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Chapter Text

The feather fluttered in the gales of the storm, trying its hardest to stay attached to the Spirit Willow. But the winds were too powerful; it was plucked from the safety of the leaves and cast into the open air. It was dragged through the sky violently, being yanked by an imaginary string. Down on the ground, Gumo was outside and spotted it being carried away. He got up and began following its path. The wind whipped it to and fro, and Gumo just barely kept it in his line of sight. It took him on a long journey around the surface of Niwen; through Howl's Den, around the hollow trees of the Wellspring Glades and up into the flowery Baur's Reach, the harsh winter turned to spring thanks to Ori, before entering the cliffside lake of the Wellspring. This place was sheltered from most of the wind, and the feather slowly floated downwards without anything dragging it around. But it got too close to the cliff. It became trapped on a fault in the rock and became wedged. Gumo attempted to carefully climb the rock face to get to the feather. He barely got off the ground before the flimsy dirt and gravel collapsed, and he fell back down again. With a sigh of despair, he gave up and forfeited the feather, and headed back home.

He returned to the Spirit Willow sadly.

"Gumo sorry. Couldn't catch the feather. Too high up."

Ori called back down to him.

"Thank you for trying, Gumo. Don't feel too bad, there will be plenty more coming soon. It's such a shame to lose the very first of them, though."

Gumo left consoled that Ori didn't mind his failure, but still felt that he could have caught that feather if he tried harder. Next time, he would. He promised himself that.

Chapter Text

A Light Spirit stood at the base of the Spirit Tree, staring up at its twisted trunk, flowing yellow leaves and, most importantly, Seir, the light at the top keeping Niwen stable. Next to him stood a small Gorlek in a white coat. He turned to the spirit.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Atto?" He said with doubt about what they were doing.

"Yes, Grok. If it wasn't, I would just have backed out ages ago. We have the plan, don't we?"

He nodded.

"You climb and take Seir. I do my thing, and you take this sucker's place, and then we spread our influence."

A deep, slow voice boomed from above.

"And what do you think you're doing?" It echoed. The tree heard the pair conspiring and called them out. It knew it couldn't do anything.

Atto began crawling up the side of the tree, dipping in and out of the glowing hollows on the way up. He never faltered or slipped, and looked as if he was flying up there. And in the blink of an eye, he was at the top. He felt his ears blow in the high winds and called down to Grok.

"I'm up! Start the ritual!"

He backed away from the edge and seized Seir. Back down at the bottom, Grok sliced the Spirit Tree open and gouged strange, aggressive symbols on the bark. He began chanting in some forgotten dialect. Seir began to glow brightly. The chanting grew more intense. And then Seir burst into a brilliant golden light. It encapsulated Atto and consumed him. Meanwhile, the gouge pulsated and glowed a blinding blue. Suddenly, something was spat out of it, the light at the top of the tree vanished, and it all went quiet.

Ori pushed themself off the ground. They turned to look at Grok with utter disbelief.

"What have you done?"

A smile slowly crept onto his face.

"Bow to your new leader, Ori! Niwen will return to decay!"

Thunderbolts began to fall around the tree, lighting up the sky and filling the air with a deadly chorus of fear. A pink mist began to emanate from the tree, and the ground was being tainted fast.

"You didn't..."

The smile turned into maniacal laughter.

"Better run! Go warn your little friends before it's too late!"

The ground began to tremble. Ori felt it change in shape around them. They looked into the distance and saw something unbelievable. The land was rising into the air.

"Wait... How are you going to get off this?"

The laughing stopped. His face twisted into one of concern.

"I hadn't thought of that. Uh... I'll figure out a way."

"I can help you down..."

"No, I'll have my own way!" He replied indignantly.

Ori considered pushing it, but figured that he was a lost cause. They turned back around and watched as massive landmasses crumbled and collapsed without a base to stand on as they were ripped from the earth. Some of these pieces were still floating. Ori approached the edge, and jumped onto one; it wobbled scarily under their hooves. The tree cast forward a plethora of roots to rip the islet up in an attempt to make them fall to the giant pit below. Ori had to quickly leap to the next one, and the next. Then, a massive branch came crashing down on the one they were about to jump to, taking it out of the sky. They had to leap further than ever to reach the next one from here. As their feet left the ground, Ori could tell that they weren't quite making it. They looked down into the newly formed pit and death stared back at them. They grabbed the side of the chunk and clung on for dear life as they stabilized. Ori clambered up the side and barely got to the next one as it split into several pieces. A smaller branch hit them and knocked them to the floor, grazing their ear. Ori rushed down the remaining platforms and, as soon as it was safe, jumped off and onto solid ground. Still unsafe, they ran for their life. As they traversed each little part of the island, Ori was hit with a twisted sense of nostalgia at all the fun adventures they had once experienced here. They couldn't dwell on it though, as it was all turning to dust behind them. They made a beeline for the Wellspring Glades, which were not too far from the Tree. Soon, Ori was there. It looked disappointingly similar to how it was left; it seemed that not much had happened since they left. Grom sat in a sturdy looking chair, and Tokk seemed to be drawing something on a sheet of paper. There were still several Moki huts around at least. Ori rushed to the center of the village.

"Ori? How are you here? I thought you were the Spirit Tree now." Grom spluttered, unable to comprehend what was in front of him.

"Wha... did you not see what just happened?! I've been usurped! A Light Spirit has kicked me out and is spreading decay- o-one of my own children! I need to stop him from causing too much harm. Does Gumo live here still? I need him."

"Yes, he does... Down in that hole there."

Grom got the opportunity to turn to see the tree rise above the horizon, glowing a sickly shade of pink atop a plateau of floating stone. His jaw dropped in horror. When he turned back, Ori was gone.

Gumo was pottering over a large cauldron in his cave, stirring whatever soup was inside. Ori could smell that it was starting to burn.

"Gumo! We need to get away from here!"

He seemed surprised to see Ori again. He almost didn't recognise them.

"Gumo... In danger?"

"Yes, follow me!"

Ori darted back the way they came, and climbed up the rocky walls of the hole with Gumo close behind. They then climbed the tree in the center of the Glades. Up at the top, Ori gestured towards the tree. By now it must have been at least a hundred meters in the air and a massive pink aura had formed around the island. Plants at the ground level were beginning to be infected by the decay, shrivelling, curling and blackening.

"Someone has taken over the tree and is spreading decay over the whole island. We have to leave or we will die. Either from the decay or the lack of a spirit light." They looked towards the towering monolith fearfully.

"You call Ku? Ku save us."

Ori nodded. They looked at their new body and noticed how weak they felt.

"Ku can take us somewhere safe. I need to get back to the strength I was before, and I can't do that here."

They lifted their head to the sky and, with the lingering power of the Tree, they used their booming voice and called out to Ku. The call echoed through the trees, past the wheels of the Wellspring, and over the waters of the sea separating the islands. And all the way over in Nibel, her home, Ku heard a faint whisper of Ori's voice that the wind carried. She understood the tone of the call, turned to Niwen, and lifted off with a mighty flap of her huge wings.

"I learned how to make my voice carry as a tree. You might have heard me practicing every few nights. I knew it might someday come in handy."

"Ori loud! Ori strong."

A short while afterward, Gumo turned around and saw Ku's huge silhouette approaching, followed by her familiar, sharp call. Seconds later, she had arrived, and the pair dropped from the tree to meet her.

Ku bent down and nuzzled Ori, still seeking the same affection she did as an owlet. She looked far different now, mainly because she was an adult and almost fully grown. But her plumage had also developed, and had become a slightly less colourful - but stunning nonetheless - flowing coat. She definitely closely resembled her mother.

"Did you see the tree on the way in?"

Ku nodded. She gestured as if to cover her eyes. Perhaps she thought it was scary, or she didn't want it to be there.

"I know. I need to fix it, and for that we need to go to a new island."

Ku perked up at this, excited to be able to fly with Ori again. She offered her wing, and they both climbed up. Ori called down to Grom, who was still stood around under the tree.

"Goodbye, I'm off to go save the world... Again. Hey, uh, you might want to consider getting outta here before you all die."

And then they took off for a new land. Despite the circumstance, Ori was filled with wonder and excitement for what was to come.

Chapter Text

Ku flapped her wings and glided gracefully through the sky, heading southwards. She seemed to know where she was going. Perhaps she had been out here before? She swooped down to avoid a large patch of clouds where the winds changed, and the air quickly turned warmer. A very pleasant change from the high speed chills up north. Soon, a new island became visible on the horizon. Turning back, Ori could still just about see Niwen, so it wasn't too far away. This new island appeared to be dominated by one thin, tall mountain stretching far above anything else. Once they were closer, and they could see through the mild haze, they saw all the dramatic colours that were on display. Clinging desperately to the side of that mountain was the Spirit Tree of the island. It looked to be in a sorry state, missing a lot of its typical luster and foliage. It looked... Unwell. They would have to look at it soon. Ku noticed a clearing in a lush green forest and gently dropped in for a landing. Ori and Gumo got off, and she flapped at them to say goodbye and took off back home. She seemed in a rush for some reason. Maybe there was something in Nibel she was protecting that she didn't want to leave alone. Something special. The ground was very cosy and mossy; it felt like a blanket. They could easily just lie down and fall asleep here. On the ground next to them, Ori saw a large, familiar feather. They picked it up and examined it.

"It must have fallen off Ku! This will be handy. I used Kuro's feather a lot when I still had it. Did anyone keep it back at home, Gumo?"

He had to think, as he didn't often talk to Grom.

"Gumo don't think so. In sea very far."

Ori was slightly disappointed but was quickly distracted by everything else to see. Another big thing they noticed was the abundance of glowing blue flowers scattered around a particular area of the clearing. They were very similar to the ones that grew around them when they were resurrected in Nibel. They remembered the temple in which they found Seir, where there were mosaics on the walls that told them these flowers were remnants of dead Spirits. The surrounding number of these blooms was quite unnerving; what had happened here in the past to cause so much death? Was this why the Spirit Tree here was failing? They had many questions already, and they had hardly even moved. Gumo scampered over to the edge of the forest and grabbed a large damp stick from the ground.

"Gumo fight bad guy for Ori! Gumo protect!"

He received a concerned look, but they allowed him to keep the stick. Whatever killed those Spirits may still be around.

"Let's first have a little look around here, and then we should go to the Spirit Tree and see if we can help it." Ori was trying to plan a route through the island without knowing a thing about it.

Gumo pointed up at the sky. Those clouds that they flew past had grown far darker and larger, and they were headed towards the island.

"On second thoughts, let's try and find some shelter, shall we?"

Gumo nodded. A nearby rustling noise startled them both, and a scraggly Light Spirit appeared from behind a tree. He seemed wary of Gumo.

"Hello? I heard you mention shelter. I have a place you can stay to ride out that storm."

He was keeping his voice low. It seemed somewhat suspicious, but they deduced it was probably Gumo. The Gumon had been isolated to Nibel for Light knows how many years, and it was unlikely that there would be another colony anywhere. They were a new thing to the residents here. The enormous owl was also probably quite a shock.

"Thank you. What's your name?"

They walked over, conscious of anything mildly threatening in their behaviour. This spirit looked to be easily spooked.

"Ali. I live alone in an abandoned village, so there are enough places for you if you don't want to share a building and talk. And you?"

"My name's Ori. I'm a former adventurer who's kind of been forced back into it. I'll spare the details until we're inside. Don't want to be caught outside in the rain."

Ali gestured for them both to follow him down an overgrown path and they followed behind. Ori grabbed a strange book that had been partially trampled into the ground. The front page had a skull and strange markings on it. The pages were extremely water damaged and completely unreadable.

The smell of petrichor filled the air as they reached the ramshackle village where Ali said he lived. There was a whole lot of strangeness everywhere; something seemed amiss, but Ali seemed trustworthy despite this. They all ducked into the most complete building there as the rain began to fall.

"You like it? It isn't much, but I'm happy to have at least kept it standing for the past thirty-odd years. Here, take a seat, you two. Ori, you especially look like you could do with a rest."

There was a pile of moss from the clearing along one wall, and they sat down there. It was very comfortable.

"So, who's your friend?"

"This is Gumo. I met him in Nibel, and we helped each other while I was returning Sein to the Spirit Tree there. I forget what species it was. I think it was an oak? But that isn't important. His kind, the Gumon, are all dead. He's the last one that we know of. Perhaps we can find another colony one day."

Now that Ali knew what Gumo was, he visibly became much less tense.

"That sounds rough. I would hate to be the last of my kind."

"That's what my life has been too. I was the last Spirit on Nibel. If I died, that would have been it for that place. There were none in Niwen either. But again, thanks to me and some of the people there, I've filled the place with my kin, and it was thriving."

"...Was? Oh, is that why you're here?" Ali quickly tied everything together.

"Exactly. To cut it very short, I was Niwen's Tree for about fifteen years before one of my offspring just kicked me out. I think something must have happened to him. Now the Decay is rapidly spreading, and the usurper is using the Tree as a vessel to spread it faster. Now, everyone I know and most of my legacy is in danger. I'm here to get my strength back and to retake Niwen."

Thunder rumbled in the distance and overshadowed any talking for about five seconds. The rain was picking up too.

"I think we need to talk louder," Ori suggested.

They continued to answer Ali's questions as the storm raged on.

"It's great to finally have someone to talk to. I've been alone aside from the odd squirrel since I left that lot. And even they're becoming less frequent because of the Hunters."

Ori was quickly overwhelmed.

"Whoa, slow down. Who's that lot, and who are the Hunters? I'm getting too much new information here."

"Oh, the Hunters started around eight years ago. I don't know much, but I heard they were such oafs they couldn't get a job, so they resorted to mindless killing and butchering of the local wildlife to sell overseas. Even shot at us Spirits a couple of times. And I'm talking about a village nearby called Octans. Don't trust them. They act all nice but they're vicious. And don't tell them I'm here, they'll kill me."

Once again, he seemed on edge. Ori tried to brush it off, but something kept gnawing at their mind. They could be overthinking things though.

"Ali, I noticed you don't shine very bright. Is it just a trait of the Spirits here or is it unnatural?"

Cogs whirred in his head visibly. It was very strange that he would have to think about this question, Ori observed. Perhaps he wasn't intending on being truthful.

"Our Tree is nearing the end of its life. As its own light fades, so too does that of its children. It must only have months left by now."

Ori was convinced; they knew the effect of Spirit Trees on their kind. But they were worried about something else. Perhaps the trees of Niwen and Nibel being plunged into peril at the same time was merely a coincidence. But three dying at once was a clear indicator of something not being right.

"...Ori?"

They suddenly became aware that they were silently sitting there, just thinking.

"Oh, I was just thinking. Those two trees could be coincidental. Three? There must be something doing this, right? Perhaps something bigger than us trying to exterminate the Spirits. Or... Me?"

The rain began to slow down to a gentle patter on the roof.

"So... How old is this tree? Do you keep a record of the years?"

Ali grabbed a small notebook that looked filled with important information. A few pages in was what he was after.

"It says 376 years."

"Aha! The writing in the temple back home said that Spirit Trees should live for over a thousand years! Something is clearly amiss. I'll have to figure this one out eventually."

Now that the rain wasn't too bad, they got up to leave.

"Bye, Ali. I'm sure I'll see you around."

The Tree was calling to them, drawing them closer. Time to start the adventure.

Chapter Text

The Wellspring Glades were buzzing with panicked action as every resident rushed to pack as much as they could in the little time they had. Compared to other parts of Niwen, this place was fairly close to the Spirit Willow. The Decay would soon arrive and tear this former safehaven asunder.

"Opher, where are we going to go? Surely there's one "safest" place on the island?" Grom anxiously rested on a table opposite Opher as he pored over a map that Ori left behind.

"I'm not too sure. You know, it would be handy if Tokk and Lupo hadn't gone exploring the Silent Woods that one time. Their input would be greatly appreciated..." He sounded stressed and a little bit frustrated.

"...But there are some areas that stand out. Mouldwood is completely sealed off, but the darkness there is very dangerous. And I don't like the idea of Mora getting hungry. That spider is scary. The Windswept Wastes are another option, but everyone except you would have a hard time surviving. And it's also fairly close to the Willow." So far, so bad. But Opher still looked hopeful.

"However, there are some interesting options. One option is to go to Baur's Reach. It's very cold, but we can find ways to keep warm. And decay will have a hard time reaching us. But I think the best place we could go is the Wellspring itself. Fresh water is always coming in from the Luma Pools to wash away the Decay, and it's a good way away from the Willow. Plus, it's already got a big building to house everyone and there's only one entrance that can be easily sealed up." Opher leaned back in his chair, waiting for Grom's opinion.

"I like this idea. And I finally get to build something again. Let's do it!"

He left the hollow tree stump where they were working and called out to everyone.

"We must go to the Wellspring! It is our best chance of survival. And soon, that Decay will be upon us in the blink of an eye."

He nervously eyed the trees, watching them slowly curling up and blackening as they were eaten by the growing infection. But he also noticed a strange silhouette twitching around under the shadow of some trees. It looked to be watching the people here intently. It looked like... Another Gorlek? ...It was Grok! But just before he started to approach him, he noticed that Grok was riddled with Decay. His erratic, drunken movements meant that the Decay had already reached his brain. He had turned a sickly orange-pink and was covered in bubbles of pure liquid decay. He was acting like a rabid animal. Grom reluctantly gave in to common sense and dared not get closer. He accepted the loss of his friend- no, his brother. Gone, just like the rest of them all those years ago.

Chapter Text

While they were wandering aimlessly through the forest, Ori couldn't help but wonder if they should have asked more questions to Ali while they were there. They still had so many questions that needed answering, but perhaps they would be proven right in not fully trusting him. He seemed... Off. He was hiding things from them both.

Suddenly, Ori was overcome by an urge to stop. They obliged, and told Gumo to also stay. From this part of the forest, the Spirit Tree was directly visible through the trees.

"Hello, visitor. My name is Seva, and I am the light of this island's Spirit Tree. I have noticed what has happened to Niwen, Ori. But I have hope that you can save it with our help."

Seva sounded weak. Its voice was more shallow than Ori's, and it had the rasp of an old creature.

"Thank you, Seva. But how do you know about us? This is so far away, and the attack was hardly an hour ago."

"The Spirit Trees are all connected by thin root structures. This lets us communicate. Seir sent out a distress signal before it was overtaken, letting us know what was happening the instant it did. The only other tree I can contact is Sein. There are more, but their roots are too far, and I lost contact centuries ago. I fear that they too could be under attack."

Ori thought for a moment. This theory of a higher being sounded far more plausible already, or maybe it was just Ori's attempt to understand the myriad of unexplainable things going on. But what could be the motives for its actions?

"I sense a residual light in you, Ori. Brighter than most. Are you a young Spirit that came straight from your tree? Or is it something more unnatural?" Seva seemed curious about Ori. It saw something in them that it hadn't seen before.

"I was the Spirit making up Niwen's tree, but I was kicked out by some kind of magic hex. It's probably power granted from Seir."

"Perhaps."

Ori had been distracted by Seva, but now remembered what they had actually wanted to ask it.

"I was speaking with someone when I got here and asked some questions about you, but I don't know if I can trust him yet. How old is this tree?"

Seva surprisingly didn't immediately answer.

"I... Don't fully remember. I'm around 370 years old, but I'm just relying on everyone to keep track for me. I'm not the best with keeping track of numbers."

"And don't Spirit Trees usually live up to a thousand years at minimum?"

"Yes, usually."

"You sound unhealthy. Do you have any idea why?"

"My tree is indeed dying, but I don't know why. It feels as if a force is strangling my roots and suffocating me. I won't last much longer."

Ori decided that they were done procrastinating. It was time to start doing stuff.

"I might be back to help you one day, if the stars align in such a way. It was nice to meet you."

They left the clearing and headed slightly west until they found a very tall dirt mound.

"We should try to climb this. There could be some good stuff up there and we can see much further."

Gumo tested the integrity of the dirt. It began to crumble, but it barely stayed intact as he climbed on it. He was skeptical but decided to risk getting hurt to see what was up there. Ori was much lighter and didn't have to worry about slipping back down, and easily managed to keep up with him. They were only halfway up when Ori saw a familiar green glow coming from the leaves on a tree branch.

"I think I see a life cell!" they exclaimed.

"You get to the top, I'll grab this."

They clambered sideways towards the branch and grabbed at it, pulling it closer so that they could grab the cell.

"These are full cells... Excellent. That makes it much easier. I still don't know why the ones on Niwen were split. Another mystery to solve for detective Ori!"

With the cell in their possession, they climbed the rest of the way up and met back up with Gumo. That refreshing feeling of strength washed over them as they consumed the life cell.

"I can tell this place is rich already! I'll be back home in no time."

Now that they were atop the mound, the two of them looked around. They still weren't above the majority of the trees, but they could see a little snippet of the rest of the island. A tall hill seemingly covered in huge thorny vines, and a rocky plateau topped with spikes. Closer to them, though, was the other side of the mound. It was not, in fact, a mound, but rather a circular wall of dirt, with a pile of rocks blocking the exit. Ori was looking closely for anything interesting when the ground gave way under them and dropped them into the hole. Gumo attempted to grab them, but he was too late, and they went tumbling down into the pit. As they picked up speed rolling down the hill, every impact rocked their body. A quick idea led to them pulling out Ku's feather, but they were also too late, and they unexpectedly hit the floor, blacking out.

Moments later, they opened their eyes and pushed themself into a sitting position. They were covered in mud and cuts, and they must have almost died. And when the fog in their mind vanished, and they turned to their left, they gasped in terror. A huge scorpion many times their size was slowly, menacingly approaching them, tail already dripping with fatal venom. They jumped to their feet and ran to the other side of the arena. They tried to summon an energy spear... It didn't work. Nor did the Shuriken. Then they tried their Spirit Arc. It did work, but it seemed completely ineffective against the bug. Their arrows simply bounced off its carapace. They would have to fight this thing face-to-face, melee. They held their hand to the sky and channeled their energy into their faithful healing spell. There was no way they'd forgotten that, even after all these years. It began to work, and a green light surrounded their hooves, just as the scorpion began to charge at them with speeds they had not expected it to be able to reach. All the cuts and scrapes were slowly repaired and the sharpness of their mind returned as the enveloping pain vanished. The spell finished, and they were fully healed, just in time for them to roll under its claw as it reached for them. During this roll, Ori pulled out their Spirit Edge and slashed its side as they got back up. It cut deep into the chitin, and the scorpion twisted round, hissing in rage.

"Nice try, friend..." They jeered as they backed up again. It dug its legs into the earth and dashed at them a second time, and kept its claws low to try and catch them. But they weren't so easy to fool. They jumped at it and bounced off its carapace with a satisfying tink, like a fork and knife being hit together. It seemed unfazed by this though; its back was very strongly armoured. Ori was still in range, and it struck at them with its mean stinger. The needle barely missed them, but the rest of the tail crashed down on them, knocking them down briefly. They got back up and sliced at its claw, but once again the Edge simply bounced off. They continued dancing around the scorpion, probing for weak spots and gradually making it more and more enraged. Finally, it snapped and opened its claw wide, reaching toward Ori. They saw a chance. They shifted slightly towards it before swiftly backing off, and it reacted. The claw snapped forwards, expecting to grab Ori and crush them. Instead, it received their weapon, sideways. As it closed its claw with unparalleled force, the Edge easily pierced through the entire thing. It recoiled in pain and Ori ripped the Edge back out. While it was still recovering, they ran forward and slashed at its open mouthparts, wrecking them.

At this point, Ori remembered a weapon that would surely trivialize the fight. They sheathed the Edge and summoned the mighty hammer which had served them so well in the past. They stood still, practically daring the scorpion to come at them again.

Gumo reached the bottom of the hill. He was here to rescue Ori, but quickly noted that they weren't really in much danger any longer; they could totally handle this themself. He decided to take a seat and watch.

The scorpion looked a bit more hesitant to attack Ori this time. It hadn't really hurt them at all, and they now had a much more fearsome looking weapon. But primal, territorial instinct took back over, and it had to get rid of this intruder. It charged again, and Ori stayed in place. As it got close, they slammed the hammer down on its claw, utterly crushing it. They swept it sideways and hit it across the head, then jumped forwards and smashed its body. With a final twist, they redrew their Edge and sliced the tail clean off. Its cries of pain rapidly fell silent, and it vanished in a cloud of light. Only the stinging tail remained.

Gumo jumped into the pit with them and checked out the spoils of the fight.

"You OK?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Hey, do you see that little cave over there?"

There was an opening in the wall that seemed big enough for the scorpion to fit through. Perhaps there were shiny things in there. Gumo took the tail, and they went to investigate the cave. Compared to the lush green everywhere else, it was dark, dingy and muddy down here. There were a lot of books and scrolls, but most were water damaged and unreadable. One was on top of a wooden box and looked in decent condition though, so they grabbed it. In addition, there were a handful of very old looking coins.

"Let's get back into the light, so we can see what these are."

They crawled out of the crevice and brushed much of the mud off. First, Ori examined the coins.

"5 Drakes... Era XVI? Interesting. Is this the currency of this island? Even if not, they might sell for a bit. They look ancient... And valuable."

They passed the Drakes to Gumo. Then, they untied the ribbon binding the scroll. Unrolling it, they found something a lot less interesting than they'd hoped.

"It's a map... Well, at least it's useful. It's monochrome though. That's really awkward. Oh, I see where we are! It's marked as "Velara", with a creature's skull. Was that the scorpion's name? And hey, there's Octans, barely a minute away. Well, Gumo, we have our next destination. Follow me!"

They climbed the rock pile blocking the exit and headed further west towards Octans.

Chapter Text

Before even taking another step, Ori saw another green glint in the trees.

"Another Life Cell? These really aren't hidden very well. It's high up though... Could be dangerous. Ah, I've got the feather. What could go wrong?"

They got to the base of the huge evergreen tree it was attached to and began climbing. In no time, they reached the lower canopy. This was a different species of tree, and it reached for the skies to get its share of sunlight. As they passed by the canopy, it opened up into clear skies. They could truly see for miles from up here. Finally, they reached the very top, where the trunk was so thin it barely supported their weight. They reached out and grabbed the Life Cell, and absorbed it. From all the way up here, they could see everything. The mountain and the thorny hill were very visible, but they also saw a vibrant blue town over in the northwest. There was another settlement just south of it, and to the east was a pretty crystal garden full of bushes and at its center laid a glass castle adorned with gold and filled with decadent decoration and luxuries. It tempted them. They wondered if it was still inhabited, or if they could claim it for themself. But over in the far east of the island appeared something very worrying. A huge reptilian skeleton rested at the edge of a scorched, fiery wasteland. There was a slight movement, and they saw what was most definitely a dragon crawling across the rocks.

"I think that's enough snooping. Don't want that thing to spot me."

They dropped from the tree and floated to the ground with their feather.

"You got cell?" Gumo asked impatiently.

"Yes. Let's get to that village then."

Another short distance later, they came across a narrow river. The water was crystal clear and Ori could barely hear a waterfall a short way downstream. The map indicated that Octans was just past this river, near the cliffs at the coast. Sure enough, they discovered a lightly used path which was little more than some trampled grass. But it led somewhere. From what Ali said, they had no idea what to expect. They followed the path into the village and in front of them was a pair of Spirits talking with each other. Ori approached them while Gumo stayed back a little. One of the two noticed them, and shone a welcoming smile.

"Hello! Who are you?"

Ori was surprised that these people weren't just some ragtag rebels out for Ali's guts. Was he really telling the truth?

"I'm Ori. And you two?"

The other replied first.

"I'm Luna."

"I'm Sol. It's nice to have a visitor here for once."

Ori remembered hearing the name Sol before. It was a long time ago in Nibel. Just a coincidence, they concluded. Then, another friendly voice from behind them.

"Hey! A new guy!"

The approaching Spirit had a basket full of odd tubers and greens. He was definitely a bit smaller than the average, as everyone else had been close to Ori's height. Sol answered him.

"Ah, Quinn. This is Ori. They've just got here."

Ori waved shyly at him. They thought for a moment that they could hear something else, and began questioning their sanity. But yes, that was definitely the sound of snoring. Very loud snoring, too. They chuckled to themself.

"Who's asleep?"

Sol could hear it too. It wasn't particularly quiet.

"That's Fil. He's a very big guy. Wouldn't hurt a fly, though he sure looks like he could. It's just us four here. Been that way for a solid nine years. And I see your friend back there. Get him over here, he's welcome too."

Gumo tottered over and sat down next to Ori.

"We have comfier places to sit."

He begrudgingly got back up and acted as if it took all his energy as they headed deeper into the village and down a small mound to a fireplace with nice rock seats. It wasn't currently lit, but it was clearly well-used, and a large ceramic pot sat on top of it.

"So... I'll spare the details for now, but Niwen is being attacked by a rogue Spirit who has replaced me in the Spirit Willow and is spreading decay across the island. I'm here to try and find what I need to stop him. Do you know anything about the value of treasure here? Because I've already found a little bit."

They dropped a couple of the Drakes and the group inspected them. Quinn quickly came up with something.

"They're from the sixteenth Era of Spirits, which was roughly a hundred and eighty years ago. This is currently the 25th Era, if only there were any new Spirits being grown. But that's beside the point. These coins are not in circulation anymore, but could be of high value to a collector. 50 Flora each, I'd estimate. There's one called Harmony up on the top of the Thorny Glades, that big hill over there. It's a bit painful to get up there though. I'd advise you to wait until you have some clothing, or, like, crocodile skin. Getting those thorns out of yourself isn't fun."

"For killing a huge scorpion, I was expecting more."

Luna had to double take.

"You got Velara? That thing's been a pest for ages! Thank you. You must be the right person to send out here."

Ori nodded. Apparently, that scorpion was a big deal?

"I'm from a beast slaying past. I could handle that thing. I'm more concerned about the huge freaking dragon over in the east."

"Oh, she's not that bad. She knows we aren't food. I think she tries to catch fish and sometimes a small land creature. Just... Never get close to her eggs. But that reminds me... I heard there was a saviour of Niwen about fifteen years ago. Was that-"

"Yes, it was. I also once had an adventure in Nibel where I helped return Sein to its tree. It's about time I dusted off my skills and got back into the prophecy business," they replied with a wry smile.

Ori also showed them the old map that they collected, and were quickly handed a new, more intact one. An old map would also be worth a pretty penny to Harmony, they said.

"Thanks for the help, you three, but it's about time we set off again."

"You're always welcome back here! There's plenty of room," Luna called, to which Ori shot her a smile and a wave.

Ori and Gumo rather quickly disappeared into the trees. Sol looked a little worried.

"I didn't get to tell them... That's not good."

Chapter Text

Grok descended to the deepest parts of the Mouldwood Depths, to a secret passage that only his kind knew of. Through it, the murky greens and blacks quickly bled into bright white and blue, boldly brightening the tunnel leading to a futuristic door. Through this door was a bustling lab, full of Gorlek panicking about the ongoing disaster. Grok smiled. They were so unaware of him. He slyly entered the code to unlock the door, and it slid open, revealing him to the entire lab. No one had noticed him quite yet. He silently shut the door and then raked the buttons off the combination lock. The noise of that alerted several Gorlek, but it was too late now. No escape. Grok lurched at the closest one, biting its neck and paralysing it. Terrified screaming ensued from the other scientists as Grok grabbed a pair of scalpels that were sitting on the worktable. One tried to escape through the door, but quickly realised it was futile. Grok slashed its back with one of the scalpels then dug another one into its heart from behind. It slumped to the floor. There was still one in the room he was in, and he went for it, biting hard on its arm several times. Its defense began to slow down as decay multiplied and filled its blood. It turned into a mindless husk within seconds. This display redoubled the remaining Gorleks' panic, and they started grabbing anything they could to defend themselves. Broken flasks, little scalpels, clamp stands, everything. But there were only four left. Grok entered the room, one swipe landed, and another one dropped to the floor. He knocked a makeshift weapon out of another one's hand and bit its thigh. Another infected member. All three infected Gorlek teamed up to easily kill the remaining two scientists. The lab was theirs. Except... A lone Moki sat quivering in the corner, trying to make itself as small and invisible as possible. It definitely wasn't working. Grok got closer and chuckled. It sounded more like a death rattle. Decay had all but destroyed his vocal cords and the best he could do was a horrible gritty gurgle that was extremely intimidating for some reason.

"I have a little idea for you... Heh." He sounded like he had ten different types of pneumonia and also the bubonic plague. He had to cough, and spluttered out big globs of reddish iridescent sludge, which could have been decay, blood, bits of his lungs, or a mixture of all three. Once he recovered, he reached for a syringe from the counter. He stuck the needle into one of the globs and sucked up a bunch of the nasty liquid. Then, he quickly stabbed the syringe into the Moki and injected the entire thing.

"This island will fall to our decay, Atto. None shall survive us. Command me further, for I am your marionette!"

He grabbed a box from another corner of the room and stuffed the Moki inside. With it scratching to get out, he took his leave with the Moki box, leaving behind absolute carnage. And he was certainly now preparing for some more. His wretched body heaved and throbbed with giant pinkish pustules, and fur was falling right off him. Soon, he thought, it would be much more than fur that he would be losing.

Meanwhile, Grom watched helplessly as the Decay closed in on the Glades. A few juvenile Light Spirits also sat by him to watch their home turn to ruin.

"A few more moments and it'll be at the tree stump in the center... If that doesn't hold up... Will anything?"

A minute passed, and finally the decay made contact with the huge stump, and its smaller twin nearby. Both rapidly began to blacken and shrivel up. Leaves and vines fell from the trees in clusters. Bridges were stretched and snapped, and branches were ripped from their resting spots by the stumps twisting violently. Eventually, the little one succumbed to the stress, and collapsed, crumbling upon hitting the ground and turning to rubble. It was swiftly followed by the larger one, which also made a point of crushing several Moki houses as it landed.

"...So many years... Gone like that. I can't believe what's happened..."

The Spirits tried to comfort Grom but it did little to improve his mood. Opher appeared behind them, alerted by the noise of the stumps falling.

"Wow... We need to protect this place. If the Wellspring is destroyed, so is the whole island."

"Opher, this was our home. Are you not sad that it's destroyed? Let me be sad too," Grom insisted morosely. Opher shrewdly answered back.

"Yes, but it is also important that we do not die. We can't fail Ori. Plus, we can rebuild once this is all over. And we need to build right now, too. We need a wall."

Grom appeared to brighten up at the concept of building something again. It was his favourite hobby.

"You're right. We have time to mourn our losses later. But we can't lose any more than we already have. Let's build that wall.

Chapter Text

The way ahead quickly grew brighter as the tall pines and bushes shifted to stubbier crimson maple trees and warmer orange foliage. It seemed to almost sparkle with an ethereal energy. Such a place should be bustling with all sorts of happy life, but... Nothing. Hardly a sound. The only living sounds came from behind them, back in the Thicket. Ori had already mostly forgotten what Ali said, but recalled him mentioning danger around here. Or did he say that?

"Well, I don't like this. But it looks like we got no other choice yet. Are you ready, Gumo?"

He nodded. Or maybe he bowed multiple times in quick succession. Being just a head with limbs, it would have been impossible to tell the difference without context. Ori noticed that they were becoming distracted with odd thoughts again, and decided to head into this creepy, silent place, since Gumo had consented with a full-body nod and most likely wasn't fervently worshiping them.

The deeper they descended, the more eerie the silence became. Ori had the sudden, and rather important, realization that there was most likely a reason everything was quiet here and that they should definitely be quiet too.

"Gumo? If we need to talk while we're here, we have to whisper. I feel like something bad could hear us..."

Still silent. It began to get into Ori's head. It whispered back at them... Suddenly, in the distance, a small animal squeaked. Finally, something made a noise. But relief turned to dread when they then heard a thump and that same animal's dying call.

"What... Is over there? That thing was killed instantly..." Ori's voice trembled with a fear that they had never felt before, not even for Shriek. They both mutually decided to go a different way to those sounds. The air felt thick and Ori struggled to move. They could feel themselves panicking.

Soon after that incident, they came across a scattering of hanging planks in a tiny clearing. They seemed to lead upwards to an Energy Cell. Ori needed more energy, so they prepared to tackle the parkour.

They hopped onto one near ground level. The vines holding them were far too slippery to climb, so that was out of the question. The next one was hanging vertically. A vine must have snapped or fallen. They jumped and barely clung onto this one. Climbing to the top, they saw a third platform and hopped to that one. From there, they could see another one, but it was absolutely too far to reach. There had to be another way.

Just behind them, in a tree hollow hidden by a bundle of sticks, was a bright pale blue light that shone brighter than any cell would. They pried the twigs from the opening and entered. It was an Ancestral Tree! They were surprised to see such things over here too. And also how it survived with barely any light. These trees were the remnants of powerful Spirits of the past. Was this place this one called home? It was very cozy. Ori grabbed the light in the center of the tree and focused it into themself, gradually consuming its power. It lifted Ori off the ground, and once all the light had been depleted, they were dropped to the ground, revitalized. It felt so nostalgic to be doing this again. But... They didn't have anyone's voice this time. How would they know what the ability was?

"Wait..." They had an idea.

Stepping back, Ori studied the shape of the tree and its leaves. They appeared sort of windswept, as if they were moving fast? Perhaps this was... Yes. They stepped out of the hollow and approached the ledge to the other plank. Boldly trusting their detective work, they jumped for it and attempted to dash over there. And it worked! They felt an invisible force propel them forwards, and they landed cleanly on the platform. From here, the jumps were much easier, and they got to the energy cell in style. They snatched it and jumped off, falling all the way to the ground with it.

"Yeah! I'm back! This feels good." They raised their voice, but immediately remembered what they were supposed to be doing and covered their mouth.

"Let's move again before whatever that was gets here... Because they definitely heard that." Still whispering, though strained this time, Ori understood what Ali had warned them about. This place was extremely dangerous. As they started walking again, the fear came right back. What if it was watching them? Could there be more than one "it"?

They found a large path. It seemed to wind everywhere for no apparent reason. A large, fresh bloodstain was dead ahead. The silence was so loud that it filled Ori's ears with so many horrible thoughts. This place had no business being so terrifying. Wait... Footsteps... Getting closer... Two sets?

Suddenly, two monkey-like creatures rounded the bend in the path and began to yell and point at them. Whatever words they were using Ori couldn't discern, because they were already running. Gumo could not move. He watched the two draw what appeared to be crossbows and start shooting at Ori. His brain was telling him to intervene and protect Ori at any cost, but his body was frozen in place by the fear that this forest nurtured.

Ori ran wildly, dodging through the trees. The sounds of the bolts hitting the surrounding ground and trees were just like the one that killed the creature back there. Eventually, Ori got unlucky. Their left arm was hit. A crossbow bolt dug deep into their flesh and they let out a cry of pain. Panicked beyond reason, they ripped the bolt right out of their arm, releasing a cloud of light from the horrible wound. They used this to dip into a dense bush unnoticed.

"I think we got him."

"He definitely won't be coming back anyway."

Gumo watched in horror as Ori appeared to have been killed right before his eyes. He noted the hunters both had Scandinavian accents. They looked very similar to Opher... Same species, perhaps? They approached Gumo, who was stood there like a deer in headlights. He seemed to realize that they weren't going to kill him, at least not yet.

"You. You're a big haul. Come with us."

Gumo wordlessly complied. He didn't feel like getting shot, at least not today.

Ori peered from their bush for a moment, watching him get taken away. They ducked back in. They were hyperventilating. Safe? How do I get him back? Still panicking. Not good.

"Am I... Up for this? ...I can't..."

"My fault...?"

"...Will I die?"

Their hands shook violently as they tried to pull out Ku's feather. They hugged it tight.

"...Protect me..."

They curled up tight and cried harder than they ever had before, all alone. Gumo wasn't here for them, because of them. They had no one now.

The feather.

"Ori. You are scared. I may be able to help."

Their throat was tight. They struggled to breathe properly. Seva's voice offered a kind hand to them.

"You are having a panic attack. I remember someone taught an adventurer like you a way to ground yourself in such an occasion."

With what little free space they had in their ears and mind, they listened in.

"Imagine your feather is connected to your breathing. As you breathe in, it floats downwards. When you breathe out, it goes up. Imagine that feather is floating in the middle of your vision. Now, try to keep that feather moving nice and gently."

Their breathing gradually slowed down as the feather stabilized, and fell into a calming rocking motion. Within a minute, they had calmed right down.

"How did you do that?" Ori asked, puzzled. They dried their eyes and put the feather away.

"It wasn't me. It was you. You did that. And now you know what to do if another attack comes along."

Ori sat stunned for a moment, before realizing it was actually true.

"You're right! I did do that! Uh... Wait. I'm lost. Which way is Octans?"

A moment passed, then a small wisp appeared, seemingly pointing in one direction. This was the way back.

"Thank you, Seva!"

They followed the wisp for a brief moment before realizing a big problem. The large hole in their arm. Light was bleeding out of the hole at a worrying rate. They were significantly weaker than normal. Quickly, they cast a recovery spell. Every other little scratch was healed, but it did nothing to that hole. There was only one option left. Ori threw stealth out of the window and ran for Octans, hoping they'd make it before it was too late.

Chapter Text

Gumo soullessly walked alongside the hunters as they headed back along the path. He knew he was as good as dead. He saw what happened to Ori and assumed they were surely killed, just like his captors did. What else could that eruption of Light be? But why hadn't they killed him yet? Did they want him alive for some reason? Or maybe he was just too heavy for them to kill him here and cart him around. Maybe if he ran, they wouldn't be bothered to drag him all the way back, and just let him go? There was an awful smell coming from somewhere and it seemed to follow them. Where it was coming from, he didn't know. Presumably something that the hunters had with them.

Suddenly, they both halted. They drew crossbows again. Ahead was a pair of colourful squirrels warily scurrying around looking for food. The hunters communicated silently and shot at exactly the same time. One of the squirrels was impaled and pinned to the ground. It was already dead and leaving a nasty mark. But there was a lucky mistake! They had both shot at the same squirrel, and the other one screeched in alarm and scampered up a tree and away from view. The hunters approached their kill and picked up the disgusting mangled corpse, dropping it into a large barrel on one's back. At this point, Gumo quickly and regrettably found where the stench was coming from. He immediately gagged at the horrid scent of rotting blood and juices, and unwashed fur soaked in said rancid liquids. It was worse than anything he could ever have imagined. Now he was dreading what they had planned for him infinitely more.

Ori stumbled through the treeline panting with exhaustion and clutching their damaged arm. Quinn was the first to spot them as they arrived back in Octans. He immediately had a good idea of what had happened.

"Ori! You ran into them?" He sounded very concerned for his new friend's safety.

"Yes... Need help. They got me bad." Their voice was choked from the pain and loss battling inside their mind. They dropped their hand from the wound and revealed it. It had gotten a bit dirty and the edges were a little darker than normal.

"Oh my Light... Luna? We need some help over here!"

She appeared from behind a building, took one look at Ori and dipped into that same building for a moment, before emerging with a little box. She took it over and opened it quickly. Sol noticed the commotion too, and came over to see.

"What happened?!" Luna was also as worried as Quinn, if not more so. 

"They're hunters, right? They shot me. And they have Gumo as well!"

Luna washed the dirt away with a sweet smelling liquid from a vial, and grabbed some cloth. It wasn't an actual bandage, but it would do.

"Your friend? Oh, no..." Sol's tone was confusing. He said it with a hint of sadness or sympathy. What for?

Luna began wrapping the cloth around their arm. It stung like anything, but they kept still.

"I've got to try and get him back. I won't let him get killed, especially not so soon." Ori was restless. They already wanted to go.

"It's not worth it. They kill Spirits on sight, you'll just die, guaranteed." They still couldn't understand why Sol was so morose about this.

"I've known him my entire life. He's the closest thing to a parent I have left! I... Can't just abandon him. I need to try, and if I fail... At least I'll have tried. You understand, right?"

Luna finished tightening some cords that kept the bandage in place and backed away. They worked quite well. Some light was still escaping, but the majority stayed inside.

"Yes, but... Look, I don't want to say this... He's dead, Ori. They'd have killed him while you were escaping. There's no rescuing him. I'm sorry. You need to stay here and heal. You're not fit to go out like this."

Oh, that's why! He just believed that Gumo was dead. There had been a miscommunication. 

"No, no, I know they didn't shoot him. I saw them leading him away somewhere. There's still time. Plus, I need to go anyway. I'm on a mission, not a holiday."

The sudden calmness struck Sol. There was no way Ori could have acted that; it had to be true.

"...Go on. Just be very careful and don't do anything stupid. I believe in you, Ori."

Relieved, Ori stepped back, towards where they came from. 

"Thank you. He'll be back in no time, and those hunters will pay." 

Retribution was at hand.

Chapter Text

Grok barely managed to walk along the ground because of pestilent, rancid tumours that were now growing on his legs. They were rapidly growing, and a similar fate was soon going to befall the newly infected Gorlek, one of which was now following him.

"I won't be able to beat the entire lot of them and live. There must be a hundred Spirits, let alone everyone else. That's why I need this thing."

He held up the boxed Moki. It had given up clawing at the walls of the cage it was trapped in, and sat silently, defeated. Grok's voice was a little better now, but quieter. Perhaps he had hacked up some of his vocal cords.

"They won't suspect it. It's tiny, and there are already so many of them. It'll be too late once they figure it out. Everyone will eventually fall to the Decay. We just have to let it in."

The other Gorlek clearly had some doubts, but didn't vocalise them.

"Shame it's just us, eh, Opher?" Grom grunted as he heaved a large brick onto the rapidly growing wall. For the longest time, he had been the only Gorlek around, as everyone else was infected with the decay, and many died when it was destroyed by the new Spirit Tree. The only ones left that he knew of were the ones in the lab, and the single miner out in the Wastes. There was no telling if he was alive or dead. Things were looking grim. The same went for Opher. Never had another of his kind been seen on this island by anyone. At least, anyone who cared to tell him.

"Yep. These bricks are so heavy. At least they'll be worth the effort."

As the wall was rising, Veral was showing off his creativity with the easy energy at his disposal from the waterwheel. He used a collection of random foliage and wood scraps to make a bellows, and was now nibbling down some smaller bits for gears to power them. Once he did this, there would be no need to constantly tend to the fire while cooking. Back near the wall, a small collection of young Light Spirits were also helping by digging up the ground. They were collecting some clay and washing it to act as cement, keeping the bricks in place. And even the Moki were making themselves useful. They spent the evening tidying up the inside of the Wellspring so that everyone had a place to sleep for the night.

A little over an hour passed, and the sun began to set. Veral had finished his contraption and dinner was bubbling away in the pot. Everyone waited in line for their fill, but this time it was something different for once. There was no time to dive in the Luma Pools for Marshclams, so it had to be regular vegetable stew this time. It was still a great meal and a much-needed change. With everyone filled and warm, the neverending flow of work continued on.

Chapter Text

Ori sliced frustratedly through the bushes as they walked through the forest. While travelling, they had some time alone to think. These hunters - Sol had mentioned in passing that they were called Shiners - must have something about them. Something that forced them into this job. Perhaps once they got Gumo back, they could use that something to convince them to quit. Clearly, they've been a menace to the island for some time, and there was no reason not to try and help out when possible. Also, could they really be related to Opher? They looked similar, but maybe it was just coincidence. 

Ori almost missed it, but just to their left was another little blue tree. It really was little this time, though. Clearly, the Spirit who left this one didn't die very long ago. The orb it housed was protected, though. A small stone plinth guarded the orb and seemed to be locked to the ground artificially. They approached the stone and understood what it was. There was a flat surface with an array of concentric circles, and a few etchings going through each. Ori touched one and it spun round a bit. This was a maze puzzle. Starting from the first ring, they rotated the pieces so that the lines matched up. It was actually quite easy. Once the last one was finished, they stepped back, waiting for something to happen. It took a moment to realize that there was a start and end point that the line didn't connect to, so they rotated the whole thing round a bit so that it matched up properly. Immediately, the line going through the stone lit up blue, and the center stone popped out a bit. Ori pulled it out, and it looked like a key. Down at the bottom of the plinth was a crude lock. They inserted the key and twisted, and the lock opened up. This lock was holding the plinth in position, and now with a simple push, it fell off and Ori claimed their orb. Absorbing this one was a completely different feeling. A strong wind pushed them downwards with force, and they could barely stay on their feet. Once the storm subsided, they had to figure out what they got. It was clearly something that involved downwards force. Could it be...

They climbed a short way up a tree, jumped and slammed down into the ground as if they were ten times heavier. They had rediscovered how to stomp! Ori had missed this ability in Niwen, and they were glad to have it back. Again, there was no memory attached to this Tree. Nothing meaningful, they guessed. Probably a peaceful death. Wasting no more time, they kept going forwards.

Eventually, Ori reached where they were headed to. The Thorny Glades. At least, that's what the map called it. If there were something this unique in Niwen, it would definitely have been named something less generic. It seemed to have an entrance surrounded by thorns, and Ori wondered how bad of an idea this was. It definitely wasn't their best by any standards. Just then, they heard an intimidating noise from beyond the treeline. It sounded like a cross between a big animal growling and some weird alien clicking. Not to be deterred, Ori kept walking at their usual pace with their eyes firmly towards where the sound was originating from.

It didn't deter the creature. It bolted through the trees and rushed at Ori. In the second they were given to react, they dashed sideways to evade it and drew the Edge. But now, from behind them, they heard a woody thump followed by an animalistic scream of rage and pain. They turned around and saw that the beast was unable to slow down and rammed straight into the thorn walls. It thrashed around with a huge thorn right through its head. It managed to break free, but it took the thorn with it. Promptly thereafter, it collapsed on the floor. It no longer moved, so they assumed it was dead. Taking a closer look, it seemed to be a weird chimera of an insect and a wolf. It had huge mandibles and those hexagon insect eyes, as well as some thin chitin along its underbelly and lower legs, but the rest was shaped like a wolf and covered in fur. When Ori touched it, it dissipated into nothing. The beast left behind a pile of coins, different to the ones they last saw. They had "Flora" stamped on them and were vaguely shaped like a poppy. Flora were apparently the currency in rotation now. There was a fair bit, totaling up to roughly 150. However, they didn't really know how valuable the currency was. Maybe this wasn't enough for anything at all.

Without any more distractions, they then entered the Thorny Glades and started exploring. Almost immediately, their hooves became riddled with little spines from some kind of evil grass. They only felt a few pricks now, as the needles had barely reached anything fleshy. Only a few feet in, there was a rope ladder leading all the way up the thorn wall. They had to check it. The ladder hugged the wall a lot, and the steps were unsettlingly close to the huge thorns on the vines.

Upon reaching the top, they were greeted by a rather green building, seemingly made from these same vines but processed into something woody. A content humming could be heard inside, but not too much else. They walked around the building to find the door, but were instead hit with an amazing view of the island. Nothing new was revealed yet, but they could see everything far more clearly from up here. Ori quickly snapped out of that distraction and promptly knocked on the door to this unknown building.

A very odd creature answered the door. It seemed to be covered in thick fur in most places, had pads on its hands like a cat but also opposable thumbs, it was even smaller than Ori at about two feet tall, and it wore a dark apron with white clothes underneath. A large portion of its face and right shoulder had no fur and the skin there looked very burned.

"Hello, come in! I haven't had a visitor to the workshop in a long time!"

The creature hopped inside, asking Ori to follow him. The workshop he mentioned was filled from wall to wall with all manner of different swords and spears, and all manner of other weapons. A forge against the wall acted as a cozy fireplace, warming the place up and giving the room a pleasing orange glow. The place was full of equipment and wooden furniture, and it seemed incredible to Ori. They had never seen anything like this.

"Enjoying the view, friend?" He had a kind of hick, Texan accent. It sounded very charismatic for some reason. Ori felt they definitely wouldn't be leaving here with all of their Flora.

"Name's Franco. Doesn't really fit my accent, so I prefer to go by Frank these days. How 'bout you?"

"I'm Ori. I'm a visitor from Niwen, though on rather grim terms."

Frank worked while he talked, sharpening a small curved blade on a stone.

"Oh, what's happenin'? I'm a bit of a recluse up here, so I don't often get much news."

Ori sighed, subconsciously wishing they hadn't mentioned it. Repeatedly telling this story was going to be boring.

"I was the Spirit Tree over there for a good few years. Then one of my kids turned to the Decay and took it from me, kicking me out. Now I'm over here, preparing to take it back. But now things are even worse. The Hunters have my friend, and it's only a matter of time before they kill him. I should probably be going after him now, but now that I think about it, one of these weapons could be of use..."

Frank was excited to have a customer again.

"It must have been months since my last sale! Your situation sounds dire, so I'll try to make this quick."

He left his unfinished blade and walked with purpose up to a particular section of the wall. After a brief browse, he selected a barbed cutlass and handed it to them. The thing looked devastating, and it had a really nice balance in their hands. 

"You have some talent, Frank. Do you have anywhere to test this thing?"

Frank led them out to the back where a decrepit target dummy hung limply on a mangled stick. The clothes it once wore were either rags hanging on by a thread, or already on the floor. It was little more than a hay bale on a stick, and even then it looked closer to a soggy tumbleweed.

"Huh. I like this thing."

Ori made a few swings at the rancid straw pompom and noticed a big problem with the barbs. While they would get stuck in the enemies, the sword would get stuck with them and was very difficult to rip out. And if they couldn't get their weapon back, it wouldn't bode well for them. Plus, the barbs might have been a bit too cruel.

"It's a nice weapon, but it won't work for me. Looks like it needs a stronger wielder. Have you got something that could be used specifically against the Hunters?"

Frank understood the assignment this time, and began to think again.

"Perhaps a ranged weapon... Or something to block their crossbows... Ah, those guys are tough. I would have recommended armour, but there ain't time for that, it seems, plus I don't make armour. You'll want something strong from a distance to be as safe as possible. Aha! I think I have a solution."

He pottered back inside and over to another wall, looking for something specific this time. From a lofty hook, he grabbed a large boomerang. Handing it to Ori, he gave a sort of "What do you think" look, waiting for an answer.

"Again, it's really nicely balanced. I've had experience with weapons like this, so I don't think I'll need a tutorial for this one. I'll take it."

Frank ushered them over to a table.

