{{NavChap|[[Chapter VII - Slaying and Polishing]]|[[Chronicles of the First Crusade#Table of contents|Table of contents]]|[[Chapter IX - Solitude]]}}

The voice was that of the Black Mask. Faith disappeared and despair overcame Pü. Frozen with horror, he instantly turned around and put on his amplifiers. Damn him. He should never have left Niï alone, he knew it. Infusing all the sap he could into his legs, he pumped up his muscles and accelerated. The pit was only a few strides away, everything would be fine soon. But just as he was about to leap, the sky darkened. Pü looked up: a huge piece of fire-blackened bark was falling. He tried to swerve to dodge the impending collision, but too much accumulated speed caused his left leg to give way under the sudden change in direction. Pü collapsed on the edge of the pit and only had time to see his brother, his feet in the air, his body pierced by one of the huge black legs of a kinrey, before the black block hit him full force and his head hit the ground hard. Instinctively, he infused his skull with Sap to repair the trauma, but a black veil was already beginning to blur his vision. No, he couldn't go into a coma! Not now! He concentrated as hard as he could on the brain injury, the only point of light in the darkness. But then his senses shut down, one by one, and he sank.}}

{{NavChap|[[Chapter VII - Slaying and Polishing]]|[[Chronicles of the First Crusade#Table of contents|Table of contents]]|[[Chapter IX - Solitude]]}}