Shadowsphere Part 3: The Mysterious Ingredient

Three figures were standing in the laboratory. One of them was the alchemist Somnius; he was accompanied by a strange black creature who answered to the name of Lily. And the third figure was a normal boy called Arthur, who had found himself in the Shadowsphere by accident.

Arthur had just come to the realization that he might be able to help the inhabitants of Shadowsphere with a riddle they couldn’t solve. As he had just told Somnius, he reckoned that the secret ingredient in the elixir he needed could only be found by someone from the other side of the portal. Someone from the human world.

“And that means... you?” Somnius’s voice sounded uncertain, but his eyes were already shining with renewed interest.

“Maybe,” Arthur muttered. “The only thing I’m certain of is that in our world, the poem had another verse. A verse with the answer.”

Somnius turned abruptly to Lily:

“Lily, look in that book again!”

“Heeheeehee!” laughed Lily. She shook the book gently, as though it were a baby who needed to burp.

“And we’re back where we started,” sighed the alchemist.

“Wait a minute!” Arthur raised his hand and interrupted Somnius’ lament. “I have an idea! It might not work, but... well, I really hope it does. Why is the book so grouchy? Because it’s homesick. It’s from our world and it ended up here by accident. It’s lonely and angry.”

“That sounds plausible,” said Somnius.

“But wait! It’s kind to Lily... it even lets her pet it. Why is that?”

“Because…” The alchemist’s eyes widened and his sideburns bristled with excitement. “Because Lily also ended up here by accident. Of course! They won’t hurt each other because they feel they share a similar fate…”

“And there is someone else…