“It’s the right thing to do,” says the woman’s voice. “You don’t understand vhat it was like down there. You don’t understand vhat would happen to him if it ever finds him.”

Hineni recognizes it as belonging to his step-mother, the woman who had raised him.

“’What’,” corrects the man, catching her accent slip on the word. It’s dangerous for her if it does. People have to assume she’s just a human, like any other. They’re far away from the south and her escape was years and years ago, but still, it matters. Their safety, her safety, the boy’s safety — it all matters.

“What,” she repeats, saying the word again, this time without her accent. The woman then blinks, staring off into the distance for a time with a dreamy gaze, before shaking her head and looking back his way.

“I understand that you think that,” says her husband, Hineni’s step-father. “But do you really think that… this is right?” he asks. “He’s safe here with me,” promises the man. He places a hand on her shoulder. “You’re safe here with me.”

The woman places a hand on his chest, looking into his eyes. “You are a fool and I love you for it,” she says, smiling. “But you are a man. A human.” She shakes her head. “Do not underestimate the shadow that we live under.”

“I can take on some fluffy bird god,” says Hineni’s step-father.

“You can not, idiot,” replies the woman.

The man sighs, lowering his head. “You really think we’re not safe? After all of these years?”

She places a finger between her eyes and then presses it between his. “It never vorgets,” she says. “You do not grasp the nature of the gods of the deep world. It is not just an owl.”

“— ‘Forgets’,” corrects the man.”

“Forgets,” she repeats, catching her accent. “Listen to me. It is out there,” she promises, pointing to the darkened, shuttered windows of the room. “Every day, every night – it is out there searching.” She shakes her head. “Every second, thousands of eyes watch every drifting shadow for one that looks just like him, just like Nini. It will never stop.”

“But after all these years. We’ve been here. We’ve been safe. Why now?” asks her husband. “What’s changed?”

“Nini is growing,” says the woman. “Eilig saw it,” she says, lifting a hand that a blue blob lands on. “His magic is developing. He’s coming into that age now.”

“Really?” asks the man, a prideful look welling in his eyes. “Is it strong?”

“That is not the point, you proud vool,” replies the woman.

“— ‘Fool’.”

“Fool,” repeats the elven woman with the cut ears. “It is worse than that. It is distinct. It carries on from his blood father.”

“Ash?” asks the man.

“Ash,” she repeats. “You know what this means,” she explains. “We cannot hide him from the world. Ash is too rare. Word will spread. They will find him. It will find him.”

“But…”

She shakes head and then rests it against his chest for a while. “Eilig. Will you check on Nini, please?” The blue blob flies out of her hand. After a moment, she looks back up towards her husband. “I understand your pain,” says the woman. “You are and will always remain his father, and I will stay here with you forever,” she promises. “But the safest place for him now is not with us. It is with his blood-father.”

“Isn’t this dangerous?” asks the man. “You killed the boy’s mother.”

“-- IT VAS A DIFFERENT TIME!” she yells at him and then turns her head away. “...I vas a different person,” she says, holding a fist lightly in front of her chest as she looks down at the floor. “I regret it. But I also would do it again, if it meant I could have my Nini.”

‘“Was’,” he corrects. “And maybe that isn’t what you should lead with when you contact him.”

“Was,” she repeats, and then shakes her head. “I have already reached out.”

“What?” he asks, looking at her in surprise.

“Forgive me for not telling you right away. Time is critical,” she explains. “It was just before now.”

The scene of the room fades to darkness.

Hineni stands in the void, looking around himself as snow begins to fall from up above his head, contrasting the total darkness with sharp, crystalline white.

“Eilig,” says Hineni, his voice carrying out into the emptiness that begins to form itself together into a scene. Snowflakes land on the ground and pool together, changing color and shape as blobby splotches begin to make up the walls and floor of an old house.

“I’m here,” says a voice from next to him.

Hineni sighs in relief, holding out a hand for her to land on.

— Instead, she flies on to his chest and holds him in a small hug, pressing herself against his front with her arms wide at her sides.

Hineni gently lowers his hand, holding a few fingers against her back.

“Are you the real Eilig, or are you a fake made by god-magic?” he asks.

Eilig lifts her head, looking up from his coat. “Good fucking question,” she replies. “Are you the real Hineni, or some fuck made by god-magic?”

Hineni looks around at the house that is coming together. “Good question,” he replies.

Eilig climbs up his coat, as if it were a mountain to scale, before reaching his shoulder, where she sits down. Her legs dangle down over his front, and she leans sideways, resting herself against the side of his face.

“I think I’m real,” she says. “We were escaping this damned hellscape when your stalker showed up and stopped us.” Eilig looks his way. “She killed someone. You saw that, right?” she asks. “Fucking slit her throat. Not including the rest of them in the forest.”

“I saw, Eilig,” says Hineni.

“Do you get me now?” asks Eilig. “This. Isn’t. Normal,” says the fairy.

He nods, exhaling. “When is it ever?” asks the man. “Are you finally going to tell me now?” he asks. “What all of this was?”

“No,” replies Eilig. “I always keep my promises,” says the fairy. She points to the house that has built itself together. “But I’m not the one doing this. So I guess I can’t stop you from seeing it.”

Hineni looks up towards the sky that continues to clash with lightning as the gods fight in a form that he can’t see with his eyes.

He reaches into his pocket, pulling out the note that Sockel had given him.

