Ink tried to free himself again and again, insisted that he could not die here and strained his will to the limit. Already on the verge of losing consciousness, he managed to see unexpected changes. The mucus trembled, and Ink's body melted. The strands of reason helped to see how white matter from false flesh is absorbed at an insane pace. Jellied pressure eased. Ink held Kiass and by the hand and gradually got out of the mucus. There was only enough strength to move a few meters. The alchemist coughed, clearing his lungs. He moved like a drunk while the symbols disappeared from his body.

Ink looked at the jellied meat, on whose body a crack had spread. Soon a bunch of mucus split into two unequal parts.

"Is she over?" Is this white energy useful to me, but dangerous for the creature? - the aspic stirred. One part continued to crawl towards the pack of underground cats, and the second chose Ink a and Kiass a as its target . - She did not die. This mucus ... is it really so propagating ?! "

Goosebumps ran through Ink's body , and his hair stood on end.

- Come on! - He tried to raise the body of a comrade. It was not as easy as with porcupine. - Get up faster! This mucus has accelerated!

The alchemist tried to answer, but only coughed again. Ink flung his wings and realized that one had ceased to exist, and from the second there were just scraps. Almost all of his fake body was destroyed and overcame by the enemy.

"If there wasn't this white energy and the creature didn't get drunk in such quantity to multiply, we would simply be digested in this mucus!"

Ink a's arms and legs were trembling, but he dragged Kiass a while away from the terrifying enemy. There was no strength to raise a comrade. Power was lost along with the fake muscles. He dragged everything and dragged the alchemist. Due to several falls, the body was covered with bruises and scratches. Ink didn't throw Kiass's heavy body , and at some point the mucus stopped chasing them. A lump of jelly - harmless in appearance, but so terrible in the wild nature of a small world - turned sideways, guided by some of its own motives.

Ink continued to move until he saw the familiar ruins. He hid the body of Kiass and behind the wreckage of the columns and hastened to return to the occupied cave. Grank had not returned yet, but Arsi stood in the company of three people. Ink saw the girls stretch from the head of the bright saturated blue color of the threads, at the ends of which trembled distortions from vibration appeared.

"Does she own a voice of consciousness?" - The technique was more sophisticated than Ink a. The agility of the movements betrayed the skill of Arsi .

The arrival of a new man was noticed before Ink could even say anything. The girl shot him a frightened look.

" Kiass ..." his mouth went dry. The language was poorly obeyed. "On the other side of this hill ... Temple ..."

"Got it," Arsi nodded, signaling something in a voice of consciousness to the three natives and escaped with them.

Ink followed. All strangers were wrapped in worn-out chlamydas. One of this trinity stood out for abnormal growth. If he was half a meter higher, he could have gone down to the demons on the hill for his own.

It was inconvenient to go because of the outweighing wing and the crumpled exoskeleton from the force field and the remnants of white energy. By concentrating, Ink was able to dispel them completely and absorb the rest. In the temple, he saw how Kiass's body was wiped off with mucus and smeared with some foul-smelling tincture.

Ink did not want to interfere and looked for a place to sit. The only suitable fragment of the column was occupied by Arsi and an abnormally tall aborigine talking about something mentally . Ink could only sit on a stone throne deep in the ruins. After all the misfortunes, even such a seat seemed to be riding comfort.

Ink leaned his head against the back and jerked from the injection into the back of the head. The darkness did not stop to explore the environment of the web of reason. There is a triple helix pattern. In the center of which a triangular spike stuck. Upon closer examination, it turned out to be a pyramid inserted into the groove. Ink decided to throw out all his indignation on the unlucky decoration of the throne and began to loosen it. To the great displeasure, the pyramid fell out after only a couple of movements. Anger remained unreleased.

"Do you think this is how it will end for you?" - Ink turned mentally to the pyramid. - Did not guess. I'll just destroy you! "

The force field that became available after the destruction of the fake body encircled the pyramid and tried to seep inside. The process was tight. The associations of the force field and the dangerous jellied meat did not add Ink to joy, but stimulated perseverance. The nondescript pebble became for him the personification of all the failures in a small world. He already simply dreamed of destroying it, it is desirable to turn it to dust. This would give him at least a little calm and satisfaction after everything that happened.

"Is this ...?" - Ink's feelings caught something strange inside the stone. He tried to recall similar sensations. After a moment, Ink jumped on the throne. "Divine blood!"

The sensations from the inside of the pebble resembled drops in the piercing beads of a. In the pyramid there was only a shadow of that power. It is not known how long this thing remained here and how much strength it retained from its original state, but still Ink was sure that the blood of God was inside!

He tripled the efforts to inject a force field there. All anger vanished. Excitement and excitement drove forward. Ink had no idea what he would do with this divine blood, but he wanted to get it at all costs!

" Ink ," Arsi stood at the entrance to the ruins, "go with them." I will leave Grank a message in the cave and catch up with you.

"Good," the words fell into the void. The girl did not think to wait for an answer.

The giant grabbed the body of Kiass and ran. Two Aboriginal remaining waiting Ink a. They walked at the same pace, not rushing.

- Far to the city? - Ink used the voice of consciousness so as to convey the issue immediately to both companions. In parallel, he twisted the pyramid in his hand, without stopping attempts to get to the treasure hidden in it.

"You can talk too ... right?" - From under the cloak of the nearest companion came a female voice. It was strange for Ink to hear an unfamiliar speech with an abundance of sharp, as if chopped, syllables and at the same time understand its meaning. This was very different from the experience of communicating with the archdemon.

