Metyr pressed the button for the thirty-eighth floor. The elevator creaked upward. When the doors opened, the first thing that caught his eye was the inscription:

«Zeppelin resupply station,

Anhelis mountain range.

Territory of Agernox»

The roof was a platform for parking airships. On the right side, a greenish-colored zeppelin with the red sign of the Inquisition hung in the air, the one that hung in the air on the left side was white, without any identification marks.

He walked calmly to the edge of the roof and surveyed the city. The sun was halfway over the horizon, illuminating the city in its dark yellow color. Clouds drifted slowly in the sky above the city. Small industrial buildings look like carbon copies, stretched for many kilometers into the distance. Smoke was already pouring out of the chimneys, and the capital gradually began to come to life, like some original mechanism that turns on at a certain time.

Steely and heavy sound of this city wafted up to the platform on the wind. The ropes, holding the zeppelins, creaked while stretching and loosening in the air. Metyr sat on the edge, swung his legs down, and watched the sunrise without moving, like a humanoid gargoyle guarding the flowing void of time. The elevator went down, but he didn't pay any attention to it. He looked to the west side of the city, the port district. He saw a dark yellow expanse of water, saw several huge steam ships, the size of a small district, and several local factories throwing their waste into the sea. He moved his head from left to right, scanning the long canal that ran through the city, sighed, and closed his eyes, enjoying the solitude.

A few minutes later, he heard the sound of the elevator, the doors opened, and someone came out and walked in his direction. Metyr did not move, did not turn to see who it was that the wind had brought so early in the morning. The man walked over to him, sat down next to him, and swung his legs down.

“Beautiful view,” he said, and took a deep breath, “even the air is better here.”

"I often sit here," Metyr said.

"I know."

"You should be here more often, too," Metyr continued, his eyes closed.

"Are you proud of what you see?"

"Yes and no."

"How's that?"

"I think we're just getting started. All technologies are still far from ideal."

"It's all thanks to you."

"I know."

They were silent for a moment. The wind beat on their ears with its cold gusts; the pounding sound of the city and the periodic emissions of steam into the atmosphere, resembled a heart, beating in the midst of young years. They listened with their eyes closed, like a college of physicians trying to determine its rhythm and beat. Metyr opened his eyes and turned. Next to him sat a small inquisitor in a dusty black robe. He looked at the city how a father looks at his own little son with a faint smile on his face.

"I'm starting to fall in love with this place."

"Yeah, it's quiet here, isn't it?"

"Not like on the frontlines."

"Are you going to the front again?"

"Yes, I've dealt with all the Metentises."

"How's the war going?"

"Hard. We are constantly exposed to diversions, someone always blows up the rails, equipment, intimidates people, and what is most interesting, I still haven't figured out who it is."

"A skilled enemy?"

"Yeah. To be honest, I am even a little unaccustomed to such rivals. I usually deal with fools."

"Would you like to win against him?"

"I'd like to talk to him. The conversation would be very interesting."

"Maybe you'd talk if you weren't enemies."

“I still don't understand the real motives why we were all sent to war… But what pisses me off the most is the idiotic reason they gave us.”

"Because they weren't allowed to build a temple, I remember, I saw it in the newspapers."

"That's ridiculous."

"It amused me, too."

"They make fools of everyone."

"That's why we came up with this plan, and we'll make a fool of Gennox."

"I hope it'll work. How's it going?"

"Except for a few small issues, everything is going as it should."

"Knowing you, it will continue like this."

"Yes."

"I hope the Gennox won't suspect anything, or we're finished."

"Or we're finished…"

"It's beautiful here after all, I don't even want to talk about business."

"So, don't talk, everything that we could, we already discussed a long time ago."

Metyr smiled and looked at Alba. They continued to sit in silence and look at the city from a bird's-eye view.

"What will you do when it's over?"

"I don't know, I can't guess that far."

"I would go to the mountains at least for a month, somewhere in the central part."

