I find myself alone when I step out into the hall, Sciro nowhere in sight. I frown, walking a few paces up and down the hall to see if he's nearby, but I'm still alone. "Sciro? Sciro, are you there?" No reply. an I tense up, leaning against the wall in fear of wandering into a place I shouldn't be. Somehow I've gotten Bondrewd's permission, but I'm still more than wary.

   As I wait, I begin to pick up on another sound above the hissing pipes. It almost sounds... melodic? As if somebody is singing. Confused, I edge further down the hall and look around the corner. The hall is a straight shot to an open doorway, it seems, and I'm instantly amazed by what I see. The doorway appears to open up to Idofront's center where the light-filled waterfall cascades down, as purple and white light floods the last twenty or so feet of the hall.

   "Sciro?" I call out one last time, again getting no response. Curiosity and wonder tries to pull me down the hall, but I hesitate. Sciro could be back at any moment, and I don't want him to worry about getting in trouble because of me. Then again, it isn't that far of a walk, and I have good ears. Speaking of, the additional sound is more clear now, and it's definitely singing. I curse myself out under my breath as I head down the hall towards the light.

   The closer I get to the end of the hall, the more I can see outside, cold air washing down the hall to meet me. I don't shiver, however, entranced by the illuminated cascade. Behind it, I can make out a wall of gray with many black dots peppered across it in a grid-like pattern. Wait, no, they aren't dots... they're windows. That great gray wall is the other side of Idofront, and the dots are the dozens of windows lining it. I can catch a few pipes spewing water as well, though my limited vision prevents me from seeing it all. The true scope of this place starts to hit me, and my eyes widen more and more.

   Along with this, the song grows louder, heard just above the now-evident flow of the water. The lyrics are clearer, words noticeable, though I don't recognize a few of them. Are they ancient Abyssal?

   "Dyaho, deho, a gentle voice is calling you. Sparkling gold petals await in the distant nest... calling you awake. Dyahode..."

   I emerge out onto a balcony-like area with a railing and pillars supporting the roof—the floor above me. The song is now painfully clear, and I look around for its source. Not far from when I'm standing, somebody leans against the railing, looking out at the water. He seems to be a boy no older than fifteen with messy, curly, shoulder-length hair that I think is supposed to be purple, but it's difficult to tell in the light of the waterfall. As if feeling my stare, he stops singing and turns to look at me, face set in a firm expression before his brows lift in surprise.

   "Wait, you're not... I thought you were Uncle Bon," he says in a voice that has just started to hit puberty. It's full of intrigue but also hostility. To my surprise, I recognize the accent he has. It, like Bondrewd's, is from my home country. "Who the hell are you? The new Hands are never left—" The boy notices Aedia, and his mouth falls open a little. "You have what Uncle Bon has! Except it's... weird."

   For some reason, that strikes a nerve with me, and I blurt out, "She's not weird!" I then realize I said that, and the boy's brows lift further.

   "Ohhhh, you're a weird one too!" he says, nodding thoughtfully as my cheeks burn. "But that's fine, all people are weird, yeah?"

   "I suppose so?" I say with clearly-expressed confusion. The boy grins.

   "Like Uncle Bon and Uncle Sciro! Aunt Enri isn't weird, though. She's just scary, like last week when I put a bucket of water on her door and it fell on her head. But she shouldn't have fallen for the same trick twice!" He smirks when he says that, only to stroll right up to me and start looking me over, an amazed look on his face. I take a step back, unsure of what he's trying to do. "Whoa, you're bigger up close! How tall are you?"

   I'm still baffled, but I answer. Knowing my height wouldn't be harmful. "I-I'm... six feet, three inches?"

   The boy seems even more amazed when he hears this. "That's crazy! Not as tall as Uncle Bon, but that's way taller than he said I'll probably end up being. Still, it's better than being short, but I still wanna be taller." His hand flashes out, and before I can react, he pokes my bicep. "Are those actually real? Are you as strong as Ozen? And those scars are crazy! How'd you get them?"

