"Leonard, don't worry, I stopped him," Althea said. Lydias's eyes were wide with surprise. He stood paralyzed, leaning over me. Orb's light danced on the razor's edge. His hand was warm, so was the blade's handle.

  My blood boiled.

  *She?*

  I pushed the sharp blade away from me.

  *She moved my hand?*

  Rustling behind me.

  Corvus, a blurred figure, crossed the room in an instant. He slammed Lydias onto the wall in front of me. Pressed him down onto the floor below the window. A knee driven hard into his back and a dagger pressed to his neck. The equipment on the table on the right clattered across the floor.

  *But the seal was supposed to-*

  Two other guards burst inside.

  They dashed to me quickly, their daggers ready to strike. The polished blades pointing outward, their backs close to me. I raised on the chair.

  *I didn't even register my hand's movement back then.*

  "Nobody moves," one guard growled. I think it was Severus, "Saint Leonard, are you alright?"

  "Yes, I think I am, give me a moment," I said, but he was already grabbing me from the chair, "We're leaving, Saint Leona-"

  "Stop, I said wait!" I shouted at the guards.

  They froze, but insisted, "We can assess the situation outside," the guard's grip tightened, "now the priority is to get you out of here."

  I stood up, the cut hair on my shoulders fell on the floor without a sound. They turned me like a stubborn child toward the exit.

  *Althea, she said seal separates our minds!*

  Corvus behind me was still pinning down the barber. The "tailors" were huddled on my right, at the opposite side of the room. They cowered near the wardrobe. Shock and fear painted on their faces. Marcus spooked me earlier but now he seemed genuinely terrified.

  I marched toward the exit, asking, "Althea, what happened?"

  "This was dangerous, he could end your life in an instant," she said calmly, seal pulsed like crazy. "This was an unacceptable risk. I had to act."

  *She can move my body to protect me?*

  All my muscles were tense, ready.

  *What a double-edged sword.*

  *It may save me from danger I'll miss, but the very idea of her taking control over my body was terrifying.*

  "Althea, why? He's just a barber." I glanced at poor Lydias. He lay down flat, sobbing quietly, "Please, don't hurt me, I just did my job, please."

  Althea didn't falter. She said coldly, "He was holding a blade at your throat and-"

  I stopped, interrupting her. "It's his job, Althea."

  The guards gently but without hesitation pushed me toward the exit. I moved, slowly.

  *This is absurd.*

  *I was afraid, I could admit that, but isn't she overreacting?*

  "Something was not right, Leonard," she insisted. Pulsing on my wrist, not warm anymore - hot. "For a moment I sensed... an intruder in Pandora's domain."

  "Intruder in spirit world?" I asked, puzzled.

  "Yes."

  I stopped again, turning to Evadne, my body halted the guards.

  "High Priestess, do you know these people?" I asked, waving my hand across the room.

  Evadne stood near the exit door with the wall behind her back. Hands flat on the cold stone, like she was trying to hold it from falling. Or herself.

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  "I know Lydias," her voice shaky, "he was the one shaving you all this time, when you were unconscious."

  "See, Althea? Evadne trusts him."

  "And I do not," Althea said. Coldly.

  "Well, I trust her, and she trusts him," I inhaled damp air deeply, "and we're doing this."

  "This is a mistake, Leonard." Althea didn't give up. That fact alone made my instincts scream - danger. Run.

  *What if she's right? I don't know these people. But better safe than sorry.*

  "I hear you, Althea. I won't let him shave me." I came closer to Evadne and took her hands from the wall, fixing them in front of her like she usually does.

  "Evadne, can you shave me? I have a meeting to attend." My breath was uneven, heart still pounding in my ears, and I would give a kingdom for a bath like yesterday. But all I had now was this peculiar situation.

  She opened her mouth and inhaled, but in the end, just nodded in response.

  "Corvus, Severus, stay with me, close." I ordered my guards, then I addressed the third, "And you, whoever you are, take Lydias away and do something with him. I don't think he had bad intentions, but you'll know better what to do."

  The third guard gave a curt nod, hauled the sobbing Lydias to his feet, and dragged him unceremoniously from the room.

  The guards were on high alert, which was reassuring.

  Rest of the personnel remained huddled at the far end of the room. Without the barber, Evadne started to clean up the mess on the floor, and I helped her.

  After a few quiet clicks and clanks that broke the silence, I landed heavily on the chair, making it screech on the floor.

  A deep, loud sigh left me. I rubbed my temples intensively to lessen the growing headache, and Evadne took the polished razor in her trembling hand.

