☀️ Arselia and Akonia

It is unclear whether this was a consequence of eating an exotic fruit or simply the journey to a picturesque place, but that night, Garrett had extraordinarily vivid dreams. In them, he was carried through endless flowering gardens, where the branches of trees were dotted with strange fruits. A distant hum of the city could be heard, but its direction was impossible to determine; it seemed to come from another planet. Only a sea of greenery surrounded him, sunlight danced on the smooth, fleshy leaves, and bizarre shadows slowly drifted across the ground. There were no people or animals here, not even the sound of birds singing or insects buzzing. Only endless, lush vegetation, as far as the eye could see. In this strange, silent realm of flora, it paradoxically seemed both alien and familiar to see a traditional symbol of death – a familiar figure stood motionless, entangled in creeping vines that pierced through the bones and sheltered from the sun by lush crowns. Like a strange, forgotten stage prop, it only slightly stood out from its surroundings. And yet, encountering it here was not surprising – for even after disappearing from reality, this image was forever imprinted on the subconscious through an ancient ritual. Even if there is no longer a real possibility, at this stage, communication is no longer necessary. Everything is clear without words, whether spoken or simply imagined. A lost soul may be erased and forgotten, but as long as even one of them exists, the nameless image will remain, an eternal, haunting shadow. They are always together, in life, in fantasy, and in eternal nothingness. It was just a skeleton, no different from any other, but it was impossible not to recognize it. The empty gaze of the black eye sockets stared into nothingness... Or did it? It began to forge a path, and the endless green walls shifted and crumpled, as if they were stage sets themselves. The flowering gardens crumbled into dust, and now a small town could be seen. In an instant, the entire field of vision was filled by a single building – the destination, a vague goal. The presence of many souls could be felt within. The sun suddenly set below the horizon, but the last rays of the setting sun managed to cast a few sparks on the roof – and now the building was already ablaze. No cries could be heard from within, and no one ran out. The fire devoured the silent walls, as if they had resigned themselves to their fate. Soon, everything would collapse like a house of cards. Was it really that simple? Something rustled, rumbled beneath the ground, trying to shed the crumbling mask. An incomprehensible horror seized him, forcing him to turn away from the sight. But beyond it was only a cosmic, dark void, into which he could only fall and disappear without a trace. Asterisk opened his eyes. He lay for a moment longer, until his racing heartbeat returned to normal, and then he got out of bed. He was met by the same dead gaze – Harold looked at his brother indifferently. However, the sight of the indifferent skull made Garrett exhale with relief – not least because of how it looked. The day before, he had amused himself by trying to put the helmet he had received from the hellish blacksmith on another similar-looking skull. It clearly didn't fit, but he still managed to somehow put it on top. A skull on a skull – wasn't that funny? "How's the hat, little brother, didn't it chafe you overnight? Okay, I've tried it on, give it back." Grinning, Garrett got ready and left the room. The trumpet was calling.

After tormenting Carneol, the "Constellation" students waited for the next train to Margel, put them on the train, and sent them on their way.

Not for long, heh. But they left the brother, and I still managed to have some fun with the skull.