The first thing to return to Ren was sound—the gentle, rhythmic trickle of the grotto's waterfall. It was a sound of pure, clean life, and it slowly drew his consciousness up from the deep, silent well of his exhaustion. He felt weightless, cradled in a cool, gentle embrace.
He opened his eyes. The multi-hued light of the grotto's crystals shimmered above him, reflected in the perfectly clear water that surrounded him. He was floating in the sacred pool, the water itself seeming to support him, its vibrant energy seeping into his weary limbs like a balm. Shiro was awake, resting on his chest, a warm, solid weight. The small snake nudged Ren's chin, a gesture of reassurance.
A slow, immense movement nearby drew his gaze. Kasai, the Great Turtle, was resting at the edge of the pool, his colossal form filling a large portion of the cavern. The last vestiges of the blight were gone from his ancient shell, and his deep, earthy brown eyes watched Ren with a calm, patient wisdom. The oppressive feeling of the mire was a distant memory; here, there was only a profound peace.
"You wake," Kasai's voice rumbled in his mind, as gentle as the shifting of tectonic plates. "The spirit of a Guardian burns fiercely. I feared you had burned yourself to ash."
"You are… safe," Ren managed, his own thoughts feeling slow and distant. "The Heart is broken."
"It is," the turtle confirmed. "Thanks to a courage that this Mire has not witnessed in a thousand years. You have paid a heavy price for my freedom, Little Serpent. Lie still. Let the waters of my predecessor's final resting place restore you. It will take time."
Ren relaxed, letting the healing water do its work. He had no strength to do otherwise. He and Kasai remained in a comfortable silence for what felt like hours, the only sound the soft trickle of the waterfall. As strength slowly returned to Ren's body, so did the questions.
"The others… the Hollow?" Ren finally asked.
"They fled," Kasai answered. "Their will is strong, but their courage is brittle. When their leader fell and their ritual was undone, they scattered into the swamp like frightened minnows. They will not trouble this place again for a time."
"The leader…" Ren remembered Shiro's desperate, final attack.
"Your companion was formidable," the great turtle said, a note of deep respect in his voice. "He did not kill the leader, but struck him with a blow of pure energy that overwhelmed his dark magic and cast him into unconsciousness. While you slept, I took the liberty of securing him."
Ren pushed himself up slightly, his eyes wide with surprise. "You have him? A prisoner?"
"The debt owed to you is great," Kasai explained. "Freedom is but the first payment. Knowledge is the second. The battle for the Weald was won with force. The battle for the Mire was won with strategy. But the war against the Unraveling will be won with knowledge." Kasai's ancient eyes seemed to gaze at something far beyond the grotto walls. "He is bound by living roots at the heart of my pool, shielded from his master's call. He is weak, and his mind is in turmoil. He is a well of information, if we can find a way to draw from it."
The implications of this were staggering. Ren had been so focused on survival and destruction that the idea of taking a prisoner, of gathering intelligence, had never even occurred to him. He had been a soldier, fighting the battle in front of him. Kasai, with the wisdom of millennia, was already thinking of the war to come.
Ren slowly eased himself out of the healing pool, his body weak but his mind sharp and clear. He stood on the mossy bank, Shiro coiling onto his arm. He was no longer just a boy on a mission. He was part of a council, an alliance forged between the young, dynamic power of the Serpent's Mark and the ancient, enduring strength of the Mire's Guardian.
He looked at Kasai, then thought of the unconscious Hollow leader, a living key to the enemy's plans, now held captive in their midst. Their victory was more complete than he had realized. But it had brought with it a new, complex challenge. How do you interrogate a man who worships nothingness? How do you threaten a fanatic whose ultimate goal is the erasure of all things?
The next stage of their fight would not be fought with magic and fury, but with wits and will, in the silent depths of a broken mind.