"Normally, for a medium-sized weapon like that, I'd charge 200 Flora. But considering the situation, half price. Just for you, Ori."

They emptied their hand of coins and counted out a hundred worth, collecting most of the change.

"There's a little tip. Thanks, Frank. I owe you one."

Ori left the shop with their new toy, ready to rock those Shiners' world.

With Ku's feather, they jumped from the cliff and glided into the deep orange leaves of the Autumn Forest and began swinging through, going as quickly and silently as possible. On the horizon, they saw some rickety buildings and assumed that was where everyone was heading. Practicing quiet movement as they approached where the Hunters would be, they chuckled to themselves. How ironic, that the hunters were becoming the hunted.

There was a noise almost right below them. It was their voices communicating. Ori moved a bit more and looked through the trees. They were right there. Ori hopped off and began to plummet as hard as they could.

Chapter Text

Ori impacted the ground hard, sending an immense shockwave rippling outwards. It knocked the Hunters off their feet, and the dust cloud that billowed out covered Gumo, giving him an easy escape. A sudden rush of adrenaline hit them, and they smiled with a mix of glee and nervousness as they rushed forwards to attack the foes. A couple of swings from the Spirit Edge aimed at nowhere in particular took one to the ground. He rolled backwards and leapt straight back up. Realising his crossbow would be useless this close, he instead pulled out a huge knife and brandished it at Ori, daring them to come closer. And that they did. What he didn't know was how proficient in combat Ori actually was from previous battles and adventures. They were not wet behind the ears by any means. Ori sliced at the knife, knocking it away for a brief moment before dashing into him, barging him away and knocking him off balance. They used this advantage to squeeze in another nice hit with the Edge before unexpectedly dodging backwards. This happened to be at the same time as when the other enemy fired his crossbow. It missed entirely. The Hunters were too predictable in their fighting- Ori subconsciously knew what they would do at each moment. The years as a tree gave them a sort of mild foresight that massively helped them in such cases. Ori returned to the first Hunter and while he was still reacting, they swung the hammer at him, knocking him down properly now. Their attention shifted to the second, who had almost finished reloading, and they lobbed their new boomerang with force at him. It hit him in the middle of his forehead and he collapsed, dropping his crossbow. Ori promptly snapped it with a Stomp. But the first Hunter was getting back up, and he still had his weapon. He held it high up towards Ori and pulled the trigger.

But he was too slow. Ori dashed towards the crossbow and shoved it skywards. As the bolt flew forwards, it was sent far into the air instead of towards its target. Ori dragged the weapon back down to their level and attempted to punch it out of his hand. He visibly grimaced in pain, but still managed to keep his grip. Strong guy. They were left with no other choice. They grabbed the Smasher. Wait, that was the name! After so long, they'd forgotten. Distracted again, they managed to let the Hunter get another bolt into the crossbow. Ori swung down at him, barely missing him and glancing the crossbow, pummeling the ground at his feet. They stepped forwards and swung again, hardly millimeters away. He finished loading the bolt, and took aim again. Without hesitation, Ori immediately swapped weapons to the Spirit Arc, and aimed an arrow straight between his eyes.

"Found ourselves a bit of a stalemate, haven't we? Now, all I want is Gumo. Let me have him back, and no one gets hurt..."

They glanced over at the other guy, spread out on the floor, probably with a nasty concussion.

"Uh... More than they already have, I mean. Deal?"

Ori's coldness and hostility, plus the arrow of almost certain death, seemed to convince him. He reluctantly nodded, lowered and unloaded his crossbow. Gumo was hiding behind a thin tree to protect himself against the fight that had just happened. Ori hopped on his back, and they ran away, eyes on the Hunters until they were out of sight.

"Hunters evil. They kill squirrel. Meat barrel stinky."

Ori was confused. Normally, they could understand Gumo, but without context, a lot of very weird stuff was left to their imagination.

"I don't think they're beyond help, Gumo. They probably aren't doing this voluntarily. If they were, they wouldn't have let you go so easily. But I think it'll be a long while before they open up to me about anything. Let's just... give it time."

Chapter Text

The Decay had taken root in the Moki's brain. It now responded to anything Grok said to it, and was a servant to the greater power, Atto. He was the one truly in control, and Grok was just his emissary. He led the thing up to a big wall that had suddenly appeared which blocked the Wellspring. Strange, that wasn't there before. No matter. Grok picked it up, ordered it to act normal until it was contagious, and chucked it over.

A while later, the new Moki was happily playing along with the others and blending in well. But... for a moment, its true mind returned and tried to pull it away from the camp. It remembered what it was told to do, and realised that it would end up dooming the camp if it didn't do something right now... It would kill everyone here. But before it could escape back over the wall, it lost control and slunk back to the group.

Even later, it was time for the Moki to get food. The impostor was not hungry, and refused to eat. This confused people watching it. Moki are usually very regular feeders and never skip a meal. This behaviour was already odd. Hardly a minute after others started getting worried about it, it collapsed and seized up, before losing consciousness for a moment. When it got back up, it once again had control over itself. As fast as possible, it ran up to Grom.

"Gorlek! Infection! Controlling me!"

"Infection?" Another Moki repeated.

"Danger!" A third one cried. And just afterward, the Decay reclaimed control. Angry that the secret was out, Atto commanded the Moki to attack Grom. It leapt at him and tore at his arm with teeth, claws and anything else it could. The thick fur and skin saved his arm from becoming a skeleton, but some hits dug deep enough to cut his skin. He rapidly pulled it off him and the others secured its limbs, so it couldn't keep attacking.

"I'm sorry, friend. You don't deserve this..."

Grom felt a pang of sadness and guilt as he threw the infected Moki back over the wall. It thudded on the ground and made a little pained yelp, and the feeling wasn't made any better when he heard it clawing at the wall, desperate to get back in. Grom looked at his arm. Some blood trickled from the cuts that attack caused.

"This is terrible... I could be infected now. Opher, you understand that you throw me out of here as soon as I start acting weird, okay? I don't care how long we've been best friends, you must sacrifice me for the rest of the camp."

"Grom, calm down. Even if you are infected, you'll survive until Ori gets back and saves the tree. And still, you're only really in danger if it managed to bite you. The mouth and fluids are where most of the decay is." Opher managed to keep things in check, and after Grom checked his arm, there were no bite marks, just scratches. This significantly calmed him, and he felt a lot better.

"You know what, Opher? I've had it up to here with the Decay. It's destroyed my entire civilisation and now there's only two left! You and Gumo are the last of your kinds, and Ori was the only Spirit of Nibel and Niwen. It's utterly wrecked us all. I want to do anything I can that can get rid of it altogether!"

Grom certainly didn't have any original thoughts. Many had tried to cure the Decay before, but it proved fruitless. Perhaps, though, Grom had enough of a reason to do so that he would have the determination to succeed. It was worth a shot.

Chapter Text

Gumo seemed to be waving his stick around pathetically. He was a little bored, but didn't want to train with it. He quickly gave up and started drawing things in the dust on the floor.

"Hey, Gumo! I'm going to explore that big spiky hill that we saw on the way here. I don't really want you going there though. Those thorns aren't nice."

Gumo was disappointed, but understood that he would probably rather be here than in that place.

"But I won't just leave you with nothing. For the time being, take my Edge. You might run into something dangerous here, but I doubt it. That's just in case."

"You be fine?" Gumo asked, concerned.

"Yes. I have plenty of other weapons that'll serve me well, and I'm back in the rhythm of things now. I could handle anything with any of these weapons."

Ori knew they were lying. They would most likely be fine, but there was always a chance something would go wrong. They were just trying to make sure Gumo wouldn't worry too much.

"You can explore by yourself too, just don't leave the Thicket, or you'll be in danger. There's no saying what could be elsewhere."

This excited Gumo, and he scampered off with his new toy. Ori said goodbye to the Octans and headed on their way too.

After they both left, Luna inspected the drawing. She couldn't make it out as it was unfinished, but Gumo knew it was going to be a drawing of Naru, himself, Ori and a young Ku. Their family was something that meant a lot to him. Ever since Naru died, he was just much less happy. Maybe he hoped to see her again one day... But he knew what it would cost.

At the entrance again, Ori decided to check the map. The way up to the top seemed winding and maze-like, and the map appeared to indicate some blockades and impassable areas. There weren't a huge number of notable landmarks in this area, but there appeared to be several faint blue and green circles on the map when they held it up to the light of Seva. These must be pointing to life and energy cells.

"Handy. I'll keep that in mind."

There were more important tasks at hand now than running around doing little tidbits. They entered the Glades and the walls of green seemed to close in around them. From here, they were immense. But so far, the path was very wide and not that claustrophobic. Right seemed to be a dead end, so they turned left and headed that way. The path started with a fairly shallow uphill, then took a U-turn and kept going up. This time, though, there was a patch of five-foot tall spiny grass blocking the entire way. Ori jumped to peek over, and it was probably twice as long as it was high. They tried cutting through it with the Boomerang, but it did a terrible job. The only way was to just push through. Running at it with one arm in front of their face and the other pushing grass to the side, they were filled with little tiny daggers of annoyance and regret. Upon reaching the other side, they were covered head to toe in the things. It was only mild pain, but it was absolutely everywhere. While pulling the stupid things out, they were still thinking about the Hunters. They had to find out more, from whoever they could. It was an itch that they were desperate to scratch, and they knew it would only get stronger as time passed. The closer they got to the top of the hill, the clearer they could hear a plethora of voices. The map left no indication of what was up there, which was strange. Eventually, though, they reached the source of the voices. It was a market that was chock-full of creatures very similar to Frank but all very different in fur length and colour. They sort of looked like dwarves crossed with a generic marsupial. There were a couple of Spirits here too, but not many at all. The volume dipped a little as people noticed the newcomer. One of them tucked away in the middle of the congregation piped up.

"Careful with this guy. He looks a little prickly!"

The pun was met with at least twenty frustrated groans from his friends.

"Please shut up, Andy."

"What? It's a great one!" He gestured with a wry smile in his face.

"You've said it four times already today! I'm losing my mind!"

"Well, what else is there to do up here? Bleedin' cloudspotting? You want to play eye spy? I spy something green!"

"Thorns?" Ori replied awkwardly.

"Exactly! That's all there is! Let me have my fun."

Ori didn't know what to think of Andy. On one hand, the joke was a little distasteful. Misgendering them was fine since he didn't know them and they didn't care too much. On the other hand, him getting mad was really funny and if he had more material to work with, they were sure he'd actually have some good jokes.

"Uh... Hello. I guess first things first, what are you guys known as?"

A creature from the front answered this question.

"We are the Moles. Don't ask why, because we look nothing like moles. We are usually the workers of Nimor who do a lot of the grunt work for easy money. This leaves Spirits free for the more intelligent or arcane jobs that we can't perform. This is a market that we all use. Feel free to do a little shopping."

Ori felt the lightness of their pouch and remembered why they were here in the first place.

"I'm actually after a collector of artifacts. I was told I could find one up here."

An older Mole gently pushed her way through the crowd to get to the front.

"Hello! I'm Harmony. As luck would have it, I'm the one you're after. What do you have for me, dear?"

They materialized the ancient Drakes and the cluster of old map scrolls. They were about to reach for the evil-looking book they found but decided to leave it. It felt too important to sell. It held too many secrets and if someone stole it from her, or it otherwise got into the wrong hands...

"This is it. All spoils from slaying the beast you called Velara."

Harmony seemed impressed.

"My, you must have struggled against that thing! I sometimes wish I was a young adventurer like you so I could explore and find all sorts of amazing history like this! Now, let's take a look at these."

Her surface level observations of the coins seemed to match what Ori found.

"A little rusty... But nearly two hundred years old and at a time when currency wasn't a common thing. These are some of the most valuable coins out there. This collection I'll trade 1000 Flora for. And the maps... I couldn't find the name of the cartographer, but looking at some features I can deduce that they're over 150 years old as well. Very stained, some water damage and tearing, but that's inevitable over such a long time. Another 500 for these."

Ori was entranced by the professionalism of how she went about her job. Clearly, Harmony had been doing this for decades. They trusted her offer.

"Deal. I'll make sure to keep finding some stuff for you. And where do you put all of this?"

Harmony was delighted that Ori would ask about her hobby.

"Well, I'm keeping everything in a compartment of my burrow at the moment, but I'm planning on building a museum on the surface somewhere, once I stop buying artifacts and save up for materials!"

"That's really nice. I hope it goes well for you. See you soon!"

They began to peruse the market stalls with their new riches.

Gumo was out exploring the Dark Thicket, having fun searching for things to take home. In particular, he was collecting a few Lightcatchers, the plants he saw Ori propel themselves from before. He was sure that Ori would soon find that ability again, and once they did, these plants would come in very handy. After about half an hour of wandering, he had five of them. At this point, he was mostly done, and it was time to head back home in case Ori was back.

Ori saw yet another blue tree in the corner of the market. A dark Mole in a long coat guarded it and wasn't moving. It seemed very shady. Why was it being guarded? Was the ability locked inside dangerous? Ori approached the guy to find out.

The orb in the center began to glow brightly as they approached. The guard seemed very interested in this, and also Ori themself. 

"Hello. You seem to have activated the tree."

The Mole seemed to not want to say too much.

"Does this mean anything? Does it light up for any of the other Spirits?" Ori asked, now curious about these trees. Why hasn't anyone else taken it?

"They say the Spirits within these trees only reveal the ability they grant to those in need of the power, and those that they can trust. And you appear to be the one they're after. So, I noticed you recently came into a lot of money thanks to that charming old lady. How much are you willing to trade for this thing right here?" A business-oriented man. And a fleece too, for sure! Ori should have guessed. Well... He didn't know exactly how much they had. And it was best to start haggling low. Plus, this guy would probably never get the chance to sell it again.

"500."

The Mole looked happy already, but kept pushing.

"1000."

"650."

"900." 

"750." Ori hesitated to go much higher, but knew that the final price was close. It would be no good trying to push it further.

"800."

With a slight sigh, Ori accepted and handed over more than half of their money to the Mole. He moved out of the way, ready to finally stop guarding this tree and do something new with his life. Like guarding something more important than a silly tree.

Ori grabbed hold of the orb, and it dissipated into their body, lifting them off the ground as per usual. Landing on the ground, they felt a feeling that they didn't like... It was quite familiar to them. It seemed that a little bit of previous trauma was resurfacing. They remembered... The last moments of their previous life were spent desperately rebounding off projectiles to stay above a scarlet sea of decay while battling Shriek, the massive petrified owl, and now they had this ability back. They knew that Bashing would come in handy though, so it was fine.

They didn't know how they missed it, but right in the center of the market was a Spirit Well. It beckoned them, telling them to rest for a moment. Standing in the well, they felt all the aches and pains drift away. Except for the big hole in their arm. That was definitely still there.

Chapter Text

Ori was about to leave the Glades, but remembered the dead end right at the entrance. Sure enough, on an overhanging thorn vine hung a Lightcatcher. Ori could scale the thorny wall now. They leaped at the hanging bulb and willed an arcane force through their leg to shove them in the right direction as they kicked down towards the Lightcatcher bulb. They were sent far above the wall and landed safely in a secluded area of surprisingly non-thorny grass. On the floor in front of them was a random pile of Flora that was left here. It looked to be about a hundred. They grabbed and stored that away before they launched themself over another thorn wall. A second valley contained a vibrant, luscious Life Cell and Ori immediately took it. They sensed that their new Bash ability was even stronger than it ever was, stronger even than the one from Nibel; they were going incredibly high. Now confident with their new ability, they used it one more time to get over this last wall. But just as they were falling, they realised it was a lot lower down on the other side. They fell for nearly four whole seconds, and landed on their back in a large open space. Incidentally, the one time they didn't land on their feet was the one time there were thorns, and their back was given a lovely second coating of unwanted mass acupuncture.

Ori opened their eyes, surprised that they weren't dead, and painfully rolled over and got up. Now they were completely covered again. Hooray.

"Wait... Oh. It's another big pit. I think I can see where this is going..." Ori exasperatedly sighed.

Sure enough, a large mound of thorns began rustling and split up to reveal a big mashup of a beetle and a Komodo dragon covered in those thorns.

"Knew it."

Ori made sure to heal before the beast attacked, and readied their... Oh. They gave the Edge to Gumo! Fine, the hammer would do. 

The beast tried to hiss and roar at the same time, but ended up hawking up a blackened rodent skeleton. It went surprisingly far, landing about halfway to Ori. It tried again, just roaring. It was actually successful this time, but the edge was slightly taken off it by the little fumble beforehand. Ori remembered the map saying "Thornbane"- this must have been the creature's name. It charged at Ori, and they simply rolled under it because it had so much ground clearance as it ran. It was already clear there was a weak spot under there... But the hammer wouldn't do much unless it was timed and aimed perfectly. There had to be another. The beast spat a glob of dark green sludge at them, and with quick reactions, Ori bashed it away with perfect timing, and it just missed the Thornbane. 

"That might be it... Or alternately, I could simply use my Smasher to rearrange its facial features. I'll try playing smart first."

Ori stepped out into the middle of the arena, waving their hammer to their side. They were trying to bait the creature like a matador, but it definitely wasn't working. It lined up another rush directly at Ori. They waited for it to charge, then bashed straight upwards from its back and slammed down at the same place with the Smasher. Through the thick vines, they saw that a small portion of its carapace had cracked, but it seemed extremely well armoured. Brute force definitely wasn't winning this one. They backed away again, awaiting another spitball. Instead, it reared up on its hind legs, falling down and releasing a shockwave, manifesting a circle of thorns around it and spewing some from its back, raining them down upon the arena. Ori took a hit and pulled out a nasty big thorn from their shoulder before readying for the next attack, whatever it was.

It charged at them again, this time so fast that Ori had no time to react. It tossed them like a salad over its dreadful spiny elytra, and it cut deep into Ori from head to toe. They rolled across its back helplessly and landed limply on the floor. Everything stung as they forced themself into a sitting position and watched the Thornbane line up yet another charge, ready to end this. They picked up their Smasher and prepared for the worst. It charged, and time slowed around them. They had barely any life left in them, and another hit would surely kill them. The split-second decision between life and death had to be committed to. Right on time, they swung the hammer. It connected with the reptilian face, and it was sent careening off to the right, just missing Ori. They scrambled upright to heal even a little bit, and managed to clear most of those injuries. But their bandage was torn, and light was slowly leaking from the hole again. Time was of the essence. They hurried the Thornbane along by trying to aggravate it more.

Finally, it spat at them again and Ori made sure that it was sent straight back into the beast's face. It sizzled and melted away at the greeny brown skin of the Thornbane, and it screeched in agony. Blinded by the acid, it curled up into a thorny ball and began to carelessly roll around the arena, trying to find its prey turned predator. Despite how fast it was doing so, and all the thorns it was shedding in the process, it failed. As a last resort, it began spewing the acid spit everywhere in hopes of hitting just once. But again, it failed, and once it was tired out, Ori swung the hammer and dashed towards the Thornbane at the same time, delivering a mighty blow that instantly finished the thing off.

"Phew! Perhaps I didn't give the hammer enough credit. That was a pretty sick kill."

A sector of vines at the far end of the arena immediately withered and died, falling away to reveal an exit into the northern parts of the island. The area through the opening was beautiful. There was a great view of the sea, rolling plains, colourful floating crystals and a large amount of very overgrown topiary. And extremely close by was the huge mountain, and the mysterious gold and glass structure they saw a while ago. They would have loved to go and explore it now, but they had to get back to Octans or risk death again. Before they left, they grabbed a fragment of the elytra that the beast left behind as it vanished.

Later, Ori had returned. They were being fitted with a new bandage.

"We went all out on this one. This is made of the finest woven silk by the Princess herself. It's one of the strongest materials we know of. This isn't going to break on you anytime soon, Ori."

Luna seemed to enjoy fixing Ori up.

"And Gumo's been out and about, too. He says he has something for you both."

On cue, Gumo stepped forwards holding the Lightcatchers he collected, still on their long vines.

"Oh, nice! These could be very useful. I think we have time for one more trip out before it's time to eat, right?"

Chapter Text

"Normally, I'm fine with just going any which way, but I'm really spoiled for choice here, and I'm on a time limit that I don't know. Which area do you really recommend that could potentially get us to that crystal place?"

As much as Ori wanted to go to that colourful plain, they were right. Gumo couldn't get through the Thorny Glades. They would have to look for another way round.

Sol had some insight for them.

"The safest area is the Rooted Gardens, for sure. But it's agricultural. No creatures really live there apart from the farmer himself. You won't find anything interesting there." Sol had a good grasp of the entire island, and knew where everything was and what it was like. But Ori didn't seem too enticed by the Gardens. Sol now understood Ori more. They were a risk-taker. Glory or nothing. So, he decided to suggest something more suited to them.

"However, there's one place a little closer... But far more threatening. The Ashen Crags. It's tough to get there, tough to traverse, and tough to escape. It's also really hard to see, the dust clogs your lungs... It's just a terrible place. Lots of things die there; there'd be loads of stuff to take from their skeletons. I think both are a little way into the Autumn Forest, though. Be careful."

Ori was very excited by the sound of this place. It was dangerous, full of riches and everything, and it sounded open. Perfect for Gumo, since he was much larger than Ori and might not fit in certain places.

"Then let's go and see what this place is all about. It sounds right up my alley. Except the breathing part. I might not enjoy that so much."

They waved goodbye and dragged Gumo along with them in the direction Sol pointed them in. He said to follow the edge of the Glades until a smooth rock face appeared.

"Here are the Glades, so we just need to go this way. Keep an eye out for Shiners, they won't let us go this time."

Things got quiet again once they passed into the Forest again. This time, Ori wasn't as fearful. They knew the threat, and how to stay clear of it.

"Don't go near pathways..." They whispered.

Soon, they encountered the change to the stone wall. It looked to be limestone, and it was very smooth. Ori couldn't climb it. It sort of looked like a huge pile of pastry. For now, there was no way up, so they kept moving along. Eventually, they encountered a tree that was close enough to the wall that they could climb it and scale the wall. Ori climbed first, and saw the top of the Crags. Spikes. Everywhere. The entire floor was covered in nasty limestone spikes, and the air was heavy with thick dust. For now, it was fine, but once they were in the thick of it, perhaps it would be overwhelming. They jumped and landed well in a small opening, and guided Gumo up the tree. Once he reached the top, he realised that he wouldn't be able to land without getting injured. Thinking quickly, Ori drew the Spirit Smasher and carefully crushed a collection of the stalagmites littering the floor. Gumo jumped, and just as he landed, a speedy object flew past where he was just standing. Ori peeked over. It was one of the Hunters, and he had barely missed Gumo.

"Too slow!"

They quickly popped back from the edge and could hear him grumbling down there.

"How about we get moving? Don't want him following us up here. Besides, we've got good things to find." Ori's desire for power, wealth or whatever had grown vastly since Gumo had last known them. He hoped it was just because of the incident back at home. Greed was a nasty trait to have. He hesitantly followed them, tiptoeing between the spikes and occasionally getting pricked. The land was not as barren as it seemed. It wasn't very flat, despite initial impressions, and it was covered in tall spires and arches, both covered with the same spikes facing upwards and looking like a weathered breakfast pastry.

The ash was filling every part of their lungs. It was in their eyes, even in their ears, whispering silently. Suddenly, the ground was no longer below their hooves as they walked into a crevasse. They started to tumble, but were immediately stopped by something. They looked up, and saw that Gumo had grabbed their leg just in time. Below them was a pit full of huge spikes. There would have been no way to survive that fall.

"Should have looked where I was going. Thank you."

Ori was pulled back up and had to lie there for a bit to calm down. The whispers in their ear were quieter before... Right?

When they got back up, they inspected the ravine for anything at the bottom. From here, there was nothing but there was an area where there were no spikes. Ori got around to that area and slid down the side of the hole. Before following, Gumo tied a Lightcatcher for them to climb back out.

"Uh... Great."

Gumo reached the bottom and turned towards Ori.

"What Ori see?"

"Not much, Gumo. Coming down here wasn't really worth the risk."

They turned round with just a 100 Flora coin. There was nothing else down there. Disappointed, Ori bashed from the Lightcatcher to get out. They grabbed the vine tightly while Gumo climbed up, making sure the spikes it was tied around didn't give way. They recollected the thing and carried on. Aside from how different the landscape was, it was really boring. Barren, and no change in altitude. You have to go slowly everywhere. The only interesting bits were the ones that were too dangerous to climb. And there was none of that loot that was mentioned.

"I'm starting to think that this was a bit of a rubbish idea."

Gumo was about to deny that, but another voice got to it first.

"Yes... You have to leave this toxic place... The air. It is slowly cursing you. Trapping you. That's what happened to the Sentinel. If these crags don't end you, she will. And the King... He would not take kindly to one of your kind. I've seen what he did to them. Consider yourself warned. Heed now and live, or stay foolishly and die."

A vision of a tortured Spirit appeared in the fog. Her voice was croaky and ethereal. It was very clear that her death was not a pleasant one. Now, Ori was even more scared of this place. But they were also curious now. Sentinel? King? They sounded cool. Ori had to see them. They glanced at Gumo. He nodded back.

"We can handle it. I've dealt with far tougher challenges than this. Trust us."

The Spirit's apparition did not move an inch. It stayed projected in a frightening position against the dust. But, Ori could tell that it was irritated.

"Many adventurers have died here. You are no different. There's nothing up here worth dying for. Go back. And if you're after what's behind this place, just go round. I'm trying to help."

"We understand you don't want to let us die, but... We have to do this. Let us pass, and we'll prove our worth."

The ghost sighed.

"Fine. I don't have reason to believe you'll survive, but go. I've warned you enough and I clearly can't deter you. Remember my words."

The soul vanished and the path ahead cleared. Neither of them faltered; they pushed onward, knowing the danger this place posed. Or so they thought.

Chapter Text

Grok looked even worse now. Words could not possibly describe how foul he looked, let alone smelled. His walk was no more than falling forwards and barely catching himself. It had been a couple of hours since he sent the decoy in. His destroyed mind buzzed with excitement at how the Decay would appreciate him for the cleansing of the impure souls from over the wall. But the Decay within him writhed violently, unsettled. Was something wrong?

And as he came upon the wall once more, his hopes were dashed. A pulsating pinkish orange blob laid on the ground feet away. A closer look revealed that yes, this was his Moki. It was dead, and the Decay had converted its little frame into one single, huge pustule.

"Not happy... It's dead. Decay consumed it. But... I'm decaying. I will die... No! I can't... I need to do something..."

In the first moment when he regained control of himself since the takeover, he realized what was going on.

"Atto. He uses me! He doesn't care. I will just be discarded! I won't let him win like this!" His voice became far clearer, and he was slightly more verbose in this state. Enthralled by rage and defiance, he leapt at the wall and somehow pulled himself over. 

Opher was applying a coating of mud and straw to the wall to beautify it a little. Grok landed with a harsh, squelchy thud on the scaffolding that was put up. Opher immediately reacted, grabbing his bamboo stick and holding it to Grok. 

"Hey! What are you doing? ...Wait. Grok?"

His terrified face turned into a relieved smile.

"You recognize me? I... I need help. Badly." Hardly more than a wet gurgle at this point, Grok tried to make sure he was understood.

"I can see that. Goodness, you're looking rough. What do you need?" Opher took back the stick but still held it, in case.

"Just... Lock me away. I need protection from the Decay. I don't want to be killed. Won't let him win. Keep me away from everyone, in case I turn again." He sounded desperate. He knew he wouldn't last in this state for long.

Opher led him inside quickly and found a sector of the Wellspring that was a dead end. With some Gorlek-taught craftsman skills, he crafted some bars, and installed them once Grok was inside the room. He tested them and tried to break free, but he was stuck. 

"Thank you! I knew I could trust you and Grom to take me in. Speaking of which, is he living here still?" He spoke slowly, since his mind had to procure the words for these proper sentences and articulate them. 

Opher nodded.

"Down on the first level. He's actually creating a basic sort of laboratory to try and find a cure. He's doing great."

"I'd love to see him again. It's been a while. I suppose I should tell you what happened... You know, how this came to be. Well, Atto came to me. He was not normal. He was coloured light red, kind of pink. Very obviously infected. I didn't want anything to do with him, especially since he was a stranger to me. But he threatened my life. I had to comply. He promised me all the power I could want, and I foolishly agreed to help him steal the Tree. I cast a hex and it was done. I never received any of that power. Look at me. I am a dying fool, manipulated into this horrible fate by an even more horrible creature. At least I won't die at his service."

Opher had no idea Grok was behind the takeover, let alone had any kind of runic magic prowess.

"Very unlucky. Another innocent soul corrupted by the Decay. I hope you'll live, but looking at the state of you, I'm not so sure. I can hear Grom coming. He'll know what to do."

A moment later, Grom appeared with a great smile on his face.

"Grok! It's a blessing to see you still alive. I've been without another of us for so long. You look in a sorry state. But, don't worry. I am starting to develop a cure because I've had enough of this Decay. I believe I can alleviate some of your problems right now, but it might be painful."

He drew a sharp flint which he was going to use as a scalpel. Grok approached the bars, awaiting what he knew was coming. Grom also took out a large bowl.

"I need to collect some of this for tests."

With a little warning, he dug the flint into a large pustule, and it made a cut straight into it. Grok winced, but he was otherwise fine. It grossly slopped out into the bowl. It looked kind of like a pink pancake mix with crunchy bits in it. If only it smelled like that. It was a mix of durian, rotting fish and musty attic. It was horrible. Grok himself smelled similar, but less intense.

"I've got enough of a sample. Do you want me to get some more of them?" Grom was acting like a mother towards him, ensuring at every moment that he was okay and not hurting too much. 

"Yes. Not too many, though. I think I'm bleeding a bit and it stings a lot."

He was definitely bleeding a little bit from the broken skin. It looked fine, but if Grom accidentally cut a vein it wouldn't be a nice scene.

"I'll just get the ones around the joints, then. Free up some movement, y'know?"

Grok agreed to this. He held each balloon as it was burst and drained, and felt himself move again, something he never believed would happen.

"Goodness! This crap stinks! How do you handle it?!" Grom exclaimed loudly.

"Eh. You get used to it."

Chapter Text

As they were traversing through the treacherous plateau of spikes, Ori thought they could see something. Always at the edge of the fog, almost out of sight. They believed it could be a spirit, though it didn't look... normal. It always vanished mysteriously into the mist when they tried to go towards it. Apart from these occasional encounters, nothing interesting was found up in the Crags, as Ori had come to expect now. That ghost was right, there really wasn't much worthwhile up here. Despite the growing sense of 'get the hell out of here', they and Gumo pushed onward for the chance that they would maybe hit the jackpot... Or hit something, at least. While combing the ground for anything useful, they found the occasional skeleton of a small creature. Most had Flora on them, so they had only been killed since the coins came into rotation. Ori didn't have the heart to just take money from the dead things despite being enticed by that exact same reward, so they left it all and carried on. Soon, the ground started flattening out slightly. It never became truly flat, but at least a trip wasn't a death sentence anymore. Something was amiss now. Very much so. The voices in their ears were starting to pick up volume now. Still mostly inaudible, but they were getting to them.

"Stand still. You saw the girl back there, didn't you?"

A tough Spirit's voice broke the fragile silence of the rocks. She was barely visible, directly in front of them both. Ori could feel her steel gaze boring straight into their soul.

"...And you didn't heed her warning. I've been following you for a while. You two can't handle this adventure, you'll just get yourselves killed sooner or later. And you've been taking ever so long to get around; you clearly don't see how dangerous these lands truly are. Come closer, spirit."

Ori did so. This spirit hardly glowed at all, and unlike most, wore some simple, ragged clothes. They were unsure why. Perhaps it was to aid survival here. It was cold, after all. She continued.

"I am the Spirit Envoy, the guardian of the Crags. I have slain countless like-minded 'adventurers' who believed they were doing what was right, and you certainly won't be the last. This place is a fate worse than the one I have planned for you. She warned you of this, but you did not listen."

She refused to look her own kind in the eye. She held a needle-sharp blade towards Ori threateningly and the wind picked up to a rushing gale.

"If you are to continue your pointless endeavour, you must prove yourself worthy of meeting the absent King. Understand that I am keeping you from him for your own good. With that said, let's dance."

Immediately, Ori didn't fancy their chances. Their Smasher was not suited for agile foes such as her, and she had the advantage of experience from living on these rocks. They gestured back to Gumo. He understood and tossed the Spirit Edge over to Ori. They caught it high in the air and locked eyes dramatically with the Envoy, still holding the Edge up high.

"Your wish is my command, tough girl."

Ori slashed the Envoy's sword away, then followed up with a strike at her body. It missed and only nicked a small fiber of her overcoat. In return, she released a devastating flurry of slices and Ori dashed away in reaction. Turning around, they held the Edge in front of them in a defensive position, but they couldn't block all the hits. After receiving some cuts to their arms and hand, they ran back towards her and retaliated with one of their own hits, and unexpectedly drew their Smasher, swinging that as well. The hammer connected with a satisfying thud, hurting her and throwing her a long way back. She got up and grabbed something different. It was a red-tipped staff with a yellow-gold matte handle and fabric grip. She spun it between her fingers and pointed it towards Ori. Suddenly, she started to glow even brighter than them, and this light energy was channeled into the gem at the tip, consolidating a couple of inches above this focus. The light died down, and the staff anticlimactically released its payload. A large blue orb slowly floated towards them, and almost made contact... before detonating like a firework, deafening Ori and knocking them to the ground. Immediately she was on them. She raised her blade and stabbed downwards. But then, she was propelled backwards and into the ground, and Ori flew upwards, having used their fancy new bash ability to launch her away. She dropped her sword and scrambled to get it. They landed and immediately tackled her with a powerful dash. She landed a kick in their gut, stunning them long enough to retrieve it successfully. Her success wouldn't last for long though. Ori was back up, and they hit her with the hammer again, and followed it up with another slice. This one landed cleanly, cutting straight through the overcoat and into her abdomen. She gasped and stumbled back, but then lost her balance. Ori raced to catch her, but it was too late. She fell hard onto the merciless spikes, and stopped moving. Ori stood over her, shocked and unsure what to do with themself.

"What... Have I done?"

Gumo ran over.

"Ori! Not dead yet. We could help her."

"You're right! There's still time. Pick her up carefully, then we need to go as fast as we can back to the village. She won't live for long."

A small amount of light leaked from the wound Ori had inflicted, but much more dripped from the multitude of lacerations from the savage terrain she had fallen upon. She was covered in layers of dust and marks from the hammer were starting to appear. Ori had really messed her up.

Gumo picked the unconscious body off the spikes. She groaned in pain while doing so. A good sign that she wasn't too far gone. They tried going back the same way they took on the way here, but the Envoy was right. It was too slow. Then, Ori had an idea. They swung at the spikes in front of them with the Smasher, completely breaking them from the flat plateau. Now, the ground could be safely and quickly walked on, and it was way faster than any other way back they could think of. In half the time they had spent walking there, they were back at the edge of the Crags. They had plenty of time to plan logistics while they were going, and knew how to get the Envoy down safely. They tied a lantern round her, and Ori jumped down. Gumo then lowered her as far as possible before dropping her and letting Ori catch her. Then, Gumo himself jumped down. He definitely injured something in the fall because he struggled to walk straight now.

Back in the Thicket, Ori was thinking about the future of their adventure.

"Why am I bothering to pick up all these Life and Energy Cells when I'm barely ever getting hit?" They joked. It was slightly true, but they were aware how dangerous complacency was.

"Ori shouldn't brag. Karma hurt."

Finally, they were back at the village. Ori showed them the severely injured spirit.

"I played a little bit too rough... I was going to fight until she surrendered, but I accidentally knocked her into the spikes."

Luna, apparently the village medic, came over to inspect her. She looked a bit worried when she saw her.

"These are some nasty injuries. I hope we have enough to fix them..."

They took the Envoy from Ori's hands. 

"...We'll take care of her. You carry on with your business, Ori."

"No. I'll stay until she's awake. I have to apologize for what I did. She might have some information I need, too." They were almost certainly going to get information, but they would also stay to help Luna in case she needed a helper with the Envoy.

Ori turned around and watched the sun set through the trees as the Envoy was placed in a house and cared for.

Chapter Text

She jolted awake. Above her was a thatched roof. Below her was a comfy bed... Also thatch. Where was she? She looked to her left. Two Spirits. She recognized one from recent times, but she wasn't sure where from. They turned to face her and noticed she had awakened.

"Oh! Hello. You're back with us. You weren't out for too long." She recognized the voice.

"My head... Luna, right? I can't remember the last time I saw you. And you... Why do I recognize you?" She pointed to Ori. They answered in kind while Luna prepared something on the counter behind them.

"Back in the Crags. You made me fight you to meet this 'King' character you were on about. It ended quite badly for you. But you're fine now. And you seem a lot nicer, too. Something's changed."

Suddenly, memories began trickling back. She remembered her time... The people she killed. The imaginary secrets and treasure she was protecting. Was it all a lie?

"...I am different, aren't I? What was I doing up there? I'm just supposed to be a servant to the Princess. Something must have taken control of my mind."

She was seriously confused about what was happening right now, and it didn't help that she had a killer headache and so many more random cuts and whatnot. 

"Oh, I'm Sapphire, by the way. You?"

"Ori. So... While I was up there, I heard voices in my head. Do you think that they were behind whatever this thing affecting you was?"

Sapphire thought a little about that question.

"I forgot there were voices. After a while, I just tuned them out. Wait... How long was I up there for?"

She looked around for any kind of calendar or similar. She soon located one, and her jaw dropped in shock when she read the date.

"Two years?! Was I gone for that long? And..." Her mood soured as she realized how much of her life had been ripped away. "She did this. She sent me up there, didn't she? I bet she knew. I think I have some words for her. And they aren't nice ones."

She abruptly got up and flinched in pain from just about everywhere on her body. Luna quickly tried to sit her back down.

"Wait! You're not properly healed yet. You've only just woken back up."

"I don't care. I need to confront Shiro about this. I'm not happy."

"At least take some of this numbing paste. I saw how much it hurt to get up."

Sapphire grumbled and took some, apathetically rubbing it into her most damaged parts. 

"Uh... Pleasure meeting you, Sapphire. And fighting you, I guess. Good luck out there!" Ori called before she left. 

"Whatever. Thanks for saving me or something."

She strode out of the building and off into the forest. 

"I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't that..." Ori was rather stunned and disheartened by Sapphire's uncaring response to them. She clearly understood what they had done for her, but seemed to care more about this Shiro person.

"So, is Shiro the Princess who's been mentioned a couple of times?"

"Yes. I met her about ten years ago. Very kind person; I somehow doubt she intentionally sent Sapphire up there, but I know she did."

Luna was thinking of other explanations for this event.

"Well... I don't think those two are high priorities for me just yet. What I do need to do is deal with the Hunters. If I can get them out of the way, the whole island opens up. I'm going to find where they operate next, and find out some stuff."

Ori's analytical mind was already drawing up a new plan after the fifth or sixth one had already derailed. But this one looked promising.

"It's a good idea, but not urgent... However, I think you need to go to the Prismatic Plains very soon."

"I was going to after this... But why? Shouldn't I be minding my own business?"

Luna glanced worriedly in the direction of the palace. A prolonged silence filled the room.

"Sapphire's... A fierce one at the best of times, and I don't trust her intentions with the White Princess..." 

"How so?" Ori queried, unaccustomed to the behaviours of these Spirits.

"She's going to try and kill her."

Chapter Text

A passing tension lay across the Autumn Forest. Ori was making a brave trip here, on their way to an even more dangerous place. They were going to find the Shiners' home and see what they were all about. The silence told a story of their recent actions. They had clearly just been on another rampage. A strained, faint chirp sounded through the trees. The first creature to make a noise here. The bird had presumed that the Hunters had moved on from here, and could stop hiding now. This was followed by a couple of other birds joining in, until there were about ten safe, happy birds singing for the fact that they had lived another day. It was safe to follow the path, but when the birds stopped, they knew they would have to stop as well. To their left was an opening leading out into nothingness. Curious, they approached it. Across the entire edge of the forest was a large sandy beach, without a pebble in sight. Ori had to take a moment to sit down on the shoreline, listen to the waves gently lap at the island and have a well deserved rest for a couple of minutes. This was calming; with nothing but the tides filling their ears, they took a moment to think about the future. What happens after all this? If they end up not reclaiming the Tree, what will they do with their time? More adventures? Perhaps that will become more apparent later. For now, it would be best for Ori to just live in the moment and deal with what's happening now.

They got up and brushed off all the sand, and started walking down the beach. Their hooves sunk into the sand slightly, so they had to do a bit of a waddle to go anywhere. At least it was safer than going through the Forest.

Just in the distance, they saw the treeline abruptly end, and a couple of pathetic little wooden sheds. This must be the place. Before they got any closer, they were interrupted by a familiar presence. 

"Careful, Ori! You're getting close to the Fen. The Hunters live there, and they won't take kindly to intruders."

Seva was calling out to them, warning them about what they were doing. 

"I know it's dangerous, but it might prove necessary. I need to get back my bravery, anyway. It's been a bit lacking since my return."

"I trust you, Ori. Just... not entirely. Stay safe. Niwen depends on you." It clearly sounded concerned for them.

Its presence dissipated and Ori was left with a straight path to Seva's Fen. They slowly approached, keeping a keen eye out for any sign of the Hunters. The fine sand gradually gave way to a brown, muddy slop as they entered the Fen. It was extremely swampy. Walking around in this was infinitely worse than the sand. They were almost completely sinking in it, and they had to get their legs all the way up to move forwards. Luckily, there were planks strewn across the surface of the swamp that acted as pathways. They clawed their way over to one and clambered on top of it. 

'Now, I just need to find something that will keep them occupied right here for a long time, so I can free up the Forest.'

That was their main mission. Along with reconnaissance and taking inventory of the enemy, they wanted to sabotage them so that they wouldn't be a bother for some time.

They decided to check the first house. It was protected by sticks and a rope tied into a knot. A basic lock that anything could open. They didn't bother untying it, and just slashed the rope. Opening the door, they were immediately assaulted with the worst smell that they had ever experienced, without question. A river of brown, clumpy juices trickled from the slightly ajar door and Ori stumbled backwards, coughing and gagging from the stench. It was a whole shed full of barrels of rancid blood and offal, impregnated with bacteria and mould. They very quickly shut that door and ran away from the building. They took a moment to recuperate and braced themselves for the next building.

Pushing open the door, they were very relieved that it wasn't another meat room. Rather, it looked quite homely in here. A sort of comfortable chair in front of a display of tacky trophies of their job. Several taxidermied heads were strewn haphazardly across the wall, and numerous varying bones were dappled along some shelves, with a large pelvis being the centerpiece. These taxidermies were utterly rubbish, too. They were all either way overstuffed, or limp as a dead fish. There appeared to be stairs to a second floor which they took. It was clear that this was their bedroom. In the dead center of the main wall, behind their beds, was a 'taxidermy' Spirit head. Ori could almost have laughed at the ego of these people. The Hunters knew Spirits didn't leave a corporeal body after death, and were willing to create and hang a fake head despite this. Ori was certain that they had killed Spirits before, and that this wasn't just an intimidation play, but they had to question the competence of the pair of Shiners if they needed to fake an achievement to make them feel like they'd accomplished it. And to top it off, even this one was understuffed. Ori felt a fun urge - to destroy this laughable excuse of a trophy piece, but managed to resist doing so. They had actual business being here besides breaking everything, and they didn't want to draw the Hunters' attention from wherever they were in the village. They were certain that they were both here.

Okay, just a little slice.

Little bits of ground-up hay started trickling out of the big gash that they put in the fabric, and they left the room satisfied with the job. They decided to check one more building before it would get too risky to go further. Parkouring warily over the planks, they made their way to one more building very close to the edge of the swamp and leading back into the Autumn Forest. They heard... Lots of clawing and squeaking from inside. They wouldn't... Surely?

They cracked through the lock on the handle and opened the door. It was an airy building which was much more intact than most others here. And yes. Yes they would. They were taking live prisoners. At least ten Copper Squirrels and a number of other rodents were constrained with black zip-ties and little chains tied to the wall. But... Zip-ties? Where did they get these from? What were they made of? It was a mostly unknown material. Ori took a closer look. There was writing imprinted on them but it was so small that they could only make out the biggest of the letters- R and T. The logo seemed stylized in an odd way that was far more difficult to read than even their own handwriting. The creatures were very happy to see Ori, but still a bit frightened of them. They began to cut through the ties.

"Stay here until you're all out, or the Hunters might notice you escaping and stop me."

And speaking of the devil, they heard rapidly approaching voices. At a moment's notice, they hopped up into the rafters and drew their Edge, hoping to get a surprise attack in from above that could help them evade the Hunters after first contact.

The Hunters burst in and immediately, one looked up.

Chapter Text

"Hmm. How about something a bit different? ...Yeah."

Back in Octans, Sol was about to start preparing food for the next few days.

"Hey, everyone! I think we should make something different for a change. Let's make a nice herbal stew. Luna, you can go and find some Crystalberries. I think we'll need a bit of that sweetness. And Fil, you can grab some herbs and anything else you can find."

Sol himself began hauling pieces of wood to a stone block close to the fire, and began chopping it up ready to be burned. Luna and Fil grabbed their baskets and set off. Fil left large dents in the floor wherever he stepped.

The only other Spirit left in the village was Quinn. He was making himself useful by scraping all the moss off the wooden beams and other general cleaning tasks.

"So... What do you think about that Sapphire? She seemed a little... Not nice." Sol was wary of her since she was brought into the village.

"I'm not certain. Give her some time to calm down before you judge too harshly. I doubt she's normally like that, mmkay?"

Quinn brought up a valid point. He knew that a lot of his friends were quick to form opinions on people, and he was beginning to work on trying to change that.

"Anyway, I hope Ori moves fast. Luna said she might try to kill the Princess. That will only end terribly for one of them. They might miss the food if they do anything about it though, and it'll be cold by the time they're back."

"Well, I guess neither of them matter if Ori's leafy water goes cold!" Quinn dug at Sol in a joking manner, knowing he'd be absolutely fine with this kind of playful banter. "Whatever they do, we can't control them. I expect they know best, anyway. Need any help with cutting wood?"

Sol insisted that Quinn keep doing his own thing. 

"Gumo help with anything?"

"No, it's fine. You keep drawing. You're a great artist."

The dust picture had expanded a lot now. The basic shapes of everyone were there, and there was a little bit of background. The picture also featured Grom and Opher, who were now technically part of the family with them.

"Do you reckon Ori will bring back any Mintfern?"

Sol was getting a bit out of breath, but there was nearly enough wood for the pot now.

"I doubt it. If they're in the Fen, they'll likely be leaving very fast and won't have time to collect any."

"But if they escape sneakily, it has a very strong smell. They could recognize it as a tasty plant and bring it back."

Quinn took a deep, long breath and sighed it all back out again.

"There's no chance, Sol. You know it. Do you really expect them to see a plant just like all the others, and decide to pick it and give it to us? I know you're an optimist sometimes, but be realistic, man!"

Sol groaned in agreement and finished with the wood.

"They might not even get back here. For all we know, they could have been killed already, and we're worrying about them bringing back a plant for dinner."

Chapter Text

"Hi, guys!"

Ori grabbed the doorframe and swung their way outside, slashing at the Hunters on the way past them. But when the two of them turned round to chase them, they were nowhere to be seen. Ori was actually on the roof, and silently climbed over to the other side while the clueless Shiners voiced their frustration.

"Where is he, Akka?! He was out of our sight for a second!"

Finally, they learned the name of one of them. Akka seemed to be the calmer and more reasonable one, and the one that they knocked out in their previous fight.

"Well, he's not here anymore! He won't have our animals, anyway."

Ori watched the Hunters quarrel over the peak of the roof. If it weren't for their beady black eyes, they would have been completely camouflaged against the cloudy sky. They ducked back around to make sure they weren't spotted. They should have been scared, but they really weren't. It was like a fun game of hide and seek. Except the consequence of getting found was death.

Out of nowhere, the voice of Seva whispered very quietly into Ori's ear, slightly startling them.

"Do you need help? I can lead them away so you can escape."

Ori nodded, not quite knowing where it was.

"Okay, speak, and I will channel your voice over to the other side of the Fen, where the Hunters will be well out of range."

Ori really liked this idea; throwing their voice like a ventriloquist would absolutely trick these fools. They gave a signal- 3, 2, 1.

"Hey, idiots! I'm already over here, takin' your stuff! Bet you can't get me!"

They shouted the most childish, aggravating taunt that they could think of on the fly. Sure enough, the voice was sent way off. And just like that, the Hunters fell for it, barreling off in that direction without a second thought. Ori lay flat against the roof until they were past and snuck back over, and dropped straight back down into the building where they resumed freeing the stuck animals. It took a grand total of ten minutes to cut through all the bonds, but it was certainly worth every second as they led the horde out and sent them packing into the Forest. But the ground was extremely muddy. Several got stuck and could barely move, and Ori had to scoop them out and chuck them towards freedom. Just as they were finishing up and the last few were being sent through, a bolt blew past their nose. The Hunters had noticed them again! There was just one squirrel left in the open. Ori grabbed it and dashed for the trees as a second volley pierced the air where they just stood. Just barely, they both escaped unscathed as the Hunters sprinted across the mud to catch them.

Chapter Text

Ori sprinted through the Forest holding the muddy squirrel, with the Hunters presumably right on their tail. Their best option was to hide. So, they leaped into a bush and froze in place. It was overwhelmingly minty under there - it burned their eyes because it was so strong. They couldn't resist tasting a leaf. The mint lit their mouth on fire, but it was also cold, in a good way. It was a very pleasant, strong taste, and it really lingered. By now, they had realized that the squirrel was still by their side. It had mostly cleaned itself off, but didn't look like it was going to move.

"You can get away now, little thing. The Hunters are probably gone."

Instead, it scurried up their leg and side, and snuggled up to their neck, lying down up there. It had made its mind up. Ori smiled gleefully at their new friend.

Despite the positivity, they were still in a deadly predicament. This bush didn't do much to camouflage Ori, and it couldn't move with them. They would have to be out in the open in between bushes. Acknowledging the danger, they grabbed a large sprig of the plant and made a rush for the next bush along the path. The squirrel clung on for dear life, but she seemed to be having fun.

"Perhaps I should name you. From now on, you will be... Rascal."

Rascal the squirrel seemed happy with her name. She hopped off Ori's shoulder and directed them to a much denser bush. They both entered just in time to hear two rampaging Shiners charge past, crossbows drawn and loaded.

"Nice one, Rascal. That was close. Now's our chance to just go." They whispered confidently.

Bravely, the duo ran across the blood-flecked path and into the deep forest, until Rascal got their attention again. She hopped up a tree, and at the top, in its twiggy zenith, was a vibrant green Life Cell. Rascal knocked it off the pedestal, keeping it up there, and it fell to the bottom of the tree and straight into Ori's hands. They quickly absorbed the cell without any fanfare to avoid detection. With Rascal staying in the trees, they both made one long run back to Octans, where it felt like it was all over. They had won again.

"YOU!"

A sudden shout from behind them startled them to no end. They promptly whipped around and drew the spirit Arc and aimed a shot at the unknown Hunter's head. Rascal hid in the canopy, screeching to alert anything else nearby.

"You survive our first encounter, cheat us out of our catch, trespass on our territory again, and now this? Us Hunters are never disrespected so flagrantly, and you are about to understand why... Right, Akka?"

"...Right. I'll not hesitate to give it my all."

The juxtaposition between the two Hunters was surprisingly intense. While the unknown one was full of energy and rage, Akka was thankfully exhausted and seemed like he couldn't care less. Consequently, in this inevitable fight, Ori knew who they would focus more on.

Surprisingly, they did not draw the crossbows. Instead, they grabbed their machetes and both charged Ori at once. They dashed to Akka's left and bashed him, sending him flying into the other Hunter. They both stumbled backwards, barely keeping their footing. Ori took advantage of this moment of vulnerability and immediately delivered a blow to that same Hunter. Backpedaling again, he took up a defensive position while Akka readied a strike himself. A brief moment passed while Ori calculated the next move. Drawing their Smasher, they swung widely, without warning. It totally bypassed the other guy's parry, knocking him back, and it also perfectly interrupted Akka's swing and knocked his blade straight from his hand. While this happened, the first guy tripped backwards over a root and fell, knocking himself out on a tree.

Seemingly without reason, Ori was unable to keep fighting. Something was stopping them. Akka, too, had lost all sense of anger and vigour. They both looked at each other in agreement. Enough of this.

"So... Are we okay, now?" Ori tested the waters first. For all they knew, Akka could have been playing mind games.

"For now. Listen... I gotta follow this guy around, and he threatens to kill me if I think about leaving. I don't wanna do this job. The creatures here are too nice to murder like that. I need help getting away from this life for good..."

Ori nodded understandingly. They were correct.

"I think we could help with that... What first got you into hunting? Did he just drag you into it?"

Akka sighed. It obviously wasn't a very happy story.

"Well... Years ago, we needed jobs but we both ruined everything we did, every time. Kor got really frustrated with the futility of his efforts one night. He went out without my knowledge, stole some crossbows from a hidden stash and just started a killing spree in the Autumn Forest."

Ori was very interested in his story. It was revealing a whole lot about both of the Shiners, and it seemed like Akka still wasn't done talking. They listened in for more.

"I don't know how or why, but Kor soon figured out that these things make decent money overseas, especially live catches. We built a crappy little village out in Seva's Fen where we've lived ever since. I don't think Seva itself took too kindly to our actions. There's a decent amount of decay hanging around, probably due to purposeful neglect. I don't blame it for leaving us like that. I was also forced into this job since it was the only way me and Kor could make money. I hated every second, but he wouldn't let me do anything else. Look where it's landed us."

Akka finished, defeatedly gesturing to the scene they had just made behind him. It was just as Akka implied - pitiful. Kor unconscious and snoring, stirred up dirt, ripped grass and a drained Akka. Ori felt they had to offer something to help him.

"Wow, you seem to be in a predicament. Well, depending on how long it's been, the jobs available have probably changed. There's bound to be one somewhere. We could pretend we've taken you hostage... That sounds like a good excuse for staying at Octans. We can go with that... But can you stay at your place for a while and collect some info? My own spy mission came up pretty dry apart from... Some things."