   I can't take the onslaught of questions, and I shut him down. "Delving," I say curtly, my brow furrowing. "Can you please stop now?" The enthusiasm drains from the boy's face, and he abruptly flinches away, his gaze falling to the floor.

   "S-sorry, I'm sorry! I won't do it again, I'm sorry..."

   I'm taken aback by this, confused again, and I apologize as well. "I'm not upset at you, d-don't worry! It's just that I prefer we exchange introductions before you start asking me questions. Even then, that question is a sensitive one to me."

   "Oh, yeah, that makes sense," the boy mutters. "My name's Iann. What's yours?"

   I smile slightly. "I'm Len. It's nice to meet you, Iann. Do you... live here in Idofront? And Bondrewd's your uncle?"

   Iann tilts his head back and forth, shrugging. "Yeah I live here, but Uncle Bon isn't really my uncle. I just call him that since I've known him for so long. He didn't like the other names I was trying to call him, so he said only Uncle Bon was okay."

   I'm nothing but confused but also intrigued. "Can I ask how long you've been down here, Iann?"

   "I came here when I was five... I think? And I'll be fifteen in a month or so! I can't wait for it because Uncle Bon said something special's gonna happen! I think I'm finally gonna start delving, but I'll start with my blue whistle because Uncle Bon's been teaching me all this time... though Uncle Sciro gets me the books to read instead."

   I arch a brow. "You aren't allowed to take any books for yourself?"

   "I can't get anywhere near where the new Hands come in, but Uncle Sciro does. He always tries to take books from the stuff the new Hands leave behind because Uncle Bon takes them all if he doesn't."

   "He won't let you keep any of them?" I question, and Iann shakes his head.

   "Some of that stuff is stuff he says is too 'mature' for me, and that pisses me off. But I'll finally be able to learn more things soon." He puffs out his chest indignantly. "But also Uncle Sciro doesn't let me have things like that, so I guess I can't get mad at Uncle Bon... Have you met Uncle Sciro?" I nod, smiling slightly, and Iann grins. "Isn't he great? He doesn't get mad when I pull pranks on him, and we read books together and learn about the surface."

   My heart aches as memories of time spent with my father when I was younger bubble up. "It seems like you two are close."

   "I guess we are!" Iann's grin fades. "But I'm not supposed to be out here right now, especially since I snuck out yesterday. I know you don't want me asking questions, but can you not tell him or Uncle Bon I was out here?"

   "I-it's not that I don't mind questions," I say. "It's that they were a lot at once, and we've just met."

   Iann nods, gaze falling away. "Oh, yeah..."

   "Len?"

   I turn back to the hallway when I hear my name being called, and Sciro's form comes into view as he rushes down the hall towards me. Iann stiffens at my side and seems about to run when Sciro exclaims, "Tú chico!" At that, Iann stops and sheepishly looks up at Sciro, giving him an innocent smile.

   "Hey, Uncle Sciro!" he says in a singsong tone.

   Sciro lets out a slight exasperated sigh. "Wh-what are you doing out here? If Lord Dawn knows you're not with the other—!"

   "That's why I'm leaving now!" Iann interrupts. "I was talking with Mr. Len here because he got lost, and I was trying to guide him back." I give Iann a confused look, but I stay quiet since I know he simply wants to avoid getting in trouble. "Nice meeting you, Mr. Len!" He waves before running down the walkway and turning down into another hall. Just like that, he's gone.

   As we head back into the maze of tunnels, Sciro hangs his head. "I-I'm sorry for leaving you behind like that, Len!" he says in a guilty tone, shoulders stiffening. "I had business to attend to, and I thought you would be visiting with Lord Dawn for a longer time. Did Iann cause you any trouble?"

   I smile and shake my head. "Besides being a curious child? None at all. But I didn't think there were any children down here considering how dangerous it is."

   "Lord Dawn very much appreciates the mind of a child and their interest in learning and helping," Sciro says with admiration. "He found Iann outside of the Abyss years ago and wanted to help him, so here he is. He's been here for even longer than I have, but he's been the brightest light I've had down here."

