He hadn't uttered his last word before we found ourselves in completely separate locked rooms. I looked around to find that the walls were covered with sigils and symbols, and even the furniture was different from before. I could hardly be sure that this room belonged to my mansion. Stranger still, Mira, Youssef, and Louay were with me in the same room—but honestly, having Mira here with me was not a good omen at all… Everyone remained silent, staring at the symbols on the walls until Louay suddenly spoke:
Louay: "Wouldn't staying in the room keep us safe until dawn? Why should we even try to leave?"
Youssef: "That's foolish. You don't understand the meaning of these symbols on the walls. We don't even know if the room is intact. With a high-ranking demon in the mansion, the lower demons are under its command here as well. Every spell draws its power from some demon."
Younes: "Do you mean they're here with us in the room?"
Mira spoke strangely, and suddenly a stranger appeared before us.
…: "How can a girl like you bind me?"
Mira: "Don't flatter yourself. You're just a lower demon. Binding you isn't difficult for me. Now, will you tell us how to get out of here?"
Younes: "Spells, sigils, demons? Can someone please explain what's happening here?"
Louay: "How can you participate in selecting [survivors] when you don't even know what's going on?"
Younes: "Am I supposed to know?"
Youssef: "Could you all be quiet for a moment? We have a bigger problem right now… Do you see any ventilation in the room?"
… (laughing) :"Do you think you'll stay safe in the room? Considering the time you've been here and your number, the air will run out in minutes, and you'll all die!"
Mira: "Shut your mouth! Given our current situation, everyone is already feeling the lack of oxygen. So keep your breathing steady and don't do anything that might reduce oxygen further, so that we all survive!"
In such a situation, Mira's words were enough to fill us all with hope. Her personality was truly commanding; no wonder Nawa had recognized it. Meanwhile, Youssef remained seated in the corner, studying the symbols on the wall. No doubt, I was the least useful person in the room.
Louay suddenly spoke: "I'm starting to feel dizzy now. There's less than two minutes before we lose consciousness. If Mira faints as well, that demon will be freed and kill us all. Wouldn't it be better if we… reduce our number?"
Youssef (seriously): "If we were to reduce our number, you'd be the first we'd sacrifice. Anyone who abandons their companions like that is no worse than those demons! So use your mind a bit and try to find a way out."
Younes: "Sorry to interrupt, but I think this is important. I remember seeing these symbols before—they're similar to the ones in a book I read."
Mira: "That's good! Do you remember what was written there?"
Louay suddenly collapsed to the floor; he was the first to lose consciousness.
Younes: "I have a photographic memory, though I didn't understand the language of that book. But I can reconstruct those symbols for you."
Within seconds of beginning to write those symbols, I started feeling extremely dizzy. At that precise moment, I spoke aloud what I was writing without realizing it: "Insifia Miraculis." I immediately fainted.
When I opened my eyes after a while, I found myself lying on Mira. She smiled at me and said, "We survived." My face flushed as I looked up at her. What was this feeling overwhelming me? I quickly composed myself and tried to hide my expressions.
Younes: "What happened?"
Youssef: "You succeeded… You recited the spell and opened the doors before losing consciousness. How do you know a language that disappeared with Uruk five thousand years ago?"
Younes: "I read one of those books in my library a while ago, but I don't know how I managed to pronounce it just now…"
Mira looked at me strangely, then said, "Is this the number that has survived so far?" I looked around to see that only five of us remained: my group intact, plus Nawa, covered in wounds… How had his test gone?