Katha raised her voice, standing up and moving out of a faraway bush. "Come on, give me a high-five!" she turned to Ronpi, carelessly dropping the Ancient Bow to the ground.

"One try." Ronpi steadily repeated, only peaking his head out.

"One is enough, just like I said!" Katha smiled. "We'll get the rest later, eventually!"

"Dad's words." Ronpi looked to the right, a bit puzzled. "Kill them on sight."

"Halfway there. One-third, actually. Either way, aren't you happy?"

"I am, but something else is bugging me." Ronpi blinked, finally stepping out. "What do I do with this?" he held the Knrhum's Blade in one hand, as its eye closed.

Katha tilted her head. "Finders keepers?" she fingergunned him.

"No." Ronpi scratched his head. "Stealing isn't my thing."

"Then, no worries, my brother!" she put her hand on his shoulder. "We'll find someone and leave it in their good care!"

"Okay." Ronpi smiled.

***

"I can't feel you anymore." Shi Hon uttered, his voice breaking into a soft but distorted rhythm. With one raised hand, his fingers felt his cold skin, his smile turning into a weary expression. His eyes were fixated on the wall in the front as if he could penetrate through and see the world from up here.

But of course, he could. If there was no fog present, the world was clear and as small as his pinky fingers. Countries were the size of fingernails, and people were practically non-existent. If there was air at such high points, humans could have used this opportunity to create a big enough land and fight the demon's reign, but of course, it was only his domain to claim.

Shi Hon chose not to see.

Furrowing his eyebrows, he stepped back, clearing his throat.

"Knrhum." Shi Hon raised his voice, looking up at the velvet ceiling. "Have you gotten lost on your journeys? Is the one carrying you too much of a burden to pretend? Or, did you finally run away?"

"Have you heard of the story of the living sword?" Leiru spoke, stepping into the chamber from behind, and Shi Hon straightened up, turning to face his sworn brother.

"Of course. It was told before the Second War, fella." Shi Hon uttered.

Leiru stepped around. "A sword that fought for itself, swang in the air as if it was carried by an invisible force."

"Turns out, the spirit resting inside was as strong to escape the grasp of its bearer." Shi Hon continued. "Long before Demonears existed too, people always tried to sacrifice others in the name of power. Their noses were too long to notice, they'd think that the dead don't have feelings, and aren't fighting for revenge."

"Although I think that might be a reach." Leiru nodded.

"You remember Knrhum." Shi Hon looked forward. "Striking fear into the hearts of many simply with a stare into their eyes. A black-like-soot creature of anger. Someone highly respected by the thousands of demons." he clenched his fist. "To prolong his life, he created a sword only one as strong as he could lift." he moved his hand up. "...and then buried his blood and soul within."

Leiru closed his eyes, breathing out.

"You were scared too. You thought he was going to kill you. Just like it killed her."

Leiru put his hand near his side, almost pushing his fingers into a long-forgotten scar. He frowned, then turned to Shi Hon's widened eyes, and his eyebrows were eventually raised. He breathed out, stepping around the chamber and towards the exit.

"Everyone was scared." Leiru finally answered, after a prolonged moment of silence. "Humans, demons, chimaeras, centuras, anything on the battlefield feared it. Aren't you weaker if you couldn't do such?"

Shi Hon squinted his eyes. "What?"

"Are you not powerful enough?"

"Strength stems from fear, which isn't a good thing if your opponent gets to run." Shi Hon smirked. "No, fella. I'm much, much stronger." he smiled.

Lisbeth passed around the corner, following the sounds of the nearby conversation, still distinctly muffled. Her hand landed on the wall, sliding along, just as a few steps trod the stairs leading up to the one chamber atop. A great wind howled in the distance as if a warning for things to come.

"I'd say, in my entire life, I'd never had any enemies." Shi Hon announced. "I'm sure someone's out to get me, but I'm not going to wipe them out. Although, now, I can't feel him. If he's escaped from my grasp." he closed his eyes. "He's going to head towards me."

He shook his head. "No. Towards him."

"Towards who?" Leiru tilted his head.

"Satan." Shi Hon answered, and Lisbeth's eyes widened.