   "Oh, really? He said something similar about you," I reply, and Sciro rubs his neck sheepishly.

   "A-although I try my best to keep track of him, he's always running about, even though Lord Dawn tells him not to. You might see him again, but I ask you don't tell Lord Dawn since I'm supposed to be the one keeping an eye on him. I feel bad for doing so since he's not that little, he's a teenager, but Idofront has more dangerous than safe spots."

   I nod in agreement, and Sciro relaxes. "Speaking of this place, Bondrewd said I was allowed access to some areas containing some of his research until my mentor heals enough for us to leave."

   "Really? Interesting! Then again, you have Your Worth, so I shouldn't be surprised. You're not exactly like the other visitors we've had."

   "There's been others?" I ask. Sciro shrugs in response, voice dropping in uncertainty.

   "I'm sure we have? I overheard Lord Dawn speaking with Enri about a visitor once, but I didn't hear much beyond 'annihilation' and a 'Last Dive' before I left so I wouldn't be caught. This had to be a month or two ago."

   Some pieces align in my mind, though I become confused for a different reason now. "Like the Lord of Annihilation, Lyza the Annihilator?" She would only be in her twenties by this point, why... No, I could understand why she might want to give up her future if something truly awful happened to her. Then again, she could still have hope, unlike me. She might have made her Last Dive for the sake of delving or whatever else drives her. I suppose Orth hasn't noticed her disappearance yet.

   "Another White Whistle?" Sciro sounds as confused as I am. "I don't know anything about them besides Lord Dawn and another one called Ozen. It sounds like you haven't been the only White Whistle making a Last Dive recently." I shrug, and the atmosphere grows a bit awkward before Sciro breaks it again. "I-if you're staying here for a time, I have some facilities I should inform you and your mentor about. Additional comforts and such."

   "That's good to know, thank you." I'll wait until we return to the room to ask about any of that. It doesn't take much longer until we arrive back, and Enri's pushing away a small cart stacked with dishes as we approach. Sciro calls out her name, and she turns to face us.

   "Your mentor has a horrific appetite," Enri says to me. "Those like her are the reason why we stick to ration bars rather than create elaborate meals like you were served on the daily. It's much more efficient."

   "You always eat a lot as well, Enri," Sciro says, and Enri stiffens momentarily before hurriedly pushing the cart down the hall. "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you!" Sciro calls apologetically. That only pushes her to move faster, and she's gone as well. Sciro sighs and opens the door.

   Melva sits on her bed, bad leg propped up while the other is pulled up to her chest. She rests an elbow atop her knee, picking at her teeth with her fingernail. She sighs in relief and grins when she sees me. "Had a nice breakfast date, kid?" Her smile drops when she realizes how she phrased that, but I reply before she can redo it.

   "It was nice eating actual good food for the first time in weeks," I say. "Th-though I do miss that fire-charred flavor we're so good at putting into things."

   "The ol' Vio flair," Melva jokes with a softer smile. "But I guess we're gonna be bored for the rest of the day."

   "Potentially," Sciro says. He pauses, as if trying to remember something. "Oh, yes!" He then explains what I told him about Bondrewd, afterwards moving on to what he alluded to before. "Since you two will be staying here, I want to let you know we have a few bath houses you can utilize if you want to wash up at all. The closest one is only a few minutes' walk from here; head a few doors down to the left and take the hall until you find an open doorway on your right, and enter from there. I'll be getting you a map of this place in the next day or so from Lord Dawn as well"

   Melva nods. "Thanks a lot. I've been wantin' to wash up anyways, 'specially since we never got a chance to before."

   "If you both go right now, I can see to it that somebody changes your bedding as well so you have clean sheets," Sciro offers. I agree to that as I hand Melva her crutch so she can get up. We might as well, though I have no intent on sharing a bathing space with Melva. I'll simply wait until she's finished before I take my turn.

   "The nearest hall on the left, and then follow it to an open door on the right?" I repeat.

