Through the dim and thick hush that pierced the ears of none, something sounded from the darkness, like a glimmer of light, travelling in specks. Although Morio's eyes weren't open, he could see the cave he fainted in. It was empty, yet something seemed to reveal itself from the shadows on the other side.

A blinding silhouette, floating in the air, carried by marbled wings, and with a soft smile painted on her face.

"From the clouded gaze, into a misty haze,
glows a bottle of foggy dust, reminding one,
what's to touch, what's to learn, what's to feel."

A serenade echoed, one that Morio immediately recognized, yet, his body didn't budge, even an inch.

"In between the trees, in the middle of the sky,
here comes she, here comes he, of the night,
the day, and light, among the stars, the flight.
In glory, and might, comes a thought,
brings a fight, stops the chime, and pays a dime.
To the witches, and the wizards from above."

She opened her eyes, meeting Morio's and gracing his wounded cheek. The Morian longed for that specific feeling of warmth, a reassurance that everything would be just alright from now on. He wanted to ask something, but then, no word was uttered.

"You can't see me when you're awake, Morio," Idalia uttered, with an unsure expression. "But, you don't need words to describe your feelings. I know, I've been there with you all along." her hands landed on Morio's fingers, wrapped around his hands. "Protecting what was the most precious to you."

The Morian's eyes gleamed.

"...and when the light gleamed further away, I had to chase it. I'm sorry that I didn't get to help you realise the dangers. Much like a reflection of your soul, I was blind to what was written." she shook her head. "Don't let that be a discouragement. I've fulfilled my piece, and from now on, you'll keep chasing without holding anyone's hand. You always thought such was the case, after all." she chuckled.

Morio looked down, before sitting up on the rocky ground. His heart started pounding, and he turned to his own fainted body, furrowing his eyebrows.

Idalia crouched, inching closer to the Morian so that he could feel her silver hair on his arms, and the black patterns etched into her face pulsed, which he hadn't spotted beforehand.

"Up there, above the clouds, Morio," she uttered, hesitating. "Fate seals a turn where everyone looks towards hope. One, which you pushed forward."

Morio put his hands together.

"Sometimes, however, you'll have to stand against the unchangeable, and just..." She put one finger closer towards his neck. "Accept the way it is."

Morio's mind went back to the sacrifice of Jeffy, the person who saved him from Isak's merciless violence. He clenched his fist, and a tear strolled down his face. He thought about Jyuzou, and how he left him behind, trusting a foolish notion. He couldn't believe the things he'd done, but there was no way to turn a blind eye to them any longer.

"Soon, you'll have to face the greatest hurdle of your life, and I won't be there to help you," she muttered, and Morio seemed unsure. " I can't possibly ignite the fire that is hope, still dreaming in your heart, right next to what makes you, you." she pointed to his heart. "Everyone's here too, looking from above or from inside their dreams and holding onto what you can achieve."

Morio breathed in.

Idalia stood up. "If you tread carefully, you can rescue hope."

***

Morio woke up, forcing one eyelid open, and his blurry vision cleared, revealing the rocky ceiling and the light that shone from above. Quickly recalling all of the witch's words, he shot up, sitting straight and looking around, breathing heavily.

He called her name out, but only his weak voice echoed back. He looked at the palms of his hands which Idalia touched, now missing the bruises that were there just a while ago. He touched his face, feeling the small subtle tears, battling the thin and skimpy air.

Such weren't of sorrow.

His heart skipped a beat. What else was there to do?

Before standing up and grabbing his sword, however, Morio noticed one last change. Something that went amiss the first time he looked around. On his neck, hung a necklace, with a reversed triangle emblem below. He squeezed it in his hand, and closed his eyes, grinding his teeth.

Morio rose, holding onto Gloria and neatly squeezing Victis back in its sheath, feeling its cold blade gracing against his skin. In many witchtales of Errarion, it was usually this exact moment that the hero would vow to keep standing up, again and again. To win, to fight against something.

Even though Morio didn't know what he was fighting for.

A light wind went through his white hair, even forcing a small smile at the thought of this idea.

Eventually, Morio went upstairs, as it was the only visible and reasonable road to tread, for the time being. He followed the dim light that seemed to be getting further and further each time he took a step, yet, it barely illuminated the surrounding darkness.

He passed through tight corridors, quickly spotting bricks that made the flooring and the patterns edged into the rocky and dirt walls, resembling waves, then night lights, connecting into one. There were drawings of the moon and the sun on either side, complete with the sky and clouds right above, made out of tiny, white crystals.

There were stepper roads, with sharp rocks sticking out from above and walls. Each time Morio advanced, it felt like the ground below him shook, ever so slightly, as if it were to warn him of an upcoming danger. Nonetheless, he pushed on, without a second negative thought, squeezing the emblem tighter each time.

