They all planned to leave the next day. Meanwhile, resting in each of their respective rooms they were still digesting all of the facts that Sharlotte had delivered them the past hour.
Juvo. A Sacred Book. A way to get back to their normal lives. It all blended together to form a blurry amalgamation. It was definitely another crime altogether, but at a greater price. If they could somehow, capture Juvo, they might get the prize they all craved for. The Gods were all-powerful beings.
But all of this did not affect Sanduo much. He was reading through the diaries. It gave him peace and serenity to be engulfed in what others had experienced. He read how they had suffered, how they spent their time in Afterlife.
While continuing to do so, he stumbled on a startling fact:
Today, I went to see my mother. I had always wanted to know her. She had passed away when I was five. Apparently, her expiry time is much greater than mine. She is having a good time here. Now I see, she was a woman without guilt, without greed. A simple decent lady. I now visit her frequently. I can't begin to describe how much I like these chats...
He closed the diary. His eyes, wide open and off-focused, his mind rocketing thorough emotions, he was now beginning to understand what he really craved for.
My daughter.
A martyr of war, she was the priceless possession he once had that had been taken away from him by the inconsistency of mortality. He loved her, even though she was not his own child. An adoption, a full human, like the rest of the crew excluding Drio. She was only twenty-six when she had gone to fight in that war as a soldier. She was fearless, he had known that. Even from age one, she had shown startling actions of bravery and agility way past her age. Killing fatal reptiles, climbing cupboards and then jumping accurately to land on beds, he was afraid at first but he knew scolding would have no effect. Before even mastering a language she had mastered stealth, and that he admired. He had tried to get her everything he could from his salary and keep her happy.
But regardless, she met death before him.
Drops of water, a little saline, landed on the bedsheet, slowly getting absorbed by the fabric. He crunched his hands as his body shivered in the overflow of emotions. I'm going, to meet my daughter. Tomorrow, before anything!
__________
Daylight caused his eyes to squint. He sat up, rubbing his sleepiness off. The sky was still filled with a variety of colours like the previous day, but this time, he saw the sun. He felt its warmth.
But was it real? Or was it all, just an elaborate hoax?
He tried to stay positive.
Pulling the blanket out, he stepped on the creaking wooden floor. Drinking a glass of water, he went downstairs. Nobody could be seen except the senceptian.
Saaret quickly turned to him, "Oh sir, good morning."
He nodded and came down.
"The others have gone out for a walk, to feel the sun, to experience... Afterlife. I can take you to them if you want."
"Saaret... I... have a question I would like to ask," he couldn't look him in the eyes.
"What's the matter?"
"I would like to see someone," he managed and looked straight at the senceptian. His eyes were watery.
He smiled. The same malevolence clinged on to it. "I see. You read about it. No problem. It's only obvious for you to ask. It's the first thing many desire to do after coming here. So, tell me. Whom would you like to see?" He crossed his hands and leaned on the table.
"My daughter. You wouldn't know who she is so I sh-"
"Radhika," he cut him out.
Sanduo's eyes opened widely as he looked with awe at him, his body paralytic. "H-how..."
"I have got complete information of each and every one of you. I know more than you think you know yourself. And... for Sharlotte, well... I have much debate going within myself to arrive upon decisions but nonetheless, I trust her." He smiled, "What the mission speaks of, is her destiny. You all should accompany her, and though Sierra had forbidden me to bring anything, I had brought tea for you and while arriving, I was really pleased to hear that you all had finally laid trust on that poor soul. Oh, and you might say that you never got the tea I'm mentioning. Well, your conversations intrigued me, so I had them all myself. I apologise for eavesdropping. There's still more to her than you know though, things that only I have accessed other than her. You would get to know more soon, I hope, but meanwhile, let me take you to your daughter," he laid his hand out.
Sanduo gulped, then clasped the skeletal senceptian hand hesitantly, "Yes please."
__________
They walked on the purple soil, with the senceptian leading the way.
"So how far is she?"
Saaret turned around to answer but kept walking, "More than you think."
Sanduo glanced ahead after all this time fumbling with his fingers. He was uncertain what to expect. He was going to see his daughter after two years. How much could she have changed?
"Have you personally acquainted with her?" Sanduo asked curiously.
"Well, I have, obviously. It's my job. In addition to that, I should also mention that she came here with some of her fellow soldiers. It's war, there are a lot of fatalities. She's been living with them ever since."
"Ah, nice. My girl isn't lonely then. That's good to hear. So...um...how are we going to reach her? You mentioned she is far off."
"Here," Saaret stepped aside.
As Sanduo began to take the scene wholly, he began to understand exactly what he was going to get himself into. His head started to ache and dizziness came rising in all of a sudden.
"Just close your eyes. The sight alone is enough to drive you mad. Superposition isn't a surface phenomenon in the human world so..." as he turned to look at Sanduo he stopped. He had pulled his shirt above his head. "Meh, that would work too."
Sanduo showed a thumbs up. "Guide me!"
Ahead of them was a small area of land; in superposition with another. How far was the other? Well, even Saaret wasn't sure about that.