With a quick step to the right, Shi Hon's bare feet and sharp toenails erected a small triangle and a vertical line moving in from the top. He breathed out, opening his eyes, as they stared right at Leiru's. The other gulped.

"If Katha and Ronpi can't catch the Klakunhoi and bring them here, I'd say, let them drag the three right to the source."

"T-They'll die," Leiru hesitated.

"You said it yourself. They'll manage."

Leiru breathed in.

"Demons should never fight each other. After all, we're one." Shi Hon gazed up. "...but what can you do? My dearest Knrhum won't listen to anyone's words, only to his rights and wrongs." Shi Hon's eyes shrunk. "A weapon only to be lifted by the greatest of warriors."

Lisbeth almost gasped but stopped herself.

"I could carry it." Shi Hon said.

Lisbeth thought about Atomu for that second, but her eyes pierced Leiru once more. He was the entire reason she found herself here in the first place. A sly smile could be seen, opposing the one that Shi Hon bore.

Shi Hon's words were never lies, and water never reflected his expressions.

***

Ronpi breathed out, huffing for air.

"What?" Katha quickly turned.

"The sword is getting heavier," he uttered, closing one eye.

"Really?" she put the bow over her head. "Why would that ever happen?"

"I don't know." Ronpi shook his head.

She blinked. "Are you going to leave it behind?"

Ronpi quickly muttered, staring forwards, before shaking his head.

The eye nearing the blade's tip was open, scanning the environment left and right. It searched for something.

Katha shook her head, before taking one more dry leaf and transforming it into a vine, which quickly wrapped itself around the weapon's edges, as well as its eye.

"This way, it'll be a little less of a burden!" she smiled, clenching her fist.

***

With a hunch as to the lake's location, Atomu and Rowan, ran through the forest. They avoided the earlier fern-like plants, instead vowing to take the path around the massive field and up the hill from where the first trees appeared.

Their leaves were of a dim green colour, hushed by all the reds piling from above and falling onto the bedding, creating a neatly laid road above all the slippery moss forming around the roots and up the barks towards the big branches of the oaks.

Oaks soon turned into birches, almost fully coated in a thick layer of black wood instead of the whites, bearing orange leaves.

Moving uphill led to the fog extending further beyond the horizon, limiting their view, and if the noises of the animals quietly chirping in the night weren't upsetting enough, it was the sheer size of everything. Not even twenty minutes passed and it already seemed that from here the hill they were going to rest on was so far away that it would take them hours to even attempt to find it again.

Soon enough though, they reached a small copse filled with vista fruits all around, with the squirrels jumping back and forth around the branches towards more densely placed trees. Above the crowns, a new mountain stretched above the fog.

The Paladian pointed. "The Muk-Shadun Cliffs."

Rowan shook their head, squinting their eyes at the mentioned place. At first, it resembled a mountain, but nearing its top, the trees surrounding its upper climb changed into long beige formations moving up into boulders with acacia trees resting atop various patches of grass on the sharpest part of the rocky wall climbing around the night sky.

"M-Mum told me a story once." Atomu fixed his bag. "Muk-Shadun splits Orawood into four different paths. The one we were treading was the Hallows, quiet and full of silent dangers, but the road leading to the lake is called Silva Tops."

"We're heading further South, then," Rowan explained.

"We'll see when to turn when Silva Tops marks a change in terrain. I-It might be hard to t-tread through, though." Atomu spoke, putting a hand into his pocket. "We could-"

"There's no better solution." Rowan stepped forward, huffing heavily. Rubbing a drop of sweat off their forehead, they looked at the cliffs, furrowing their brows. "Time is limited. No matter how difficult it gets, it'll be even harder to let Chyuuichi die."

Atomu gasped as if surprised at the words.

"Rain is always better than thunder," Rowan uttered, and their next step changed into a speedy sprint. Atomu gulped, hesitating for a few seconds.

Grinding his teeth, he watched as the Tributal advanced further, and without thinking much more, he ran after.

