Bondrewd's faint and final words erupt the hallway into utter chaos. Melva sprints over to me and wrenches me to my feet, dragging me behind her and screaming for our friend to follow us with Iann. I spare Bondrewd's collapsed form a glance as we rush by it, and he's not moving. My feet slip in the slick of blood, but Melva wrenches me onwards. I stumble behind her, my feet finding themselves and soon keeping pace with hers as I force myself down the halls.

   We don't run for long before I pick up on a fourth set of footfalls slamming the ground along with ours. A glance over my shoulder reveals Enri is pursuing us, a thin, black rod now occupying the hand not holding that black capsule. Her arm snaps up, ready to throw.

   "Melva, turn!" I cry, and she responds, turning on her heel and throwing herself down a nearby divergence in the hall. We all make it around the corner just as the capsule slams into the wall and explodes in a cloud of gray spores. We turn the next corner we find and the next after that, taking every turn we can. I don't care if we get lost, because that at least may mean Enri loses us.

   The green-eyed Praying Hand pushes himself a little more to run alongside the two of us. "M-Melva, turn up here! I know where we can go," he chokes out, and Melva looks at him. I can't see her expression, but it seems she trusts him as she makes the turn. "We can head to the boats from here. I don't know how to use them, b-but it's better than us running out into the snow."

   "Ya don't gotta tell me, we can learn on the fly," Melva huffs. We follow the Praying Hand's instructions, and I can hardly hear Enri following us now. We must have gained some ground on her, and I hope it lasts.

   As we turn another corner, the corridor begins to widen. Along with that, traces of cold air hit us, becoming stronger and more frigid. The yellow lights of the hall fade as a gray light sparks and begins to grow in the distance. My throat feels as though it's on fire, and my stomach is in agony, but the light gives me hope, and we all push on towards it.

   We all soon burst out of the hall into a great open room flooded with light from outside. Before us is a large opening in the wall that lets out onto a flat plane of gray-black water. That water flows into the room, causing a half-dozen dinghies to quietly bob in the brine. This is an indoor boat dock of sorts, and Melva's already making for the furthest boat. I'd protest, but its absence would take longer to notice than a boat in immediate sight. The vessels are about twelve feet long and six wide with high edges, made of dark, sturdy wood. Oddly enough, their motors appear to be attached to the front of the boat instead of its end, a steering apparatus situated by the motor. Still, the motor is similar to the ones I've seen on fishing boats back home.

   "Kid, ya know how to start somethin' like this?" Melva glances at me, and I nod. "Good, then get it started while I steer. I won't make ya drive this." I give her a brief but thankful look.

   The boat shifts and rocks as I step down into it, and my stomach instantly turns to water. I grit my teeth and stagger to the motor, flipping a few familiar switches before pulling a handle. The motor rumbles to life, and that's when my legs give out. Thankfully, Melva helps our friend get Iann into the boat.

   "Can ya help me keep an eye out? Len's already hurt enough." My face reddens, but I don't protest.

   "O-of course, but I'm not much help. I've never been—I can't remember being outside." Our friend's expression is bitter and shameful.

   "I don't know this place either, so it's fine with me!" Melva cleaves through the rope tethering the boat to the shoreline, and the motor starts tugging us to the open water. I sit on the floor of the boat with Iann in my arms, unable to help but shudder against everything in my body telling me how much pain it's in. Melva gives me a soft but determined smile. "Let's get the hell out of here."

   Leaving Idofront is surreal. I never thought I'd see the Fifth Layer again, so seeing the cavern walls soar high above us is dizzying. It's better than looking out across the water, however. I can only imagine what's swimming beneath us, and I pinch myself to stop from imagining what tentacled, sharp-fanged creatures could be watching us with beady eyes—

   "Wh-what do we do now?" I say more loudly than I intend, wincing as I do so.

   Melva glances at me. "Get to shore, of course. After that, we go home. I think I killed that bastard, so he can't hurt anyone else. I'm just hopin' his team's the kind to give up when we get far enough away, so we're gonna make tracks as fast as we can."

   The image of Melva goring Bondrewd replays itself in my mind, the way she stabbed him without a thought and how he dropped like a sack of rocks. I can recall the last time I saw that much blood, and it makes me shiver with a coldness that doesn't come from the icy air whipping against us.

