Skala didn't know how to respond to Siye's answer; he had too many questions he wanted to ask.
Siye continued, "Hasn't he always been here? When you left Tok-Aak, he was already with two apprentices, helping to care for the injured, and he even led an evening prayer."
"You don't remember?"
Skala fell silent for a moment, then stood up and walked towards "Tuke."
The old witch doctor was talking about how the "flame of faith" illuminated the hearts of night travelers, his tone smooth and steady, sounding as if he had memorized it from a doctrine manual.
But Skala knew those weren't the Dragon God's doctrines, nor did they resemble the teachings of the loa.
He used vague, neutral terms, such as "the Giver of Revelation," "after the Shadow," and "awakened by the sleepless fire."
The longer Skala listened, the more uneasy he felt.
He took a step forward: "Are you new here?"
Tuke turned his head, revealing a face mottled with wrinkles, with no hint of surprise in his eyes.
"Skala," he called out his name with a smile, "You're still as vigilant as ever, just like when we argued by the shrine."
"You…"
"It's normal for you to forget," Tuke said calmly. "You've been under too much burden lately. Too much pressure, it's normal not to remember things."
Skala stared at him, saying nothing.
Tuke said no more, only patting his shoulder as if comforting an old friend.
"You rest. I'll check on these people's condition for you."
Then he turned and continued talking to the tribesmen in the camp.
Not a single person found it strange.
Not a single person showed that he was "newly joined."
That night, Skala called an emergency meeting.
Only core believers attended.
He calmly stated his suspicions: Tuke did not belong to their group, he didn't remember when he joined, nor his background before joining, and even the terms he used were not within any known belief system.
The first to object, however, was Gollon.
"What are you talking about?" The old soldier frowned. "You invited him yourself."
"The day we left Tok-Aak, you even told him, 'Don't always put on a face and lecture young people.' I heard it clearly."
"I didn't say that." Skala tried to keep his tone calm.
"You did," Gollon said emphatically.
"He's the one with the firmest faith and the most complete ritual knowledge among us."
Siye also nodded: "Tuke has always been the spiritual pillar of our team. Haven't you often asked him to preside over missionary meetings?"
Skala looked at Toka.
The young hunter hesitated for a moment: "I also remember… he treated my leg injury. He even gave me a bone charm."
That bone charm was still hanging from Toka's waist.
Skala stared at it for a long time.
It was not Obsidian's divine emblem, nor any loa's totem, but a grayish-white stone piece carved with extremely fine craftsmanship.
The surface seemed to have no pattern, but under the firelight, spiral dark patterns could be seen, layered and faintly visible, as if flowing.
Skala suddenly felt his throat tighten.
That was not something left by the loa they believed in.
But now, everyone remembered it had always been there.
He was the only one who didn't remember Tuke.
No… he was the only one whose memory hadn't been "implanted."
Skala suddenly realized this point.
Since the mastermind could "edit" everyone's memories, he could certainly "implant" a false memory.