It was quiet in the camp of Siar People, for the majority of them were already asleep. Only Samaya, Nathaniel, Fenrir, and Arion were still awake, for Fenrir and Arion were on guard that night, Nathaniel had to take care of Yellen, whose fever wasn’t lowering, while Samaya couldn’t get asleep because of the memories that made her confuse and which were returning to her at that moment, reminding her about the moment she has been with Mago and Malon to check the surroundings, a few hours ago.

***

„Am I the only one hearing the drums?” asked Samaya when she, Mago, and Malon got to an empty place, looking as if dried by trees and who could also be considered a crossroad, for right from that point the roads were heading in four different directions.

„Drums? What kind of drums?” asked Mago amazed, looking around, but he also saw, just like Malon, only the trees, the bushes, and the rest of the herbs often met in the woods: moss, medicinal plants, and other kinds of devilish stuff.

Samaya instead didn’t answer but kept staring around while taking a few steps aside, still with her eyes on the four roads, to later rotate on her heels on a small circle, trying to cover everything with her glance.

„Samaya? What’s going on?” asked Malon, also taking his sword out of the scabbard as Mago did and looking around.

„Shadows! But I can’t see whose they are!” answered Samaya in half a voice.

„Shadows? But… what kind of shadows?” asked Malon amazed.

Suddenly Samaya leaned back, and an imaginary arrow passed again over her and stuck into the tree found not that far from her, behind her.

Slowly rotating her body, from a bent position, as she remained when avoiding the arrow, Samaya looked at the small object, but… she couldn’t see it. Then she saw it again, to vanish in front of her seconds later. „The world of the past!” she said to herself. „Let’s split up!” she told the two men, who were only a few steps behind her, watching them from the corner of her eyes.

„What? To split up? Here? You know that’s too dangerous to do this,” tried Malon to oppose her idea, but he kept silent, seeing Samaya putting her sword back in the scabbard.

„We have no other choice. There are four roads here, and we’re only three. We can’t let anything to the dirty on fate: we must find out which way Maranam took, to avoid that road. Not the other, but… we must protect humans at least.”

„Yet… even if each of us takes a road, it’s still one unchecked,” said Mago.

„You’re right, but… as we can’t walk on all the four roads being only three, the same happens to Maranam - he’s one. So, it’s impossible that he took all of them. Thus, going in different directions, we can find traces on them, and if none of us finds something, it means that he took the unchecked road. And… we’ll kill two birds with one stone.”

„Samaya is right, Mago. Even if it’s dangerous, we must take the risk.”

„But without heroic deeds, Malon. If one of us sees something dangerous, he must turn back immediately and blow the horn. Thus… he’ll inform the others, and I can call Fenrir and the others to help us, for I have the gift of telepathically talking to my brother,” said Samaya. „Now, let’s turn back to business!”

Then she turned her back on the two men and chose the road that was to her left and was heading, as she suspected, toward the Mount of Fear, Southward, while the road chosen by Malon was heading Eastward and Mago’s road - Northward, toward the Rophion Forest.”

***

Carefully advancing onto that forest road, Samaya kept looking around, for not for nothing did she have the vision with the arrow thrown over her: fate was trying to help her somehow, even if she didn’t know the reason why Parca decided to do that, more after she had found out that the titanide of fate has been the one who helped Maranam, along with Shiver Sun, to subdue Mayar.

Around her instead was quiet: too quiet for Samaya’s taste, who was used to the nights of the thick and secular forests, for she had been born and she grew up in depths of such woods and, even if she had been deaf for 9 years while she heard only silence all around, even in her head, her eyes still have seen the beauty of the nature sunken in darkness: the leaves moved on the branches by the slight current of air made by the beating of an owl; the layers of the bushes moved aside when a beast was piercing it; even the chaotic dance of the fireflies she knew, something that was giving nature a special charm, making it seem so alive and savage at the same time.

Those places instead, which Samaya was crossing at that moment, were completely „dead,” even if everything around was green and the fresh air of the woods was also felt. But no owl was heard moving or hooting among the branches, just as no firefly was seen phosphorescently sparkling in the night, as no alive creature was felt around.

„Something stinks here,” Samaya said in her head when she advanced a good distance and she saw that nature around seemed as if being carved in stone. Suddenly, she stopped, feeling something weird moving around her. „Yet, someone is here!” she thought, touching the handle of her sword.

