Atomu strolled through Mokota, scratching his head, with a weary expression explaining a few things. The other hand was used for carrying a small piece of paper, as he squinted, reading through.

"Úgau leaves? What are they planning now?" he asked himself before taking a deep breath and looking forward.

A good chunk of noise came forth, with a cloud of dust forming into two figures and a more prominent one in the front.

"Chyuuichi?" Atomu added. "O-Oh, Chyuuichi!" he raised his voice. "Oi!"

"Yeah?!" the Mirillian asked, sprinting.

"Rowan said we have to go to Orawood for something called the-"

...and as those words were uttered, the two Mirillians zoomed right by him.

"Chyuuichi?!"

"Sorry, I'm busy!" he yelled out. "I'm going on an adventure!"

Atomu sighed. "Not this again." he shook his head, before heading towards the workshop.

In the meantime, a man's silhouette peeked out from a nearby corner. Kania furrowed his brows, before moving back.

***

What made the first entrances to the caves nearing Saphrith and the split towards the mountains, and further on, Taigase, was a small pool of rocks splattered below a green hill from which Saphrith could be seen. Traversing down the steep ledges (which weren't necessarily that for Mirillian instinct), the two landed in some shallow water, and when its coldness invaded their boots, Tenor pointed towards the entrance hidden behind an arch moving up to those last districts of Saphrith.

Chyuuichi followed suit, and from thereon, the caves spoke of something one could easily compare to Mirillis or Cirim but were their own thing. For one, Tenor mentioned the strange ores growing near and casting a strange glow illuminating the whereabouts.

The ground was made of a light brown material, with the dirt forming star-like patterns around still water, before forming into large circles above, where stalactites battled crystals, and even more of those pools appeared.

"We're almost there!" Tenor informed, cracking his knuckles and tugging at something hidden in his big bag. "The caves near the mermaid looked as similar."

Chyuuichi breathed in, stepping around the edges and grabbing onto the rocks. "You don't see stuff like this in Mirillis, do ya?"

"Half of what made this trip so exciting before everything was stolen!"

"I still doubt yer mermaid theory, but at least that hassle goes into seeing pretty cool terrain." Chyuuichi grinned.

"I'll chuck that seashell into the water."

"Aow!" Chyuuichi made a strange noise, before striking a pose. "Hold that thought, though, it might be a solution for later."

"Doubt it! Things are as cold as ice when we move further in. Ya saw yer breath too, didn't ya?"

Chyuuichi breathed out, curiously, as some white vapour came out. He felt a shiver down his spine, before adjusting his cosy jacket and turning towards the corridor.

The two trod, and most of the Mirillian's thoughts rested upon the same thing.

"Cold as ice? When is Soban ever warm? Either way, it's a nice coolness! Shimori Yule is much deadlier than all that!" he adjusted his sheath. "If that mermaid exists... maybe I could use all this freeze in the air to my advantage. Bah, if I was in Miriliis it wouldn't have been a problem!" he closed his eyes, speeding up for a bit.

Tenor raised a brow, and the other Mirillian quickly stopped.

"Ya... ya know anything about Soban nowadays?" he scratched his head. "I know ya weren't in the damn town but way longer underground than I've been in the last year or so!"

Tenor strolled right past, as the two continued walking. "I heard one thing."

"Hm?" Chyuuichi immediately turned.

"That nothing changed." he smiled.

The other Mirillian's eyes lit up.

"Although, I can't vouch for myself. I've heard a few Paladians comparing that Palski guy to what they've heard of Inigius and even I shed a tear." he clenched his fist, looking up. "Damn, is he a good guy!"

Chyuuichi chuckled.

"It's good, isn't it, though? I've heard Mirillians back then that the troupe would've been trouble if too many words got out, but it's been as quiet as ever, supposedly."

"Gah." the other shook his head. "The more ya talk about it that way, the more I wanna see all that for myself!"

"Ya not believe me?"

"Of course I do, but... Eh, it can be cold, but it's not as cold as here. Even though all my abilities are ice so all that doesn't make much sense in the end to ya!" Chyuuichi raised his Morgana, turning back. "It does to me, though."

"It's home, ain't it? Yer not a Mirillian from anywhere else but there. Even though I'd say ya look quite strange."

"Home is where..." Chyuuichi raised a finger. "Where I make it!"

Tenor shrugged, grinning. "Home will be the workshop once we get that mermaid!"

"Fine! We'll find yer lost items, and then you'll have to prove-"

All of a sudden, a few hums echoed through the caves. Stepping around the corner and grabbing the brown boulders growing around the thin rivers led to a similar circular cavern opening in front of them.

Much larger this time, and with even a bigger pool stood dead centre. It reflected blues and a silver fog, before meeting a figure in the middle, resting atop a shallow rock.

Chyuuichi squinted and Tenor trembled, instinctively.

"Aah." the Mirillian stepped back. "Ya weren't lying dude!"

"Zip it, Chyuuichi!" Tenor quickly covered his mouth, stepping back, as the greenish figure seemingly trembled at their words.