"It's beautiful there, only all the poor, dirty locals..."

“Who cares.”

The sun rose higher and higher, Metyr and Alba saw the sky turn crystal blue, the light of the small stars growing dimmer, and the darkness fade away to the west, beyond the boundless waters of the sea.

"I have to go. They've been waiting for me."

"Go then, I'll stay here a little longer."

“Do you want to be late for your apprentice, huh?”

Metyr smiled.

“Good luck in the war.”

“Good luck to you too.”

***

"I'm late," yelled Egon, who had just entered the lab.

"I had no doubt, Egon, what happened to you this time?"

"The guy who came to take the fire crystals from us, he was killed and his house was blown up."

"I'm sorry to hear that. What can I say?"

"You're so calm about it!"

"People in the capital die every thirty seconds and are born every twenty. Statistically, by the end of the day, we are even in the green."

Egon looked around, went to the table, and poured water from a water-crystal cooler.

"Feeling better?" Metyr asked.

"No."

"Can I give you a sedative?"

"Don't try anything else on me."

"As you wish."

"Sir, people who had been involved in our robbery in some way…"

"Egon, can we talk about work here, and not about your criminal adventures?"

"But…"

"Did you kill anyone?"

"No, sir.”

"Are you or your friends involved in the murders?"

"No, sir…"

"Then tell me at least one reason why you're sharing the news with me, making me an accomplice to your criminal activities?"

"I… I… I don't know what to say."

"Then let me start, I want to talk to you about my experiment."

"The one after which we'll have to leave for another country?"

"Yes."

"One last question."

Metyr grunted but said nothing. And Egon continued:

"It has something to do with the experiments you did when you were in the Inquisition twenty-five years ago."

At the same moment, Metyr stopped dead in his tracks, turned his head in Egon's direction, and asked:

"Who told you about this?"

"A friend of mine."

"Egon, who told you that?"

"I don't know his exact name, but everyone calls him 'The Grandfather'."

Metyr nodded his head, went to the table, put some blue VV crystals in a special compartment, and said:

"I forgot to bring the water spheres, help me, okay?"

"What kind of experiments were those? Does this have something to do with my parents? Did you work with them?"

Metyr turned around and went in Egon’s direction.

"First of all, these experiments are classified and if you find out about them, you will be killed. Second, they'll kill me for what I told you, and third, no, it has nothing to do with my new experiment, either."

Metyr stood directly in front of Egon and continued:

"Have we found out everything?"

"No, Metyr," Egon broke off, "sir… I've lived for twenty-five years and I don't know anything about my parents, no one tells me about them, no one tells me anything, I still don't know if they're alive or dead, what they did, how I was born, and what happened after that. I don't remember anything, even in my early years, when I was two or three or four years old, I don't remember their faces, what we did, where we lived. And you are silent about all this, Metyr! And now I find out that you did something twenty-five years ago, something that even the most feared bandits remember with trembling hands, something which made you leave the Inquisition and become my foster father, and my parents just disappeared."

"You don't remember your parents, because they gave you to me the first second you were born. You didn't even have time to cry before they decided to get rid of you. Now take the spheres," Metyr said coldly, and went to the Crystal Modification Machine (CMM).

Egon went to a corner cabinet, opened the door, and took out a small sphere made of quartz, the inside of which was completely filled with water. He took it, walked over to Metyr, and placed the sphere on the table next to him.

"How long are you going to avoid talking, eh? Until, I suppose, one day I accidentally find out from other people what happened twenty-five years ago? Maybe you’ll tell everything already?"

"I can't," Metyr said, and took the water sphere, put it in the CMM, and started it up.

The water from the sphere began to disappear, and the crystal began to fill with the water element.

"Are you silent because you killed them?"

"I didn't kill your parents, Egon. What's gotten into you today? Some "Grandfather" threw you the false information, and you fell for it. Maybe you need to grow up? "Grandfather" checked your weaknesses and found them. And now he will manipulate this information."