   "Lord Dawn... dead..." Our friend sits at the back of the boat, looking back at the slowly-shrinking image of Idofront. It's like a vantablack stain against the surrounding darkness, an oil slick on the water. "I-I'm sorry, but I don't know if I can believe it."

   Melva scoffs. "We're supposed to be hopin' for the best 'ere. There's no way he could've survived that, not with how much blood he lost. Not to mention, some of the most powerful people have gone out in pathetic ways. He's dead." However, I'm unfortunately more inclined to believe our friend. The gnawing feeling in my gut accompanies the understanding that makes me purse my lips.

   "It's not that, is it? You just can't imagine it, can you?"

   Our friend is silent before turning to face us. His brow is firmly set, gaze cast downwards as his bottom lip trembles. "Y-you understand... Thank you, Len." Not completely, but I do know what's on his mind.

   "Understand what?" Melva looks almost appalled. "Be happy he's dead!"

   "It's not that!" Our friend shakes his head. "Lord Dawn was someone I looked up to for years! H-he never treated me badly, he was always nice to Iann and the other children, he taught me so much about Idofront, and he let me spend as much time with Enri as I wanted!"

   Melva's brows knitted together, a sharpness entering her voice. "Ya say that after ya were just cryin' 'bout how he ruined your life an' killed who ya used to be? Was that just for show or somethin'?"

   "No!" Anger splintered across our friend's face. "I hate it, I-I hate it so much how he did that to me and everyone else. It's nothing but disgusting! He betrayed all of us and hurt Len just because he found out, I hate him for that!" Then his expression crumbled, tears glinting in the corners of his eyes. "But I still feel awful for leaving, for thinking he might be dead... There might be something wrong with me, I don't know!"

   Melva stares at him, muttering something under her breath only I pick up on before it's lost to the wind. "There probably is..." I scowl, but I keep it hidden. It makes sense for Melva's feelings to exist, both of theirs, but it still burns me inside.

   "More importantly, now that we've left that place, are you serious about wanting to start a new life on the surface?" I ask.

   Our friend's eyes widen, and without a second thought, he nods. "O-of course! Even without us having to leave like this, I still want to be on the surface again. I want to make sure Iann can see the sun if I can."

   I manage to smile a little, relieved. "Then... Who would you want to be seen as under the sun?"

   Our friend's gaze falls away for a moment, looking down at Iann in my arms, and then it returns to us. "Scirorocco is the Praying Hand in Idofront, th-the man who never saw the sun at all. Alejo saw the sun, and he deserves to see it again." He wipes his eyes and does his best to give us both a firm look. "My name is Alejo." He says the name awkwardly but with conviction, sincerity ringing true.

   My smile widens as Melva gives an acknowledging nod. "Then it's nice to meet you, Alejo."

   We're alone the remainder of the trip to the shoreline, no other boats on the horizon. We discuss what to explain to Iann, and we unanimously agree we won't tell him the exact truth. Knowing I inadvertently caused the deaths of so many children has already destroyed both me for sitting by and Alejo for directly participating, we wouldn't dare put that knowledge on someone as young as Iann. We decided on a story of Bondrewd actually not wanting me to have Life Seeker, that I had stolen it regardless and Alejo had assisted with the robbery. Why would I have stolen it? It's invaluable to our ascent, which is true no matter what.

   Enri's admittedly right, people deserve to keep their innocence and ignorance, though it's only when it's truly right to do so. When is it truly right? I still don't know, but at least at the moment it is.

   My legs buckle and give out as I leave the boat, but I'm relieved to collapse onto solid ground. We've landed in a small cove of sorts surrounded by rocky, snow-dusted rocks and boulders that rise up into overarching cliffs that loom over the pebbly beach. While I'd be caught up in the scenery, the continued rumbling of the boat's motor confuses me. I glance back, only to see Melva shoving the boat as far from the shore as possible. It putters away, back out to the open water.

   "What are you doing?"

   "Makin' sure they don't see we landed 'ere," Melva replies. "If we get lucky, somethin' might destroy the boat an' they'll find the wreckage, thinking we drowned."

