Saguna stared at the retreating shadow, conflicted. It knew about Sahara. It might be the only thing that could lead him to her. But the cold burn on his ankles reminded him of the danger. They weren't ready for this confrontation. Not yet.
"Which way?" he asked, looking at the six remaining tunnels besides the one they'd entered through.
Professor Nyala pointed to the passage directly opposite their entrance. "That one leads closest to the center. We must reach your family home before this entity recovers and alerts others."
As they hurried into the indicated tunnel, Saguna cast one last glance at the shadow. It had retreated to the pool, its form once again amorphous, but those pinprick lights remained, watching them go with what seemed like... anticipation
The new tunnel was narrower than the previous ones, forcing them to proceed single file. The water channel along the floor flowed faster here, creating a soothing background sound that helped drown out the lingering whispers. The frost patterns on the walls were denser, more complex, almost beautiful in their crystalline intricacy.
"What was that thing?" Osa asked, breaking the tense silence that had fallen over them. "It wasn't like the Soul Drainer we saw at the Academy."
"A Shard," Professor Nyala explained, her breathing labored as she kept pace with them. "A fragment of a greater entity. Think of it as a limb that can operate independently of its body."
"A scouting party," Radji suggested, adjusting his glasses which had fogged in the sudden cold of their encounter.
"Precisely," Professor Nyala confirmed. "Testing our defenses, gauging our abilities."
"It knew who I was," Saguna said quietly. "It knew about Sahara."
Professor Nyala's expression turned grave. "If it's connected to the entity that took your sister, then yes, it would know. And it would recognise you, not just as her brother, but as fire-marked."
The tunnel began to slope upward, the ceiling gradually rising until they could once again walk comfortably upright. The air grew warmer, though the frost patterns remained. After another five minutes of steady progress, they reached what appeared to be a dead end, a solid wall of packed earth.
"This can't be right," Saguna frowned, consulting his memory of the tunnels. "There should be a continuation here."
Radji stepped forward, placing his palm against the earthen barrier. His eyes closed in concentration as he communed with his element. "This isn't natural," he announced after a moment. "It's been deliberately placed here. Recently."
"Can you open it?" Professor Nyala asked.
Radji nodded. "I believe so. The earth here is... responsive to me."
He pressed both hands against the barrier now, the jade stone at his neck glowing with emerald light. Slowly, the packed earth began to recede, drawing back into the walls of the tunnel like a curtain being pulled aside.
Beyond lay not another tunnel, but a small chamber hollowed out beneath what must be one of the village houses. Root systems hung from the low ceiling, and a crude wooden ladder led upward to a trapdoor.
Saguna recognized it immediately. "This is beneath my house," he whispered. "We used to hide treasures down here as children."
The chamber appeared untouched by the frost that covered the tunnels, though the air was still unnaturally cool. The trapdoor above them would lead directly into what had once been the main room of his childhood home.
Professor Nyala examined the space carefully, her silver sigils illuminating every corner. "No shadow presence here. Curious."
"Is it safe to proceed?" Radji asked, still maintaining contact with the earthen walls as if ready to reseal the entrance if necessary.
Before Professor Nyala could answer, the whispers returned to Saguna's mind, but this time, it was only one voice. Clear. Distinct. Familiar.
My room, little brother. Come to my room. I've been waiting so long.
Sahara. Her voice stronger than ever before. Not a fragment or an echo as the shadow had claimed, but her — whole and aware.
"We need to go up," Saguna said with sudden certainty. "To Sahara's room. She's calling me."
"Mr. Taksa," Professor Nyala began, concern evident in her voice. "We must be cautious. What you hear may not be—"
"It's her," Saguna insisted. "I know my sister's voice."
Before anyone could stop him, he moved to the ladder and began to climb. The wood creaked beneath his weight but held firm. At the top, he pushed against the trapdoor, expecting resistance after so many years, but it lifted easily, as if recently used.
He emerged into what had once been his family's main living area. The room was transformed, furniture overturned and rotting, walls covered with the same black frost as the village exteriors. The air was frigid, his breath forming clouds before his face despite the midday sun that should have been warming the house through the broken windows.
Radji emerged next, followed by Osa and finally Professor Nyala. They stood in a tight group, taking in the devastation of what had once been Saguna's home.
"This way," Saguna said, pointing toward a short hallway that led to the bedrooms. "Sahara's room is at the end."
As they approached the hallway, they noticed something strange. While the frost covered every surface of the main room, it stopped abruptly at the hallway entrance, creating a perfect line that none of the black ice had crossed.
"A boundary," Professor Nyala observed, kneeling to examine the phenomenon. "Something is preventing the shadow's influence from spreading further."
"Old Man Reza said Sahara's room remained untouched," Osa recalled. "That the shadows avoided it."
Saguna stepped across the threshold, feeling an immediate change in the atmosphere. The air was warmer here, almost comfortable. The whispers that had plagued him since entering the village fell silent, replaced by a sense of calm he hadn't experienced since before his sister vanished.
"She protected this place," he realized aloud. "That final burst of fire she created to save me, it did more than just buy me time to escape. It created a lasting barrier."
The hallway was short, with only three doors. His parents' room to the left, his childhood bedroom to the right, and directly ahead, Sahara's room. Her door was closed, but unlike the rotting wood of the rest of the house, it appeared perfectly preserved, the blue paint still vibrant, the brass handle untarnished.
Saguna approached slowly, his heart pounding. Twelve years since he had seen this door. Twelve years of nightmares and whispers and unanswered questions.
His hand trembled as he reached for the doorknob, and as his fingers touched the brass, warmth surged through him, along with his sister's unmistakable voice:
I've been waiting for you, little brother.