“So, enlighten me what happened and no one will manipulate the information.”

Metyr inserted the water crystal into a device that looked like a sprinkler. Then he began to turn the pressure regulator. His face was extremely focused, as if he had stopped hearing what Egon was saying to him, and Egon kept going on:

"We're colleagues, we've known each other all our lives, we're like a real father and a son. But from the looks of it, I'm just a fucking tool in the lab for you. If you don't want to communicate properly, sit here alone, I won't come to you again until I find out what happened. And trust me, I'll find it out."

Metyr adjusted the sprinkler to the correct position, turned his head in the Egon’s direction, and said:

"Your parents are alive, they're in Agernox. But it is unlikely that your meeting will be as rosy as you imagine. I can't say any more."

Egon froze.

"You, you, you didn't say anything about it all this time?"

"They don't want to see you, that’s why they put you under my care right after you were born. Since that time, I haven't seen your parents, but I only know they haven't gone anywhere else. And believe me, if they wanted to meet you, your meeting would have taken place a long time ago."

"Where can I find them?"

"No, Egon."

"Where can I find them?" he shouted.

Metyr took the fire crystal from the table, placed it on the table, and secured it with a special device to keep it upright. Then he placed a sprinkler in front of the fire crystal and turned it on. A thin but extremely powerful jet of water slammed into the fire crystal and it immediately cracked. Metyr looked at Egon.

“How did you break the fire crystal?”

“You’ll find out everything, soon.”

Egon continued to watch with dumbfounded eyes. Metyr took a file, sawed through the crystal where the crack had formed. He went to a table in the far corner and picked up a nail the size of a middle finger and a hammer. He put the nail point in the crack and made a few blows with the hammer. Fiery particles began to escape from the small hole, like fluttering moths. Metyr inhaled them all and smiled.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Metyr held out a hand toward Egon, palm up. Lights began to appear on his fingertips.

"Put your hand up."

Egon walked over and held out his hand, palm down, feeling a strong heat.

"This is metovis."

"That's right."

"What the hell, Metyr?"

"The process you just saw is called 'Awakening'. The first point of no return, when the human body is endowed with metovis."

"How did you do it?"

“I found an ancient book about the Metentises' civilization. It described how to get metovis and the element yourself. But I'll tell you about the details later, they're all written down in my notebook. Now, listen to me, I'll tell you a little secret. Crystals endowed with the element, unlike VV crystals, are modified, and after getting an element, they become super-strong. VV crystals are constantly broken while mining them in the mines, but vitavis doesn't give a person something supernatural, and metovis does. It's funny that nature itself took care of this, playing into the hands of the entire Inquisition.”

"Do you mean that…"

"That's exactly what I mean. Every person on our planet can acquire metovis and become a metentis. You just need to select an element. That's what we'll do tomorrow. I have a small deposit of VV crystals, I will take them, so we won’t be court-martialed for the shortage. After that, we will take 4 spheres with different elements from the laboratory and give you the rite of "Awakening"."

"Why do we need 4 elements?"

"As I found out, the elements are related to our blood. If the earth element doesn't suit you, then the rite won't happen, so we need to find the right element for you."

"Metyr, my parents are Metentises, aren't they?" That's why you didn't want to say anything about them?"

Metyr looked at him and said:

"Not really."

"What do you mean, not really?"

"That's what it means. All in good time, Egon."

"And if I go through the rite of awakening tomorrow, and after we’ll escape from this country to Porhol land, then I won't have a chance to see them?"

"You don't have any chances of seeing them anyway."

"Who the hell are they?"

"You'll find out, but not now."

"They're hiding from the law, right? They are metentises - harbingers of evil and destruction, am I right?"