Reaching the Muk-Shadun Cliffs meant a stop for a few seconds to ponder over which direction was which. While Rowan reassured them that Tributals always knew where they were heading, the only truth that the two eventually arrived at was that Morians were the only good travellers out of the bunch. Atomu longed for Jyuzou's narrative about the various flowers he stepped on trying to avoid the moist moss or the leaves mixed in with the daises, and Rowan recalled that the only time they ventured out of Magna in Shimori was with Bancho's advice, so naturally, they followed the moon's advice.

It always rose in the east. One Paladian told of a man's journey back home through the forest and into the various mountain ranges around Orawood. The peaks were in the north, almost creating a line separating Lignoria and Malikan, so naturally, they followed the shining crescent presence above their head, to find their family.

Mentioning Erans, it was rather strange how many Paladian stories they appeared in. Mostly used as an example of what not to do in the wilderness, but sometimes a good lesson could be taught from the scribbles atop the various books found at home.

...and talking about home, Erans lived in strange places. About seventy years ago, when the Second War's effect was nearing its fade-out, due to a spur in Eldham, a big group of Erans were kicked out from the town. A good chunk made houses in the mountains, but another half attempted to find their bearings around the Orawood forest.

One such place was the Esuna Fields, which appeared right after a small forest filled with ferns extending from the red leaves and changing into a green that would accompany the rest of the journey. Their primitive wooden houses were now abandoned, and although Atomu and Rowan wished to peek inside and maybe hope to find some aid among various items left behind, they had to continue through the grassy and plain terrain stretching evenly for two hours.

Gorges here and there, sometimes broken by big fields of planted wheat, colza and other crops left behind to rot or even grow over the various houses, but nothing to awe at.

Why did Erans leave Orawood behind, though?

It's not a genius' job to figure that the woods themselves were littered with danger the further you went. Even if the place you resided in seemed calm, a Paladian saying explained that Orawood will always find its way to hurt those treading on land that wasn't theirs.

Sooner, or later, such worries would come to the Klakunhoi if they weren't fast enough, but one could argue that things were already going unwell.

Looking at the moon didn't suggest anything anymore, and the longer Atomu stared, the more worried he became.

Two hours passed, and eventually, the stars started disappearing, with the navy blue tint slowly fading towards the rising sun. However that itself didn't mean anything to the two, since, after passing the flat horizon, the grasses and bushes headed downhill into a new forest, now composed mostly of coniferous trees, most of which were green in their prickly leaves, but some faded towards the well-known orange shades.

Surprisingly, the hue didn't stem from the sunrays, but from the purple algae lakes they searched for from the beginning. If they appeared here, it still meant the road was treacherous, with its highly poisonous toxins carried with the frosty yule gusts embedded atop its crowns and further sinking into the various nature below.

It was a rather rare sight that you'd see spruce or cedar spotted with such tints, but this was no surprise to Atomu, as he recalled a story treading the windy path around various bushes.

Someone from the Maron family once ventured through Orawood to find the said cure. Riding atop a horse inside, the animal itself soon dropped to the ground, and the eldest had to walk on foot before finding himself lost, dazed and confused. The man never returned home.

His mother once warned him not to search for such places without being prepared. Dip your hand in, and you may get yourself infected. Sniff too much of the algae's smell, and you may become a part of the lake too. This, in turn, scared the young Paladian, which could be one of the many reasons he stuffed everything he could into his bag. He always had to be prepared for such occasions, and warned Rowan of the possibilities, but the Tributal headed in nonetheless as if experienced.

Sighing with a hesitant step, the Paladian followed into the Felix Woods, named after the various food groups growing on its sideways plants also named after the first Royal, who created the path connecting the two Osmanian districts.

He strayed from the main road and wandered inside the nearby coniferous forest. The parties who established the connecting wall halted their moves, searching for Felix Mosmontier, while he succumbed to the wonders of the mentioned foods.

Some stories say that their effects were close to hallucinations, while others believed that Felix, being the gourmet enjoyer he was, prioritised the activity over his Royal duties. Back then, the algae weren't present, but most believed that through prolonged stays in the forest, a few of the fruits fell into the lakes.

As mentioned, Orawood always found a way to chase someone down. It'd be best if they didn't eat anything here.

The two struggled, however. Lots and lots of the nut-like fruits or flowy, golden sap was tempting, but they resisted.