Morros' POV:

"You're not reassuring me in the slightest- Sorry, I don't think that I got your name." I say.

"My name's Nobu. And that wasn't meant to be reassuring. It was a warning. It's rare, but some can defy their destinies. I only hope that she won't be able to."

An unearthly screech rends the air and makes the very atmosphere quiver.

"There's no escape, Morro! Wherever you are, I will hunt you down and destroy you!" Banshas' scream echoes faintly over the clouds, but I can clearly hear her every word.

"I hate running away, especially now that Bansha's possessing the woman that I l-" I cough uncomfortably. "-That I respect." I correct myself.

The boy has his head buried in one of the scrolls, and he doesn't look up as he replies, "You can say that you love her, you know. It's not forbidden."

"I don't need love, alright?!"

"That's not what you thought when you kidnapped YN and asked her to replicate the Realm Crystal, so that you could find a certain woman whom you loved very much, once upon a time."

"Wait, are you reading my scroll?!"

"Mmhmm. It's very lengthy, too. Petty theft, frequent streetfights, several incidents involving chicken carts-"

I interrupt him. "-That was before Master Wu took me in and started training me to be a ninja."

"-And when things didn't go your way, how did you repay him? But that's not my point. Let me ask you a question. Why did you decide to become good?" He asks, as we approach the mountaintop.

"Because Master Wu said that we were all his prized pupils. Why?"

"Exactly. He made you feel loved, didn't he?"

I nod as the skiff bumps into the edge of a solid-looking cloud, and we disembark. "Yes, Nobu, I did feel loved."

"Precisely. You needed love. It's the most powerful thing in all the Sixteen Realms."

"But not more powerful than I." Bansha (YN?) hisses into my ear. She ignores Nobu, who runs and hides in a crevice in the mountain peak.

"Why so desperate to destroy me, Bansha? Afraid I'll stop you?" I ask, picking up a fighting stance.

"Just tying off a loose end. It's nothing personal, but you'll only continue to get in my way. And perhaps this way, YN will cease fighting my possession!" She says the last bit pointedly, aiming it at YN. "She's weakening, Morro, while I'm only growing stronger."

"Let's see how strong you really are." I move in to attack her and am immediately hit by dark matter. Or, at least, I should be, but Banshas' attack backfires and hits her instead. Then I blast her with wind, and she tries to create a shield, but the wind somehow goes right through it. I'm perplexed, as I know that it shouldn't have been able to do that.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I see Nobu frantically writing, switching from scroll to scroll in his little hiding spot, and I understand.

Ah, so this is how he can help me! He's fixing the fight!

Bansha attempts a counterattack, but the shield spins around to me and deflects it.

"Why?-" She asks. Then she turns around and sees the boy. "YOU!!!" She quickly fires a bolt of energy at him. He jumps out of the way, but he loses his footing and falls against a boulder, hitting his head. He slumps to the ground, unconscious.

"I don't have time for this." Bansha grumbles. She floats to the edge of the cloudy platform and exits YNs' body. "Quite a drop, isn't it? Your precious YN will perish!"

YN is barely able to stand, she's so weak. She can't escape from what Bansha is about to do.

"Bansha, NO!" I yell. She smirks at me and shoves YN off the precipice, then vanishes.