Hunter looked down at a notebook, pen in hand, inside the living room of the Owl House, while Flapjack was nestled into his hair, asleep. He'd been studying and experimenting glyphs for a while now, determined to learn at least one glyph combo before stopping for the day.

He started to draw a glyph, but then scribbled it out and giving out a frustrated grunt. King walked over, interrupting him.

"Hunter, I need your help! I think Francois is starting a rebellion." King said, tugging at his jeans slightly, pointing somewhere in the living room. Hunter looked up to see Francois, King's bunny plushie, sitting amongst a pile of his other toys, a crooked dagger behind it.

"In a minute, King. I'm getting so close to figuring out this glyph combo." Hunter said, turning back to his notebook.

"It's always glyphs and portals with you these days. What about King?" King asked, pouting.

"Why don't you ask Lilith for help? She was in the Emperor's Coven. She has more experience with unruly mobs than anyone." Hunter said, his eyes not looking up from his notebook.

King looked over at Lilith, who was kneeling at her desk, extremely focused on drawing a glyph with a red paintbrush. Her eyes were only a short distance from the paper, wide - and her hair was very messy. She giggled giddily.

"Watching the paint dry is the best part." She said, doing just as she said. King grunted in disapproval.

Hooty gave Lilith a mug. "A fresh cup of tea for my cup of tea. That's you, Lulu." He said. Lilith smiled normally, smoothing her hair out as her eyes returned to their usual size.

"Hootsifer, you truly are a gem." She said, patting his head. "How do you always know what to do?"

King leaned towards Hunter, eyes still trained on the two of them. "What's going on? Is Hooty blackmailing her?" He whispered to him.

"Oh, I think they're actually friends. Good on both of them, I guess." Hunter said, still scribbling away at his notebook in an attempt to get the glyph combo correct. Finally, after a few moments, he closed his book and drew a glyph combo on a piece of paper.

"Okay, this will work for sure." Hunter said. He slammed the glyph on himself, and suddenly he disappeared. King gasped, and Lilith looked up, taking a sip of her tea.

"Yes, it worked!" Hunter said, but he appeared again as soon as he said that. "Huh? Oh, I guess it only lasts as long as I hold my breath. But still, a new glyph that'll definitely come in handy."

King rushed over and clung to Hunter's leg. "Don't ever do that again!" He yelled. Lilith stood up in amazement.

"Do that again! How did you ever accomplish it?" Lilith asked, excited. Hunter shook King off his leg, turning to Lilith.

"Well, since you and Eda discovered that we can make new spells by combining glyphs, I've been experimenting." Hunter explained. "Can't exactly rely on Flapjack all the time. I got the invisibility idea from your history books, Lilith."

Lilith stood up, beginning to the walk to the side.

"Fascinating! As the lead historical scholar of the Emperor's Coven, my aid could be very helpful in-" Lilith started, but then stumbled over King's tower of plushies, toppling them.

"An ambush! Men, defend your ruler!" King commanded, tossing a nearby plus at Lilith. Hooty blocked it, dramatically falling into Lilith's arms.

"I'm done for, Lulu." Hooty said.

"Hootsifer, this is make-believe." Lilith said matter-of-factly.

"Ah, to die in your arms. Avenge me!" Hooty said, continuing to be dramatic, before drooping and sticking his tongue out. King tossed another plushie at Lilith's head.

"The King of Demons yields to no one!" King yelled.

"Historically, demons have never been united under a single rule until Belos. There's no such thing as a 'King of Demons'." Lilith said. King threw yet another plush at Lilith's head.

"Blasphemy! Clearly, you know nothing of my reign of terror. Allow me to tell you." King said. "I was once the mighty King of Demons. I was beloved almost as much as I was feared. But one dark day, an evil spell was cast, transforming me into this!"

"Oh? What happened to your 'crown of power'?" Hooty asked.

"A trifle! That was just to test Eda and Hunter's dedication to me! They passed. My real crown is still out there. But when I shrank, my memories got, uh... fuzzy." King said.

"How convenient. A hole in your memory for each hole in your story." Lilith said, crossing her arms and raising her eyebrow.

"Hey, I remember plenty!" King yelled back, crossing hi own arms in defense. "I remember armies bowing before me, being served the greatest feasts... and falling from a massive height as an evil hex shrank me. One day, I'll return to my rightful place, and all shall fear me!"

