In the central hall of the headquarters, the air was saturated with tension, as if the walls of the place were holding people's breath.
The six groups were lined up, each one carrying their equipment and staring at the unknown face waiting for them behind the transition gates.
Lin sat silently at the end of the hall, his face pale, his features lost. The emptiness in his heart became heavier than his silence, as if he knew he was going to search for something he didn't know but felt he needed.
Next to his seat, Yumi stood next to him. Her eyes are full of hope mixed with fear. She was holding his hand softly, as if she was afraid he would slip away like a light.
Sesshoumaru is in front of them, reviewing the final lineup one last time. His voice is decisive, his eyes leaving no detail out:
"Each group will head to one of the six points. Proceed in sequence, any time error or randomness in movement may affect the stability of the journey."
As the teams prepared, Maru and Lan Lan's gazes met momentarily. Maru, smiling lightly: "I hope the sand there doesn't devour souls."
Lan Lan, with an oblique smile and tiger cunning: "I just hope it doesn't devour you."
At the other end, Ren was tying his wrist to a small bracelet on his forearm when Hua approached him.
Hua, with a piercing gaze: "Don't be mistaken, Azurain swallows those who don't respect the sea."
Rin, adjusting his gloves: "I will not let the sea swallow me before I know who we are fighting."
As the gates opened, everyone disappeared.
Lin and Yumi arrived in Kaldoran, a mountain town where wooden huts clustered on pristine white slopes, covered in glistening snow as if the mountain wore a crown of diamond clouds.
They were greeted by a tour guide wearing a dark wool hat, with sky-blue hair that was only partially visible. He smiled softly and said in a soft tone:
"Welcome, the next hike to the summit starts in a few minutes. It's clear... Don't forget to breathe deeply, the air here steals all the weight from your chest."
Everyone moved upward toward the top of the mountain through a snow-covered stone path, punctuated by tea smoke and echoing footsteps.
They reached the top, and there, a miniature tourist area appeared:
Wooden cafes with large windows, cushioned sofas, warm lights in the snow, and a small inn next to a ledge overlooking the valley.
Lin sat in a corner of the inn, his eyes still, as Yumi said to him: "I'll get us something to eat, don't move."
Silence fell. Everyone in the lodge had gone out for a temporary picnic. Then from a gap in the trees, a monster covered in thorns appeared, its limbs bleeding black smoke, its chest pulsing with a rhythm that didn't belong in this world.
It approached with creeping steps towards Lin. Lin was disoriented. Not moving.
Before he touched him...there was a flash of light, and the monster split in half in mid-air. Its body fell without a sound.
Standing there, not seeming to move at all, was the guide, short sword in hand, no blood, no trace.
He raised his cold eyes to Lin, then said in a quiet voice: "You don't remember, do you?"
Yumi arrived, bags in hand, but immediately froze. "Who are you?"
He did not answer. He slowly raised his hand and removed the hat. The blue hair was all down, and his eyes... the same eyes as Lin's, but with a strange calmness, an equanimity that didn't resemble a shadow but a filtered light.
Yumi: "Lin?"
"I'm not him... My name is Skye."
She stepped towards him with fear and surprise: "Who are you? What do you mean?"
He said in a contemplative voice: "I'm just a fragment of his consciousness... I don't know how I came to be here, I suddenly found myself in a strange palace in the sky, but I felt I had to stay on this mountain for some reason... watching. Waiting. Waiting for something to bring me back."
Yumi took out the bracelet and told him the plan, the six points. His eyes seemed to sparkle.
Yumi: "Maybe... Each dot brings back a fragment. If they come together... the original comes back."
Skye: "I remembered before... Follow me, please."
Sky flew lightly through the sky, his footsteps leaving no trace, as if melting into the air. Yumi followed, holding onto Lin, who seemed to be responding to an invisible pulse. They climbed towards the summit, where the snow did not melt, but shimmered.
The summit was above the clouds, like a floating oasis. The sky is faintly blue, blending into a light gold, and the ground is invisible.
Skye said, smiling softly: "Just a moment..."
He raised his hand to the sky, and a corridor of light opened before them above the clouds, and a slowly floating island slid out of it, its trees covered with transparent leaves that glowed like stars, and above it a luxurious palace built of blue glass and silver, topped with soft columns that echoed soft music.
"Come in..." Sky said as he flew into the corridor, and Yumi followed him, amazed, as the snow under their feet turned into a soft vapor that didn't drown them but carried them.
At the gate, they were greeted by servants made of air, their translucent bodies rippling like frozen smoke, bowing to them without speaking. One of them reaches out to Lin, and he is enveloped in an atmosphere of comfort, as if his strength is returning moment by moment.
"This palace... does not belong to Earth. Perhaps it was built from the memory and power of Lin herself." Yumi said in a hoarse voice.
Skye walked down a long corridor, and on the walls, reflections showed footage from Lin's childhood-laughter, fights, light moments, moments of loss.
"Here I can stay... without pain. But I can't go back... without the rest of the parts." Skye said as he stopped at a glass balcony overlooking the clouds on all sides.
Yumi stood beside him, her face becoming more determined. "We'll get you back. Every part. Every fragment. Lin must return."
Sky nodded. He then looked toward Lin, and pulled from his chest a small flash that resembled a crystal shard, brought it close to Lin, and it melted into him.
Lin trembled for a moment, breathing deeply... Then he calmed down again.
Lin changed and became healthier and his body wasn't as weak as it used to be
Then Yumi said, "Skye, it's time to go back...let's go to the City of Dawn."
Ring... It rings... "Guys, come quickly, we discovered something strange in Ramalith, something about the origin of monsters."
"Lin has regained some of his health, we'll come quickly," Yumi said nervously.
They rode a snowmobile through the mountain passes that were out of sight of visitors. The snow was thick, but the road ahead of them was open as if the wind was blowing.
Yumi: "We'll go from here in the carriage until we reach the end of the snowy area, then use the transportation gate to go to Remalith."
In the carriage, the original Lin sat in silent contemplation, while Skye sat in front of him, not speaking.
But between them... one look. Long.
It was as if the consciousness that was once a day... had begun to return.