  I placed my sweaty hands on the hard, wooden armrests and turned my head toward the still frightened crowd.

  "I'm sorry, I forgot your name," I waved at the etiquette instructor.

  "He's Ireneus", Althea chimed in, like nothing happened.

  "Ah, Ireneus, thanks Althea, continue please," and I invited him closer.

  But the man stood glued to the wardrobe, probably intimidated by Corvus standing between him and me.

  I shifted my focus to Evadne, her hand was still trembling. She tried to steady it with her other hand. Her face softened when she said, "Give me calm, Aide Micheal."

  Razor became motionless, as if an unseen hand steadied hers. She was shaving me carefully, with surgical precision, the blade smoothly traversing my skin, without a single scratch.

  She glanced from time to time at my burning cheeks, at pulsating vein at my neck. Looked deeply into my widened eyes, like looking for comfort.

  "Althea, you said the seal is to ensure my actions are mine alone, but you moved my hand?" I said, Evadne studied the razor, but she was clearly listening.

  "This was an exception, Leonard." Althea said bluntly.

  "What do you mean exception?" I dropped the polite facade.

  "To protect you, Leonard," she said compassionately, "I will always protect you."

  "I a-appreciate, but we'll get back to this, Althea."

  Evadne dropped the razor back on the table. A little too loudly, as if she was throwing away an ugly bug.

  The tailors didn't have their job any easier either. Their every movement was watched closely by my guards, and Severus remained close to me, within arm's reach, all the time.

  The simple white robe they'd provided gave me a more priestly look in the mirror. Graceful, dignified.

  *Now I look like I'm about to preach about Pandora.*

  "This is more fitting the Saint," Evadne said with wide grin, "that you are becoming." She added, which made me a little nervous.

  *Saint. No pressure, but you're a holy figure in an alien world now, Leonard.*

  We walked out of the room. My eyes still had shades below them, and while my thin body looked much better than before, I still had a way to go.

  "Your skin is still pale, marking you an outsider." Evadne said softly. With care in it, but still the comment stung a little, "You're still lacking the healthy glow bestowed only by prolonged exposure to Pandora's Light," she continued, "but fret not, that will change soon."

  She then adjusted the drape of my robe one last time, ensuring it fell perfectly. Corvus nodded, taking the lead.

  We left the "prep" personnel shivering in the room, and walked out into dimly lit hallway. Wide enough for a car to pass, with thick pillars. Pine-like scent of incense prickled the nose when I breathed mild air.

  Corvus's steps were silent despite the guard's armor. Evadne walked beside me, keeping a professional distance but close enough to offer support. Severus melted back into the shadows behind us, a barely perceptible shimmer against the stone walls—a constant, unnerving presence.

  We descended spiraling ramps, leaving the familiar, rough-hewn stone of the upper Temple behind.

  As we passed the impenetrable, ancient doors to the underground, the air grew cooler. Drier. Filtered from dust and any other imperfections.

  The sounds of the Temple faded away. We were left with the silence, which was interrupted only by our own echoing footsteps.

  The walls here were different. Smoother. Made of a rough grey that absorbed the faint light from the glowing ovals that were sunk in the ceiling.

  I reached out. My fingers traced one of the angular symbols etched into the cool surface. It was barely visible and unreadable.

  *How much time passed since somebody created these symbols?*

  Faint, barely felt vibration resonated on my palms.

  "This is the Heart of the Temple," Evadne told me. "Built by the First Men. Their power... endures."

  "These corridors," I murmured. My gaze distant, recalling my world, "they're completely different."

  "What's below us?" I asked in between of quiet taps of our boots on the floor.

  "Pandora's heart," she said with reverence, then added like a warning, "but only a select few can enter. Come."

  As we moved further, the silence mixed with a distant, chaotic murmur that echoed up from the depths ahead.

  The air grew thicker, heavier, carrying unfamiliar scents—damp earth, livestock, and the sharp tang of burnt metal.

  Corvus stopped before an arched gateway of tarnished bronze. Massive frame was flanked by two imposing Temple Sentinels in heavy plate armor.

  The air around them was sharp with the clean smell of polished steel, weapon oil, and leather.

  Corvus turned, his masked face unreadable.

  "Saint Leonard, High Priestess," he said.

  "We have arrived."

  And we stepped through the gateway into the Magichariot Port.

  The roar hit us like a physical blow. A wave of noise, heat, and the overwhelming stench of the crowd.