   "Right... I suppose that makes sense." Hopefully we actually have a way out of here and we didn't strand ourselves. I force my legs back under me and stagger to my feet, a hand clutching my stomach where my stitched incision throbs painfully. Melva notices this and frowns.

   "As much as I wanna get goin', we should probably rest for today. Find a cave and hide."

   I shake my head. "I-I can make at least one ascent. It's better that Iann's still unconscious while we do it so we don't risk anything happening to him." I know he's suffered the curse here, but I still don't want to see him undergo it if I can help it. Alejo seems to agree as he nods, and Melva glares at me for a moment. I return her gaze, and she sighs.

   "Fine. We make up a hundred yards, an' we'll stop. Looks like there's some easy to climb rocks over there, so it won't be too strenuous."

   I give Melva a thankful nod before I lift the hem of my shirt to look at my lower stomach. The incision is just as inflamed as before, though I can't tell whether it's from strain or the lingering infection. It's not like we can go back, however, so I'll have to push through the best I can.

   "Can someone help me secure Iann, then?" Alejo holds him in his arms, and he obviously can't climb like that. I nod and dig through my bag, pulling out one of my coiled ropes. Meanwhile, Alejo takes off his coat and bundles Iann in it. It goes down to his ankles, but it still looks more than warm.

   "Wait, before ya do anythin'," Melva points at my bag, "give 'im that cloak ya brought since ya just use your coat." I forgot I brought it, but I'm more than willing to hand it over so Alejo can be warmer. Along with the rope, I take out a dull blue cloak and hand it over. Alejo gives me an appreciative look before putting it on. After that, I help secure Iann to Alejo's back with the rope and one of our blankets. "Okay, everyone ready?"

   "W-wait, what if..." Alejo hesitates. "I just thought of this, but what if experiencing the curse makes me lose my memory again? I don't know what we'd do if that happens."

   "Then we'll just believe it won't." Melva gives Alejo a look I can't see, but it makes Alejo avert his gaze.

   "Leave him be, Melva. I know you want to hurry, but he has every right to be worried."

   Melva gives me a stern look that doesn't hold up for long, turning into one of reluctant defeat. "Right... Sorry, but like the klutz said, I'm worried."

   Alejo doesn't seem fully relieved, but he nods. "I-it's okay. It's not like staying here is a good idea. It's inevitable, and I need to face it if I want to return to the surface." At least he's turned it into something positive.

   The flow of the curse emerges around us as I activate Life Seeker, coalescing into a blanket above our heads. However, there's a slightly thinner spot in the blanket at the far end of the cove ahead of us. I point in its direction, signaling for us to move forwards, though I insist on being the one to climb first.

   "Besides Iann, I'm the most used to the curse here. I'll go up there and secure a rope for you all to climb up with." Melva's narrowed eyes tell me exactly what she thinks of that idea while Aejo's face has gone ashen. We can't back down now, though. We need to go.

   I dig my fingers into crevices in the stones, slowly hauling myself up. While I try to keep an eye on the swirling pink mist, I keep my head down so I don't disturb it and can keep track of the thinner patch. It reminds me of unevenly spread paint, as odd of a description as it is. But some patches are thinner than others, and I aim directly for it.

   As I pass through, I lose feeling in my hands and feet, the lack of feeling quickly flooding the rest of me. Fighting panic, I cling to the rock, keeping my gaze locked on my hands. The whistling breeze dulls in my ears along with my pounding heart, but I force my gaze to remain on my hands. They're there, they're gripping the rock, I'm here.

   With a wheeze I can't hear, I fling my hand up and grab another rock, hauling myself up. I rely on my upper body strength alone, knowing for sure my feet would fail me if I were to try and plant them in a foothold I can't feel or hear my boot knock against. I continue to pull myself up, and my heart leaps when I can faintly hear myself gasp for breath. My senses are returning, and this little bit drives me to climb faster, up towards the edge of the cliff I can finally make out.

   I finally crest the top of the cliff, collapsing once again. My senses gradually make their full return, and when I can taste blood in the back of my throat, I look back down at the others. Melva waves with both hands, clearly happy I made it. I force a weak smile before I set to work with the ropes, tying and securing them, throwing the end over the side of the cliff.

