Campfire

When Duncan jolted awake, the starlight spilling everywhere swiftly drew back in. The desert, almost saturated with starlight, quickly returned to normal, and Tarquin breathed a sigh of relief as well.

Then this "Eternal Burning Hearth" turned and glanced at Vana, who stood not far away.

While the starlight had spread, Vana had been almost entirely unaffected—indeed, she had seemed not even to notice the spreading glow. Like Duncan, she had merely been lost in thought, only now belatedly raising her head to look around.

Faint lavender starlight lingered along the edges of her silver-white hair, as though it had existed there long ago and had only now revealed itself under some kind of "illumination."

"You have gradually been changed by the Flame Usurper's power and are beginning to become an extension of his strength," Tarquin said, breaking the silence. He gave Vana a slight nod. "This confirms my judgment—the Flame Usurper's essence is not those flames, but what lies hidden beneath them."

Vana had finally begun to understand what the captain and this "ancient god" before her had been discussing. Her expression shifted several times, thoughtful contemplation in her eyes.

"Strictly speaking, you have never truly set foot in this world, Flame Usurper," Tarquin said, turning his gaze back to Duncan. "You have always observed all things in the Boundless Sea through a veil. Only occasionally have you perceived its fleeting 'true face' with 'your own eyes.' And the 'end of the flames' you mentioned—I can imagine what it is—arises precisely from this limitation.

"Navigator One's 'takeover' rests upon your need to continue the shelter. And to continue the shelter means maintaining your 'cognition' of its current state. To maintain that cognition of its current state... you must be 'Duncan.'"

Tarquin paused here, seemingly leaving Duncan time to think,