Afterward

Hammer was feeling light-headed now. So many things happened that he found it difficult to use his mind properly over this situation.

"What?" Hammer asked. "You not only managed to escape from a Celestial unscathed but also managed to get this pebble?"

"I have burns. What do you mean unscathed?" Clyde replied.

"It's just minor burns!" Hammer said with an exclamation. "You should be dead now!"

"But it still hurts," Clyde replied. "Let's not talk about it right now. And don't shout too much. Can you make it or not?"

Hammer stared at the red pebble in his hand as he pressed his lips together. Then he said. "I can make one. But why would you want to go there again after what happened?"

"Because we still haven't found what we're looking for there," Clyde replied.

"Path to Nexus of Creation?"

Clyde turned his gaze to him. "You already know about that?"

"Yeah, they told me about that before you came," said Hammer.