A few moments later nature has been again bathed by silence while Samaya stood in place, touching the handle of her sword, and staring to her left, from where the noise has been heard. Then she heard a voice suddenly talking to her: „you came!” but nobody showed up.

Samaya decided that being careful won’t be something wrong. That’s why she waited for a few moments, but neither that person said something more nor she or he showed up. Then, she heard that voice clearer this time and she understood that it was the voice of a woman: „you look frightened, even if you shouldn’t be! More when this forest is your house!” but again she saw nobody.

„My home? I don’t think so,” said Samaya eventually. „I’m the daughter of Rophions. Born and grown in the Rophion Forest, the kingdom of the brave wolves. This forest and these places are strange for me.”

„Allow me to disagree in this: your soul doesn’t lie,” the woman added and Samaya finally saw the layers of the bushes that were about 20 meters from her, at 45 degrees from the places she was, to her left, moving to aside. But even if she felt someone approaching, she couldn’t see who that person was. Yet she felt her presence there and she heard that woman’s footsteps.

„I heard this once! These footsteps!” murmured Samaya, staring confused at the place from where the stranger was approaching her. „But where?” she wondered again, forcing her mind to remember where she heard that sound of the footsteps slowly touching the dried leaves fallen on the ground or on soft moss, or maybe she heard them while stepping on dust. Suddenly she winced, remembering the moment she and Yellen went to check Tenebre’s Forest when the Devilish Virgins, Yātrīkar, passed by there. „Upprisinn!” murmured Samaya and then a weird light has been seen around as if there, right in the lap of nature, a street lamp has been turned on.

„And you’re right! We saw each other once, even if we know each other since long ago!” and Samaya finally saw the young lady about 20, the one who left her sister Kaerleikans in the City of Sun and who later accompanied Dike to the Rophion Forest, approaching her. But even if that young girl’s face was more than half covered by the hood of her black cloak, Samaya knew the one known as the legend of Rophions and who helped Dike to establish his kingdom with the same name as the forest, even if no heir has been born from her to carry along the glory of her name and blood.

Only a few steps from Samaya, Upprisinn stopped and uncovered her head and the she-wolf could see her face: a really beautiful young woman with green eyes in which kindness could be read even though she passed through such harsh times in her life, blond long hair, not tall - only about 1.62 meters in height, as Samaya was.

Carefully watching the other, as if the two spied on the opponent, even if there was no trace of evil in them, the two virgins decided to give the other one some time to be comfortable with that weird presence and situation. Yet, it was more about Samaya taking her time to understand what was going on, for Upprisinn seemed to know everything well and that’s why she decided to show up in front of the she-wolf.

„You don’t look scared seeing me, and I can consider thus that it’s a good sign,” said Upprisinn.

„About?”

„Everything that happens now, something that started long ago, hundreds or maybe thousands of years ago when I was still alive, wandering this Earth up and down, trying to protect it from evil,” said Upprisinn in half a voice, as if remembering those times was something extremely painful for her, even if she tried to seem calm.

Then silence took again over the surroundings, for a few moments only while Samaya understood that it was no danger for her there and she put again the sword in its scabbard. Then she headed toward Upprisinn. But none of them said anything till they hadn’t been only one step from the other, both looking in the same direction: from where Upprisinn showed up.

„Let’s go! I must show you something!” Upprisinn told Samaya and she has been the first one heading toward there.

Samaya followed her right away, for she didn’t know why, but she felt no fear next to Upprisinn, even if she knew that her interlocutor was only the illusion of the one who once lived on Earth.

„What happened then, Upprisinn? I mean, what happened the day of your death? I saw you then crossing Tenebre’s forest along with your army of virgins and heading somewhere, but I couldn’t understand where did you go that day. And… I saw you falling… killed by someone looking like me.”

Upprisinn stopped and sadly looked in front while a slight tremor of her lips was barely seen. „It wasn’t you who killed me that day, Samaya,” something that amazed the she-wolf a lot.

„Then? Who has been your butcher that day? Mayar?”

