After following Sciro for a few minutes, we turn down a side hall with fewer doors lining the walls, though these doors are wider and seem to open with actual handles instead of the wheels. Sciro heads to the second door on the right and opens it, and shock again strikes me when I hear the voices of children from inside the rather brightly-lit room.

"Mr. Sciro's back!" one child's voice exclaims happily.

"We thought ya left us!" another seems to pout.

Sciro awkwardly waves, shaking his head. "Yes, I'm back, and I'm sorry for leaving so suddenly! I needed to go help somebody since he fell down the stairs."

"Who fell down the stairs? Is it someone new?" With that, other various children's voices start speaking at once. I can make out five distinct voices, though it seems there are more, and I'm nothing but confused. Rayne pushes past me to go into the room as well, and a few of the voices call her name happily.

"I suppose you can say he's new? He's more of a visitor along with his mentor," Sciro says before looking out of the room and at me. I can only guess he's wondering if I would follow suit, and I hesitate. But as Iann enters and I find myself alone in the hall, I give in and head into the room.

Unlike the other rooms of Idofront, this room is decently large and circular in shape. Bright bulbs at the ceiling's center cast white light instead of deep yellow, and they illuminate a room with cushioned benches built into the walls. A rug covers the floor, one that's littered with wooden toys as well as paper and pencils, and even a couple of well-worn stuffed animals. About ten children between the ages of six and eleven with varying skin and hair colors sit around the room engaged in various activities, though they're now all focused on Sciro and Iann. As soon as I enter, however, all their gazes turn to me in mixed expressions of shock, interest, awe, and even concern.

"Oh, he's big!"

"He's taller than Mr. Sciro!"

"He's scary-looking..."

I can't help but grimace when I hear that last comment, and I aim my gaze more towards my feet. I should have been used to hearing things like that by now, but it still stings more than I wish it did.

"Be nice to him," Sciro says disapprovingly. "He just fell down the stairs, so he's not feeling his best. But I brought him here because he wanted to meet you all." Did I? I didn't even think there were any other children besides Iann until now! But before I can come up with a response, a boy around ten cautiously approaches me. A pair of thick glasses sits on the bridge of his nose, and he smiles when I glance up to meet his gaze.

"Y-you have glasses too, Mister." When faced with his cautious excitement, I can't help but smile a little as well. "How long have you had them?"

I push my glasses up the bridge of my nose. "Well... I've had them my whole life," I reply, and the boy's eyes widen.

"Even when you were a baby?"

I nod, reminiscing. "Yes I did, but my grandfather was a doctor. He knew other doctors around my home city, and together they made special glasses that stayed on my face thanks to a band that went around my head, and I got used to them quickly after that." As the boy looks amazed, the little brunette girl, Rayne, comes to stand by the boy.

"Iann knows him! He's been here for a while with his mentor. He's got one of those white whistles, so he's an amazing Delver!"

"But it's a weird shape, so he's not as awesome as Mr. Dawn," a child standing off to the side quips, and Rayne frowns.

"He has those cool scars though! He must've fought somethin' crazy to get those!" she retorts. My mouth falls open a little in shock when she says that, and my cheeks warm. I can't recall the last time I heard someone say something positive about my scars... But my engagement with these few children starts to bring the others around, and soon more children are asking me questions or simply watching me with curiosity.

"Are you from the surface, Mister?"

"H-how old are you?"

"Are you friends with Mr. Dawn or Mr. Sciro?"

"What's your White Whistle title?"

"How did you get your scars?"

I try to figure out what questions I should answer, and I loudly clear my throat. Most of the children quiet down, and I'm able to respond. "To start, I am from the surface, but I'm not here to become a Praying Hand or Umbra Hand like Mr. Sciro. I'm simply here visiting with my mentor. I suppose I'm good acquaintances with Mr. Sciro and, er, Mr. Dawn by now. As for my age, I'm almost twenty-eight."

Rayne's brows raise as she looks shocked. "Oh, you're old! But you don't look that old really."

I know it's not the youngest, but it's not like my hair's going gray. A nervous smile creeps onto my face. "How old do you think I should be, then?"

Rayne's head tilts as she thinks. She exchanges looks with the kids around her, who shrug or give answers far younger than the reality, and Rayne looks back at me. "Eighteen? Iann's gonna be fifteen soon." At that, I can't help but laugh.

"I wish I was eighteen again! I was still a Blue Whistle at that time!" I was getting into full swing with my workout routines while Aedia was really starting to get into her medicinal studies with our parents, and Melva and I were beginning to spend nights down in the Abyss. It's a melancholic happiness that fills my chest with warmth, but I still smile at the memories.