   By the time everyone has made it up, my arms and shoulders are in as much pain as the rest of me. Melva weathered it better than Alejo, but he had completely blacked out the moment he passed through the wavering mist patch. I now press snow to his forehead, trying to chase sensation back into him and wake him.

   "Sh-shit, that was awful," Melva gasps, leaning against a rock. "It felt like I was gonna dissolve or somethin' at one point."

   "That was what it was like for me before," I say grimly. "I can't believe you didn't fully lose yourself."

   Melva snickers. "Call it bein' stubborn as shit, which ya know well. Just somethin' in me kept naggin', tellin' me to keep lookin' up an' not give up or else I'd fall away. I didn't wanna leave ya by blackin' out, so that let me keep clingin'." She looks out to the sea. "Somethin' out there gave me that strength, I'm sure of it." That makes my stomach turn, but I don't rebuke her words.

   The sound of rustling cloth shifts my gaze then, but instead of Alejo regaining consciousness, it's instead Iann. My heart jolts, and Iann looks around in confusion, putting a hand to the cut on his forehead.

   "Is this outside? How? Why?" He notices the rest of us. "Mr. Len, you got out! But why are we outside? I was running from Aunt Enri before because she was trying to make me go back to my room, but then I slipped and fell down the stairs." His gaze flickers to Alejo, and his eyes widen in genuine shock. "I-is that... Uncle Sciro?"

   "His name's actually Alejo," Melva says brusquely. "That bast—Bondrewed was keepin' things from everyone, not just him."

   "Huh?" Iann's voice is filled with uncertainty. Before either of us can reply, however, Alejo regains consciousness as well.

   "We all can explain," I say, smiling nervously as Alejo winces and brushes the snow from his forehead.

   "I-I can actually feel that, but now I can say I don't like the snow–" He jolts in surprise when Iann throws himself at Alejo, hugging him tightly.

   "You finally took your mask off!" he exclaims. He still hugs Alejo as he sits up and hugs Iann back.

   "That I did, and I'm glad I did it..."

   Melva and I exchange wary looks, though mine is filled with more urgency. As much as I'd rather rest my aching body, we're still far too close to the water for my liking. We need to gain more ground, not to mention find more appropriate shelter. Melva sighs and shakes her head, standing up, and I clear my throat.

   "We can explain what happened, but we need to do it when we get to someplace safer where we can rest, Iann."

   The boy frowns at me, tilting his head. "Where are we going? Are we going back to Idofront?"

   I shake my head and muster up my first smile in almost three days. "We're going to the surface."

   Scaling that cliff led us out onto a wider, flat area with more cliffs rising up behind us. Thankfully, they aren't as sheer as the initial cliff, though we still had more climbing ahead of us. The climbs afterwards were as cautious as the first still, especially when the telltale throbbing in my temples warned me to ease up on Aedia's assistance. The cavern is starting to grow dark by the time we make it to the tops of the cliffs, the sea far below us.

   Unable to keep in a groan of exhaustion and pain, I collapse to the floor of the small cave we had discovered in a rocky outcropping. That's it. Even with my insistence on continuing, I had pushed myself too much, and I'm now paying the price for it.

   "Len, can ya at least fall onto this?" Melva unrolls a bedroll and points at it, a stern look on her face.

   It feels as though the rock is sapping the warmth from my body, so I nod and crawl over to it. "I-I'm sorry, I couldn't bring myself to stop climbing until we had made it somewhere we weren't as exposed."

   "I get it, but now you're wiped, an' there ain't a single tree 'round 'ere. We're gonna really halfta try to look for firewood."

   "That's fine, I can–"

   "No," Alejo interrupts me. "Melva's right. You're exhausted, so the two of us will look for firewood while you stay here with Iann. I'll check your injuries, and then we can leave." Melva's brows raise in surprise, but he doesn't seem to notice as he lifts my shirt. Small beads of blood have seeped from my stitches and dried on my skin, and Alejo frowns. "Melva, can you scoop a little snow from outside and put it in this?" He pours out a canteen into a cup and holds out the empty container. "I'd rather use our water to wash this clean instead of meltwater unless it's boiled. Meanwhile I can use the snow in that canteen as a cold compress to try and help the inflammation."

