Toka wanted to say, "We've found a new god," but when he opened his mouth, nothing came out.
Then the next sentence was wrong:
"We cannot abandon her, even if there is another loa."
Toka froze.
This sentence was wrong.
At that time… the new loa hadn't appeared yet.
But in the dream, everyone argued as if nothing was amiss, some even holding up the Dragon God's divine emblem and shouting, "The new loa has responded," as if mixing two completely different nights.
He wanted to say something, but his throat still couldn't make a sound.
Xilika stood in front of the snow leopard totem, draped in beast hide, her face half-hidden in her hood, and turned to ask him:
"Do you still remember her face?"
Toka was stunned.
"Hakkah's face," she said, "Do you still remember it?"
Toka wanted to say "yes," but he couldn't recall a single image.
He only remembered that she was a snow leopard, a god, a mother, snow.
But he couldn't remember her face.
A breath of wind blew past.
The snow leopard totem in front of the shrine broke with a "bang," its cross-section empty, as if its head had never been carved.
He woke up with a start.
— Divider —
Siye dreamed of fire.
Not the real campfire, but the forest fire before the tribe was besieged.
She dreamed she was standing on the edge of the old forest of Uglo, and Frost Howl warriors came down from the hillside, carrying torches, setting the forest on fire row by row.
She remembered that night. They were burning the forest path to facilitate their charge.
But the fire in the dream was wrong.
The flames of the trees seemed to ignite from within, constantly exploding, not like real fire, but more like a light that devoured souls.
There was a bear in the forest.
Not a wild bear, but Rhunok. The deity they once believed in.
He lay in the fire, not struggling, nor roaring, only his burning figure, collapsing little by little in the flames, his bones crackling as they were roasted by the fire.
She stood by the fire, and a voice came from behind her:
"He actually wanted to stay."
She turned around; it was Skala, but his face was blurry.
"But you let him leave."
He pointed to the shattered bone charm on her chest.
"You chose a new one," he said.
She wanted to argue, but suddenly couldn't remember what Rhunok had actually said.
From childhood, she had indeed "heard" his whispers in her dreams, but now, that voice was completely gone.
Only charred wood, silent totems, and the bear lying in the fire remained.
She lowered her head; the bone charm was heating up, as if burning, but she couldn't bear to take it off.
The next moment, a deep echo came from the forest fire:
"You chose him… you chose him… you chose him…"
She woke up with a start, her forehead covered in fine sweat, her breathing rapid.
Outside the tent, the sky was still dark.
But the wind, finally, began to blow.
— It was as cold as if it had blown out of a dream.
— Divider —
At dawn, the wind had not stopped, but the snow had.
Everything looked no different from the previous days.
But Toka's eyes were off.
He sat at the edge of the camp, sharpening his spear, his movements as usual, but he never looked up once.
The stone made a harsh screeching sound as it ground against the spear blade, but he didn't stop, as if he hadn't noticed.
Gollon walked over and kicked him, which finally brought him back to his senses.
"What are you doing? You're going to start a fire."
Toka paused, flipped the spear over, and said in a low voice, "I… I thought it wasn't light yet."
"It's light now." Gollon frowned, "Why do you look so bad?"
He didn't answer.
A few meters away, Siye sat by an old stone pillar, her hair still damp; she had taken off her divine emblem and held it in her hand, staring at the bone charm.
"What are you looking at?" Skala asked.
Siye looked up, her expression faint: "I'm looking to see if it's cracked."
"It's already cracked."
"Not that one," she said, "I feel… it cracked again last night. But now I can't find it."
Her eyes were calm when she said this, as if stating the weather.
But Skala stared at the bone charm for a long time, saying nothing.
The bone charm had no cracks, exactly the same as last night, not even the stitching was broken.
"What did you dream about?" he asked.
"Fire," she said, "a very big fire."
After speaking, she stood up, put the divine emblem back around her neck, and said nothing more.
Skala glanced at the camp; the others were also waking up, nothing unusual, even quieter than the previous days.
Too quiet.
Not the quiet of "strict discipline," but rather that no one spoke voluntarily, everyone seemed to still be in a dream, not fully awake.
He didn't wait any longer, directly calling Gollon and Toka to pack up.
"We need to get moving today," he said, "We're going to see that totem house."
Siye didn't object, only asking, "Should we bring fire?"