“The first thing Pü saw when he regained consciousness was the large head of a Kami sentinel. A couple of multicolored birds were perched on it. If he had never encountered such Kamis since then, his mother - a good draughtsman in her lifetime - used a notebook to illustrate her teachings. Pü hadn't forgotten any of these lessons, and remembered the four types of sentinel that had so far been catalogued. Although very different from one another, they all had one thing in common: an impressive size, especially when compared to the most usual Kamis. The sentinel currently leaning over Pü was three meters tall and was one of those protecting the jungles of Atys. Like the Black Kami, its face was provided with two white, empty eyes. The difference, however, was that the fur covering her was not deep black, but showed a creamy hue. If she had a mouth, it was masked by the thick pilosity that formed an enormous moustache on which an homin could have perched. Two pairs of long black hairs on either side of his head finally gave him an amused look. An air that contrasted with the creature's formidable physique. For these Kamis had two broad shoulders to which were attached two gigantic arms, as well as particularly muscular chest and abdomen, highlighted by the absence of fur there. Essentially quadrupedal, they moved along the ground on the soles of their feet and the phalanges of their folded hands. They were said to be able to reach impressive speeds on the ground, despite their size and weight. But their long arms also enabled them to climb jungle trees and leap from branch to branch.
Lying back on a downy heap of moss, staring haggardly at the sentry, Pü finally straightened up and surveyed the surroundings. Judging by the vegetation, he was sure he was in the jungle. A jungle abundant with colorful flowers, which never seemed to have known winter. The Zoraï lifted the mask and caught a glimpse of the sky through the green treetops. Although he was convinced he had reached the Prime Roots, he was unquestionably on the surface. Yet the sensation of losing all consistency, then going down through the Zo'laï Gong, was still vivid. Only moments ago, his body had been sinking along the roots of Atys, drawn by the luminous star beating in his heart. And all around him, there was no trace of the network of light that had then superimposed itself on his gaze. Everything was back to normal.
- "The Black Kami has teleported you, my boy. You are now transported to the heart of the Eternal Garden."
Pü rose to his full height and put again his gaze at the sentry. She was perfectly still. Only the light breeze animated her coat and her long moustache. The absence of winter in this part of the jungle confirmed that he was in the Eternal Garden, a particularly mysterious region of never-ending spring. Located to the east of Zoran, it formed a gigantic labyrinth in permanent reconfiguration, which most Zoraïs of the Theocracy visited only once during their lifetime. It was here, in fact, that the Kamis took Zoraïs about to leave childhood, so that they could undergo the Ritual of Adoption. The rest of the time, the doors of the labyrinth remained closed.
The Ritual of Adoption was a complex series of ceremonies, lasting up to several months, at the end of which participants “received” their “kinship” mask, in honor of Cho, the first masked Zoraï, and Jena, the mother of hominity. For the tribe of Pü, the Adoption Ritual was nothing more than a vulgar pagan comedy serving two main purposes. The first, in very prosaic terms, was the survival of young Zoraïs, unable to support the growth of their mask without help. The Kamis, wishing to see this faithful people thrive, had complied with the Theocracy's wishes and decided to guide the ritual. After all, ceremonies or not, the Zoraïs owed their survival above all to the substances administered to them, most of which had been developed with the help of the Kamis. The second purpose was of a completely different nature, and consisted of an aggressive propaganda exercise, enabling participants to become perfect Zoraïs, loyal to the Kamis, to Jena, but also and above all to the institutions of the Theocracy. Beneath its airs of a wise and pacifist State, the Zoraï Theocracy remained a totalitarian political regime ruled by a handful of homins claiming to derive their legitimacy from a divine power. Such an ideological straitjacket, anchored since childhood, explained why the vast majority of Zoraïs were loyal to the Theocracy, but also why the rare dissident groups - such as the tribe of Pü or the Antekamis - opposed it so violently.
Of course, Pü had never taken part in the Adoption Ritual. And until then, there had been no opportunity for him to visit the Eternal Garden. He did know, however, that Grandmother Bä-Bä and his mother had been there on several occasions. This was particularly the case when the latter went to meet the Kamis so that they could help her become pregnant. At this thought, Pü bowed low to the sentinel. He owed his existence to the Kamis. He then took a few steps to stretch his legs, noticing in the process the absence of wounds inflicted by the prisoners. He had been completely healed. Hitherto motionless, the sentry's head swivelled to follow the Zoraï with his gaze, and the pair of birds nestling on his skull flew away.