"Mr. Dawn said he's gonna find people to teach us to delve," Rayne says. "That's why we came here at all."

"So he's looking out for you all? Do your parents know? Or are they..." I trail off as a couple of the children look more hesitant, sad, or even scared.

The boy with thick glasses nods, his gaze somber. "Yeah, we're orphans. None of us have parents, or we ran away from home. I actually met Mr. Dawn in the Wharf District, and he offered to take me in along with some other kids I was with."

"Mr. Dawn came to our towns an' said only the bravest kids could come back with him. There were lots of kids, but I was small enough to squeeze through all the bigger kids and get up to the front! He picked me right away when I did that," Rayne beams proudly. I question if this is true for the other children, and they agree.

"Wait, so how long have you all been here?" I ask, and Iann speaks up matter-of-factly.

"They've been here for exactly four months! Uncle Bon brings kids here a couple times a year, finds people who can take care of 'em or mentor them, and they all eventually leave. Usually he brings about twenty kids back."

That many? And several times a year? That's admittedly stretching my beliefs. "He always finds homes? That seems unlikely..." Out of the corner of my eye, a few of the quieter children's faces fall in worry. Guilt pangs me at the idea I frightened them. Thankfully, Iann comes to my rescue with a wide grin and a nod, aiming it more at the uncertain children than me.

"Yep! Uncle Bon always keeps his word. He's a White Whistle, so he has connections, and he says the other kids just go to the orphanages on the surface if he can't. He finds places for everyone since he knows everyone has roles to play in the exploration of the Abyss. I don't get his dawn talk, but I know what it means to have a goal." He now grins at me specifically.

This whole process seems rather complicated and frankly unneeded since Orth itself already has so many orphans. Then again, these children seem to have come from worse circumstances if the Wharf District is any indication of what things are like off the island. I was fortunate enough to live in a city without slums or anything similar before coming to Orth. I look around at the children, who are all watching me more curiously now. Judging by how many are here now, Bondrewd must have already found places for the others to go. Still, he has to keep an eye on all of them until then? The idea of looking out for so many children makes my head spin.

"But you wanna go see the surface, don't you, Iann?" a younger boy pipes up, and he shrugs.

"Yeah, but I don't wanna do that before you all leave!" The children look relieved when he says that, and Iann gestures for all of them to gather around him. "Now stop moping an' look at what I got!" He pulls a woven ball from his pocket, and the children look at it curiously.

With all the children's attention off of me, I breathe a sigh of relief and take a seat on the bench rimming the room. My head still pounds a little and my mouth aches horribly, but for the most part a lot of the pain from the rest of me has cleared up. Sciro comes to sit beside me as well, offering me a canteen.

"Sorry for all of them crowding you like that. I could've taken you to a spare room to rest, but I didn't want to leave you in the dark any longer when it came to the children."

I shake my head before taking a drink. "You're fine, don't apologize! I'm already feeling much better."

"Really?" Sciro's voice is surprised. "Then I suppose what I've read is right in that the Abyss makes people much hardier. Though of course I want you to return to your room and rest as soon as you leave here."

"I will, don't worry!" I chuckle nervously. For a couple minutes, we sit in silence and watch Iann entertain the children. They started up some kind of tossing game with the ball, nothing complicated but enough to keep them entertained. "Iann told me he's turning fifteen soon... If that's the case, why is he still here? He should be getting his blue whistle by now."

"Both Iann and I are caretakers to the children here," Sciro starts. "Someone like him is far less scary than myself since he doesn't need to hide his face, so they're more inclined to trust him. I'm not as successful until the children become more used to me, but I just feel this urge to look out for them. Lord Dawn calls it an instinct and a good one at that, hence why I'm here and not doing fieldwork with Enri and the others."

That reminds me of something else I've been wondering. "And you keep your faces hidden because..." I trail off, and Sciro's shoulders slouch.

"Many of us are former criminals and such, so we hide our faces to keep our identities hidden. I don't know why I specifically need to or why the other Hands do it while we're here, but we simply do it. I've never known anything else."

Feeling guilty that I've hit an uncomfortable subject, I try to shift gears. "So what do you do with the children when you say you two take care of them?"

Sciro perks up thankfully. "We talk and play with them, draw, tell stories, and general things to keep them occupied. Lord Dawn also insisted I give them a daily reading and writing lesson, for the ones who can't do either. It's saddening to know so many of the children brought here don't even know the basic alphabet. While I can only teach them in this language instead of their mother tongue, it's still something."

