Then he closed his eyes and listened awhile. Following the intruder as she walked. Water ran on the stone floor. Light, beautiful light, shone, and he took it in greedily with his eyes as long as he dared.

But he had a duty. The figure lowered his head. Then he lifted the sword once more. She had used a Skill, extended her life with the magic water that she conjured. She might not die before reaching the ward. Thus—

He had to guard this sacred place. And bring death to all who trespassed here.

No matter how beautifully they sang.

——

She believed, then. Not because she had been close to death. But because the…magic. The Skill had been too wonderful.

She was an actor. A performer. A member of society, who had stood on the stage in front of actual audiences. In bit parts, true, but her dream was to be the most famous actor in the world. Certainly, the most famous actor in Ireland.

The play. Movies—playing a part called to her. Landing a role in the Abbey Theatre, for instance, would have been a dream. And she had connections. She had put her name out as much as she could. And in between her auditions, her jobs on the stage, she worked as a stagehand, or manager for smaller theatres. Or she took part-time work as she could. She was used to that life, having not bothered to go into university.

One of the things she’d gained from that experience was learning the craft. It also meant she noticed the imperfections in any work. Special effects in films, clever editing techniques covering up poor acting, and so on—she studied movies, songs, and the stage in equal measure. She had big dreams. And she’d happily take a role in a musical. She could sing.

But this? This Skill? That was not film magic. Not a stage effect. The young woman from Ireland believed in her very bones that it had been real.

“So I’m crazy or this is happening. Or virtual reality has been vastly undersold to me.”

She chuckled about that. Her throat was dry again. Under her breath, the [Singer] hummed a little walking song.

The song conjured light. Little, floating sparks of light, moving up from the stone floor around her, appearing out of nothing and hovering around head-height. They were beautiful. And that was why she believed.

If you could fake that, she could not believe any part of her life was real. So that only left the truth: that she was somewhere else. In…another world.

The humming produced something else. [Melody of Droplets]. She felt herself using the Skill.

A little drop of water condensed out of the air and fell onto her waiting tongue. She swallowed reflexively, but kept her mouth open. More water dropped out of the tomb.