- "Are you, my boy, receptive to the magnificence of this place? These flowers, in particular, are of rare splendor."
The Zoraï gazed at the many flowers surrounding him and nodded inwardly. If these specimens were indeed endemic of the Jungle, it was rare to find such imposing ones. Two flowers with white petals, halfway up a trunk, caught her eye. Their brilliance was so strong that they seemed to be bursting with light. While staring at them, the other flowers seemed to lose their color. By the time Pü realized that this was more than just an impression, the Kami had just begun to materialize. It took only a few seconds for the flowers surrounding the two white ones to lose their hue, take on a deep black robe and finally clump together. Once the divine creature had fully appeared, it floated slowly towards him, like the withered petal of a wilted rose.
Pü greeted the Kami, then watched him for several long seconds. This Kami was the one he had rescued in Zoran, and who had in return saved him from the prisoners, he was sure. But that wasn't all. He was also strangely familiar. After hesitating for a moment, he finally called out to him.
- "Greetings, Master Kami. I'm honored to have been able to help you, and thank you for rescuing me in return. One question, however, is on my mind, and I hope you'll be able to answer it. Are you the Black Kami who came to me as a child? In my mother's workshop, and during the growth of my mask?"
The divine creature tilted his head to one side. A minute passed, then, without any response. Pü knew it was often tricky to communicate with Kamis. Especially as not all of them seemed to be able to speak. Disappointed, he prepared to ask again. But at the same moment, the voice inside manifested itself.
- "Forgive my rudeness, my boy, but I'd be curious to know what the Kami's answer inspires in you. You seem to be in deep meditation. I confess I'm a bit excited by the situation."
- "What answer are you talking about?” replied Pü, without understanding what the Voice was getting at."
- "The one the Kami gave, of course."
- "Did the Kami answer anything? I heard nothing."
- "His answer was audible, though rather convoluted. He replied that he was all the Black Kamis."
Pü looked at the Kami, who was himself staring back at him with a blank gaze. Kamis were shape-shifting beings capable of teleporting over great distances. That some of them could be in several places at once didn't surprise him. On the other hand, the idea that this Kami could be all the Black Kamis escaped him. Nor did he understand why he hadn't heard him answering. Pü pricked up his ears and spoke again.
- "What happened to you, in Zoran? How did you end up in such a situation?"
Pü waited about ten seconds, and again heard nothing. He called out to the Voice… who cut him off immediately.
- "Just a moment, my boy, I'll be with you in a few seconds. I'm listening to the Kami."
Confused, Pü was about to reply, but thought better of it. Why couldn't he hear the Kami? Facing him, the creature remained perfectly still. A few frustrating seconds passed before the inner voice sounded again.
- "Please forgive my rudeness, my original intention was not to interrupt you so abruptly. As it happens, the Kami was already in Zoran at the time of the invasion. A member of the Council of Sages wished to speak with him. Then the invasion began and the Karavan arrived to rescue the people of Zoran. In their hunt, some agents came face to face with the Kami and thought they could capture him. A battle ensued. Several agents fell before one of them managed to hit the Kami with his spear. Wounded, the survivors were unfortunately overwhelmed by the flood of monsters. None of them survived. Although the Kami didn't mention it, I assume the creatures ignored him, even though they probably could have finished him off. I can't say why. Then the swarm dissipated, the Karavan flew away, and a few days later, the freed prisoners finally discover him and mounted him to the top of the Zo'laï-gong."
- "How can I be sure that the Kami is really speaking, and that you're not trying to fool me?" replied Pü in frustration.
- "Unfortunately, I'm afraid there's no way of confirming this. On the other hand, I'm rather saddened to note that you doubt me so much. Have I not been a staunch ally up to now?"
Pü thought back over the last few weeks, then sighed. Although the Voice's fatherly tone often exasperated him, he had to admit that she was telling the truth.
- "Forgive me, you're right. I'm just disappointed I can't hear him, and not to understand why."
Pü took a deep breath and thought about what the Voice had just told him. So, the Kami was already present in Zoran before the invasion began. This version completed the words of the fyros prisoner and confirmed his intuition: whether in his tribal stump or in Zoran, the Kamis had not deigned to rescue the homins. Pü gulped and calmly asked the question that had been tormenting him for weeks.