"And that's admirable enough," I reassure him with a smile. Even if I can't see if he's smiling or not, I get a sense the air around us is brightening, like how one can sometimes just sense the mood in a room before anyone says anything.

"I can sometimes sneak books in here, but most of the time the stories I tell are made-up. Funnily enough, something the children often love hearing about is food." Sciro sounds sheepish as he says this. "Many come from places where they had little to no food, and what they could get was of low quality. As we eat our ration bars, I tell them about the foods I've seen in the cookbooks I've scavenged, or I try to read those books directly to them. We make up recipes based on the ingredients we read about, mainly so I can encourage them to have some hope and be excited for the kinds of things they can eat on the surface." He chuckles. "They always try to put together so many ingredients that each dish might as well be like a stew or salad."

I'm on no grounds to talk about how I miss better food than ration bars, but that meal I had with Bondrewd feels as if it were years ago. "Even without a lot of ingredients, something can still taste amazing. I sometimes brought a Hammerbeak or some Demonfish home from a delve when I could sneak them past the guards at the Abyss' entrance. My sister could merely put some salt or ground Eternal Fortunes on it, pan-fry or roast it, and it would taste incredible."

"It can be that simple? Then again, I've seen a few recipes with two or three ingredients." Sciro's head tilts. "My brainstorming with the children has admittedly gone past that, and I've come up with a few recipes myself that I hope to try out someday if I can ever leave Idofront. Spices of course spice up food and bold flavors like sweet and sour are often paired together. Something like salt and pepper on apples could work to make the flavors stand out."

My taste buds curdle at that description alone. "Ah, I don't think those would taste as good together as it sounds, Sciro." He seems to be in his own world, though, rambling off "recipes" that make my stomach ache even imagining eating them.

"You could take some noodles, mix in some melted chocolate, and then put fruit in it and chill it. Or it can still be eaten warm since dough's involved with a lot of desserts, and dough makes pasta I think? So why wouldn't it go well together?"

I balk at that. "And destroy yourself with all that glucose and sugar?" Sciro seems to ignore me and continues.

"Then there's one of those dessert pies you bake in the oven that can be made with avocado and squash! It puts sweet and savory together!"

"That's defeating the point of avocados being healthy—!"

"Or maybe lemon on Demonfish on a bed of rice!"

"Okay, that one's actually amazing."

"But the best one I've thought of is orange with mint!" Sciro sounds especially proud of this one. "Mint's supposed to taste cold and fresh, and it would go with that tang oranges supposedly have." With all his enthusiasm, I don't have the heart to tell him of my experiences with toothpaste and orange juice, so I smile and nod.

"Just consider that things might not go together well just because they sound good together," I gently caution. "On the other hand, unlikely ingredients can pair amazingly, so don't let me destroy your dreams!"

The excitement is audible in Sciro's voice. "Then coffee and popped corn must be incredible!"

Do you mean "popcorn"? "It could be?" I'm ready to receive another earful of recipes when I pick up on the children sounding more excited than before. They've abandoned the ball game and are now sitting on the floor around Iann, who's scribbling on a piece of paper with a black ink pen. No, he's not only scribbling, he's going out of his way to completely blacken the paper with ink. I'd be confused about that alone, but then I notice the pen itself. It's pale blue in color but shimmers in the light from above like it's made of metal or stone. Deep orange lines spiral along the pen, flashing copper in the light as well. I've never seen a pen that intricate before, and it's honestly beautiful to look at.

"See, the ink never runs out! I took this like a week ago and have been using it every day, and it still hasn't run out!" Iann's in as much awe as the other children. Sciro picks up on me no longer listening, and he notices Iann and the pen as well.

"Iann? What's that you have?"

The boy startles and shoves the pen into his sleeve. "Nothin', Uncle Sciro!" However, the wince on his face spoils his already-flimsy lie in an instant. When Sciro approaches him and holds out his hand, Iann hands the pen over. Unable to help my curiosity, I go to Sciro's side to take a look as well. It's no bigger than a standard pen, so it confuses me how it could have lasted for so long, unless...

"You said it hasn't run out of ink in a week of scribbling with it?" As Sciro looks at me, surely in surprise, Iann sheepishly nods. Then that confirms my suspicions. "That has to be a Relic, perhaps Third-Grade? It's nothing remarkable, but it has a clear function that's more than useful for researchers or cartographers."

