, no matter how small it is.
"Master, there's something else. Weren't we trying to reach the link between worlds and seal it? That… goddess is still lurking in the shadows, and I truly believe she's behind all this. We can't just leave it like this."
"Yes, but we couldn't reach it. That's a major problem, even if we want to save Azra."
"It's only a theory, but I think Ruth could lead us there. Only the dead can access that place, and Ruth was there. She made it. So why couldn't she lead us again? Could you do it?" she asked the boy.
"Maybe… maybe I could. Even now I can faintly sense the rift. It's like a draft under a door."
"But we can't just rely on—"
"Master! It's the best lead we have. There's no other choice—we must trust our intuition."
"All right," Mnou conceded. "But this won't be easy. We can't just rush into it. We need a plan. But time is against us. The longer we wait, the more likely it is Azra will slip into the lower spheres. We have to act quickly."
"Then let's put our heads together and get moving!"
Mnou thought she heard resolve—and even a flicker of excitement—in Esme's voice. She hadn't seen her this passionate in a long time. She couldn't resist a slight smile.