Something happened before ???????? said:
"NAFSAN."
"Go."
Something Nafsan noticed immediately.
???????? had done something.
Something small enough that almost every being in Beyond Void would have missed it.
Almost.
Nafsan didn't.
For a moment, he said nothing.
His eyes remained on Sirna.
On the endless stories.
On the impossible structure waiting ahead of him.
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But his attention...
was somewhere else.
He understood.
Exactly what ???????? had done.
Nafsan smiled slightly.
He didn't turn around.
He didn't raise his voice.
He didn't call for anyone.
He simply thought of a name.
HURRII.
...
Somewhere far away...
Beyond the place where Nafsan stood.
Beyond the countless beings still kneeling.
Beyond distances that would have swallowed entire universes...
something heard him.
There was nothing there.
Then—
fog.
A thin layer at first.
Almost invisible.
Then more.
It rolled across the emptiness.
Thicker.
Heavier.
Until an enormous region of Beyond Void disappeared beneath it.
The beings nearby began looking around.
None of them understood what was happening.
The fog continued spreading.
Then...
a sound.
Clop.
...
Clop.
...
Clop.
Something was walking inside the fog.
Slowly.
Calmly.
The sound grew closer.
Clop.
Clop.
Clop.
A silhouette began forming.
Four legs.
A powerful body.
A long mane moving through the mist.
A horse.
It walked forward.
The fog moved with it.
Not behind it.
Not around it.
With it.
As though the mist itself had recognized its master.
The horse stopped.
Its body remained partially hidden inside the thick fog.
It raised its head.
And somewhere unimaginably far away...
Nafsan smiled.
He had never spoken the name aloud.
He didn't need to.
HURRII had heard him.
And in the same moment...
???????? spoke.
"NAFSAN."
"Go."
Nafsan disappeared.
But somewhere in Beyond Void...
the horse remained.
Waiting.
HURRII.
THE MIST HAD ANSWERED.