“Can you at least tell me if this is right?” he asks, showing it to her.

Eilig looks it over and then awkwardly rubs her arm, turning his way. “...Yeah. It is.”

Hineni sighs. “I thought so. So… it goes all the way down, huh?”

“All the way,” replies Eilig.

— A boy runs past him.

Hineni looks at himself as his younger version runs to the house that has formed out of snowflakes — a thriving, full adventurers’ guild. The air is filled with music and with dozens of voices. Glassware is clinking and people are running in and out of the structure, carrying all sorts of bits and bobs from various monsters as they either make their way to the guild to sell things or off to the dungeon to earn their keep for the day.

The boy slips in through the door, opened by someone leaving, and Hineni walks in after him, looking around.

He runs past the counter, where a woman is sitting, and heads into the library, cautiously looking around to see if the strict librarian is here.

Quietly, the boy creeps towards the shelves on the topic of ‘magic’, in the hopes of finding a book to teach him more about what he just did. Soot still covers his tingling fingers.

Hineni, standing by the door, watches as the boy creeps off.

— A figure looks around from the side, her long black hair dangling as she narrows her eyes in suspicion. The librarian. She didn’t see him sneak in, but she seems to suspect something.

“Oh, hey,” says Eilig, nudging him. “Watch this.” He looks as she points behind the librarian, where a blue splotch flies in secret. The fairy from the past flies into the shelf behind the librarian and knocks out a stack of books, immediately vanishing into a crack between the shelves.

The librarian jumps in surprise, likely thinking that she got snagged and pulled the books down herself.

Rolling her eyes and quietly muttering to herself, she stops her hunt and picks everything back up.

— A boy sneaks past them, holding a book against his chest.

“See?” asks the fairy on his shoulder. “I might have hated you for stealing my best friend’s time,” says Eilig. “But big sister Eilig always looked out for you. Just like now.”

Hineni smiles, vaguely remembering this day and how surprised he was that he didn’t get caught. He usually always got caught. He wonders how many other incidents and accidents he was spared from, by what was apparently his guardian spirit.

Hineni’s charmed smile turns into a frown. “Hey, uh…” asks the man. “You didn’t ever secretly watch me do anything weird, right?”

Eilig looks his way, but doesn’t say anything.

“…Right?” asks Hineni.

The scene goes dark, and the room rearranges itself into a stairwell.

She places a hand on his face and quietly shakes her head. “You wouldn’t like the answer.”

“Ah…”

The boy version of Hineni sits there, reading and studying up on how to use his newfound magic better.

Ash-magic is apparently relatively rare, according to this book. It’s not the rarest thing ever, but it’s pretty sparse. According to this, ash-casters are extremely desirable for the military or adventuring lifestyle, but also for agriculture because of their ability to create nourishing material for the soil. It’s rare for an ash-caster to have a hard time financially.

The boy smiles, looking around the house of theirs. It’s nice. But he hates this neighborhood. He hates living locked up in this place all day and night. He doesn’t get to go to school.

Maybe if they had some more money, he could give it to his parents and then they could buy a nicer place? Maybe he could go to school and make friends his own age?

“Nini?” asks a voice.

The boy jumps, having not seen his mother, or even heard her. She can be very quiet when she wants to be. She sees the book in his hands and then snatches it away, grabbing him as she walks upstairs and yanking him behind her.

The scene shifts.

They’re in the small office upstairs. It’s the room that was later turned into Sockel’s bedroom. But for now, it just has some sparse furnishings.

The boy frowns, sniffling, having just been severely scolded by his mother, who had a long, severe scolding with him about not using his magic that he just didn’t understand. Why shouldn’t he use his magic?

If he can be of any help finally, other than just doing stupid chores, then it doesn’t make any sense.

— The woman closes the door behind herself, locking it.

The boy sits down, leaning back against the wall as he pulls his legs in and sniffles to himself in the oppressive darkness of the space.

“I never understood why she was so mean to me about that,” says Hineni. “Her and the old man.” He sighs. “So it was to… keep me from using my magic? So that Obscura wouldn’t find me?”

“Admittedly, I don’t think they handled it well,” says Eilig from his shoulder as she points to the crying child, sitting in the shadow of a heavy desk. “But they did their best as the flawed people that they were. Sometimes that looks real ugly from the outside.”

— The sobbing is broken as something rattles down from above, appearing as if it had fallen off of the desk.

A small, wooden toy from his own collection from upstairs lands at his feet.

The boy sniffles, wiping his eyes on his sleeve as he looks around in confusion, before picking up his toy, having no idea how it got here.

The real Hineni looks up at the top of the desk, where a blue blob cautiously leans over, looking down at her work.

“You big softy,” says Hineni.

“Please,” says Eilig. “I just didn’t want to listen to your wailing all day.”

“Sure thing,” replies Hineni. “Thanks, Eilig,” says the man, watching the scene fade away. “That meant a lot to me.”

Something blows loudly into his ear, causing him to wince. “Yeah, yeah,” replies the fairy on his shoulder. “Don’t get all sentimental and start crying on me now, or past me’s efforts will have been a total waste.”

“Funny how life can turn around on you like that, huh?” asks Hineni, repeating something he heard Sockel tell him before.

“Yeah,” replies Eilig.

The two of them stand there in vague darkness as the scene shifts again.

“…So when does it come?” he asks.

“Not much longer,” replies Eilig as the two of them stare into the darkness.