- Yes. This is strange?

"That girl said that no one else can do it," the interlocutor was surprised.

"I learned recently," Ink decided not to mention the source of this knowledge. "Will everything be okay with my friend?"

"I have to get rid of it," the other native was a man with a bass voice. "We gave him first aid, the burns are shallow." He has a very ... strange ... body covering.

"This is skin metallization," Ink explained .

- In the outside world, even this can already happen? - admired the natives.

"Do you know where we are from?"

- Of course! It is worth looking at your clothes and immediately it becomes clear. This small world has no connection with outer space. Many have already become accustomed to the fact that they will die here, but now we have hope. I have a special talent - I penetrate into other people's dreams, not only sleeping here, but in the outside world. I can learn new things, design clothes, even learn some things ... For example, greenhouses. I saw them in one of other people's dreams.

"After that, our food problems disappeared," Ink a.

- Are there season shifts here? This is a small world, not a planet.

"Yes," the interlocutor nodded, "sometimes the sky becomes thinner and cold comes." They say that there is a hole in space ... During severe storms of the void, the border may suffer.

Ink looked into the dark sky. He no longer had wings. He was curious to see how the border looks close.

Hurry steps came from behind.

"It seems like I didn't have to leave a message."

Arsi walked along with Grank om. The motorcyclist held on his shoulders two bundles of familiar bald cats. Ink felt himself blushing. He escaped from these creatures, and the rude big man nailed and now he carries the prey with a happy face.

- Did you get with Kiass om? - asked Cheerfully cheerfully .

"Yes," Ink did not deny . "You have an interesting catch."

- Meat is meat. I managed to try the fried by electricity, quite edible. Sly creatures, - grinned . - Moving underground, like a fish in water. They have some kind of field that repels stones. Fortunately, this does not work with anything else. Wood, metal and electricity kill them like ordinary cats. Right! Have you been looking for some value to quarrel clans? These guys can come up.

- What are you talking about? - surprised Ink .

- About one of these cats, I cut a stone. Only metal pieces remained. Do you understand?

- Not so far.

"It's a living mining machine," said Grank with conviction . - It's already expensive to just separate the ore from the rock, but if you train cats to search for minerals, lay tunnels to the deposits, and even the mining itself. Can you even imagine what kind of income this is ?!

"Not sure if the clans from the buffer will appreciate it," Ink hesitated . In the end, who needs the capital of a zero world, when the question is about personal power in completely different conditions.

- Do you think that in the buffer you do not need to carry out any production? - continued to convince Grank . - And in the first world? Glam, after all, planned to somehow lead Narkert there, bypassing the rules, which means that a couple of cats for divorce will not be delivered there. Who knows what in that first world, but money is money. They facilitate access to resources.

Ink a click sounded in his head , and he looked more thoughtfully at the corpses of hairless cats. He didn't even have a shadow of thought about this.

- Thank. This is a really good idea.

Gran grunted in response and tried to speak to the natives. They only remained silent in response. Since the arrival of the motorcyclist, they have not uttered a word. All questions were only accelerated by gestures and urged to hurry.

The local settlement turned out to be a cluster of wooden houses. At some distance, greenhouses with walls and a ceiling made of opaque glass were visible.

"Greenhouses retain heat from the rays of the sun. It's not here, how can they even give an effect? - Ink just thought and felt a barely noticeable touch of heat. A little invisible light flew from the dark sky. - What is there anyway? Maybe this is not a separate world, but a fenced part of the space of the zero world? "

Ink , Gran a, and Arsi were brought to different houses, providing rooms for living. The girl was escorted by a whole delegation. She was courted as an unscheduled official.

"Wait a bit," Ink and the girl with the talent to walk in other people's dreams led into the room. "I need to do something, and I'll be back." Don't leave, okay?

Ink sat down on a rough bed, covered with shabby but clean pieces of cloth, and fell into sleep. When he woke up, next to him was a beauty with dark hair under a square, a white blouse with a deep neckline and a skirt accentuating the hips of the hips to the floor.

- Have a good night's sleep? - the voice was the same as that of a friend escort.

"It seems I'm still sleeping," Ink muttered stupidly .

In response, the girl laughed irregularly and dragged his hand. Laughter, unlike speech, was smooth and pleasant to the ear.

"My name is Rowhn," the acquaintance took Ink by the arm and gently led her through the winding corridor to the exit. On the street they were on the other side of the house.

"Is this the back door?"

- Oh yes! My name is Ink .

- Nice to meet you. How do you like my hairstyle? After all, they are worn in the outside world? Dreams sometimes distort reality. It is difficult to understand where is the reflection of reality, and where is the caricature of it, - the girl chatted affably, paving the way to an unknown place.

- Yes, it's called a caret. It really suits you.

"Thank you," Rowne said, and Ink noticed that her hair was still wet after a recent wash. - Glad to hear.

They walked past several houses when the escort stopped at a building that was no different from the neighbors and knocked with a cipher. The door was opened by another of the familiar Ink at the Trinity.

- Here's Kiass ?

- AND? - Rown froze and stiffened. "No, yours is in a different place." I just wanted to show you something interesting.

Ink followed the escort inside. Rowhn led him into a dark room. Consciousness Ink a felt the room, which was filled with containers of mucus.

- How do they say it in the outside world? Cooed the beauty. "I want to make you an offer you cannot refuse."

Behind them was the creaking of the door being closed, and then the thud of a heavy deadbolt.