"Uncle Bon showed it to me before. He called it 'Inkwell: the Everlasting Pen.'" Iann glances at Sciro. "Ever since you said I'm only allowed one pen with every shipment because of space, I've been tryin' to find new things to draw with! It's boring when I can't explore, and reading's boring too after a while!"

"So you took the pen..." Sciro sighs, his grip on the pen tightening. He's quiet for a moment before his shoulders slouch, and he holds the pen out to Iann. "If Lord Dawn hasn't talked to you about this, then I don't see a reason why you can't keep it." Iann's smile returns, and he reaches out for the pen. "On one condition, however!" And it instantly fades as Iann withdraws his hand. "So long as you let the children use it to draw as well when you're here, then I see no issue with it. The reason we're always struggling with pens and pencils is because they need to be divided between the children and the other Hands for research."

Iann grins, snatching the pen back. "You're the best, Uncle Sciro!" he cheers before rushing back to the other children. One of them eagerly holds up a blank piece of paper to Iann, and he takes it. "Okay, I'll stop with the scribbling and really draw something. I saw somethin' cool in a book other day, this deer thing with crazy antlers." That piques my interest, and my gaze remains on the paper as Iann roughly what I assume is a Bophyta. "It looked like that! Except actually way cooler with moss hanging off it."

"I'm guessing you're drawing a Bovphyta there?" I speak up, and the children all look at me.

"Yeah, that's the name." Iann holds up the paper. "Have you seen one too?"

I nod. "Not only have I seen one drawn before, I've seen one in-person." That earns me some amazed looks from the children.

"Can you draw it like Iann did?" Rayne asks excitedly. I stiffen, my jaw clenching. I know the moment I say yes, I'll be asked to draw it for the children. Even if things are tense between us, I have a feeling Melva's worrying about me. I open my mouth to refuse, but I falter when I'm met with Rayne's gaze. Her eyes are like deep pools filled with hopes and wishes that had been surrendered to them, and paired with her eager smile, something in me melts.

"Of course I can," I say with, smiling before I realize I'm doing it. I'm not used to drawing with a pen where every line has to be purposeful, but after a couple practice sketches of some Eternal Fortunes off to the side, I start drawing the Bovphyta. "These creatures live on the Fourth Layer specifically, living in forests closer to cliffs and ridges. They do this because of the moss growing there, and their layered fur allows moss to grow on their backs."

"Is it so they can blend in with the trees easier?" the bespectacled boy asks. "Mr. Sciro taught us the word 'camouflage' the other day.

I nod, smile widening. "It's exactly that. Like most prey animals, Bovphyta are herbivores, meaning they eat plants. They eat most leafy plants along with the moss that grows on them, which allows it to spread to them in the first place. But they love eating Eternal Fortunes the most. Because of this, their meat comes pre-seasoned in a sense, and proper roasting brings the natural flavors out." At that, many of the children start crying out remarks about how Bovphyta taste and if I've tried one. Behind Rayne, Sciro's shoulders shake, like he's stifling a laugh. I know the bomb I'll set off if I say yes, and this time I'm amused to do so.

I have no idea how long I spend at the children's mercy, but I somehow manage to wrangle them by taking more of their art supplies and continuing to draw the creatures of the Abyss I've seen. I try to draw what would be considered traditionally cute or cool creatures while telling stories of my encounters with them, wanting to maintain the air of blissful innocence and ignorance that hangs about the room. All the while, the children continue to ask me questions, both about the creatures themselves along with (of course) the recipies that can be made with them.

It's strange, but that warmth that crept up during my reminiscing has remained, and it's only strengthened as I observe the amazed or smiling expressions of the children. Even the most timid ones have been listening closely to my stories, looking at me with awe in their large eyes. I've always envisioned drawing crowds with my stories. Though it's not in the way I originally envisioned, those questions and the eyes on me or my papers frankly make me giddy.

Along with that warmth, a gnawing ache seizes my chest. My deep fear of taking on an apprentice... This is it, this why I can't stand the idea. There's so much hope and awe around me, and my natural instinct is to shelter them from the other creatures I've encountered. The ones teeth and claws, the ones with quills and hands that could hold weapons, the creatures that wear human skin. The idea of raising a child in general in the world of the Abyss is utterly haunting, yet I can't help but continue to entertain the children. I can hardly comprehend it, a feeling I'd been devoid of for so long.

I'm... having fun.

