Swimming across the lake leading to the Shadow World was not as easy as it seemed at first sight. The lake seemed to be a living and conscious being that wanted to push the invaders out of itself. It reminded Rahul mostly of trying to swim upstream in the river in the forest.
It's true that when he swam in that particular river, there wasn't even several meters of water above his head and it wasn't as damn dark as in this lake. However, his determination was strong and he was able to overcome the strange power of the lake. He didn't even know if he was swimming up or down, but it was as if the light was slowly getting stronger the farther he got.
Then suddenly, as if released by that strange repulsive force, from one moment to the next he swam so easily that he was so surprised that he almost forgot where he was and was only a hair's breadth away from breathing under the water in his surprise. Luckily for him, thanks to his newfound momentum, after a few arm strokes, the water parted above his head, and he took a deep breath.
"Rahul! Give me your hand!" He heard Citar's voice and without thinking he grabbed the boy's hand, who pulled him to the shore.
"That... Was horrible." He frowned.
"I have to agree." Etele folded his arms in front of him.
"Did you feel it too, grandpa?" Achilleus asked surprised.
"Yeah, whatever it is with that oversized puddle, I really don't like it." The ghost growled, nodding towards the lake.
"As far as I can see, we're all fine." At Razvan's sudden voice, the team looked towards him as one. The chief of the Athamanas was standing on the shore of the lake with his hands on his hips and smiling, and the griffin bird climbed out of the water next to him.
"Griffin!" Rahul smiled, but the animal only shook itself to dry off, which only made the members of the team even wetter. "Thanks. Now how do we dry?" Rahul frowned disapprovingly, but instead of an answer he heard a soft chuckle.
"It may be cold, but it's fire!" Benkó stood in the middle of the group and, closing his eyes, held out his hand to summon the cold fire of the Boklós.
"Fuck, a little one would have been enough peeing boy! No need to light a bonfire!" Achilleus jumped two steps back, when the fire surrounded Benkó's whole body. The boy opened his eyes in surprise.
"I don't understand this." He muttered to himself, extinguishing the fire that had already dried the team's clothes in just these few seconds. "I focused directly on a little one." Benkó stared blankly at his hands.
"We are in the Shadow World, there is much more to power here. So you'd better use your kí carefully from now on." Razvan explained, with folded arms in front of him.
"We really made it! I can't see through the old man anymore if he moves like that." Teveli grabbed his chin.
"Hey! Are you paying attention to me that much?" Etele snorted.
"I'm a Koál. We are sensitive to spirits." Teveli shrugged. "Breathing is much easier." He closed his eyes and smiled. "I've almost forgotten what it's like when everything isn't on fire." He sighed.
"That's really not good!" Razvan walked up to the boy and put his hand on his forehead. "We need to hurry. The sooner we get to the palace the better." The boy noted and started towards the exit of the cave. "Follow me. Suk, don't leave Teveli alone for a second. It would be best if you held his wrist. If the poison gets too far inside him, he will die and even the daimon king won't be able to do anything. The dead cannot be resurrected." He mumbled the last sentence.
"Hey Suk, don't let me go!" Teveli swallowed.
"I won't, don't worry, Tev! I didn't even thought about it!" His friend reassured the boy as the team exited the cave, into the Shadow World. In contrast to where they came from, flowers were growing everywhere, the sun was shining in the sky, and spirits were hurrying everywhere, with small bags on their shoulders, or pushing or pulling small carts. The place is full of life, like the big city where Rahul went to a fair when he was seven years old.
"Did you see it? The flowers have opened! The daimon king is back!" Chatted a ghost woman with a big smile on her face.
"Recently more and more flowers have opened near the palace, he must have returned." Added another spirit carrying a huge putt.
"What are they talking about?" Rahul asked, looking at his ghost relative.
"Don't look at me! I haven't the faintest idea. I said, I threw up my feet, I came and I already left. I haven't been here since. I have no idea how things are going here." Etele rolled his eyes and put his hands behind his back. "Csito, do you know what the others are talking about?" Etele asked aloud, and Razvan snorted.
"Could you please not call me that? What if we run into someone we know? I don't feel like running into friends." The boy remarked, then he stopped and tore off two flowers and approached Teveli and Suk, then pinned the flowers in the hair of both of them. "They are talking about these. These flowers grow in the footsteps of the daimon king. At least that's what they say, wherever the daimon king goes, these flowers appear, the more there are, the closer he is. By the way, if you keep one with you, the ghosts won't notice you." He explained, starting in an unknown direction. "Teveli is too close to death, it's better if the ghosts don't detect him, they would try to kill him in the end. The rest of us are safe."
"Then why do I need it?" Suk asked, reaching for his hair.
"With as much poison as there is in a Zovárd, you should be dead a long time ago." Razvan seriously looked back over his shoulder at the boy, who swallowed a huge mouthful and then nodded.
"I have to say that your afterlife is a much nicer place than the one the father described at home." Rahul said thoughtfully as he looked at the ghosts passing by and having a cheerful conversation.
"Why, what should the afterlife be like?" Citar explained.
"Dark to begin with." Rahul snapped. "It's hot, everyone should scream and eternal torment awaits the guilty. Those who lived righteously go to heaven after death, where they can sink into an eternal sleep." The boy explained, then waved. "I never understood why it should be like this." He shrugged. "If I want to be honest, it is comforting that instead of suffering, there is almost a normal life after death." He smiled. "That..." Rahul's foot was rooted to the ground, but not only his, the whole team suddenly stopped with their mouths open.
"Well, that's what I call a palace." Etele whistled as he looked at the building decorated with beautiful carvings staring up to the sky.
"We're here. This is the daimon king's palace." Razvan said with a faint smile on his lips.