"Egon, open your eyes, the Metentises are ordinary people who have somehow acquired this power. They have the same feelings as us and the same aspirations for a better life. When I learned that metovis is available to everyone, I realized one very important thing – we live in a non-free world, in which the Inquisition pulls the strings. They give the local bourgeoisie money and power, and to the poor the belief that after death they will find unearthly pleasure. But I, as a scientist, see it all differently and I want to change this world. Imagine if we can open a metovis school, teach children, give them their own elements, a world where everyone will be free, and I think that's what Porhol land is fighting for, for freedom, and that's why we're going there."

"Why do the Metentises try to live in our country, rather than just go to Porhol land or create their own state?"

"I don't know, I don't know anything yet, but I'll find out."

"How did the first person get the magic power? He obviously didn't have all the equipment we have."

"If I knew that, I would be the master of the world."

Egon looked at the small dying fire in the fireplace and remembered Mazeppa's words.

Why are they trying to live in our country...?

"What do you think, Metyr…"

"When did we get to the point where you started calling me by my first name instead of 'sir'?"

"From the moment I found out that you were hiding information about my birth parents."

"I see. So, what did you want to know?"

"Do you think those who are burned at the stake are really Metentises?"

"Why do you ask?"

"You just had no trouble lighting a small flame on each finger, if the Metentises were really being burned at the stake, why didn't they try to use the Metovis in front of everyone? Just to be saved. Rufus could also be saved, no matter what element he possessed. Why has no one ever seen anyone use metovis?"

"Did Mazeppa brainwash you?"

"Isn't she right?"

"All I know is that I don't know anything."

"I've lost track of what's going on, too. Will you tell Mazeppa about metovis?"

"No. Tomorrow we'll give you an element and get out of Agernox. I'm going to make some preparations today."

"What about my friends? I can't just leave them without an explanation. I want you to give them an element, too."

"And how do you imagine that? Tomorrow, the four of you show up in the forbidden city in a secret laboratory, and then we all cheerfully disappear from the capital? How long do you think it will take the Inquisition to figure out what's going on?"

"On the first day, they will definitely not realize it. Most likely on the second, maybe the third day."

"And how long to reach the border?"

"You mean Porhol land, not the nearest state, right?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Maybe six months, according to the maps."

"And what conclusion can we draw?"

"That they'll find us very soon and then kill us, after being subjected to torture."

"That's right."

“And if we’ll leave together, what's the difference?”

"I'll tell them I'm working on a new experiment, and the Inquisition won't realize anything's wrong until the end of the month, when they won't get a shipment of crystals of various elements. But even after that, they won't start looking for us in all countries, it will take them some time to investigate internally to understand what happened. They won't find any drastic precedents if your friends won't suddenly drop in here. Accordingly, they will start looking for us all over the capital in order to interrogate us, but we will, of course, not be here. When the result of their search for us in Agernox will be zero, they will start asking in different cities if someone has seen us. We’ll lie low, so we won't be identified. Eventually we'll cross the front lines and end up in Porhol land, and they'll think we've either disappeared or been killed."

"What's stopping us from doing the same thing, not just the two of us, but the five of us?"

"It's easier to escape with just the two of us."

"I can't leave my friends, and I've already told them."

"What have you told them?"

"That we will become great metentises and fight on the side of Porhol land, of course."

"Don't be clownish, Egon."

"I told them we were going on the run with you tonight."

"What?"

"What?"

"When?"

"Yesterday. When we found out that we haven't stolen diamonds, but VV crystals…"

"I'm sorry? You haven't stolen the diamonds?"

"We thought so initially, but then it turned out that these are VV crystals."

"You work with it; how could you not immediately realize what you're stealing?"

"The first time I saw them was at night, and the second time I looked at them more closely in the light with a gem appraiser, it turned out that they were VV crystals, just not the shape we usually work with, they looked one-on-one like diamonds or brilliants, and are probably used by the high preachers of our churches for self-defense. At least that's what they told me."

Then Metyr asked to tell him in more detail what had happened there, and Egon told him everything he knew. Metyr thought about it and asked:

"So, everyone who might have pointed you out is dead?"