Hunter's eyes just flicked back and forth between the two, as if watching a tennis match, before eventually King stomped off.

"Hey, maybe you should stop? This is really important to him, so the least we can do is just play along." Hunter said after a few moments.

"You mean indulge his silly fantasy?" Lilith said.

"Yeah! I'm a house of principles! You're asking me to lie? Hootrageous!" Hooty added.

"Couldn't you just go with it? For his sake?" Hunter asked. King walked into the room, carrying Lilith's staff and trying to walk out the door.

"All right, you two shall regret ever mocking me. We're going to my castle!" King said triumphantly. Hunter's eyes widened in surprise, Flapjack stirring from his head.

"What's wrong Hunter? I thought you said we should just 'go with-'" Hooty started, but Hunter butted in quickly.

"Go with him! Yes, you're right, Hooty, I said we should go with him." Hunter said quickly, mounting Flapjack. Lilith took her staff from King's arms.

"My historical expertise is being questioned, and I will not allow it. Hooty, would you like to accompany us?" Lilith asked. Hooty gasped.

"I-I'll get ready!" He said excitedly.

After some traumatizing sights and sounds, with Hunter, King and Lilith utterly shocked and disgusted, Hooty was now sitting in a birdhouse-shaped backpack. Lilith put on the Porta-Hooty, and they set off to the skies.

+.*.+

"Are we still flying? It's been hours." Hooty whined. They'd been flying through a misty sky for quite a while now, Hunter trying his hardest not to doze off. He hadn't really been getting much sleep recently.

"Should we call it a day? Or perhaps a night?" Lilith chuckled. "Hooty, your sense of humor is infectious."

"There it is!" King yelled, pointing ahead past Hunter's shoulder.

The mist and fog slowly cleared, revealing a small island. Hunter lowered towards the ground, Lilith following, completely dumbfounded.

"This island shouldn't be here. It's not on any of the maps." Lilith said, frowning.

"It's always been there when I looked for it." King said smugly.

They landed on the shore, walking into the jungle. King continued to explain what he remembered.

"After I shrunk, I woke up here, in Eda's arms, and she carried me away. Like a wittle baby." King said. Hunter chuckled a little, rubbing his eyes to try and stay awake. Hooty gasped.

"Look!" He yelled. In the distance was a dilapidated tower. King put his hands on hips, walking forward triumphantly.

"Ah, home sweet home." He said.

"That tower is certainly intriguing, but - oh!" Lilith said, tripping over a root. Hooty extended himself to a nearby tree trunk to stabilize her. "Thank you, Hootsifer."

"My pleasure." Hooty said, his voice muffled.

"But couldn't we have landed a little closer?" Lilith asked. King shook his head.

"The treetops are so thick, this is the only way in." He said. "Plus, now I can dramatically do... this!"

He pulled aside some leaves, revealing a keyhole-shaped entrance to the tower.

Hunter yawned. King frowned.

"You okay? I'm noticing some eye bags I didn't see earlier this morning." King said, pointing at Hunter. His eyes widened, touching his cheeks with his hands.

"Oh, no, I'm fine. Maybe its just the lighting here." Hunter said quickly, before changing the subject. "Anyway, lets head inside."

Lilith and King looked at each with frowns, but King just shrugged and ran over to the entrance, which was blocked by rocks. He climbed them.

"I'll find you guys another way in." King said, crawling into a crevice in the rock pile. "Wriggle wriggle wriggle!"

Lilith walked over to a wall with a strange symbol caved into it.

"Huh. What a strange material. And this symbol. I've never seen anything quite like this." Lilith said, curious.

"Ha! I've seen better graffiti. I've got better graffiti on me!" Hooty said, moving to show some graffiti from Eda and King that had been drawn onto him.

"Hunter, look! This predates any language I know. King's story may be a fake, but these ruins are a history mystery." Lilith said, fascinated. Hunter, interested, walked over and looked at the symbol, getting out his phone and taking a picture with it.

The rocks at the entrance collapsed, allowing entry. King walked over, confused.

"Eh? What's a mystery?" King asked.

"These symbols. Do you know what they mean?" Hunter asked.

