Finding a quiet corner away from the crowd, they ordered something to eat. It was a peaceful meal.
"Have you found anything about the people you're looking for?" Juan asked, taking a big bite of his bread.
"Not yet. There's no record of their entry into the city. We'll go look for some people who can help us."
"Good. I'm telling you— even if you find them, don't try doing anything on your own. If it's anything like what happened in your village, it's not as simple as you think. There are probably powerful people behind them and a couple of them probably have siunis. Got it?"
Arsh stopped eating when he heard that. The thought hadn't even crossed his mind. He had wondered before if there might be powerful people behind those men, but he had no idea about those who possessed a siuni. This was a new world to him, and he hadn't considered that possibility. Moreover, he wasn't sure exactly how much power a person with a siuni could wield. The only way he could even begin to imagine the extent of such power was through King Bertham—but even that was based solely on the legends he had heard.
Still, what Juan had said made sense at that moment. Could a group of men really wipe out an entire village without leaving a single person alive?
He had no idea how siunis granted powers to humans. All he knew were the protective symbols he had seen in the burial chamber and a few symbols Will had shown him and that were in his notebook. He needed to find out just how powerful a siuni could make a person.
"What kind of powers do siunis give people?"
"Anything, really. For example, the elder who helped you yesterday was a healer. A siuni can make a person physically stronger and faster—that's the most common. Many people can handle these kinds of siunis without problems. There are also siunis that allow the user to control fire, darkness, light, or even manipulate other people's minds. And these are only what we know... Much about siunis is not yet known."
"Is it possible for me to become powerful, with a siuni, I mean?"
"That depends on the kind of power you want. For some, overwhelming strength is power and for others, the ability to control or influence others, or knowledge itself, is power. Being a shield to protect something is also a form of power. First, you need to figure out which type you have. Later, we'll think about how to develop it. When you already have a siuni, it is not easy to find one that is compatible with the one you have... It isn't easy, and there are many risks."
"What do you mean by compatible?"
"Think about it. Let's say your siuni is connected to fire, and you want to take another one that's connected to water. Like I said, siunis link the soul's energy to the body. So if you try to create that link between two forces that naturally clash, what do you think will happen?"
"I'll die," Arsh said, without thinking too much.
"You got it. That's why you should focus on what you already have first. Maybe it'll be enough to give you what you're looking for."
He was aware that his siuni wasn't connected to something like fire or water. He also felt there was nothing about it that could give him the kind of physical strength he wanted. If his enemies were physically stronger than him, he would need to gain something to make up for that gap. The man in front of him looked powerful to Arsh. Maybe a siuni like his would be good.
"What's your siuni?"
Juan laughed. "You can't ask someone that so easily. It's as much our strength as it is our weakness."
"Then when I learn what mine is, I don't need to tell you, right?"
"Well, let's talk about that when the time comes..."
After Arsh saw Juan's creepy smile, he didn't say anything. He started to feel like, most of the time, the man was just teasing him. Without talking further, they finished their meal in silence.
…
As darkness fell over the streets again, Arsh and Nesame met at the time they agreed and headed toward the taverns around the port.
Unlike the place they had visited with Juan the night before, this area was lively and noisy. Ship workers, travelers, and port laborers from various countries staying in the nearby inns were still bustling about despite the late hour.
They entered a tavern crowded with foreigners, all wearing different clothes and speaking in various languages. The dissonance of voices rising in different tongues and tones from every corner made the noise almost unbearable.
Arsh didn't know exactly who they were looking for, but his eyes scanned the room carefully, folowing Nesame.
"Is your friend here?" He asked.
"I hope so. He usually hangs out here… Oh, there he is."
Nesame nodded toward a man sitting at the end of a rather crowded table, chatting cheerfully with those around him.
The man probably noticed someone was watching him and looked around to see who it was. His gaze swept across the room and finally settled on Nesame. After a brief flicker of surprise, a smile of recognition appeared on his face.
"Brother Nesame!" he shouted.
Arsh and Nesame walked toward the table where the man was sitting. The other people at the table turned to look at them, curious to see who the newcomers were.