Akka was hesitant, but agreed. It would be better in the long term. If Kor could also be sorted out... Without any hunters, two whole areas of Nimor could be returned to normal. The Fen could be turned into something new and the Forest would replenish its wildlife.

Ori heard big footsteps from behind them. Turning round, they saw a huge Spirit make an appearance. They were slightly startled by his sudden appearance, but Akka seemed quite terrified.

"What's been going on over here? Wait... Hunters? What are you doing so close to the village? Get out!"

Even his voice wasn't particularly threatening, this guy only relied on his stature for intimidation.

"No, no, he's fine. Let him be here for a bit. You must be Fil, right? Nice to meet you."

Fil smiled back.

"Good to see you, Ori. The Octans were telling me a bit about you. We'll chat a bit later. Now, you back there. They said you're good now."

Akka was still very fearful of Fil. He had never met him before.

"Y-yes. I need to get out of that job. I just had to take my opportunity to leave. You'll accept me once I do get away, right?"

Fil grunted, not entirely trusting him yet. In fairness, neither did Ori.

"We'll see. You have killed one of us before."

Akka glanced at the ground, slightly wincing at the memory.

"Ahh... That was past me, when Kor was fully in control of me. I would never do such a thing anymore. You know how much I hated doing what I did? Never again, Fil."

He wasn't so keen on the dismissive behaviour displayed by Akka, trying to downplay what he did. One more question.

"I do agree that it was in the distant past. But still, I don't like the idea of you bringing your weapons into the camp. Would you get rid of them first? I don't quite trust you after all the years at odds with each other."

Slightly annoyed since he had already discussed this point several times, he gestured energetically.

"I have killed enough! No more, I say! I will be leaving my weapons in the forest where they will hurt no more innocent souls. I can't bring myself to harm another living creature anymore. Please, I can't take this life any longer."

Fil seemed satisfied.

"Fine. As long as you can't hurt us, I'll see if I can convince the others to let you in. But I heard you would be continuing to spy for Ori, correct?"

Akka nodded. Kor stirred.

"He's getting up! He might want to keep fighting. Fil, you can scare him off. Hide over there, then do something scary and I'll run away with him." Akka's idea was sound. Deception so that Kor wasn't immediately suspicious, and a way to get them both away together.

Fil hid behind a tree while Akka ran over to help Kor up. Ori stayed low to watch how this would play out. Once both Hunters were back up, Fil burst out into the open and yelled at the top of his powerful voice. Kor scrambled frantically to get away, and it looked like Akka also had a genuine reaction of terror, despite being the one who made the plan. They both vanished and Fil returned to Ori for a brief talk.

"What did you do to those guys to get them over here? They must have been really ticked off."

"How about we talk over dinner, Fil? I can smell it cooking."

Fil nodded.

"It is. It's a little bland right now, though. It might need something else..."

Ori knew they were right to grab that.

"You mean this?"

They retrieved the branch of the minty plant and showed it to Fil. He gasped.

"Yes! This will make it perfect. Let's show it to Sol; he'll be very pleased."

Ori waved goodbye to Rascal in the treetops as they headed back into Octans. They would surely see each other again soon.

Chapter Text

"I can't say I've really eaten anything other than one or two types of fruit. A nice guy in Niwen called Veral makes this stuff called Marshclam Stew. It smelled delicious, but I never got to try any. This also smells excellent; I can't wait to try some."

While the rest of the village was working, Ori wasn't doing a whole lot. They had offered to help, but everything was already being done. Sol was stirring the pot with a long stick, Luna tended to the fire and Quinn was collecting all the bowls for when it was served up. Fil was also done with his jobs, and sat down with Ori.

"So... How'd it go? What did you learn? You know, give us the rundown."

Now that there was some downtime, Ori felt like they could talk more.

"Well, the spying itself had mediocre results. Uh... I found out they trapped live animals. Perhaps that was their intention with Gumo. I also found their bedroom and learned that they're atrocious taxidermists and have comically large egos. They had a fake Spirit head on the wall, made of rubbish fabric. After I got away, they came looking for me, but after all that, I ended up with two new friends, Akka and Rascal the squirrel. A good result overall."

Luna briefly looked away from her job to get her words in.

"You've already done a lot for this island by potentially dealing with one of the two Shiners. If you're searching for the Princess next, I feel like she'll be very pleased to see you; she knows of them and their doings."

A bit of comfort for their next journey. They had no idea what kind of person Shiro would be like, but knowing that she might appreciate their accomplishments meant... Something good.

"Keep going, and you might end up in her bed."

Luna gasped in disgust at Quinn's sarky quip. He chuckled to himself as the other guys burst out laughing, alongside Quinn himself. 

"Quinn! You can't say things like that, especially about the Princess!"

Slowly, the noise settled back down and people got back to their jobs. Fil continued talking with Ori.

"Now, with one Hunter mostly out of action, it'll be much safer to go out into the Forest and collect important things. If we get both of 'em dealt with, we could have full access to the Rooted Gardens and the Mintfern plants on the border of the Fen. This is a huge thing for us, and if you can finish pulling it off by the time you leave, we'll be ever grateful. And not only does it benefit us, we're also blowing the whole map wide open! Soon, the path through the Forest and Gardens will be completely safe, and we can access the whole north side of the island without going through any dangerous areas."

Ori was intrigued by this idea. They loved getting easier ways to go from place to place. They had to do this now. Considering how few Spirit Wells they had found so far, they knew convenience would be key.

"What's it like up in Niwen? We never have any visitors from there."

"It's been great since I took charge. Things have really cleared up. It's going to be a while before wildlife returns to normal and the whole usurping thing will set that back to square one, but it's looking up really. That being said, it's... A little endangered right now. I've got to be quick, otherwise it might be too late to fix it before everyone gets killed. Before I showed up, there were no Spirits left, and I was the only one there. And when Atto took control, all of mine ran and hid, so I never got to meet them in person before I came here. So, A- ...you guys are the first Spirits I've ever seen."

Ori barely stopped themself from mentioning Ali. They still weren't sure where they stood with him, and were trying to stay on his good side for now.

"Sounds like you had a good thing going for you. Shame someone had to go and ruin it. What's the plan once you deal with it? Are you taking back over? Or letting someone else run the place while you carry on living?"

"I don't know. That's something I can't control- if I really have to take it back myself, then so be it. But right now, I'm slightly leaning towards wanting someone else to do it. I have things I'd like to do as a Spirit and being a tree was a bit boring, obviously."

Fil nodded understandingly. He agreed that being a tree wouldn't be very fun after a while. What would there be to do?

"So... Is there a reason this place is called Octans?"

Fil was slightly jarred by this sudden change of topic.

"Well, it's named after a constellation, like most settlements around here. And originally, we were a group of eight people. It's... Since dwindled."

"Oh. Where did the other four go?"

He exhaled a bit. This might have been a bit of a sensitive question.

"One left for the town of Aquarius to peddle his business over there. He was a nice fellow, and a lot older than the rest of us. He was called Victa. Another one was caught practicing the dark arts, and was summarily exiled from the entire island. Normally, the punishment is death, but we didn't want to do that to our friend. He was Ali."

Wait... So he wasn't to be trusted! Ali was dangerous, and he was breaking the law being here. There must have been a malicious reason for him staying though, otherwise he wouldn't be risking his life. It felt wrong... But they wanted to find out what Ali was doing, so they decided not to tell anyone about him.

"And the last two, young Gaia and Eden... They were with me. We thought we were safe in a pack. We were exploring the Forest, looking to find an important trinket that Gaia had lost. The Hunters were waiting. They were both shot in front of my eyes. And they just... Left me there. Watching where they stood just seconds before. It was a horrible day. We've mostly gotten over it, but I still think about them. I want them back."

Fil sounded melancholy. After hearing this, Ori had no idea why he decided Akka could stay here. Surely there should have been a lot more bad blood between them?

"Alright, I think the food's just about done. Everyone come and get your fill!"

There was no time to keep thinking about that any longer. Sol stopped stirring and swapped the long stick for a carved ladle that he used to fill the bowls. The bowls themselves were odd. There was a sort of spout at the top, which Ori didn't understand the purpose of yet. But watching others start eating, they saw that was where they all drank the stew from.

"Oh! That's clever. Are these because we don't have any sort of cutlery?"

"Mhm. There is a little bit of cutlery on the island, but it's reserved for the upper classes of Aquarius. The Island has only just begun to work metal, so all of that stuff is in short supply. And we don't have the fine craftsmanship to make that stuff out of wood. It would just split on us and be useless. Terracotta wouldn't work either. We tried once, but everything just tasted like the ground."

An interesting solution to a slight inconvenience. These Spirits were smart.

"I like the creativity..."

They took a sip of the stew. It was... Pretty good. Not superb, but it was far more filling than just berries. There was some work and love put into this stew, and it tasted more refined. It could have been that they also weren't used to anything savoury. It would probably take a little longer to get used to.

"...It's really nice. I appreciate the change. The texture needs a little work, but it's mostly leaves. There isn't much that can be done. I'd love to see some more of your food someday."

A few minutes passed by, and Ori finished their meal. Gumo had eaten quickly, given his size, and was now back to drawing in the dust. He was now incorporating pebbles and dried leaves as accent colours.

"Thanks for the food. It's that time again. I think I'm going to finish exploring the Crags. Sapphire told me about a King there, who I haven't seen yet. I want to find him."

Luna nodded to herself. She seemed to recall his name.

"I've heard of him. Well known in the north before he disappeared. I forget why he left."

Chapter Text

The Crags were a very different experience alone. Each footstep echoed emptily on the barren ground. This time, they weren't scared. It was calm up here. Peaceful, almost. Well, apart from the voices. They were slowly coming back. Past the numerous spires and arches, Ori gradually tiptoed through the spiny expanse. It seemed so... Infinite. As if there was no end. The fog obscured everything twenty feet in front of them, so there was never an exit in sight. Finally, they heard something else. A slightly off humming that sounded vaguely musical. They approached the mysterious noise, and a scene slowly began to fade into existence through the thick dust before them. A large house that was seemingly well put together sat near the edge of the Crags, backed up against the thorns of the Glades. In front of it, a tall figure was hunched over tending to something. He seemed quite friendly. They approached further, and the figure noticed their outline in the fog as they grew closer.

"Sapphire? Have you come to bug me again?" He called with exasperation.

"No. Not Sapphire."

Ori traversed the final few echoing steps to the house. It was indeed a very well-kept house. Mostly stone and whitish wooden boards, it was more advanced than anything else they had seen yet. The front had purple-tinted windows, seemingly to try and counteract the yellow dust that would cling to them. Evidently they were recently cleaned. The guy was not working on plants, but he had planter boxes of fine gravel, and they appeared to be like Zen gardens.

"You must be this King I've heard about, right?"

Looking at him now, they instantly knew they were correct. From the rich red flowing robes to the shining golden crown on his head, he had all the signs of royalty. But his physicality suggested a different side of him. He had hooves just like a Spirit, but he certainly wasn't. He was covered in wiry, short brown fur and a long, flat snout, with big tusks pointing up from his mouth. This was clearly a wild boar walking on two legs. Ori shrugged it off - they'd seen weirder creatures.

"I am. Well, my name's King, anyway. And you would be?"

"Ori. Nice place, shame about the location."

King smiled at the casual humour.

"Come inside. It's dangerous to stay out in this place."

He led them inside, where a lit fireplace burned in the corner and several woven seats were spaced around. The room was well decorated and seemed to hold several framed pieces of his art. They both sat down on opposite sides.

"So, what did you come to me for? I can't imagine you found me yourself."

King seemed a little rushed to get to the questions. Clearly, he didn't yet fully trust Ori.

"Well, Sapphire told me not to come here and that piqued my interest. Then I brought it up with Octans and they recognized your name. I felt like I had to go and see what all the fuss is about. I guess I should start by asking what you do."

King was unsurprised about the part with Sapphire. But he happily obliged in telling Ori about him.

"My name is King, as I've mentioned. I am not actually a king, but due to my name, people pretended I was. I eventually just leaned into it and paid a couple of Moles to whip up a costume for me. I've been wearing it ever since. Now, my job was to train Spirits in the art of combat, as tensions with another island were very high at the time. I was great at my job. They learned a lot from me and so did I."

Ori was greatly interested in the part about training Spirits.

"Was? Why did you stop? Is that the reason you're up here?"

"I'm happy I can finally get this off my chest. It... It was a huge accident. It was a regular day, albeit a little slippery from the rain. Down in the Plains, I was doing my usual job, but then it went wrong. Oh, it went so wrong! This Spirit was one of my top fighters, so I played a little too rough. I knocked him backwards, but he slipped and hit his head on a rock. I watched him vanish before my eyes. I don't want to remember what happened afterward... I felt truly awful. I couldn't stay any longer- I knew they would hate me. So, I came here. And here I've stayed, for several years. And to top it all off, you want to know why I'm so frightened to see Sapphire? That was her closest friend. They were inseparable, and she watched me kill him. I can't repent for my actions. But I've accepted this life now. No one knows I'm here."

"That's horrible... And you've never left the Crags since?"

King sorrowfully shook his head.

"I... can't bear to show my face down there again."

Ori smiled kindly at him.

"I understand. Just know that you have a friend in me, King. You don't deserve to be alone like this. You never meant what you did."

There was a lengthy pause between the two. Ori knew exactly what it was for. He was processing this gesture of friendship, struggling to understand why. Changing the subject so that it didn't get awkward, he tried to come up with something that sounded remotely social.

"Well, Ori, did you want anything else?"

They saw the opportunity and took it.

"Can you train me?" They excitedly asked.

King didn't know whether or not to be surprised, and the idea of this definitely racked his nerves.

"Sheesh, you jumped on that quickly. Fine. Follow me."

He opened a slightly camouflaged door into an open, empty room with padded walls. It was built like a dojo and seemed extremely out of place in his house; who was he expecting to train up here?

"...But I need to warn you, this is very dangerous. I just told you a story of this going wrong."

"I have... Prior experiences. I'll be just fine."

King still seemed worried.

"Look, I've made it all the way here. Surely that's something? Anyway, you've got padding down everywhere."

"Fair enough, Ori. I guess we can start by just showing me what you got!"

He grabbed a long wooden pole from the wall and held it around the middle. It must have been his training stick. Ori drew the Edge.

"King, are you sure you won't get hurt yourself?"

"Oh, don't worry. This clothing is made from the strongest silk. Looks like the same stuff as that bandage. What's under there, anyway?"

"Big hole. Hunters got me. I've shown them though."

King grinned. A tough cookie, this Ori guy was. He was delighted to show them how to fight even better.

"Alright, let's go!"

Ori took half a moment to consider how they would tackle this as they approached King. A possible idea emerged in their head. They started out by feinting a dash to the right and slicing at his left, barely hitting him before he could block it. They were one up already. His response was a heavy downwards cut, which Ori backed well clear of and let the Edge get hit by it to test the waters. It connected with the tip, and they were almost knocked to the floor by just the inertia. King was extremely strong. Parrying was not going to be an option in this fight. While they were recovering, King went in for another swing at chest level. With a quick wit, Ori did not duck under it. Instead, they predicted his tactic and jumped over the stick as he lowered its angle to knee height. They responded with a basic slash, which was successfully blocked this time.

"Is this just swordfighting or can I do other stuff?"

"Anything goes, Ori. I want to see everything you can do."

With the rules cleared up, Ori backed away quickly and prepared for King's next move. He slowly walked towards them, raised his stick, and out of nowhere, hit them with a left hook. Well played. This left a dazed Ori on the floor, but they still had a clear enough mind to recognize that there would be a follow-up, and they dashed in a random direction just in time for a loud wooden thwack as the stick crashed to the floor where they just were. A change of plan was necessary. King turned around to see Ori brandishing the Boomerang, ready to throw it. And that they did, but only a foot in front of them. It was meant as a distraction while they dashed through his legs, called the boomerang back to their hand, hit him with it, bashed him forwards and hit him with the Boomerang again all in rapid succession. This combo was barely enough to knock him to his stomach, and he was immediately up again.

"Ha! Now that is what I like to see! I'm going to need to up my game a little."

Ori sensed that King was a quick learner. They wouldn't get any more use out of that trick. To remain unpredictable, they drew their Spirit Arc. Its lightweight nature let them move more freely and could potentially let them sneak in a hit from far away. King saw that and was absolutely not going to let them get far away. He rushed to get close and stabbed at them with the stick, clipping their chest as they twisted out of the way, but mostly missing. Ori fired an arrow while he was occupied, and it hit nicely, bouncing off the impenetrable clothing. That would have been pretty lethal to most enemies. But King wasn't most enemies, and the arrow might as well have been a toothpick. Sensing imminent defeat, Ori then dashed fast to the other side of the arena, then unexpectedly dashed straight towards the pursuing King, hurling the Smasher at him at full force. It impacted heavily, knocking him back and stopping him in his tracks. But like last time, he immediately recovered and resumed his attack. Not expecting this, Ori panicked and leaped into the air, slamming down with the Smasher as one final attack. It missed, and any shockwave that it may have formed barely tickled King. Exhausted and out of options, Ori held up the Smasher as King's stick came down upon them in hopes that it would magically stop it. Unsurprisingly, it did not, and Ori was knocked to their knees. King held the stick gently to their nose, signaling the end of the duel.

Both of them were tired out, but Ori specifically was panting like a dog.

"Well... That was everything. I'm pleased with my performance. How about you?" They could barely speak, since they were so tired, and also almost being fed the business end of the stick in front of them.

"You were quite the fighter. Possibly the best I've ever had. Only one other Spirit could knock me down before, and he used magic spells. You were just plain strong. It's safe to say that any encounters you may have had here were not flukes. Another thing, you also used your brain exceptionally well. I was always left guessing what you would do next, and you fooled me almost every time! Still, all it took was one panicked mistake. Come on, let's go back through and rest for a moment."

Ori collapsed into the softest looking seat they could find and sighed. They rubbed their cheek a bit and winced. King chuckled.

"Did I hurt you a bit? Sorry, I'll get you something for that."

Under a little trapdoor that Ori didn't think King could actually fit through, there was a small cellar. He grabbed a fluffy cuboid object and passed it to them. It was an ice cube put into a towel. They held it to their cheek while King sat down with them.

"So, where are you going after this?" King asked.

"I'm planning on meeting Shiro. I've heard mixed things about her so far."

King nodded attentively.

"Mm, be careful when you first meet her. She's a bit shy but once she knows you're a friend she'll open up a ton. She's very powerful, so don't make it look like you're breaking in, I guess. I had the pleasure of knowing her and she rarely ever got angry, so you should be fine."

Another very different piece of information. But this was from a much more reputable source. They took this into consideration.

"I'm fairly sure that Sapphire is going to try to kill her very soon. She wasn't happy about getting trapped up here."

King seemed slightly worried... But not really. He said she was powerful, so perhaps she could handle Sapphire without risking her life.

"Well, I'm feeling better again. Shall we get back in there and learn something?" Ori continued.

King excitedly agreed, and back into the arena they went.

Chapter Text

Grok sat painfully in his new cell. It had been roughly three hours since he arrived, and he almost always had company, between Opher and Grom regularly checking in, and Moki and young Spirits warily entering the room to entertain him. Eventually, Grom appeared in a much better mood, with one of these juvenile Spirits in tow.

"Hey, friend! Good news! We can already help you out a ton. I have already found a way to destroy Decay and save some mostly healthy tissue underneath. It seems that the light from a Spirit will remove the Decay from something, but it seems that anyone older than four weeks has light too intense to restore cells. So, we have a two-week-old Spirit here. He was very interested in helping you."

Grok looked down at the Spirit and smiled at him, hoping he wouldn't scare him off with his wretched, sickened face.

"Hi. What's your name?"

"Kiri," he responded nervously. Grom took back over.

"Kiri will lay his hand on yours and his gentle light will purge the immediate area of much of the infection. It will most likely hurt, but I can't test how much it would. Pass me your hand, please."

He put his arm through the bars and held it towards Kiri. It was then touched, and it created a slight fizzing sound, causing Grok to wince in pain. When Kiri lifted his hand, it left a purified, tattered spot where it was. He looked closely at the clean patch with a sense of relief.

"How was that?" Grom had something to write on and was taking a few notes of this interaction for use later.

"It stung a lot, but I can handle it. So, do we do this all over me now?"

Grom disappointedly shook his head.

"Unfortunately, while this treatment works on normal tissues like skin and muscle, I have reason to believe that it damages complex organ tissue irreversibly. So, we can only do this to your limbs. However, you will be significantly more comfortable once this is done without those nasty things all over you."

Grok nodded sadly, expecting such a catch, but was still very happy to be fighting against the Decay at all. 

Kiri began gradually tending to the rest of Grok. After a couple of minutes, one hand was entirely free of Decay. But there were still three more, plus the arms and legs. He would be staying right here for a while.

"Grok, how are you in the head right now? Are you going to be stable for much longer? Because I need to keep working, and I don't trust leaving Kiri alone with you."

The decay seemed to have laid off his mind for now, so it seemed like he wouldn't be going back under for a while.

"I think I'm good. I'll warn him if I think I'm about to go."

Grom nodded, and said goodbye, leaving the two alone together.

"I have never seen you around before. Do you remember what you used to do?"

Grok strained his melting brain trying to remember.

"I think I was one of the miners in the Windswept Wastes. I hid away shortly after the first Tree died and Seir shattered. No one ever found me. Alone for so long, I gained an interest in the occult. Devilish, nasty magic. It was too powerful to resist. I learned for years. And today, Atto found me. He forced me to use my powers for something I didn't want to do. He has control of my body now."

"Years, alone? I have not been alone in my entire life. I cannot imagine what it is like."

As Kiri spoke more, his shyness slowly evaporated. He seemed not to like shortening words. Whether he hadn't learned such mannerisms yet or just disliked them was hard to tell.

"It makes you go crazy, Kiri. I had all these visions of taking over the world and exploiting people with my occult magic, because I had no one to keep me in control of myself. No one to care for, or to be cared for by. There was no real happiness, ever. I wonder if I'll ever recover from the life I lived there." His voice was filled with great disdain for himself. Kiri began to understand why he had come here. It was for a chance at a new life; to fix the old one.

"You are very brave for realizing your flaws and doing something about them. With us, your mind will surely soon be clear of all those burdens you carry."

Something about that statement struck Grok. It was... Very odd for such a young Spirit.

"...Am I in therapy? This feels so weird!"

"I can neither confirm nor deny that information. Alright, that's half of one arm healed."

"Oh, boy... We're going to be here for a while."

A small amount of time passed without any more exchanges. Grok had to break the silence.

"Want to see a little science trick?"

Kiri nodded excitedly. Grok grabbed a cup and filled it completely with water. He then tore a piece of paper into a circle slightly larger than the cup. Finally, he put the paper on top of the cup.

"So, what do you think should happen when I tip the cup upside down?"

"The water should come out!"

Grok flipped the cup, and nothing came out. The water stayed in the cup with the paper. Kiri looked confused and amazed by this weird thing.

"It's not over yet! Let's remove the paper as well!"

In a quick, fluid motion, Grok pulled the paper out from under the cup. A small drop fell to the floor, but everything stayed in without anything holding it up anymore. Kiri started to suspect he was messing with him somehow.

"How does that work? It looks so wrong!"

"It's called surface tension. The water sticks to itself when it can, that's why it forms drops. But here, it's sticking so strongly it can't fall out of the cup. It's a bit more complicated, but I don't know more than that."

Kiri had it figured out now. He poked the hanging water to break the 'Surface Tension', and it all fell out onto the floor at once. He was flooded with joy, having learned something new and fascinating. Perhaps he wanted to do more of this kind of thing soon.

"Now, before you get too comfortable around me, remember I'm a loose cannon here. I don't know how fast Atto can make me turn, but to be safe, at the first sign, such as me doing something weird, back away as fast as you can. Grom entrusted me with your life, so make sure Atto doesn't try to force me to kill you."

Kiri understood the risk, and continued his work.

"...And if you notice me panic, or I have to warn you verbally, it means it's happening very fast, and you must run."

Chapter Text

It was dark out. The sun had finally set, and Ori was on their final journey of the day. They expertly repelled themself from the Lightcatchers on the way to the big thorny fellow that they fought a short while ago. They no longer feared going there - nothing was left to pose a threat. This time, they stepped through the split in the thorns and into the Prismatic Plains. It appeared to radiate its own light - it was beautiful. A small stream had an equally small bridge crossing it, and ahead of Ori was a floating, elongated octahedral crystal reflecting all the colours of the rainbow on each face. They poked it, and it did not shift from its position, however it did spin slightly. It seemed to not have any kind of friction. The ground of the Plains wasn't such a beauty. Clearly, the bushes and flowers had been neglected for a while and remained untrimmed for the longest time. The grass was getting heavily overgrown and there were a lot of unsightly weeds. Why? Can the Princess not get people to garden for her? It clearly used to be well-kept, so something must have happened.

Something glinted and caught Ori's eye. They turned to look, and under a ledge, almost untouched by the elements, laid another book. They picked it up and examined it. It seemed to have a sort of dreamcatcher printed on the front. The pages were a little dirty, but they seemed to be explaining a bit about light magic and how the Spirit's body procures it from raw energy. An interesting find - they saved it to read later. Perhaps it would come in handy. Entranced by the crystals slowly swaying like a fancy wind chime, they mindlessly traveled forwards, not thinking about anything else. Suddenly, a piercing howl erupted from their left, rooting them to the spot in fright. Ori recognised this howl - or, at least, the tonality of it. Howl, the intelligent Decayed creature, had made a noise just like this while hunting Ori all those years ago. Remembering him at this moment further amplified their fear, and they were immediately shaking. Rapid, heavy footsteps indicated that whatever that was, it was running at them fast. They drew their Edge, terrified of what was to come, and waited for the right moment to act. A canine beast a bit larger than Ori burst from the overgrowth, and they thrust the Edge into its mouth as it gaped at them. The momentum drove it through much further, causing even more grievous injury. It thrashed and dislodged the Edge, almost taking it from their hands. But afterward, it could barely put up a fight. Weakened by the critical blow, it fell to just one more slash at its face. It collapsed and evaporated. Then, Ori had only moved several more feet before another wolfish terror approached. This time, they drew the Smasher with a bit less apprehension than before. As it drew nearer, they held the great hammer aloft as a warning. In an instant, it lunged. Ori punched its snout as it dived, diverting it straight into the hammer that fell on its upper back. It crumpled and immediately disintegrated. Ori had decided - no more wolves. So, they bolted for the Glass Palace. They could hear more, and wanted nothing to do with them. And now, finally, they were at the entrance to the largest building they had ever seen by far. The scale was unbelievably impressive, and the entire thing was made of perfectly clear and neat glass. It was unfathomable. Despite the appeal of gawking at this place outside for an hour, Ori was being stalked by wolves. They had to go in.

Chapter Text

The first floor seemed empty at first. No sign of life yet. However, the Palace seemed to hide things well despite being completely clear. To the left, a large, fancy door covered with strange technology guarded a room behind it. They pushed and pulled on it - unsurprisingly, it didn't budge.

"Worth a try," they thought.

On the other side, there appeared to be some kind of workshop. There was a bit of sawdust and lots of weird mechanisms scattered around, seemingly to cut and shape things. There were a couple of unfinished projects sitting around that looked very complex and advanced, though still functionless. The rest of the floor was unremarkable, just some slightly ornate decorations. There was a large table with chairs, neither made of glass, which was sensible. Presumably, there were occasional banquets here. Or parties. Maybe the princess didn't have to be posh. Who doesn't like parties? With nothing else to note down here, they ascended the large flight of stairs to the second floor. Just as they appeared at the top, out of breath, they saw a Spirit zip from the balcony to the next set of stairs.

"Was that Sapphire? I didn't see who it was..."

Maybe they would have gotten an answer had they asked out loud. Thinking of this encounter, they began exploring the second floor. It had that balcony, which was basically pointless apart from letting some fresh air in; it wasn't like it was providing a better view. The room was fairly empty apart from some erratic hanging beams scattered around. They looked to be purposefully placed, but Ori couldn't tell what on earth their use was. The room was almost empty apart from that and some paper and soft materials piled up in a corner. They struggled up the next staircase and saw the same Spirit disappear again. It definitely wasn't Sapphire, so unless she had already been and gone, everything was fine. The third floor was just... Empty. No furniture, no possessions, nothing. What was the point of having such a big place when everything is going to be empty? Well, it was a small floor, and there appeared to be another sector of the Palace that they couldn't reach yet. Already exhausted, they sighed with exasperation at how they had no break between these two staircases. But it was something they had to do, so they begrudgingly started climbing. It was so tiring, they eventually resorted to climbing on all fours like a child. When they finally reached the top after an agonizing three minutes, they were surprised to see that the Spirit didn't run away again. Instead, she exhaled in pity and amusement as they flopped to the floor, completely tuckered out.

"Oh, no..."

She approached Ori and helped them up. They noticed that they were now on a bridge connecting two different towers of the Palace. In between panting and coughing, they managed to ask,

"You're Shiro, right?"

Actually, looking at her practically confirmed it, as she was wearing a small tiara with a couple of blue stones embedded in it.

"Yes, I am. Who are you?"

"Not fit, apparently. Anyway, I'm Ori. I come from Niwen. I was going to come here anyway, but conditions made me have to come earlier."

Shiro beckoned Ori into the next room, which housed her throne. Again, minimal extravagance was displayed. She seemed not to flaunt her power... Anymore.

"So, what conditions brought you here now?"

"Sapphire. I've heard she was employed by you or something. A servant, or something? You sent her to the Crags, and she never came back, right?"

Shiro nodded, and then froze.

"I saw her just an hour ago! She was wandering around in the Plains... I thought she was dead, and that I was hallucinating."

Ori appeared worried now, too.

"Yes, so... Have you ever gone to the Crags yourself? There are voices there... They get in your head. Sapphire succumbed to the voices and was cursed to stay there, presumably forever. I encountered her, and she fought me, and it resulted in us carrying her out of the Crags where she was freed. But she seems less than pleased with you."

"...Why? I didn't know about the curse at the time. I just thought it would be a quick in and out job to fetch something I needed. I never meant to... You know."

Shiro grew a little angry towards Sapphire. She couldn't understand the way the Envoy chose to interpret the situation.

"She seemed to be of the mindset that you did know and that you sent her there to get rid of her, or something."

She dropped her hand from her cheek to the table they were now sitting at.

"Now, that's just gone and done it! Oh, she thinks it was purposeful? I did have guilt for sending her up there on accident, but if she's going to be like this..."

Ori put their hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, careful. I believe your side of the story. But I came here to tell you that she's going to make an attempt on your life. You might want to stay up tonight..."

Shiro grumbled.

"At least that's one thing off my mind. Ugh... Sorry about that. I got a bit carried away. Let's restart, from the beginning. Hi, I'm Shiro, the 'ruler' of Nimor, I guess. Nice to meet you."

She grabbed some clay cups and a jug of fruit juice and poured some out for them both.

"Why were you so hesitant to call yourself a ruler just then? Everyone says you are."

"Do you see any kind of order or anything like that around here? The whole Palace grounds are a mess of overgrown weeds and rampant beasts. In the ten years I've run this place, I have done nothing myself. Nothing good has come of me being in power."

"Everyone who mentioned you other than Sapphire thinks highly of you. You must have done something to make them happy."

She shook her head sadly.

"It's the castle. It's blinding them, making them think I'm something to them. Meanwhile, I'm wallowing in here, doing nothing and thinking about my mistakes. It wasn't even me who built this damn thing! It was Ren! He did everything before he turned his back on us."

Ori sat shocked at how harshly Shiro was tearing herself apart. They had no idea what to really say back.

"I'm... Sorry. That sounds like an awful life to live. It sounds like something needs to change. You don't seem happy with how it is at the moment."

Again, she shook her head. It was laying down on the table now, hiding behind her crossed arms.

"And... I could easily, you know, do something. Anything. But I can't bring myself to! I just... Never feel like it. I'm trapped in a prison without walls."

A short silence fell over the conversation.

"...Then let's break free!"

Shiro was slightly startled by this sudden shift in energy, though she was interested.

"You know, together! You need to get back out into the big side world and feel like you've accomplished something. How about in the morning, we both go and climb that mountain? Hold on, what was it called...?"

They started rummaging around with the map.

"Mount Stella? Uh... Sure! I used to climb it about once a year. This might be what I've needed! Thanks, Ori. Away with this miserable, depressing talk. I'll see you tomorrow, then."

They both headed back to the bridge.

"An hour after dawn? That sounds reasonable. Does that work?"

Shiro nodded.

"Excellent. Well, I don't feel like dealing with those wolves again, so I'll be leaving from up here."

They pulled out Ku's feather and straightened it out a little.

"Bye!"

They hopped off the bridge and floated away, with Shiro saying goodbye back to them.

"Oh boy... Lots of things happening all at once..." Shiro sounded pleased but also mildly stressed.

Chapter Text

Ori emerged back in Octans with great big bags under their eyes.

"Hey, all. I'm back."

"You were gone a while, Ori. Some of us were starting to worry. So, what happened?"

Luna was very interested in what Ori was doing, for some reason. Perhaps she had a desire for adventure too.

"Yeah, I had a great time. Met King. I learned why he was up in the Crags. We talked a bit, then I trained with him for a while. I got much faster with all my weapons; he was a great help. That was the first half."

She sounded impressed. From the look on her face, they could tell she was imagining something... Ori and King fighting?

"And then, I decided I should go to the Plains and warn Shiro about Sapphire. I got to explore the Palace, but those stairs are the worst. I think I nearly died of exhaustion climbing those things. When I met her, I-"

"Did you bang her?" Quinn immediately interrupted. Once again, Sol couldn't help but burst out laughing while Luna sat utterly shocked.

"Oh my gosh... Please! I'm sorry, Ori. Please continue." Luna gave Quinn a death stare and turned back to hear the rest of the story. Sol was still struggling to breathe.

"We got talking, and she was pretty upset hearing about Sapphire. I'm not sure whether I should try to intervene if they meet while I'm around. Anyway, she seemed pretty miserable. You know, staying home all day, no friends or visitors. She was very happy to talk to me, and we agreed to get her out and about for once, so tomorrow morning, we are going to climb Mount Stella."

Luna stepped back to try to see it.

"Whoa... All the way? That's so high! And it looks so cold. Are you sure?"

Ori nodded confidently.

"I'll need a good night's sleep to prepare myself. It's going to be tough, but Shiro says she's done it before. I think it's safe enough."

Sol thought about where Ori and Gumo could both sleep.

"Are you okay with the medical bed? It's actually probably the nicest one in the village; I don't know why I've never tried it for myself."

They accepted the offer, said goodnight and trudged sleepily over to the medical shack. Once they were in, they limply collapsed onto the bed and very quickly dropped off.

Their sleep procured a vision before them, of the evil book they had picked up earlier. It cracked open, and a wave of nothingness surged from the pages, turning the world around them black. But something kept them in the light. That other book glowed with a pure, bright light, repelling the threatening darkness procured by the black book. Ori slowly seized it with their sleepy lead-laden hands and pried it open. The light grew stronger just from that. Gaining full motion of their body as their mind's state of sleep was lifted from them, and they were granted half-consciousness in this dream realm, they turned the book to the floating dark power and let it unleash its dormant power. The light beamed even brighter, overwhelming the darkness and destroying it. As the clash of the two powers faded, they put the book of light away, while they noticed that a skull on the book of darkness now had a large red crack down it, which wasn't there before. And then everything faded away as the dream ended.

Ori woke up to the sound of something very big hitting the floor. They quickly got up and ran outside to see if everything was fine. Luna had been carrying a huge log into the village, but had overbalanced it and dropped it.

"Everything okay?"

Luna nodded and wiped her forehead, then plucked a large splinter from her finger.

"All good! I was just getting this over here, so Sol could make more firewood."

"Shouldn't Fil be doing such heavy work? He's so much stronger and this is a huge piece of wood."

"Oh, he's still asleep, so I decided to do this myself. It's better than doing nothing, anyway."

Ori was still flabbergasted by the size of the log. It was nearly as big as her, and she was presumably lifting it off the ground to move it.

"...I'm impressed. You're far stronger than you looked."

Luna looked at them funny before crouching down to pick the log back up.

"I'm not sure if that was a compliment or an insult. I'm flattered, I guess?"

Ori quickly realized how that had come off and decided to shut up. Judging by the sky, they still had about half an hour before they were scheduled to meet up with Shiro, so they grabbed the book of light and headed back inside. Just before they opened it, however, they remembered the dream. The book of darkness. They pulled that one out as well, and there it was. The red crack. It connected the right eye socket and one of the canine teeth close to the middle of its jaw. Looking at the skull, it definitely wasn't anything like a Spirit, or a mole, or anything of the sort. It was more akin to the Shiners, like Opher and the Hunters. They opened the book to a random page. It was full of chaotic scribbles and lines, and the handwriting was spiky, and some indistinguishable words were written in blood-red. Hopefully not actual blood. They quickly shut the book again. That looked cursed. No touchy.

Chapter Text

Shiro ran her hands through her small wardrobe, selecting a nice, fluffy veil to keep her warm. She saw Ori approaching, and they had nothing to wear. She had no more thick clothes, but grabbed a translucent bluish piece of fabric anyway. It was better than nothing. The coat fit snugly. She would have to make a larger one; this had been made many years ago. She hugged herself tightly out of excitement, feeling the warmth of the veil. Lying nearby and covered in dust were two ice picks that she remembered fondly. It was finally time to put them to use again. She grabbed those and strapped them to her back. She also grabbed a length of rope, a couple of thick sticks and a hammer. They may be useful. And with nothing else she could think of, she climbed down the staircases to meet up with Ori at the door.

"Right on time! I was definitely expecting more resistance to this idea, honestly." 

Shiro observed Ori from head to toe. They were covered in hundreds of big thorns from the Glades. She gave them a look comprising a mix of amusement and mild concern.

"Oh, yeah. I may have misplaced myself on the way here and landed in a bush."

She shook her head with a grin on her face.

"Take these. They're gonna keep us alive. And... Maybe take the thorns out before you put on the veil. I don't really want it ruined; they're difficult to make."

Shiro handed them the veil and one of the ice picks. They tried shaking the thorns off them. It dislodged about two.

"Well, that didn't work. I'll wait for a bit before I put this on."

"...Why? You can just take the thorns out now."

"And leave them on the lawn for people to step on? Besides, these thorns add character to me. I look pretty boring, they spice it up a little. Don't you think?"

They turned to face Shiro as they walked towards the mountain. Their face looked like a used dartboard with all the thorns in it. She sighed.

"I don't really care where they go. I never come out here anyway. Besides, you look fine how you are."

Ori was pleasantly surprised by the unexpected compliment. They began to painstakingly - and painfully - pull out each individual thorn. 

"We haven't got too much time once we're up there. Once we get to about noon, the temperature at ground level rises and causes the wind to pick up a lot. It would be extremely dangerous to be up there when that happens. If we're fast, that shouldn't be such a worry, though." Shiro recalled her knowledge of the mountain from her prior climbing days. She hoped it was correct, or that it hadn't changed.

"Well, if we're up there for that long, then it's a good thing I brought us some food. Fresh herbal stew from Octans, with a hint of mint courtesy of yours truly."

They unpacked two clay bottles filled with the stew and handed one to her.

"I'd eaten nothing but random berries before I had this, and it was a night and day difference. You should try some!"

She took a sip. It took a moment, but Ori could tell that she liked it.

"It's probably better when it's still hot... Not so good as a Gazpacho. But it's still surprisingly nice. Thank you. I've heard they were good cooks."

Ori was hungry, so they drank a lot of theirs.

"This veil feels like it's made out of a strong material. It's very soft as well. And they said my bandage was made by you as well. I'm guessing you do a lot of textiles stuff?"

She nodded.

"Almost every item of clothing on this island was woven by me. That's why only a few richer people wear them. I'm only one person, and I stopped years ago. Much like everything else I used to enjoy doing. Anyway, they're taken away to get dyed and sold in town. It was one of my main sources of income. And I did often create bandages like that one. Let me guess, was it the hunters?"

"Yep. I got a bolt straight through the arm. I'm starting to sort them out now. Akka has actually agreed to ditch his partner, and if we can get Kor out of the job too, that'll free up most of the island for transport, and things will be a whole lot easier for everyone."

Shiro was very pleased with the sound of this. The prospects for the future were good - maybe that would coax her out of the confines of the Palace to actually lead the island. 

Now they had reached the foot of the mountain. But it became incredibly steep very fast; at least 75 degrees of incline, barely fifty feet up. This couldn't have been the way Shiro climbed up there.

"Not here. There's a path if we go round under the Glades."

They thought as much. It would still be a great feat to reach the summit. The mountain was made from a dark grey rock, fading into a deep black before snow covered it over. Almost nothing was growing in it aside from some yellowed plants and the great Seva. Somehow, Ori had failed to notice that they were right below Seva, whose tree was precariously perched on the steep mountain face like a goat. Its leaves were tattered, and featherless. No new Spirits were being created; that explained why nobody here looked under the age of ten. But worse than that was the trunk... Gnarled, ripped and torn, with a sickly, pale bark that opened up to reveal flooding Light. Knowing Spirit Trees well, Ori knew that this one was very sickly, and would not survive for much longer... A month at the very best.

"I feel like I should have seen that sooner."

They followed the mountain base anticlockwise, reaching the entrance where Ori arrived through. Just next to it was an overgrown tunnel through the thorns that looked like it used to be a well traveled path, but had fallen into disuse.

"Mind your head. It looks like the thorns are reclaiming this path."

As Ori ducked through the thorns, they noticed Shiro was just fine and standing upright.

"Lucky."

"I know, I've got loads of room down here! See, being short isn't always a bad thing."

They reached the end of the tunnel, and the path upwards was right ahead. But Ori also saw a pretty new place that looked so tempting.

"Nope, that place is dangerous. Anything from there eastwards is a death sentence if you go without a group. And I imagine it's only gotten worse in the time I wasn't around."

Right, the mountain. That's what was happening, nothing else. It was so easy to get distracted.

The path was a much gentler angle, and it wound up the south side of the mountain for a very long distance, and with plenty of switchbacks. About two hundred feet up, they were nearing the level of the market, and the path cut deep into the mountain, leaving a few speleothems connecting the floor and ceiling which framed the view of the eastern island perfectly. It looked as perilous as it had been described.

"Tell me, how did you get here? The ocean water's been too choppy for days, and it's only just begun to calm down."

"Ku flew me here with Gumo. There's a big problem at home and I had to come here to get my strength back, so I can sort everything out."

Shiro tried to piece things together, but failed.

"I'm guessing Gumo is your friend or something. But who's Ku? Or... What's Ku?"

Ori threw their arms out wide.

"Really big owl. Like, the biggest creature you've probably ever seen. We saved her as an egg and raised her, and now she's all grown up and lives in Nibel."

"...I thought the owls were evil. Seva told me about a couple of recent encounters with them from other Spirit Trees."

"No. Nibel had Kuro. She turned on our kind because Sein made a mistake searching for me when I was young and lost, and its Light killed off most of her chicks. The only one left was the egg of Ku. Shriek was the result of years of shunning because of her stony appendages. The adults didn't want her playing with their chicks because she was different. She lost the ability to love. But I think that most owls are just fine. Ku is, at least. It's all just this big misunderstanding."

"You're a fortunate one if you're able to take care of a family or whatever. I never really had that kind of stuff myself. I've always been lonely, now that I think about it."

Ori stopped them both and turned to face Shiro.

"Never? You never had anyone? Not even friends?" They put a hand on her arm, which she held onto. They felt so bad for her.

"I had King... Before he left. I wish he never did. It was probably right of him to, but still. Who knows what happened to him out in the wilderness?... Wait, I'm probably confusing you. Never mind."

"No, you're not. Because I met him. Just last night, before I met you. He's having a rough time dealing with what he did back then."

Shiro immediately perked up.

"Where? I need to see him! It's been so long..."

"You see that little shadow? That's his home, in the Crags. It's a really cozy place. For some reason, he's got a place to train Spirits even though I'm probably the only one he's trained since he went up there."

"Oh no... I don't think I can get there. I think I'm really susceptible to whatever that... curse thing is. I don't think it's worth it..."

"I might be able to convince him to come down. Next time I'm there, I'll see what I can do."

Now four or five hundred feet in the air, everything was visible. Places they hadn't been, as well as places they had been. Ori saw Octans, the scorpion pit, Frank's blacksmith, Seva's Fen. All was visible at this great height. And in the east, the majestic fire dragon glided over the shore of her abode. She swooped down and snapped a large tuna fish from the water, returning to a nest under a huge dragon skeleton. Enough looking for now. They climbed even higher. Not much more was said as they both slowly grew tired of walking uphill and the temperature rapidly dropped. But then, when they rounded one of the last bends...

"Wait... That looks like a gap in the path. That's new... Be careful."

Shiro gradually approached the collapsed section of the path and peeked over the edge.

"Yep. Must have been a rockslide. Nuggets."

Ori stepped up to the gap.

"I can get across there."

They took a running jump and dashed across the gap, making it with a little bit of room to spare. But they turned around, and Shiro was still on the other side.

"Ah, right."

She inspected the gap dumbfoundedly. There was no way she could jump far enough.

"...I can't make that!" she cried. But then she noticed something that could get her across. A couple of tiny, jagged outcrops of rock jutted out from the cliff, reaching about halfway there.

"Unless... No, I can't. That's just too risky."

She had no idea how loose they were, and there was hardly enough space there for one hoof. And even then, she would have to jump as far as she could.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure you won't fall."

She stepped out to the first rock. Hugging the cliff and shaking with nerves, she slowly extended her other foot to the second rock. There, she stopped. Ori stepped right up to the edge, ready in case something happened.

"I got you."

Silence, apart from the wind whipping across the mountain and Shiro's shaky breaths. Down below was a huge drop and a menacing set of jagged rocks; falling meant death. She took a last deep, trembling breath, glanced at Ori, and jumped. They grabbed one hand as her other one scraped down the side of the cliff she was reaching for. The rest of her body slammed into the rock and Ori pulled her up to safety as fast as possible. She laid on the ground breathing heavily for a few moments before warily getting to her feet. Once she had shaken the paralyzing nerves, she launched herself at Ori and bear hugged them.

"Thank you! I definitely would have fallen just then!"

"I told you I got you."

She looked back towards the gap.

"That... Felt epic. I'm never doing it again."

She took a shaky breath, and reached around her back to scratch and itch. Then she remembered.

"Uh, Ori..."

She pulled out the line of rope she brought. It would have been perfect for crossing the gap.

"Oh my... Really, Shiro?"

"Hey, maybe it's for the better! We bonded over that, right?"

Ori had to smile at her attempt to cover up her idiocy.

"At least you're not dead."

On the final stretch of the path, snow began to accumulate, and the wind made the temperatures biting around anything exposed to the air. Shiro noticed that her coat had been quite damaged from the jump; oh, well. It'll be replaced soon, anyway. At the very end was a plateau that truly felt like the top of the world. Everything was so small, even the marketplace looked like a colony of bugs under a log. Shiro wanted to get a good look too. But she must have had someone out to get her today. The embankment of snow that had accumulated on the edge gave way. She cried out in surprise and scrambled backwards, barely escaping the flow of the collapsing snow.

"You gotta be more careful! I can't save your butt every time you nearly get yourself killed."

"It's fine there normally! The snow underneath must have melted or something..." She playfully rebuked, still breathless from shock.

"...Anyway, get your pick, Ori. It's straight up from here on out, and we're running out of time."

Chapter Text

Digging their ice picks deep into the snow, they gradually ascended the great mountain. As they drew closer to their destination, the wind grew in strength inch by inch. It was already like a hurricane. But they kept pushing through the trial and tribulation, and after many minutes of repetition and aching muscles, they finally reached the summit. Over a mile off the ground, everything was a pinprick from so high up.

"Well, we did it. How do you feel?" Ori sat down heavily. They immediately regretted it when the freezing snow covered their downy fur.

"It's been exhilarating! I'd forgotten how fun this climb was. And I think it was even better with a friend, don't you?"

Ori smiled, knowing they had done something so positive for Shiro. They were making a difference.

"Yeah, this was great. I think-"

A strong gust of wind knocked Shiro away, and she slid down the mountain a short distance. But then she seemed to vanish, and Ori hurriedly looked over the edge for her. But they couldn't see her.

"Ori! Down here! I found something!"

They heard her voice echoing from something, and slid down after her. An overhang of snow gave way, and they fell into a cave next to her.

"Look!"

An Ancestral Tree sat thriving in the warmth of the cave, away from the dreadful weather outside. It had a very dense wall of leaves, which looked quite different to anything they had seen before. Well, no time to waste. They stepped up to the tree and placed their hands on the glowing orb. It began to dissolve into them, and a strong bluish aura formed around them. This one did not lift them up or move them in any way; in fact, they felt more rooted to the ground than usual. When the orb was fully absorbed, they felt its power transferred to their hands. Holding one out and concentrating, they tried to conjure whatever power it was. A large rectangular screen popped out in front of them and hit a rock face. It felt very solid, like a shield made of energy.

"Oh! This feels really useful. Can you hit this? I need to see how much energy it takes."

Shiro tried to punch it, but the hit was very weak as she didn't want to hurt her hand. The shield held and drained a small chunk of Ori's energy.

"Hmm... That's quite a lot of energy, considering that was just a punch. It could save me, but I won't count on it. I'd say it's just a safety net."

They emerged from the cave and Ori was immediately struck by how unbelievably cold it was up at the summit. It felt as if they were freezing solid.

"We need to get down. I can't bear this cold for much longer."

Shiro agreed. They had spent enough time up here, and it was time to leave. They looked for the path and began to carefully descend, hopefully without finding another hole. Upon rejoining the path, they took a short break to regain their breaths, when she noticed Ori was shivering. 

"Is it still too cold?"

They nodded. Then, they suddenly felt something wrap around them. Shiro had pulled her coat as far round them as she could, trying to share it. It wasn't much, but it certainly helped.

"Well, this is a little awkward, but thanks. I really need to warm up."

"Or we could swap clothes. I'm a bit better suited to the cold anyway; I've got the fluff."

She took off the coat and handed it over.

"You are indeed the fluffiest Spirit I think I've seen. Is it from climbing the mountain, do you reckon?"

It was thicker than Ori everywhere, but especially on the ears, tail and chest. Her tail also ended in a point like a paintbrush rather than a sort of dome, which was an unusual trait. Ori had only noticed it with about five of their own Spirits, out of a great many.

"I think I was always this way. Perhaps climbing helped, but I was just naturally fluffy. It seems to be a weird genetic thing on this island. You've either got really thin or really thick hair. It's a bit of a pain because I'm often sweltering and there's not much shade anywhere in the Plains. Maybe that's why I like it up here so much."

They got up after exchanging clothes and began walking down the path. At the gap, they hesitated for a moment.

"Do you want me to get the rope over?" Ori checked.

"Nah. I can make the jump downwards."

She approached the edge and leaped, barely clearing the gap and landing a little weirdly. Ori followed cleanly behind. And then, overlooking the Glass Palace, they saw something of interest.

"Were you expecting a visitor at the Palace?"

"No..."

A Spirit stood by the door, seemingly impatient.

"Let's glide over there. They've probably been waiting a while."

Chapter Text

"Oh, her? Ugh... Can we go back up?"

The visitor was Sapphire. Shiro did not really want her to see her, and seemed very unwilling to approach.

"Come on, maybe you can be the better person. This could go well, you never know."

They landed a short distance away. Sapphire had already noticed them both. Ori took off the coat and handed it over to Shiro, who hung it over her shoulder. Ori chose to be ahead of her.

"So... You're finally here? Couldn't hide from your sins anymore? You've not changed one bit."

Sapphire started the conversation with a cutting remark. This probably wouldn't be pretty.

"Look, I never knew what would happen up there. You've been everywhere else, and you were fine; I never considered how I put your life in danger. I'm sorry, and I don't know how to repay you."

A vain attempt at mediation was met with a hostile glare and a swift rebuttal.

"I'm of the mind to put your life in danger. That would be plenty repayment for me."

Shiro's fist was slightly curled up. It seemed she was hiding something. She recognized the tone of the conversation and became very alert, watching Sapphire carefully. Knowing what she was like, Shiro didn't like the direction it was taking.

"I don't really want to do this here... Can you come back later? Maybe you'll have had some time to think about this and return with less murder on the brain. Okay?"

Sapphire laid her hands on her weapon, slowly and menacingly drawing it from the scabbard.

"I think we can have our little conversation right here and now. What say you, my pawn?"

She held the blade up to Ori's chin, trying to get them involved.

"I am not taking part in this. I'm just making sure it doesn't get violent. Evidently not very well."

The sword didn't faze them, which seemed to perturb Sapphire slightly.

"You will be on my side. Think of the power. The riches that we will have once we deal with her. We can be royalty!"

Ori poked the tip of the sword and pushed it down. They seemed very unimpressed.

"Sapphire, you are not the main character. Not everything revolves around you. And something tells me you wouldn't be a better ruler than anyone. So, no. My side is chosen. I recommend you put that away and have a good think." Ori knew this statement of loyalty would aggravate her.

"I've had long enough to think. And now, it's time to act!"

Sapphire struck forwards at Shiro, but hit a solid wall when Ori cast their shield in the way of the attack. Shiro herself instinctively hopped back, but when she realised Sapphire wouldn't just stop there, she quickly raised her hand and unfurled a lightning-fast tendril that wrapped itself around her neck and lifted her off the ground. Sapphire dropped her sword in shock and struggled against the magic, but it was completely rigid. Ori backed away, knowing they were helpless to stop anything that transpired next.

"I will take the time to repeat my point, Sapphire; it is in your best interests to leave. Come back when you are willing to talk and not to fight. It will not work for you." She made sure to enunciate each word she used, driving home the point as hard as she could.

She put Sapphire down, still restraining her by her neck. She bent down to collect her sword, and tried to throw it like a javelin at Shiro. It flipped wildly and missed, bouncing away uncontrollably. Shiro unwrapped the tendril from her neck and pointed it at her abdomen, sharpening it into a deadly, rigid point.

"Leave or die."