"Every one of them!"

"Now I understand why you were so concerned about that guy's death."

"Metyr, I think the Inquisition has very dark secrets."

"Those who are at the top of the government always have a couple of dark secrets."

"Anyway, the circumstances were such that we decided to run away from the city, I said that you would come with us to Porhol land. But that was before I found out that all the witnesses were dead."

Metyr thought again and stared at the floor. And Egon continued to reason:

"Maybe the Inquisition is cleaning up my tails to make sure that their secrets won't come out? And in the end, when they will be sure that there is only me left, they will come for me."

"It doesn't make any sense. If the Inquisition wanted to capture you, they would have done so long ago. You told me that the bodies of not only the Goblin and the coachman were found in the forest, but also two other inquisitors?"

"Yes."

"I don't know what's going on, but you're in a deep pile of chemical waste, Egon. Guessing what's really going on is pointless, so gather your friends, we'll run tonight. Let everything remain valid for them. When we get to a safe place, I will perform an "Awakening" rite for everyone. Don't tell them anything yet."

"Yes, sir."

"You're calling me sir again. That's the way it should be."

"Promise me you'll tell me about my parents."

"No."

"Then I won't go anywhere."

“Stubborn as a hungry dog.” Metyr said and stuck out his tongue. There was a strange black mark on it.

"What is it?"

"The seal of darkness. Your parents put it on me."

"And what does this seal of darkness do?"

"It won't let me tell you anything."

"So, they were Metentises."

"I said, not really."

"Then how can I learn about them?"

"No way, focus on the present, not the past."

Egon said good-bye to Metyr, went outside and reached the gate, where two sleepy guards were standing. They wished him luck again, and were envious that Egon had worked for an hour today.

He walked along a small street littered with red and yellow trees. The weather was excellent, especially for the fall season. The sky turned bright blue, and the clouds drifted away to the west. Egon, as usual, got on the steam tram and saw a newspaper on the front seat, and began to read it:

Breaking news! This morning, a house on the street of the "Council of Truth" was blown up. All the residents were killed. The cause of the explosion was a faulty boiler unit. The company gave a comment, calling this event a terrible tragedy. They promised to recall all the boiler units and replace them with new ones for free!

A young boy who managed to escape after the explosion was attacked by homeless people. The police are investigating…

“Fucking bullshit,” he said and closed the newspaper.

He got off at the tram and went to a place where steam stagecoaches were sold. At the corner between third and fourth streets stood the prophet whom Egon had seen in the square last night.

“Tell me, brothers, how does it happen that God, in whom the Inquisition makes us believe, heals only the rich, clergymen and local officials, but never helps us - simple hard workers?”

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement, and Egon looked around the assembled crowd of onlookers and saw several inquisitors and police officers among them, keeping a close eye on everyone.

“Are our lives a business of light and darkness? Who makes this contract and why are we not even given the opportunity to look at it? Here is your favorite preacher Constar, who walks around in his white robes and emeralds, a week ago he was dying of a deadly disease, and today he is standing on the podium and talking about a wonderful cure! Have you ever heard a simple man say the same thing, whether he is pious or bright-hearted? I did not!” Said the prophet, placing a loud emphasis upon the word do not.

Egon stood, listened, and moved on. There were several other bards and poets along the street. True, no one crowded around them, and there were almost no alms in the hats that lay on the muddy road. Egon went to one of the bards who was singing about the horrors of war and threw him one gold piece. But he did not seem to notice that he was given such a valuable gift and continued to sing.

A few minutes later, Egon reached a huge warehouse. One man was standing at the gate.

"I'm planning to buy a steamcoach."

"Have you ordered one?"

"No. I want to see some of the ones that are available."

The man appraised Egon from head to toe, rolled his eyes, and said:

"All right, let's go through. But there will be no test runs today."

Egon spat and said:

"Tell it to your grandmother."

"Excuse me? I didn't hear you properly."

"Nothing. Let's go already."