"Hm... well, it looks familiar, but I don't know what they mean." King said, squinting at it. He turned away from it, walking inside the tower. "Anyway, come on in!"

Lilith and Hunter stepped over the rocks and headed inside, the two of them activating light glyphs to see properly. The room was littered with rocks, stacked to make the same figure of something with two or three round rocks as a body and a crescent-shaped head placed horizontally.

"Ah, the chamber where I would devour the hearts of my foes." King said. "The taste was cold and bitter, but I bet yours would be warm, Hunter."

"Aw, thanks." Hunter said, patting King on the head, before they walked further inside. However, he spotted a shadow resembling the rock figures pass him. He spun around, ready to reach into his pocket for some glyphs, but saw no one.

"Can't believe your eyes, huh? My castle does have that effect." King said. Hunter gave a sheepish laugh.

"Oh, yeah." He said.

Maybe it's just sleep deprivation, he thought.

King stood atop a pile of rocks, showing off to Hunter.

"Ah, my kingdom. I, uh..." King wiped a tear away. "I got some bone dust in my eye."

Hunter looked up, noticing a hole in the ceiling with rocks plugging it. "What was up there?"

King looked up too with a frown. "I-I can't quite recall. I just remember a muffled roar, probably some minion praising my name."

"Well... wanna head back? Don't get me wrong, this place is really cool, but Eda's probably on her third cup of apple blood by now - and last time, it was real hard getting her off the roof." Hunter said.

"Alright, sure. You could use the rest anyway." King said, pointing at his eye bags again.

Suddenly, Hooty knocked Hunter to the ground, Flapjack chirping as the palisman hovered above him.

"Your Majesty! It's me, faithful ol' Hooty." Hooty said. "You know I was messin' around with you the whole time, right?"

Hunter got up, dusting himself off as Flapjack chirped and perched on his shoulder. Lilith shoved him to the side, almost getting him to fall on the ground again - but Flapjack tugged on his hair strand to balance out the force.

"It's clear these ruins are of immense historical value. Perhaps you could tell me more about them." Lilith said eagerly. King laughed.

"I suppose I could, uh, regale you with some tales." King said happily. "Am I using that word right? Regale?"

Hunter heard a hissing sound from a dark corridor. He used the light glyph to shine light on the corridor and gasped.

"Uh, guys, do you hear that?" He called out to them.

"I'll show you where my throne used to be. It was made from the teeth of my enemies and..." King laughed. "Boy, was it awkward to sit in."

King led Hooty and Lilith in a different direction, so Hunter turned back to the corridor and decided to go alone. He walked through, seeing the walls were lined with recesses containing stone figures - resembling the little ones in the foyer, partially covered in fleshy goop.

"What are these things?" Hunter muttered, Flapjack chirping in response. He passed by one with its hand sticking out, accidentally brushing against it, making it fall apart on him. He yelped, pushing it off him quickly, then looked up to see countless other figures in recesses towards the ceiling.

He shone his light glyph towards them, seeing one of the recesses was empty.

Suddenly, he heard that same hissing noise behind him. He turned around, Flapjack turning to staff form, to see a figure running away. He mounted Flapjack, chasing after it.

+.*.+

"And that's how I would annihilate my enemies. Who needs due process, am I right?" King said to Lilith and Hooty.

"What does this image represent, my lord?" Lilith asked, gesturing towards a wall carving.

"Uh, it's hard to remember. But that handsome devil looks familiar, huh?" King said.

Hunter flew in front of them, dismounting with a panicked look on his face.

"Tour's over! We have to go, now." He said worriedly.

"But there's so much to learn!" Lilith protested.

"I know, but this place is dangerous!" Hunter shot back.

"Ah, you saw the horrifying monstrosity room. Don't worry, they can't hurt you." King said.

They heard hissing again, and everyone looked to see a fleshy rock monster, alive, crawling along the ceiling. It rotated its head to look at them.

"Well that one most definitely can!" Hunter yelled, grabbing King and running for the entrance. However, the monster jumped in front of him and blocked his way. It changed its right arm into a claw and swiped at him, before Lilith attacked it with an ice glyph - pinning it to a pile or rocks. Lilith, Hunter and King started running.

"You've been practicing!" Hunter noted while they ran.

"You may admire my progress when we get out of here alive!" Lilith yelled.