A momentary reality check was all Sapphire needed. A moment of hesitation passed before she rushed away, never looking back. Shiro turned to Ori, who was looking quite confused.

"Well, I feel inadequate. How did you do that?"

"Oh, it's my silk! My magic always comes in this form. I've learned some very powerful spells with it. Never actually used them for self-defense like that, though. At least... not for a long while. Do you have any kind of magic?"

They thought for a short moment.

"Not really. The only thing I can do is create arrows for my Spirit Arc. Oh, I can heal myself a bit too. But nothing like that. I used to have all sorts of spells, but I lost the knowledge over time."

"Hmm. Speaking of knowledge, I think I ought to introduce you to something that may help you with that."

She led Ori into the palace. They already knew exactly where they were going. Just to the left, the library hid unreachable. But now it was time to see what was actually there.

"This is the Archive of Nimor. It contains countless books, folders and all sorts of other literature from all walks of intelligent life here."

She placed her palm on the locking mechanism and wispy strands of silk entered, pressing down on pins like a key would.

"Only I have the ability to open this door. The contents of the Archive are too valuable to grant anyone unsupervised access."

The door suddenly sprung into action, folding up into small solid blocks and dropping into perfectly sized holes, leaving an entrance to the Archive. Shiro entered, followed by Ori, who was amazed at the amount of stuff inside. Everything else in the Palace felt so barren, and then there was this. Shiro was rifling through a certain section of the library.

"I'm trying to find a book that a mage I know wrote a good few years ago. It should be good enough to get you started."

Then, she stopped searching when she noticed Ori was focused on one particular book.

"...Hold on. What's this one?"

They pointed at a small book which Shiro carefully pulled out of the shelf and had a look at.

"Oh! This is an interesting one. It doesn't really apply too much to what we're doing right now, but it's kind of still relevant."

Ori was interested. On the cover was an unusual species; pale, with a hairless face and very complex clothing. It was like nothing they had ever seen before; like a mutant Shiner or something.

"A couple thousand years ago, a new species arrived from space. Humans, they called themselves. They were not very nice people. They colonised everywhere they could, and killed vast numbers of Spirits. But they were also killing each other. They are such a violent and egotistical species that they wiped themselves out by warring against each other. Within a few hundred years, there was next to no one left, of the Humans or of the wildlife. Anywhere humans had been was barren and riddled with Decay. But, there are still a few left. The really hardy ones, and the most dangerous of them all. If one comes here, I don't know what to tell you except prepare yourself. And don't fight it or its machines; I don't know what they're capable of after so many years of development. Hopefully we're fine, since they've all been around for a thousand years and haven't touched us."

This was a lot to take in. Yet another potential threat to add to the stress of everything.

"Another intelligent civilization, not even from our world that wants to come kill us? I can see why you're worried. But we must be pretty far from where they all are."

"One lives about five miles across the sea. You can see his land a little bit from here."

"Oh."

Chapter Text

Grok had a big spasm followed by a deep ache in his head. Something had happened.

"Kiri... I think you need to leave now. I just felt something happen to me... It could be Atto taking back control."

He quickly slipped back through the bars of the cage and turned to face Grok again.

"I hope I helped. Should I warn anyone?"

"Tell Grom. If he needs more Decay samples, he had better come now, or I may be too far gone. I can't be responsible for killing the old chap."

Kiri acknowledged his request and ran off to the room where Grom had been working.

It was plastered white, with storage, equipment and workspaces everywhere. Grom had been hard at work readying this place to work with Decay overnight, and had now started running tests on samples. Grom was inspecting his samples, checking for something.

"Hey! Grok told me to warn you that he might be turning again. He wants you to get more Decay from him before it is too dangerous."

"Very well. Let me just cover this."

He laid a piece of fabric over the sample containers, protecting them from the outside world while he was gone.

Back in the cage room, Grom burst more unsightly cysts on Grok's back while the ones on his head and face pulsed actively. Once he could collect no more, he drained some others onto the ground, leaving hardly anything visible.

"There. That was quick. You look nearly back to normal. Keep your chin up, Grok; if it's some kind of disease of the mind, it might help."

A minute later, they were back in the lab. Kiri boosted himself up and sat on the edge of the worktop.

"What is happening right now?"

Grom held up two containers next to each other.

"I'm currently trying to identify roughly what Decay is. It could be a virus, bacterium or anything. Perhaps a similar thing to cancer?"

Kiri was confused.

"What are those?"

"Bacteria and viruses are tiny invisible things that make you sick. Cancer is when something in your body goes wrong, and it grows, spreads and destroys your body. I lost a buddy to regular old cancer before the second Decay came."

"Oh... Those sound bad. Have you found anything helpful yet?"

The containers of Decay looked quite different by now.

"Certainly. The right sample looks fairly standard. This left one has had a good amount of salt added. It seems to have shrunken and discoloured the sample. This means that there are cells in the sample. The salt drew water out of them, drying them out and killing them. Horrible for treatment, but it hints that the Decay is related to cells."

Kiri was starting to understand things. He loved the feeling of learning all this new stuff.

"I think I am starting to understand... I want to watch more. And perhaps we could keep talking; I hope you do not mind."

Grom smiled as he prepared for his next test.

"Absolutely! Perhaps if I teach you well enough, you can help out! You have the willingness to learn."

"I think I want to be a scientist when I'm older. Opher wants me to be a knight or something, which is also cool, but I like the idea of this."

Grom was happy, but struggled to see how Kiri could find a good side to all of this.

"I suppose it's good to have such a positive mindset. Alas, I'm not so lucky. I'm still worrying every second if we'll make it through this, however long it may take."

Kiri hopped down, ready for a short break. It was almost time for lunch.

"Do not worry so much; I will keep everyone's mood high. The tree surely cannot get a healthy mind. I love making them all happy anyway."

He left, and Grom was once again left to his own devices. Perhaps not such a good thing anymore, if Kiri was supposed to learn and help out soon. He couldn't stop thinking about his jovial attitude towards this whole situation.

"That kid is too precious. I seriously hope he'll be okay..."

Chapter Text

"So, yeah. Be wary of him. He may come and kill ya."

The conversation about these Humans had just finished and Ori was itching to go again. Shiro took the initiative and chose a destination this time.

"How about we have a little look around the area? I'm sure there are quite a few places you haven't been to yet."

She led them round the back of the Palace where the Plains suddenly dropped off. They reached the edge, where there was a roughly twenty-foot drop with the dirt being held back by a big stone wall.

"This is the Dredging Path. It's, uh... Not a happy place. We'll come back here soon. It's a rough topic; I'll need a bit of time to prepare."

A kind of white sand lay in tiny amounts across the overgrown pathway, and a huge number of those blue flowers were growing along there. How many Spirits died down there? 

"That sand. Is that what you used for glass?"

She nodded hollowly.

"It's all gone. For my own vanity. It took just a year to use it all up, and it's all been put here."

They knew to stop pushing the point further from here. Shiro then led them eastwards, where the Plains also dipped but not as intensely. Over the hill, a completely blue landscape bustling with far away life filled their vision.

"Whoa! What is that?"

"This place is the Indigo Rockpools, and it houses the majestic town of Aquarius. It's a nice place housing mostly just Spirits. There are a few Moles too, but they prefer not to try and burrow through rock. Only the elite Moles who think they're too good for dirt holes chose to live there. Let's go take a look." Shiro enthusiastically pulled them along, very excited to come here.

"It could be a new experience for me, too. I haven't been here for a couple of years, so there are bound to be a bunch of things that have changed."

As the grass diminished into deep blue and navy stones, a faint melody could be heard from afar. Small murmurs from far away people, too. A town? Ori had never experienced a large settlement other than the community of their own back at home.

"This can't be normal stone, right?"

"No. If I remember from one of those books, the blue comes from a very specific type of coral that can survive being exposed to air and does not form sharp edges, as opposed to other coral types. It still needs some water, but it gets that from the Rains. The Rockpools fill up and water seeps through the coral through a network of capillaries to feed it all. I guess they also photosynthesize? I can't see how else they would get nutrients."

As they entered, they were greeted by a mostly flat rocky field, which was largely empty. A nice path, with a large blue spruce tree that grew in a plot in the middle, connected this spot to the main town, where several fancy buildings in a weird style unknown to Ori stood. Now that they were here, the place was actually quite bland, at least in this part of the Rockpools. Perhaps if they were to actually enter Aquarius-

"Well, hello there!"

A jovial voice came suddenly from their right. It was from a heavily bearded Spirit coming towards them with a slight limp.

"Ah, princess Shiro, it's been a couple of years! Glad you're feeling better today. And I don't think I've ever met your new friend here. Who are you?"

"I'm Ori. I'm a foreigner, away from my home. It's nice to meet you...?"

"Victa."

The name immediately caught their attention.

"Oh! You were an Octan, right? Fil told me about how you eight started the village together. And he said something about a business, I'm sure. How's that going?"

Victa smiled, eyeing up another potential customer.

"Well, Ori, my trade is in the light arts! Good people magic, if you will. I've got a few students who pay a small subscription fee to further their skills, but just learning to cast a spell is far more simple and just requires a couple of minutes of your time and a little upfront payment. But, I'll give you a 50% discount since I want you to return and buy more from me. So, are you interested?"

Shiro chuckled to herself. This was the same old Victa she knew, doing anything to sell things and get money from people while being the most innocent person he possibly could.

"Yes! I would love a spell. It's been too long without the feel of Light energy between my fingertips." Ori smiled excitedly, wondering what kind of spells Victa would be offering.

"Let's start with a simple one and perfect that, okay? Take a deep breath to focus and find your center. Hold your hand in front of you and concentrate energy into your palm, and imagine a scene of burning hellfire, and then, the rushing winds of a hurricane! Send a fireball forth and torch any enemies that dare oppose the mighty Ori!"

Concentrating hard on their energy, they drew more and more of it into their hand, and a small blue fire appeared, burning in front of them and growing brighter, bigger and stronger. And all of a sudden, they thrust their arm forwards, releasing a deluge of surging, white-hot flames that persisted for well over a second. A moment of stunned silence befell the group and Ori stared off into the distance, absolutely stunlocked. Unfortunately, the spell used all of their Light Energy in one go, meaning it wouldn't be of much practical use as is.

"...Wow! That was not the fireball I expected. That was actually the empowered version that spellbooks call Dragon Breath. It's supposed to be a much trickier spell to learn, and you weren't even trying to use it! You must have had some experience, right?"

They looked down at their hands, still rooted to the spot by the experience.

"Yes... I used to have a bit of magic in me, but I never knew I was capable of this much!"

"Well, you'll be pleased to know that spells can get much more advanced and powerful than this! Especially with a Focus."

Ori pondered for a moment. Focus? What did he mean by a focus? Then, it hit them. The book.

They took out the Book of Light and opened it up. It seemed to find the page on Dragon Breath by itself.

"Like this?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Careful! Yes, that book is a very powerful focus, but it needs special training to direct and mediate spells. That could have killed us all in seconds..."

Victa's sudden panic seemed to take a toll on his old body. They quickly slammed the book shut.

"Sorry! But go on. I want to learn about... Focuses? Is that the word?"

"Foci. It's weird, I know. But these come in different forms. The best for general use is a staff. It's a long road with a faceted gem or other magical material at the end, possibly engraved with hexes to affect spells coming from it. It is a powerful enhancer, and the spell's automatically directed by the gem's cut, so you don't have to specify a direction to cast in. Most beginners choose a staff."

Ori had seen a couple of such staves lying around in certain places, and even had one used against them. Perhaps they should try to find one and actually try to use it.

"Next is the wand. It's much smaller and doesn't have a gem, so it has only the wood it is made from, plus a small amount of metal perhaps on the handle or the tip. It is only semi-directional, meaning it can blow itself up if you cast incorrectly enough. But it is lightweight and very difficult to disarm, and still empowers spells. It is optimal for combat against smarter, faster foes who may be able to take a staff away."

They had not seen wands before, but they sounded handy. Perhaps since they were more experienced, they should learn a wand instead.

"And finally, those books. We never use books as foci as they are extremely, extremely powerful and uncontrollable. In a book, you can fit a huge number of runes, hexes or whatever and this empowers spells to the point of leveling entire cities if the book is written and handled correctly. More often than not, they have just killed the wielder and everything around them. If someone had the knowledge to safely wield a book with malintent, the whole world could be gone in a heartbeat. There is doom written in these things, and we cannot do anything about it."

A dire warning. The Book of Light was not to be used, ever. And especially not the Book of Darkness.

"And that is why my library is kept under lock and key. To prevent random people from accidentally ending the world!" Shiro added sharply. She knew of the power of the books she held; it wasn't about preserving the past as much as it was about preserving the future.

"Wow. This'll stay closed, then. Anyway, how much?"

Victa was surprised Ori didn't try to conveniently forget about payment. Most people did.

"Well, a tier one spell such as a fireball goes for three hundred. But Dragon Breath can be sold for upwards of a thousand... But, to be fair, I did not teach you Dragon Breath, so I'll only charge you three hundred. Plus the 50% discount I offered, that's 150 Flora. And that is a magnificent deal! I hope you're pleased with your purchase."

They quickly handed over the money.

"I am! And I got a free sample of forbidden eldritch knowledge. Talk about a bargain!"

"Mhm! Well, enjoy. And hopefully, I'll see you two around more often! Goodbye!"

Victa vanished into thin air directly in front of them, while his goodbye slowly faded away.

"Good old Victa. I remember that fellow. He's a blast, especially when he's not trying to sell you something. Which is very rare." Shiro seemed much happier after meeting up with him. Her smile was a pleasure to see.

"Let's go see the town. It sounds like fun!"

They crossed the path and over a bridge with a small river, and passed by some of the weird buildings. They were vibrantly coloured, sort of like Philippine villages, but very wonky. It was purely by design though, and they were much more stable and properly built than those. The people who live here must be very cozy.

"These houses are actually really pretty! I've never seen so many colours in one place. It's like being inside a rainbow."

This feeling of awe was only amplified when they reached the town square. Numerous Spirits were hanging out and talking, or buying things, or playing games. But it wasn't too crowded like the Mole marketplace was. There was plenty of personal space. And speaking of playing games, there was one that appeared to be available.

"Should we try this?"

Shiro agreed, knowing exactly what she was looking at. They approached the stall, and the Spirit working it noticed them.

"Hello! Want to try and beat my game? It's all about jumping! It's 30 Flora to play. There's a button at the top of this post; you just have to hit it in one jump, and I'll double what you paid."

They both nodded to each other. Ori turned back.

"I'll try first. It looks really high..."

They handed over 30 Flora and positioned themself. They could see the button. A couple of Spirits were watching. They bent their legs, and jumped as hard as they could. It was not even close. They only made it about halfway up without any of the abilities they used to have. The watchers groaned in sympathy. They stepped back and watched Shiro attempt. She deposited the money and readied herself. Her hand began to glow, and a spool of thin silk rapidly wound itself round and round. 

"This time, game... I've got you. Hey, Ori, you'll catch me, I'm sure."

Without any further warning, she leaped into the air. A great spike of twisted silk embedded itself into the ground and disconnected from her hand, and she used it as a foothold to propel herself far higher. As she passed by the button, she barely scraped it with her hand... Not enough to trigger it, but not accepting another loss, she kicked wildly towards it, managing to activate it. She flipped over to her back and fell triumphantly, straight into Ori's arms far below.

"Yeah! Finally, I've beaten you!"

The crowd celebrated the win just as much, cheering for her raucously.

"Whew, oh my Light, you don't know how close I've been to getting that for years! I've done it!"

"Compliments for the catch?" Ori was still holding her. It felt a little awkward, so they put her down.

"Oh, that can't have been easy. It was amazing and, uh... A little romantic? I mean... Yeah! Nice one, Ori."

Shiro took a moment to get her breath back and wait for the adrenaline to die down. The worker came up to her with sixty Flora and offered it.

"Bravo, that was a wonderful clear. The first this month, too."

"Nah, you can keep the money! That was worth every penny. I need to start giving somethin' back after I've done nothing for years, anyway."

He was surprised, but accepted the offer and returned to his post.

"Hey, Ori, are you hungry? There's lots of good food around here. You should try some!"

They had just now realized that they were, in fact, pretty starving. They stood up and gazed at the market stalls selling food. They were oddly interested in the very pungent stall run by a rather stout looking Mole. It was mostly selling seafood items, hence the bad smell. There were trays of shellfish, breaded fish and all sorts of other dishes from the sea. But one looked better than the rest; a tuna wrap with some salad greens. A completely foreign kind of food to Ori, from the meat to the vegetables to the pale tortilla it was wrapped in.

"I'll have one of these, please!"

"45 Flora." The Mole grunted happily, but as if he had something in his throat. They handed over the right amount of money and took the wrap. They met back up with Shiro, who had also made a purchase, and walked away from the town again.

"What'd you get?"

"Fruit Salad Bubbles. They used to be my favourite when I came down here."

It was a bowl of diced fruits each encased in balls of transparent flavoured gelatin, which looked like the fruit was trapped inside bubbles.

"Let's sit under the tree and eat, Ori. It's getting a bit too hot to stay in the sun. I can't imagine what it would be like in the Palace right now."

So they sat down by the tree with the woody smell freshening the air, and ate.

"Mm, this is good. It's so different to what I've had before! How's yours, Shiro?"

"Just as good as I remember! I'm glad we did this."

"Hey, I'm not too familiar with Spirit... Etiquette, I guess, so... Is eating meat a taboo here? I'd guess not, since it's being sold. And Veral, the chef back on Niwen always makes Marshclam Stew which I never got to try."

She shook her head.

"I wouldn't say it's a taboo... It's just uncommon. But that's because there isn't much of it to go around. We don't farm animals and almost never hunt, since the island is a bit too small for that, and we risk killing everything off. But we do fish sometimes. Well, it's mostly Moles fishing, and they also get to eat most of the meat. Anyway, it's quite expensive. How much did you pay for that?"

"45..."

Shiro was slightly shocked at the cost.

"Yep! Called it. Mine was just 10!"

"Well, I'm regretting my choice now..."

Chapter Text

"Do you have time for me to show you one more place?" Shiro asked hopefully.

"Sure. Maybe we'll find something for me again."

They got up and headed back across the Prismatic Plains. 

"It's back at Mount Stella. Just a short way up, there was a really beautiful cave that I sometimes went to. The river flowing through it sounded so relaxing and the view over the eastern side of the island is brilliant."

A quarter of an hour passed, and they reached the path upwards again. But instead of going all the way, at the first turn, Shiro stopped them.

"It's over this way. No more path to get there."

There was not much rock to stand on, just the mountain face. But it wasn't a particularly distant drop, just one that would hurt a lot. They both fearlessly tiptoed along the rough terrain, quickly slipping into the cave opening, where it was safe. A huge amount of moss and greenery covered the inside of the cave, which was lit by hanging vines full of luminous yellow berries. A neat river flowed from higher in the cave, trickling in from several other seams in the rock and gently flowing past the rocks, then tumbling out into the valley below in a spectacular waterfall. The rushing sounds completely contradicted the gentle echoes of the river's flow and created a slightly unreal, fantasy atmosphere. Shiro hopped out onto some rocks in the middle of the stream, and then onto one big rock that was perched right at the entrance, splitting the waterfall in two. She sat at the edge of the rock, her legs dangling freely over the edge.

"Come over here! It looks so good!"

They tried to jump on the same rocks, but slipped on the wet algae and landed clumsily in the water.

"Ow... Should have just waded over."

They crawled over to the rock and climbed up, lying on their belly next to Shiro. The view was indeed great, and they could see a lot of details more clearly. The area filled with blue crystals seemed to be teeming with menacing floating things, and they could see the rocky, searing home of the dragon, filled with fire and smoke, scorched to a crisp by its inhabitant. Other places were still too hard to see fully, but a small forest seemingly made of brightly coloured mushrooms was another eyecatcher that they would have to see someday.

"You know, this island never ceases to amaze me with its beauty. I would love to live here, but I have to stay in Niwen and protect it."

They looked out at the island for a while longer, and then got back up. As they were preparing to leave, Ori noticed a glint in a rock seam where water was pouring out.

"Hey, could that be something? I'm already soaked anyway, what's a little more water?"

They went to take a look, but still couldn't identify what it was. So, Ori climbed the wall of the cave and dug their hand into the hole, grasping something smooth and tugging it around a lot. It took a long time to start moving, but they eventually released it from its hiding place and brought it out into the open. It was a large, heavy axe with a long handle, seemingly treated with the stuff Frank used.

"I have pulled Axe-calibur from the rock!" They called triumphantly. Shiro laughed at the stupid joke. With a closer look, Ori saw that the axe was heavily dented and worn by the water coursing over it for so long. It would need a repair to be back to its normal self, but being so heavy, it would easily kill most things with blunt force alone. This was definitely going to be used.

"Let's change the subject a moment... You seem very inclined to show me all these pretty places. It feels... Directed. You can tell me if you're hiding something, Shiro. You know I won't judge."

She did a double take before realizing that she was indeed being very weird about the whole situation.

"Yeah, look. I was kind of doing that. I was distracting you from..." She almost stopped herself, but decided it would be best to commit and continue what she was going to say. "...Well, I guess I can't put it off any longer. It's time I showed you what I did. Come with me." Shiro sounded melancholy all of a sudden.

What did she do? What did that mean? This might be related to the path they saw earlier.

Back in front of the Palace, she prepared herself mentally for whatever this was.

"Alright, I'm ready. It's just over here." She sighed.

A very short walk towards a big dip at the edge of the Plains revealed what she was so disturbed by. A gaping hole filled with pathetic little deposits of white sand dotted about, with the rest being uneven, yellowed, algae-slicked, white rocky protrusions stretching out into the sea. The waves were sliced apart by the rocks, creating extremely choppy waters everywhere that would be a death sentence to try and swim through. Ori gazed at the monumental eyesore and their mouth slowly dropped open.

"Oh... I see. Wait, you did that?"

"This is the Dredged Beach. And, well, I was responsible for this. The human across the sea from us, his name is Ren... He came over one time requesting a business deal wanting some glass from this beach, and letting me use some too. I ordered his machines to create a huge royal abode for me. In doing so, countless Spirits died of exhaustion or accidents on the job, as they were put to work too. And we completely removed this beautiful beach full of pure white sand, leaving... This."

That last word was spoken with so much venom that it may as well have come from Sapphire.

"I understand why you hid this from me. It's certainly not pretty. I'm sorry that you have to live with the burden of such a mistake. It must hurt to be reminded of that time whenever you look over here."

She turned away slightly, unable to look at either Ori or the wrecked beach.

"Don't be. I allowed him to do this; I don't want to be forgiven. And I don't deserve to be. All I've done in my years in power is turn this beautiful beach into that pointless palace. And then just sat in it doing nothing! I've not done anything!"

Her rage towards herself was palpable. Boiling tears welled up in her eyes as she berated herself. 

"But... I do forgive you."

Ori hugged her, and she let go of all restraint, crying her eyes out in their arms. Finally, she had someone she could vent to, and it was truly cathartic.

"I-I'm sorry... I just need to do this for a moment..." She choked, starting to let up. Ori had never expected such openness from anyone, much less Shiro, considering what she had been like for so long. The heartwarming amount of emotion that was pouring out of her was contagious, and they felt tears of their own forming.

"It's fine. I know how you must feel about all this, and you've had no one to talk about it for the longest time. Stay here all you want."

And it all came back again. This was someone who truly cared for her, unlike everyone who came before. This time, her tears were not of grief, but joy. This felt like the turning point in her life that she had needed for so long. She sat holding Ori tight until she calmed back down after a few minutes.

"I'm better now." She was smiling ear to ear as she sat back, her cheeks soaked with the tears of pent-up emotion she had finally released.

"It has to have been amazing getting that off your chest. I'm glad we had this moment. I think I'd better get back to the Octans; they probably think I've died given how long I've been away."

"Oh! That's fair. It's been a pleasure getting to know you, Ori. And good, um... Session? Let's just hope we don't have to have another." She acknowledged how awkward she thought Ori must have felt, having a grown adult stranger sobbing in their arms for five minutes.

"Hey, what do you mean 'it's been a pleasure'? I'm not going forever! If you want to see me more often, I'll be around for a couple more days, and I may come back to Nimor even after that. I noticed your Spirit Tree might need help soon, and I happen to be an expert on fixing them back up apparently."

"Right, yeah. Sorry, I'm not used to having friends."

Before they left, a helpful thought came to Ori's head.

"Now, it's time for you to do something! There's an opportunity for you to make up for this, and that's by fixing up this island. You don't want to slip back into that routine."

Now that Shiro had broken the cycle she was trapped in, it was her responsibility not to rejoin it. 

"Yeah... Ooh, I know! I had a good idea for the Crags that I've been putting off for ages. I'll start working on that. Goodbye!"

She scampered off into her palace before they could even say it back.

"That was an exhausting morning. I'm sure she can keep herself afloat for a while."

They got up and headed for home.

Chapter Text

"Hey! Sorry I was gone for so long!"

The Octans all watched Ori enter the village, out of breath. Luna greeted them with enthusiasm.

"Nice to see you back! How was the climb?"

"Oh, yeah! We did climb the mountain. I'm not gonna lie, it's been a bit of a rush. Uh... It went pretty well. She only almost died twice, so I'd say it was a huge success. The view was really nice at the summit, and I found this cool new shield!"

They displayed their new power and tapped on it to show that it was solid.

"We got to the bottom and Sapphire was waiting for us. She scared her off for now with some kind of magic I've never seen before."

Sol recognized what they were talking about instantly.

"The silk? Yeah, that stuff's insane. I reckon she could kill gods with that. Apparently it was something to do with a spider as she fell from the Spirit Tree?"

Some kind of crossbreed between a spider and Spirit? Perhaps that was something to look deeper into. Ori continued talking about their day with Shiro for a while, and everyone was truly invested in the story. Except for Fil, who was asleep. Of course. Eventually, they finished up, and turned to Gumo.

"So, what have you gotten up to while I've been away this time?" They asked.

"Gumo good with stick! Gumo defeat everyone now!"

They chuckled at his wild stabby gestures and slightly crazed voice.

"So you've successfully trained him to fight, I see. Nice one. Gumo, I think you're due a little weaponry upgrade. Follow me. And everyone else, I'll try not to be longer than an hour this time. In a bit!"

They took Gumo away, and towards the Thorny Glades. On the way there, they heard a familiar growl. Another one of those horrid beasts pounced on Ori faster than light. They rolled together for a bit before Ori gained footing and slashed it away with their Edge, backing up rapidly. Before it was able to charge again, they blasted it with Dragon Breath, and it burned bright with sky-blue flame but barely remained standing. As it charged a second time, they swiftly put it down with a Smasher hit straight to the head.

"That should do it."

The beast faded away, leaving a healthy number of coins. They collected it straight away and stashed it, moving quickly along in case another one was around. They both slunk into the Glades and approached the ladder, and Ori climbed it quickly. Gumo grabbed on, but it creaked loudly and sounded very weak. Nevertheless, he fearlessly climbed up and luckily he was fine.

"Let's get you a nice weapon of your own!"

They rounded the blacksmith and knocked on the door. It took a brief moment to be answered by a slightly startled Frank.

"Wow! Howdy, Ori! I see you've brought a friend with you. Is this a visit for him?"

Ori nodded and was invited in. Gumo struggled to fit through the door. They both sat down near the forge fire, admiring the countless weapons hung up everywhere.

"I'm guessing you want something more your size. I hope I have something big enough; I've never really had customers that aren't Spirits or Moles."

Frank pottered over to the leftmost rack he had, where all the biggest weapons were kept. He glanced at Gumo's posture and estimated the right size and balance for him. The sword he was most drawn to was a lengthy but thin one in the shape of a bug's mandible, with deep barbs down the inside of the curve and a devilishly sharp blade on both sides. It was quite hefty still, as it was made of very rough steel and not treated with the magic fluid. Frank lifted it from its hooks and handed it to Gumo. He got a feel for its weight and balance, and it felt very comfortable in his hands. 

"Gumo test pointy thing?"

Hesitantly, Frank agreed. He headed out to the back, where he grabbed a tough-looking shield and a wooden stick. The others followed him, and Ori was shocked that he was about to let Gumo fight him.

"Gimme all you got! I'll be fine with this shield."

Frank gestured to the shield. Ori was very uncertain about this but decided that he knew better than they did, and stepped back to watch the fight.

Gumo started with a fast swipe, deflected cleanly by the shield. This was followed up by a closer swipe from the other direction and a stab, both powerfully rocking the shield, chipping the wood and denting the metal framing. Frank was not fighting back, just defending so that he could see his craftsmanship at work. Gumo then turned the weapon around and raked the shield out of the way with his barbs and held the sword at Frank.

"That was quick, man. Very good use of those barbs; you will have no problem using that thing, I tell you what. Let's head back inside now, shall we?"

At the table next to the forge, Frank began repairing the shield while Gumo was still checking out the sword.

"So, how much was that?" Ori asked with a slight hint of dread. They didn't have very much money left.

"It's big, so... 450 seems alright."

They counted up what they had.

"436... Dammit." They were right. They did not have enough.

"That's fine. I'll just take that as adequate payment, and if you want to pay the rest later, then that's dandy too."

Ori was very lucky that Frank was a generous person. A weaponsmith is the last person you want to annoy.

"Sorry about that! Thank you!"

They left before Frank could change his mind. Completely broke, Ori had to find a way to get money back soon. Time was ticking while they weren't working.

Chapter Text

Shiro sat at her throne, slaving away at a design concept for a machine. It was a dust trap that was designed to collect and compact all the dust from the air of the Ashen Crags, making it livable. She drew in a space for a battery compartment when a fierce voice came from nowhere and started her. It was Sapphire again.

"Alright, tough girl. I've thought about it a while and I still hate your guts. Now, how about a deal? I'd been eyeing up a promotion before you sent me up there, so I want that now. I will be a Lady of this land, and I will also be taking the modest sum of two hundred thousand Flora. And in return, I won't kill you right now. Okay?"

Sapphire strode in confidently and menacingly from the spiral staircase leading to the top floor of the Palace. She stopped near the middle of the room, arms crossed and waiting. Shiro's hand elegantly rose from the table and cast a long strand of silk around the throne room and over to the door, creating a net over it and completely blocking it off. Once it was complete, Sapphire tried to pull at it, but it didn't budge one bit.

"No, no, no, you aren't running this time. You already annoyed me by disturbing my work. Now you demand twice as much money as Nimor has even produced, plus a high position of power? I can tell you'd wreck this island even more than I have. I'm sorry, it's not happening."

Her voice dripped with contempt and barely contained rage. She moved the table forwards and stood up.

"Fine! Half of what you own. By that logic, I've quartered my demands. Satisfied yet?" Sapphire was not happy with her negotiations already, and showed it in her mannerisms.

"I'd be satisfied when you leave this building! This floor is meant to be private, and I'm busy being useful for once! I don't accept your stupid, biased as hell deal." Perhaps foolishly, Shiro would not cave. Surely, Sapphire knew what she was capable of.

"If I can't get what I'm asking for... this isn't a deal anymore," Sapphire drew her staff and pointed it towards Shiro. "This is a stickup! Give me the money right now."

Shiro sighed. Something deep within her had just snapped. Her hands curled into fists, and her eyes further narrowed.

"Then you leave me no choice."

She thought about what Ori had said about keeping it civil and non-violent, and threw it all to the side. This had just pushed her too far.

"And also, I gave you a warning, didn't I? You did not heed it. Now, it's a little cliché, I know, but I'm going to say it..."

Sapphire knew what was coming. She drew her weapon fearfully. Shiro stepped out into the open and the white pupils of her eyes flared up and burned bright with energy, ready to unleash this anger she felt.

"You brought this upon yourself."

A great bolt of silk shot forth from her palm, barely missing Sapphire's neck as she leaped clumsily out of the way. She rolled and once she was back up, Shiro had cast a rock solid sword from the silk and was after her. They clashed, and it was clearly Sapphire on the defensive. She trembled under the strength of her attacker and gave out, dipping backwards to avoid getting hit. In a brief moment of downtime, she tried to calm her nerves and tell herself she would be fine in order to combat the shakiness. Shiro was instantly back on her, attacking with a swipe with a long set of conjured claws. Sapphire stepped into her and punched her in the gut, before trying to stab around the same spot as well. It was just deflected in time and Sapphire was sent off-balance. 

"Ooh, close one! You gotta try harder than that though..."

In a flash of inspiration, Sapphire decided to use magic too. She drew her staff and shot a big orb towards Shiro that fell to the floor at her feet. She jumped away, and it detonated, leaving a nasty black mark in the floor. Shiro, noticing everything about the weapon, rushed at it and grabbed at it before another orb could be fired. She twisted it and pointed it upwards as it fired again, holding Sapphire in place as it arced back down, detonating at head level and shattering the gem in the staff, disabling it. As Sapphire sat on the floor dazed by the explosion and trying to find her sword again, a ring of little spikes of silk appeared around her.

"Think fast."

She hopped out of the way and all the spines launched themselves inwards, potentially spearing her if she had still been standing there. She dropped her sword in the escape, and rushed to grab it. Out of energy and ideas, she simply rushed Shiro as one final hurrah. She swung, but Shiro stepped forward, placed her hand on her chest and cast her silk. A massive spike completely impaled Sapphire, leaving her ten feet off the ground. It retracted back into Shiro's hand, and she fell to the ground, vanishing on impact. Only the tattered rags she wore remained. Shiro breathed heavily and the fire in her eyes died away as she fell to her knees, unsure about what had happened.

"Wh... What happened?" She looked around, seeing a somewhat familiar sword on the floor behind her.

"Uh..." Looking up, she saw the pile of clothes lying in a pile on the floor.

"Oh. Oh, no..." She ran over and picked them up, struggling to understand how this had happened.

"I didn't want... I didn't mean to - I..."

Dread set in as she began to understand what she had done.

Chapter Text

Ori felt something. It was bugging them, getting on their mind. Something felt wrong.

"...Sorry, I need to go. I have a bad feeling that something's happened."

They quickly got ready to leave Octans yet again, and adjusted their bandage; it was slightly loose from all the action. Then they rushed off to the Glades. The Spirits were left standing there confused.

"Where are they going?" Sol asked worriedly.

"That looked like a sort of 'someone's in trouble' feeling. It's one hundred percent something between Sapphire and Shiro, isn't it? They can sense something's happened." Quinn, while seemingly crude and often playing the jester, was quite savvy when it came to emotions and body language. He knew something was up.

"I bet it's something to do with one of them too. It was something about the way Sapphire said those things, Quinn. She fully intends on killing Shiro."

Quinn was the kind of spirit to stay out of serious conversations until he had something meaningful to say. He was almost certainly the wisest of the four of them, especially in this situation. But past his last input, they had no more insight to give as this case was very unusual.

Ori appeared, exhausted and bedraggled, in the stairwell to the throne room. They saw a small pile of worn clothes on the ground and Shiro at her desk with her face in her arms. She looked up for a brief moment and they startled her. But she put her head back down. It didn't look much like sadness this time, more deep thinking and regret.

"...Come here."

They got closer, unsure about what to feel. They sighed sympathetically.

"I had a feeling something had happened."

They turned to look at the clothes.

"And I think I know what."

"Yeah... Sapphire came in here and disturbed me, and tried to blackmail me for a ludicrous amount of money. I just couldn't keep myself together. A part of me just... Snapped. That was the result. I feel terrible, even if I'm somehow not in the wrong."

They came up to her and gave her a big hug. She felt a pang of emotion, but kept it tucked away.

"Something came over me. Like, it wasn't truly me. It was... definitely me that killed her. But it feels like I just wasn't in control... And I hate myself for letting it come to this. I thought I was civilized like I'm supposed to be."

Ori struggled to find something comforting to say. A lot of things were going through their head, and they weren't sure what to think at this point.

"I don't know exactly what happened, but from what you've said, it sounds like it wasn't your fault she died. You had no control of yourself, you said"

"No, I do take responsibility. I just- I got angry. I let her get into my head. Ugh, I'm such a fool... If I could snap so easily, just like that, am I really a good fit to rule this island?"

She looked out over the island, seeing everywhere she could have done something with. That sense of failure she always felt returned again, twofold this time.

"Shiro, what I've learned from the people I've met is that no one is perfect, no matter how hard they try. They all have flaws and some can be fixed, but others just can't be helped. We should embrace our imperfections as little bits of character, and strive to slowly fix the ones that leave a negative impact on the world. While Sapphire's death was a horrible mistake, that's all it was. A mistake; an accident. I've learned from my mistakes many times, as I'm sure you have too." From here, they switched to a more motivational, upbeat attitude. "Mistakes are a part of the past, and we have the present at our fingertips to change ourselves and avoid repeating them. This is not a reason that you shouldn't be who you are; you've already proven that beneath that shell we're breaking away is a great leader who wants to do good for her people. This is just a rough point in life and, hopefully, we can get you past it together."

Her downheartedness faded as Ori talked, and she finally understood what was actually wrong. She realized how much pointless baggage from the past she was dragging around in the form of mistakes from years ago that just don't matter anymore.

"You know what? You're right. I do really want to help. But I could never see past those flaws to look at the good stuff in me. I... still can't, but at least you've got me taking steps in the right direction. I can't forget what I've just done to her, but it's important that I don't let it get to me, or I'll end up back at square one."

She draped her veil over herself and picked up Sapphire's clothes.

"Come with me, I had better lay her to rest."

They exited the Palace with the feather and drifted to the ground. Shiro led Ori into a distant part of the Prismatic Plains where a lone tree stood. It was small, but still larger than the other plants in the area.

"This tree appeared here when Sapphire came into this world two decades ago, so it's only right that she lives on next to it as well."

She tied the ragged beige clothing around the hilt of the sword she left behind and stuck it deep into the dirt in front of the tree. She stepped back and watched the memorial gently sway in the early evening wind.

"This tree is for her, and I will keep it alive for as long as I live. Goodbye, Sapphire, and I'm sorry. You were a good Spirit before I sent you up there."

They walked away in silence. The wispy pink clouds of the sunset looked beautiful in a bittersweet way, and the birdsong and wind echoed through the crystals, turning their sounds into magic, ethereal calls that sounded oddly strained. Suddenly, they began vibrating and singing harshly, and out of nowhere, there was a sharp and bright burst of light coming from the opposite side of the Plains. They looked toward Seva, and saw a massive branch fall to the ground, the freshly exposed wood leaking precious light.

"Oh no, that's gotta be really bad! This had better not be because I killed her... The tree doesn't have long to live if it's doing this. Perhaps I should focus more on something to address that... Wait, I forgot to tell you. I've made a breakthrough in clearing the ash from the Crags. It's a little complicated and also temporary, but it's a start."

"That was quick. Whenever you need them built, come to Niwen. There are experts at building and creating things who are called Gorlek. They will happily take on a project for you."

"I was going to make them myself, but I wouldn't mind waiting to leave the tough work for someone else. If I survive the death of the tree, that is..."

Chapter Text

"You'll be fine."

"Thanks, Ori! Goodbye!"

They parted ways again and Ori looked towards the Dredged Beach. It had lured them in ever since Shiro showed it to them earlier that day. They hopped down onto the path and had a snoop around, looking for interesting things to take. There were a few very rusty metal parts that seemed complex and purposefully formed, which were likely parts of things that were once here. They collected several of the highest quality ones and moved along. At the end of the path, just before the Dredged Beach started was a little rotting shack coated in white sand. It had countless holes in the nasty wood and the inside of the planks looked bright orange. They approached the door to open it, and it fell off the hinges, collapsing to the floor. It splintered into firewood and a torrent of termites surged from the wood, followed by several cellar spiders who had made their homes there. The place was full of webs and dust, and everything that was in there was completely grey with a thick coating of dust and nasty stuff. They decided that this place definitely wasn't worth the effort and uncomfortableness to loot. Turning back to the big hole in the land, they felt drawn here. The promise of loot was beckoning them. They stepped out onto the rocky, barren shore and looked around. Far out to sea, they saw an energy cell atop a pillar that barely breached the sea level. It would be dangerous to collect. But to their left was a much nicer one - just sitting on the shore was another energy cell. They picked it straight up and absorbed it, wondering why it was just there.

"I wonder where they actually come from and what makes them only appear in such tricky spots. Are they purposefully putting up a challenge for us? Does a Spirit Tree make them?"

An old mystery, but one that Ori now really wanted to figure out. Continuing to comb the shore, they found numerous larger metal scraps that seemed to be a lot more useful and visually interesting than any of the small bits. The collector would love these. But apart from those, everything useful was now in dangerous water. They would have to risk their life to get anything else, but to Ori, taking risks was the whole point of an adventure. An idea came to them. Perhaps a rather stupid one. Their axe had what was effectively a hook on the end. If they could jump over to a spike and grip onto it with the axe, they could always have one hand free, and if it was really fixed in place, they could potentially stand on top of it for a safe viewpoint. It almost seemed too good to be true. They saw a pillar with a split and two spires, and chose to test their theory on it. They jumped at it, and swung the axe around. It jammed into place and wouldn't move when pulled. They leaned back and let go of their left hand which was holding onto the rock, and they didn't fall. It was a successful trick! Then, they used the axe to hook onto little outcrops of rock and pulled themself higher, eventually hooking into the gap between the two spikes. They climbed up to this spot and rearranged the axe so that it was in a horizontal position and they could stand on the head. They sheepishly laid a foot on the axe, and it didn't move. They put more of their weight on it, and it wobbled a bit but mostly stayed put. They took a hand off the cliff. It gave. Ori fell past the axe, and it cut their leg as they did so. The fall was from high up, and they hit the ground hard, knocking them straight out. No sooner than they went unconscious, they were woken up again by the terrifying thunk sound of the falling axe burying its blade into the bare rock hardly an inch away from their neck. And on top of that, just next to them was a nasty outcrop of rock that would have been their end had they landed a bit to the left.

"Ow... did not like that one bit. I don't think that strategy will work. Bare hands it is, then."

They shakily got back up and picked up the axe, taking a while to breathe and recover with the spell. It got rid of the headache from the landing, at least. 

The water tossed and turned not far from their feet as they took a breath and hopped to the first spire once again. They struggled for purchase without any equipment, but found a small cranny for a hoof to get into and steadied themself. Nothing interesting on this one. Leaping over to the next one much further out, they saw another metal part. This one was a small intact digging implement, sort of like a bucket for a dredging machine, that had embedded itself into the rock and broken off. No writing was visible on the object. It was full of seawater from years of spray. Ori hit the thing upwards with their Smasher and the spire snapped, dislodging the part and flattening the top to make a very uncomfortable resting spot. They stored the part away and had a look around from this high ground. Just one jump away was a Life Cell. This really was the place to go for a quick power-up. They jumped and dashed for the correct spire, still barely making it; that one was further than it looked. Taking and absorbing the Life Cell, Ori set their sights on that first Cell they saw all the way at the end of the biome. They charted a wild, mental course and prepared to attempt it.

"Hope I can still do this kind of stuff..."

They jumped at a spire and dashed past it, using their momentum to grab it and swing sideways around the entire thing, flinging themself at another outcrop of rock. They quickly leaped off this one as they made contact, but they let a hoof slip and the jump was ruined. They dashed, and drew their Smasher to use the hammer head to hook around the spire they were aiming for. They stabilised themself mere inches from the deadly water.

"Whew, I'm rusty on that. More practice needed."

After that scare, they more carefully climbed the spire and patiently hopped between easier spires to reach the cell. On the final jump, there was no room to actually grab the spire as there was next to nothing above the sea. They would have to carefully land on the tip or brave the riptides and hope to be okay. But out of nowhere, the sea got much rougher. Waves reached higher and hit harder. Fearing there wasn't much time left before the cell was lost, Ori made the leap of faith and grabbed the cell. Before they could do anything with it, however, they were swept away by a massive tidal wave. Under the surface, they were dragged around and raked across the barnacle-covered rocks and tangled in seaweed. They lost the cell in the chaos and crashed ashore, dazed. As the wave departed and went back to sea, Ori tried to stand up when they were knocked back down by a second, bigger wave. They crawled up the beach and away from the water, but ran back down to grab the energy cell that had just washed up. Ori was cut up and hurting all over, so they cast the recovery spell and most of it disappeared instantly. A bit of nagging internal pain and whiplash remained, however. Then, they finally got to absorb the cell. They'd earned this one. Now that the chaos was mostly over, they noticed that it was suddenly dark. And in the sky loomed a huge moon, at least ten times wider than the normal-sized moon. It was tainted cyan, and moving far quicker than normal. 

"What is that?! Why is it so big? I've got to see Shiro about this..."

Chapter Text

Shiro was fixated on the moon. A rudimentary telescope was placed on the balcony, and she was studying everything about it. There was something... Weird. As in, it didn't look real. It was pitch black outside, which shouldn't have been the case. The moon looked almost translucent. And the cyan glow? That was plain unnatural. Nothing about it made sense. She heard the tapping of rushed hooves coming up the glass stairs and backed out into the main room to greet Ori back.

"Hey! Uh, what's that doing up there? It's brought all those wolves out again. I barely made it in." Ori was panting from having to climb those stairs yet again.

"I've been looking... Don't ask me when I got this telescope; I don't remember. I might have made it a long time ago... Anyway, it's a very weird phenomenon. It's definitely there, 'cause it blocked out the sun. But it's not... The moon. It looks fake. Like something's created it and pushed it across the sky."

"Surely no living thing could just throw a glowing moon at us. It affected the water, too. It got so rough; I'm lucky to have lived."

"I saw! And I never knew you were so nimble! I was watching you jump around over there, and it looked like you knew the place like the back of your hand. It was amazing."

They looked over at the Dredged Beach. From up here, it looked so much more menacing to traverse.

"I definitely kept some of my skills, then. No rust on this old machine!"

"Well, I don't have an explanation for this moon thing, so unless you're back here for something else, then you might as well get going. I don't want to waste more of your time, I know how valuable it is right now."

Ori hesitated, looking over the balcony at the numerous creatures skulking around the palace grounds. They stood far back from the edge after that.

"But it's dangerous. I might have to stay here until the supermoon goes down."

Shiro's ear twitched slightly. They noticed it and gave her a little grin.

"...And I know you want me to."

She dipped her head, slightly embarrassed that they picked up on that.

"Of course I do! You're my friend, and I like having company for once. It's just... I was putting your needs over mine. If you're just staying for me, don't. Your family over in Niwen are far more important than little old me. You should go and keep doing stuff to save them."

Shiro was right. They were just wasting time staying in the palace with her. Now that she had something to do, they knew she would be fine with them leaving for a while.

"Alright. I'll see you later. And later doesn't mean half an hour this time. Maybe."

"Goodbye, Ori!"

Ori headed upstairs to the bridge and climbed even higher to the roof of that section of the Palace to be sure. Then, they glided to safety with Ku's feather. Straight over the pack of wolves and into a new area. Filled with dense plants and fruits everywhere and towering roots erupting from the ground, all coming from a ginormous tree sheltering a part of the place, there was no doubt that these were the Rooted Gardens that one of the Octans mentioned. Ori looked around at everything that was growing. It was difficult to take a step and not trip on food. No wonder Octans were so interested in this place! They considered just taking some, but they noticed a Spirit who looked like he worked there.

"Hey! This is a nice place you got here."

The farmer noticed them and welcomed them into the Gardens.

"Hello! I haven't seen this face before. Who might you be?"

His voice held absolutely no resemblance to the hick, Yankee farmer voice Ori had pictured. It was one of the smoothest they had ever heard, with a polite, gentle accent to compliment it.

"I'm Ori. I'm from Niwen. I assume you're in charge here. You get many visitors?"

"Oh, yeah. This is a big old shop basically. You pay a bit and take away as much food as you can carry. So naturally, I only really see the strongest Spirits. Since the Hunters though, no traffic has come from Octans or the marketplace. It's cut into our profits a lot, and we aren't living so comfortably anymore. It's a bit of a pain, but we're controlling it now. Oh, by the way, I'm Grant."

"...How much do you need to pay? Frank cleaned me out of Flora for a nice weapon and I've only scrounged a few more since."

"It's only 25 Flora. Or I can do 15 for about half as much food. Feel free to eat a little before you take them."

"I can pay the 15 Flora."

It was a worse deal but they didn't have enough for any more food. If Kor spotted them on the way back, too, they would be able to move quicker and perhaps escape with all the food. They paid, and looked up to the sky. The moon still flared aquamarine, watching over their actions.

"Has that happened before? It's so weird!"

Grant shook his head.

"Stuff like this is exactly why one of these days I want to go out and see the cosmos. It's a complete mystery to all of us folk. I love the idea of going out into uncharted territory and learning about the secrets it holds. And I suppose that's quite similar to the adventuring stuff you do, right?"

"I guess so. I never thought about it myself. Never had the idea that there may be other stuff up there. Who knows... perhaps one day we'll visit space and see it close up..."

Ori looked at the ground all around them. So much food everywhere.

"Well, I don't know where to start!"

They picked a fairly large pink gourd that stood out to them the most. It smelled very fruity but had tough skin. There were a couple of signs around - one labeled these things as Strawberry Squashes. Another plot of the field had a collection of tall plants with juicy stems that simply snapped off at the base. They were slightly uncreatively named Snapstems. They grabbed a few of these. The same went for several other fruits and vegetables scattered around, all quite similar and generic. There was one last plot that piqued their interest; one completely shaded by the giant tree whose roots tore at the area. Under it, a dark navy wall of crops rustled ominously.

Why are they ominous? They're plants. The sign mentioning what they were was unreadable. They just had to assume they were safe to eat and took a bundle. They looked to be a grain crop, the only one here, and the grains themselves were very pale yellow or even white. They returned to their pile and grabbed everything. Grant had gone somewhere now, and so was the cyan moon. Everything was somewhat back to normal. They snuck back towards Octans with their purchase. Those guys were going to love this.

Chapter Text

The looming fog ominously awaited Shiro as she stood before the Ashen Crags. She knew all too well her susceptibility to the curse which lay upon that land, and had to prepare herself as best as possible in order to survive her mission. She had a small chain of damp rags, which she tied around her nose and mouth to block the accursed fumes attempting to get in. She brought her ice picks to scale the cliffs; there was no other way for her to get up. And lastly, she had on her back the first prototype dust catcher which was folded into a dense block of various cobbled together materials that were left over from her engineering days.

Shiro calmed herself with a long, deep breath and scaled the cliff in seconds. The rock dust grated at her eyes and she winced, squinting to keep it out as much as possible. Treading carefully, she traversed deeper into the plateau, getting more and more anxious about how unsafe this was. Something was tickling her ear. It was a strange feeling that seemed to be growing fast. Now she felt like she was far enough inland, and she propped the machine up on its legs. Everything else unfolded, and she inserted a small blue crystal, causing it to whir into life. It began to spin at a fairly quick pace, gathering a decent amount of dust already. Proud of herself, she stood admiring her work for a moment. Until she realized what the tickling was. Voices, slowly creeping into her mind.

'Stay... Guard... Lock...'

Barely audible, she made out several words. It was obvious what they were referring to. She steeled herself, thinking that if she appeared to have a strong will, the curse wouldn't get to her. It was too late, it was already in. There was one option left to live.

'Protect... Slay... Sentinel.'

As the voices grew from whispers, she understood that there was just seconds before her frayed will was taken over by the Crags. There was only one direction that was fast enough to escape... And it was up. She cast silk all around her, spinning multiple legs which gripped the ground and curled upwards. She held on tight and commanded the legs to straighten, flinging her straight up farther than she had ever gone before. She broke through the cloud of fog, which extended to over half the height of the Glass Palace, and she was even above the Moles' market. But now she had to get to safety. If she fell, she'd be skewered on the sharp fangs of the Crags. In the thin slice of time she had available to her, she weaved a solution from her palm. A glider thrown together from the little she knew about flying things. But the thing with her silk was that it had a lot of gaps. It couldn't do everything. And while the glider sort of worked, it was terrible at keeping her in the air. She could just barely move forward, and was falling rapidly. But it was just barely enough. As she passed through the cloud at the very edge, the voices rang between her ears even louder, and she felt invisible hands dragging her backwards. The sudden force made her drop her glider and she fell, the malicious hands too losing their grip. She crashed into the cliff and rolled down, coming to a stop at the base and aching all over. Her head hurt especially badly. And when she felt it, something was different. One of the large feathers adorning her head had been broken in half.

"Oh no..."

Ori, too, had a mission in the Crags. They climbed the smooth rock face and began searching for anything they missed on their prior passes through the place. The fog severely impacted visibility, so although the curse barely affected them, it was still difficult to do anything worthwhile. The tall spires of rock were what interested them the most. Surely there must have been things hiding up at their invisible peaks. Ori approached one and set a wary foot down on a tiny outcrop. This was going to be far too dangerous to climb like normal. First, they drew the axe. It was now repaired after a trip to the market to see Harmony and trade in more artifacts, and revisiting Frank. This could act as a much more reliable hook than the Smasher could, and was much lighter to swing around and wouldn't risk destroying the rock it was trying to grip. Then, they remembered that they had one day learned to control their tail. Perhaps they still remembered. It could be another point of contact with the rock for even more grip. They had nothing else that could help them, so it was time to climb.

The first twenty feet or so were rough, with very few imperfections in the rock to hold. Beyond that, the difficulty grew smaller, yet it was replaced with grave danger. Falling even from this height could spell the end, and there was definitely at least two thirds of the pillar left to scale. As they reached the halfway mark, the spire got rougher, and it was now easy to grab onto. In addition, their tail was able to reach around to the back of it and hold on tightly, ensuring that they were at no risk of slipping. The rest of the climb was easy, if a little precarious as the tip of the spike grew thin. And right at the top was a shiny blue Energy Cell. They grabbed and absorbed it right then, and made their way back down with great care. There were currently no more spires in view, so they had to keep exploring. After a short time of traveling, they began to hear an odd noise. It sounded like a very weird mosquito; a constant, high-pitched buzzing noise. Against their better judgment, Ori followed the noise. It turned out that it was quite quiet, and was actually a lot closer than expected. The noise was coming from a machine. A spinning machine with nets on it. This was what Shiro was working on! That meant she had been up here. She could have been cursed!

