Kael found himself in the center of the Hall of Breath, the vast circular space that Elian used for the most intense training sessions. In front of him stood Master Elian, with his usual calm demeanor, and at his sides, Anya and Lyra, whose faces reflected a mixture of worry and determination. The revelation of the danger in the waking world had strengthened their bond, but it had also charged the air with a new tension.
"Kael," Elian began, his deep voice echoing slightly, "you have overcome the eight Veils of the Guardian, and you have begun to purify your Dream Garden, confronting Madness and Wrath. But now, you face an even more arduous path: the Seven Veils of the Dream. These are not only about mastering your abilities but also about purifying your very essence, a journey that will lead you deep into your being."
Lyra approached Kael, her gaze direct. "This time will be different, Kael. There won't be physical trials like the ones I used to make you do. These Veils are internal, but also external." Her presence, usually impetuous, was now an anchor of solidity.
Anya stepped forward, but her movement was just a little slower than usual, a shadow of hesitation that betrayed the cost already paid. Her eyes, usually so bright with empathy, were veiled by a thin film, as if she were looking through a fog. She had summoned the first Silent Guardian, and the penalty to her consciousness had begun to manifest.
"Kael," Anya said, her voice a slightly detached whisper, "the first of the Veils of the Spirit you will face today is the Veil of Distraction. It's not about fighting an entity, but about learning to focus your mind against the assault of the small, insistent voices that seek to draw you away from your purpose. They are doubts, worries, whispered fears that manifest as fragments of unfinished thoughts, irrelevant memories, or the echo of old anxieties."
Kael felt a tightness in his chest. The Veil of Distraction. Ironic, he thought, considering the whirlwind of new information that had just been poured onto him: the Ash seeking his body, Anya's sacrifice. How could he concentrate?
"The key," Elian continued, grasping his concern, "is not to block these distractions, but to recognize them, accept them, and then let them go, without allowing them to cling to your mind. Learn to find quietness in the chaos."
As Anya spoke, Kael noticed a slight tremor in her hand, a difficulty in keeping her gaze steady. Her contribution, though crucial, would now be limited by the fog enveloping her mind. He knew he would have to rely more on himself, as well as on Lyra's vigilance and Elian's guidance. Solitude, Kael thought, was not a Veil to be faced in the future; in a way, it had already begun.
Elian gave a nod. "Are you ready, Kael? The First Threshold of the Dream awaits you. It is not a place, but a state of consciousness. Cross it, and you will be one step closer to understanding yourself and your true power."
Kael closed his eyes, breathing deeply. He was not afraid of the battle, but of the subtlety of the challenge. His mind was a vortex of worries: his uncle Borin and the village, Anya and her sacrifice, the Ash approaching. They were all distractions. He had to learn to find the quietness. A subtle energy began to vibrate around him, a call from the heart of the Foundations. It was the threshold. Kael inhaled the relatively calm air of the Hall of Breath one last time, before allowing his consciousness to dive into the first, insidious Veil of the Spirit. The inner battle had just begun.
As Kael's consciousness immersed itself in the Veil of Distraction, in the waking world, miles away, the dawn painted the hills around Aris a grayish-pink. The small room above Uncle Borin's hardware store remained silent, Kael's body inert on the bed. But outside, among the changing shadows of the morning, Anya's plan was taking shape.
The creation of the Silent Guardian had been an endeavor of deep concentration for Anya, an act of pure will that had drained a significant portion of her subtler energies. The previous night, Anya had sat in an isolated chamber of the Foundations, her hands clasped, her forehead beaded with sweat. She had recalled not only the resonance of Kael's Dream Garden, that aura of healing, reborn hope, and accepted loss, but she had also interwoven fragments of her own resilience, her determination to protect. Her whispers had been like spells, her visualizations like transparent sculptures.
She had extracted a gleaming fragment from her garden, a gem containing the essence of her protective strength, and had infused it with the vibrating echo of Kael's energy. As she worked, her spirit had felt pulled, then blurred, as if a part of her own consciousness had been diluted in a vast ocean. The result was a subtle, floating figure, barely visible, but intensely perceptible to dream faculties.
The moment Kael immersed himself in the Veil of Distraction, the Silent Guardian manifested. It did not appear in Aris, but several leagues away, in an isolated area of the forest surrounding the village, in a clearing where the Ash's energies were already felt to be denser. The figure was a mix of shadows and pale light, faceless, without details, but it emanated an unmistakable resonance: the distorted echo of resistant vitality that the Ash abhorred. It moved silently, like a mirage, heading south, away from Aris.
The impact was almost immediate in the real world, perceived by the entities serving the Ash. The Whispering One, who had extended his "tentacles" of influence toward Aris, felt a clear, strong resonance. It was not the one he had targeted, but it was a powerful signal, a "new" hot spot pulsing with vital energy and dream resistance capability. It was exactly what he was looking for, only in a different place.
The Silent Ones, the corrupted agents who moved physically in the world, received the signal. Their empty minds, programmed to hunt and annihilate any source of dream light, immediately diverted their course. They abandoned the outskirts of Aris, where they had begun to probe with increasing intensity, and set off, fast and silent, toward the source of the new signal, delving into the dense forest. There were no doubts, no questions. The hunger of the Ash, transmitted to its instruments, propelled them in that direction.
Uncle Borin, meanwhile, had woken up. He had noticed a strange quietness in the morning air, a feeling of... relief? He couldn't explain it, but the oppression he felt in the village seemed to have slightly lessened. Even the birds seemed to sing a little more cheerfully. Was it an illusion? He didn't know. But an invisible web of distraction had been woven, and Kael, unaware of everything happening outside his mind, was safe, at least for now, to face his most recent Veil.
But was this truly enough to deceive the Whispering One?
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