They had to wait a while. It took some time before the large door of the Dome opened. A tall, burly man entered alongside a woman dressed in black clothes and a young girl with braided hair. Dawn and Li were away from the hourglass, engaged in a low conversation. Li was constantly fiddling with his curly hair, showing his discomfort and restlessness. Dawn, however, maintained her serene posture, even though her face was apprehensive.
Outside, night had completely fallen. The man was the first to speak:
"What happened?" His voice boomed like a trumpet. Randall Sell eyed the two sharply. The man had a sparse beard, with gray hairs slowly emerging on his chin. His light eyes were narrow, and his thick eyebrows arched. He was taller than everyone else there.
"Well, Miss Dawn insists she saw the hourglass turn," Li said with a forced smile. The girl blinked at him calmly.
"You saw it too," she affirmed. Li coughed.
"I'm not sure what I saw."
"Li!" The woman present used a deep voice. She was the mage, dressed in black and with sharp eyes. Li's glasses nearly flew off his face as he was confronted by her. "Did you or did you not see the hourglass turn? You better not lie, because I was in the middle of a tournament and I won’t be pleased to know I came here for nothing."
Mage Talra furrowed her square face like a wild animal. The blue-purple of her eyes almost penetrated Li's soul. The young man quickly softened.
"Yes, I saw it."
Li's confirmation caused the three, Dawn, Randall, and Talra, to walk up to the barrier. The young girl with braided hair stayed beside Li, shooting him accusatory glances. The young man lowered his head.
"For you, it's easy to judge me, Pansy. You're an apprentice to Lord Randall."
"You deserve the master you have," the young girl retorted.
"Is there any chance the hourglass turned for no reason?" Talra wanted to know.
"The hourglass only turns when someone crosses," Li explained from where he stood. "Shouldn’t we talk to Mr. Corvus first?"
"Shush!" Young Pansy put her finger to her mouth, stopping Li from speaking more.
"Dawn, did you use the Attraction ring on the hourglass?" Randall asked.
"Yes," she replied, her mind full of thoughts. "Two energy points were located. But they disappeared soon after they completed the crossing."
"If Elio had just crossed, one was surely his. But who was the other?" Mage Talra commented.
"How could another person have crossed? They would need to be here," the man reminded.
"But they weren’t," said Dawn firmly. Everyone looked at her. "The hourglass turned because it detected a crossing. A crossing made elsewhere."
"That’s impossible!" Li approached them, asserting. "The Pontis is the only way to travel between worlds. There’s nothing like it!"
"Really? You call the hourglass Pontis?" Pansy asked Li in a low voice.
"It needed a name."
"Someone followed Elio," Dawn surprised everyone. "We don’t know who or their intentions."
"We need to be sure of this as well," Randall took charge, turning to the mage. "Talra, use the energy detected by Dawn's ring and find out what happened."
"That's why I'm here, isn't it?" The mage positioned herself. She raised a hood over her head and lifted her arms to chest height, making a steeple with her calloused hands. "Do the honors, Dawn."
The girl did as Talra asked. Facing the mage, she placed one of her hands within the triangle.
"Show me a path," whispered the woman, closing her eyes. Everyone was silent. "Revelat occulta. Revelat occulta..." The mage repeated the incantation several times.
"Do you see anything?" Randall, with his arms crossed, now leaned against the wall.
The mage didn't respond immediately.
"I see," she began. "A dark place."
"That's the same as seeing nothing."
"Sir!" The young girl on the other side rebuked the man.
Li was anxious, watching it all unfold. Dawn looked compassionately at the mage. Why is it taking so long? She thought rapidly, as it usually wasn't like this.
"Come on, Talra. We don't have time to waste," the man continued.
"Take it easy," said Dawn with a modulated voice.
"There's a chain," Talra resumed speaking, still with her eyes closed. "Many people around a table. It's all so dark, but the energy clearly comes from this place. I can't see their faces. And they are not just people…"
"What do you mean by that?" Randall moved away from the wall.
"I can hear one of them speaking," the mage's head began to droop. Dawn blinked worriedly. "A sweet voice. It's female. I don't understand it very well."
"Just a little more, Talra. Just a little more," Dawn requested, still with her hand outstretched.
"I think..." The mage spoke slowly, in whispers. "She can see me." Randall looked at Dawn as Li looked at Pansy. "I can read her lips... She's saying something."
"What? What is she saying, Talra?" Randall raised his voice.
"She's saying... We have an intruder." The mage's eyes suddenly opened wide, almost falling backward. Dawn caught her, seeing sweat running down the woman's square face.
"Are you okay?" Randall asked. The others gathered around quickly.
"This has never happened before," she said breathlessly, being supported by Pansy and Dawn. "I could feel her eyes on me. Even without seeing her face..."
Randall grimaced, walking angrily towards the hourglass.
"Enough. We've wasted too much time. Let's go after Elio right now!" Li's eyes widened at the decree.
"But, sir!" he protested. "Only Elio is authorized to cross! And Talra's vision didn't tell us anything."
"Exactly because of that," he agreed, puffing up his muscular chest. "We're not sure what might be happening in Elio's world. He's at a disadvantage alone, innocent people could get hurt. His younger brother could get hurt. I don't intend to stand idly by."
"Then Mr. Corvus will chop off my head…"
"You'll be fine without it," said Pansy, laughing over her shoulders.
"We're going - Dawn, Pansy, and I." Randall had already crossed the barrier. Dawn seemed to be pondering to herself. It was Pansy who spoke up, surprised.
"What, sir? I have to go too? Cross through the hourglass?" She almost stammered. Behind her, Li smiled contentedly.
"Of course. You're my apprentice. You must come with me."
"Wouldn't it be better if Miss Dawn used the Ring of Possibilities? We can analyze the probabilities, right? See if it’s really a good idea to go to another world?" When Pansy finished speaking, Li supported her.
"Yes, that's a great idea! Well done, Pansy."
"It's not a great idea." Dawn cut them off, leaving the mage's side and moving closer to Randall. She crossed the barrier sighing. "Even if I see all the probabilities the ring can offer, we would be here all night. By then, something that could have been avoided might happen."
Pansy and Li deflated.
"When we get to Elio's world, I'll use the Ring of Attraction. That way I can find them as quickly as possible." Dawn was already in the center.
"Pansy! Come here."
The young girl walked over timidly, taking the empty spot beside Dawn.
"But it's just us going, sir?" she asked.
"There's only us here, isn't there?" he claimed, eyeing the hourglass. The young girl blinked worriedly. "Don't worry, you're with me and the girl with the sad eyes. We're more than enough."
"Be careful!" Mage Talra shouted to them, straightening her back. Li was helping her. "I can't be sure exactly what we're dealing with. What I felt... I still can't describe it."
Dawn took action, already knowing what to do. There was a space in the hourglass just big enough for a finger. When she placed her index finger and filled the surface, the sand inside the glass stopped falling.
"Obice," she declared loudly. At that moment, lights formed like a rainbow inside the barrier. A sign that no one else could enter or exit. "Aperi viam."
With that, the hourglass trembled, as did the sand inside it.
"It's now, Dawn. Tell us where we want to go."
She nodded in response.
"Take us to Ordinarius. Take us to Elio's world."
The hourglass listened and fulfilled the request. It didn't take long for the three to disappear from there, caught in a continuous drag of luminous matter.
"Damn," said Li. "I'm really going to lose my head."
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