"Shiro?! Are you up here still?" They called into the beige mist. It was met with a slight echo, then nothing. Deciding to assume the best, they next approached the edge of the biome and peered into the Prismatic Plains as best as they could. Shiro was still slightly dazed, standing around in the open to recover from her fall.

"Hey! Glad you're okay! And nice job on the machine!"

She jumped at the sudden appearance of Ori's voice, and it took her a quick moment to figure out where it came from.

"Oh, thank you! And good luck with whatever you're doing too! That place nearly killed me, by the way. Be careful up there. It's terrible!"

They waved at each other and Ori returned into the dust to continue their search.

One or two more spires yielded little, just a single Life Cell and very little treasure. One more and they would be done for now. Nearly at the top of this one, they hesitated. Something didn't feel right about this one. It felt... Unstable. They brushed it off. It was just their nerves getting to them. They knew there was something amazing at the top awaiting them. A few more feet to go...

The pillar lurched sideways as a terrifying crack sounded from way below them. It quickly split apart and everything began to fall. Ori quickly grasped for their feather to slow them down, but they lost grip and dropped it, leaving it floating far above them. The ground was invisible, but they knew that it was fast approaching, and there was nothing they could do. Unless...

They cast a broad shield out beneath them. Less than a second later, the ground appeared through the smoke, and they met each other with a force comparable to their fall from the top of the Ginso Tree. Except this time, it was onto hard, solid land. Luckily for them, the shield was strong enough. As it collided with the ground, the spikes under it were crushed and Ori landed agonizingly on top of it. Stunned by the impact, they could do nothing but hope as huge chunks of rock smashed into the surrounding ground. And by pure chance, they weren't hit. As the chaos settled and their panic diminished, they looked around. Great boulders strewn all around, and a cloud of dust was billowing around them. Well, they had to assume that part because they were already in a cloud of dust to begin with. This was the second time they had lost a feather that meant a lot to them. At least it wouldn't have gone far. They would just have to find it. They tried to get up.

"Ow! Ah, that's really not good."

A nasty bullet of pain shot up their leg and into their side. They continued to get up, enduring the pain.

"I must have fallen hard on that... This is terrible! I've got stuff to do! I don't have the time to be out of action."

They tried to sense roughly where the wind was going and began very slowly and painfully limping in that direction to find their feather. But before they got too far, a certain someone appeared through the fog.

"Ori! You look hurt." King's voice had the power to bring a smile to Ori's face. He approached them and knelt down.

"I heard a whole lotta noise out here and had to see what happened. What were you doing?!"

"...Searching. I don't know if I... Hold on."

They placed their arms near their chest and focused. They remembered doing this once before when they tried to call Sein from within them. It still worked; one of their Energy Cells materialized in their hands.

"These. I need them, or I won't be strong enough to win a fight back at home, if it happens. I just... Maybe the ones here aren't worth it. I'm getting far too risky. A few hours ago, I was in the Dredged Beach getting those, and that almost killed me too. And I lost my feather falling from up there... I need to find it."

They reabsorbed the cell and King helped them walk. They guided him where they wanted to go, following the mild wind in search of the precious object.

"It won't have landed too far from here. There's never much wind up here, especially now that Sapphire is gone." His calm words consoled Ori and definitely helped ease the pain in their leg.

The wind conveniently led them straight to King's house and sure enough, caught on a fresh cobweb attached to the roof was the feather. King grabbed it and handed it straight to Ori. They cuddled it, vowing to take better care of it in the future.

"So, is there anything special about the feather or is it just sentimental? I can see you really like it."

Safely inside, Ori realized that the voices were trying to get to them. They dispersed as the clean air of the house filled their lungs. They sat down carefully on the most cushioned seat they could find, but still got a stabbing pain from their injured leg when they sat down.

"I use it as a parachute; that's why I dropped it. I tried to do the same this time, but I lost my grip. But other than that, it's just sentimental. I suppose it reminds me of a large part of my past, before all this happened. And here I am, reliving my adventures. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying it."

King noticed that they weren't exactly looking happy while they said that.

"I'm sensing a 'but' coming. What's up?"

He was correct.

"See, now that there's so much more at stake than before, I'm just so much more stressed. I'm on a time limit that I don't know. For all I know, everyone I love is already dead, and I'm fighting for nothing. So, while I do love this, I just can't enjoy it properly. That's getting to me. And now this, where I can barely move my leg. How am I going to do anything now? I don't want to fail. I can't, not after I've shown that I can do this, twice before."

While he was never an adventurer, nor had to do anything of such magnitude before, King could understand Ori's feeling of helplessness. He had felt like this before.

"Y'know, Ori, sometimes the world just deals you an unfair hand. And that's what friends are for, to back you up when you're down on your numbers like this. I'll see if I can help your leg in any way, then you can get out there and hit straight back with a royal flush." Ori did not understand the playing cards analogy, but nor did King. He had forgotten how to play, and just wanted to sound fancy. "I believe in you. If no one else does, I will believe in you still. But I'm just one person. My word alone probably doesn't mean a whole lot to you. But do you know who else believes in you? The other friends you've met here! Shiro, the Octans, anyone who knows what you're doing is rooting for you. Now, this whole bit has been a bit of a blanket statement, y'know, the usual 'Everything will be alright' schtick..."

King felt at the leg, looking for where it was injured.

"If you remember it, it'll help you whenever it's needed. But right now, that's not what you're worried about. Now, you need to learn to have the correct scope on a problem. There is literally nothing you can do if something has happened back in Niwen. That can't be solved. The 'scope' is too big."

Ori flinched as he touched a painful spot. A strange oily green cream was applied, and the place went all tingly.

"Your goal is to go back there after you've gotten strong enough to fight whoever took control of the tree. Therefore, your 'scope' should be things like upgrading weaponry, practicing fights or learning spells from Victa. The faster you solve the little things, the faster the big problem will solve itself. Dividing up a big problem into a bunch of smaller ones is how everyone should see it. It makes them so much easier to comprehend and solve, one at a time... Have I been rambling too much? I can't remember when I started talking."

That cream worked far better than it looked like it should have. There was no pain whatsoever, and it had only been a couple of minutes since it was applied.

"I don't mind, it's calmed me a little. By the way, I'm gonna need some of whatever that was. It's already worked!"

King grabbed a small bottle of it, perhaps begrudgingly, and handed it to them.

"Use it sparingly. I don't have much. But you're welcome to have that bottle. I guess you'll be going, then?"

Ori packed the bottle away quickly and stood up carefully, checking if their leg was okay to put weight on. It wasn't entirely, but the pain was bearable.

"Thank you! And yes. I appreciate all the help you're giving me. I won't let you down!"

Chapter Text

Tired but still determined to squeeze in a touch more productivity into today, Ori slightly limped back into Octans. Food was being made, even though there was still plenty left from the last pot. Nevertheless, it would definitely provide them with much-needed energy.

"We've just put it on, it'll be another hour at least."

...Once it was ready, then.

Luna's distant voice was talking to Fil, who also looked very hungry. Gumo was very bored, hoping for something to do eventually. Once Ori got into the clearing around the fire, everyone noticed them and gave a nice warm greeting.

"What happened this time? You always come back injured." Sol sighed.

"One of the spires broke when I was at the very top. I got very lucky."

A befuddled look came across his face.

"Are you insane? How do you get yourself to do all these dangerous things? It's so easy to get yourself killed!"

"You got stones, man," Quinn chimed in. He was very impressed, especially with Ori's more recent endeavours.

"...Anyway, we do have something for us to drink while this stew brews - Hey, that was a rhyme!"

Quinn retrieved a large cup of sweet liquid.

"It's just a smoothie with the fruit you got us. It should fill you up for a short while."

Ori graciously took the smoothie from Quinn. They glanced over at Gumo, who was intensely staring at the pot. Or the fire. Whichever it was, he was entranced by it.

"How's your lodger doing?"

"Oh, Gumo's super bored. We aren't parents; we have no clue how to entertain this guy. We've done everything we can think of." Fil acknowledged their lengthy attempts to excite this strange creature to some level of success.

"Well, today's his lucky day. I want to take him with me this time. I think it's been too long as well. Probably shouldn't have brought him here, since he doesn't seem to be having too much fun. At least it's safer than Niwen. Maybe."

Gumo hopped up excitedly, flaunting his new weapon readily and pacing impatiently.

"Gumo ready to go! No more bored!"

As Ori was leaving with Gumo, they turned around.

"I was also thinking of taking Shiro. If we come back this way, you may get to see her. Just be aware."

And then, once they were a fair distance from the camp, Quinn rushed over to them.

"Hey, Ori... I haven't told the others yet, but... I'm gonna be checking something out, and I got a bad feeling about it. You ain't seen anyone over by the mossy clearing, right?"

They did. They saw Ali.

"Uh... Maybe don't. I saw a guy over there, and he seemed nice, but he is absolutely not to be trusted. I don't know what he's doing there, but he told me not to tell you about him."

"Dude, I got to. I think he's been watching us. I keep hearing noises behind the bushes in that direction. And I need to prove my worth to these guys! I do next to nothing that helps them and I gotta change that."

"No, let us deal with it. I don't want you risking your life."

"It could be too late once you get there! The sooner I check it out, the better. You gotta trust me, man. Please."

Ori understood that this meant something to Quinn and they wouldn't be able to change his mind. But subconsciously, they knew that they were looking at a dead man walking. There was something Ali was covering up. Likely related to the book. Evil magic. He must still have been practicing it... why else would he be so suspicious? They struggled to lift their hand up and wave goodbye, wanting to try harder to stop him. But it would have been futile anyway. They somehow felt that this would be the last time they saw Quinn. Melancholy, they turned back around and left.

Shiro yelped in surprise as a bell went off in the throne room.

"Who's at the door? And who's polite enough to not just barge in?!"

She ran out to the bridge and peered down. She wasn't surprised to see Ori again, but she had no idea who that other thing was. Interest piqued, she hung off the bridge and rappelled down with a thread of silk.

"Well, hello again, Ori! I don't think it's ever been longer than an hour between visits since this morning. Is this your friend you mentioned?"

She glanced at Gumo, fixated on how weirdly round he was. Only now did Ori question why the Octans never found him weird.

"Yeah... I'm surprised you remembered that I brought him with me. I only mentioned it once when we first met."

"Oh, you know, it was just one thing that really stuck... It was so vague that I needed to know. Well, now I do."

She deflected that comment surprisingly fast. Slightly odd behaviour, but Ori hadn't the faintest idea about what it meant.

"Anyway, this is Gumo. He's a little goofy. The Octans just taught him how to fight, so he's probably a danger to everyone and everything around him. And he once got stuck on his head and had to get someone to roll him over."

"Hey! Gumo tell you not to tell people!" Embarrassed, he indignantly folded his arms in an attempt to look mad instead. Now that Gumo had been introduced, Ori decided to waste no time.

"So, we were going to go to this place east of the Dark Thicket. I don't remember what it was called on the map, if anything, but it looked pretty and blue. I'm sure it'll be worth a look at nighttime. Do you want to come? We might want some extra safety; you told me it's dangerous."

She almost instinctively denied it, but remembered how much fun her last outings with Ori were. Plus, she had never actually been to the eastern half before.

"Yeah, sure! I can protect'cha, mate. I need time to refresh my brain, it's been a while since I warmed it up like that." A stronger accent than normal poked through. Shiro sounded slightly tired, but also had the attitude of a night owl, ready to take on the darkness. Or maybe she'd somehow gotten tipsy and got a confidence boost. Either or.

Making sure to keep on top of whatever time was left, the trio very quickly reached Mount Stella and passed round it.

"So... This area is unnamed? Really?"

Shiro nodded.

"I think it had a name once, but it's long gone. No one lives here, at least not since I came to be. There's got to be a good reason, and that scares me."

Some experience with the biome would be needed to come up with an appropriate name. Basing it just on looks alone could prove deceiving. That experience would be a very interesting one, for sure, as Ori stepped foot inside the new land, at which point all colour immediately faded around them and a thick mist filled the place. Haunting sounds echoed all around them, and spectres occasionally floated across their view before falling back into the fog.

"Uh... Are you seeing this too? This is crazy!"

"...No? What are you o-"

As Shiro stepped in herself, she saw the same spooky effect Ori did.

"How?! This doesn't make sense."

Gumo followed them in last. He definitely saw what was happening, but wasn't particularly frightened, unlike the two Spirits. Warily, everyone ventured deeper into the biome. Ori noticed something about the crystals for a brief moment and they caught their eye. There were tiny, faint engravings on each and every one. They were filled with details about specific people; names, ages, years, some even what happened to them. These were gravestones.

"This is where everyone goes?"

It was a strange feeling to be here. It was unnerving being around so many lost kin, but it was also an eye-opener to see just how many others there had been who had such rich lives. Being here for so little time, Ori had only seen the surface level of what everyone on Nimor was like. Only Fil, King and Shiro had let them through the any of the walls they put up so far and told Ori deeper parts about them. There were so many people they had yet to meet, who could have so many interesting things to say. But not right now. There's too little time as is. It would be too risky to get invested in yet another person's life and take the time to make that one better. After this business was all said and done, perhaps they would come back to help for a while.

"Damn... So much death. I don't really want to take anything from here anymore. That's kinda grave robbing, right?"

The fog stole the sound away, like an anechoic chamber. There was no reverberation, and only sound directly entering everyone's ears was heard. It was very surreal and disjointing, adding to the creepy ghost-filled atmosphere of the place. Shiro hummed in agreement.

"You would make them mad, I think. Best to avoid taking anything unless it's really worth it."

"So... Surely this place must have a name. It seems like it was purposefully made or this was designed to be put here. A project this big can't be unnamed." The confusion of this encounter was amplified by how even Shiro, the ruler of the island, knew nothing of this place. This was a completely blind adventure in an area Ori was told not to visit because of the danger it posed. It was thrilling!

"Well, let's call it something. Henceforth, it shall be known as the Land of the Dead! Don't let its charming colours fool you into entering, or you'll be lost forever, stolen away by the spectres invisibly roaming the sky waiting for the arrival of a living being." Shiro put on a deeper voice and held a chubby stick as if it were a torch shining at her face and she was telling ghost stories. It worked; Ori was now a fraction more unsettled than they were a minute ago.

Carefully navigating through the mass of crystals and reading some of the words etched onto each one, they spotted a small structure that appeared to be a pedestal. It was far back in the graveyard and looked rather important. It took a further minute to reach, and upon setting foot in the ring of slightly ruined stones, an apparition swirled into place in front of the party.

"Oi! These are old stones; you'd better be careful. Plus, they're MY old stones! You don't just get to stand on them like that. I can charge you for property damage for doing something like that!"

The ghost shooed them off the tiled floor and back onto the grass. Shiro did not take too kindly to this event.

"Excuse me, I'm monitoring my land here, thank you very much! And I'll do what I damn well please, 'cause I'm the Princess!"

The sharp reaction from Shiro was not something that anyone else seemed to expect. It was nothing like the shy, reclusive Spirit Ori had met. Perhaps she did have something to drink. Nevermind that, the ghost became extremely agitated due to her remark. It scowled and glared at Shiro.

"You're looking to become just another ghost story if you keep running your mouth like that. And this is not your land, it's ours. I hold control over this graveyard and take care of everyone here. Oh, speaking of, I declare independence! We don't wanna be a part of your stupid island!"

Full of smugness and ego, he spouted all of this meaningless gibberish to an uncaring audience. Shiro glanced at Ori, conveying her thoughts through expression alone. Ori nodded back.

"Sorry, but no. If you want it, then I declare war."

Finally, the ghost stopped arguing. Now it was time to dance. Shiro cast a thread of silk that contorted aggressively at her side. Ori drew the Spirit Edge and brandished it defensively, waiting for a strike. Gumo clumsily held his unwieldy sword, standing well back to hopefully get ignored in the coming fight.

A collection of ghostly figures rushed from all directions into the main guy's extended palm. His form got ever brighter as dozens of souls swarmed into his body. They eventually stopped coming, and he took on a side grin.

"You'll regret toying with Creo."

All of a sudden, his chest burst open, spewing glowing light blue liquid everywhere. It splashed Ori- or, at least it would have if it didn't go straight through them. Many thick tendrils of this ectoplasm thrashed around from Creo's body as he dug his hand into the pit. Finding what he was after, he yanked a mean-looking chain from his abdomen. This was closely followed by a giant metal ball, both of which were adorned with lethal spikes. He slung it around recklessly, ensuring no one got close to him. Suddenly, he lashed out, almost hitting Ori straight on with the wrecking ball. Reflexively, Ori brought their Edge up to attempt to parry, but it didn't impact. Confused, they momentarily hesitated.

"I could have sworn that would have at least hit..." They thought to themself.

They swung hard at the chain holding the ball to its owner, but once again, there was no impact. This time, Ori instead watched as the blade phased straight through the chain and buried itself into the ground. Creo cackled with glee.

"Hah! You can't even do anything! Oh, you're done now!" His voice turned a slightly higher pitch as his excitement grew, awaiting the slaughter that was to come.

"Did you ever test if it can hit me, though?" Ori snidely remarked. Surely, logic would mean that they couldn't be touched by a ghost either. They grabbed at the chain... Nope. They could feel it perfectly fine. A cold chill ran through them from the ghostly material. A whisper ran through their head - a lost memory of one of the souls trapped within this vessel, surely. It was one of a giant transparent box with countless layers of sprawling scaffolds everywhere. The construction of the Glass Palace. Shiro stood glowing brighter than anyone else, and her head feathers were exceptionally beautiful and long. Something must have shortened them slightly over the years. She was admiring the structure, a spark of megalomaniacal desire in her eye. She adored what she saw. At this moment, as the memory vanished from their mind, they understood the purpose of this graveyard. It was a way to learn history. Each of these dead Spirits had something different to say from so many generations. It would just take defeating this 'king' of the ghosts to free them and let this bank of information be used once more.

They were abruptly snapped out of their trance when Creo yanked his ball back. At the same time, there was a very odd *wub* sound behind them, and then the sound of someone hitting the floor. Victa, in fact.

"...Guys! What the heck are you doing? Don't you know you can't hurt ghosts without magic? And Creo, why are you after these three in the first place?!"

Creo answered first.

"Good question. I just wanna murder something. Fun, innit?"

Victa was perhaps not surprised, but clearly wasn't expecting such an answer. He couldn't think of a reply. Turning to Ori, he took a gentle hold of their Edge. Slightly shutting his eyes, his hands methodically moved around the blade and visibly interacted with it, imbuing some kind of spell into it.

"Excuse me, I'm busy antagonizing these chumps here!" Creo interjected. He wanted to do something, but the ball-and-chain was too slow to be of use here.

After a short while, Victa finished.

"Now you can use that. Free of charge, but the spell only lasts about an hour. Right, I'm gettin' outta this dangerous place!"

And with that, Victa vanished into the thin air which he appeared from.

Ori gently tapped their Edge on the ball and chain, and was very pleased to see that they were now able to collide.

"Well, you wanna dance? 'Cause I can dance!"

Ori charged at Creo, and he skittered out of the way, now trying desperately to retrieve his weapon. Slowly reabsorbing the slow, unwieldy hunk of metal into him, he constantly had to fend off an overzealous Spirit who got a new toy to play with. Finally, once he was free to move again, he was already very cut up from the wild slices of his adversary. Plunging his hand into his gut again, he unsheathed a large battleaxe from within himself.

"You're worrying now, ain'tcha?" Ori jeered, watching him brandish the weapon defensively. They would have to be more careful with this axe; it was far more agile than what he had before, which wasn't saying much. In this short break in action, Shiro chimed in.

"You don't want help? There's another two of us here if you need us..."

"That would end the fight too quickly. I want us to at least have a fun fight. And honourable, I suppose."

With that clarified, the fight could go on. Creo approached Ori and swung down at them. They parried violently, sending sparks flying from the colliding metal. A swift counterattack left a gash from the shoulder neatly to the neck. Ectoplasm leaked from the tear and Creo gripped the area. He didn't seem to feel pain. Perhaps ghosts just don't. Ori awaited the next strike, which arrived as a wide sweeping blow at waist height. There was no time to move outwards, only inwards. They were caught by the handle of the axe and thrown around Creo, following his swing. They landed on the ground when they both lost momentum, and they struggled to get their breath back. Once again, they were unable to get clear as Creo raised his axe over his head. It fell towards them, and was met with an almighty clang. Both Ori and Shiro had blocked the incoming hit by their respective magic shielding; the axe had landed on a solid plane of Shiro's silk. Another thing she could do with it which Ori had no idea about.

Her silk then wrapped around his axe, temporarily disarming him. This gave time for Ori to get back on their feet. Still winded though, this would be an uphill battle if it weren't ended quickly. An idea rushed into their mind. They held their Edge up horizontally, aiming to bait out another sweep. Creo, tunnel visioning, didn't see that it was what Ori wanted, and fell for it. They rolled under the axe and through Creo's legs, while a large stone they had picked up moments earlier hit him straight in the forehead. Disoriented, Creo struggled to find his balance before an arm wrapped around his neck and he was brought down to his knees by Ori's weight. A second later, the Edge appeared through his heart. Ori released their chokehold, let Creo look at what had happened for a moment, then ripped the Edge upwards through his entire chest. He exploded into hundreds of little souls which flew in all sorts of different directions. Many headed towards specific gravestones and infused themselves into the crystals, making them glow ever so much brighter. The silence after the kill felt very strange.

"That was brutal! And yet, so genius. I loved it!"

The performance had definitely impressed Shiro. Gumo was polishing a muddy fingerprint off a crystal and had missed the whole finale. He made an oblivious grunt and barely even noticed that Creo was gone.

"Oh! We win? Gumo win!"

Finally.

"Yep, that was entirely you, Gumo. Well done." Ori told a little white lie. Surely even Gumo would know that he didn't actually do anything, but just in case. He wasn't the smartest berry in the bush. Now that the threat seemed to be gone, this place was free to explore. Peering into memories would have to wait. It was something Ori could see themself getting lost in and wasting hours doing. But apart from what they'd already seen, there was very little here. It seemed like there was nothing of substance but this window into the past.

"I can't see anything else here... Wanna come have dinner at Octans? We might find something on the way." Their belly was the one talking now. It had been ages since they last ate, and the last several hours had drained their energy a lot. They figured Shiro would appreciate the food too.

"Sure. I'm hungry myself. Let's go."

And just as they had hoped, right as they were about to leave the graveyard, Shiro spotted something. A fairly large boulder was embedded in the ground. In it was a beautiful, shiny, glowing ability orb; it called to Ori. They needed to take it. The freshly-painted sign read:

"Property of Creo- DO NOT TOUCH"

But... If Creo didn't exist anymore, then why not? There would be no one to stop them from simply taking it.

They placed their foot against the rock it was embedded in and yanked it free- it made a satisfying pop sound as the suction between them gave out. It dissolved into blue light in midair and rapidly flowed into Ori, lifting them up like most Ancestral Trees did. But when it was finished, this one chucked them into the air instead of just dropping them. They flipped over and landed awkwardly on their stomach.

"Oh! Are you okay?" Shiro called, mildly concerned.

"Yeah... I only hurt my pride."

It seemed pretty obvious what this ability would do; they jumped into the air, concentrated a small amount of Light Energy into their legs, and propelled themself further into the sky. Just like the double jumps they had found twice before! This had always been an extremely handy ability, and would surely serve them well in the near future.

"Alright! Now that this trip was worth it... Want to come and have a bite to eat at Octans? It'll definitely be ready by now." Ori let their belly do the talking; at this time, they were getting very hungry, which had previously been covered up by the adrenaline of the fight.

Shiro nodded happily; she was also looking forward to eating something. It had been quite a while since she last did so.

"Excellent! I'd best go warn them."

Chapter Text

Ori rushed ahead of the other two to get to Octans first.

"Hey guys, make sure to be on your best behaviour. Shiro is coming to visit."

The Octans all murmured excitedly among themselves for a moment before getting up and haphazardly 'tidying' everything they could. This consisted of chucking everything into Quinn's house; in less than a minute, the outside was spotless while the house was filled up to waist height in some places with random unneeded stuff. Quinn was gone, likely still checking out that odd thing he noticed. It must have been taking a long time to find.

"So, we've got some pretty standard stew with some nicer ingredients than usual, but there's also some nice fruit juice that we've made up thanks to your generous donation. I don't know what the Princess will think, but hopefully she doesn't hate it." Sol was expectedly nervous and probably thought way too highly of Shiro. At this point, she would be hardly thirty seconds away; no time for anything else.

Ori set up some cups of juice for everyone. The place looked better than it ever had before thanks to the blitz cleanup. After a short wait, Gumo and Shiro arrived. She had a quick look around.

"This seems like a warm place. You must be quite a close-knit group. Very tidy too. Uh... Might I ask, is everything just thrown inside the houses?"

There was an amusing silence amidst the group as they looked knowingly at each other, before Sol muttered,

"...Maybe..."

She chuckled and took a seat.

"It's the thought that counts and I appreciate the effort. What's your name?"

"Sol. I tend to be the group leader, but I don't have much power over everyone else. We just do our own thing."

She took a sip of the drink.

"Ooh, fizzy. How did you do that? It's a very nice flavour, too. Is there a recipe?"

Luna responded.

"No, we just guesstimate and hope it isn't horrible. I can give you rough amounts, and you can tinker with them until it's just right. I'm Luna, by the way."

She drank some more juice.

"Nice to meet you. I'd love to make some of this myself."

She turned to Fil.

"I've heard of you through the grapevine, Fil. You are quite the strongman. You must help the Octans out a lot, right?"

"I'm no more help than a regular-sized Spirit. I can carry a lot of food home, but I have to eat just as much. But I can do certain things they can't, and personally, I don't know what they'd do without me."

Sol made it back into the conversation.

"There's normally another member, Quinn, but he's out at the moment. He's the main cleaner here. If he was around, this place would be shining like a bar of metal."

She finished off her cup.

"Oh, by the way, please don't feel like you have to treat me like I'm above you. I may be a princess, but I don't really want to feel that way anymore."

Sol nodded and was about to make a comment, until he heard a very angry voice coming closer. Ori stood up and peered through the trees to see who it was. They were followed by Shiro. The voice seemed to be berating someone else. It sounded like it belonged to one of the hunters. Sure enough, Akka burst through the treeline, hands above his head. He was followed by Kor, who had a crossbow to his head. Their conversation suddenly became clearer, and they began to listen in.

"...These things! You traitorous scum! If you like them so much, then stay with them, and good luck earning money without me!"

He shoved Akka into their group with the end of the weapon, still pointing at him. Ori had to intervene; staying far away from Akka, they emerged and took a defensive stance. They tried to enter the situation calmly to lower tension.

"Hey, there's no need for this. Lower the weapon."

Stubbornly, Kor did not move his crossbow. Instead, he snapped back with passion.

"Stay out of my business, swine. He has been planning an escape, and betrayal is something I will not stand for! Tell me, little fool, why do you believe I am in the wrong for ousting a betrayer?"

They hid their fear behind them and put on a calm face.

"All these animals you're killing every day. Do you not feel bad? Akka did. There are better ways to earn money. Heck, Octans thrives without money! We just collect what grows out in the wild. You don't need to take others' lives to improve your own."

"I feel nothing for them. Those animals pose no other use to us hunters, so I see no reason not to use them. You don't want to know how many I've enjoyed killing."

He switched targets from Akka to Ori. Shiro was very visibly frightened. Her hand glowed eagerly, ready to defend.

"And you, you're just the stubborn one that won't die. The one that got away. Bet that hole in your arm hurts now, don't it? Don't worry, I won't miss again from this distance!"

He fired a warning shot off to the side. It grazed Ori's hurt arm and put a dent in a building. Shiro's hand darted forward, flashed white and a massive spear was propelled from it. It travelled almost instantly, barely missing Kor and drilling straight through a thick tree and out the other side. She retracted the spike most of the way and aimed it properly at Kor. She was shaking like a leaf, but her hand remained perfectly steady.

"Don't harm any of these innocent people. You don't want to die like this. I've already taken one life today, and I can damn well take another."

Ori also drew their weapons and handed them out to the other spirits. Everyone could fight back.

"Akka, behind. You're his main target."

Kor looked around at everyone, dumbfounded. He wondered to himself how he managed to lose control just like that. Maybe this showed that he was a bad person... Nah. He backed away slowly, then bolted. The group waited for a moment until he was definitely gone, and relaxed. Shiro collapsed back into her seat, staring down with wide eyes and still shaking, very obviously distressed.

"Are you alright?"

She took a deep breath before looking at Ori.

"I will be. Just... Weapons like that terrify me. Kor in general terrifies me. One shot from those things can kill you instantly. They're not weapons, they're tools for murder. And Kor is... Well, he's a psychopath. Do you hear him rambling on about all that violent stuff? He should not own one of those things. Back when I first became princess, I had a meeting with him. He did not move one bit. He just stared at me blankly while I asked questions from my notes. He was probably wondering how to kill me and take the throne."

Ori agreed and looked determinedly out at the Shrubbery.

"I knew he would be an issue. I just hope I don't have to kill him. I see the ability to change in him, but he's just much further gone than Akka, and it'll take more effort than just a talk."

Akka came over to Shiro.

"I don't know if I ever did anything to you directly, but if I did, then I'm sorry. And sorry for indirectly affecting you by claiming so much of your land. I had no other choice when I joined him hunting. Now that I could escape him, I guess I took my chance. I'm not asking for forgiveness; I don't want it anyway. I just want you not to hate me. I'm not who I was anymore."

She looked up at him from her seat. His eyes looked genuinely, undeniably sorry. She put her head down to think for a moment. She turned back to Akka.

"I'm forgiving you anyway. As long as you are who you say you are now."

She saw the instant relief flood his body and the smile that filled his face. She smiled back. It was all he needed to hear from her.

Chapter Text

Grom watched in sheer joy as the pinkish slime in a miniature clay bowl turned into blackish tar.

"Yes! The first step!" He cried out in glee. He had found a way to destroy the Decay artificially.

Kiri was unfortunately not with him to witness this; he was preoccupied with his own mission. Away from the others, he looked up at the cliff face enclosing the Wellspring. His eyes were locked on to a faintly shining object high up in the rock. He wanted to get it and probably make it into some kind of jewelry. But... The cliff looked so crumbly and dangerous. Ah, what's life without a couple of risks?

Kiri laid his hands on the clumpy dirt and made his ascent. He looked around; no responsible adults to stop him from having fun. Inch by inch, he sheepishly clambered up, occasionally losing his footing as a piece of the cliff fell beneath him. Moments away from grabbing the object, however, multiple pieces broke away and Kiri stumbled backwards, falling at least two storeys onto his back. Chunks of dirt impacted the surrounding ground. Thankfully, though, he didn't pull down the entire cliff on top of him. And it almost went unnoticed, but his fall also dislodged the piece trapping the glowing object. It floated slowly downwards... Something light. Once it was closer, Kiri saw that it was an extremely tattered feather. It swayed and darted in the gentle breeze, and he followed it closely, not wanting to lose sight of it. But then, something else caught his eye. A pretty moth fluttered by and landed on the feather as it dropped to the floor. Kiri almost chose to shoo it away to get their feather, until they saw it begin to glow very brightly. Backing away slowly, they watched as the feather disintegrated into a ball of light, and then collapsed in on itself, leaving behind an unconscious, weak little Spirit. As the light subsided, a mysterious growth on its back appeared, and very quickly, it split in two and spread outwards, forming two beautiful wings. The newborn Spirit stirred. Kiri came back and crouched down, and it opened its eyes, looked up and saw him.

"...H-Hello?" She sounded very weak and probably easy to accidentally scare.

"Hi. You are in good hands; don't worry. Do you have a name?"

"...No. What's yours?" She was already more confident, though still immobile on the floor.

"I'm Kiri. You seem a little weak. Do you want to come with me, so I can get you to a safer spot?"

She nodded feebly. Kiri noted that she wouldn't be able to walk, so he turned around and guided her hands to his shoulders. He then hoisted her up on his back and stood up. She was a lot smaller than him, and far lighter. As they walked, she wrapped her wings around him for extra balance.

"Thanks for getting me down, Kiri. I was up there for five years..."

He visibly reacted to this.

"Five years?! Most of us aren't even close to a year old!"

"The round guy said I was the first feather to ever fall from the tree. He seemed so sad that he lost me up there."

"Oh, Gumo? He's a fun guy. He is out somewhere saving the island with dad. They'll be back soon."

They walked in silence for a bit, the sounds of Spirits and Moki playing a little bit in the background. They weren't that far away.

"I will take you to Opher. He probably knows the most about caring for the likes of us. We can meet more Spirits soon. I have a couple of friends, I suppose. One of them is older; they may be able to help you too."

They both headed into the Wellspring. Walking past Grom's makeshift laboratory, Kiri saw him gesture at him.

"One moment, there is something more important going on..." He called back into the room, letting Grom see the Spirit on his back. He understood and they moved along.

"Opher?" Called Kiri, with a slight swirl in his voice.

"...Yes? Is there news about anything important?"

Kiri entered Opher's room where he was perched on top of a ramshackle rocking chair and a footrest made of raw clay. His face lit up in surprise to see that not only was there a new Spirit, it also had wings!

"My... Where did you come from? You look so... Fragile." His line came out in a half-whisper of awe.

"I was that feather that we lost a long time ago. Kiri got me down."

She let herself down from Kiri's back but didn't have the strength to stand steadily on her own. Kiri held her up. 

"Five years in the elements does a lot of damage. I'm very lucky to even be here."

She clumsily attempted to fold her wings up and made a complete mess of it. No strength for that, either.

"I suppose Kiri brought you here for me to help you get better... Are you hungry?" Opher didn't exactly know what to do with a Spirit who couldn't at least somewhat care for itself, but had a rough idea.

"Yes! I smelled food on the way in here, and I could see what the cooking guy makes. What was his name? I could never hear it from up there."

"Veral. He's a master at his craft; nearly twenty years of cooking for us and let's hope for some more to come. Speaking of names, what's yours?"

"I don't have one... But I was thinking about it on the way. I kind of like Eris. It feels magical."

The name suited her very well. There was something about her that definitely fit the name Eris. She smiled.

"I like it! I'm glad I experienced this; it's definitely going to change my life." Kiri's mind was growing in three different directions at once now. He took an analytical view on things from his science crash course with Grom, an attempt at a funny character to entertain and calm Grok, and now he felt the pull to help care for Eris and get her standing on her own two feet. This felt a little bit overwhelming, but Kiri understood that he could handle it. This was for Ori.

"Do you want to take Eris to see Veral and get her something to eat, Opher? Grom wants me right now." He carefully handed Eris over to Opher, who picked her up and held her comfortably with one arm.

"Sure. You're a good man, Kiri. Thanks for all your help so far."

Eris delightfully waved goodbye as she was carried out of the room, and Kiri was left alone for a moment. He had already done his thinking while the others were still there, so he left as well to see what Grom wanted.

Chapter Text

Ori's nerves were still jangled. Tensions were high with the group, and they all knew that something had to be done quickly. Kor was far too dangerous to be left in the dark; the next encounter with him would surely leave someone dead. He needed to be brought forth into the light, one way or another.

Ori rose, and looked around at their friends.

"I know what we're thinking. Kor is just going to kill someone if we let him be. I'm going to fix that. If I return, he will no longer be a threat, be it dead or alive. I hope to see you again soon."

They vanished into the forest, leaving a silent crowd behind them. Moving swiftly, they darted in between the trees looking for any signs of Kor's angry trampling. They entered the domain of the Hunters; the air turned silent aside from their own footsteps and the faint rustling of the leaves from a frail wind coming from the sea. Still, no sign of their quarry. Going silently now, they hid behind the abundant bushes this place had to offer. They felt they were nearing their target. A few moments passed. They ducked behind a tree.

THUD.

A bolt struck the tree they were in front of, jolting any semblance of confidence out of their system. Their ears twitched in fright, and they poked their head around the tree. Ori spotted Kor. They dashed across the path just as a second bolt was fired. Not even a second since the first one? But how? Ori took the moment to look at what Kor was doing, and he was dual wielding them. He had to drop one to reload though, and that bought Ori all the time they needed to prepare themself.

"You don't want to be out there alone. Come and join us; you'll have a much happier life in Octans."

Ori knew this would just wind Kor up further. They kind of wanted that. Killing him would be preferred.

"Alright, that's it! You're done!" He yelled. That was the final straw. There would be no backing away from this now. In a rage, he struggled with his crossbow and barely managed to get the string back in position. He loaded another bolt.

"You're alone this time. An easy target!"

Kor's hands trembled with adrenaline. He couldn't stabilise the crossbow.

"Yes, I am alone."

Ori cast a shield in front of themself and walked slowly toward Kor with it up.

"Come and get me, Kor."

The crossbow fired. The bolt hit the shield, cracking it badly. If it had not been there, that bolt would have been directly at Ori's head. They disposed of the shield now that no more bolts were loaded. Still, they remained completely unarmed. This perceived calmness intimidated Kor to no end. How was he supposed to deal with this? Wait...

Ori saw him reach behind his back and draw the meanest looking rusty machete they had ever seen. Larger and heavier than his other one, it made Kor a lot more threatening. He must have got it today. They drew their own weapon. The axe was the biggest one Ori owned, and it looked lethal to someone the size of Kor. 

But they can't have had it long, he thought. They probably don't know how to use it properly.

Nervous, Kor initiated the fight. He swung his weapon at their neck and barely missed as Ori stepped back from it, with no counter to the attack. Instead, Ori stood by feigning calmness and being patient, waiting for an opening. Another swing at them; they caught it with the hook on their axe and tried to twist the weapon awkwardly, to no avail. They made a half-hearted swing at him and made a small cut in his arm.

"Come on, I was hardly even trying with that one and it still got you. Have our last fights taught you nothing?"

Kor bristled and had to think of a retort.

"Well, show me what trying is like, then! I can take you."

...Okay, then. Ori waited in a deadlock with Kor for several seconds, staring intensely into his fearful eyes. Then, in the blink of an eye, they had dropped their axe and got right up close with the Edge, slicing wildly at his defenseless arms. In between some hits, they dashed straight into him and knocked him backwards. Breaking away, they gave Kor time to respond. In the time it took for him to actually do something, they were able to pick up the axe again and swing it straight at the incoming blade that he swung and sending millions of sparks flying in a mighty clang! Kor's hand stung as the damaged weapon in his hand vibrated harshly, impairing his movement. 

"Isn't it fun how we could both easily kill each other right now? I could dance with you all day! Keep up!"

Ori pranced around the disgruntled hunter, giggling maniacally to gnaw away at his hope. Out of nowhere though, an elbow hit them in the stomach and they stumbled back. Kor stabbed forwards with his blade and Ori had to roll backwards to avoid being gutted like a fish. It didn't go very well as they never really rolled backwards before. That ruse was up... Or was it? Maybe they could keep bringing him down.

"Uh... I think I'll go now!"

Ori hopped up onto a tree and started jumping between them, heading towards the Rooted Gardens. Soon after, they began hearing crossbow bolts zipping past them and occasionally hitting trees around them. Ori didn't want to lose Kor, so they purposefully moved far slower than they could. Until now. They popped up into the canopy for a moment, leaving them undetectable. Then they dropped, directly over Kor, stomping down right beside him. He was sent onto his back but recovered fairly fast, carefully holding his weapon with his heavily damaged arms. A lot of light was leaking from the wounds, all converted from blood.

Time to really end this, Ori thought. They drew the Smasher. The only way Kor would stop fighting is if he no longer could. They raised the giant hammer and swung down as hard as they could. The hit birthed a loud splintering sound as it hit Kor's sword, shattering the upper two thirds of the blade and burying the hammer slightly into the ground. Kor looked in horror at how easily he had been undone. Maybe there was something else he could do? Was all this worth the money? Maybe Ori was right...

"I'm not gonna play with you anymore; this next one will be for you!"

They raised again.

"Wait! Please! I'm sorry."

They lowered the weapon. Finally.

"I'll join you if you let me live... But... I don't know if I can face seeing Akka again. I did many things I'm not proud of to him."

"Good. So, you understand that you didn't want to die. Just like everything you've killed in the past. While their lives may not have been as interesting as those of you and me, they still didn't want to lose them. Are you willing to put that behind you?"

Ori reached out their hand.

"Yes... I just don't understand though. Why did you never kill me or Akka? We were nothing but bad guys to you."

Kor sheepishly accepted the hand.

"Thing is, when we first fought, I was aiming to kill. You took Gumo and were going to kill him. But then, I learned a bit more about you. I began to understand you. You were unable to find a way to earn money, so you resorted to doing this. It wasn't exactly your fault, and I knew that you could potentially change. That's why I never really tried to attack you after that. Alright, come with me. I'm sure everything will be alright."

There was something about Kor's eyes now. They had faded and weren't glowing anymore. It was only now that Ori recalled they had lit up slightly in past encounters. Kuro's eyes had glowed a bright white when under the influence of the Decay. Kor was probably being infected with a small amount of Decay! Something they did must have cured him.

"Huh. I suddenly feel a little better. My mind's cleared up a lot. I think I can handle talking to Akka now."

Hopefully Kor remained true to his word. Ori trusted him a lot less than Akka.

Chapter Text

Ori walked into the camp side by side with Kor. They were smiling; he was not. Most people watched Kor with distrust, especially Akka.

Still worried about how this interaction would go, he chose to get it over with straight away.

"Hello. I don't really know what to say, except... I'm sorry. To all of you. Over the years, I've caused unknowable torment and suffering to the members of Octans and countless others with what I did. I believed it to be the only way I could live. I kidded myself into thinking it wasn't my fault. I was wrong."

The Octans looked at each other, still very skeptical of this person who had killed so many. Why should they listen to him?

"It took something... really, really major for me to snap out of this echo chamber that this was all okay. Akka was far more sensible than me and ran to the other side earlier. I am not proud of what I've done in the slightest. All that I can say is that my time of killing things is done. So... I would appreciate any forgiveness you may have for me... It would help me feel a bit better about the things I did."

That last sentence sparked numerous different reactions. Forgiveness? For this monster?

Akka was the first to answer.

"You and I, we go way back. We've been friends for years, and as much as I'd like to hate you for what you did and who you were, I can't bring myself to turn my back. You're my brother! You're welcome to stay with me, if nothing else."

Well, at least he still had his friend.

This positive response encouraged further thought, possibly swaying the answers of others. Luna was the second to chime in, and the first on the opposing side of this whole conflict.

"I don't know if I'm being too trusting, but I don't think you're really a bad person. I was around when you were trying to get an honest job. I remember you and Akka struggling so hard, and then you both disappeared. You tried for so long and eventually gave in to this life. I can't say I forgive either you or Akka, but I don't think you're harmful to us anymore. I would welcome you to stay here with Akka, but I don't know about it being permanent."

This mixed answer seemed to be very similar to what Ori thought about this. Kor was not innocent, and he should be treated as such. 

Others seemed to keep to themselves. Perhaps they objected to him being here, maybe as well as Akka. But this was never vocalized, probably out of fear.

By the Fen sat a translucent apparition. It crept around the perimeter, brooding and seemingly waiting for something. At a moment's notice, the boggy ground began shifting. Tufts of grass grew sharp and reddish, while the soil broiled and turned over itself, quickly turning to a murky slurry releasing tendrils of scarlet gas. The grass further grew and morphed into giant clumps of spines and many more of them erupted from the ground. The entire Fen was instantly alive. But why?

"Oh, dear. I guess we weren't powerful enough to keep all this island safe. I wonder why?!" Sapphire sounded scornful, watching this fresh horror unfold from a safe distance. She still sought revenge on Shiro for her actions. It seemed like her death had sparked a significant weakening in the already dying Spirit Tree, and it was no longer able to keep some of the extremities of Nimor within the Light. Sapphire chuckled with glee at the sight of the destruction.

"Let it burn."

She dissipated and vanished as the Fen writhed in anguish behind her.

Residents of the Indigo Rockpools instantly saw that something was up. Victa sensed the Decay in the air and was first to realize what was wrong. He ran from the other end of town to get a closer look.

"No... The entire Fen?" He whispered in shock. There wasn't much more that he could think of saying. Panicking a little about the situation that had suddenly arisen, he got as close as possible to see where the Decay had spread. If it wasn't affecting the rocky material, they had enough time to react properly. And it was not... Yet. All the Decay was still staying within the soil. But seeing as the ground here was mostly coral, not rock, it was still an organic material and would be infected eventually. Victa got control over his nerves and decided to be a leader today.

"Guys, danger is fast approaching! We need to move somewhere safer! Grab your stuff and get closer to the Tree; the Decay is here!"

As calm as he was, this erupted into a large-scale panic, with people rushing way more than necessary to scoop up everything important.

The end of an era had begun once again. The island of Nimor was on a timer.

Chapter Text

Destruction raged on in Niwen. In the days since he took control, Atto had razed countless landmarks from the island. The Wellspring Glasses were no more. Howl's Den was flooded with pure liquid Decay. The Windswept Wastes were lashed by winds twice as strong as they had ever experienced before, wiping most of the few remaining ruins out. It was pure chaos. And Seir was stuck in the prison right on top of the tree where it had all come from. Watching Niwen fall in days, before its very eyes, was too much. It had to try and do something about this; it was torture. This would not stand. Seir gathered what little strength it had, and let it all out in one blast. Light shrieked through the air like a shockwave, sterilizing the surrounding area of the Decay.

Kiri was watching over Eris when this happened. They were up high on the Wellspring, showing her the sights. Suddenly, the blast of light hit them both, and they were blinded in awe of the sheer power of Seir. One Spirit reacted a little differently to the light; Eris seemed to draw it from the air as it came at her, and any that wasn't immediately captured circled around her like an accretion disc. As the light from the explosion dissipated and the last of it was absorbed, Eris' eyes opened, and they were sparkling like stars, born anew.

"...What was that?" She asked. Her voice was stronger.

"It came from Seir... Did it die?"

No, it didn't. But it was not free of torment. Atto had wrapped it up further in vines of Decay, keeping it powerless and caged. There was no way out now. It had no more energy to fight back.

Eris stood up. She was completely stable. Her wings felt natural now and everything about her felt lighter.

"I think the Light did something to me! I feel great!"

And it was true. Eris was clearly far stronger now, having been given the Light she needed to repair her damaged body. Now, she was capable of anything a normal Spirit could do. Well, a young one, anyway.

"Maybe I'll get to use my wings soon. And I can take you on adventures!"

Twilight was a strange time to be picking flowers. Ori was doing so anyway. They gathered enough that it would take both hands to fully hold before heading to the Glass Palace. It had been about ten minutes since the chaos and Shiro had gone home. There was a purpose behind what they were doing here, though perhaps an unusual one.

As they climbed the tower yet again, they noticed that the place looked a fair bit tidier and that the engineering room seemed like it had seen a whole lot more use as of late. Now at the top of the final set of stairs, Shiro saw them.

"Back so soon? Is there something you forgot?"

She was certainly surprised to see them up here again. A strange thought crossed her mind that she quickly shelved, telling herself it meant nothing.

"Well, not that I forgot. But something I never felt I needed to do until now."

Now she was curious. What did they mean?

"Long story short, I don't know how much longer I can spend here; I'm getting a lot more worried about everyone at home. So, in case I never see you after today..."

They revealed the bunch of flowers. In the light, they saw a few less pretty ones. But that's exactly why you don't pick flowers in the dark.

"As thanks for how much you've helped me so far. If I succeed in my mission, then I know I wouldn't have without you. You'll have lent a huge hand in saving Niwen. If you can't be proud of anything else, you can be proud of that."

She took the flowers in stunned silence. She uttered a slightly choked "Thank you" as she looked at the slightly haggard bouquet.

"But... As much as I want to, I can't keep them here. I've tried keeping plants before, but the sun just wilts them within a day in this giant magnifying glass. I could put these on the bridge, but the wind is strong up here. It'd blow them all away."

She was right. Ori was slightly disheartened, but they knew Shiro appreciated them very much.

"Should I just get rid of them?"

She suddenly had an idea.

"Absolutely not. I've just thought of a place for them. Follow me."

They both left the Palace. Nearby, there was a special tree. The tree Shiro had dedicated to Sapphire. She laid them all out at the base of the tree.

"Well, it's something. I guess."

A quick moment of silence was spent looking at the tree. Shiro remembered the moment all too well. That would probably never fade.

"Uh, Shiro..."

She snapped out of her trance and turned to Ori. But she noticed something in the corner of her vision that they were subtly but insistently gesturing to. She turned to it and screeched, falling backwards. Sapphire was stood right there, watching Shiro from behind. She did not look happy.

"Typical."

She was confused. What? What does Sapphire want with her?

"You didn't even try, did you? What did you think would happen by putting those things there? That I'd magically stop hating you? This is real life, not a utopia where everything's grand. And you didn't even pick those! They mean literally nothing to me!"

Shiro was hurt, but recognized that Sapphire made valid points. Still, it seemed a little bit backwards that this attempt at calming the storm between them had made her even more hateful. She was trying!

"Anyway, let's set the record straight. Shiro, I hate your guts and would very much appreciate it if you were to keel over and die right in front of me. It'd make things easier for me. And just 'cause I'm dead myself doesn't mean I'm gonna stop wanting to kill you. Ori, I've got nothing personal against you. You helped me out of the Crags. But... You're certainly not in my good books. You're working with this traitor!"

An uneasy feeling settled over the group. Ori was placed in a difficult spot; Sapphire would have been a good ally had she not been so reckless about Shiro. However, she never would have been a friend. The choice was easy.

"Well, I guess I'll make things easy for you. Your actions have disgusted me since we met. I don't have a nice thing to say about you."

They drew the Edge and brandished it at her, a very real threat.

"I think I'd be better off if we were enemies. Leave, before I make you."

Recognizing that the Edge was still imbued with Victa's spell and could hurt her a lot, she backed away.

"Then that's fine by me. I'll be watching."

She vanished as she turned around. She knew what she was doing, intentionally trying to be intimidating in the face of such danger. Ori didn't fall for it. Though, there could be things that they didn't know going on for Sapphire. The extent of her power was unknown, and this was a scary prospect. There was a short awkward silence as the pair proceeded what just happened.

"I feel like there's some kind of lesson to be learned here, but I don't know what." Shiro seemed mostly unfazed still. Why? Was she normally treated like this by Sapphire?

"I don't know either. Trust, maybe? It's certainly been tested recently, and I'm starting to think I should be more wary of new people. Sapphire definitely taught me that lesson right here."

Something certainly had to change. This attitude of "everyone's nice until proven otherwise" could prove very dangerous eventually.

Chapter Text

Quinn snuck through the Thicket towards the noises. An empty silence filled the air, like his target knew he was there. But what was his target? Who was his target? He was nervous to find out... Especially after what Ori had said.

Ali hid away behind a ruined house. Should he attempt to escape and find a new place to hide? Or make himself known to whoever was there and risk the consequences?

He chose the latter. Stepping out into the open, he felt ready for whatever was going to appear.

Sneaking through the bushes, a hunter in the night, Quinn encroached upon his destination. Strangely, he saw some houses... Ruined. And they looked very similar to Octans' own buildings. Suspicious. These weren't the "been here for millennia" kind of ruined, these were "shoddy construction" kind of ruined. The kind that just fell apart quite quickly. Someone stood in the center of the little area; someone recognizable. Oh...

"Ali! What are you doing here?"

Brief silence. Ali spotted Quinn as he was entering the village.

"I was... Uh, I live here now."

"You were exiled from this island years ago, Ali. You weren't welcome after the whole dark arts thing."

Ali fidgeted uncomfortably. He could see the direction this was headed in. 

"I didn't... Want to leave. I like this place too much. I haven't caused you trouble, have I?"

He could feel his good excuses slip through his fingers.

"Look! What's that weird cylinder over there?! That's for dark magic! You haven't changed one bit. I don't wanna hear it from you."

The evidence Quinn found was rapidly stacking up against him and any rational measures would soon be flying out of the window.

"You're trying my patience. Leave me alone, Quinn. I don't want to have to escalate this."

That was the event horizon. No turning back after this. 

"Okay, let's simplify this exchange. Leave Nimor, or I will kill you. Understandable now?"

Ali nodded, thinking hard about his next move. Eventually, he came to a conclusion and gave in.

"Fine. I'll go. I'd have hoped I'd get some sympathy..."

Quinn acknowledged his response.

"I'm glad we resolved this sort of peacefully. I just wish we could have still been friends."

He turned back towards home. As he was about to take his first step, he felt a searing pain slash all the way along his back. He yelped out in pain as he turned, and Ali's knife plunged into his side too, while he stumbled backwards and fell to the floor. As fast as it started, the fight was over and Quinn vanished into a cloud of light, his dying scream cut off halfway through.

Ali stood there, unsure of what he had just done. Was it good? Was it bad? But before he thought about it further, he grabbed a shiny object from the floor. Quinn's soul. It was a fairly small thing, no larger than a blueberry. It seemed to remain intact, though it was cracking fast with the absence of a host. Ali rushed it to a special jar where it seemed to be held in a kind of stasis, preserved until whatever sick need Ali wanted it for. But now, the rest of the Octans will realize Quinn is never coming home. They'll get worried, and they'll come back here and find him. There was no escaping now, and seemingly nothing good came out of what the future held for him. Many scenarios were wandering through his head right now; does he kill more? Does he run away from this hideout? Maybe just try to blag his way out of this? That soul may prove useful to Ali in whatever he may have planned for the future.

"...This was Ori's fault. They killed Velara, so now no one's scared of coming down here! They blew my cover, anyway! Could I? ...Maybe I could..."

Chapter Text

Just as the pair were about to separate, Akka burst through the night.

"Yes! You're here. There's an emergency; we need biiig help! Come to the Fen quickly!"

Looking to help their new friends, Ori and Shiro followed not far behind as he led them to the natural disaster scene that had befallen their homes.

"Me and Kor were just heading over to collect our bedding, but... It looks like the Decay has come for us. Is there anything either of you can do to get any of us across to that building there?"

Surrounded by a sea of boiling Decay and floating planks, Ori could see that there was no chance the Hunters could make it there. Perhaps they could get there for them, though. The pathway planks looked unstable but not unnavigable; with some careful jumping, they could surely get there and back.

Then, that happy, jolly voice made its return once more. In the face of such danger at his doorstep, Victa still seemed completely carefree. Though, he did sound as if he was complaining about this place.