   "Yeah, of course." Melva takes the canteen and leaves to gather some snow. She quickly returns and hands it to Alejo, who had already washed the blood away by that point. "Meet me outside when ya wanna look for that wood," she says before heading back out.

   "Hold still, Len." Alejo presses the canteen to my incision, and I can't help but let out a pained hiss at the cold seeping through the exterior.

   Iann gives me a concerned look as he sits next to me. "Does your stomach hurt, Mr. Len?"

   "Yes, but I've dealt with worse pain before. I'll do what Ms. Melva and Uncle Alejo said and rest for the night so I can be in better shape to keep going tomorrow."

   "I still don't get why we're goin' to the surface... Can ya tell me now? And don't lie!" The look in his eyes is serious, and I wilt internally at the thought that we'll all be lying to him. Still, it truly is for the best. As Alejo soothes the incision's swelling, we both tell him the half-truth. An expression of guilt instantly overtakes Iann the moment we bring up how Bondrewd didn't want me to have Life Seeker along with how Bondrewd had lied to Alejo. "I knew it... I should've left it, but now Uncle Bon's mad at you two!"

   "It's not your fault at all, it's more my fault," I say. "I should have returned Life Seeker to him, but he wanted me to stay and work as a Praying Hand. He wouldn't take no for an answer, so I had to do what I needed so I could go home. Your Auntie Enri wanted to help your Uncle Bon keep me in Idofront, so she wants to come after us as well."

   "Is that why he locked you up? A-and Auntie Enri... Why her?" Iann's voice is small, and it's painful to nod.

   "Some people are just so passionate about things that they don't think about whether that passion will hurt other people or not. The ends justify the means, as the saying goes. Your Uncle Bon is so passionate about the Abyss, and he wanted my skills, whether I wanted to help him or not. The same goes for your Uncle Alejo. He knew his real name but didn't tell him the truth because he wanted him to be his Scirorocco. Whether he's a good or bad person is up to you to decide."

   Iann looks at Alejo pleadingly. "Are Uncle Bon and Auntie Enri bad people to you, Uncle Alejo?"

   Alejo stiffens, and his jaw visibly hardens. There's nothing but confliction on his face. "H-he's a very, very bad person for what he did to me and Mr. Len, and I feel like Enri is too because she's so loyal to him. I still wish I knew him as the Bondrewd I'd known before, but really, this Bondrewd was the real version of him all along. He was just keeping it from us, and Enri was too. I suppose it's the remaining good memories I have with them that make me wish I didn't know the whole truth."

   Iann doesn't say anything, his gaze falling to the floor as he thinks.

   Alejo takes the canteen away from my stomach and examines it again. "I'll get some new snow to replace this, and you keep it held on there while I go out with Melva."

   Eventually, it's just me and Iann in the cave. He lays out the other bedroll and blankets when I ask him to, and I'm sure he and I will be using the bedrolls while Melva and Alejo will insist on sleeping on the ground. I curse myself and hope we can make it out of the Fifth Layer by tomorrow night so we don't have to contend with the cold any longer. I despise humidity, but it's easier to find water and combat dehydration from humidity and heat than to keep warm when only Melva and I have supplies. Melva had stolen the sheets and blankets from our room in Idofront, at least.

   "Mr. Len, how high up are we?" Iann asks.

   "I'm not sure. Let me check." I flip open my depth meter. We had ascended nearly two-hundred yards during the climb according to the depth meter, putting us halfway up to the Fourth Layer. We only made vertical progress, not horizontal, so the blue-green glow of the Fourth Layer I'd seen from the top of the Fifth Layer was still nowhere in sight. "I believe we're at about twelve-thousand and two-hundred yards, so approaching the top of the Fifth Layer. The lack of foliage made it easier to make progress upwards."

    Iann's eyes widen in wonder, displaced among the emotions he'd seemingly been grappling with earlier. Is he already past it? That doesn't make sense. "Can you tell me more about the Fourth Layer?"

   "Are you sure? You'll be seeing it with your own eyes soon enough." I try to smile again, but it dies as Iann's brows knit together with hesitance.

   "Please? I-I don't wanna think more about when you told me about Uncle Bon right now, I wanna hear about something else." That's what it is, and my throat tightens. I wouldn't push it aside, but this is a child, he's already dealing with enough.