The monster slid through the ice spikes and gave chase, running along the walls and ceiling before again pouncing in front of Hunter and Lilith. It stood tall, turning its head and changing its left arm into an axe. It prepared to strike, but an explosion at the head put it on the ground.

Eda jumped in from the rocks, wearing belts armed with explosive potions.

"Get out of here!" Eda yelled, grabbing a potion. "I'll hold it back and meet you outside."

She tossed a potion at the monster.

"Eda! We can help!" Hunter said.

"You can't beat this thing. Go!" Eda said. "And by the way, we're having a talk about those dark circles under your eyes."

"Are they really that noticeable?" Hunter said, putting his free hand to his cheek, before Lilith grabbed his wrist, making haste for the exit. They ran out, but Hunter stopped and turned towards the entrance.

"More running, less stopping!" Hooty yelled.

"Edalyn said to wait here!" Lilith said.

"We can't let her just fight it alone! We have to go back!" Hunter yelled, prying his wrist out of Lilith's grip.

Suddenly, an explosion came from within the tower, everyone staring at it with frightful anticipation. King clung to Hunter, terrified.

Just then, Eda walked out, clutching a wound on her shoulder.

"Edalyn!" Lilith yelled, running up to her and holding her up.

"You're hurt. What of that horrible creature?" Lilith asked.

The creature climbed the rocks, hissing, brandishing an axe-arm. It swung down on Eda and Lilith, but a blue forcefield around the tower stopped it. The axe-arm went limp outside the forcefield, and the monster quickly pulled it back inside.

"It can't get past the entrance. We're safe now." Eda said.

"That thing must be guarding this place against intruders." Hunter said, Flapjack returning to animal form. King frowned.

"But it's my castle. How could we be intruders?" King asked.

Hunter looked down at the ground, not saying anything. King's eyes widened a bit, hurt.

"You don't believe this is my castle." He said. Hunter didn't make eye contact with him.

"Hunter, you think I would lie to you?" King asked.

"King, I..." Hunter started, when Eda spoke.

"You aren't lying. You just don't know the truth." She said, before groaning and falling to her knees. Lilith started to bandage her arm. "It's time for me to tell you how we really met."

King frowned, confused.

"Eight years ago I was looking for a place to hide from the Emperor's Coven. I never knew this place existed and it just... appeared out of the mist. So, I landed." Eda explained. "Now, I was one hat tamale, but the boiling rains were even hotter. I needed shelter. But when I found it... I wasn't alone. I assumed you were just some stray dog. But then... that thing was gonna kill us both, so I picked you up and bounced. Against my better judgement, I took you home with me."

Flapjack chirped - Hunter realized he'd been tensed up since King realized he didn't believe him.

"I'd gotten you the collar, 'cause... well, that's what you do when you get a new pet. But then..." Eda said. "I compared you to a king amongst his subjects. And that's how you got the idea you were some despotic overlord. Oh, but you were finally happy. So I kept playing along with it."

"Y-You're lying!" King said in disbelief.

"I'm not." Eda said. She pulled out the broken piece of King's horn from her hair, holding it out to King. Shocked and curious, he walked closer, slowly taking it in his hands. He gasped.

"My army. My feasts. My life..." King said, devastated. He looked down at the horn and panicked, throwing it to the ground. "Aah! No! Keep that thing away from me! It's messing with my head!"

Hunter held out a hand towards him.

"King, it's gonna be okay." He said, but King shook his head, tears forming in his eyes as he breathed heavily.

"Y-You're all just making fun of me, like usual, right?" He said, panicked. "No! No, no, no, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no!"

He held his head, hyperventilating, before running away from the group, sobbing.

"King!" Hunter called out, holding out a hand forlornly as King disappeared into the jungle.

+.*.+

Hunter, Eda and Lilith walked through the jungle in search of King.

"King?! King! Where are you?!" Hunter yelled, worried.

"I can't fly. The tree cover is too dense. I regret ever playing a part in this." Lilith said.

"Is this what regret feels like? I hate it!" Hooty bawled, drooping over Lilith's shoulder and crying. Lilith gently patted him.

"I lied to him, even though he trusted me. Now he's all alone." Hunter said, staring off into the distance sadly, before sitting down and looking dejectedly at the ground. Flapjack chirped and nuzzled into him, trying to comfort him, but it wasn't really working.