Chyuuichi's eyes scanned the scene. Water dropped from above and met his hair before the same extended towards the creature. A second later, the same hums strolled, and she brushed through her vine-like hair as if nothing happened.

Kania watched from a distance, too. His eyes were at first, mostly set on Tenor, but as a few shakes with the cold atmosphere, courtesy to the rather light clothing he bore, he couldn't help but try and spot whatever the two enthused about through the mist.

Whispers were too quiet, and that's when he dared to move, despite some fear.

"She deaf?" Chyuuichi muttered.

"Her sight is killer, though. Back then, all the lights disappeared and she still left a nasty wound..." he rolled his sleeve up, revealing a cut near his elbow, as if to slice his hand off.

Kania's eyes widened.

"Why didn't ya show me this earlier?!"

"Ya'd say it was a rock."

"Okay, true." Chyuuichi rolled his eyes. "But what do we do about this damn thing, and..." he took a step forward, leaning further in. "Holy shit are those yer items?"

"Told ya!" Tenor pointed.

"HOW MANY BAGS ARE THERE? YA INSANE?"

"QUIET, DAMN IT!"

The mermaid trembled, and the two froze, ironically enough. Tenor opened his mouth in shock and anticipation, while Chyuuichi tried to focus, again.

The creature turned back, before stopping where she would spot them. The mist grew heavier and denser, and that's when Kania raised a fist, putting it near the ceiling.

The temperatures dropped significantly, and a breath led to vapour mixing.

He was sure of it, there and then. It must've been the same perpetrator. It was the same wound he dealt, or at least, very similar.

Perhaps he wasn't as tall or... brave from what he could see, but it must've been the answer. The fog must've been his doing, perhaps to conceal or transform. Based on Tenor's research, no demon could naturally create a mist like this but how would Kania know?

He wanted to prove his strength since Lady Mama's words weren't sufficient enough. His own doing earlier only led to more doubts and gritted teeth. Even if he hesitated, or it was cold, maybe it was proof of something.

He stepped through, eventually, readying both fists.

"There you are," he uttered, grinning, as the surroundings revealed themselves. "I caught onto your little plan-"

"Aaah!" Tenor screamed out, rhythmically.

His eyes were glued to the centre of the room, and then at the Haran, as terrified as beforehand.

"Huh?" Kania uttered.

"Aaah! Aaaah!" Tenor pointed at him, and as his finger moved towards the centre, another yell seemingly informed him of the situation at hand. "Aaah!"

Chyuuichi was flying right across the cave, as the mermaid sat still, with her tail deep inside the pool and reaching out on the other side.

"What the hell is this?!" Kania yelled. "What did you two do?"

"Who are ya?!" Tenor screamed as well. "A merman?! With legs?!"

"That's... gah! You're not him?!"

"Tenor! This is Chyuuichi and he's about to die!"

"I'm fine!" Chyuuichi yelled out, crashing against a wall.

"Aaaah!" Tenor uttered, scratching his head multiple times, biting into his lips as hard as he could.

Kania scanned the Mirillian at the given moment. He furrowed both brows in anger.

"I've almost got it!" Chyuuichi added, again, now perpetually sinking or diving out of the water as the tail thrashed him with no other response.

"Gaaah!" Tenor continued, now just trembling.

"Will you stop screaming already?!"

"B-But he..." he pointed.

"Don't you have a spear in your bag?"

"Huh? How'd ya know?"

"It damn looks like one."

"Right. RIGHT! THANK YA, HARAN, THAT'S THE ANSWER!"

"You..." Kania stepped back, as equally confused as everyone seemingly was. Chyuuichi bounced up and down a few boulders with something that wasn't screams, and in turn, the Haran put both hands over his face.

It couldn't have been either of them, after all. Maybe it was all Hakate's words that made him differentiate between friend and foe, but he didn't want to call back to that either. If the situation escalated, it could've been all of them in the hands of whatever the mermaid was.

Running away wasn't an option either. He considered it for a split second before vines grew from her hair and obstructed every open crevice, with the lights above slowly dimming too.

Tenor sped up, instinctively, digging through the items and cloth that separated the weapon from everything else.

"Hurry up!" Kania informed. Tenor made a few strange noises, before finally unearthing the item and bowing with it in hands in front of the Haran. "WHY ME?!"

"I d-don't know how to use it! It was a quick craft and telling you the whole story would mean we'd have to watch him die!"

"I said I'm fine!" Chyuuichi disappeared beneath the surface, and the two turned. His head didn't peek out the next second, and the tail continuously moved down. The mermaid aggressively brushed through her hair with blood coming out of her lime fingertips, and that's when Kania took the initiative.

He snatched the spear from Tenor's shaky hands and chucked it forward, as its blade pierced through the middle of the creature.

Everything went quiet, and she halted her moves, before turning and screaming.

The echoes were even louder. The Haran and Mirillian covered their ears, as crystals dropped from above and snapped away all the visible lights.

"Chyuu..." Tenor muttered, rolling to the ground. "Chyuuichi!"