I can't remember the last time I genuinely enjoyed myself. Not only that, but I'm smiling and truly laughing at the remarks I hear and at the curious and often silly questions the children ask, and I still answer them. It hurts, but it hurts so good! Even if it makes me a selfish and awful person, I don't care. It hurts to be happy, but in this moment, the pain I experienced falling down those stairs was worth it to be able to meet these children and tell them my stories.

"Mr. Len?" Rayne asks, and I smile at her as I nod to encourage her to ask her question. "You never answered my question way before. What's your White Whistle title?"

My smile softens, though it doesn't fade. "I'm Len the Seeker, the Lord of Knowledge."

Some time later, the children start to calm down, likely from having their energy worn out. A few children go to nap on the benches while a few others grab ration bars from a plate Sciro brought in a time ago, and the remaining children still sit around me, talking with each other or looking at my drawings. Iann's sharing a ration bar with the children while Sciro comes to sit on the floor near me.

"She really seems to like you," he says, and I'm confused before I notice Rayne. She's curled up on the floor next to me asleep, her head resting against my leg like a pillow. "I can take her if you want; I know she's more bold than the others."

"Oh, no, it's fine!" I shake my head. "She's honestly adorable, reminds me of my friend's daughter."

"Your mentor's? Sciro asks, and I shake my head again.

"My dear friend who I saw as my second father. He's been gone for over a year now, but his daughter is so much like him." I sigh. "I-it's bittersweet, but... I'm glad you introduced me to these children. I can't remember the last time I was," I chuckle nervously, "well, having fun to put it plainly."

I can tell Sciro's smiling as he speaks next. "I'm truly glad you are. You've—Honestly, you've seemed so down since I met you, so it was like seeing a whole other person today."

My heart sinks to the pit of my stomach, my smile becoming a grimace. He's painfully open like Melva, and it's something I envy. "Since you've shared this with me, I'll share something with you. You asked why I want to make a Last Dive?"

Sciro stiffens before waving his hands defensively. "N-no, Len, you don't have to tell me if it saddens or upsets you to do so."

"It's okay, r-really. You've been so open with me since we mt despite the circumstances, and..." I'm putting a little more faith into someone else, that's it. "I want to tell you this, so long as you want to hear it."

Sciro's hands lower as hesighs in defeat. "If you insist..." And I do.

I swallow hard, trying not to let my thoughts consume me. "I-I've lost things and people in my life... It's not as many as others have lost, but every day it kills me to recall them, to even be in the same spaces as they once were. I-I can't stand living like this with a ruined body and mind. N-not when I know I'm some kind of burden to my loved ones even if they say otherwise, not when nothing gets better no matter how much I try... That's why I'm making my Last Dive," I hold up Aedia, "to reunite my sister along with myself with our family and others we've lost." Sciro's eerily silent for a minute before I realize what I've said, but it's too late to take my words back.

"A ruined body and mind?" My heart clenches as he looks up at me, and I prepare myself to apologize. "They hurt, but they can't stop you from living if it's what you truly want. I-I don't know anything about myself or where I come from, I get migraines and leg spasms from faults in my prosthetic, but I have Iann, and I hope to go to the surface with him. While I can't replace his father, I'd like to be viewed as one by him."

"A-and I'm sure he does," I say hollowly, but Sciro isn't done.

"I don't know your full story, Len, and I can imagine it might be hell... But you mention having loved ones on the surface still. They really wouldn't stick around if they didn't care. They have no obligation to be with you, but they choose to." To my surprise, Sciro takes my hands in his. I can't feel the warmth of his hands through his gloves, but the comfort is still there. "Th-there still may be something for you. Even if there isn't, i-it's still exciting in a sense. Iann and I have nothing as far as we know, but we get to find something and make it ours. That in itself sounds as beautiful as the Abyss is, at least to me."

I try to speak, but my throat is tight; nothing can escape it. I suppose I do still have people on the surface, but they surely don't care or despise me outright. And what else is there for me? To go back to Norteva? Another country perhaps? I honestly have no desire to spend the rest of my days doing what manual labor people would allow me to do or... Abyss forbid being stuck behind another front counter. Delving was all I could see myself doing, still see myself doing to an extent. I belong to the Abyss.

Even if my thoughts are a jumble with my mind and promise to Aedia refusing to yield to Sciro's words, there's one thing I know for sure: Sciro and Iann don't belong in Idofront, they belong on the surface.

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The adorable fanart of Llyr shown in the chapter media was drawn by my friend Juni_Penguin_! I miss Llyr being in this story so much, and I love how he looks so cute and sleepy in this art lol thank you again!