“I’ll explain briefly, once,” he said quickly. – The girl Virita came to me with a request and promised payment. The payment will be my incarnation. I need a horse until I gain enough vitality. The man would have come up too, but there was no one nearby,” he grinned wickedly. “We don’t need anything from you, we got here by accident.” And you,” the blue eyes stared at Virita-Natalia point-blank, “hold your tongue.” Don't look for the guilty where there are none. Better find out why the girl needed a guardian.

– What did she ask you for? – no, where does this otherworldly soul come from so much impudence?! Marius, standing in such dangerous proximity to a being of divine strength and power, would have spoken to him more politely!

– This is her business, if you want, ask her.

– Clearly, the company guarantees confidentiality. Listen… so, wait, what's your name? Not a Horse, really.

– You can call him Ancient.

“When he incarnates, he will receive a new name, but now, in fact, he is little different from a nameless soul,” the mentor explained quietly.

“Memory and strength, this is not so little,” objected the Ancient One. – And I will return the name to its original one. I remember him, people have forgotten.

– OK. So, what do we have,” the girl turned around, crossing her arms over her chest. – I, that is, my soul, was called so that I would guard the timid violet with an invisible spirit. Violet turned out to be not so timid, she ran away into the night on horseback and without guards, asked the Ancient One for something and in return promised to help him become incarnate. As a result of this help, the Ancient One moved into a dead horse, and I into a violet, both of which were not provided for. Did I miss anything?

“Not yet,” for some reason it seemed to Marius that the Ancient One was openly amused. In any case, he looked at the girl with cheerful interest. Either he was waiting for her to do something ungodly, or he was plotting some kind of dirty trick himself.

“Then explain this to me, dear Ancient Horse.” Doesn't it matter to you that your temporary body has died a little?

– Yes, it didn’t have time to die. The horse spirit flew away, I stayed. You can't turn a living creature into an undead in a few moments.

– Clearly, clinical death and rapid resuscitation. And how long will you have to walk like this? And most importantly – then what? What will this supposed incarnation of yours look like?

The Ancient One shrugged.

– As soon as I accumulate enough strength, I’ll simply rebuild my body from this to my own. Am I God, after all, or did I go out for a walk?

– Do you want to be polite or honest? – the girl snorted. – Now you quite specifically went out for a walk. What kind of god are you? Well, I mean, whose? Or for what?

– God of Deer Log, of course. If you want, I'll show you the altar later. Or ask Virita to show her, she was there. Have you already asked everything important? Have you turned to empty curiosity?

– The main question at the end. I also want to incarnate. Somehow it doesn’t feel warm to sit in someone else’s body. Your method is clearly not suitable, but is there another?

The mentor chuckled and suddenly asked:

– What do you think, student, should I help the girl find a body, or let her sit in this noble doll?

As soon as I imagined this alien impudence not bound by someone else’s body, a chill of foreboding immediately seized me. Although Virita with such an addition is not a gift!

“I don’t even know what scares me more,” Marius muttered.