Only then did Upprisinn look at the girl, but her glance was harsh at that moment, like of a soldier that fought in many difficult battles, who faced death not only once and who wanted at that moment to convince an innocent to give up on the stupid idea to go to war, to enter the hell he crossed so many times before: „don’t look for death where it isn’t, Samaya and neither believe in everything you hear or see. Just as I can be a truth or just an illusion right now, it’s possible that what you saw then to be something others wanted you to see.”

„Yātrīkar!” Samaya feverishly murmured. „I saw this while those virgins were crossing the forest. But… why did they show me this?”

„I don’t know. Not even I have the answer to this question. But… look over there!” and Upprisinn spurred Samaya to look in front, a few steps from there, at that road on which they headed toward that place, and they saw someone’s footsteps who had passed by there, trampling the grass under his feet, putting the layers of the bushes to the ground, footsteps that had let scorched scars on nature’s body.

Samaya got on one knee, touching one trace seen on the scorched grass as if it was painted or stained with ashes, even if it was clearly seen that it has been burned. „A cortege! These aren’t only one person’s footsteps, but of many people that followed the same footsteps to confuse others.”

„That’s right! Yātrīkar passed by here while heading toward the Mount of Fear.”

„To the Mount of Fear?” asked Samaya amazed, standing up and staring at Upprisinn, who was in the same place where she stopped, staring at a blind spot past Samaya. „But… what they look for there?”

„You’ll find out it, at the right time!” and that Upprisinn suddenly cunningly grinned, a fact that made Samaya wince, and only then did she notice the young girl’s glace focused behind her. But when to turn her head and also look over there, she saw nothing: everything sunken in darkness in front of her eyes when a powerful hit has been felt on the back of her head, and Samaya fell unconscious to the ground.

***

Squatted next to Samaya, who was lying unconscious on the ground, while holding a 1-meter-long stick, which had the bigness of a fist, Parca was staring at the she-wolf’s face, but her glance was something difficult to understand: sometimes hatred was read in those eyes, sometimes desire to take revenge on someone unknown, to suddenly become good and seem to feel sorrow for what she did.

„Why did you do that?” Parca heard Tenebre’s voice behind her and, after throwing the stick next to Samaya, she stood up and furiously stared at the Queen of the Night.

„You’re always poking your nose in someone else’s businesses,” Parca hissed through her teeth and, cracking her neck with a sudden movement of her head from one side to another, she took back her real shape after she had pretended to be Upprisinn in front of Samaya.

„And you did something you don’t generally do, Parca,” said Tenebre reproachfully. „Showing the she-wolf those footsteps left by Yātrīkar while heading toward the Mount of Fear you only alerted the Rophions and they can spike our guns.”

Parca took a step in front, staring with hatred at Tenebre, who hated the sight of her even though they could be considered allies in that war. „Listen to me carefully, Tenebre: I’ll give you the same piece of good advice I gave to Samaya - never believe in what you see or hear, as never believe in fate, for namely fate can deceive you.”

„It depends on the angle you look at it,” murmured Tenebre unsatisfied. „Let’s not forget that this child has part of Chaos’power and that through her veins flows Upprisinn’s blood, even if they don’t have a blood link. If I’m not mistaken, namely fate has been which played this bad joke on us, reviving the one who we fought for so long to kill: I mean… your beloved sisters.”

Tenebre’s shaking voice, who was more than upset with fate and with everything that happened to her because of Parca and Moirae, managed to enrage Parca: a sudden movement through the air when she stretched her hand in front and the titanide of the eternal nights felt a powerful hit on her back when she touched the trunk of the tree while Parca was squeezing her by the throat. And the two looked with hatred into the other one’s eyes, having a huge desire to end with the one they hated for millennia.

Tenebre instead didn’t get her tail down, even if Parca’s squeeze on her throat hurt like hell and she unwillingly grabbed Parca’s hand, trying to remove the fingers of her throat.

„Don’t mess with me, Tenebre, and I told you this a thousand times. What I do or I decide is something I want and I have the right to do this while I’m the titanide of fate. And… trust me, everything I do is for our cause.”

„I don’t know why I consider this the contrary of what you say,” murmured Tenebre still fighting to open Parca’s fingers. „Yātrīkar has been sent to the Mount of Fear with one purpose, one you were about to reveal others and endanger us all. I don’t think Maranam will be happy finding out about this.”

„Are you sure? That it was Maranam who sent the Virgins Yātrīkar to that Mount where Coallar’s den is and… the house of your beloved son, Ahi?”