  "Of course, you don't need to explain more. My apologies, Iann. I'll tell you anything you want to know to the best of my ability."

   I keep Iann occupied for the next hour or so, though what I say keeps my mind just as distracted. I tell him more about the creatures above along with the Fourth Layer's landscape itself, how the water spills from the flat-creepers while the pools illuminate the swirling mist. As much as I don't want to, I tell him of the water's occasional acidity, though a look of grim determination comes over him as he learns of this.

   "I won't get in the way, Mr. Len. I promise. Yeah, I'm a kid still, but I'll stick by Uncle Alejo as much as I can."

   I admire his spirit, and I try to encourage it with a smile. But his comment makes me wonder something else. "How do you feel about calling him that now? It hasn't been long, but it was a sudden shift..."

   Iann's brow furrows as he shrugs. "He can be called whatever he wants, I don't get to make that choice. If he's happier with his old name, then I'll call him that. I'm just happy that he finally took his mask off. He doesn't look ugly like he said he would, he..." He trails off, looking wistful. "They look nothing like each other, but he reminds me of my dad. There was this look in his eyes that always made me feel safe, even when my grandparents were being awful. Uncle Alejo has that same look." He smiles, though he doesn't seem to be aware of it.

   "I'm glad you can feel safe when he's around then, even if everything that's happening now is scary."

   He looks back up at me, concerned now. "Are you scared?"

   My heart jolts, and I purse my lips. Should I tell him? While I don't want to, he's also already seen me at some of my weakest moments, as shameful as it may have been. Along with that, I refuse to lie any more when his gaze is piercing, no doubt thinking what I am: "don't lie to me." I won't. "I-I'm terrified." I wrap my arms around my middle, the slight trembling in my hands not going unnoticed. "I don't want to be caught, I don't want to die, I just want to make it back home!"

   "So you can see your boyfriend and apologize to him?"

   My eyes widen before my expression breaks and falls, and I nod. "E-everyone I hurt, but yes, him most of all."

   "Then I really won't slow you down. I'll do all I can!" And he's back to being determined again...

   A weak but amused chuckle still slips out. "I believe I should be saying that to you since you need to see the surface as much as I do."

   "Yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't say it either! If someone my age can go to the Second Layer, I think I have the right to say things like this."

   He does have a point there. "Then I'll leave that there since you're right." He looks proud when I say that, and I smile genuinely.

   As darkness falls completely, Melva and Alejo return with armfulls of dry-looking wood. Melva seems dissatisfied but doesn't complain, and she drops the wood near the front of the cavern. It seems as though tonight is going to be quite the long night if it already wasn't going to be.

   "We're hangin' a blanket over the entrance to try an' hide the light. The smoke'll make that a pain, but we need to keep the light an' heat in." I agree with the idea as she digs in her bag for ration bars. "We'll have real food tomorrow night. It's pretty easy to find Shroom-Bears an' Silverswimmers."

   Alejo's face lights up with cautious optimism. "Are you serious? Actual food? Not ration bars?" There's a noticeable giddiness in his voice, one he tries to hide and fails at. "Well, it's not like we have to, considering things."

   Melva shakes her head. "Ration bars are better for nutrition, but what we all really need after that shit is a nice, hot meal."

   "I honestly can't wait for that," I say, which validates Alejo's optimism as his face breaks out into an unabashed grin.

   Melva smirks and looks out of the cave's entrance. The darkness threatens to seep in, though it's kept at bay by my glowstone lamp. She kindles and lights the fire before looking back at us, a satisfied look on her face. "We all can't."

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A notice to readers:
Firstly, credit to my friend for drawing the amazing art of Alejo that's featured in the chapter media. He looks way better there than I can draw him since I'm not that good at thin faces/body types lol

Also...

Recently I just haven't had the inspiration to write this fic, so it'll be going on hiatus for at least a month. I'm sorry, but I won't make myself write something I have no inspiration for and risk not ending this story in a way I want to. I can say for sure that once this story comes back, there will be the last of this arc and one final arc, all equaling to less than a dozen chapters left. I estimate 30 chapters or a couple less for this fic in total. Once I have 3 chapters prewritten, I will start updating again, and when I finish prewriting it, I'll start increasing the updates per month until it's finally over. Thank you for understanding.