- "Something eludes me. The Kamis are all-powerful. Why didn't any of them intervene to protect the people of the Jungle? To save the members of my tribe?"
- "He confesses that the Kamis were overwhelmed by the situation, replied the Voice. It had never been considered that the Kitins would one day discover and invade the surface. The Kamis intervened in the depths of Atys to stop them, but it was already too late. All regions occupied by hominity were submerged."
Caught in a fit of anger, Pü continued on a roll, this time failing to mask his emotion.
- "I really don't understand. I thought my tribe was important to you. We were Ma-Duk's Black Warriors! We were his armed and purifying arm! The guardians of the True Faith! The scourge that descend upon heretics! We were all that. Your most faithful soldiers. Each and every one of us would have given his life for you. And today, I'm the only one left... You've abandoned us."
Pü lowered his mask, aware of the blasphemous nature of his words. He feared the Kami's reaction. But he also felt relieved to have been able to shout out what was in his heart. When the inner voice spoke, Pü understood that she was trying to spare him.
- "Be sure that I share your pain, my boy. Also, don't forget that you can always count on me if the need to talk arises. You're not on your own. As for the Kami's answer, I'm afraid it's of no comfort to you… He claims that the Sacred Warrior was the only truly essential member of your tribe, because he was the only homin without whom the Sacred War could not be fought. The Kami has always looked after you, my boy. That he got trapped in Zoran at the time of the invasion has been a terrible conjunction of circumstances."
Devastated by the lack of consideration for those closest to him, Pü dropped to his knees. His throat tightened and his heart heaved. Mechanically, his left hand went to the scabbard of his sword. A sudden desire for death had passed through him.
- "Le… Lead the Sacred War? The entire hominity has been decimated by these monsters. What's the point of waging the Sacred War if there are no more companions to unite and enemies to fight? Then this… this black mask, I shouldn't be wearing it. Niï should have been the Sacred Warrior. That was his destiny. I tattooed myself only to honor the memory of my tribe. Only because I was the last one who could do it. And I didn't survive because I fought better, or whatever. I was simply left out of the fight at the worst possible moment. A piece of bark fell on me. I should… I should have died. I wish I'd never woken up…."
- "Come on, my boy, you and I have had this discussion before. Life is a gift, and your survival a blessing. I… Ah, wait, the Kami wishes to reply…."
Several dozen seconds passed in silence. Pü, who had managed not to reach for his weapon, had dug his nails into his thighs and kept his eyes fixed on the ground, trembling. Since the massacre of his loved ones, he had thought of suicide many times. If it hadn't been for the Voice, he probably wouldn't be alive today. It had helped him to overcome each of his crises.
- "The Kami declares that, despite the scale of the genocide, a significant number of homins have survived, says the inner voice. Some have been taken to safety by the Karavan, while others, who stayed behind, are already reuniting in communities. He recognizes that the Karavan has succeeded where the Kamis have failed, and fears that this will damage their reputation. The Sacred War is therefore more essential than ever. Next, the Kami insisted that you are indeed the Sacred Warrior, pointing out that you were destined to become one even before you were born. The fall of a piece of bark, however large, should never have stopped the Sacred Warrior. The Kami holds your mother and the doyenne of your tribe responsible for this accident. During your childhood, both of them refused to let the Kamis bless you, and thus prevented you from reaching your full potential."
Hearing that, Pü remembered the last words he had exchanged with his venerable ancestor. She had revealed to him that he was predestined to become the Sacred Warrior, that the destiny Ma-Duk had in store for him was inevitable. The Kami's words confirmed his own. Grandmother Bä-Bä went then on to explain why she had asked her mother to pass Niï off as the future Sacred Warrior. Although the explanation remained rather vague, Pü had nonetheless understood that her main purpose was to keep him out of the way. To protect him, but also to protect the rest of the tribe. What was Grandmother Bä-Bä trying to protect them from? Pü didn't know. Many secrets had been buried in the powerful witch's grave. Like the fact that she and her mother had refused to allow him to be blessed by the Kamis… This was new information. Information that, just a few weeks ago, would have seemed implausible. Yet right now, he was almost indifferent to it. Rare were the chosen ones who could claim to have been blessed by the Kamis. The honor was immense. Among his tribe, only Grandmother Bä-Bä and her mother were. To deny an individual such a blessing was insane. Unless, of course, one wished to lead him astray from the path the Kamis had laid out for him. As a child, just after his first encounter with the Black Kami, Pü remembered having expressed to his mother his desire to be blessed by the Kami, and of her retorting that this was not something one could choose. His mother had, it seemed, chosen for him…
- "My boy, the Kami offers to train you. He wants to help you develop your ability to perceive and manipulate the Sap. He says that your homin part is as strong as your kami part is weak. To remedy this, he suggests you stay by his side in the Eternal Garden. For as long as it would take."