Tenebre froze: It can’t be! Was Parca trying to destroy her family? But… why?

„That’s right! It was me who sent Yātrīkar there, for I must recover the total energy of that Mountain. I must have it only for me. Thus…”

„You’ll be invincible!” murmured Tenebre, shaking like hell, for she finally understood Parca’s game - even if she seemed to listen to other’s orders and fight for other’s cause, she was doing in fact everything for her. And… if Parca could manage eventually have the power of Mount of Fear only for her, she could dethrone the titans, to later defeat Maranam and close him back, in the same Black Hole where he came from.

„You want absolute power!” Tenebre murmured again.

„True! Why be satisfied with less when I can have everything?” And Parca laughed with all her heart, and that moment of madness gave Tenebre the chance to release herself, for at that moment a black sphere, similar to the Palantir, showed up in her hand, and its Power helped Tenebre throw Parca away.

Hit hard, right in her chest, by Tenebre’s magic, Parca felt cruelly the hit, more when she bumped against the trunk of a tree, on whose thick roots she fell after that. But… she didn’t stay for long on the ground and, while furiously looking at Tenebre, she supported on her palms and suddenly jerked in the air, about half a meter above the ground, having a horizontal position with the soil, to touch it once again seconds later. And this new touch of Parca’s palms provoked a kind of implosion of the air, something that swept the dried leaves around her.

Tenebre held her ground, for she didn’t come there only to scold Parca for her daring to reveal Yātrīkar’s position to Samaya: she saw on the Palantir’s surface how Parca decoyed the young she-wolf there and Tenebre decided to take advantage of this. So, while Parca was gasping for air, Tenebre made the black sphere from her hand increase in volume - more and more - something that made the branches violently shake, the blades of grass bend to the ground as if blown by a mad wind, while Samaya’s body, who was still unconscious, suddenly raised in the air, but kept horizontally floating, face to the ground, between Parca and Tenebre.

„You won’t dare do that!” Parca hissed through her teeth.

„Do you think so?”

„Yes, for using the original instead of the copy will be a total failure.”

„Well, I disagree here, for I must thank you for this chance.”

„Chance? What chance?”

„Mayar. Because she can be easily manipulated now when you subdued her in front of darkness. So, thanks to you, her main purpose is to exterminate the one who looks exactly like her. That’s why I intend to take advantage of all this and save my son from that cage that kept him captive for years.”

„Aaa, it was this what you look for: to release Mannar!” murmured Parca ironically.

„You would have understood me if had been a mother,” murmured Tenebre in the same ironic tone used by her opponent.

„Mother?” and Parca hysterically laughed. „You say you’re a mother, but you use the child of your child to reach your mean purposes.”

Tenebre swallowed her while making a wry face: „the ends justify the means.”

„Not always. And… do you know why?”

„Surprise me!” Tenebre hissed through her teeth.

„For your stupid idea of begging love from Eris while looking to release that Queen of Evil you managed to endanger the only son who was still logically thinking. Thus, you also set him against you because… Ahi decided to fight by Rophions’side. Against us!” Parca shouted in a thundering voice, and her roar resounded throughout the forest.

Hearing Parca’s words, Tenebre stared thunderstruck at her: thus, her power decreased, and the sphere from her hand froze in the air, becoming smaller and smaller.

Parca took advantage of all this and she suddenly pulled Samaya toward her, using only the power of her magic. Then, when Samaya was already vertically floating, still with her eyes closed, Parca snapped her fingers and sat Samaya down next to the trunk of a tree, looking as if she was in trance, controlled by someone and not unconscious.

But Parca didn’t have enough time to enjoy her success when she felt Tenebre’s fingers squeezing her throat and pushing her hard back, making her legs slip on the soil and grass, leaving deep traces on it.

Suddenly instead, when Parca finally managed to release herself from Tenebre’s trap and hit her with the palm on the chest, throwing her way, the titanide moved through the air, with the power of the wind and, after she grabbed Tenebre by the back of her head, they vanished somewhere, teleporting toward new horizons and everything around sunk in darkness again.