"It's been a long time. May Arienne's blessing be upon you. Seeing you here is a surprise. Since you became a father, you hardly visit these part of the city. Won't you join us?" The man asked, gesturing to the empty seats.
Nesame inclined his head with a slight smile.
"May Arienne's blessing be upon you too, Mirtam. I'm not here for leisure. There's an urgent matter, and we may need your help. Do you have time?"
The cheerful expression on Mirtam's face softened into seriousness. He gave a brief apologetic glance to those at the table, He gave a brief apologetic glance to those at the table, then stood up.
"Of course. Let's talk. Hopefully, it's nothing too bad."
They left the tavern together and moved to a quiet corner away from the noise. Mirtam gave Arsh a brief look, raising an eyebrow slightly.
"So, who's this young man? I don't think I've seen him around here before," he said.
"He's a relative from my village," Nesame replied, without going into much detail. Then he quickly got to the point. "I need you to gather some information for us. It's not difficult—we are looking for some people. You just need to find out who they are and where they've gone."
"Who exactly are you looking for?"
"A group of Symranians."
Hearing the word, Mirtam's shoulders tensed slightly, and his gaze drifted briefly into the distance. Then he turned his attention back to Nesame.
"May I ask the reason?"
He asked in a voice that was both curious and alert. Going after Symranians wasn't exactly a wise idea. It could easily land someone in trouble.
Nesame explained what happened without beating around the bush. He didn't know every detail himself, so he just repeated the things he had heard from Arsh.
While Nesame talked with Mirtam, Arsh listened as if he were a disinterested bystander. He watched Mirtam's anger grow as the man heard what heappened. Without needing further convincing, Mirtam quickly agreed to gather the necessary information.
…
Before heading back, Arsh decided to walk down to the seaside. The first time he had seen the sea was as a child, when he visited Thage with his father. Back then, it had reminded him of a desert. Like the desert, the sea seemed endless and of a single color. But unlike the scorching desert sands, the drops of water that hit his face with the waves were refreshing. Now, looking at the same view at night, he found himself thinking the same thoughts he had ten years ago.
Although the night breeze made him shiver, he sat on the rocks by the sea and started to think about the things Juan had told him.
What he needed was a clear memory of that day to understand the siuni. Even though his memory was hazy, he tried to focus and recall what had happened before he saw the golden threads emerging from his hand in the well.
That day, in a moment of desperation, he clung to something he had only just heard — a story of weird symbols he had dismissed as nothing more than a forgotten legend. At first, he thought maybe he would possess a power like King Bertham's, able to move the earth. But it wasn't like that. He hadn't been able to move the earth. Instead, something else had happened.
As Arsh went through the events in his head, he suddenly remembered the pain in his heart and the lights colliding into one another in the darkness. After that, he saw the golden threads. Following them was instinctive.
He kept following them until he climbed out of the well, and then they disappeared.
No matter how much he thought about it, the only thing he could recall was that escaping from there was the only thought on his mind.
As a sudden gust of wind from the sea caught his breath, he felt as if some lights were flickering in his mind.
'Yeah, it is weird. Why did I follow those lights so instinctively? I had my doubts when I first fell into that hole, but now that I think about it, somehow I knew they would get me out of there,' he thought.
'This siuni doesn't give me any physical power. I think I know what power it gives me.'
He thought for a moment and closed his eyes tightly, focusing his mind on a single face and a single question.
"Where is Professor Millway?" he said out loud.
When he opened his eyes, he looked at his left hand. It was just as he had expected.
Golden threads, glowing faintly around the crescent symbols, began to sway in the air. Arsh followed the threads as far as his eyes could see. They led toward the sea, to the northwest—stretching in the direction of Symran.
Now he understood—the power the siuni gave him was to help him find the things he was looking for. But he also felt it wasn't enough.
Then he remembered what Juan had said.
"Learn and believe"
Arsh realized that he now understood the meaning of the symbol; the only thing left was to believe in the power it could grant him. The wound in his hand slowly vanished, leaving only a golden glow in its place. Arsh believed with all his heart.
Someday, it would show him the path to his revenge.