In the Chamber of Breath, Kael, Anya, and Lyra found themselves together again; their success eased the tension, but it did not completely vanish.
Kael was exhausted; facing the depth of that Veil had drained his dream energies like few challenges before. Lyra, also strained by the long vigil, felt the need for rest. Only Master Elian seemed immutable.
"You have overcome a crucial trial, Kael," Elian said, his voice calm. "The Veil of Distraction is among the most insidious. You have learned to choose where to place your attention, a lesson that will serve you more than you can imagine."
Kael nodded, a deep sigh escaping him. "Thank you, Master. But I am... tired. I feel the need to rest." He turned toward Anya. "And you, Anya? You gave more than anyone to maintain the deception."
Anya attempted a smile, but it was a strained expression. Her eyes were still veiled, and her movements slow, almost reflective. The penalty of consciousness held her firmly in its grip. "Yes, Kael," she murmured, her voice a thread. "Rest... would be a gift."
But Elian intervened, his expression grave. "This is our dilemma. The Silent Guardian is a projection of Anya's consciousness. Should she fall into a deep sleep, should she enter a true dream-rest to recover, the Guardian will dissolve. And with it, the deception that keeps the Silent ones away from your body, Kael."
A wave of chill ran through Kael and Lyra. The danger was still present, looming. To rest meant to expose themselves again. Not to rest meant to wear themselves down to the breaking point, both Kael and Anya.
"We can't let that happen," Lyra said, determination in her gaze. "Not after everything we've done. I will continue to watch over Anya and the Guardian."
"It's unsustainable, Lyra," Elian countered, shaking his head. "Even your energy is depleted. And Kael needs to recover before facing the next Veil. We need a solution that allows everyone to rest while keeping Aris and Kael's body safe."
Silence fell. The problem seemed inescapable. Kael felt stuck in a dead end, his tired mind searching for a flaw in the relentless logic. The Silent Guardian depended on Anya. Anya needed to rest. If Anya rested, the Guardian vanished. If the Guardian vanished, the Silent ones would return.
It was Kael who found the answer, a simple yet brilliant insight that struck him forcefully. "If the problem is my dream resonance in the waking world," he began, his eyes lighting up, "then the solution is... not to be in the Dream Realm."
Elian and Lyra looked at him, confused. Anya, despite the fog, lifted her head slightly, a flicker of curiosity in her gaze.
"If I wake up," Kael continued, his voice gaining strength, "my body will no longer be a beacon in sleep. It will no longer emit the resonance the Ash seeks. It will simply be... a waking body. The Silent ones seek a sleeping dream-soul to assimilate, not a conscious human moving in the world. They will no longer have a clear target in my village."
Elian reflected, his expression softening into an almost imperceptible smile.
"A bold idea, Kael. Premature awakening is usually ill-advised—we considered it ourselves before—but in this circumstance... You might be right. An awake Custodian is infinitely harder for the Whispering One to track. His dream signature is minimized, almost invisible. But this way, you won't complete your training."
"True, but I can continue later. This way," Kael resumed, now filled with hope, "Anya can rest. The Silent Guardian will dissolve, of course, but the Silent ones will no longer have a defined objective in my village. Their hunt will stop because their primary 'prey,' the sleeping Kael, will no longer exist. The difference between now and before is that they will be lost, without a precise direction, without a signal to home in on. The Ash will no longer know where to look for the point of resistance."
Lyra chimed in. "An awake Kael is like a needle in a haystack for the Ash, unlike a sleeping Kael, who is a lantern in the night!"
"And you'll be able to fully recover, Anya," Kael said, placing a delicate hand on her shoulder. "Your sacrifice bought us time. Now, it will allow us to breathe."
Anya nodded weakly, a genuine smile illuminating her face this time, even if the fog in her eyes remained. The relief was palpable.
The solution was risky, but it promised a vital truce.
"The fact is, we don't have much time to complete your training," Elian said. "The Ash is pressing, conquering..." "Master," Kael interrupted, "This has been happening for thousands of years. What difference do a few more days make?"
"The main problem was that the Ash had almost located Kael," Anya continued. "That was the imminent danger. As Kael says, now the Ash emissaries are far from his anchor point, and as soon as both resonances—Kael's and the Silent Guardian's—vanish, those hunting him will be lost."
Elian looked at Lyra, then Kael, bringing his right hand to his chin. "I understand... However..."
"Mmmhhh!..."
Kael, Lyra, and Elian spun around toward Anya: she was pale, suffering, and that moan alarmed them, revealing the Custodian's true state.
"Master Elian," Kael said, "There's also another matter: I've been in the Dream Realm for a long time. My uncle Borin will be worried; many people will probably be asking questions, and there will be gossip saying my family is cursed, which will create problems for my uncle. Not that it's my main concern, because my uncle's despair worries me more," he sighed, then looked to the right, pausing briefly.
"The truth is that since my parents died, he has taken care of Elara and me, as if he were a father. I remember when Elara never woke up again. I dare not imagine the state of mind he's in now. I have to see him. I have to reassure him. And explain what's really happening."
"Very well," Elian concluded. "Given Anya's condition and your reasonable observations, there is nothing else to be done." He turned to Kael.
"Prepare yourself. I will guide you through the awakening process. It is a passage that requires control and precision, also because of your state of exhaustion. But it is the only way to ensure that both you and Anya can recover, and to definitively confuse the Silent ones in the waking world."
Kael smiled, then looked at all three of them with wide eyes: "But... in what condition will my body in the waking world be now?"