It was the darkest hour of night. Ethan and his friends had almost reached the canyon when they heard the roar of the first Gloam and caught a glimpse of the sulphurous glow emitted by it. Kite started to bark furiously and ran towards the light.

 

It was not possible to follow him through the forest on horseback. So the riders got off their horses and hurriedly tethered them to tree trunks around them. Shura tried to slow kite down by calling his name repeatedly, but in vain. He was just too excited to listen to her anyway. So they ran after him as fast as they could.

 

Luckily for them, the forest was not dense at this place. So it did not take them long to reach the opening where Juran and his companions were being attacked by the Gloams.

 

The two dark Gloams had jumped in front of the Sarohans just as the four of them appeared in the scene. No one noticed them as they were too busy in fending off those monsters. With their swords Juran and Astor kept on slicing the darkness with arcs of flame and hurling flashes of lightening into them. But the swords were more effective in close combats and they failed to inflict any serious injury to the beasts.

 

The Gloams were getting fiercer with every passing second and the men started to fall back. As Ethan and his team watched them they knew that they would not be able to defeat even single one of those monsters in a one-to-one fight. The only way to exterminate them was to launch a massive attack at both of them at a time.

 

"Ethan!" Ahir called out.

 

Ethan nodded. There was only one thing to do and both of them had got it.

 

"Lie Down! Everyone!" He cried out at the top of his voice.

 

The Sarohans and the Cerebs were surprised to see a group of people suddenly popping out behind them. But Juran acted fast.

 

"Get down!" He shouted as he lay face down himself, covering the back of his head with his hands.

 

As Ahir brought down his fists on the ground, numerous fissures spread from below his fists and cracked open the forest floor behind them. Several trees were uprooted and jerked up in a violent thrust. Ethan held his sword up above his head and in a swift motion pointed it towards the charging monsters. With a ear-shattering whooshing sound the uprooted trees flew towards the beasts. They caught fire mid air and like huge missiles of fire they struck the Gloams all at once. The monsters were buried under the weight of those burning trees and were engulfed in the raging inferno. In a few seconds they were completely hidden behind the wall of the red tongues of flame.

 

The men stood up and fell back more and more as the wave of heat rushed at them. The forest behind them had taken an abominable look. The ground was filled with innumerable cracks and huge craters lay agape at places where a few seconds ago the ancients trees had stood.

 

'So many lives are lost! Trees, birds, animals! Forgive us, please!' Ethan said in his mind as he stood there, his head hung between his shoulders.

 

"So we meet again!" Astor said as he came up to Ethan and stood in front of him.

 

Ethan glanced at him, but without saying anything he turned towards Juran. "So we found you, at last!" He said.

 

"Yes, you did!" Juran said happily as Ahir and Liz huddled themselves against him. "Hey! It's alright!" He said, visibly embarrassed.

 

A brief smile formed on Ethan’s face at this touching sight of reunion. But the next moment, his face darkened.

 

"Will you tell me why we all are here?" He asked Juran.

 

"I’ll tell you, Forger," Astor said before Juran could open his mouth. "He brought us here to find out how the Demons controlled the power of Dark, so that we can stop these horrible Gloams from appearing. I think he wanted you to be here, too."

 

Juran didn’t reply. It was Lucen who spoke.

 

"I can see who you are, stranger." He said, measuring Ethan with a cautious look in his eyes. Then he turned to Shura. "Welcome back, Shura!" He said in a warm voice.

 

"Thank you, Lucen!" Shura said, brightening up.

 

"Let’s go the village, then. It’s light already." Lucen said and led the way to the wooden pool that lay further ahead on their left. Thankfully enough, the pool was at a distance and the devastating battle with the Gloams had not been able to affect it at all.

 

The pool was quite a challenge in itself. Made of strips of wood and bamboo and supported by ropes only, it barely hung in the balance. The wind rushing through the gorge made it swing from side to side every now and then. But the people on this side were not going to cringe from its treacherous look. Carefully, they led their horses and crossed the pool one by one.

 

The Sarohans had made their homes inside mountain caves. A broad ledge jutted out from the side of the enormous mountain in front of them. A flight of steps winded their way to the ledge from the forest ground below.

 

"Welcome to our village!" Astor said as he led the newcomers to the flight of stairs. "Leave your horses here. Our people will look after them."

 

So they climbed the stairs to the mountain ledge and found themselves in front of a huge cave.

 

"This is our main entrance. Come inside, everyone!" Astor ushered them inside the cave.

 

Ethan couldn’t help but marvel at the enormity of the place and the layout of the dwelling places inside it. The main cave was a long tunnel, winding though the mountain belly for many a mile. It was flanked by entrances to other caves on both sides. ‘Like the inside of an anthill!’ Ethan said to himself.

 

They followed Lucen through the tunnel for a long time. At last they arrived at a large open space. It was circular in shape, encased by a wall of emerald green rock on all sides. A single pillar of snow white rock rose from the middle of the cave to its ceiling far above their head. The ceiling itself was circular in shape, making the whole place look like a giant emerald cylinder.

 

Ethan couldn’t believe his own eyes. ‘How could such a place exist inside a mountain cave?’ He thought, bewildered.

 

An old man sat in lotus position at the foot of the white pillar. He was in deep meditation with his eyes closed. Lucen kneeled down in front of him at a distance and with a gesture of his hand indicated others to sit as well. Silently, everyone obeyed him.

 

Slowly, the man opened his eyes. With a calm smile in his face he asked Lucen, "Why do you have brought all these guests to me?"

 

"They want to know something which only you can tell them, Father." Lucen said reverently.

 

"Why do you want to know about Forbidden Ceremonies, son?" He asked Juran.

 

Juran’s face didn’t show any sign of surprise. "If you can tell what we come for, then you know why we come, too, Father." He said in a calm voice.

 

The man sighed. "Come with me, son." He said, looking at Ethan and stood up from his position. Ethan stood up too and followed him without any question. In this old man he could feel the aura of a calm and benevolent authority which was impossible to ignore.

 

The man touched the pillar with both his palm and the pillar opened vertically at the middle. He stepped into it with Ethan closely behind him. In front of the people waiting outside the pillar closed again, leaving no sign of any opening upon its smoothly polished body.

 

Inside it, Ethan stood in complete darkness. But he could see the outline of the man who had been standing there in front of him. "Here we meet again, Nergalan." A familiar voice buzzed in Ethan’s ears.

 

Ethan felt as if a veil of darkness was removed from his eyes. "So it was you who brought me here! But who is Nergalan?" He asked.

 

"Have you forgotten even your own name?" The same voice said in an amused tone. "The Forbidden Ceremony awakens a Demon’s heart. Look within yourself. You’ll know the answer."

 

Once again darkness sipped through Ethan’s consciousness. His human form reduced to a whirlwind of energy particles and hurtled into a time and space which had long become a part of distant past.

 

Slowly, his consciousness returned.

 

"NERGALAN! WHERE ARE YOU?"

 

Someone was calling him by his name.