A few hours after returning from URCC, the friends went to fetch Maush’s family — it was time to head back. They flew in silence at first, each lost in thought, and soon all of them fell asleep.

The kayak descended onto the nearest platform to Maush's home. After the drone of the engines, a ringing pause set in. Even the trees along the landing site stood motionless, and in this untouched calm of the city there was a strange, alien sense of relief. Auran stepped out to see his friend and his family off. They embraced and said their goodbyes.

At last the man was home. First thing, he ordered a meal and went to take a shower. He stood under the water for a long time, pouring gel into his palm three times — it slid away with the stream, and he began rubbing his skin with an empty hand. Finally, he managed to wash. When he came out, the food had gone cold; he sent the dishes for reheating and fetched a drink from the fridge. A soft chime signaled readiness, and the dishes rose from the serving hatch.

Auran shoveled the food into his mouth, barely chewing, finishing it in an instant. In his head still echoed the half-second of that frantic scream he'd heard in the URCC hall. His body swung from feeling to feeling: now anxiety throbbed in his gut, now a strange surge of power lifted him from within. A surge… from someone else's terror? The thought frightened him more than the scream itself. He ordered another meal — this time a nourishing, standard set instead of the chef's special.

"Should I tell Maush?" he wondered. He’d think I’d lost it. And he’s got his hands full — his family is in shock, he’s been through too much, and the workload is killing him. No, let him rest today. Maybe I’ll figure this out on my own.

After finishing the meal, Auran finally felt a crushing fatigue and headed for the bedroom.

Twilight thickened between the trunks; the road gleamed with damp sand — he ran, not knowing where. On one side, the forest — barely fifty meters away; on the other, a thicketed ravine. Sharp stones got into his sandals, cutting bare feet. Why bare feet? Oh God — not even sneakers, sandals. A rope in his hands, rough leather, folded three times — he wanted to throw it away but couldn’t.

He heard wild dogs running behind him through the trees — now one muzzle, now another flashed from the dark; he heard their heavy breathing, the clack of teeth. He was close to his family’s farm — just a little further and the fence of their estate would begin. The gates were there, and his grandfather — he would help.

Suddenly one of the dogs raised its head to howl — but instead, from its mouth burst a terrible scream, the same as the one he'd heard at URCC. Auran realized it was only another nightmare. He was dreaming — which meant his power was limitless. He pushed himself to accelerate, but the pack was already on his heels. Then he saw the fence ahead — the recognition sensor blinked, the gates slid open. Beyond them stood his grandfather, calm, walking toward him.

"Get back, Grandpa! Wild dogs!" Auran shouted.

The old man didn’t react; he stopped him, grasped his shoulder with one hand, and tore the rope from his grasp with the other. It became a long, powerful whip — and with deft, sure movements, he lashed at the nearest dogs, scattering the whole pack. The air vibrated, and for a moment light froze like a spark along the whip's curved trail.

"It is fear, grandson, that kept you from fighting! With this whip you could drive off not just dogs — even bears, two or three of them! The main thing is to face them, to give the whip your strength. When you share power with it, it multiplies tenfold. But if you give that strength to your legs — you’ll run, but never far!"

But Auran was barely listening — he focused on the thought that it was only a dream and tried to wake up.

He didn’t wake up at once. First came a heaviness in his arms, then the chill beneath his back, then light pulsing around him. When he opened his eyes, he found himself surrounded by a cloud of colored radiance. A dream within a dream? he thought, squeezing his eyes shut to wake again — but failed.

He sat up sharply; the cloud felt faintly dense under his hands, which startled him, since it had seemed weightless. The cloud vanished, and before Auran could even think what it was, a message arrived from Tirak’s assistant, asking whether the reporter needed any additional information and when the video would be ready. Great, just what I needed — a reminder from those lunatics, Auran thought. I’d better finish this job and stay away from them from now on.

He glanced at the clock — early evening. Quickly dressing, he got into the flipp and headed for the rabsad, reviewing the footage along the way. The sphere of the flipp trembled softly in the air, and in the reflection of the dome he saw his own face — weary and tense. He frowned; he didn’t like what he saw. Running a finger along the bridge of his nose, he smoothed the wrinkle and sighed in frustration.