"-Oh, hi guys! Man, what a mess! I don't know how all this happened so fast..."

Ori felt they knew what caused that. A while back, when Sapphire was killed, the Spirit Tree made a nasty noise. Perhaps the death of an important Spirit had weakened the tree. It couldn't light the island any longer. The Tree shouldn't be doing this yet, though... It was only a few hundred years old.

"I think this happened when Sapphire died. There was something about her. And now, these guys can't grab their stuff."

Victa silently observed the situation. He also saw the treacherous pathway over to the house. After some pondering, he failed to come up with any better solution.

"I'm sorry, I can only do so much. I'd teleport in there, but I could very easily miss and fall in the decay. It's not worth risking my life to do something Ori can do better. I might be able to keep them from falling themself, though."

Well, that meant this was the only way. Ori nodded to Victa to thank him for at least trying, and they warily hopped to the first plank. It slid under their feet and unbalanced them, but a quick double-jump sent them back upright. Okay, lesson learned. Land on the planks vertically or they will move. They delicately jumped over to the second plank and used their double jump to control speed. More confident now, they leaped into the air and dashed to skip several stepping stones, and landed very close to the house. One more dash landed then on the beautiful, sturdy floor of the porch. They entered the house and started looking around. What would the Hunters need the most? First, they climbed the stairs and grabbed all the bedding. But this was super heavy and encumbering for a Light Spirit; they couldn't take this with them. How could they get this back over? An idea came to mind. Ori bound the stuff together as tightly as possible, and it resulted in a ball that was a lot denser than the original bedding. Then, they heaved it outside. Looking at the distance they needed to cover, the plan seemed doable. They picked up the ball and threw it in the air. As it came down, they leaped up and bashed it, sending it towards dry land. But, as Ori landed, they saw it wasn't going to make it. At a moment's notice, they once again jumped from the porch, this time over seething liquid Decay, to hit the ball once more. Now 30 feet from any land, Ori cleared the distance between them and the ball. They bashed it again, this time with certainty that it would make it over, and were sent flying back towards the porch again. A chained double jump and dash just barely got them back, and the ball of bed linen had made it safely over. What next? They had a few pieces of clothing. These needed to be sent over separately with something heavy, since even when all bundled together, they would be too light and the wind would sink them. The idea came to wrap them all around the supply of crossbows stashed here. 

After a short time, every item of clothing was wrapped around something fairly heavy. Ori ferried these bundles outside and did the same trick for each one. They were easier to shift and made it all the way over with just one bash. The others worked on taking these bundles apart while Ori did a final check over the house for anything useful that wasn't too heavy or fragile to send over. Unfortunately, nothing was left and they had to make their return. But how about some flair? Ori pulled an old plank out of the muddy sea, and climbed up to the roof of the house. Again, the distance seemed suitable for their trick. They jumped as far as they could, dashed and double jumped. Hardly a third of the way across the hungry mass below them, they let go of the plank and bashed from it, sending them flying forwards further. This also let them dash again, and one more midair jump barely landed them in the safety of the ground. They dusted themself off, feeling awfully smug about what they had just pulled off.

"That's everything I could get. There's a lot more in there, though... We would need a much stronger pathway so that we could carry everything over."

Despite so little being recovered, the ex-Hunters were extremely thankful of the help Ori had given them both. They grabbed most of the stuff and headed back 'home' to Octans. But, they left the crossbows there with disgust. It seemed like this was a clear sign that they had actually left this old life behind. Now, this was the first time Ori really got to take a look at these crossbows. They looked... Very sleek, with perfectly shaped parts made with so many unknown materials. Not wood, clay or metal, these were extremely confusing devices. The logo... An orange and cyan mark reading "RenTech" was placed on both sides of the main body, and this colour palette was carried forth into the rest of the weapon as accents over a black and silvery base colour. There was only space for a single bolt, so others needed to be stored and loaded manually. The string also needed to be pulled back by hand, so despite the high grade materials used, it was still a poor weapon. But what did Ori know? Perhaps those things were way too hard to add. Or maybe whoever made these sold the Hunters their worst weaponry? Perhaps there was an easy way to find out.

"Shiro, do you know anything about RenTech? These things are confusing."

There was a long pause. Victa had also disappeared a while ago. It was just the two of them again.

"Well... That's a loaded question. It would take a while to explain everything I know about this."

Apparently, the question was quite awkward and Shiro was hesitant to answer, or at least go into detail.

"Can I just get a basic rundown then?" They asked, hoping for just a little explanation.

"Fine. You know the human Ren. Well, he's been around a while - two thousand years, and he remained on this planet after surviving a big cosmic war. He's the only human left here that I know of. Anyway, fast-forward those two thousand years, and he's built a city on an island where he produces so many different things. I believe he sold these crossbows to the Hunters a little after I came into power. I struck a deal with him to help me construct the Glass Palace. After it was done, he started doing unsavoury things with his machines and whatnot, so we drove him out. RenTech is the name of his company."

So, this human was someone to potentially worry about. 2000 years of wisdom behind him, high tensions with Nimor and an advanced factory that can produce weapons far more powerful than Ori had ever witnessed. Well... Apart from Shriek, perhaps. There was some doubt that Ren could beat that laser. 

"Thanks. That's a lot more to think about. Well, see you soon. I know you've got work to do, and all I've been doing is distracting you over and over."

As Ori turned to go home, Shiro grabbed their shoulder.

"Wait, I've just had a thought."

Chapter Text

Somewhere on the north face of Mount Stella, Ori and Shiro stood on a strangely flat plateau in front of a giant stone door. This must be what she meant. Shiro held a large, threaded, stony object that looked like a very large screw.

"I was gifted this artifact long ago, and thought that it might match up with this door. I don't know what's in here, but it may be useful to you. I'm also sort of curious myself. Let's try it!"

She pushed the object into the gap, and it began screwing itself in, following the threading. As it clicked into place, a small dust cloud was kicked up from the two halves of the door when it split apart and opened inwards. The door revealed a large, open hall with very little inside. The floor had a small amount of red and gold carpet, and the whole place seemed to be made of a brownish orange stone that sounded and looked fairly weak. Many orderly pillars with stunning masonry at their caps held up a comparatively plain roof made of slightly darker rock tiles. Aside from their echoes of little hoof taps, the place was eerily silent. The air was musty and gross to breathe in.

"This place feels so old and yet still new. Why has nothing collapsed or broken?"

Ori's words returned to them several times before finally dissipating.

"I don't know... Could it be the preserving magic of the Spirit Tree? All I know about the place is that it was constructed when the humans were still here, so it's absolutely ancient."

Well, it was certainly an oddity, but if this wasn't the case, then neither of them would be here and the place would have collapsed a millennium ago. In any case, they continued to the doorway at the end where they were presented with a large staircase. Still admiring the architecture, they descended. In many alcoves between more pillars, there was a single pot. They were quite large, and they seemed very tempting. Ori didn't want to just smash them like a barbarian, however, and just opted to gently tip it and peer inside.

Nothing..?

Suddenly, the pot exploded, and several whitish figures rushed away, cackling manically. One remained in view; the rest vanished into the walls. 

"Dammit, Ori. I thought we'd had enough of waking the dead after Creo."

Shiro lanced the creature as it charged at them, but it only seemed to temporarily damage it. It simply reformed and backed off.

"Seems like stabbing isn't an option. My silk isn't exactly sharp... Mind if I borrow a weapon?"

Ori nodded and handed over the Edge while keeping an eye on the thing that attacked them. They took out the axe for themself.

"Hang on... Where did the other ones-"

Two more phantoms burst through the wall and collided with Ori, knocking them down a couple flights worth of stairs. Just about stabilizing themself, they got back up with a sore everything and casually grabbed the axe that came bouncing down after them. Shiro came running down to stick with them and sliced a phantom out of the sky with her gifted weapon. It actually died this time, which was excellent.

"You're meant to walk down stairs, not roll."

Ori rolled their eyes. Only their eyes, and not the rest of their body too. The fight continued. Three phantoms remained; another one had appeared while the rest was going on. Ori took one down with an axe, but Shiro was hit in the back while guarding them. She stumbled, but used her silk to catch herself before she could fall. At the same moment, she trapped that phantom in a silken sphere as she caught it in her peripheral vision, then rapidly shrunk it so that it cut the thing apart. It tried to reform and was promptly denied with a flick from the Edge. The last one was disposed of with style; as it attacked Ori, they grabbed their giant hammer and took a golf swing at it, disintegrating it.

"Alright, don't mess with the pots. Got it!"

It felt oddly quiet now that the mischievous noises of the flying things were gone. Ahead, strange sounds were heard. Whirs, clanking, steam venting, all sorts. Seems like whoever left this place last kept all the traps up and running. Was this place to protect something?

They both entered the next room at the same time. It was a large cylindrical cavern filled to the brim with moving components, traps and obstacles. The floor was a few feet below, and consisted of needle-sharp rusted spikes and... Skeletons?

"Wow... They just left these guys here? No wonder they found it so easy to kill us off. Humans don't even care about each other!"

...

Ori didn't want to believe it. But seeing these here... Not even one of the other humans had tried to recover these poor souls. No reverence or compassion. These were bad creatures. Ori had wanted to respect them for their ingenuity, but this lack of action from two millennia ago was pushing them in the opposite direction.

"Man... I hope I'm wrong about these humans. But they just seem like jerks from what I've heard!"

Shiro nodded in agreement.

"I've never heard of a good-natured human before either. That being said, I only really know of two or maybe three."

The conversation simmered down, and they were now faced with this room. 

"This looks difficult. Any ideas?"

Shiro paused to think.

"I know I can get up there... But you would need to be reeeallly good at holding on. It may be too risky. I could probably grapple all the way up there and get into the door without any of this moving junk."

It did seem like a big danger for a bit of saved time. But there was a way this could work safely.

"You could probably use more silk to secure me in place. Just make me a harness and take me with you."

The plan was set in stone. Shiro got to work weaving several straps and ropes around Ori, making sure everything was tight. Once they were secure, she tethered the harness to her arm and hooked the ceiling way up there. Feeling ready, she retracted the line. Three seconds passed, and she was all the way up. Ori dangled awkwardly below, eyeing up the door as they rotated around the rope. It seemed very annoyingly placed and heavily protected by all sorts of tricks and traps.

"You can make it from here. I don't know if I can trust myself, looking at all that... I'll climb down and wait at the bottom."

There was very little to grab onto and lots of moving parts that could mess her silk up and cause her to fall. It was definitely dangerous for her to attempt to continue. She swung Ori and built up momentum, before letting them go towards the door and dissipating the harness. Ori dashed and reached the spinning floor. They slipped and fell hard from the sudden change in speed, and grabbed onto the grating in the metal flooring. Centrifugal force threatened to rip them away and throw them to the wall where they would certainly be crushed, but they held their ground and managed to get up, gripping a thin pillar with all their strength. The door approached as they orbited the room; one well-timed dash and they made it in safely. They were dashed against the side of the passage by inertia but at least they were safely in. Looking back, they saw Shiro was already gone. But ahead was something special looking. A blue glow emanated from the end of the tunnel; everything else was mostly black. Keeping a vigilant eye out for more traps, Ori carefully traipsed through the corridor. Nearing the object, they could make out what it was more clearly. The glow came from a crystal embedded in a stone lectern of sorts. Ori pried it free with the axe since Shiro still had the Spirit Edge. It seemed familiar... Not an ability. Those were smaller and almost always came from trees. It...

"Hello?"

Ori jumped and accidentally let go of the orb. It stayed floating. A second passed, then it started to move around a little.

"Hello... Who are you?" Ori asked, startled.

The thing noticed them.

"Oh! I am Siri. It's nice to meet you, Ori." It said this in a slightly smug manner, knowing exactly the response it would receive.

"What? You know me?"

"Of course! As I'm sure you've figured out, I'm another Tree Spirit. I may not have a tree of my own right now, but I'm close enough to Seva to communicate with it! And I've heard wonderful things about you."

Siri hovered around Ori, seemingly checking them out.

"So, this is what the legend looks like in person? I know the rule of the Prophecies, but I've never heard of a Spirit saving two separate islands. It's a remarkable feat that you conquered Niwen without a prophecy behind you. And now you're here in Nimor to do it again! You are a respectable friend."

Something rumbled. A small pile of dust fell from the ceiling.

There was a pause. Both Ori and Siri had noticed the sound. 

Boom. A hefty step, closer now. A tile fell from the ceiling and shattered on the floor beside them. Another step, this time from what felt like half the distance. Not wanting to hang around any longer, Ori grabbed Siri in their hand and ran. Not even a second later, the back wall smashed open, revealing a titan of rock encrusted with glowing gemstones and full of mechanical gears, cogs and motors. Its giant foot crashed down again, sending a shockwave cascading through the corridor and knocking Ori down. They scrambled to get upright and really started running for their life, not risking looking back. The end of the corridor approached, and before Ori got there, they heard a giant crash. Bursting out into the open room, they saw that the giant rotating mechanism had fallen and was crushing itself under its own weight at the bottom of the pit. As the beast approached intently, they were left with no choice.

"Follow me!" They shouted over the chaos as they released Siri. Ori needed both free hands; as they leapt off the ledge, they threw Ku's feather above them and floated down safely, right in front of Shiro. Siri was quick to follow, and the giant was not far behind either. It seemed to ponder jumping down, but chose to do so.

"I have an idea!" Siri called.

As the giant crashed into the pile of metal and wood scrap, an unfathomably horrific sound was wrenched free. The screeching chorus of a hundred metal bars being crushed and ripped apart was like nothing ever before heard of, and it froze both Spirits on the spot, with their hands clasped tightly over their ears. Siri had a plan unfolding; it rushed towards the titan's face. Dancing in front of its eyes, it hoped to distract the thing. When that didn't work, it began absorbing light from the manmade ambient sources of the sepulchre. Without warning, Siri released all of it in one single burst, shocking and blinding the giant. Ori and Shiro recovered from the flashbang quickly while the giant was left clawing for the ground.

"Nice! That was cool."

The trio continued their escape by running up the stairs, and soon after, the giant broke free again and began scaling the staircase itself. To make matters worse, a familiar face appeared out of nowhere.

Sapphire had been watching, waiting for her time. Now she was ready. She took a deep breath, held it, and screeched. High, long, inhuman. Or... Inspirit, I suppose? Whatever. Then, one by one, the collection of pots in the alcoves all shattered, revealing countless little flying gremlins. After Sapphire's banshee scream, she turned to her two targets and smirked. A simple wave and she vanished into the wind.

"Oh dear... It might be time to leave!" Shiro cried out as the whitish wisps swirled around them. Ori had a better plan, though.

"Hey! All of you! That guy down there is destroying your home!"

Literally nothing happened. They didn't even acknowledge Ori.

"Well, it was worth a try."

The giant was rushing towards them now, and with the ghost things hunting as well, the situation was getting worse. Though seemingly out of nowhere, one of them hit the giant. And another. Soon, quite a few of the ghosts were actively fighting, though the rest still seemed to be interested in annoying Ori and Shiro. They ascended the rest of the way up the stairs and planned for how to kill the giant. 

"I think we need a blow to the head. It may be where it gets its instructions from." Shiro knew what she was talking about, being an amateur engineer earlier in life.

"Tie silk to one of my legs and suspend me from the ceiling just below the height of the door. I have an idea."

Momentarily, Ori was upside down and hanging from the tiled ceiling like a spider. The giant was fast approaching the doorway; Ori drew the Smasher, dashed towards the middle of the room for momentum in the rope, and swung back towards the door, where the giant had just reached.

*WHAM*!

The extra momentum drove the hammer with insane force; the giant's head was split clean in two, and it folded like a dropped towel, toppling backwards and down the stairs, crumbling to bits as it did. The ghosts realized that they had no power to harm Ori or Shiro when they weren't able to push them down the stairs, so they slowly vanished into the floor. In the rock pile left over from the fight, Shiro saw something shiny. A gem! It must have been the giant's eye. Its upper facet seemed to follow her eyes wherever she rotated it, though the geometry stated the same. Weird.

"Yeah, cool. Can you get me down now?"

Shiro looked up and saw Ori still dangling by a leg, slowly and helplessly swinging and spinning around the rope and burst out laughing.

Chapter Text

It had been at least a couple of hours, surely; Ali had sat in hiding, waiting for anyone to come and check on Quinn. But... Nothing. They just never turned up. By now, they could be certain that Quinn was trapped or dead and yet it seemed like they didn't care. Or maybe they were scared.

Emboldened, he emerged from his hideaway and began collecting miscellaneous items from hidden spots around the camp. Chalks of different colours, burnt down candles, weird powders and a crooked old staff with a clear gem in its head. He pulled out the soul of Quinn in its jar on a chain and dangled it in front of him.

"You and I are going to have great fun soon!"

The soul writhed at the menacing implication in his voice; he wouldn't have this.

"I see you. You did this to yourself! You should have never come here!"

His soul flinched to the back side of the jar and slumped to the bottom, realizing it had no way out of this. It shook violently, seemingly trying to break itself, so that Quinn could be free, but the energy within the jar kept it intact. Quinn was left to be tugged around by Ali until he ended up on a strange patch of fallen leaves. Ali pulled at the layer of fake foliage to reveal a flat black slate, a little longer than he was tall and bordered with gold-coloured lining.

"Some idiot took my book... So I'm going to have to do this from memory. Better hope it's right, or you'll just die, I guess!"

That would be preferable, actually.

Ali used a red chalk to draw some circular characters in each of the four corners of the slate, then two large, concentric, white circles covering the rest of the board with complex scribbles at equal angles from each other. In the middle, a golden, four-pointed star was drawn. In this, a handful of sparkly blood-red powder was poured and on each of the red characters was a pinch of a strange purple dust. Onto the red powder, Quinn's soul was laid and lastly, Ali pried the gem from the staff and held it above the jar. When he let go, it stayed perfectly in place, just like the crystals from the Prismatic Plains. Ali popped off to grab something he had forgotten: an odd cylindrical object, heavily adorned with metals and coloured gemstones. It was labeled as an energy capsule, able to supply dark energy to the spell.

"You recognize this thing, don't you? I'll hide it better next time!" This was indeed the object that Quinn had noticed in the confrontation.

Standing back, he used a little bit of energy to draw a line between the capsule and the gem, likely linking or binding them in some fashion. He pressed something on the capsule then jumped back as the slate sprung to life. The purple powder blazed black before flowing freely into the trapped gem. The red powder swirled around the soul, sending yellow sparks in all directions. The glass jar was broken, and the soul was lifted with great resistance, forced to merge agonizingly slowly with the gem as it turned purple. As the reaction progressed, more of the red powder turned yellow and sparked off, while the crystal evened itself out and spread its new magic throughout itself. Once all the red stuff was gone, the spell abruptly ended and the gem dropped heavily onto the floor. With a stick, Ali pushed the gem to the end of his staff and pressed it back into the vice holding it down. The weapon was ready; now it just needed to build up power.

"They won't know what hit them..."

But something within him flinched. His friends. These were all his old friends. Surely he wouldn't harm them!

He had already harmed his friends. Quinn, one he confided in a lot before. Taken and turned against the others. A tug against his heart rocked him for a moment, but he remained on steady ground. This was for a purpose; he knew it was for a purpose. It had to be! Something was drawing him to do this. It was... It was Ori who started this! He had to remember that. So, how about... He plays a trick, and trips them up at the final hurdle?

Chapter Text

Grom was hunched over a crude microscope that was sitting on a chair; just a couple of poor lenses and a tube. The worktable was a bit too high for him. Countless empty, dirty vials and flasks were strewn everywhere, as well as several books from the Wellspring. It seemed they offered little help, but they were allowed to stay. Various pieces of kit filled the rest of the space, hardly suited to doing chemistry any more dangerous than Elephant's Toothpaste. It was very disorganized, and he hated the claustrophobic, clumsy nature of it all. But he had no time to waste cleaning up. There was important research to be done. Suddenly, he jolted up from his thinking position and poked one of his many fingers in the air. Something very interesting had happened to a sample he had just uncovered.

"Aha! I must've just figured this whole Decay thing out!"

Kiri heard his exaltation from outside and came rushing to learn more.

"It can't be a pathogen; it is too resistant to extreme conditions. This means it is not anything truly living like I first thought. Instead, it appears to be this strange pinkish purple dust right here that somehow appears in our cells and multiplies when we're exposed to it. This is an interesting breakthrough. We must find out how to purify it further, so we can study it more. Once we know its properties, we can find a way to make a cure or a vaccine."

Kiri smiled a hopeful smile.

"I understood a lot of that. I think I'm starting to get the hang of this science thing. We're gonna crack this case, I know it!" He chuckled gleefully.

Meanwhile, in another part of the Wellspring, Eris stood shakily on top of a mound. Opher sat below her, his arms outstretched.

"Just jump and move your wings to start with. You won't be good on your first try. You need to learn."

Plucking confidence from thin air, she leaped into the air and flapped her wings wildly before gracelessly floating to the ground. She got straight back up, flashed a smile at Opher and climbed the mound again. She jumped off, and this time managed to stay in the air for several seconds.

"Wow, you're getting the hang of this! You'll be a natural in no time."

Sure enough, on her third flight she was actually able to gain height. Her wings were still a bit stiff and weak, but she could actually fly now. She tried to swoop, and came so close to hitting the ground, but she managed to pull herself up and gain a lot of speed. Now, flying was much easier. Eris came to a stop and let herself down in front of Opher.

"I'm proud of you, Eris. You are going to do some great things when you're a bit older."

"Thank you! I really had fun with that. Now I want to take Kiri for a ride and let him see this place from up high! I'm sure it'll look great!" Her eyes sparkled with hopes and dreams, joyous and unaware. Opher looked at those eyes, slightly pained. How nice it would be to have such a positive outlook on this situation.

"Well... It'll certainly look better than everything else here. Uh... Now that I think of it, it's probably best if you don't leave these walls, Eris. It's extremely dangerous out there, and I'm sure you've seen what happened to Grok." The tone of the conversation changed and Opher realized that he probably shouldn't have gone in that direction.

Eris nodded sympathetically. She replied with a hint of sadness.

"I hope he's okay. It looks really painful. Kiri is helping with the cure, though. I trust him to do a great job!"

Trying not to be a downer by saying what he really thought, he agreed.

"Yep. Those two will get there soon. And maybe Ori will be back soon to sort all this stuff out. Anyway... You wanna keep practicing?"

"Yeah!" Eris called excitedly.

Chapter Text

"I sense great power in both of you. A better world is soon to come with your help; you are destined to accomplish great things."

Siri was studying its new friends in the starlight outside the crypt. It really looked as if it was getting a good look from the way it darted around and focused on one part at a time.

"Hah... Well, I don't know about me, but Ori certainly had a lot behind 'em. I've done nothing with myself for years, and being 20 years old, my best days are probably long gone..." Shiro sighed. 

Siri zipped around to face her.

"Of course not! I can tell you have that fighting spirit in you. It just needs to be awakened!"

Shiro looked at her hands. She did have her magic... A type that has proven itself very useful before. And she had shown that she could fight. 

"See? There's a whole reservoir of untapped potential within you. And no one can unlock it for you except yourself. It seems like what Ori has been doing is trying to give you the key."

It returned to Ori, slowly orbiting around their head. Despite its appearance being just an orb of light, it had quite a personality even when it wasn't speaking. It reminded them of Sein. Now they wanted to go back to Nibel and pay it a visit. Shiro dislodged their train of thought, getting them right back on track.

"I noticed that a few Spirits were leaving the Rockpools. It seems like that place is quite dangerous to live in now. And we weren't there for very long last time, so there's probably a lot of stuff still there that can help you. Want to go?"

"...Ah, sure. Maybe I can rest there too. I'm getting a little tired."

Ori took out their feather and they both floated to the ground. It was very late now, possibly close to midnight. There was a slight chill in the air as night carried on, and Ori wondered if they should ask for something to wear. They could still warm themself up by walking at this point, so they decided to hold off for a while. Momentarily, they were at the entrance to the town. Immediately, they noticed that there were less people. Obviously... they saw that everyone was leaving.

'Come on, Ori. What did you expect?' They thought to themself.

They walked through the empty-ish rocky area and got to the square. The musicians were all gone. Just one Mole was left to manage every market stall, and there were a couple more Spirits milling about not doing much. Suddenly, Victa appeared behind them, seemingly out of nowhere.

"HELLO! Good to see you back. Heh, did you jump?"

Shiro seemed a little bit annoyed, though relieved to still hear his jolly, joyous voice.

"Classic Victa. Why are you still up at this time? And why are you still living next to all this?"

"I'm not going until everyone else has. I'm capable of protecting them should that Decay spread here, so I will. I'm not a selfish man; why do you think I've been teaching you magic?"

She thought about his reasoning for a moment before coming to a realization.

"Hang on... The Fen is made of peat. That peat is mostly organic material, which would explain why it's so badly infected. This place is almost all rock, so it should be fine. Unless the tree completely dies, this place should be the safest on the island."

Victa had considered this idea before, but figured otherwise.

"That's assuming decay works that way. We have no idea what it is or what it can do, so it's better to be safe than sorry. My own theory is that since coral is kind of half-alive, it'll spread here, but more slowly. Anyway, what are you here for?"

"I'm here to find new abilities or something to help me out. I haven't explored this place much, so there's bound to be a lot lying around."

Victa considered trying to cheekily sell them another spell, but figured now was not the time. He strolled over to the lake separating the two halves of the town and gazed down into the clear water.

"This place has to hide some shiny secrets. See all those colours? Pretty, isn't it? Ah - mind the coral, though. It's very sharp."

The water refracting in the night was lit up nicely by some well-placed luminescent crystals embedded in the gravel at the bottom. Many lush colours covered the bottom in stiff arms, shelves and bulbs of assorted coral. It seemed odd how none of this could survive out of water while the blue stuff could. But nothing seemed immediately of interest from the surface.

"I'll see what I can find."

Ori took a running jump and held their breath as they landed in the water. It was very cold, and it knocked the breath out of their lungs. They pushed upwards to get back to the surface, but then they felt something move on either side of their neck. A cool freshness coursed through their chest, and they suddenly didn't need to breathe normally anymore.

"Oh... Right. I guess I still have gills. I wonder why I didn't lose those?"

They slowly swam downwards to the lakebed and started examining the ground. The light refracted onto the colourful fish swimming around and it looked amazing. Soon, they noticed an opening in the floor. It beckoned them. They carefully made their way in, still getting a bit scratched up as there was sharp coral everywhere. The cave extended deep under the lake, and slowly got thinner and thinner. Eventually, it turned upwards and revealed an air pocket. On a small ledge, a frail tree with a glowing blue orb struggled to survive with what little light its orb produced. They touched the tree and the entire thing moved, roots and all.

"The Spirit who died here must have been trapped... what a horrible death. And the tree looks so weak. Why don't I try to save it?"

They grabbed hold of the thin trunk and pulled the thing into the water. They bunched together all the leafless branches to make sure they wouldn't snag, and started swimming back through the tunnel. It took three times as long and a few more painful scratches, but they made it out and broke the surface with the tree intact. They were met with very confused looks when they swam back to shore.

"...Why? How?!" Shiro inquired.

"It would have died if I had taken the ability. We can plant it up here where there'll be light."

Their words were strained as they hauled themself and their loot out of the water.

"Is it necessary to save one tree?"

"It could be related to Seva. If it died, it could weaken the big tree and spread that decay further."

She understood the concept and didn't want to risk worsening the situation, so she was on board with the idea. Once it was planted in a nice spot in the nearby garden, it released the orb straight into Ori's hands. They accepted the gift and absorbed it excitedly. Once it had finished, Siri appeared from inside them.

"Nice! You found something already! This looks to be an ability similar to your Bash, but without the need for something there. You lunge in any direction with a suitable weapon, and you fly in that direction, dealing a lot of damage to the enemy you hit first. Let's call it... Whirlpool, or something. Sorry, I'm still getting used to this whole guiding thing again."

Ori immediately prepared to test it out. They took out their Edge, by far the most versatile weapon in their arsenal, and performed the move. It seemed that a whirlpool was formed around them, which was the propulsion method for this move. When dashing, it appeared to be the same concept, but the whirlpool gave them a lot more momentum and they traveled much further.

"This ability seems kinda useful! If not, it's fun anyway."

They wondered to themself if they should visit King again some time soon. They had learned a few things since their last fight and would rather practice in a low-stakes environment. But once again, Ori was distracted. This time, it was because they were feeling a bit peckish.

"Since we're here, midnight snack, anyone?"

Chapter Text

"I hope you aren't disappointing me. It would be a shame to have to get rid of you." A slow, booming voice echoed through the spectral plane. It came from a black, eldritch being, constantly shifting in appearance, volume and visibility. It rapidly moved towards another someone, hardly visible through the overpowering blackness.

"No. In fact, I've been causing a lot of trouble across the island since they killed me..."

It was Sapphire.

"And in about a day, I'm going to really start to pick up the pace. However, I've run into a roadblock. There isn't much else I can do without directly intervening. And I swear I've been spotted by their friends a few times."

It slowly loomed over Sapphire's ghost, forming an intimidating, slightly Spiritoid figure and seemed to surround her. Its silence was agonizingly prolonged.

"It is acceptable. But I see flaws in your method. We may not even have a day. We are killing Ori. They are surely the prophecy sent to slay me, and that must not happen. They want to leave Nimor as soon as possible. Your actions may prove inconsequential."

It backed off her and she could breathe again.

"I assure you, I am not straying from my task, rather, I am thinking a few steps ahead of them. You see, I have been listening to their conversations. Ori will return here once this tree dies to recover the island. Everything I have set up will create problems that will propagate to the point where there will be no hope that they can survive. Somehow, though, I fear it might not be enough."

"I trust your intuition. Keep going, minion."

"May I add something?"

Another female voice appeared to Sapphire's right. She was granted permission to speak.

"Sapphire should not worry about getting seen. Almost everyone already knows her, and might not be surprised to see her. In addition, direct methods of interference are more effective."

The third one was dressed in a crimson witch hat containing a phoenix feather, with a veil draped over her demonic face, and a matching coat and leggings. Her brown undershirt was adorned with several glowing trinkets and a long, intricate staff hung from her back. Long wizard's sleeves almost covered her hands, withered and wasted into thin bony fingers by years of the dark arts.

"Do you not think that it would inform them of our presence, Evorsia?"

"Trust me, I know what they think Sapphire's motives are. She just wants to make them suffer. They killed her. They have no way of knowing what she has to do with us."

Evorsia walked a little closer. As she moved through the thick mist around her knees, her stylized red shoes peeked up above it. Even her disheveled nails were painted red.

Sapphire had a strange thought.

"If you want to kill Ori, can't you go down and do it? Or bring them up here?"

Its edges sharpened a little before relaxing again.

"I am a god. I physically cannot enter the mortal plane. I cannot bring them to me yet, as it is only possible to do so with souls in very high energy states, like those of ghosts. And if they truly are the prophecy, then they would kill me and not the other way around. It is currently too early to make any concrete decisions on big topics that would decide my life or death. I must personally leave them be."

Sapphire began to pace back and forth a bit. She was itching to do something.

"So, do I have permission to be a menace again? I like doing that."

It hesitated for a moment.

"...Permission granted."

Chapter Text

In the dead of night, another Spirit faintly illuminated a different body of water. Sailing across the vast sea between islands, on a raft with a single oar, was Ali. Working hard to push himself northwards with not even a map to guide him, he hoped to himself that this was the correct direction. His dim light didn't do much to the ripples in the calm waters, barely outshining the moonlight. And in the distance, this light outlined a very large object. It was an island, for sure, and according to the direction Ali had traveled, it was the correct one.

He continued to sail towards the island for half an hour longer until he hit the shore at the bottom of a tall sandstone ridge.

"Ah... Touchdown. Now I need to stay hidden."

He got out of the raft and dragged it ashore. The beach smelled great here, but it was a bit too hot for his liking. All around him was this cliff, and there was no other way to go. He was left with no other choice than to start climbing. The rock was very uneven, which provided plenty of places to stand, but it was weak. Halfway up, he put his foot on a seemingly stable piece, but it immediately gave out. He grabbed at the cliff to find some purchase as he fell, and just about snagged something in time. Dangling precariously, Ali struggled to find anywhere to put his hooves as his hand strained, grabbing onto the rough stone outcrop. He eventually hauled himself back onto somewhat steady ground and caught his breath.

"Ah... Too close. Don't like."

The rest of the way up went by without another close call, and he made it to the top. A vast windy desert awaited him, chilled to unpleasant, biting temperatures due to the night. He looked over the rest of the island. Countless trees... Well, they used to be trees. A giant wooden water mill. A floating hunk of dirt and rock with a gigantic, glowing, decayed tree sitting atop it. Ali had no doubt that this was Niwen. There was nothing green left. It had all been killed off and turned black, curly and riddled with bright orange and pink pustules. Ali had never known decay before, and had no clue what it would do to him. So, he decided not to touch anything that looked evil for now. But he eyed up his quarry, the tree, and remembered that he would have to deal with Decay at its source soon. He waded through the fine sand, hardly able to keep himself upright from the immensely strong winds. Soon, he came to the edge of a dune. Ali lost his grip on the floor and slid all the way down, getting dragged across a tiny hidden cactus along the way. That prickly altercation riddled him with spines, scratches and punch holes. The entire back of his leg was scraped up and full of sand, stinging like a hive of furious wasps. He got up and limped forwards, hoping to find some water to wash that sand out. But this desert was obviously not going to have any. Ali had to hope to find a different biome. As the night progressed, he noticed a strange portal high up in a cliff, near the end of the Windswept Wastes. The way there appeared to be a few scattered sand platforms without much cohesion and supported by flimsy twigs. Some had clearly fallen already. He quickly climbed them, in a race against them collapsing under him. He reached the top, hesitated to wonder if he was in the right place, and made a leap of faith straight into the blue swirling gateway.

What felt like minutes later, he appeared on the other side, up on the floating island where Atto ruled Niwen from. Up here, he could see everything on the island that wasn't visible from his previous vantage point. All the different places, buildings everyone had made, and even... a giant bear? How did the people deal with that guy?

"Do these people name their areas like we do?"

Ali shelved that thought for a moment. He had more important things to do.

"LEAVE THIS PLACE."

Atto's corrupted voice was so loud it almost blasted Ali off his feet. Decay tendrils formed in the ground and encroached on him, surrounding his legs.

"Hey, stop, I'm here to help your cause." His tiny voice sounded far less convincing than it should have.

"AND WHY SHOULD I TRUST YOU?"

He was quivering. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

"I- I'm against Ori! They're going to come back here and retake the tree..."

The decay retracted. It seemed to believe Ali this time.

"That's news to me. This had better be good then, or you know what'll happen."

Ali breathed a sigh of relief and began setting up. He laid out some premade runes written on smaller chalkboards and heaped piles of red and black powder on each of them. He placed an energy container in the center and commenced the ritual with his new staff, binding it to the tree.

"This spell will empower your attacks, and you surely will not be beaten in combat. In addition, the tree itself will be heavily fortified and attempts to free Seir will be entirely futile."

The runes began levitating, and the dust sparked out of existence, leaving behind a black smoke that was sucked into the tree. Ali pointed the staff at the tree, and it sucked dark energy from the reservoir to blast a concentrated beam from the crystal at its tip. Black vines grew from the site of the spell, and climbed rapidly up the tree. They spread out across the dying branches and wrapped around Seir, who began glowing less brightly as its struggling became truly fruitless once and for all. As the energy wore out, Ali saw the full effects of what he had just done.

"Yes! It's perfect! With this gift, you will be the one to slay Ori should the rest of us fail."

Everything retreated away from Ali, and the pressure was off.

"I appreciate your generosity. Please, begone, new friend. My mere presence is hurting you as we speak."

Ali acknowledged Atto's warning, quickly packed up and exited through the teleporter again.

Chapter Text

Eris could somehow sense that something was not quite right. She was hanging out with Kiri again, but couldn't focus on the game they were playing. Her mind drifted to the ethereal plane, and she thought she heard a faint, echoing voice. It was unintelligible, but the intonation implied it was calling out for help. She had no idea who it was. It could have been Seva struggling against its prison, or it could have been Ori. Ori wants help?

"Sorry, Kiri. I have to go."

He seemed a bit let down at first, but realized it was very late, and he would probably rather have gone to bed.

Eris ran to Opher's room where he was relaxing with a small bowl of berries.

"Hey, do you have a map of this archipelago anywhere?"

He was surprised by this question, and the fact that Eris already knew the word Archipelago, but there was indeed a scroll lying on a table to his right. He picked it up and handed it to her. 

"Excited to learn something?"

She unwrapped it and found Niwen.

"No, I'm excited to help."

Her finger moved south and landed on a particularly promising island.

"I bet this is where Ori is. Nimor."

Opher seemed conflicted. Sure, any help in Ori's quest was great, but Eris was hardly a day old and had only been taught to fly once, and it was almost pitch black in the middle of the night. It took all of his willpower, but he gave her the go-ahead.

Taking the map with her, she climbed to a balcony in the Wellspring and launched from it, flying into the air as naturally as a bird.

Soaring above the clouds for the first time, she watched Niwen disappear under her and turned south towards her destination. It was very peaceful up here. No birds, a clear sky above her, the clouds beneath her. It looked like heaven. For a brief moment, she thought she saw a figure standing there. But that's impossible. You can't walk on clouds... She gently floated in closer. It certainly was a creature. It was fluffy, stood on two legs and had a little white face with two little eyes and a smiling mouth. Eris recognized her from a description Opher told her.

"Naru?"

The ethereal being looked up at her. Indeed, it was Naru.

"It's great to meet you, Naru."

Naru seemed pleasantly surprised to see Eris. Or, perhaps, anyone at all.

"Hello! You look so similar to Ori. You must be one of their children. Mind if I ask your name?"

Eris carefully lowered herself, so she was hovering at eye level towards Naru.

"I am! I'm Eris. I'm very young, but so much has happened already. Are you aware of all of this or are you stuck up here unable to see below?"

"I am aware of Ori's new adventure. I very much hope that they succeed in their quest. I don't want to see our home destroyed by the Decay. May I ask why you're all the way up here?"

She inhaled, but paused for a moment to think of the right information to use.

"I am flying out to Nimor to help Ori. I... do not know how, but I will try to help however I can, seen as I'm the only one from Niwen who can easily get there."

"Good luck, Eris. I hope your mission is a success too."

Eris prepared to leave, but Naru had one more thing to say. 

"Have you seen anyone else up here? I'm lost and haven't found anyone."

She flew directly up and looked all around.

"I don't see anyone. They're probably over at Niwen. It should be that way."

She gestured in the rough direction of where she came from.

"Thank you very much. One last thing, Eris... Tell Ori that I'll always love them, too."

They said their goodbyes and parted ways. Eris dropped below the clouds to try and see Nimor more clearly. So far, nothing. But then, a silhouette appeared through the fog. It was a large island with a massive mountain and lots of vivid colours, even during nighttime. This must be it. She quickly approached it, and swooped down onto a beach in front of some lush green trees. She didn't waste any time leaving this beach and heading into the forest. It seemed to guide her left, and very quickly, she ended up at a village. There were a trio of Spirits there, as well as some rather similar looking creatures to Opher, but... Harder? Tougher? Facing away from her was a very rotund creature she recognized as Gumo.

"Hello?" She asked shyly. This turned a lot of heads.

"Ah! Welcome, welcome. Wow, you're a unique one, aren't you? Must be a Hybrid. And you look very similar to Ori. Are you related?" Sol was the one to answer. Eris didn't know him, of course.

"...I'm their daughter. I need to find them. I sensed they wanted a bit of help."

Sol went through the possibilities of where Ori could be for a moment.

"Try checking the Glass Palace just over there. It's in a biome with lots of colourful crystals. Couldn't miss it. Or, they live here at the moment, so you could wait for them to come back if you can't find them."

Eris seemed giddy with excitement to know that she was in the right place, was about to meet her dad, and was about to join in on their adventure and make a difference in the effort.

"Thanks! I'll probably be back here anyway, so you guys can introduce yourselves then. See you!"

She rushed off and slipped through a gap in the canopy.

"New friend for Gumo?" Gumo exclaimed through the following silence. The Octans didn't hesitate to start talking among themselves.

Eris circled the island and saw what was just described; iridescent, sparkly crystals floating above a treeless plain. She dropped lower and scanned the ground for signs of Ori. Quickly, she spotted something bright moving about and dived towards it.

"What?"

Ori felt a small breeze come from above them and heard a reverberating tinkle. They looked up and saw Eris perched on top of a crystal, wings arched and slightly wrapped around her. She somehow looked large and tiny at the same time.

"Who are you?" They asked with a slight smile.

"I'm your guardian angel!" Eris chirped happily.

She hopped down from the crystal.

"I'm kidding. My name's Eris."

Ori saw the glaring similarities between them and instantly knew. They replied with a bigger smile.

"You're... One of mine. But I don't recognize you at all. How did you... Oh! I get it! You must be the feather that got stuck all those years ago!"

Eris nodded in approval, surprised at how fast Ori connected the dots.

"I kind of sensed that you wanted some help, so I came here as quickly as I could." Eris tucked her wings away neatly; she learned how to do it a couple of hours ago.

"Thank you! I could definitely use the extra help, but I don't really know what with..."

"Oh, and I met Naru up in the clouds, too! She told me to let you know that she will always love you."

Ori looked into her eyes, then a thousand miles past her. The memories they shared with Naru came flooding back. The bridge they built. The swing. Picking fruit with her. Her death, saving them from Kuro, teaching Ku to fly... Everything. And with the memories came the tears. There were so many emotions flowing through them now that it was hard to tell which ones at all.

"Aw, it's alright. Come here."

Eris wrapped her wings around them and pulled them into a hug.

"I feel like that's... Exactly what I wanted to hear. She's actually up there, she still cares for me, and above all... She's encouraging me to go on. For Naru, I'll do anything. For my mother."

Eris kept hugging them.

"You're gonna make me cry in a minute. That's so sweet! You must be where Kiri gets it from."

"Ah, Kiri. I never saw him around much. Is he still a bit of an introvert?"

She let go of them but kept one wing around them.

"I wouldn't know from experience. I mean, I didn't exist until today. But he isn't exactly an introvert, at least not anymore. He plays with us a lot, but he also likes to help Grom out with his Decay science."

Ori started walking and gestured for Eris to follow.

"This is news to me. What is Grom doing?"

"Trying to find a cure for the decay. He has a relative, Grok, who is extremely infected, and he wants to cure him and potentially the whole island of the decay."

"Wasn't Grok the one who kicked me out of the tree in the first place? He's evil. Why are you saving him?" Ori returned rashly.

"He's not anymore. Something was controlling him, and he wasn't himself. It could have been Atto, or maybe the dormant decay in an attempt to come back. Anyway, the main point is that there'll be a cure very soon, for everyone. No more decay."

Ori struggled to approach this situation, where their friends were helping one of those responsible for this whole ordeal. But they tried to open their mind like normal.

"I'll take your word for it. Hey, what's Opher doing these days?"

"First, he tried helping Grom with science. But I think he realized he wasn't meant for it and was just getting in the way. He just builds things in the Wellspring occasionally. Not as good as Grom, of course; he isn't a Gorlek. Not really a fair competition. Then I came about, and now he spends the rest of his free time babysitting me. I guess I don't really need that now, do I?"

"You seem mature enough already. Most of them couldn't even speak for a few days, let alone come all the way out here. Hey, since you feel like the adventurous type, do you wanna come with me for a bit?"

Eris gasped, and a massive smile filled her face.

"Yes! Oh my gosh, Kiri would be so jealous. He'll probably get his turn when you come back. Where are we going?"

Ori guided her over to the wall of the Ashen Crags. It looked worse than when they last saw it. They turned to Eris.

"Uh... Normally I have to climb this to get up there. You don't mind, do you?"

She nodded, wrapped her arms around their waist and took off. She could just barely stay afloat and painstakingly rose up above the wall. She gladly put Ori down at the top before carefully landing herself.

"This place seems dangerous."

"It is. You might want me to carry you. I know my way around these spikes."

Eris climbed onto their back and folded her wings as tightly as possible. Ori started tiptoeing across the Crags as they normally did, gripping Eris' hands as they wrapped around their neck. Eris could barely make out the shape of a house through the dense fog, and it appeared that they were heading towards it. The house was a lot closer than she thought, and within two minutes, they were already there. Ori knocked on the door and waited. Eris was quite shocked at what answered: A 5-foot bipedal pig with royal attire was certainly not what she expected. That thing was nearly three times her size, and from appearance alone, he was quite frightening.

"Hello again, Ori! It's always good to see you. And you've brought a friend this time! What's your name?"

She was suddenly quite shy again.

"...Eris."

"Come in, both of you. It's nice and warm."

King sat them both down on whatever looked comfiest. This ended up being a mat and a bag of leaves.

"My name's King. So, how do you know Ori? Friends? Relatives?"

"I'm their daughter. I've only just met them, though."

Ori added to the conversation.

"King used to train Spirits in combat. He still wanted to do it, so when I came along, he took me under his wing. So, whenever I may feel stressed, or when the weight is getting too much, I come here, and we practice fighting. Or if I'm not feeling it, we could just sit down and chat like this. Which would you rather watch?"

She pretended to think for a short while, before answering the obvious choice.

"I wanna see you fight."

A moment later, they were in the dojo in the back room. King put up his crown and his hand hovered over a blunt wooden sword hanging on the wall.

"...Perhaps we should use something less dangerous. I'm not going to be responsible for a spectator injury, since there's a lot less space here now."

He instead picked up his stick he used last time. Ori drew their usual weapon.

"Ready?"

They nodded and held the Edge out, ready to fight. King kicked a mini gong that was positioned on the ground behind him, and the duel began. Ori immediately dashed forwards and pulled their arm back as if to strike first. But they were actually going to block when King swung a counterattack. This caught him off guard and Ori got a free hit and snuck a kick in there as well. Their physical strength was quickly returning, as King was sent backwards a lot more easily than he was last time. He recovered quickly, as usual, and was back on them in an instant. He got a hit on their stomach just before they could block, and they stumbled backwards in pain. Adrenaline took over, and they dashed back in, testing their new Whirlpool trick. They slammed into King with extremely high momentum and knocked him to the floor, before dashing at him again to secure a victory. However, King used that momentum to chuck them over him and plant them into the wood floor while he was still on his back. Ori got their sore face off the ground and stood up with the rest of their strength. They cast a recovery spell while King was still down and by the time he was back up, they had recovered and were ready to keep fighting.

"I'm better than last time, aren't I?"

King acknowledged their little comment and prepared to fight a bit harder for his victory this time. He charged a powerful downwards swing, but Ori had other plans. They used most of their remaining energy to create a shield and blocked King's attack, and then punched him square in the chest. He stepped back and was clearly hurting a bit, and they got a little bit too confident. They went in for a final blow to end it, but King spun his stick round in his fingers and cracked it against their head like a snake leaping at its prey. They dropped to the floor but immediately woke back up. For a while, Eris looked worried about them.

"Dang it, I was sure I'd win that time. You've got to admit though, I'm getting better."

King nodded and helped them up.

"Yes, absolutely. You may be ready to go and finish your mission now, but it depends on how confident you are. And I'll be honest, it felt like you were holding back."

They questioned this claim for a moment, before remembering a little trick and realizing he was correct.

"I was. Watch."

Out of thin air, a blue fireball appeared in their hand. They put both palms together then opened them outwards, the fireball now facing away from them. Then, a tidal wave of blue flame erupted from their hands in a burning jet, reaching all the way across the dojo. This quickly exhausted their energy, but over several seconds this time, and they had to stop once they ran out. Both Eris and King had their mouths wide open.

"Yeah. Don't worry about me. I think I'll be fine."

Ori had been practicing the magic Victa taught them in their free time, and their Dragon Breath spell had evidently grown massively in power and efficiency.

"So, shall we chat for a bit? I need some time to ease this random headache that just started outta nowhere."

Chapter Text

"Well, I'm here to help. There's got to be something else."

Ori was struggling to think of something Eris could do. Her wings would have been incredibly useful had she been present a lot earlier, but now there was very little left that hadn't been done.

"Wait... I've got something."

They had both left the Crags and were back down on the ground floor of the Glass Palace again, pacing around and talking with each other. It was much calmer down here, especially in the night. The wolves had come out again, and Eris had been watching them fearfully through the glass, while still trying to maintain focus on Ori.

"Okay - what are you thinking?"

"There are a couple of people I know who lived in a village all the way to the west of the island. It's completely wrecked by a strangely powerful bout of decay. A bunch of their belongings are unreachable. I got some of it out, but a lot of it was too heavy for me to get to safety. I was thinking you might be able to help us get them some more stuff."

"That's a lot of words for 'pick some stuff up and bring it to me'. But that sounds fine, I can do that."

Eris seemed to be growing a personality very rapidly, particularly in the way of sarcasm.

With that, Ori showed Eris the way to the Fen, catching a lift over the treacherous nighttime Plains. They took her through the Rooted Gardens and some of the autumnal paths where the Hunters had once trodden, before arriving at the boundary between paradise and purgatory. 

"This is it. Don't touch the floor; it'll kill ya."

"Thanks for the warm welcome." Eris joked back again with a dry tone that was quickly becoming a favourite of hers. Ori pointed out the only house she should take a look at, reliving their... Rather squelchy experience of opening the wrong door. 

"So... Are we not getting those guys over here, so they can take their things?"

Ori shook their head.

"They're probably asleep. Plus, I'm sure they'd love a surprise like this."

Fully understanding the situation at hand now, Eris took off and landed at the porch of the Hunters' house. Looking inside, it was definitely clear that she was in the right place. Most essential items were missing, and everywhere felt really barren. However, there were still plenty of useful objects still in the house. Like... This stack of terracotta plates! Eris stood on the worktop and reached up to the shelf to grab the plates, very carefully bringing them down to the ground where she could change her grip on them. On top of this, there were some cups of the same material that would balance safely on top of the plates. She carried her first haul outside and flew back to Ori.

"Nice one! I can probably get over there and help you with finding stuff to take."

"That would be wonderful. Want a lift over there?"

They accepted, as it was a bit too risky doing it normally. As Ori floated over, they noticed a bit of commotion under the sea of decay near the middle of the Fen, but paid no attention to it. Probably just a normal thing that was there from the beginning or something.

From there, Eris made away with several more handfuls of random heavy or fragile utilities before they considered the job all but finished.

"Wow, we really cleaned this place out. I think they'll really appreciate this."

Ori looked around at their work. There were now very few loose items that were not on the floor outside.

"Why did they have that weird weapon? Or that Spirit plushie on the wall?"

Eris had found another RenTech branded crossbow while looking for stuff on the bedroom floor, and had also naturally seen the stuffed Spirit head mounted to the wall that Ori had defaced.

"It was something with their past. It would be a long story, and I'm sure we're both tired at this point."

Accepting this explanation as good enough for now, Eris was about ready to leave. She stepped outside, but as Ori followed, the bubbling in the liquid that Ori had seen turned fierce. The foundations of the house trembled until a gargantuan thing breached the surface, spraying liquid Decay up into the air and many yards away. They were both hit by it, scalding them both badly; after shaking as much off as possible, Ori opened their eyes again to see a huge, pestilent tentacle leering over the Fen, churning up the scarlet ocean around them. 

"Uh... Ori, What do we do?!" Eris shouted over the commotion, terrified and already in pain.

"Well, I've gotta deal with that thing. If you want to help, get on the roof with me."

Eris struggled to understand how Ori seemed to remain so calm in a situation like this. Were they just desensitized to danger? But anyway, she wasn't just going to sit around and watch this go down; she had to be of some use. Following them to the roof, she kept a watchful eye on the monster. It seemed to be giving the two of them a once-over.

"Take this." Ori shoved the Spirit Edge in her hands, while they drew their axe as their main weapon. With a trustworthy weapon in hand now, Eris took to the skies, fretfully fluttering around the tremendous worm thing and debating what to do, and how to use the Edge.

Ori stood tall against their foe and held the axe out to their side in a challenging manner, drawing its attention. A faster strike from the enemy meant less time for it to plan, which is exactly what Ori was trying for. And being a worm, it didn't really understand the concept of deception and fell for the deceptive trick. Looking to end the fight early, it stretched up tall, then brought its entire body weight down towards Ori. Just in time, they leapt off the roof and dashed to a neighbouring building. The Hunters' old house was smashed to pieces and a tidal wave of Decay erupted in all directions, crashing over the separatory wall between the Fen and Aquarius. No doubt that will cause countless problems very soon. Ori jumped back towards the crushed home and landed on the back of the tentacle. They noticed that near the base was a larger, whiter pustule that looked much more ready to pop than all the others. Perhaps it was a weak point! To test their theory, they sprinted down the back and swung the axe deep into the spot. It ruptured and sprayed nasty, foul-smelling goo everywhere. The beast writhed and reared up, bucking Ori off and making them almost land in the liquid Decay. But with a stroke of luck, they landed harshly on a large plank that once made up the path of the village. Recovering quickly, Ori found that they were in a very dangerous position. With the worm looming over them, they were easy prey. But suddenly, a streak lit up the sky and the worm recoiled in pain. Eris restabilized and drew closer to keep the monster's attention. Using her agility, she was able to fly all the way around to the back of the worm before it could make that turn itself. This let her keep metaphorically nibbling at its ankles, slicing and stabbing at its midsection while it struggled to retaliate.

Suddenly, it straightened and an eruption of thick, infected phlegm spewed from its mouthparts, impacting the sea in giant globules with considerable force. The Decay seemed to immediately grow far stronger, the sea very quickly changing from liquid to full of spikes like a ferrofluid and a scarlet haze befell the Fen, which Ori felt slowly begin to drain them. This had to be finished soon. 