   "Exactly!" Sciro replies. "I have some other duties to attend to, but I'll keep my word." He mutters this a few extra times under his breath as he leaves the room. I watch him go, smiling slightly to myself.

   "That's a bit of a new one," Melva says, amused. My smile drops, and she sighs. "An' there it goes... Well, let's get goin'." I lead the way, out of the room and down the hall. The sound of faintly-hissing steam fills the air briefly before Melva speaks up again. "Really, though. Besides you gettin' to be a bookworm, how'd it go? Did he take off that mask at all?"

   I frown and shake my head. "He lifted it to eat, but I couldn't even see anything with it like that. But..." I grip Aedia with one hand. "He told me how Addy ended up this way." Melva's brows lift, and I explain it to her.

   "The Abyss truly works in strange ways..." She grits her teeth. "Strangely despicable, but it clearly has some influence if it can do somethin' like that. And the damn guild, I honestly shouldn't be surprised. They were always tight-lipped about their White Whistle appointment details." I never questioned it myself, but now I only feel sick knowing the truth. "Did you take Dawn's offer to get Aedia carved into what she might really be?"

   "N-no," I reply with some hesitance. "I don't trust any of them enough to hold Addy, let alone try and carve her up like that." All I can think of is when I took that hammer to her, and the memory is enough to make me ill.

   Melva frowns and nods. "I don't trust any of 'em either, though I don't think that Sciro's too bad... But I hate to say I'm wonderin' 'bout what kinda shape Aedia would become. Maybe somethin' like a star or a moon? Hell, it could be a book!"

   "A book-shaped white whistle?" I echo, confused.

   She throws her free hand up in exasperation. "I dunno, I'm just throwin' shit out there! I thought you'd be curious, at the very least." The worst part is now I actually am starting to become curious and wonder. But every thought is echoed by the strike of the hammer, and my blood runs cold. "Ya okay, kid?"

   "N-no... Then again, am I ever now?" When I don't elaborate further, Melva sighs. Thankfully, we arrive at our destination not long after that. The open doorway leads to a small room lined with open spaces in the walls, like thin closets without doors, and metal hooks are bolted to the sides of each open space. Two of these spaces are occupied by stacks of gray, scratchy-looking towels along with gritty bars of what seem to be soap. There's another doorway that leads into another, more narrow hallway. "I suppose we hang our clothes here?" I wonder aloud, and Melva shrugs.

   "Does it matter? I just wanna relax!"

   "Th-then go relax! I'll be waiting out here since I'm not going in there with you," I say, more flustered than I should be. "Take your time, it's not like I can do much else even if I stayed back in the room... I don't want to get in the way of them cleaning it up." Melva's look is grim before she forces a smile and nods.

   "Yeah, makes sense. Then I'll be out in a while." She grabs a towel and leaves down the other hall, and I'm alone in the room.

  With a sigh, I lean against the wall. I'd sit down if my tailbone weren't still hurting, so instead I look up at the ceiling and ponder what the hell's happened over the past few days. Somehow, being here feels odder than being out in the Abyss itself, and I have an itching feeling why. Idofront itself is so artificial and otherworldly at the same time, nothing like I've seen down here.

   My mind wanders, images of rooms possibly lined with high-grade Relics or glimmering lab equipment filling my mind. What else did these walls conceal? How much of it would I be able to see? I can imagine laboratories like those described in the books I read about futuristic technology, ones filled with machines and research, colored chemicals spiraling through tubes to be distilled. But these would all be Abyssal, containing things I might've never been able to get my hands on...

   I stop myself, cutting my train of thought off. Why the hell am I thinking about this so much? No, it doesn't matter, none of it does! A dead man walking has no need to research or amass knowledge beyond the basics of what I'll need to reach the bottom of the Abyss, I just need to forget about it all... And yet the urge plagues me, the desire to gaze into the metaphorical Abyss and dig and dig until—

   "Fuck!" I cry out as I slam my fist against the wall in anger, only to recoil in pain from my obviously idiotic reaction. I groan and rub the side of my hand, wincing when my fingers probe the now-tender spot that will surely leave a bruise. The fading notes of my shout echo, and I hope Melva didn't hear me.