Still on his knees, Pü raised his mask. Pondering the divine creature's words helped calm the crisis. The creature, who hadn't moved a hair, was still staring at him with her big white eyes. White, empty eyes. As empty as her heart, if she had one. While he had thought his tribe special, the Kami had told Pü otherwise. He didn't care about the brutal death of his loved ones. Nor did he about the feelings that gnawed at him. All that mattered to this Kami was that he was alive. Alive and ready to fight. In his eyes, he was just a tool. Then, for the first time in his life, Pü understood why some homins considered Kamis to be monsters. Monstrous, so were the Kamis. Of course they were. This was less because of the frightening forms they could manifest than because of their profound lack of empathy. Pü remembered every homin whose life he had taken. From the first to the last murder committed. Was it the same for the Kamis? Did they count the homins they had killed? Were they aware of the number of those who had sacrificed their lives for them? From an early age, he had been taught to love Ma-Duk. To love the Kamis. But did the Kamis love the homins in return? Pü now doubted it. The Kamis were monstrous, yes. But they were monstrous by nature. Because they weren't homin. That's what they were: profoundly inhomin beings.
Disillusioned, but aware of the importance of the moment, the Black Mask took a deep breath.
- "I accept."
- "Whatever may happen, the decision will be yours, my boy. So there's no need to rush. Certainly, the Kami is powerful. He probably has a lot to teach you. However, if you refuse to follow him, I don't think he'll force your hand. If you want to know what I really think, you should know that I don't believe in the destiny he has in mind for you. You're free, my boy. We all are. I'm sure of it."
Pü stood up and thought about Grandmother Bä-Bä. The venerable ancestor had urged him to wage the Sacred War while taking care to preserve his free will.
- "Free them from Her. Then free yourself from Him. In hope of the Happy Days."
So were her words. If he had quickly understood that “Her” referred to Jena, he now knew that “Him” referred to Ma-Duk. So, if he was to emancipate himself from the Kamis sooner or later, he needed them for the time being.
- "I accept, repeated Pü. But I wish to wage the Sacred War in my own way."
In response, the Kami began to metamorphose. His entire body began to elongate, and his fluffy coat disappeared in exchange for bare skin. It took only a few seconds for the divine creature to take on the appearance of a homin all dressed in black. On closer inspection, the proportions of his body were very similar to those of Pü. The same could not be said of his head. Unmasked, it had no mouth, nose, ears or even features. Nothing but two imposing white eyes. Finally, a black sword and rondache materialized in his hands. The homin in black adopted an offensive posture.
- "The Kami accepts your request, my boy. When you are ready to wage the Sacred War, he will not interfere with your choices. He deems it necessary for the Sacred Warrior to forge his own path. But for now, he challenges you to a duel. He'd like to evaluate you. Do you feel up to it? Although you seem to be in better health than a few minutes ago, it might be wise to postpone this confrontation."
Pü still had a multitude of questions to ask the Kami. In particular, questions about Ma-Duk, Jena, the Karavan and the Kitins. Yet the question he asked then was about something completely different. He surprised himself.
- "I'm feeling better, thank you, he replied aloud. But before we start, let me ask you one last question. For the past few weeks, I've been hearing a voice. Who does it belong to?"
The voice inside immediately broke into a long laugh.
- "I'll be honest, my boy: the Kami has the answer to your question. But I can't repeat it. Remember what I told you: the day you understand who I am, you won't need me anymore. Yet, more than ever, you need me. For I am now your interpreter.:
Pü drew his sword with his left hand and hung his rondache on his right arm. This voice. He definitely needed it.
— Bélénor Nébius, narrateur