May Hawaii and the Dreamhunters

Desdoblamiento

Split

May held the hilt of her whip as she ascended the steps in the darkness. Ember led the way and carried the other end. He kept warning her of obstacles and so they walked through the corridors and halls. Ember had held out her hand, but the thought of walking in the dark holding his hand made her uncomfortable.

-How did you meet Marcus? -He asked to fill the silence.
-Marcus was already a renowned Seeker when I learned the De La Llave Method. When I joined the guild, I began to meet him when I went treasure hunting. We have a similar intuition.
-Are you competitors?
-At first, yes, but then we ended up partnering up. -May noticed how Ember was about to say something, but he had to think twice and held his tongue. -If you were going to ask why he came on his own… I don’t know.
-I was actually going to ask you about the treasure you were looking for here, but it seemed impertinent.
-Don’t worry, it’s no secret that we Dreamhunters are looking for Marco Travelero’s Patron Trident.
-Patron Trident? I have no idea what that is.

-It’s obvious that you don’t live in P.D. Long ago, before the Guilds were founded, three of the most experienced onironauts founded an association known as the Triple Trident. Each of them had found an artifact of immense power on their own. Of these three people, one is the ruler of the Palace of Wishes, and by extension, of the entire human Sphere. The other is a rebellious enemy of humanity. The third disappeared without a trace. He is believed to be dead and his trident, lost. Two of the three tridents are safe in the Hall of Memory of the Monument, but the third has not been found.
-Didn’t the rebel take the trident with him?
-No, it was confiscated earlier.

For a few minutes, they walked in silence.

-And you? Are you with the Rounders? -No. I’m what you call an autarkic.
-Wow… You see them less and less every day. Travelero was an autarchist. He was against the guild system. Although some say he founded the Eternal Scarf Guild.
-Are there more people like me in the capital? -He pronounced β€œlike me” in a low voice, even though they were alone.
-No. You’re lucky I’m not a kabu hunter. They’d put a good price on your head. The Rounders do well to keep you hidden.
-The Rounders don’t know me. Only Leila knows who I am.
-Believe me. If she knows, the others knows. Trust no one. Humans can’t be trusted.

They had reached the room with the three doors. Where the pool of blood, the hatchet and the broken gear were located.

-I’d like to investigate this further, but without seeing anything, I have a really hard time.
-I can light a flame if you teach me the trick.

May thought about it for a few moments.

-I understand that the kabus can’t manipulate the aerena without tools, but perhaps your human side will allow you to do so. That’s fine, we won’t lose anything by trying. Sit down.

They both sat down on the floor.

-I’m not going to tell you the theory, because it’s too complicated and we don’t have time, so let’s get down to the practical. Aerena burning is a very basic technique that all onironauts can do.

May tore a sheet of paper from her notebook and put it on the floor in front of her.

-Hold up your index finger and close your eyes-she said-. Our bodies are composed of aerena in motion. We are like a river of aerena coming in through our head and going out through our limbs Can you visualize that?
-Yes.
-Good. Imagine that flow, from your neck, dividing throughout your body. Now imagine a valve that allows you to increase the flow to your right arm.
-Okay.
-When you open that valve, a larger stream will go to your arm, then to your hand, then to your finger. If you open it and close it for just an instant, the variation in flow will produce….

Then Ember’s finger gave a scarlet sparkle.

-Did it work? Ember hadn’t seen it because her eyes were still closed.
-Yes! Now do the same thing but touching the paper.

Ember touched the paper with her right index finger, concentrated and gave a spark. The paper lit up.

-You seem to be good at it.
-Thank you.
-But I’ll warn you about one thing. For me, spending all the aerena I have means the river stops, or dries up. The worst thing that can happen to me is that I go into a coma. The best thing is for me to wake up. My physical body in Vigil is where my aerena is created and accumulated. But in your case it is different, if you exhaust all your aerena, you will dissolve. Forever.

The flame consumed the entire blade and went out.

-I’m not going to burn out just to give a few sparks to keep the flame alive -said Ember, sure of himself.
-I’ve already warned you -May replied, and passed him the extinguished torch.

Ember stood up. He stretched out his left hand with the torch firmly in his grasp. With her right, she touched the burnt towel and gave a spark. Nothing happened.