   As I struggle to steady my breathing, a deep sickness twists in the pit of my gut. Even if I wanted to go back to Orth, I'm clearly too unstable... There's something wrong with me, more so than before, but I don't know what it is. I tense, gritting my teeth. Why does it feel like my chest is burning? Wait, no, that isn't it. I take Aedia in my palm, and the heat becomes more definite. It's coming from her. I smile bitterly; she's probably scolding me for acting this way after all the work she put into trying to help me. It was in vain, but at least we'll both be at peace soon.

   I'm unaware of how much time passes before Melva returns, changed with her hair damp and ruffled from the towel drying it. "Damn, that was nice!" She grins as she says this. "I actually feel like a person again. Kid, ya need to—" She stops when she notices me holding my wrist along with my grimace. "The hell happened?"

   "I-I hit it against the wall," I admitted.

   "Did ya trip, klutz?" Melva asks with slight exasperation. No more lies... Still, I almost lie, but I manage to say it.

   "I did it on purpose. I-I was just so furious at myself that I acted without thinking."

   Melva's gaze darkens, and I expect her to react loudly like she always does. But no, it's a reserved response. "Don't do that again, kid... I don't care how ya feel, don't do any shit that hurts ya like that. Say what the hell ya feel, it's already enough we're makin' a Last Dive."

   Now I feel nothing but guilty. "Okay, I-I apologize—"

   "Don't apologize, just don't do it again," Melva says, putting a hand to my shoulder as she firmly meets my gaze. I know she's right, so I nod, and she squeezes my shoulder. "Good. Now go wash off, ya look like a black cat that got dragged through the rain."

   I stifle a grimace as I reply. "You can go ahead back to the room since I'm sure they finished cleaning it. Besides, there's no benches or chairs for you to sit on here to wait, and your ankle needs rest."

   "That's the only reason why I'm not stayin' 'ere. Consider yourself lucky," Melva says, squinting while she purses her lips. That's a minor victory, and I'll take it.

   Since I'm now the only person in the room, I simply undress here, leaving my prosthetic on and taking a towel before heading down the hall. I can't see nearly as well without my glasses, but it quickly becomes evident it's for the better I left them behind as hot steam starts to fill the hall. I wouldn't have been able to see regardless.

   Even with my bad vision, I can make out that I'm stepping into a large room. It's not large enough that I can't see the walls around me (though I can't see the ceiling), but it can fit a small crowd. That crowd would have to stand in the large, floor-sunken tub filled with steaming water, but who wouldn't? Well, I'd say sunken, but I neglect to see the few inches-high rim around the edge. I really do trip this time, and I'm submerged in seconds, the world going murky white as I'm consumed by thick, stifling heat.

   Before panic can seize me, I get my head above the water and render my throat ragged by trying to get my breath back. I rake my hair from my eyes, coughing and spluttering, rubbing my eyes. The air reeks of sulfur and minerals from what seems to be natural spring water, even if this whole room is made of metal and artificially-laid stone. As I get my prosthetic off and put it beside the pool, I sigh. So much for relaxation...

   Even with my griping, I do manage to get my nerves under control and let them melt away into the water. The steam flushes out the muddiness in my mind, and I can finally sit without my backside aching. The soap rids my skin of dirt and dust along with a layer or two of skin from its coarseness, but I welcome the slight stinging of my skin in the water afterwards. It's better than the numbness the cold had brought. I massage my aching right stump, the warm water wearing away the phantom pains still stabbing at it.

   I lean back against the side of the bath and try to salvage the remnants of the tranquility that had begun to slip away. I can simply try to enjoy myself now that I'm clean, and my eyes start to drift closed. The dripping of a leaky pipe rings out across the room, landing in the pool with small plops. My breaths gradually sync up with the sounds, inhale, drop, exhale, drop. Like the faucet back on the surface...