Another white pustule rose from the creature. With Eris as a distraction and Ori in a safer spot on top of the meat building, they moved in and swiped at the gargantuan whitehead. They just barely nicked it, and it rapidly drained, angering the worm even further. Its attention was now back on Ori. It effortlessly crushed the building Ori was on, the closest one to it, but not before they were safely out of the way. It spat a nasty glob of something at them, barely missing. It then backed up and performed a horrid, screeching call which raised several... Things... From the Decay. They could only be described as moist, bloody, flying flesh blobs from hell, and they all haphazardly fluttered towards Ori. The thing is, they didn't look very threatening, and they weren't, but they were exceptionally distracting. Not even a full on hit with their axe was enough to kill one, and it took two or even three hits to finish them off. And as Ori killed the last one, Eris swooped in again and destroyed another pustule that had just shown up. The worm was enraged; it whipped around and grabbed at the air, actually managing to catch Eris as she was flying away. She cried out in shock and dropped the Edge. It stuck itself into a rooftop and sat semi-upright without an owner. The worm pulled her in and tightened its grip on her.

"HELP!" She screamed, though her lungs were being squeezed, and it came out a bit strained.

Ori had to do something now. Abandoning all self-preservation instincts, they leaped right at the beast and grabbed onto it. Climbing up as fast as possible, they cobbled together an idea of how to free Eris. Once they reached the top where the worm was its thinnest and where Eris was held, they leaped backwards, pulled the axe back, then dashed into the body and swung violently at the same time. The force behind the swing fully separated that section of the worm from the rest of it. With no greater mind controlling the head anymore, it promptly let go and dropped off into the Decay spikes. Eris was floundering, panicked before Ori grabbed her from the air and took her to solid ground. Behind them, the worm collapsed onto a third building, defeated, but they weren't paying attention to that. Their focus was on making sure Eris was okay.

She was huddled up and hyperventilating, though it was slowing down. Her eyes were wide, and a hand covered some of where the thing had latched onto her. Ori was down on their knees, comforting her and trying to help her calm down.

A set of footsteps came running from Aquarius; Victa came to see what had happened.

"What was all tha- What in the world?!"

The humongous worm slumped and crashed into the spiky sea of Decay while Victa watched. He could only make a guess as to what on earth happened to it, but looking up at the nearest building and seeing Ori's hunched figure explained basically everything. He cast a spell and clumsily launched himself up to the building to check on them.

"What's been going on? Are you okay?"

Ori hadn't seen Victa concerned before. It was clearly genuine, but whether it was for friendly or monetary reasons was up in arms. Ori was a pretty good customer at this point.

"I'm fine, but I'm making sure Eris is too."

Somehow, he hadn't yet noticed the very abnormal winged Spirit sitting down right in front of him. 

"Oh! What happened to them?"

"The worm tried to eat her or something."

Eris was stable enough to talk again.

"It was really scary! And I'm all slimy now..."

Her voice had a slight tremble to it, just like the rest of her body. The adrenaline was beginning to wear off now. Victa diverted the topic away from the big worm to help with cooling the embers of the fight.

"This doesn't look great for the island... So much Decay and only one area has been hit so far. Imagine what it'll do to the whole island once the Spirit Tree dies off."

...Maybe not the best topic to divert to. But he was correct. This same sort of thing could take over every other biome and tear Nimor asunder, potentially days from now. The Tree was growing weaker by the minute, and Ori's adventures were absolutely not helping matters.

"I'd better go. I've got a lot to worry about right now, and I need to get some sleep! Goodbye!"

Victa teleported away. It seemed like Eris was curious who that was, but she was too tired and numb to care much.

"Right... Come on, we need to get clean. There's got to be Decay all over us."

She pushed her bedraggled self off the floor and stood up weakly. Her wings let her glide from the roof to the grass without much risk of falling, while also conserving energy. Ori followed her with a simple jump and dash. They led her to the sea where they both braved the cold in the name of not wanting to die from Decay.

"I think I liked doing that with you. Perhaps I can be an adventurer like you and save the world one day!" Eris was very optimistic, much like Ori. 

"You certainly have the tools for it. And you proved invaluable during that fight. You would do well!"

Despite its chill, the calmness of the water was very soothing. At this time of night, it was very pretty too. Like another night sky, but facing downwards instead. Ori washed their head thoroughly, ensuring that they were free of Decay. Eris followed suit, clearly disliking the cold water on her face. And her wings were all wet now...

"Are we done now?"

Eris nodded, freezing and knowing she would be unable to fly home for a while. She was the first to get out, and tried to shake everything off like a dog. It didn't work; she was still dripping wet everywhere. As was Ori, so she wasn't alone in her discomfort. 

"Oh, right, I forgot we dropped the Edge! I'll be one moment."

They popped off and Eris just had to sit around, flapping her wings to dry them faster and nibbling at one of her ears.

They were soon back. Eris was looking awfully tired, though.

"Do you want me to carry you?"

She nodded lethargically and let Ori pick her up. Lying down in their arms, she grabbed her soggy tail to cuddle and dropped off to sleep in seconds. Ori took her back to Octans, looking for the Hunters.

Fil, Luna and Gumo were all asleep, leaving Sol and the Hunters still around. They were all very tired, but there must have been a reason for them remaining awake.

"Kor? Akka?" Ori spoke quietly so as not to wake anyone, especially Eris. Both of them noticed.

"We got the rest of your stuff from the house."

The news was received very positively, but thankfully the Hunters remained quiet. They were told where to go and headed off to collect their belongings. Sol approached Ori next.

"Is Eris alright?" Last time Ori had brought an unconscious Spirit into the village, she caused things to really start to go awry.

"Just sleeping. Is there room for her? I don't think she'll be out for too long. She wants to go home anyway."

There was the building that stored Sapphire. Perhaps not the best omen, but it was all that was free. Ori gently put her down on the bed inside, stroking her ear with care.

"I guess I'll see you when I come back home... Goodnight."

Chapter Text

Eris touched down in the Wellspring, having returned from her voyage. She tucked her wings tightly behind her and entered the laboratory where Grom and Kiri were working with a bunch of junk she didn't understand.

"Hey! I'm back. What are you two doing?"

Kiri hopped down from his stepping stool. 

"We've finalized the ingredients for the cure. All we need now is to infuse it with energy from a Spirit's light. But we can't seem to provide enough by ourselves, so we need to come up with a solution."

Eris thought for a moment.

"I have one. Put the bowl on the floor."

Confused, Grom did this. Eris stepped over to it, stooped down and unfolded her wings around it, creating a dome around the tube which trapped Eris' light and funneled it into the sample. In no time, a faint white glow emanated from inside, and a quiet ethereal resonance could be heard. She held this position for a while, before uncovering it and stepping back. The vial now glowed a bright white, where it was colourless beforehand. 

"Wow, I think it worked! This has to be tested. Follow me."

Grom struggled to contain his excitement as he rushed outside. He clumsily climbed the barrier and drew out a fraction of a syringe of the fluid. Eris carried Kiri over it instead of climbing.

"This mixture should only target the decay viruses and not the living cells. Let's test it on that tree down there."

A blackened, shriveled tree stood a few feet from the wall, down towards the Wellspring Glades. Grom stepped up to the tree and injected it with the cure. Immediately, the spot around the injection turned a rich brown, and it looked as if it was returning to normal. This spot slowly expanded and eventually half of the tree was cured. However, due to its size, it used up all the cure before it was clear of decay, and it started to turn black again.

"That is good enough! Plenty potent enough to clear Decay from any creature." Grom was mighty pleased with this accomplishment. With the test complete, they headed back inside the safety of the Wellspring for the real deal.

Grok sat cross-legged in the corner of his cell, rabidly gnawing on his own hand. Decay coated the floor from ruptured pustules and other sources. He noticed Grom.

"I need two syringes. One for him, one for me. I don't expect to get this done without scratches."

He was given these, and he quickly entered the cage and closed the door behind him. Grok snarled as he got closer, and tried to lash out at him, but he was too weak. The Decay had replaced his muscles. Grom saw this weakness and took advantage, quickly getting close and pumping the syringe into Grok's arm. He jumped back and watched as the swellings went down and all the pink and nasty colours shrunk and disappeared. The cure spread quickly through him and, one by one, cleared his lungs, his heart, and his brain. Grok gasped for fresh air as his rancid organs were cleansed of the vile decay that had plagued them. Finally, he was his normal self again. He stared at his hands in silence and disbelief. A lot of hair was missing, but at least they were hands of a Gorlek, and not a horrid beast like he was seconds ago.

"Am I... Free?! I'm cured!"

Grom smiled at him, proud of everyone's achievements.

"These two helped me develop a cure for the Decay. This has never been done before!"

He took the other syringe and injected a small amount into himself.

"Just in case you scratched me."

"Thank you, cousin Grom. And Kiri... You were brave enough to stay with me while I was sick, and helped with the cure? I cannot thank any of you enough."

Grok shakily stood himself up and looked outside.

"It's so much worse than when I got here. Is this our life now, just trapped in the Wellspring?"

Eris shook her head.

"Ori is going to get back soon, and reclaim the Spirit Tree. They're preparing out in Nimor."

Hearing of Ori reminded Kiri.

"Oh yeah, how did your visit go?"

A great, smug smile filled her face.

"You would be SO jealous... I met them, and the first thing we did was I got to watch them fight someone three times their size!"

Kiri was already agape, and desperate to hear more.

"And then... We went to this crazy swamp completely made of Decay and rescued some guys' stuff. But then, this HUGE worm came out of the mud and attacked us! They even let me use their sword against it! And it almost ate me, but they saved me! Oh, and I also met Naru up in the clouds on the way there. She was very sweet!"

Kiri was just... flabbergasted. She was only gone for about two hours, and she managed to do all of that! He grabbed her shoulders and looked straight at her.

"Eris. You have to take me with you on an adventure at some point! I am SO jealous, you wouldn't even know... I can't take it!"

"Sure, I could lift Ori so you shouldn't be very heavy for me!"

It was all in good faith, and the two of them laughed about it a bit before going back to the serious topic at hand, the cure. It was time for the next stage.

Everyone left the stuffy little windowless room and headed outside onto a plateau overlooking the rest of the blackened island and the wrecked Spirit Tree. Grom faced everyone and spoke loudly and strongly.

"We're one step closer now to ridding this world of Decay once and for all! If we can create a proper vaccine and prevent anyone from even contracting it in the first place, we could win this war!"

His invigorating speech sparked a sense of hope and courage that had not been there before, inspiring everyone to push towards the final stretch.

"You know what, cousin? Count me in!"

And with that, Grok joined the team. With so many fighting for the same cause, they had to get there eventually!

Chapter Text

Sapphire invisibly watched her target as he pottered about doing strange things she didn't recognize. She had heard of dark magic and the tools of the trade, but not much more than that; all this mystical and occult stuff was far beyond her. She wondered how to spook him as she appeared, just for her own amusement. The opportunity came when he looked out towards Octans, and she materialized behind him. A moment passed, before he turned around and started backwards.

"Ah! Hello? What do you want?"

Ali seemed less afraid than Sapphire wanted, but she still got a little something out of him.

"Hi, Ali. Follow me. Somewhere... Out of the way. Away from listening ears, as you might say." Her voice dripped with mystery and malice, tempting Ali to do as she said. What was this about? He had never seen this Spirit before. Despite the questions and worries he held in his mind, he blindly followed Sapphire down into a wild section of the Dark Thicket by the sea.

"Now, your questions will be answered. You and I, we have something in common."

Ali was still confused. Obviously. He kept listening without interruption in hopes of a better answer.

"We're both against Ori at this point. I noticed that you have been performing well in your own tasks as of late, and you have been gaining valuable confidence in the whole Evil Guy™ business."

There's the explanation he wanted. Now, Ali was more inclined to listen to what Sapphire had to say.

"Now, I would like to extend my hand to you with a lucrative offer of alliance and friendship, under a simple request."

There was a long pause between sentences.

"Kill one of them. Do it, and you will be granted great power by my leader, the dark god Ouroboros."

Oh! He was planning to do that anyway. That would be easy!

"So... By 'One of them', you mean one of the Octans, maybe the weird round guy, or... Shiro?"

"Anyone who holds a close part in their heart. The closer, the better."

This was great for him! But, there was one thing about this deal, that could be an extreme wildcard whether he was to accept or not.

"What if I fail?"

"The offer extends until you are dead. If you die, you join us and help find more recruits."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll do it."

Sapphire nodded slowly, pleased. She had expected more resistance to this idea, even from him. It was during this thought that she remembered something.

"I shall mark you with the Seal of the Dark God. He will hold it to you that you complete your goal, or die trying."

Sapphire extended a glowing hand, beckoning his own over. Her palm was engraved with a blackened sigil, one of a crescent moon with a constellation connected with intricate lines behind it and surrounded by flecks of black that looked as if they were ashes settling on the ground. She turned Ali's palm to the ground and pressed the marked hand into the back of his. It burned like hellfire, but he remained still, fascinated by the energetic forces at play. Sapphire gently lifted her hand, and admired what she had done. The back of his hand smoked, the fur all burned away where he had been branded with that same symbol from her palm.

"It doesn't do anything on its own, but it marks you as property of Him."

The staff Ali held radiated brightly for a moment. Quinn was trying to voice his resistance to Ali's treacherous intents.

"Quieten down, idiot! You know you can't do anything about this."

The light vanished and Quinn stopped resisting for now. Sapphire took note of the staff.

"Oh, you have a soul trapped in there? That's evil! Whose is it?!"

Ali grinned smugly and held it up to his eyeline.

"It's Quinn's- one of the Octans."

Sapphire smiled widely and excitedly, knowing that her side now had a new, strong ally locked in; one capable of backstabbing his closest friends for glory and power.

"Oh, the Dark God would be so proud already! This time... Make it hurt."

Chapter Text

Once more, night in the Indigo Rockpools presented its glory. Lights from the town faintly illuminated the dark blue hues and the bay in the middle of Aquarius sparkled, reflecting vibrant coral colours out from below the surface. Ori and Shiro were here to find Victa again, after spotting him impatiently wandering the town, still not asleep. This time, there were far fewer people present. He was sitting near a raised cave on the right-hand side of the Rockpools. He soon noticed them and shouted his greetings. He got up and started walking over, and they met in the middle.

"Hey, long time no see, huh? ...I'm just kidding. What are you here for?" He sounded very tired, but determined to remain awake for whatever reason.

Ori sighed, understanding the risk they were putting people in by doing what they were about to do.

"I am here to ask for backup. It's about Ali; I have basically confirmed that he has killed Quinn, and because of that display of treachery and betrayal, I plan to try and kill him. But I'm fearful of the power he holds; I may be no match alone."

Victa took to mind the seriousness of this request; after all, Ali used to be a friend before Victa left Octans for Aquarius.

"I always knew there was something about him... I swear I told everyone that he couldn't be trusted! Well, come with me, and I'll get you there in a tick."

A ring of blue sparks appeared around them all, then completely covered their vision. When they fizzled away, they were back in the Dark Thicket.

"That was quite the shortcut, I'll give you that."

Elsewhere in the woods, Ali lurked patiently, awaiting his chance to strike. He was just a bit too patient, though.

"Uh oh, they're all here again. Ugh. Thought this would have been a bit easier."

The village was now crammed full of people; even Fil had awoken. They sensed danger. This could actually work to Ali's advantage, now that he thought about it. Any one of these would be a good pick to kill. The choice was right in front of him: fire into the crowd, or get caught stalking and face the consequences.

He pointed his staff forward, and fired. A dark plasma beam shot forwards from the gem at the top, and hit a tree behind Octans. Ali winced.

"I missed!"

The entire camp fell silent, and all eyes shifted to him. Ori jumped in front of the crowd defensively.

"What do you think you're doing, Ali?"

He stared at them, wide-eyed with fear.

"Uh - hey, guys! Nice weather... Right?"

"Well, I was about to seek you out myself with a couple of friends, but this just made our job a whole lot easier, didn't it? But... Why would you attack and even kill your friends like that? That's just slimy."

Sapphire appeared behind them, a grin across her lips.

"A little birdie might've told him that he should cause some problems! I wonder who that was?"

Suddenly, his actions seemed to make the tiniest bit of sense. But still, this sounded sort of wrong.

"Why did you agree? What was valuable enough to you that you would kill your own friends to get it?" Ori pursued viciously.

"My motives are none of your business, spirit." Ali shot back. Like a cornered animal, he had to turn to aggression to make an attempt to salvage the situation.

Ori looked away to sigh, and when they turned back, their face was filled with sadness and betrayal.

"Ali... I thought I could trust you. Thought we could have been friends. I thought - no - hoped, that you were a good person when I first met you. But no. You value power and wealth over your friends and your morals. Quite frankly, you're a disgrace to all of us. I think the resident Octans can all agree that you are no longer welcome here, and I say so too."

Instead of the reaction they were expecting, Ali remained dead-faced. He knew something that they did not.

"You see, you think you've won by exiling me. How naive can you be? Ori, your quest is over. I've been to Niwen. You'll never get Seir back after what I've done over there. You're lucky I didn't kill everyone in the Wellspring; it certainly crossed my mind."

Ali spat this out with such resentment that Ori took a step back out of shock.

"And you know what? You've done nothing but mess with my plans, and for that, I'm gonna end your journey early myself!"

He directed his staff straight at Ori and fired with all of its power. They created a shield and pumped all of their energy into it, shooting bright blue light in all directions as it struggled to hold. The dark energy, too, was refracted in all sorts of different directions, briefly setting ablaze parts of the canopy with black flames. The shield barely outlasted the laser, and Ori was already drawing their weapon. Ali cast his staff aside and grabbed his knife. This fight was already going poorly considering he missed his shot both times. He slashed at Ori, fell short and stumbled. They kicked him in the face while he was bent over. They tried swinging their hammer down on him, but he just got out of the way in time, and it thudded into the ground with a resounding echo. Ali noticed that their staff had a tiny bit of power left in it, and he rushed over to grab it. But Ori was too quick. They ran over and stepped on the end. They drew their Edge and sliced his arm. He shouted out from the pain and stumbled backwards. Ori lifted their hoof up and stomped down on the mandible holding the gem in place, knocking it free.

"I guess I'll have to make do with my hands then!"

His hands turned a nasty black and a dark aura surrounded them, growing. Suddenly, a cloud of chaotic black mist erupted from his palms and towards Ori. They stepped back a long way to avoid it.

In the background, Victa could see this fight potentially turning for Ori, and prepared a spell to protect them.

Ori couldn't see through the mist, and never expected Ali to rush straight through it and slash at them. He made a deep cut along their face and all the way across their collarbone and got up close, holding the knife to Ori's neck. His mark was very visible, and it blazed with a strange kind of energy unlike either Dark or Light magic as he was this close to completing his goal.

"Bet you feel silly now, thinking you could beat me. Your time's-"

Ali froze suddenly. Victa had used the smoke as cover and gotten close enough to cast a spell to paralyze him. The pain fueling their anger, Ori plunged the Spirit Edge straight through the center of Ali's chest.

"...Come on! Couldn't even... get one?" Ali strained, his lungs damaged and unusable. He struggled in vain for a short while before quickly fading away. The blackness in his hands created tremors in the air when it disappeared with him.

"Yes, Ori! You got him!"

Ori dropped to the ground holding their wounds tightly. Shiro rushed over to help. Luna quickly disappeared inside the medical shack to fetch some supplies.

"I... Don't know how to feel about this anymore. I've never killed one of my kind before. It felt... Wrong, even if he was a horrible person."

As Luna applied a colourful red bandage around their collar, she comforted them.

"If you didn't do it, then we would have had to try ourselves. And no doubt that would have ended in more death for us. He breaks the law, and he gets his just desserts."

Luna finished dressing the main cut and sat down next to them. Ali's ghost appeared above them.

"You haven't won yet! I'll see you very soon..."

A typical line from an annoying ghost. Ori thought nothing of it. Ali was hardly a problem now. Rather, they had their mind on other things.

"This feels weird. I'm hurting both physically and emotionally right now. I've felt it before, back in Niwen, but this is different. I've never been betrayed before today, and it's gut-wrenching. I feel so bad but..."

They couldn't think of anything else to say. Shiro crouched down beside them. She was shorter, so she was able to get down to eye level.

"I know how you feel. Maybe not about the betrayal, but... about killing a Spirit. It was really hard when I killed Sapphire, even though we were enemies. But... Hey, let's take this as a lesson of trust. Next time you make a friend, you'll remember this day and wonder 'Would this person be disloyal'? There's no easy way to deal with a feeling like this, so you may want someone to help you through it."

Ori dipped their head. It was a tough lesson, especially from someone as understanding as Shiro, but true.

"I guess so. I'm exhausted after all that. I think it's time for a sleep."

"Want to sleep in the Palace?"

"..."

She was undeterred by their silence.

"I've got a spare mattress."

They smiled warmly, still looking down.

"Okay. I don't see why not."

She smiled back, put her hand on her head and winced as she felt her damaged feather. That would probably never come back...

"Gumo can come too. He probably misses spending time with you," she jabbed playfully. Gumo seemed thrilled to get back out there.

"How do you normally sleep, Gumo?"

He paused to think of words.

"Leaf pile. Big soft thing. Gumo comfy."

"I've... Got a beanbag? That should work."

They all got up. Ori thanked Luna for the first aid, and Victa for helping them and Shiro in the fight. But weren't they forgetting something?

"One more thing."

The gem. Ori saw the moving figure inside. Once again, they raised their hoof and shattered the gem beneath it, isolating the rounded, cracked soul that had remained entombed inside it. Once revealed, it could finally crumble and free Quinn of his chains. Practically as soon as the entire thing had faded away in the complete silence of the Octans, Quinn's ghostly form appeared, dashed at Ori and bear-hugged them.

"You got me outta there! Thank you. I... Don't have words for how much I appreciate this. Ali would have done so many horrible things with me... I'm so grateful for this."

He backed off a little, and faced everyone.

"It was an honour living with you; always being great friends throughout the years. You guys... take care, okay? Be good. I love you guys!"

The wind took Quinn away like a plume of smoke. 

Everyone was far too tired for tears, but they were all extremely touched by his caring, peaceful goodbye. The group stayed together for a while to keep each other company before dispersing, Victa returning to Aquarius and Ori, Shiro and Gumo heading to the Glass Palace.

Chapter Text

"Morning, Ori. How was your sleep?"

Sunrise cast an array of prismatic colour through the Glass Palace, gently waking everyone up. This had to be the day that Ori was going to go home.

"It was excellent. Nice and warm, and very comfy too. This is the kind of luxury I never could have dreamed of."

"Glad you liked it."

She swung her legs out of her bed and got up.

"How was it, Gumo?"

"Good. Beans not tasty." Gumo grunted.

Shiro glanced under him to see all the plastic stuff inside his beanbag spilling out. She chuckled at him with slight concern.

"You shouldn't eat the beanbag. It's not good for you."

She picked up the beanbag which was now about twenty percent lighter.

"Oh my gosh. How many did you eat?"

Gumo sniffed.

"Was hungry."

She pressed her fingers to the bridge of her snout, cracking a smile.

"I'm sure it'll be fine. Let's get you back to Octans."

She opened her wardrobe and grabbed one specific robe out of six or seven that all looked the same.

"Let's go. We need to get stuff done today."

This serious side of Shiro was all Ori needed to properly wake up. It showed that they were doing something to help with her isolation and depressive state, and getting her to take control again. To them, it was a kind of consolation, a little sign that they were doing the right thing for her. They all descended the countless stairs, left the Glass Palace together and headed for the Thicket.

"You already know I'm going home today, ready or not. I'm becoming concerned for my friends' safety. What I want to know is if there are any more secrets that'll help me, like Siri. Or, like, anything you'd like to say to me. There's no longer time for me to have fun exploring on my own; I'll take all the help I can get."

"I'll think about it. There's probably somewhere I'm forgetting."

As she walked alongside them, Shiro looked around for something to jog her memory. And as she stepped through the irrigation channels in the Rooted Gardens, it came to her.

"Ah! There's a hidden hot spring with a bit of an odd secret that could be worth a visit."

Ori couldn't tell if she was being vague intentionally or had actually forgotten what was there. Nevertheless, they agreed to check it out. A few minutes later, they were at Octans. Only Sol was awake at this point. He silently waved at them and made a gesture for them to be quiet. Not only were the others asleep, he was also enthralled by a rather elegant-looking bird finding some food. Ori saw Rascal the squirrel hop down from the treetops and crack open a nut for it. The bird ate the nut, made a grateful cooing sound and hopped away, its lush tail feathers waving behind it. They dropped Gumo off and left.

"Cool bird. I've never seen one of those before."

"There are only a few of them about. I used to keep one as a pet years ago, but I set it free. It's probably got a few of its descendants around here."

Shiro led them up to the horrible, painful hill that was the Thorny Glades. Walking got significantly more uncomfortable as the ground became littered with thorns.

"You really need to come up with a more welcoming name for this place. Like... There's a whole market up there that hardly any Spirits use." Ori exclaimed, brushing away a vine that had snagged them. Shiro nodded, but had no suggestions. Just before a fork in the path, she stopped.

"When I said it was hidden, I wasn't lying."

She pulled back a layer of grass like a trapdoor, revealing a rather spiky tunnel downwards. They both hopped down, and Shiro closed the door behind them. As they walked down the tunnel, the air slowly got warmer until everything opened up into a trickling pool of water and a seemingly ruined structure surrounding it.

"I know what you're here for, so I'll go show you that first. Follow me."

They waded through the water - slightly too hot but still bearable, and there was a cave with a fountain inside. It was not water that this fountain was spraying, though. It was more of a black, light-absorbing fluid. It had a plaque bolted to it; Ori read it aloud.

"By feeding me the soul of a weapon forged with love and Light, it imbues another with untold fright."

They stood there, staring into the void. Pondering this choice, and what the rhyme meant. They wondered what this untold fright was. It could just be a 2 percent sharper blade; it would still be untold. The fountain didn't tell them.

"I'm going to try it. I never really got the hang of the boomerang. It honestly doesn't suit me."

Ori took the weapon and their Edge. They placed the latter on a holder built into the fountain, and tossed the boomerang into the writhing liquid. Immediately, it dissipated into it and a mixture of dark and light energy flowed up the holder and into the sword. When it finished, a small burst of light emanated from the weapon. Ori picked it up and examined it. Small streaks of black ran through it, and they felt a strong aura coming from the sharp edges. Siri appeared in front of them and examined it.

"Looks like you upgraded your Spirit Edge. It's now imbued with the power of the void. I don't know much about void, but it tends to have a withering effect on most creatures, while leaving plants and fungi unaffected. In addition to extra pain in every blow you deal, it may drain the victim over the course of a few seconds. Worth it?"

They looked at the new Edge with amazement.

"This is too much power for one person; my Edge was already a superb weapon before. I love it!"

The wind blew on the thorns outside and made a weird, unique noise flowing through the gaps. It was like playing every note on an instrument at once, but keeping a sense of harmony and even creating a slight melody.

"Let's get in the spring and relax for a bit," Shiro insisted. Ori was somewhat surprised by this, but agreed.

"Alright. The water will probably do me some good anyway."

They turned from the fountain and emerged into the open air again. Ori chose the spot furthest away from where the water was bubbling in, in hopes that it might be a bearable temperature. They waded in, and it was still a touch hot, but it felt nice. They sat down and took a deep breath. Shiro followed their lead and hopped in.

"I used to come here to wash, but now I have my own place in the Palace. It's nice to go back to how it was though. Perhaps I prefer it this way. Especially with some company, for once."

She rubbed one of her ears with the hot water. It seemed that even the smallest amount of dirt smothered her light, as that ear was now much more radiant than it was before. Either that or she was lying and hadn't washed in years. Ori preferred to believe the former.

"I hope you come back after you're gone. It'll be sad if our time together just abruptly stopped."

"Don't worry. If I survive whatever happens, I'll be back. And I promise that it'll be as often as possible."

Shiro smiled.

"That's a bit of comfort for me. I honestly don't know what I'd do without you, Ori. I dread to think what I would become."

Ori nodded, hiding their slight concern. One of their goals was to reaccustom Shiro to the world and set her free. But she was still not comfortable in this unfamiliar environment, and with less than a day left, they weren't sure if they would be able to do it. For now, though, they brushed it off as a problem for later. 

"So, what's the bet that at least one of the ghosts is watching us right now?"

Before Shiro could reply, both Sapphire and Ali materialised in the air in front of them, chuckling to each other.

"Having fun?" called Ali.

"Lovebuds," Sapphire taunted.

They vanished.

"Hey! How dare you?!" blurted Shiro, shocked. She quickly scrambled to her feet and looked around angrily to see if they were still there. Ori just sat back enjoying the show.

"You're blushing." they snickered playfully.

Chapter Text

Eris sat at the top of the Wellspring looking at the corrupted Spirit Tree. Deep in thought, she didn't notice Grok behind her.

"Hello, Eris. Are you thinking about the Willow?"

The sudden noise of him talking made her jump and lose her train of thought.

"Yes. In fact, I want to do something about it."

Grok was confused.

"How do you plan to do anything?"

She stood up and turned to face him.

"Simple, really. I just attack it. It's bound to do something. And I don't wanna sit around doing nothing with these wings. I'm still buzzing from my adventure with Ori!"

He nodded in agreement, but was very concerned. He didn't bother to convince her it was a bad idea, though. Not like he could.

Eris gave him a small wave and dropped off the edge of the building, unfolding her wings. She glided down to the ground and entered the first floor of the building. Then, she went into Opher's room. He was sitting in his chair carving a fairly large piece of wood. Kiri was playing with the sawdust and chips, but quickly noticed her.

"Opher, I want to see if I can do something to that tree. And I need a weapon."

This request very much surprised him, as never before had Eris seemed so willing to commit violence. As her caretaker, he felt very reserved about letting her do such a dangerous thing as face the Decay like this, but seeing as she returned from Nimor in one piece, he felt like she would fare well.

"I do have some weapons in stock. Take your pick."

He gestured to a wall full of racked weapons of all different sizes, which she had surprisingly not noticed before. She was quickly drawn to a small hatchet that looked about right for her size, as well as the correct tool for assaulting a tree. She chose it and gave it a heft. It felt perfect.

"Wait! Can I help?"

Kiri desperately wanted to be a part of the adventure, and was still rather jealous that Eris got to have all the fun. Without wings, he would be a lot more vulnerable than Eris, but she could quite easily keep an eye on him.

"Sure... Take this machete. There will be vines to cut. That will weaken it."

She carefully took a fairly large blade from its holder and passed it to Kiri. It wasn't quite a machete, but it would do.

"Come on. Thanks, Opher."

They left the room together and headed for the wall.

"I'm kind of nervous. This is my first time leaving the wall, and we're jumping right into the deep end."

Kiri faltered for a moment, but steeled his gaze and a wave of confidence hit him as he stared at the tree in the distance. Eris moved behind him and grabbed his waist, lifting off and over the wall. They made a beeline for the tree, and Eris dropped Kiri off at its base.

Before either of them made a move, however, Atto's voice boomed from the canopy in a deafening rage.

"Little ants that think they're special? How adorable! I'll love seeing you perish by my hands."

A myriad of tendrils emerged from the ground around Kiri, closing in on him slowly, as if Atto was savouring this moment. He brandished the weapon he had, and swung hard at them. The blade sliced straight through the roots, and they quickly shriveled away. A few new ones sprouted and took their place. Kiri hopped out of the circle they had made and slashed at some more, cutting them like grass. Meanwhile, Eris had flown incredibly far up. In the distance, a storm was brewing and was headed south. Static in the clouds was visibly building up in her hatchet, and she started to dive. As the tree got closer, she tilted her wings for a more horizontal flight, and held the axe out to her side. Barely missing hanging branches, she reached the center of the tree and slashed a black vine going at nearly the speed of a peregrine falcon. It immediately vapourised into a cloud of black smoke and hissed angrily. Up north, lightning began to crack and set the mood for the fight. Down at the bottom of the tree, Kiri was still dancing around, cutting vine after vine, when it occurred to him that he could perhaps attack something more vital. On the trunk, he noticed some inscriptions that looked like the work of Grok. Those were the ones used to excise Ori from the tree. Perhaps if they were gone, then something would happen. He took a chance and dug the blade deep into the etchings.

"Ori is already out of the tree, you fool! You should have known doing that wouldn't have worked."

Kiri immediately stopped and switched targets. He climbed a short way up the tree and began slashing at the vines of decay and dark magic woven around the trunk. A horde of writhing tentacles amassed beneath him, and nasty shambling Decayed creatures began emerging from the ground. They hobbled their way over like zombies and started making a pyramid out of themselves to reach him. In response, he climbed higher. Rain started to fall in buckets, and the tree lost a lot of its grip. Many of the vines had been destroyed already, but they were coming back just as fast. He had to focus purely on the dark magic, as it had no method of self-replicating like the Decay did. Eris was now standing right next to Seir, chopping the vines from up close.

"Seir, I need you to help us with your Light once I say so."

Though it couldn't communicate anymore, it seemed to agree. She grabbed a large cluster of black vines from right around the captive light, and held the hatchet high. With a swift downwards motion, the entire batch was cut away.

"Now!"

She turned her back to Seir, hid behind her wings and braced for what would happen. Suddenly, a blinding white light came from everywhere. It lit up all of Niwen and purged the hex from the tree instantly. Even the Decay could not survive the sheer strength of Seir's struggle, and a good portion of the Spirit Tree was momentarily cured. It quickly returned to its decayed state and vines soon began reappearing. The only good thing was the absence of black ones. This meant that the curse Ali had put on it was gone. The tree was weaker than it was. Atto's incandescent anger flared, and he yelled out at the pair.

"That was important! You've really done it now, you pests..."

A huge thorny vine burst from the ground and lashed out at Kiri. It wrapped firmly around him and pried him from the tree. It thrashed around and tossed him to the floor, knocking him out and sending the zombie things towards him. At the same time, a large pustule of decay grew behind Eris and ruptured violently, covering her in the toxic, burning substance and catapulting her from the tree. She began to freefall, but opened her wings in time to start gliding. She hurriedly flew down and snatched Kiri's unconscious body from the rapidly approaching gremlins and got him out of there, bracing herself through the searing pain. She started to fly back home with him. Eventually, Kiri's eyes cracked open. He groaned in pain, then jumped as he realized he was about a hundred feet in the air. They descended and landed on the opposite side of the wall. Eris peeked over the top and gestured to the nearest creature, which was a Moki.

"Hey, can you get Grom for us?"

The Moki nodded and scampered off into the Wellspring. A few seconds later, it came back out with Grom behind it.

"What is it, Eris? Why are you on the bad side of the wall?"

She motioned for him to come closer, showing her back, badly burnt and still covered in pale yellow, flecky sludge.

"We had an incident and got covered with the Decay. We don't want to contaminate the safe side."

He immediately became concerned. Many questions had just been raised.

"How bad was it, and what do you mean 'we'?"

Eris' ears dropped with slight guilt.

"Oh, were you not told? Kiri and I went out to try and weaken Atto. We were successful, but it wasn't a clean escape. Both of us are in need of a bit of first aid."

Kiri was sitting on the floor, clutching his stomach and looking sorry for himself. He was winded and covered in nasty red thorns. A bit of Light was leaking from a few bad cuts on his sides. Eris was still covered in nasty goo, and also had a few thorns in her arms and legs. Her wings were slightly tattered as well. Grom just looked exasperated at the two of them.

"Who... Who allowed this?"

They both looked at each other briefly, communicating without even speaking. Eris turned back to Grom.

"No one. We just decided to go by ourselves. We got a couple of Opher's weapons, but he didn't know what we were doing."

Her half-lies seemed to convince Grom, but she wasn't so sure. He disappeared to fetch some things to help the pair out. It took him about two minutes to return with a bucket of freezing water, which he promptly dumped all over Eris. She shrieked and immediately tried to shake herself off, and cowered in her wings for warmth.

"No more Decay goo." Grom declared mischievously. She quickly snapped back.

"Could you not have found any warmer water?!"

"No. Right, you can both come in now. I'll sort out the thorns."

Kiri found the strength to stand, though he was still doubled over a bit. Eris lifted him up so that Grom could take him over the wall, and she climbed up herself. As they were heading inside, battered and rather soggy, she turned to Kiri.

"That was a fun adventure, wasn't it?"

He smiled back and nodded.

Chapter Text

Gumo was sitting impatiently at Octans. He had nothing to do, and a lot of energy that needed expending. Then, an idea came to him. Perhaps he could scavenge to find something of use to Ori, or anyone else. So, he picked up his shiny new weapon and headed for the middle of the Thicket to look for stuff.

It was slow going, with Gumo only finding a small amount of Flora on the ground until he noticed another energy cell up in a tree. He prepared himself, and began climbing. At his age, he was nowhere near as agile as before and couldn't fling himself about like he did back on Nibel. Nevertheless, he slowly made his way up the tree and grabbed the cell. Holding the blue orb, he felt like he was young again. The nostalgia of stealing the Water Vein came back and, for a moment, he enjoyed remembering everything he used to do when Ori was around back then. Those times were about to restart, or at least he hoped. Gumo slid back down the tree and dropped to the ground. Soon, he found a strange clearing. He swore that he had been here before and there were trees there. A speck of light moved in the corner of his eye, and he turned curiously to face it. A Spirit was standing menacingly on a branch of the tree he was under, eyeing him up. He stepped back into the clearing, not liking the look of them.

"Enjoy your feeling of power?"

It was a male voice, with a creepy tone to it. His eyes looked to be dilated, and had a delirious appearance. He was holding a large torch dangerously close to all the leaves.

"...Gumo not that strong."

The Spirit spread his arms, his torch flame touching a leaf for a moment. It almost caught alight, but was left smoking.

"You're friends with Ori; of course you're strong! They give you strength, and I'm sure they would protect their friends at all costs... But I can't see them around... That's a shame."

Gumo looked around fearfully. He didn't know what this Spirit was going to do, but it would almost certainly be bad. 

"Well, I want my own power, and I'm going to get it soon! I have a pact with a certain someone who wants a certain round fellow to... Perhaps have a horrible accident. And how nice of yourself to volunteer!"

So, a fight it was. Gumo drew his weapon and hid his nerves behind a determined face. But the Spirit hesitated for a bit.

"Oh, I almost forgot! Let's set the scene, shall we?"

He held his torch to the leaves and set them ablaze. He ran around the canopy lighting more and more trees while Gumo was helpless to stop him. After a half lap of the clearing, he stopped, turned to Gumo and leaped at him with the torch. He very much overestimated how far he could jump, and ended up a few feet in front of him. Gumo readied his sword and slashed at the Spirit. While slower than Ori, his attack was much stronger, knocking the torch straight from the grasp of his opponent. It landed on the floor, still lit. If the grass wasn't still damp, it would have caught fire as well. Gumo rushed in and stomped on the torch, putting it out. The Spirit grabbed it again and made a swing at Gumo's arm. It hit, but he hardly felt it. It was at this point he realized that he was not directly dangerous, despite his best efforts to appear so. He swung back, badly slicing the lunatic's face. He made a strange angry noise, like he was pretending to go into phase 2 of his bossfight or something. Gumo found it pitiful. He didn't want to attack the poor Spirit anymore, but the sooner he could start dealing with the rapidly spreading fire, the better. He reluctantly stepped forwards and effortlessly blocked another weak swing, and sliced at his stomach. He turned away as the Spirit grabbed hold of his wound, fell to his side and evaporated. All that was left was his torch. Quickly, Gumo got over the guilt of what he had done and began to panic, looking at how much the fire had propagated. Some rainclouds were approaching from the north, but they wouldn't be here for another hour at least. There was nothing around to smother the fire, or to carry water to it. Thankfully, he heard some familiar shouts in the distance. Suddenly, Ori and Shiro burst through the treeline.

"Gumo! What happened?!"

The fires were only growing.

"Bad Spirit! Set forest on fire. Gumo can't stop it!"

Sapphire appeared again.

"Aw, we missed the action. We'll have to try again."

"Really? You're behind this? This was your home too!" Shiro called.

"Not anymore. I told you - you made a mistake."

Sapphire vanished once more; clearly, she was too far gone by this point. Psycho.

From thin air, Victa materialized behind them and immediately cried out at the destruction in front of him, making them both jump.

"Victa! We need a way to put this out!"

Challenged under pressure, he struggled to think of a solution.

"Hold on! Use your silk as a giant fire blanket, and I'll blow it all out or something!"

Ori was concerned that Shiro wouldn't be strong enough to cast something that big, but their worries were quelled when she turned to Mount Stella.

"Seva, we need your energy now!"

The Spirit Tree lit up brightly, and a beam of light arced over the island, hitting the whole clearing and funneling its energy into the Spirits. They could feel the raw energy coursing through them and rooting them to the spot. Victa ran into the forest to get closer to the fire while Shiro began casting a huge silk blanket that slowly covered the entire area. The fire dwindled, but didn't die. Victa outstretched his hand and imagined the most powerful hurricane he could. A violent vortex of wind began to erupt from his palm, extinguishing all the fire in its wake and blowing off even the healthy leaves with it. He walked around the clearing, pointing his hand at anything that looked like fire. Very quickly, it was all gone. All that was left was a large group of scorched, leafless trees. But Ori potentially had a fix for that. They began to cast their recovery spell, but did not aim it at themself. Instead, they kept going with Seva's energy and a faint green tree began to form behind them. As it grew, it gained a sort of green bubble - a powerful healing aura that reached these trees. It began to slowly restore them, and Ori stopped expanding the spell.

"Wow! Having infinite energy is cool!"

Leaves reappeared on the trees and the blacks turned to browns on the trunks. Once everything was fixed, the big tree shrunk down and vanished. Ori let out a sigh of relief.

"...That was quite something."

Chapter Text

"I'm not impressed. You all know why."

The black cloud writhed in an irritated manner. Sapphire and Ali glanced at each other with some level of concern. Evorsia was stone-faced. She knew that she was not the one in trouble here. She had been performing her job as expected.

"I have seen nothing but failure from you three Spirits. You especially, Mir; you were absolutely pathetic. You couldn't even kill one of their goons! All of you must up your game, or else. I will hand you over to Evorsia, whose work has been adequate so far. She will be overseeing you from now on."

Mir, the Spirit who attacked Gumo, looked hurt by this, but he was used to this kind of feedback from his peers. 

"I'll try better next time, Ouroboros. I shall recruit members more competent than me."

Ouroboros, barely satisfied with his response, started shrinking, likely transporting himself somewhere else, but not before further degrading Mir.

"It won't be hard to find people more competent than you."

And just like that, he was gone. Evorsia turned to face the fearful group of Spirits.

"Don't worry. I am not as harsh as the Dark God. As long as you don't tremendously screw everything up, you won't be on my bad side."

They all followed her down into the real world, and into a hidden cave in the Ashen Crags. It was fairly barren, but it was clear that a lot of work was going on. There were many magical artifacts and curios that looked very powerful, and a great many ritualistic, occult items. At the center of the room was an enclosed whirling portal that looked like countless rivers of red hot lava were flowing into it. Evorsia landed and turned to face her pupils. In her hand was a small, dark gray raincloud. 

"There is a rule that a ghost must not obsessively attack anyone to avoid letting on that there may be a reason beyond contempt - that being the will of the Dark God... But there is a simple way around this rule."

She waved the cloud around, so everyone could see it. She then threw it into the air where it expanded to ten times its size and remained in place. She turned her hand into a mockup of a rainstorm, wiggling her withered, witchy fingers and moving them down very slowly. The cloud got suddenly darker, then flooded the ground with water. And then, lightning. There was a brief flash and a loud crack as an artificial bolt of lightning fell from the clouds.

"You see what is possible? You will learn how to do this. There is a storm brewing outside too, and we must use the real clouds from the storm to strike Ori down. It is of the utmost importance that they do not know He exists."

"Why is this?" Ali asked. Evorsia grimaced, and looked out of the hole.

"We believe Ori holds a prophetic immortality beyond saving their own Tree. They are destined to slay Ouroboros one day. We are testing them for now to see if they can be killed."

The idea that perhaps they couldn't kill Ori no matter how hard they tried seemed quite daunting to them, and it was hard to concentrate on anything else. For Ali though, it was about to get much worse. Ouroboros floated in through the hole in the cave. His presence could be felt like a weight on each of their hearts.

"I have received news. A pair of Ori's children have destroyed the hex placed on Seir. Now nothing stands between Ori and the tree. I have decided that we must be more aggressive in our assault, since nothing so far has worked."

Ali turned silent. His eyes did not move one bit. He growled harshly under his breath.

"I spent so much time working on that spell... I swear, I am going to go straight there, and I will tear them limb from limb..."

The malice in his voice turned the room cold. Evorsia attempted to calm him down.

"Now, this is not the time. They are not who we are trying to kill. We have more important things to do."

Ali glared at her before swiftly turning around.

"No. I've made my choice." He grumbled fiercely and passionately, walking away with his fists clenched.

Chapter Text

Ori was by themself. Bravely, they took a breath and stepped back into the Land of the Dead. They had one goal in mind. Once this was done, they would feel no regret in having gone back to Niwen. Everything would have been done here, and they could rest. But not yet. Their eyes were set on the ruined structure they fought Creo at. They were sure that there was something they were missing. And sure enough, as soon as they approached, a metallic grey orb rose from the stone tiles in the floor. The orb floated limply in the center, seemingly awaiting some amount of energy. Ori called out Siri to identify what this was. It examined the orb closely, and quickly came to a fairly deterministic conclusion.

"It's an inactive teleporter. It should stay on once activated with enough energy."

This sounded promising. Perhaps this was a way of traveling between islands?

"Can you activate it? It looks like it wants a lot of energy."

Siri floated over to the orb and began to glow much brighter than normal. A blue aura appeared around it, and slowly grew. Eventually, the blue light began to spread to the orb too. A moment later, the entire orb was blue. Siri let go of their power, and the orb stayed that colour. Ori approached it and attempted to interact with it.

"Nothing will happen yet. There are no other island teleporters left. There's one on Niwen that needs to be activated over there."

The floating orb began to glow brightly. Two beams of light shot out from opposite ends of it, and as it spun, it began to emit a low hum. The pitch gradually got higher, and it began to turn faster. Siri remembered that this was how the teleporters activated.

"Oh, you might want to cover your ears... And maybe hide behind something."

Ori ducked behind a crystal gravestone and held their hands over their ears as best as they could. The orb was spinning extremely fast now, and the hum was turning into a much higher pitched whir. Then, all of a sudden, it collapsed in on itself and released a huge shockwave that knocked Ori off their feet and into the dirt. It echoed out and spread its roaring sound far and wide. The Octans heard it first. A deafening crack filled the air, and they saw the beam of light vanish. Then, everyone in the marketplace heard. Peeking over the thorns, they could see Ori and the teleporter. Then Shiro heard it. She snapped out of her work with a start, then immediately got out of the Palace to see the great teleporter active once more. And finally, the townspeople of the Indigo Rockpools heard the ripples in spacetime. Victa sensed these especially, and he didn't hesitate to cast some simple spells around him to see how they would affect his magic. The sound then travelled all the way across the sea, and it even reached Niwen. From the Wellspring, a faint, distant roar was heard by the Moki and the particularly attentive young Spirits. They all turned their heads south, towards the origin of the sound. It incited great curiosity between them, and the camp stirred for a moment before settling back down. Eris saw the beam of light in the distance. She saw it vanish a few seconds before the bang. And she couldn't help but wonder if that was Ori, and if they were okay.

Ori dragged themself up from the ground, their ears ringing painfully. They were covered in dirt and winded, but successful in their job. They brushed themself off and inspected the damage. Many of the crystals now bowed outwards away from the teleporter. The orb was no longer an orb, but rather a sort of flame that drew in light from its surroundings. Siri returned to wherever it was normally, and Ori nodded at its handiwork and walked away, with a slight limp.

Shiro needed to see what had happened, so instead of running, she decided to practice grappling. She had only ever done it practically once, and was still learning. She fired strands of silk between the crystals of the Prismatic Plains, flying between them as nimbly as a dragonfly. Testing the limits of her abilities, she aimed at a ridge a short way up Mount Stella, easily a couple hundred feet away, and attempted to reach it. The line of silk began to be affected by gravity and hit slightly lower than she wanted. Still, it connected, and she flew through the sky with great speed. Looking down from the cliff she was now on, she could see the freshly activated teleporter, and Ori walking away from it. This time, making sure to adjust for gravity, she aimed near Ori and fired the silk. It connected close by, and she was sent hurtling towards them. She impacted the ground and rolled to dampen the immense force of the landing. Ori was startled by her sudden appearance. She gave them a smile and turned to face the teleporter.

"Woah! You reactivated the translocator... Well done! This is an incredible step forward for us Spirits."

Ori didn't seem to understand, so Shiro explained further.

"A book on our history says that once, there was one of these on every single island on the planet. Everywhere was interconnected and it was like one big city. Even with the decay, there was never a problem. Many spirits from other islands would come to restore the Tree Spirit, however it may have been lost, and restore the island's tree before too much was destroyed. It was paradise. But, long story short, that didn't last long due to the bloodlust of the humans, and now we're here, only one now active and all the rest lost or destroyed. One day, maybe not in our lifetimes, we will have it all back. And this is the first step."

"I get it now. This is more than just a convenience. I just don't know how I always end up doing such good things accidentally."

Shiro gazed into the swirling blue for a little while longer before snapping out of it.

"Ah, I forgot. I have a new prototype to put into action. I had better go and do that. I'll see you soon."

Ori waved goodbye and Shiro flew off again with her new transport method. Within a minute, she was already back inside. Her new machine was an improved dust catcher to put in the Ashen Crags. It contained four nets on a rotating bearing, just like last time, but this one was partly powered by the wind. The nets caught dust and funneled it down into a tray. A small energy cell like a battery powered a solenoid connected to a big press, compacting the dust down into dense bricks of rock powder. Once each brick was made, it would be pushed out and onto the ground, leaving the collection tray ready for more dust. It was built to run for roughly five weeks without running out of energy. On top of all the improvements from her last design that would help it perform better, she was also working on a safer method of getting it in position. Last time, escaping the Crags resulted in one of her head feathers getting torn. This time, the contraption had a handy pair of straps, so she could have it on her back for easier climbing. She also had a set of earplugs and an external air supply. She still wasn't sure how the curse worked, so preventing intake of corrupted material through any orifice was probably a good idea.

As she descended the Palace with the contraption on her back, she realized how nervous she felt. What if something went wrong? She would fall to the curse, and be trapped just like Sapphire was. If Ori found her, would she be forced to kill them? Would they kill her instead? She pushed the dark thoughts down and convinced herself that everything would be fine.

In front of the sheer cliff, she placed the mask over her head and put in the earplugs. Very carefully, she climbed the wall, grappling to anything she could in case she fell. Climbing was far easier this time, having regained her mastery over silk threads, and she made it to the top in record time. She pulled herself onto the flat ground, getting aggressively jabbed at by a bunch of spiky rocks. This seemed like as good a place as any to place the first dust trap. She took it off her back and placed it firmly on the ground. Pressing the top down unfolded all the nets, and flicking on a large switch began the rotation. From here, the wind would keep the nets turning. Quickly, before getting caught out, she tiptoed back to the edge and got out of there with a jump down and a controlled landing. She looked back up at the Crags with a great big grin, proud of what she had done.

Chapter Text

The Wellspring was quiet for the time being. Kiri left the warmth of the building for a breath of fresh air. He was walking with a limp still. Elsewhere in the field, he noticed Eris looking indecisive about something.

"Hey! You alright?"

She nodded back.

"Yeah. I was just about to go to Nibel and was wondering if I should tell anyone. Want to come along?"

The idea intrigued him for a moment, but he had to decline.

"Sorry, I'm still healing. That fight roughed me up. I'll tell the others where you are."

This seemed to be okay with her, and she promptly took off. Nibel was a lot closer than it seemed, and she touched down after only a couple of minutes of flight. Immediately, she was greeted by lush fields of green, flowers and... So many Spirits! There must have been a couple hundred in sight... Possibly over a thousand throughout the entire island.

In the distance, a small group watched her graceful landing with intent. One Spirit seemed particularly fixated.

"Whoa... So pretty. I wish I had wings!" He called under its breath. The others chuckled to themselves with amusement; they probably knew what he was really thinking. These Spirits were very unusual to Eris; extremely diverse in shape, some with two large ears, others with stubby little things, some with thicker antennae instead of the head feathers. But, a select few retained that typical Spirit look that seemed to be the norm.

She was very close to a huge tree, though very unlike a Spirit tree. It poured with torrents of water, cascading down from the branches and into a turbulent lake at its base where it flowed into every water reserve in Nibel.

"This must be the Ginso Tree that Opher mentioned. I don't know how it survives with so few leaves."

She admired its beauty and scale, watching the water flow from its crest for a moment before hearing a terrifying, piercing screech. Just then, a huge owl flew over her head and cast a menacing shadow on the ground as it passed by. This must be Ku. Eris followed her path to try and find her again. She couldn't help but take the journey on foot to take in all the beautiful sights that she had never seen before. She climbed one more rooty embankment, and there she was. Sitting tall in a big nest was Ku. She was preening her wing gently, not looking Eris' way. Suddenly, she was hit with nerves. What if the owl didn't take kindly to her? Something that size would be extremely dangerous. But she's Ori's friend. She wouldn't hurt a Spirit.

Eris built up some courage and called for Ku. She stopped cleaning herself and turned around. Her beady orange eyes looked at Eris intently. They looked surprisingly friendly on such a large creature. Ku made an approving sound and extended her wing to the ground. Eris presumed she was being let into the nest, and climbed on. The wing lifted, and she almost lost her balance, but stayed upright as she was put down on the nest. It was surprisingly warm. Apparently, Eris was finding a lot of things surprising. 

"I'm here to help Ori. I figured you would know a lot about them and might be able to show me something I can do for them."

Ku thought for a second, and came up with an idea. She got up and turned around, and lowered her wing again. This time, she was getting Eris onto her back. A sense of wonder bubbled up inside her when she realized she would get to ride Ku. What would it be like? Where were they going? She also noticed a strange round object sitting in the nest. It was a pale, speckled egg; almost as big as her, and it was moving! It must have been almost ready to hatch. There was so much going on for her, it felt unreal... Like a dream. So much to report back. She clambered onto Ku's back, and they took flight, heading towards the Spirit Tree that Ori rescued all those years ago. It was far faster than Eris' normal flight, and the extra thrill of no control and not having to do anything added to the experience. It was like a rollercoaster! It ended far too soon, however, and they landed in the Hollow Grove at the foot of the Spirit Tree, overlooking the lush, green Mount Horu. So many more Light Spirits were around here, basking in the light of the Tree. Eris dismounted, and Ku gestured for her to talk to it. She stepped forwards into the open and gave it a shot.