-A little more -said May. Be careful. You have to visualize the flame. It will stay there, and you’ll have to spread your consciousness along the stick to keep it alive. It’s like you’re making it part of your body.

Ember tried a couple of times, until he got a steady flame.

-Very good. You are approved in aerena burn. If you feel yourself getting dizzy, drop the torch immediately. Now, let’s investigate this area further.

May and Ember walk around the perimeter and return to the bloodstains near the entrance. Looking at them calmly, they saw that the drop was pointing towards the inside of the room, not the outside.

-The blood trail wasn’t leading away from the door, but closer -said May. The victim may have been fleeing this way.

The pool of blood was still clueless. But if the wounded man had made it that far, it looked as if he had vanished.

-An aerena jump? -May wondered aloud.
-But…. where to?

May made the gesture of throwing the axe toward the door handle.

-If Marcus had managed to open the door, he could throw the axe and then jump inside so that the door would close behind him. That way he would avoid the pursuer.
-But if he had opened the door… Wouldn’t the pursuer be in front of him?
-In any case, we won’t find out until we get it open.

They approached the door and spent a long time examining it. The broken mechanism, the engravings, the stone… they were sharing their observations while May made Ember light up in specific places. Then they clearly heard a teenage voice on the other side of the door.

-May Hawaii? Is it really you?
-Marcus? -It wasn’t Blake’s voice.
-Yes! It’s me! Well, at least part of it. Wait, I’ll get it.

The door slowly opened and the reddish light from the torch revealed a young man dressed as Indiana Jones turning a crank with effort. His face was pale and sickly, but he was smiling with relief. He had Marcus’s features, but looked as if he had been rejuvenated by about thirty years.

-What happened to you?
-I’m afraid I’ve made a grave mistake -he replied.
-You don’t say? -May threw her arms up in the air.
-Before you lecture me, you need to see this.

The boy, despite being visibly hurt, turned around and headed down the hallway. He was carrying a flashlight. Despite this, Ember did not turn off the torch. She glanced at May as if to make sure she trusted the young man. May shrugged and followed him, dodging a puddle of vomit by the door.

-If you’re Marcus for real, name the members of the Dreamhunters.
-May Hawaii, Minerva Perez, Don Gregorio, Valdes and myself -replied the young man, who turned and winked at May.
-He seems to be authentic -said May to Ember.

They followed the boy into a hall, which had a square structure. The engravings on the walls were much more artistic, not hieroglyphic like the rest of the ziggurat. The left wall depicted a hellish image, with flames, abysses and suffering people. The right wall represented a sky with clouds and stars. On both walls were ziggurat-like structures. In the case of the left wall, the constructions were above the clouds. The center wall, facing the corridor, was occupied by a depiction of a humanoid figure holding a trident pointing downward. He wore a long skirt and his torso was naked. In her other hand he held what appeared to be a gourd or liquid container. On his head he wore something resembling a crown, or perhaps it was hair adorned into a topknot. May was surprised to see it.

-An Exu… Here? But these ruins are from the middle of the Kabus Era.
-Impossible, right?

Marcus looked at her triumphantly.

-Does it have something to do with your rejuvenation?
-I haven’t gotten any younger -Marcus replied regretfully. I’ve split. Or rather, I’ve been split.
-Another impossible -said May.
-And where is the other half? -said Ember skeptically.
-I don’t know, he must have escaped, haven’t you seen him?
-What does your splitting up have to do with you looking like a college student?
-A kabu, possibly an Asura, has robbed me of my maturity. As sad as you can hear. At least he didn’t take my memories, or he wouldn’t know who you are. By the way -he said, holding out his hand to Ember-. My name is Macus Blake, nice to meet you.
-Sigrid Ember -the red-haired man replied -What do you mean, it’s taken your maturity?
-Apparently, my experience, my patience, and all those things that are learned with age, as well as my physical condition have passed to the kabu. Only youth, impatience, and fervor remain in this body. Honestly, I think I’ve come out ahead. I’m a little dizzy, though.
-We can’t let a kabu on the loose with your knowledge, Marcus.
-No. -We must stop him as soon as possible. He’s dangerous.

For the first time his expression darkened.

-And he wants the Patron Trident.