"For now, let's split up. This island is small, and he's even smaller. He can't have gone far." Eda said.

Lilith nodded, heading off to the right with Hooty. Eda knelt down to comfort Hunter.

"Don't worry. We'll find him." She said, placing a hand on the shoulder Flapjack wasn't on. After a few seconds she stood up again, walking towards the left.

Hunter sighed, getting up - and with a determined look, he left to find King too.

"King? King?!" Hunter called out, reaching the edge of the jungle and paused. There, on the beach in front of him, was King - sitting alone on a log and staring out at the sea. Hunter walked over silently and joined him on the log.

"Eda was right, wasn't she? I was never king of anything. I'm nobody." King said, still upset.

"You are someone. And..." Hunter swallowed his pride. "And I love that someone very much. I'm sorry I lied about what I believed."

"Everyone lied! And I was too caught up in the fantasy to realize it!" King sobbed. "I... I don't know what to do, Hunter! I can't tell what's real and what's fake!"

King buried his face in his paws with a sniff. Hunter pulled King into a side hug, but his eyes lit up when he looked up at the ruined temple in the distance.

"Something's not adding up. One of your memories is falling, right?" Hunter asked.

"Probably another stupid thing I made up!" King said, wiping his tears.

"No, what if it's a real memory?" Hunter asked.

"Why does it matter?"

"You said you remember a roar from up in that shaft. Maybe that's where you fell from." Hunter suggested. "Eda found you in those ruins. There's gotta be a clue in there about where you came from!"

"I don't know, Hunter. What if the story gets worse?" King said.

"Whatever happens, you'll still have me, Eda and Lilith. And Hooty I guess, too." Hunter said. "So, what do you say?"

King hesitated, before sighing. "Okay."

Hunter led King back to Eda and Lilith, who were both worried.

"King! You're alright!" Eda said, running towards him, but stopped at King's stern expression. She sighed.

"You're mad at me. I get it. I would be, too." She knelt down to his level. "I'm so sorry, King."

King poked her cheek. "Boop. No more secrets, okay? You have to promise me."

"Only truths. I promise." Eda said.

"Alright - now before we leave, we have one more thing to check out." Hunter said, pointing towards the tower in the distance.

+.*.+

They were back at the Owl House. The sky was dark - Hunter was in his room, although he was using a light glyph to read a book while sitting atop his sleeping bag.

After battling their way into the tower, they'd flown up that passageway that had previously been blocked. They'd encountered a strange room, and King had gotten all of his memories after sticking the horn fragment back on him. That didn't mean he understood them, though... but from what he'd gotten, someone had called him 'son' and cared about him.

Hunter looked over his shoulder at the flesh monster, sat in the corner, lifeless. The flesh monster ended up listening to King in the end - and so King decided to name him Jean-Luc. Much to Hunter's displeasure, Jean-Luc was moved to his room.

He rubbed his eyes, turning the page of the book he was reading with a yawn. Flapjack flew up to him, chirping insistently, as if the bird was scolding him. The red cardinal tugged on his hair strand to try and get him to sleep. Hunter yelped.

"Fine, fine! Okay, I'll go sleep!" Hunter yelled in a hushed tone so as not to wake the others. He closed the book and Flapjack let go of his hair, nestling into it as he snuffed out the light glyph and lay in his sleeping bag.

Flapjack was a great friend. The bird often had to tug on his hair to get him to go to bed - it reminded him of his mom.

Camila.

He tensed up a little and Flapjack chirped in response, concerned. The last time he'd messaged her was a few days before Grom.

That felt like centuries ago.

And now, he didn't have a portal back home. Because he was so selfish that he wanted to learn more about his past. To learn how to use magic. To not just grab Luz and run through the portal.

Why had he stayed here for so long? Now the consequences had caught up to him. Now he had no way home.

Flapjack chirped right in his ear, distracting him from his thoughts. He looked down and saw that he'd been gripping his wrist so tight it bruised. He sat up, Flapjack flying into his lap, twittering worriedly.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Hunter whispered, but the bird didn't look convinced. "I'll head downstairs and get some ice."

As he got up Flapjack perched on his shoulder, refusing to leave his side. It was something Hunter appreciated - he was never really alone that way.

