Vaelor spoke calmly, though uncertainty flickered in his eyes. He said he wasn't fully sure whether it would work on Perun, or if it would work at all but they could try. He adjusted his glasses, rotating them slightly as if scanning something invisible, then suddenly asked where the clothes were that he'd worn the night he arrived.
Perun pointed toward the cupboard, the one beside the mattress.
Vaelor paused. "My cupboard… oh. The one behind the mattress."
He walked over, pulled the mattress aside, and opened the cupboard. Hidden behind it were his old clothes. From the greyish coat, he carefully checked the inner pockets and took out several objects: a bronze pocket watch, worn smooth with age; a ring engraved with strange forward-and-backward patterns; a small pendant; and finally, a triangular red stone.
He placed the other items back into his suit pocket, returned the coat to the cupboard, and closed it. The stone remained in his palm.
Perun had been watching silently. "What are those?" he asked.
Vaelor didn't answer directly. "Something important," he said, then held out the triangular stone. Its surface was red, but the center was unnaturally dark, as if light refused to touch it.
"This," Vaelor said, "is a fragment of a deity's persona."
Perun frowned. "Where did you even get something like that? This feels… godly."
Vaelor dismissed the question. "That doesn't matter right now. Focus."
He raised the stone closer. "Tell me what you see."
Perun looked carefully. "A red triangular stone. There's a black spot in the center."
"Yes," Vaelor said. "Now look inside it."
Perun leaned closer. At first, there was nothing. Just darkness.
"I don't see anything," he said.
"Try seeking," Vaelor replied softly. "Not with your eyes. With your mind."
Perun focused on the dark center. Slowly, his body relaxed. His breathing steadied. Then, without realizing how, his awareness slipped pulled inward.
He was no longer in the room.
He stood in darkness, endless and silent. Instinctively, he began running forward. He shouted Vaelor's name, but the sound vanished the moment it left his mouth. No echo. No response.
He kept running.
After what felt like a long time, a sharp ray of light appeared ahead. Perun rushed toward it, desperately. The darkness broke open, revealing a massive cubical stone floating before him. A fish symbol was carved into its surface.
Perun blinked. "What god, destiny, whatever this is…"
As he looked around, something felt wrong. The fish carvings weren't still. They were moving and dancing. They had thin, stick-like arms, waving in sharp, zigzag patterns, almost forming a strange Z-shape in the air.
Perun staggered back. "What the fuck did I just see?"
A voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere at once.
"Is that how you greet your god?"
Perun swallowed. "I—I was just shocked. Didn't expect… this."
The voice sounded amused. "So you find it unpleasant?"
"No, no," Perun said quickly. "Just… different from what I imagined."
A low chuckle followed. "Ah. That's fair. It is strange."
There was a pause. Then the voice asked, "So tell me, boy how did you come here?"
"A friend sent me," Perun replied. "His name is Vaelor."
The voice sighed deeply. "That idiot… so you're his friend."
Perun nodded, though he wasn't sure the being could see him. "I'm in trouble. That's why I'm here."
The voice grew quieter, heavier.
"And did Vaelor tell you," it asked, "what it costs to come here?"
The darkness seemed to press closer.
Perun swallowed and asked what the cost was.
The voice answered calmly. You must never speak of this to anyone. You must remember the symbol every day. And one last rule you could never align yourself with another god.
Perun frowned. He said he had no such intentions.
The voice replied that I am not saying that you don't have to join it but eventually by choosing a side you can't be approved to join other.
Perun nodded. It didn't sound difficult.
"Then you may leave," the voice said.
Perun hesitated. He asked what about my problem.
The darkness shifted. The voice told him to remember the fish symbol. Close your eyes. Form its pattern in your mind and concentrate for three minutes each day. In return, you would be granted strength and speed—three minutes at a time, once a day.
Whenever he needed that power, he only had to say it in his mind:
A fish that can stop the flood. I want it.
Perun bowed instinctively and thanked the almighty God of Fish.
A pause followed.
"I am not a god of fish," the voice corrected. "The fish is only represents me."
The darkness began to fade. The path collapsed inward, and Perun's consciousness snapped back into his body.
Vaelor was staring at him. He said Perun had finally woken up.
Perun sat up slowly, still disoriented. He said he met Vaelor's god—but it was a stone talking. It felt… different.
Vaelor frowned. He said the stone was their god.
Perun shrugged. Either way, he wanted to test the power. But first, he needed to charge it.
He sat down, told Vaelor not to disturb him, and closed his eyes. His focus moved inward from his breath to his temples, then deeper, toward the center of his mind. Slowly, he began forming the dancing fish symbol, tracing every curve, every strange movement.
At first, it felt ridiculous. The symbol almost made him laugh. His concentration broke again and again. But he forced himself to retry, adding detail, correcting the pattern, holding it steady.
After three minutes, something changed.
A sharp sensation rippled through his mind. His heartbeat spiked violently for a moment. His muscles tightened, feels like alive and buzzing with unfamiliar energy.
When the feeling settled, Perun opened his eyes and muttered that he thought he had just died.
Vaelor told him to try it now.
Perun asked where.
Vaelor pointed at himself.
Perun hesitated, then whispered in his mind, A fish that can stop the flood. I want it. Now.
Something surged through his body. It felt light—too light. Like his weight had vanished.
He said he felt like air.
Vaelor challenged him to come.
Perun ran.
The world blurred. His speed was unreal falcon-fast. But Vaelor dodged effortlessly. Perun tried again. And again. Every attack missed.
Panting, Perun asked how Vaelor could even see attacks that fast.
Vaelor replied calmly that you are still new.
Then came the strength test.
Perun told Vaelor to stand still. I will punch you.
Vaelor slightly bend his arm.
Perun clenched his fist and struck.
The impact echoed with a brutal crack. Pain exploded up Perun's arm. He staggered back, staring in horror at his hand, already swelling.
He screamed, clutching it.
Vaelor looked at his own arm, mildly impressed. He said it was pretty good I actually felt that.
Perun stared at him in disbelief, teeth clenched in pain.
"What are you made of," he shouted, "stone?"