Take it from me, convincing a healer that she has choked on her food, when she actually hasn’t, is a difficult task. And despite liberal exercise of our acting skills, I'm pretty sure we didn't succeed. But by the time we pulled into the Cairo station, the Saintess had decided to let the issue rest.

After saying our goodbyes to her, we explored the Egyptian Capital a bit while our cargo holds were being emptied and restocked. Given the limited time on our hands, we just ended up roaming the markets and the eateries rather than sightseeing.

Finally, several bags heavier and several coins lighter, we returned to the train and set off for the Caliphate again. No more stops. This was our last halt in Egypt.

---

“Come to my compartment,” said Hei Lian as I was washing plates after dinner that night. “Bring everyone.”

‘Hmm. What does she want now?’ I thought as I dried my hands with a towel.

It appeared that I wasn’t the only one Hei Lian had talked to as by the time I reached the door of her compartment, my wives were already there. Judging by their expressions, none of them had any more idea of what this was about than I did.

Shrugging, I moved forward to knock on the door. But before I could, it swung open on its own.

‘Well… it seems someone has been redecorating.’

Hei Lian’s compartment was entirely different from what it had been the last time I’d seen it, five days ago. Unlike the spartan state it had been in previously, now, there were ornate incense burners placed tastefully across the room.

They contained incense of all kinds – balls, columns, ribbons, coils. All of them were lit, releasing thin swirls of smoke that permeated the room with their pleasant fragrance. A prompt from my soul sense told me that the arrangement wasn’t just for aesthetics. Seeing how the mana in the room followed the trails of smoke, it was a topology.

‘So, this is what she was doing, cooped up in the room for the last few days.’

The knowledge of how to make topologies was quite rare. It was an extremely profitable enterprise and any family with such know-how guarded it jealously.

But I wasn’t really surprised that Hei Lian was learned in this field. After all, she had inherited the entirety of Miyagi Vulpine’s magical knowledge – which according to Ceres, included a substantial part of the knowledge stored in the Kitsune Arcanum. She had probably been digesting the information these past few days and this topology was one of the results of her efforts.

I took a whiff of the smoke. Immediately, my body relaxed while my mind became strangely alert. It was like I’d tossed a cup of coffee down the hatch right after a bout of strenuous exercise.

“This…” said Ceres, in a surprised manner. To render our resident expert in all matters incense speechless… this topology was probably quite impressive.

Rising from her seat on the bed, Hei Lian nodded.

“I did a bit of shopping today,” she said. “After all, other than the Kitsune, the Egyptians make the best incense.”

“What does it do?” asked Ceres.

“You tell me,” said Hei Lian with a smile. “You've probably guessed it already.”

“A formation that allows those within it to have lucid dreams?”

“Right. I combined two topologies I found in Miyagi’s memories. One that relaxes the body, one that calms and focuses the mind.”

“A compound topology?” I asked, impressed.

Hei Lian nodded, then shook her head. “They were the simplest ones I could find and combining them was only a matter of superposing them without any modification… anything fancier and it would have been beyond my current abilities.”

Still impressive for a mere five days of work. Formation masters have been known to dedicate their entire lives to the study and improvement of a single topology. Though, I suppose having the soul of a Demigod would massively accelerate the learning process.

“So, what’s it for, exactly?” asked Phobos, curiously. “Why did you call all of us.”

“I think I know,” volunteered Ceres. “It’s probably there to modify and amplify the effects of my Dreamland Domain. It’s so we can all share a dream.” She turned to Hei Lian for confirmation. “Right?”

“Right,” agreed Hei Lian. “Our trip into the Witch’s dreamland inspired me. The ability to generate any terrain we desire… any opponent we desire… The ability to compress several days into a single night…”

“The perfect training field…” Artemis breathed out.

I sucked in a sharp breath when I realized the infinite possibilities this presented. Training within a dream? This… this was revolutionary.

Hei Lian made way, exposing the bed which she had moved to the centre of the room. It appeared to be the centre of the topology, with the ribbons of smoke rising from all the incenses converging into a slowly rotating ring of bluish-white smoke above it.

She made an inviting motion to Ceres. “Go lie there and activate your Domain.” She pointed to five bedrolls spread out on the floor in a pentagram around the bed. “And the rest of you, just make yourselves comfortable.”

We complied, kicking off our shoes and lying down on the bedrolls while Ceres took her spot on the bed, her head directly below the swirling ring of smoke.

“What about you?” I asked Hei Lian from my position near the head of the bed.

“Me?” she smiled. “I have my spot.”

She snapped her fingers and the smokeless torches burning silently at the four corners of the room winked out, leaving it lit only by the moonlight streaming in through the windows and the dimly glowing incense in the burners.

Silhouetted by the moonlight, I saw her form melt like wax and flow onto the bed where she merged with Ceres’ shadow, just as she had during their dive into Miyagi Vulpine’s dreamland.

Then I felt the world ripple as Ceres’ Domain washed over me as it overspread the room, turning the moonlight purple. The ring of smoke above us began to glow softly as well – a psychedelic mix of purples, pinks, oranges and blues.

Watching it made my thoughts slow down and my lids grow heavy. The delicate fragrance of the incense compounded the effects, and unable to resist, I felt myself drifting off into the warm embrace of sleep.