Carefully tip-toeing down the steps so as not to have them creak, he headed towards the kitchen. However, he passed the living room on the way - and paused when he noticed the light was on and Lilith was up. He quickly hid behind the corner, hoping Lilith didn't see or hear him.

What's Lilith doing up so late? He thought, straining his ears to try and listen in on what the old woman was doing.

He heard the sound of her heels meeting the wooden floor, slightly muffled due to the rug. It was in a repeated cycle - four steps, a pause, four more steps, a pause, and it continued on. Lilith was pacing back and forth.

Why? Is she worried about something? He thought. He mentally facepalmed. Of course she is! She has no magic, she betrayed the Emperor a few weeks ago, and she has a curse to deal with on top of it all. Why wouldn't she be pacing back and forth in the middle of the night?

Lilith sighed. "I know you're there, Hunter."

Hunter tensed, but gave out a sigh to rival Lilith's and walked into the room.

"Why are you up so late?" Lilith asked, sitting down the couch. Hunter crossed his arms.

"I could ask you the same question."

"Touche."

She patted the spot next to her, and Hunter reluctantly sat down. After a few moments of silence, Lilith spoke.

"I haven't forgotten about that deal we made. Back on the day of the petrification ceremony." She said. "I've only completed half of my end."

Hunter racked his brain to figure out what she was talking about, then remembered. Hunter had asked for her to both help Eda escape and to tell Hunter about whatever she knew of his past.

"I'm not one to go back on my word, so I'll tell you all I know." Lilith said.

"I don't know what happened to you before, but Belos decided to take you in off the streets because you were a powerless witch. He isn't your biological uncle. You trained as a scout in the Emperor's Coven when you were just 4 years old - many in the coven were appalled that you were starting training at such a young age. After a few months you could beat fully grown witches with nothing but your bare hands."

"Belos said you were to be the next Golden Guard with more years of training - that you'd be the youngest to ever inherit the title. However... a group of rebels infiltrated the castle. No one knew why or what was happening, but I was among those to fight off the intruders. But then they fled in the middle of battle, and soon after they were gone we discovered you went missing."

Hunter's eyes widened.

"I don't know who the rebels are, but I assume when you went missing it was when they sent you to the Human Realm." Lilith finished. "I'm sorry I don't know much else. I remember being jealous of you - that you were the child prodigy that did so much better in the Emperor's Coven than I ever did - but I suppose that was just me projecting my feelings of Edalyn onto you."

Hunter stared down at the ground, processing this new information. He fiddled with his fingers, like he often did when his mind was troubled with something.

"It's alright. Thanks for telling me all this." Hunter said. "Do you know how... how Luz ended up in the Boiling Isles?"

Lilith shifted in her seat. "I don't know exactly how it happened, but I can tell you what happened to her when we found her. It was a year after you went missing. I was on a mission to retrieve some wild witches' palismen, when I heard faint crying in an alleyway. When I went to investigate, I found Luz sitting on the ground, crying and holding a book to her chest, noticing she was human. She seemed scared when she saw me. Against my better judgement, I decided to help her."

"I took her back to the Emperor's Castle once my mission was finished, and presented her to Emperor Belos. He seemed to have a soft spot for her, although I'm not sure why. She was trained to be the Golden Guard instead, although her training wasn't quite as harsh as yours. A lot of her missions ended with a bunch of damage, but she was still able to get things done. I remember disliking her because of her recklessness and proneness to chaos, but she was still nice company."

"She snuck out a lot, for two reasons. Hanging out with friends - which I honestly don't know how she made with her duties as Golden Guard - and going to the library's restricted section to search for anything about the human realm. Both for herself and for Emperor Belos. She mentioned she had an adopted brother, but never really mentioned your name - so we didn't know that it was you. Which is why I was surprised when you said she was your sister a few days ago."

"I... hope this helped." Lilith finished.

Hunter, without thinking, grabbed Lilith into a hug.

"It did. Thanks, Lilith."

Slowly, and a little awkwardly, Lilith reciprocated the hug, before both of them pulled away moments later.

"Now, I won't ask why you're up if you don't ask why I was. So, let's head to bed." Lilith said, standing up. Hunter nodded, blinking slowly, getting up from the couch as well.