The silence, however, lasted for a few moments only while only Samaya’s rhythmical breath was heard while sitting next to the trunk of the tree, still unconscious, but with her eyes open this time. Then she heard Upprisinn’s voice again: „Come on, Samaya! Come to me!” and Samaya, the one next to the trunk, saw the vivid image of the she-wolf cub, she, the one from the past, slowly heading toward Upprisinn, who was only a few meters from her, waiting for her with her arms wide open to hug her.

„Come on! Don’t be afraid! You can do that! You can!” she said and happily smiled, seeing the she-wolf running toward her.

At the moment the small she-wolf wanted to jump into Upprisinn’s arms, instead of Upprisinn appeared a big Loupe, like the one called the Eye of the Devil, and the wolf cub jumped through it, as if she was a tiger at the circus, jumping through a circle set in fire. But when the wolf cub’s legs touched the ground and she looked at the loupe, she saw no trace of it - only Upprisinn was standing there, radiant, and, in her hand, Samaya saw the key which had the form of a clock needle.

„Is this what you’re looking for?” Upprisinn asked her. This time instead her voice was stronger as if she was a master scolding her pupil and, instead of the wolf cub appeared Samaya, the 9 years old girl, who fought with Mayar in the Glade of Shadows, where actually the event seen by Samaya happened at that moment.

Slowly advancing toward Upprisinn, while staring at her like at a rival, the child Samaya approached the young girl, and when she stretched her hand to take the key, she felt instead of the tiny object something rounded and cold.

Opening her eyes, she saw everything sunken in darkness and she felt how that something round, that seemed to be a small sphere, was increasing in her hand. This made the anxiety and the confusion from Samaya’s soul be felt even more powerful than before with each beating of that sphere as if it was a heart beating, something that made Samaya’s fingers pulsate while she was squeezing that sphere-heart with all the power she was capable at that moment, being afraid not to drop it.

Suddenly a blinding light turned on, forcing Samaya, the 20 years old girl close her eyes, blinded by the powerful rays of light, colored yellow, red, black, and green, rays projected toward her.

When she opened her eyes again, Samaya saw that she really had a sphere in her hand, something similar to an eye - like the one seen by Mayar in her inner world. This one instead had different shades of its retina - when yellow, like the one Mayar’s eye had, when blue - like Samaya’s eye of mind. But Samaya never saw that eye as if something deep inside her impeded her to see the same thing as her copy.

Yet, that blue eye has been seen by Parca, for she first tried to subdue her. Only when she understood the fact that Samaya wasn’t seeing that eye and she couldn’t subdue her, Parca chose Mayar.

„Don’t let yourself be struck by appearances,” Samaya suddenly heard Upprisinn’s voice floating around her, but she didn’t see her - all around her was dark and only the eye from her hand was illuminating blue and yellow. „What you see can be real or fantasy. It depends on your faith about things and ideals.”

„But… why do I see this?” asked Samaya confused. „And… why are you here when you’ve been just what… no, we were both in that forest, looking for the traces left by Yātrīkar and…”

„I told you not to be struck by appearances, but you don’t listen to me,” said Upprisinn reproachfully. „Who you met in that forest wasn’t me but fate.”

„Parca?”

„Exactly. She’s planning to have the supreme power and she’s using different tricks to have it. That’s why I warn you: don’t trust anybody and anything till your heart won’t tell you that what you see is real, as it happened when you saw me not that long ago, even if I am only a vision of the past and nothing more.”

„But… Upprisinn, why do I see this?”

„Because… we both share the same soul,” and Upprisinn’s voice faded off, being heard further and further from that place while the image of the retina changed its color so quickly, something that made Samaya feel dizzy. Yet, even if she wanted to close her eyes and teleport from there, Samaya knew that she couldn’t do that. And she did well, for, soon after this, the image of that retina disappeared from off the sphere's surface and, instead of this, Samaya saw what she was so afraid of: Maranam cutting her head and her body turned into burning ashes.

A painful sigh came out of Samaya’s chest while she dropped the sphere and she fell on her back. But… she didn’t feel touching the soil hard: she just awake, in the same position put there by Parca - next to the trunk of the tree and hearing two whistles powerfully blown by Malon and Mago, summoning her to turn back.

„What was this? What did I see?” murmured Samaya frightened, touching her throat with her palm as if Parca grabbed her by the throat and not Tenebre. But… hearing that whistling even more intense, Samaya decided that it was time to turn back, for it could have been dangerous for them to be there. So, she stood up eventually and slowly advanced on the same road she came to there. But she decided something while walking back: to never tell anyone about what happened there with Parca.

