Page 43 of Axis of Fire

“The second part is tied either to the element—or to the world’s meaning,” Aars added.

“Then what does ‘Vudu’ mean?” I asked.

“Like... a doll?”

It sounded logical.

“And I was desperately trying not to jump ahead with even more questions.”

“Vudu means ‘human,’” Airis replied.

“But in the world’s name, it refers to living beings in general.”

To my surprise, he didn’t look irritated for once.

And he wasn’t wearing that smug, seductive-idiot mask either.

For once, a surprisingly reasonable version of Airis was sitting in front of me.

“What language is that?” I asked, nodding toward the bookshelves.

“I’ve never seen letters like that before.”

“That’s the binding language of Noveris. It’s called Urpis,” Airis replied calmly.

“Almost every being in Noveris can speak it—except those from Vuduarus.”

“Why?”

“Because humans don’t need it. They’re not meant to know about Noveris yet.”

“Why not?” I frowned, not quite understanding that kind of restriction.

“The higher powers believe humans aren’t ready to accept magic—and everything they only see in movies or read about in books,” he said with a shrug.

“This idiot won’t explain it properly,” Aars cut in, hovering nearby.

“But Vuduarus is one of the most protected worlds precisely because its inhabitants are... fragile.”

He puffed up slightly.

“It’s surrounded by a dense astral barrier that prevents direct portal travel between worlds.”

Aars flapped his wings for emphasis.

“That was originally planned by a being named Vuvivia—a deer with crown-like antlers.”

“She didn’t want magical creatures entering her world. And apparently, no one has changed that rule since.”

“Alright... what about the other worlds?” I asked, resting my chin on my palm.

“The remaining ten? Is there any order to how they were created?”

I wanted to know everything.

Airis noticed I still wasn’t eating.

His fingers tightened slightly.