He noted all the interesting things he saw, like a stash of unrecognizable flowers that grew out of the blue, behind a small rock. He wished for Jyuzou to be there and name them, adding a fun fact as well, even though that often annoyed him, it felt strange for that element to go missing.

Morio often found himself stressed about these matters. He remembered Jyuzou's and Jeffy's foolish plan to get the juni fruit from the juniper trees in the Tukman Woods and realized that something like that would not happen again, or at least, it wouldn't feel the same. His mind went back to Atomu's words about his irresponsibility and his fight against the dark deformity, and he understood how true they were.

But, alas, there was nothing that could be done, at least not now.

Morio continued, finding himself in an open hall, with lit torches hanging from pillars that raised the stalactite ceiling of the cave, and led to a small staircase and into another, dark opening. He turned around, firstly taking notice of the other entrance to the same room, through the maze of corridors and the drawing on the wall. Something resembling a demon, standing over a shining halo that crushed down thousands of humans.

There was an evil expression on their face, and their horns were long, twisting, and oddly grandeur.

He breathed out, wishing to recreate the drawing on a piece of paper, even though he had no clue what its message was supposed to be. As he moved forward, he heard muffled sounds of rain bouncing off the mountain, with water dripping down from the stalactites. He realized how close he was to at least one of its thousands peaks, and was rather awestruck at the fact.

Morio hesitantly traversed the dark opening which appeared under a decorated arch and stepped into the darkness, with a loud gulp. His feet felt heavy, and his hands were shaking, as he stood still, waiting for his eyes to get used to the total darkness, as there was no light guiding through. In fact, it disappeared long before, but the torches in the distance gleamed.

The hallways before him spiralled into many different staircases, either down or up, to the sides or around the corners. Many corridors twisted left and right, and he wasn't so sure which path to pick. However, he settled on the stairs that appeared in front of his eyes and led to something white in the distance. He hoped to reach an exit towards the tops, finding his way through to Shimori again, and closer to what he always wished to see.

Was this the hope Idalia talked about? He couldn't be sure, and as if to add insult to injury, there were no signs of life present. No noises of bats or dark deformities, no centuras with the tiny esseys atop, and above all else, no demons, as well as humans.

The boy trod, and each tramp he took felt detrimental as if it was to determine his future. Eventually, he made it up the stairs, finding himself in an open, circular area, with all the other steps connecting at one point. There were faintly lit, red torches, with a path on a small tilt, leading towards an open chamber.

The Morian stepped in, seeing a big, dark throne on the other side. He took notice of the chains hanging from the walls and dried-out blood in certain spots. There was a velvet chandelier above, with the same lights he spotted in the hallway.

He moved forth, placing his hand on the strangely sharp finish of the throne's end, and even decided to take a seat, breathing in the strangely dense air.

The muffled rain seemed to surround him at that point, as he heard its drops bouncing off the distant, sharp rocks at the side. Maybe if there was an exit, he'd finally feel something close to what home once mentioned, far away from this world's dangers.

Something echoed in the corridor, however, and Morio immediately jolted, breathing in. He pointed his sword towards the entrance, ready as ever, now sure that he'd have to put it all in for the fight. But then... a human revealed himself, unsurely putting his hand on the entrance's stone frame.

"Son?" he asked, as his dark, long hair covered one eye, soon revealing his entire face.

"O-Oh." Morio put Gloria back in its sheath, and breathed out, relieved. "I'm sorry for standing with a weapon in my hand, I thought there was a demon coming my way!" he beamed, laughing awkwardly.

"Mhm." The guy nodded, stepping in, and looking around. "Well, I didn't expect a Morian here either." his voice was low, and slow. "What has brought you here, fella?"

"I'm not sure, t-to be honest. I was led here by a demon without realising it, and he planned to kill me in those caves. I've seen a chimera because of that, and it's r-really dangerous!"

"Oh, a chimera." The guy put his hand on his chin. "I'd run as fast as I could if I'd see one."

"Guess so. Since then I've been trying to find a way out." Morio nodded. " I didn't know someone lived here, though. Are you Mirillian?" Morio smiled. "I thought they were closer to the sinkhole, that's what a friend told me."

"Oh no, I don't live here, and I'm not one either," he answered, smiling as well. "I guess you could say that I stumbled upon you by accident."

"Oh." Morio blinked, taking a step forward. "Then, you must know the way out, right? To the top, or... a-anything else."

"Of course, I do." he continued, as his smile grew wider and wider.

"Okay!" Morio clenched his fist in excitement. "Will you help me out of here?"

"Sure I will."

"Oh, Shin! Thank you so much, um..!" Morio stopped right after grabbing the man's hand. "...what's your name?"

"Oh, you might've heard." The guy got closer and then inched towards Morio's ear.

"Hm?"

"It's Shi Hon,"