“Thank you for the healing. Out of curiosity, your energy has no taste. Is it yours, or has something changed?” the hologram asked.

  “Energy has no taste,” Lukai answered, thinking that the question was very peculiar.

  A moment after he responded, he was struck by a realization. “I did read that the energy of Healers had a special flavor, but it was a long time ago. Are you that old? You need to be; the e.i. was described as an old device. Could you say something more?”

  The hologram didn’t respond but gave him quite a strange look before he stood up and went to the arena barrier. There, he discharged himself; it was visible that the quality of his body dropped significantly.

  Lukai decided not to ask this time. He wouldn’t get an answer; he was certain. But the hologram surprised him.

  “I needed to unload energy. I felt too much. Apologies.” That was what the hologram said.

  Another very strange thing to say, no further explanation.

  There was silence between them.

  “My name is Taj.”

  Lukai was surprised. Then, he had a thought; the hologram, he noticed. He noticed that Lukai was treating him not as a person.

  Was he then a person?

  How possible?

  “Taj,” Lukai started, trying to change his approach. “You were created, I suppose, a long time ago. From what I know, it was when Elders were still there. I first thought you were a knowledge base—do not be offended—and then I assumed you were some kind of teacher created for future generations. I need to admit, I am not sure how to approach you.”

  Lukai decided to say his doubts honestly.

  It was appreciated.

  “I consider myself a person. I have been dead for many years, though. I indeed was a teacher, but not only. No, I am not a database, but I store some knowledge. Is it understandable?”

  “Are you Elder?” Lukai asked.

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  “Does it matter?” The hologram—Taj—replied with a question.

  “It does. What do you know? How could you help? Why are you reluctant to help if you have the knowledge?” Lukai said, feeling suddenly angry.

  “Apologies,” Taj said, and he made a respectful gesture by hitting one of his fists against his other hand—the Sect gesture—for the second time.

  Then he explained. “It could sound like I am not serious about the situation. Earlier, during the attacks, I wasn’t fully aware of the problems you faced. I was mostly hibernating. Moreover, I was not with Shadows then; even if I wasn’t hibernating, there was no one in Unio with whom I could talk or trust. I’m explaining this to clarify it. Luna’s father died in the first attack; no one knows who the attackers were yet. Who could Luna have gone to? She was a few years younger then, still a child in my eyes. Anyone could have been the attacker. They would have caught her; what would they have done to her? No one would get anything out of me if I didn’t want to, but her? I’m explaining this to make it clear; I’ll tell your partner the same thing.” Taj stopped suddenly. “Your idea, it should work, with some additional help from my side. For now, it would be better to focus on this, not on looking for the old concepts,” he added.

  Lukai looked at him and suddenly had a question.

  “What did you use when we sparred? Did you hide this weapon, or is it something you as a hologram can do?”

  “It is not a hologram, how I appear; it is an energy projection of one of my bodies. To better explain, the energy I possessed when I was alive, before I was transferred to Crystal, can create my body. Me, speaking in the simplest way, one of me from the moment from my past I decide I want to use. Is it understandable?” Taj asked.

  “It means that what I see is you from the past, and it is not a real body but an energy creation, an energy version of your body?” Lukai asked.

  “Yes. The more energy I take from outside, the more real is my projection,” he added.

  “Does it mean that you could achieve a real biological body?” Lukai was very curious.

  “I assume so. I never did that.” Taj answered.

  “Why?” Lukai almost shouted.

  It was fascinating, what possibilities… that in the old times they figured out something like this.

  Was Taj immortal? A good question.

  “I felt too much.”

  That was the answer, and hearing it, Lukai recalled that he had said something like this before.

  “About my fighting technique, I was a morpher. Now it doesn’t matter whether I say it or not, so, to explain what I did, I morphed,” Taj added.

  Lukai was surprised. Then he remembered something from the notes from this lost case.

  “There was Elder that could morph. But his name wasn’t Taj.”

  “My Sect name was different.”

  “I know. It fits. So, you are Elder—An, Elder An? The Clar family member, is this why you are in the e.i. form that only Clar can activate? Then, you, being Clar, also have their knowledge stored, as you mentioned? Would you kindly tell me more? Could you teach me?” Lukai asked.

  He was excited; what an opportunity!

  “… Clar. How unfortunate that this surname stuck,” Taj sighed, visibly avoiding answering other questions.

  “What? Why?” Lukai was surprised by this comment.

  Why was this important?

  “A giggle of fate,” Taj said.

  He was about to say something more, but then they heard a loud explosion. They looked at each other and ran to the other arena.