***

Appearing and disappearing in open space, Tenebre’s cage, or Arkadia Grotto, where the three Moirae were, Tenebre and Parca kept fighting, something that became really savage due to the growing hatred in the souls of both of them.

„That’s enough!” Klotho suddenly shouted and her voice made Tenebre’s body freeze in the air, who has been thrown by Parca toward the weaver of destinies. „Fool, do you want to destroy everything?” Klotho furiously shouted, but she managed to make Parca show her fury toward her.

„Stay away from this!” shouted Parca, and her scream scared so bad the small ants and Cyclops that worked there to weave the destinies, and they right away withdrew to a corner, shaking like hell.

„The one who should think, at least a little bit, should be you,” Morta cunningly murmured while heading toward her sister and staring at her. „Don’t force us to plan your death.”

Parca only grinned: „death? Whose? Mine? Did you forget who you are dealing with, Morta? Did you really forget who is in fact the master of destiny? Ha-ha-ha! You decided to threaten the wolf with the lamb’s skin! I’m immortal, Morta! Immortal! This old trick won’t work with me!”

„Won’t work, you say?” Decuma intervened in their talk, showing up in a dark corner and bringing the scissors with her. „Nobody is immortal in this world. Even titans can die. Do you think you won’t reach your end?”

„Yes, because I’m different. I have written a great future in my destiny: to climb on the world’s throne and lead this world forever.”

Tenebre burst into hysterical laughter, still floating above the threads of fate. „On the world’s throne? Forever? It seems to me that your arrogance talks instead of you. Or… is it because you are stupid?!”

„You… keep your mouth shut!” Parca told her in a hissing tone.

„Yeah, I’ll keep my tongue behind my teeth if you release me!” Tenebre whistled the words. But she didn’t manage well to make a wry face when she rolled on the ground, thrown by Parca’s power. And she stopped eventually at the ant’s and Cyclops’feet, who stared frightened at her.

Raising her glance and looking at them, Tenebre sketched a smile: „hello, little creatures! It’s only me! No fear!” but she had to jerk on her feet, feeling a huge rock thrown against her.

Tenebre managed eventually to avoid the impact with the rock. Yet, she took it with her when she decided that it was the right moment to run slick away and she opened the Portal to teleport: thus the rock also passed through the Portal and nothing remained intact after it passed by there, crossing Tenebre’s hide-out and moving down the valley, accompanied by Tenebre’s roar, who was more than furious seeing her home destroyed and everybody in that forest listened to her madness.

The rock instead didn’t care about Tenebre’s madness: it kept rolling through that forest, putting the herbs and the bushes met in its way to the ground. Eventually, it stopped at the edge of a steep abyss, before falling into the river that was flowing at the feet of that slope.

And, even if it seemed that the thick roots of the trees that were out of the ground and were supporting that steep wall not to cave in stopped the rock, it hasn’t been so: the one who stopped the rock to fall into the river has been Parca. But this time was the good Parca who stopped the rock, for she awake while being in the nest of those cobras, Moirae, and, understanding that they could hurt her while being the good one, having no dark power by her side to fight against them, she also ran away the same way Tenebre vanished, opening a Portal. But contrary to Tenebre who got to her hide-out, Parca has been teleported on that steep ground and she understood that this happened because she had to stop the rock to fall into the river, something that could have killed the underwater creatures and provoked irreversible losses for nature.

„Here will be your grave,” murmured Parca, touching the rock, which moved as if pushing inside of the ground. Eventually, only the lower part entered a few dozen centimeters into the soil, not to be pushed off by that steep soil nor by the wind.

After finishing her job, Parca vanished again, for she got to change eventually from the good Parca into the evil one so suddenly, something that told her that she wasn’t capable to control herself anymore. Then, after she vanished from Tenebre’s forest back into the forest where she left Samaya, she saw that the she-wolf wasn’t there and the mad Parca roared like a maniac, seeing that her plan failed. Her roar has been heard by Samaya, Mago, and Malon while they were heading toward their camp.

„What was that?” asked Malon concerned.

„The fate’s madness!” Samaya ironically snarled, and moved further, followed by the two men’s glances, who were more than confused hearing her talking like that: they actually understood nothing of what she said.