"Hello?"

A deep, welcoming voice echoed back.

"Hello, young Spirit. I see our guardian has brought you here. You have a problem, correct?"

She was shocked that this actually worked. She had never heard of talking trees before, aside from Atto. But she thought that was some kind of exception. 

"Yes. I want to do something to help Ori reclaim Niwen. I came here to learn about them and see if there was anything I could bring them."

Sein pondered her request, thinking of how to answer.

"There are many ways you can help Ori. Firstly, I recall their strength relies on these large orbs called Life and Energy cells."

Two holograms of the respective orbs were shown to her.

"Perhaps they left some of these around. Alternatively, you could help them directly and find things for them over on Nimor. And if neither of those are good options, you can always support them morally. Show them just how many people are rooting for them. I know they would appreciate that; I've known them for over sixteen years now."

"So, you know what's going on?"

"Yes. Me, Seir and Seva are connected via root systems that remain after a tree's death. It is trivially easy to regain communication after a new one sprouts, typically only taking a month or two."

"Oh! That's really cool! Anyway, a little bit irrelevant, but... Why does everyone here look so different to us over in Niwen and Nimor?" This question was long overdue, she felt. Those Spirits had been playing on her mind since she got here.

"See, you'll understand this more than most people, Eris. The last Spirit who embraced my Light was a Hybrid; a Spirit who fused with another creature as a falling feather. My Spirit became a Hybrid with a hare who got too close to their feather. Hence, most of the Spirits that I create will have residual traits of that fusion whilst not being full Hybrids. You, too, are a Hybrid... Evidently with something that flies. May I ask what?"

"Kiri said it was a moth or something..." Eris replied uncertainly. "But it doesn't matter how boring the moth was... It made me awesome!" Sein appreciated the positivity.

"I don't believe I have much more information to give for now. Good luck in helping Ori; I know they'll appreciate it."

Eris thanked Sein for its help, waved goodbye and got back onto Ku's neck to return to the nest. Now full of ideas, she was never going to be short of something to do. They landed back at the nest, and Eris quickly noticed something very exciting.

"Ku! The egg! It's moving way more now!"

They both gently approached it, and sure enough, it was wriggling like a bowl of popcorn in the microwave. The little owl inside was tapping on the shell, attempting to break out.

"Do we help it?"

Ku shook her head as if to say "Not yet". Birds need to be independent to survive. It kept tapping, then a crack formed. This crack slowly grew and spidered outwards, until the shell broke and a little baby owl popped its head out of the top. Ku made a thrilled, enamoured sound and leaned in for a closer look. It looked to be a very close replica of her, just a little more blue and brown in some places. It looked like a male. 

"He's so sweet! What will we call him?"

Ku had never tried to say anything people could understand before, and she thought hard about how to pronounce things. Eventually, she came out with a labourer word: 

"Ku... Ko."

"Kuko? That works. That's a nice name."

Kuko seemed to be happily bonding with his mother, and didn't seem to notice Eris much. Good. If he had grown attached to her instead, there would have been a big problem. She noticed a large fragment of eggshell that had come loose from the rest.

"May I take this? I have to show Ori and tell them about this."

Ku gave her a quick nod. Eris grabbed the piece of shell and said goodbye. She was going to leave the pair to their own devices for now, so she wouldn't be staying in Nibel any longer. She took flight again and headed homewards.

But home looked like a ghost town. Eris swooped in, and saw nothing. No one. Except for one person.

"You."

The spectral Spirit began to slowly, menacingly walk towards her.

"The only thing I could do for my boss in life, and you just destroy it, like that."

Ali's hand emanated a black aura. His fingers were tense. This standoff somehow seemed more dangerous than both of Eris' previous encounters, and she slightly shrunk away, fearing that a one-on-one fight would not end well in the slightest. She tossed the eggshell to the side- it was more important to her than her own safety.

"I am not sorry for what I'm about to do to you."

His arm whipped forwards and a torrent of dark energy sprung from his palm. It barely missed Eris and torched the grass just behind her. Panic quickly set in. She had no weapon to defend herself anymore, nor had she ever fought anything before. Instead of trying to fight, she did her best to protect herself, tightly wrapping her wings around her body. A much faster bolt of energy came her way, and was painlessly absorbed by her dense feathers. She noticed how surprisingly weak the projectile was due to the lack of a focus for Ali's magic, and inferred that he wasn't as massive a threat to her as she had thought. A lot of Spirits were peeking out of their hiding places to watch the fight. Eris decided to give them all the show they wanted. Still covering a large part of herself, she walked up to Ali despite being bombarded by magic, and punched him square in the face. He recoiled and clutched his jaw in pain and shock.

"This is kind of sad, really. Ori told me you were dangerous. I'm literally a child, and I'm already winning this fight."

Ali didn't take kindly to the gloating or the unscheduled ballistics test for his brain, and something within him snapped right there.

"...I'll tear you limb from limb!"

He charged at Eris, flinging fists in every which direction. Some of these managed to hit her, but his form was completely off, and they only served to hurt him. He was promptly kicked in the face by a tough hoof and went down.

"Get up. I know you can do better than that. You get one more go."

Ali did so. This time, he acted calmer and more composed. He flew up, just out of Eris' reach, and began to bombard her with small solid spines of dark magic. It was very clear that Ali had spent most of his energy right at the start of the fight. At this point, Kiri came running out of the Wellspring to try and help. Opher was not far behind and handed him a large sword. But there was a problem. He couldn't reach Ali either. An idea had already been set in motion, though. He beckoned Eris over, which brought Ali over too. He was very close to a ledge. Then, Kiri tossed his weapon upwards to another Spirit who was running up behind him.

"Catch!"

They jumped over Kiri and grabbed it from the air. Ali was so hyper-focused on Eris that he didn't pay attention to anything else that was happening. The Spirit flew through the air with the momentum from the jump, slashing him twice before dropping to the ground. Ali stumbled backwards, staring at the huge new cuts across his body. Begrudgingly, he fled back to where he came from.

Kiri checked to see if Eris was okay. Her wings were a mess from the constant barrage of dark magic, but other than that, she was fine. She wouldn't be able to fly out to see Ori, but she knew they would be back very soon anyway.

"Imagine getting beaten up by a bunch of babies. Couldn't be me."

Eris' sarcasm wasn't lost on the others, and they all laughed together for a moment.

"Good job with the swordplay. What's your name?"

"Amity," she said with a smile.

Eris smiled back.

"Well, Amity, I say that two's alright but three's a team! I think we can go far, the three of us. Oh, and I thought that regular weaponry couldn't hurt ghosts..."

Kiri gave a little wink.

"I snuck out the back and spoke with Twillen. I had that sword imbued with something special. That's why I wasn't by your side immediately - you know I would have been fighting for you, Eris."

A mightily impressive piece of teamwork from this debut trio! Eris, Kiri and Amity were sure to go far.

"Bravo, Kiri. Glad to have you."

Chapter Text

After the little celebration with his sisters, Kiri headed straight back to the lab. Grom was waiting eagerly for him to show up. He seemed immensely happy, and had something to show him.

"Look here! Another important discovery."

Kiri got closer to the fancy glass sample bowl he was holding. 

"I've found out everything we need to know about this stuff. I made some more of it, and look! It's staining the glass purplish and eating through it. It doesn't melt no matter how hot I can get it, but it burns bright, and it smells like rancid fish."

The powder was sort of iridescent, changing colour wherever Kiri looked at it. Despite knowing how deadly it was, he was slightly tempted to play with it. 

"So, what next?"

"Well, the next part is done too! I've found a chemical that's very similar to this powder. It stinks when it burns, and it also tries to eat through glass. But this one is a more pleasant orange. I tested a bit on a worm, and it didn't die, so I reckon it's at least fifty percent safe."

Grom procured another test tube with a small amount of beautifully orange granules of something. 

"So we need to turn that into a liquid, and then that's it? This went a lot quicker than anticipated."

Grom nodded with a surprisingly unhappy face.

"Yes, but good research takes months even with large teams of people working. What we're doing is the equivalent of cobbling together a tent and hoping it works as well as a huge palace for shelter. But it's all we can do, and I really hope it won't kill us."

After a little longer helping in the 'laboratory', Kiri stepped outside to be greeted by an overexcited Eris and Amity.

"Kiri! Wanna play?!" Eris called. Kiri responded in kind, nodding with the same enthusiasm.

"What are we going to play?"

"Let's do tag!" Amity chimed in. A pretty common game around the Glades, but it was safer to play there. The Wellspring was much more vertical and there were many spikes and powerful cogs that the Glades simply didn't have. 

"Sure. But let's be careful, okay? And Eris, no wings! That's cheating."

"Fair. I'll start! Five seconds!"

Eris started counting down, and the other two started running away.

"4... 3... 2... 1... Coming!"

Eris sprinted out of the building, searching for either of the others. She noticed a rough footprint that looked as if someone had turned around quickly, and followed the trail of breadcrumbs that the Spirit had left. Seeing nothing, she advanced further until finally, she spotted Amity through a window hole. Amity yelped and ran away as Eris jumped through the window to follow her. 

Kiri watched from a balcony above as Eris chased Amity around the bottom floor of the Wellspring, slowly catching up. Suddenly, a voice appeared behind him.

"Hi, Kiri! What are you doing up here?"

He recognized the voice from somewhere.

"Ceres? Me, Eris and Amity are playing tag. They're down there; come watch!"

"Oh, I wanna join! That sounds fun."

Eris finally caught up with Amity - she leaped into her, rolling along the ground with her before stopping in a pile.

"Aw! You got me. No tag-backs rule, I guess. Now I need to find Kiri."

"I saw him watching us somewhere up there. He's a slippery one."

Amity returned to the large open room where Eris said he was. Surprisingly, he hadn't moved, and beckoned Amity over instead.

"Hey! We've got someone who wants to join us."

Ceres popped their head over the edge of the platform so that they were visible to the girls.

"Oh, it's Ceres! Of course you can join! I'm tagged."

They both ran off to hide straight after that last word left Amity's mouth.

"Alright, I'm gonna get'cha!"

Kiri and Ceres were outside, parkouring on the higher levels of the Wellspring. 

"Higher, Kiri! She'll never get us up here!"

There was one more level of wooden platform below the very top, slightly hidden away. There was no way Amity would be able to get up herself; slightly unfair, but it would be funny, right? Kiri was boosted up by Ceres, then peeked over the edge, ready to grab them.

Ceres prepared themself, and made the leap. Their right hand connected with Kiri's, but their left did not. As they swung forwards, inertia in their free arm carried it in a downwards arc, slicing it open on one of the menacing spikes covering the underside of the platform. Ceres cried out loud as Light poured from the open wound.

"No, Ceres!" Kiri was instantly panicked, and almost lost grip of the platform as Ceres' weight dragged him towards the edge.

"Pull me up! Pull me up!" They strained, clearly in massive amounts of pain. Kiri pulled hard, and got them to solid ground where they fell to their knees, trying to let their other hand hold the cut closed. 

"I'm so sorry!" Kiri felt horrible, letting Ceres get hurt so easily; tears of guilt stung his eyes as he tried anything he could to help.

"I-it's fine! It wasn't - your fault... Just get me down... To Opher, a Spirit Well, something!"

Kiri rushed them down as fast as was safe. He wasn't sure if this wound was fatal without medical help, but wouldn't take any chances. At the bottom, Kiri grabbed hold of their arm and took them hastily towards the Spirit Well. Amity rushed up behind them ready to tag one, until she realized what was happening.

"Oh, no, Ceres! What happened?!"

Kiri turned around, his eyes wet.

"I'm sorry! We climbed up the Wellspring, and I... I let Ceres get hurt. I need to get them to the Spirit well and take care of them. I was the one who told us to be careful in the first place! I... Feel awful."

Amity didn't care who was at fault; she called Eris over to help.

"Sorry, the game's off. We need to help Ceres."

Chapter Text

"I'm back. And probably for the last time."

Frank welcomed Ori into his workshop once again. He sat them down and poured them a hot drink.

"So... What are you after, Ori?"

They took a sip of the drink and burnt their tongue. Something leafy - like tea.

"Well, I've earned a bit of money since I've been here, and I don't see anywhere better to spend it. I'm after something that can always be with me, even if I drop my main weapon in a fight, and small enough that I can access it instantly. Maybe something like a dagger..."

Frank got up and perused his wall of weapons, then settled on one he thought that fit the requirements perfectly. He lifted the thing off the rack and showed it to Ori. It was a set of knuckledusters with some nasty blades attached. They tried it on and it fit quite well. Then, Frank dropped a small amount of that pale blue liquid onto it, whereby it quickly changed colour and morphed into the perfect fit for them. 

"Can I test them on something?"

They couldn't help but stare at the little details and etchings in the rings, and the fine edges in those daggers. Amazing handiwork.

"Sure... I've got that target dummy out back. It's pretty roughed up, though. Won't last much longer."

He led Ori out through a back door into the fenced-off area. In front of him had to be the most desperate-looking clothed hay bale on a stick they had ever seen. Which made sense, as this was the only one they'd seen. The 'shirt' it was wearing had at least fifteen different slashes through it, all sewn together with crude thread. It had no head, arms or legs. There was a pile of chaff on the floor from all the weapons cutting through the hay.

"It's, uh... In pretty bad shape, huh? Worse than last time, that's for sure."

Ori stood in front of the dummy and turned their back to it. After a short while of waiting, Frank clicked his fingers. They swung their fist around, gouging a huge hole in the shirt, and then thrust it forwards, straight into its heart.

"Wow. This thing is strong. I like it!"

"You're in luck. It's a small item, so it's only 150 Flora."

Ori counted out the money and handed it to him.

"Another thing... I was wondering if any of my other weapons needed sharpening. My Edge is years old at this point, and I found this axe in a waterfall, so I doubt it's as sharp as it can be."

They gave Frank the axe. Looking closely at the blade, it was quite worn and dull, and it was clear that the water had taken its toll. The Edge was much better, with only slight wear to the tip of the blade. Still, Frank took both weapons in and started up his grindstone. Sparks flew across the room as the metal was shaved off the axe, and in no time, Ori had it back, and it was no doubt far more dangerous than it was before. For the Spirit Edge, the grindstone was a bit too heavy and would just have caused damage. Frank got out a slab of rock and began grating the sword against that. It acted like a whetstone and slowly removed any dents in the blade, sharpening it delicately. Ori received their final new weapon and marvelled at Frank's handiwork.

"So, how much for those two?"

Frank thought for a minute, counting on his fingers.

"We'll say six fifty. That sword of yours was a tough customer, I tell you. There must be some kind of intense magic within that blade because it was resisting me quite strongly."

This drained Ori of most of their remaining money. That didn't matter. They weren't going to use it anymore; it was almost time to go home.

Chapter Text

The gray sky broke, and from nothing to torrential in just a second, rain crashed to the ground in a spectacular fashion. Everything was immediately soaked, and dirty water began to run down the hill towards the little river. Shiro was sitting in the Thicket with Ori, watching the stormy clouds roll in. They had a nice view out to sea and everything... Such a nice spot, and yet not so much as a bench or anything of the sort to admire the sights from.

"The Storms... They're back."

Her voice sounded entranced by the rainstorm. There was barely any wind, just the cool rain. Ori also enjoyed the rain, and the sound of it pattering against the dirt around them. 

"What do you mean by The Storms? Is it just these tropical rainstorms?"

Shiro scanned the skyline for something.

"Yes, but there have been several cases of seemingly targeted lightning strikes killing Spirits who are out in the open. It doesn't look like the storm is close enough, yet."

They still had plenty of time to sit and listen to the rainfall together. Ori laid back and smiled at Shiro.

"I've never really had a friend like you. I think you've got the same adventurer's spirit that I do, but also the ability to ground me - to just stop and relax like this, which I found I really needed. I'm glad I met you."

She very obviously blushed at this.

"Thanks! That might genuinely be the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me. Which is kind of depressing, really. I guess that's why I should be going out and making friends like you who will say these kinds of things about me. Maybe I'd feel a lot better if I surrounded myself with positivity rather than all that other stuff."

Thunder rumbled faintly in the distance.

"...This rain is nice and all, but I think we should be getting inside."

The clouds over their head began to brighten slightly.

"Nah, we'll be fine, Ori. I'm sure the lightning is just a coinc-"

Their vision went white for a split second as a bolt of lightning obliterated a tree they were standing near. The thunder was so loud it took hold of their heads and shook them violently. They both scrambled to get on their feet as fast as possible.

"-Yes, let's get some shelter! What a great idea! Oh, my Light!"

They started running. Another bolt of lightning hit where they were sitting just seconds ago. Then, it started crashing to the ground ahead of them, so they had no way of knowing where it would strike next. They managed to get to Octans and hid in the pantry. Out of breath, they both sat down. Shiro couldn't seem to stop smiling.

"Wow! I'm definitely not built for that whole calm princess thing. I'm built for this! For action! That was so thrilling! Can we do it again?!"

She hyperactively looked out at the unfolding scene, and saw a rather frightened figure under a tree. She looked closer... Sapphire. She was cowering under a tree from the rain and appeared to be afflicted with great pain anytime it touched her. The rainwater was beginning to filter through the leaves, and soon that tree wouldn't be safe for her any longer. 

"Hey! Get over here! It's dry!"

Sapphire noticed them in the pantry and, at first, she was frustrated that they were also there. But then she realized that if she didn't get over there, she could be destroyed by the water. But she couldn't get there. She gestured to Shiro and let her hand be partially dissolved by the rain. She could not go out there.

"Hang on... I've got an idea!"

Shiro grappled onto her chest and pulled her to the pantry as fast as she could. This elicited a squeal of surprise and probably a bit of whiplash.

"There you go. How did you end up in that position?"

"I left to go and find something, but I forgot about the storm coming. Thanks for saving me, I guess."

The situation felt a little awkward, what with two enemies being stuck in the same confined space. Shiro decided to remedy that.

"Truce, for now?"

Sapphire thought about it, then begrudgingly agreed.

"Hey, we can still enjoy the rain. We just can't go out in it until the lightning passes."

Ori chose to be optimistic about this whole ordeal. The lightning was still going, but it sounded a bit further away. It was more towards the Rockpools now. Probably hunting some poor fool who stayed outside like they did. 

"Do ghosts still need to eat?"

Shiro attempted to make conversation with whatever was around her. Which, being in a pantry, was just food. And more food.

"...No? But I can try, I guess."

"Take this."

She handed her a fairly large piece of fruit. Sapphire slowly began eating it, watching the rain fall and waiting for it to stop.

Chapter Text

On top of the wall, Opher held his bamboo staff down for Amity to grab hold of. Eris picked up Kiri and flew him up there, and then helped pull Amity up. Ceres was in no fit shape to leave the confines of the wall, even though the Spirits all wanted them to come along. The gang all admired the scarlet hellscape beyond the threshold that had been thrown up by Opher and Grom.

"I think it's time you all got your own weapons. You three are the most promising fighters I've seen out of the kids. If everything goes south, we'll need some competent people to protect us from the nasties. Plus, I haven't taught anyone the art of fighting in fifteen years. Nice to feel that young again, y'know?"

He took off a long leather sack and opened it up. From it, he pulled out a thin sword.

"This one belongs to you, Eris. It's a foil, built for jousting, and the way I've seen you attack using your forward velocity makes me think this is the right one for you. There is also a sharp blade on either side from about halfway up, so you can slash with it too."

Eris inspected her weapon, excited that it was actually hers. Opher reached into his bag again and grabbed onto something else. It looked a lot bigger than Eris' weapon. He passed it to Kiri, and the weight of it was immediately obvious. It was extremely dense, but Kiri was able to lift it and swing it around.

"This is my own idea, a mini Claymore. I know that Spirits can't handle a full-sized Claymore; your arms just don't come with enough muscle, so I designed this one instead. It has the same raw power behind it, just with less weight and size. With enough practice, you'll be able to wield that thing one-handed."

He paused for Amity.

"And for you, I spent a while thinking. I haven't had much to go by with your style of fighting, but I think I've got the right one for you."

He pulled out a fancy-looking spear and handed it to her. She turned it over in her hands, intrigued.

"I noticed that you didn't hesitate to go head-on against a threat, and you seem quite active. So, this spear is one that you can throw, and it can pull you towards where it lands, or it can return to you if you want it to. This allows you to very quickly get close to an enemy, negating their ranged attacks and the spear is very powerful, so anything you end up fighting should go down very quickly. Now then, how about we go test them on some enemies?"

They all jumped down from the wall and into the decaying wasteland that Niwen had become. Almost instantly, a heavily infected lizard... dog... thing appeared. It seemed to be just fine still, and didn't appear to be affected by the decay growing all over it. That didn't mean its brain wasn't affected, however. It noticed the four of them and charged. Opher decided to give the kids time to prepare, so he baited the thing towards him and made sure it got a nice bite of his bamboo stick instead of his leg. He rotated the stick and flipped the lizard on its back, and booted it away again. It got back up and ran at him again. Kiri stepped forwards with his Claymore and waited. Opher planted his stick in the ground and climbed it, balancing precariously at the top. He pushed himself upwards and took the stick with him. Kiri struck the charging beast hard, and it flew sideways and disintegrated. It had taken just one hit to kill the thing.

"Dude, this thing could cut down a tree! It's so strong!"

Suddenly, a much larger specimen emerged from the brush and pounced on Amity. She was slashed by its claws as she attempted to escape, and she put her arm up to protect herself as best as she could. But as she did, something strange happened; the beast slowed rapidly, and was eventually left frozen right there. Amity kept her arm held out towards it as she thought it might be the source of this weird phenomenon, and crawled out from under its paws. Once she was far enough away, she dropped her hand and grabbed the spear. Sure enough, the big lizard stopped being affected by the weird time magic she had discovered, began moving once more and tried to fight Amity again. This time, everyone was ready. She struck first, sending her spear straight into its face. This greatly disoriented and hurt it, and it stopped trying to charge. Eris then swooped in and slashed all along its side before crash landing because she wasn't looking where she was going. Kiri and Amity both finished the job with their heavier weapons. Eris got up to see the beast vanish and leave something behind. It was a large green orb with a tree shape embedded in it. The other Spirits were confused, but she instantly recognized it.

"It's a life cell! Sein told me to find these for Ori. They make you more resistant to injury."

A very loud growling noise could be heard in the distance, close to the Spirit Tree. Opher took the hint.

"Okay, I think that's enough training for now. It sounds a bit too dangerous for us out here. Let's head back before we get ourselves into trouble."

Chapter Text

The rain slowed and finally stopped and the smell of petrichor slowly sank back into the ground as leftover drops of rainwater toppled from the trees in bursts from the sturdy winds still buffeting the island. Sapphire immediately flew back up into the clouds, away from the rain... But she was dreading facing Ouroboros yet again with another failure. The rest of the Octans left their houses and started chatting with each other, piling dry timber back onto the firepit and moving a filled water butt indoors. Ori and Shiro were stuck on what to do now; there was hardly anything left to loot, but they still didn't feel completely ready to return yet. And now, they knew that this was not going to be the end of the adventure. Far from it.

"Look, at this point... There has to be a higher being somewhere that is attempting to kill me. I don't know why, but it's after me. And I have the feeling that Ali and Sapphire are under its influence." Ori made a confident exclamation. But they still didn't know the full story. That remained a big mystery.

They got out of the pantry and into the moist air. The rainy smell got stronger; it was a nice smell, but the damp conditions and water still dripping from the trees wet both of their fur coats all over again. 

"Oh, I'm absolutely with you on this now! I'm fairly certain that lightning was Sapphire's doing, but there's no way she could learn something that powerful on her own... Something stronger must have taught her. What could this mean for the future?"

"Depending on how powerful they are at interfering with our world, they could potentially be a huge threat. Either way, I don't expect my job to be over once I save Niwen. I need to know more, or at least stop that thing from trying to murder me!"

Shiro wondered about this. She was still ever so slightly skeptical about the existence of this deity, and wanted to find out the truth. Suddenly, an idea popped into her mind. One that was potentially very stupid.

"I know what to do! I'll see you soon."

Before Ori could object, she was out of sight. They had no idea what to do now, and headed over to the unlit fire to talk with everyone about their time. Some downtime was nice, they thought.

Shiro grappled deftly through the trees, trying to get back to the Glass Palace as fast as possible. She ascended the flights of stairs up to the throne room, then dipped behind the throne and pushed a hidden button underneath the seat.

Another staircase spiralled down from the ceiling which led even higher into the palace. She climbed these stairs and entered the real top floor. It contained a few crates of money and valuables passed down through several generations, as well as a bunch of junk and litter that she'd never been bothered to clear away. Some of it must have been ten or twelve years old. But, more importantly, a strange machine hung from chains suspended all around the room.

Shiro cast a small, weak fireball; the only non-silk magic she could pull off, and placed it in a brazier below the contraption. The fire glowed a haunting blue, and heated up the machine. It began to turn translucent and started spinning. As more energy was drawn from the brazier, the more intensely the machine moved, until eventually, it split in two, opening a large rift and releasing a small shockwave. A burnt, slightly sweet smell was released that stung her nostrils. She braced herself and jumped through.

The other side was bright white and barely solid; clouds extended in all directions, with many holes spattered all over the landscape. She looked at herself and could see through her body... A weird sensation washed over her; she felt entirely unnatural and so much lighter! Good, the machine worked, and Shiro was now a ghost in the afterlife. Well, that was the easy part. The next task was to find Sapphire. She climbed onto a tall billowy cloud and spotted a few figures spread out. She looked closer at one. Nope. That's Ali. She tried the next one. She had never seen that person before. All crimson clothing, very dangerous looking. Finally, she spotted Sapphire. She took a mental note of where the rift was and headed over there. 

"Hey!" She whispered loudly. Sapphire didn't seem to hear. She repeated herself slightly louder, with a strain in her voice, and this got her attention. Shiro gestured for her to come over, which she did with great caution and confusion. They hid behind a large, distant cumulonimbus that obscured the others' view of the area.

"...How did you...? Ugh, I can't even escape you up here. What do you want?"

"Look... I feel like I need to make it all up to you somehow. I made some mistakes and lost you, and it was my fault, and now we're here."

Sapphire wasn't too impressed.

"And how do you intend to repay this? 'Cause if I don't keep harassing you, I'll have Ouroboros after me. I don't like the idea of a dark god such as him hating me."

Shiro agreed that such a thing wouldn't be the best for Sapphire. But, here comes the kicker.

"...I could bring you back to life. You could return to the Light, and make Nimor what it was meant to be instead of destroying it in the name of killing us."

"I'm not so easily convinced. You show me that I'll truly be safe against Ouroboros and his minions. No magic, just a blade for each of us."

"Fine. I guess you wouldn't choose any other way."

Sapphire immediately drew her thin blade, suddenly feeling a little nervous. Shiro reluctantly cast a silken cutlass-like weapon and readied herself. Sapphire started with a simple stab which was parried relatively easily and countered. Shiro's swing hit the hilt of the other sword, and she backed away, ready for the next attack coming her way. Sapphire walked confidently towards her and took a wide swing. But it was a feint, and she slipped behind her and pulled off her real swing. Shiro spun around and swatted it away just in time to only get a small slice on her waist. She followed the block with a heavy swing that cut up Sapphire's shoulders; there was too much kinetic force for her to simply parry. She disappeared into the clouds below and erupted from them behind Shiro, preparing for a mighty airborne downswing. Shiro stepped towards her at the last second and turned sideways, and the blade landed right by her feet. Sapphire quickly brought her weapon back up to parry any incoming attack, but their blades locked together. Both of them were now pushing against each other to gain the upper ground. Eventually, they managed to free themselves slightly and both blades now pointed at each other's necks. Everything stopped, and the two of them locked eyes, unsure what would happen next.

"So... Draw?" Shiro asked.

"Yeah. I can accept that."

"You fought well. I'm surprised, considering your last performance."

They both lowered their weapons and did away with them. That slower-paced fight was fun, but it still clearly left both of them wanting in terms of action.

"I'm truly sorry for what I did to you a couple of days ago. I could have kept trying to negotiate, but instead I chose violence. I chose very poorly, in retrospect. Please, forgive me... Some time. Maybe not now, but one day."

Sapphire smiled and looked down at the ground.

"I'm sorry too. I acted immaturely then. Even now, I chose to settle this whole thing with a pointless duel. Perhaps you were not so wrong to lash out like that; I was being an absolute jerk. I also need to thank you for helping me out of the rain today; I wouldn't have lived otherwise." Sapphire felt that with a new view on things, and a new view of who Shiro was, which she didn't just make up in her mind, so that she could have someone to blame, she could better herself now. Slowly but surely. "So... Let's at least try to be friends again. Maybe the second time around will fare better."

The nice moment was rudely interrupted by the faint sound of footsteps getting closer.

"Get in the clouds, Shiro! They don't know about us yet!" She hissed. Shiro ducked into another fluffy cloud as Ali appeared.

"The hell are you doing?"

Sapphire hurriedly made something up.

"Someone came along and was being annoying. Managed to fight them off. They got away, but I doubt they'll live." She chuckled gleefully - and convincingly.

He gave her a sort of approving nod and began to walk off. Sapphire breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

Chapter Text

An overwhelming presence suddenly filled the air. It froze Shiro in place, and a huge dark form manifested itself nearby.

"Well, Sapphire... I do believe we have some TALKING to do, don't you think?" He growled angrily.

"What... What do you mean? Have I done something?" Sapphire was terrified, and her words didn't sound very believable. Ouroboros grumbled, disappointed.

"How many times, Sapphire, have I told you that I'm omniscient?! You know that word? It means that I know what you're doing all the time! You've been with me for all of two days, and you're already a dirty traitor!"

A huge dark tendril shot out from the black cloud, grabbed Sapphire around the midriff and hauled her up into the air. She was too scared to even move or speak. He squeezed hard, bending her elbows at nasty angles. They weren't meant to go backwards...

"I've given you so much power, for such a small price, and this is how you repay me? She killed you, remember? You'd rather side with the one who doomed you to a year imprisoned in your own mind? What is wrong with you?"

His grip tightened significantly, and Sapphire gasped for air. It was now extremely difficult to breathe. Through numerous tiny breaths, she struggled to get words out.

"I-I've had a... change of heart! ...I don't want to be - a bad guy... I don't need power! I want my old... life back! And I don't want to be constantly under threat from Mister Big Bad Evil Guy!"

Shiro couldn't leave Sapphire in such distress. She dived into the clouds and started swimming through.

"Well, too bad! You messed up, and you did it with the wrong person. You naive soul... You should have known better than to betray a god! Now, let me savour this moment..."

Once again, his grip tightened. But slowly. He wanted to see her suffer as she died - see how far he could destroy her body before she would vanish in a puff of smoke. She shrieked in agony as a sickening snap resounded through her body; one of her ribs had broken, with more straining far more than they should. There was no air left for Sapphire to breathe. She was going to die... And she couldn't even muster up enough breath to vocalize her objection any longer. Hypoxia began to claim her consciousness and her eyes drifted shut... 

Suddenly, Shiro burst from the clouds and sliced the murderous tendril that was grasping the dying Sapphire. She cast a string of silk at her and grappled through the clouds. Oxygen flooded back into Sapphire's body, but breathing shot waves of white-hot fire through every fiber of her being. A steady trickle of Light bled from a spot on her skin where the dagger-like shard of rib had broken through and protruded at least a quarter of an inch out of her chest. Not a nice sight. Together, they fled from Ouroboros as fast as Sapphire could hobble. He tried his best to attack them, stabbing at the clouds they hid in and closely following them. Shiro popped up through the clouds again to check where the rift was. While in the air, she realized that she wouldn't make it back down in time to dodge a sharp tendril spike sent from the wrathful god. Quickly, she cast a crude solid silk weapon and swung downwards just as Ouroboros shot a tendril towards her. Hitting the blackened object, she gained a small amount of vertical momentum which barely got her out of the way of the spike, and managed to catch a glimpse of the rift. She fell back into the clouds and found Sapphire again.

"This way!"

They made a beeline for the way out of here, and fled through the portal at the exact same time. They landed roughly on the floor and Shiro immediately turned to see the rift blink and collapse in on itself, the machine smoking and probably broken. Sapphire almost couldn't believe herself. She was solid again. She was alive! Completely exhausted and in the most pain she had experienced in her life, but alive.

"How- have you do-ne this?" She squeaked out with great difficulty, making an attempt to keep it together, between the pain and joy. She was shocked that this had all just happened, but Shiro just gave a little smile.

"Maybe that little deal with Ren wasn't such a bad idea after all?"

"...Either - way, I think it's - safe to say we're - friends now. I'll even - pinky promise it, look!" Her speech was impaired from the searing pain.

They linked pinkies. Shiro didn't really understand the significance of a pinky promise, but assumed that it was a trustworthy gesture. They both looked up through the roof and saw an angry, dark, thrashing cloud, trying to reach down from the heavens with a blazing fury.

"He didn't like - that." Sapphire joked, yelping in agony as she laughed. This rib would be the second death of her...

Chapter Text

"Kiri, come in here!"

He heard Grom call his name with glee and his interest was piqued. He rushed over to the lab urgently to see what he wanted.

"I'm at the final stages of development of this vaccine. With the help of Grok, it's been even quicker than it was before. Do you want to see the end of our journey? I know you're not as interested in this chemistry stuff anymore, but you did help out a lot in the start."

Kiri remembered how passionate he once was about this project and how he had slowly drifted away from it in favour of seeking adventure and daydreaming of his very own trip to a far out island like Ori was doing. He felt a little bit guilty for basically leaving it all up to Grom, but that was about to be in the past. Now, Kiri assumed they were all witnessing the final results of their several long, hard days' work, and the passion for this project somewhat returned. Grom added a small amount of a yellowish solution to a faint purple liquid, and all the colour soon disappeared with a fizz.

"This is it! We have made what could be the first ever permanent form of protection against the Decay!"

Grom held up the flask of liquid triumphantly, then swiftly put it down in case he dropped it. 

"Of course, this isn't enough for everyone. Now we either need to decide who is more important, or wait for more of it to be made."

Kiri had somewhat of an idea about the pecking order. 

"Grok is probably at the most risk of being reinfected. He should definitely get one. Then it's you, Opher and the other workers, then me, Eris and Amity. After that, the Spirits from youngest to oldest and the Moki. If we have to wait longer for Ori, then we need the best of us to be safe."

This side of Kiri was something Grom hadn't yet seen. He was aware of his intelligence due to his interest in chemistry, but hadn't thought of him as a big decision maker. Such a rapid choice about the importance of his friends and family perhaps shone a different light on him... A colder, more calculating one. Though, that wasn't strictly a bad thing in this case.

"That sounds like a safe idea. It feels wrong having the other Spirits so low down on the list, but someone's got to be there. Not everyone can have this yet."

They all gathered together to start filling the syringes for the solution. Suddenly, Eris burst into the room dragging a rather annoyed Amity.

"I think you need to take a look at Amity! There's a weird-looking scratch on her arm."

"I'm fine... Seriously. It just stings."

"You're not."

Grom came over and had a look at Amity's arm. The scratch was a few inches long, which was about halfway down her forearm. It was slightly discoloured and small lumps that were tainted slightly orange ran all the way down.

"Yep, that's decay. Glad we made more than enough of the cure."

He quickly grabbed an extra syringe and found the vial of the cure they made a while ago. Carefully, he filled up a small dose that would be more than enough for the little cut.

"Hold still. This shouldn't hurt much."

He put the needle in and slowly released fluid into her arm. The cut immediately calmed down and all the swelling went away. The orange faded and everything returned to normal. 

"Excellent! Now, since you're all here, we can give you the vaccine as well."

Eris seemed worried, especially since it appeared to be such a ramshackle job both in terms of time and equipment, but realized it would be worth the risk to be protected against the Decay.

It was time to put a stop to this brutal infection once and for all.

Chapter Text

Ori was heading through the Autumn Forest when they heard a pair of familiar voices coming towards them. 

"...Sapphire?" They had to double take to make sure they weren't hallucinating voices.

Sure enough, she appeared through the trees, followed by Shiro. They were absolutely shocked to see such a thing.

"First off... How are you alive? And now you two are friends again? Shiro, you were gone for half an hour! How?"

Shiro smirked and gave them a wink.

"A magician - never tells. And let - me tell you... Shiro is - a magician." Sapphire's rib was still heavily affecting her breathing and speech. Obviously, it wouldn't fix itself in an instant.

They gave an exasperated sigh.

"I'm off to the Rockpools one last time, then I'm going home. You want to come along?"

Shiro's heart hit the floor. She knew this was coming, but didn't want to accept it yet.

"You're going home? I... guess it had to happen." She sounded dejected.

"I'll be back soon. Don't fret."

"Yeah, I guess I'll come with you." Shiro still looked unsatisfied with their response. It was easy to tell by her face; she didn't believe them.

Sapphire was hungry. She passed up the offer and continued on to Octans to meet the others. Ori and Shiro went the other way, back to the Plains and towards those pretty blue rocks. As they walked along the path that led there, they saw Victa coming their way.

"Well, hello there, you two! Good to see you still kickin' with that old Decay creeping on in. Hey, you look like you could do with another little bit of magic, Ori! And since you've certainly got the hang of the basics, I'll see if I can get you a trickier spell this time!"

Ori thought quickly about what they needed most.

"I'm almost ready to go back and deal with my tree. I probably need something that destroys Decay. Got anything for that?"

Victa considered some of the spells he had available, and landed on a fairly simple one.

"Aha! This one is mighty fast and still packs a punch! I just know it'll be perfect!"

Ori took their hand and concentrated, ready to learn.

"Imagine you're holding an orb just big enough to fit in your hand. Heat it up, make it boil in your palm! Then thrust your arm forwards and throw all that contained energy at your adversary!"

They followed the steps, concentrating hard. They flung their arm forward and a bolt of energy shot from their hand, scorching the grass where it hit and leaving a hole in the ground. It seemed like this was what Victa intended this time, and not complete overkill like the Dragon Breath was.

"Now, practice that, and you can easily take out anything your own size."

They tried a few more times, requiring less concentration each time. Soon, they would be able to use their spells effectively in battle.

"Thanks! So, where are you heading?"

"The last guy in the Rockpools left just a few hours ago, so I packed up too. I was only staying to make sure they got out alright. Seems like most of us were going to the market. The Moles are letting us stay in their burrows."

They gave him an understanding nod.

"The decay looks like it hasn't spread beyond the Fen, so why are you so worried?"

Victa's typical smile faded. It was to be expected - this man had lost his home to the Decay threatening to take over like it had done to the Fen, and was being forced away from everything he knew. Who was to say what kind of life awaited him in the marketplace up in the Thorny Glades?

"Better to be safe than sorry. The Rockpools aren't immune to the Decay. It's starting to taint the coral... I tried to stay optimistic in these times, but I'm afraid to say there ain't much to be joyous about right now. I'm sorry I couldn't be the happy guy I normally am..."

"It's fine. I've seen depictions of how tough it is for everyone living with a dying Spirit Tree, and lived through an experience like it too. Paranoia eats at your mental state. It isn't good. Just... get to somewhere safe. I'll come back one day to help restore this place."

Victa sighed morosely.

"Glad you still have hope, kid. I'm not so sure that I'll make it through."

His broken half smile hurt Ori's soul. He walked past them slowly, hopefully somewhere safer.

"Something happened to him. He's not... himself anymore."

Shiro was even more upset by what she saw of him. Her eyes glistened slightly with tears at the sight of his melancholy stride.

"I've known him for ten years, and I've never seen him sad like that! I feel so bad for him... The poor old guy."

She led the way into the abandoned Rockpools. Aside from the occasional lapping wave, it was total silence. The familiar music was gone, there was no one selling food at the market stands, the jumping game was unmanned... It truly was a ghost town now. The wind whistled in from over the Fen, bringing a nasty cloud of faint, rotten-smelling decay and adding to the omnipresent eeriness of the situation.

"I completely understand how he feels, seeing all of this. Being here for so long in this... Deafening silence, it must have totally broken him. He's going to have some trauma, but I reckon he'll be fine now that he's out of this place."

It reminded Ori of the day they first started this adventure.

"I felt the same way very recently. Exploring the territory of the Hunters during a hunt... It was deathly silent. It's... The only thing that's ever made me have a panic attack; it's horrible. And the ordeal left me with this stupid bandage..."

Shiro listened intently, pulling Ori a little closer, realizing that they may be feeling the same fear as they did back then and trying to keep them company.

They continued to explore the extent of the abandoned settlement, finding nothing at all. It was like nobody ever existed here...

Chapter Text

Ori peered into the ocean water from the end of the pier.

"You see those, Shiro?"

"No. What are you looking at?"

"Those lights under there. I've got to see what they are."

Barely visible through the blue water, some faint lights shone out, beckoning them to come and visit. 

"Oh, I forgot. You can't breathe underwater like I can. Uh... Do what you want while I check this out."

Ori dived into the sea... And was hit with a horrible wave of nausea as they breathed in the disgustingly salty water through their flaring gills. A little got into their mouth and instantly dehydrated it, as well as bringing the salt straight to their taste buds. Ori was very quickly regretting this idea, but decided to brave the disgust and swam towards the strange lights. They could hear some sort of cheering sound reverberating through the water, coming from that direction. As they got closer, more sounds and smells became apparent. It smelled metallic like blood, and very fishy, and the cheering frequently ebbed and swelled. Clearly, something was going on in there. More curious than ever, Ori swam over a small ridge and saw a huge crater filled with rows of odd creatures, and a lot of fighting in the center. They observed for a while, until only one heavily wounded fighter was left. Ori couldn't make out any details on the creature. The crowd threw a small amount of money onto the floor which the fighter picked up greedily, despite their grievous injuries. They left wearily through a gate in the side of the crater, which promptly closed behind them. Ori bravely decided to swim out into the open, and down into the divot. They were quickly seen, and the crowd erupted in a rich, hearty cheer. A loud voice boomed from all around them.

"What's this? Are you a new challenger? Come up to the booth and say something to the audience!"

They looked around for the origin of the voice, and saw an out of place cuboid box, which must have been the place. They swam down to it and saw a large creature in there holding a strange device. It was a microphone, but it seemed to be covered in some shells and algae, much like him. Now that Ori could get a closer look at these creatures, they seemed to be very similar to Spirits, though they had scales covering many places. They adorned themselves with clothing made from sea plants and adorned with fancy shells and sea glass. It distracted them for long enough that a huge grate began closing over the top of the hole, trapping Ori inside the arena.

"Wait, no, no... Oh, great."

Well, now they had no choice but to take part. They swam over to the origin of the loud voice with slight reservation.

"Alright, little guy, what's your name?"

He poked the microphone he used outside the viewing port and towards Ori. Still sick from the salt, they spoke slowly to keep everything in.

"Little guy? I'm pretty sure I'm bigger than you... Anyway, I'm Ori."

The crowd chattered, and a few laughed at the commentator's expense. He took it well, or at least pretended to. It was difficult to tell; this guy was clearly actor material.

"And what brings you here? Do you think you can conquer the Trial of Atlantis?!"

"I saw the lights from the land over there and had to check it out. And I do believe I'm quite qualified to take on a fight." The crowd amped up a little, and Ori could feel the electric excitement building in the air. Well... the water, actually.

"Oh! How so, pray tell?"

"I restored the Light to Nibel almost alone, and gave up my life to bring Light back to Niwen, which had been dormant and decaying for years. You are looking at a double Prophecy, and even still, I keep going."

They tried to be as obnoxiously pompous as possible, feeding energy to the crowd and feeding their flames, further escalating their desire to see Ori fight. The commentator realized the lightning in a bottle that he had potentially trapped here, and appeared to silently signal something to others in the room; staff .

"Wow, you sound positively deific! Perhaps you could win the Star Prize for clearing the Trial!" His overenthusiastic, variable voice began to grate on their nerves, worsening the nasty feeling of extreme thirst and sickness. The crowd turned tense as they waited for Ori's response. Though unconfident, they couldn't let the crowd down now, could they? So, they steeled themself and made their choice.

"Absolutely! And send your strongest creatures. I won't be afraid of 'em!"

They heard their falsely confident voice loud and clear through the speakers throughout the arena. It had that slight tell that only very close friends or family would know, but it was perfectly fine for this mass of strangers. They cheered with a fiery, great passion and chanted Ori's name wildly.

"I love your confidence! Let's get you out there to win something!"

Ori swam back from the box and into the center of the arena. The water smelled electric, and tensions were running high this close to the battleground.

"There are a couple of waves to the Trial of Atlantis, and you will be fighting through roughly thirty of our prime catches, trained for several weeks each to do wondrous battle. The audience will love it!"

Ori drew their Edge ready for their first taste of combat with all the enhancements made to it. A gate opened and a small group of piranhas hungrily surged out of it. They swam around aimlessly for a bit before spotting Ori, then rushed towards them. A slash with their Edge could hit two at a time, and the dark void expelled from each hit quickly took hold of them and finished them off. The rest of the piranhas fell similarly.

The second half of round one had more piranhas and a pair of aggressive tuna. The tuna were twice as big as Ori, and very fast. They charged Ori and crashed into them, disorienting and knocking them far away. Both tuna tried again, but Ori wouldn't be fooled twice. They slashed and dashed into them, dealing heavy damage to internal organs as the Edge dug straight through them like a kebab. A follow-up Whirlpool ability felled them both at once, though they would have died anyway. Once again, the piranhas were nothing. The water glowed with the residual light from their felled enemies. The crowd was audibly disappointed that there was no blood in this fight, but it wasn't something that Ori could help. That was just how Spirits seemed to work; anything that they harmed bled Light, not blood.

There was a short break between rounds, before the gate reopened and the behind-the-scenes crew released a gang of swordfish and a nurse shark. One of the swordfish charged immediately; it was quickly silenced by an energy bolt, which Ori realized that Victa never even asked payment for. Something was up with him... Not the time to think about that.

The rest of the swordfish circled menacingly all around them while the shark lurked beneath them. Suddenly, three of the other swordfish darted at them in unison. Ori dashed out of the way and one of them got hurt by the other's spine. They decided to properly try out their Whirlpool ability they got from the Rockpools a while back, and charged it up. They let it loose on the cluster of fish, tearing them apart as they were dragged through the riptide.

The shark was attracted to all the commotion and started blindly biting at the sounds. Another swift slash put a stop to it. The last swordfish chose to flee the arena through the largest gap in the grate it could find, and very rightly so. The voice returned to the speakers.

"Wow, you are an amazing fighter! You've passed the first two rounds, and even got an enemy to run away! We haven't seen that in a long time. Are you ready to fight the third wave? There's only one more after that, so you'd best be prepared to take home your Star Prize!"

"You bet, bring them here!"

The audience surged with excitement and tension as the gates opened one last time. Out came a much larger shark, a big anglerfish and a big slim fish they didn't know the name of. An eel? Possibly.

It immediately rushed Ori, and they barely got out of the way. It promptly whipped itself around and got a nasty bite on their arm. This thing was insanely fast, and it was agile as well. It would take some beating. But Ori wasn't a quitter. They cast their magic shield to protect against its next attack and slashed at it once it got too close. It reeled back, but didn't die. Beaten that time, it tried to dart behind Ori as fast as possible to get a cheap hit. It failed and swam head first into their Edge. Unsurprisingly, it did not survive this time.

Their next target was the anglerfish. The shark was once again leaving them alone for now. They started by slicing at its light, cutting it off straight away. It didn't seem to do much. They warily got closer and took a stab at its head. The hit connected, but it greatly aggravated the fish. It started flailing around, gnashing its needle-sharp teeth towards Ori. They dashed backwards to avoid getting bitten, and grabbed the axe for longer range. One swift swing finished it off.

Finally, the giant shark sensed death in the water and charged wildly, mouth agape and looking for a meal it had been starved for, perhaps for days. They just managed to dash out of its maw, and got a lot of hits through its tough skin from a broadside as it passed by. It turned back around and charged again, but Ori dashed downwards and thrust the Edge up into its throat. It thrashed around for a while before slowing down and stopping, dead. The third wave was cleared. The crowd loved the show, and cheered their name again with admiration.

"Congratulations! Very few have ever survived this long. All you need to do now is complete the final task, and you can claim the Star Prize!"

Again with the star prize line... At this point, they guessed it would end up being complete rubbish and not worth the time and suffering to get a hold of. And... Task? Why did he call it a task and not a wave? It seemed like a very odd word to use in its place.

And to their horror, as the gate opened for the last time, they understood why. Something was brutally shoved out into the open water. It shone a bright, pale blue light and large, diamond-shaped appendages from its head trailed behind it.

"No..."

Petrified, the Spirit turned to face Ori. They immediately sheathed the Edge in denial.

"We have someone who... Let's just say, we don't appreciate 'round here. Ori... I want you to take care o' this fella. You know you want to claim the Star Prize!"

Pleadingly, Ori dashed over to the commentator's stand and grabbed hold of the microphone, for all to hear.

"Listen, I know you've got a crowd to entertain, and I respect the work you do, but this has gone too far... I am NOT going to kill a Spirit, especially if they've done absolutely nothing to me."

The anger in their raised voice stirred up the crowd just perfectly, though Ori couldn't tell whether their animosity was directed at them or the monster inside that cozy little box of murder. Said monster tried to grab back the microphone, but Ori flicked it away and simply held it out to him.

"Ah, ah, I'm in control now, mister."

Adrenaline took hold, clearing their head and focusing them entirely on the situation at hand. They let the man speak briefly.

"I mean... Your choice. Kill him and get the Star Prize, or we'll have to... 'Clean up' the arena. I run a tight ship around here, and this grate ain't opening until one of you two are dead. And either way, that Spirit is getting killed, so don't be actin' all heroic about this!"

That does it. Ori grabbed the long ear of the commentator and forcefully dragged him out into the open. As they came out of their dash and the bubbles cleared, their Edge was brandished against his neck.

"I am DONE with this game that you're playing here. I thought this would just be a fun little battle to test my strength, but NO! It's all just a big freaking ploy to get a stranger to do your dirty work! Now that I have you here... Give me the prize, and I'll be leaving with the Spirit. Okay?"

Ori still attempted not to show too much of the anger they felt towards this cowardly, sick individual in hopes that it would make him easier to reason with. But, he just had to keep being difficult.

"And what happens if I don't give it ya?"

Well, they tried to keep it civil. They leaned right in and talked right into his ear, which they still had a vice grip on.

"I think you know EXACTLY what happens..." They hissed, finally trying to be as threatening as possible. The commentator audibly whimpered, and the entertainment facade immediately broke down for the sake of his own skin.

"R-right... Fine! Take it! This isn't worth my life!"

Good. Of course, they never actually planned to kill him. That would be a terrible course of action for multiple reasons. Ori tightly escorted the guy back to his shack and watched sternly as he took a larger specimen of the orbs found in Ancestral Trees out from under his desk.

"There! J-just take it and go! There was no need for any of that..."

They snatched it with intent, noting the blame being shifted to them.

"There was EVERY need for all that. You wouldn't understand, you stuck-up, murderous creature..."

Ori was backing away, yet their venom still made the commentator cower away to the back of his box. They turned to the audience now.

"Hope you liked the show."

The grate began to open. They bashed the microphone in the general direction of the box, though it fell considerably short. Not like the horrible thing running the place would be the one collecting it; he was too good for that. They softened as they approached the Spirit that had been trapped with them.

"You're safe. Follow me to the shore."

The Spirit nodded. Up close, Ori could see a lot more details about them. From the first good glance at their head, this wasn't an ordinary Spirit. Their ears were super long, roughly squared off and thinned, fading to a much stronger blue towards the tips. The same descriptors fit their head feathers and tail. Their snout was also slightly longer than a typical Spirit, which made them appear a lot more aquadynamic. Lastly, each of their hooves were replaced with thin flippers strongly resembling the dorsal fins of a fish.

The Spirit was incredibly fast in the water and given a weapon, they could have potentially killed Ori in the arena. But it was clear by their behaviour that they meant no harm whatsoever.

"What's your name?"

"Nereid," she responded quietly. "Thank you for everything you did for me." Nereid was quite shy right now, probably still feeling frightened from her treatment at the arena.

"No problem. You look so different to every Spirit I've seen before. And even every Spirit in that amphitheatre was unlike you. Are you the only one?"

"No, I... We're different. We come from the same Light as you, but we are just the feathers that are blown off course and do not make it to the ground. The Diffracted, we call ourselves. Spirits of the seas."

She was quickly calming down in the presence of Ori; she recognized them as not a threat, but a friend.

"Those other ones?"

"Mm... I don't know why... They just hate us. They hunt us down, and... Well, I never knew what they did to those that they took until they got me. T-there was never any reason behind it, they just hurt us! Saying I was below them and..."

Ori stopped her - she was already close to breaking down, choking her words, and she would have only kept making it worse by bringing those memories back.

"So I was right to do what I did."

Conflict between Spirits seemed like a completely foreign concept up until now. Even still, who would hate a whole group of innocent people just trying to live life, just because they're different to you?

Nereid looked back wistfully at the arena lights. As she stared, though, a horrible realization flashed across her mind.

"I don't think I can go back home... They'll just find me again! ...What can I do?!" A sense of panic gripped her chest as she grabbed Ori's shoulders, looking desperately and tearfully into their eyes. They immediately had an idea.

"Do you know the way to Niwen?"

"Yeah... I think I passed by there once..." Nereid voiced uncertainly.

"The Luma Pools have some brilliant blue water, and they're a short way inland, so you'll be completely safe from those..."

"They call themselves the Adorned."

"Yeah, those. I'd rather call them many other things, but I'll stick to that, for your ears' sake. You look too young for that. Anyway, I'd start making your way to Niwen. I'm about to head back myself, so I can meet you there."

"Thank you so much! I can't possibly make all this up to you... But I can do something, right?"

"I got the warm, happy feeling of having saved a life. That's all I want; Spirits are kind and selfless... Well, they're supposed to be." It was Ori's turn to shoot a look at the distant lights.

Finally, they reached the edge of the land. Ori surfaced right in front of Shiro, who was standing just above them on the path that led a short way out to sea. Nereid popped up behind them, making sure to keep her gills underwater.

"Oh! A Diffracted? I've heard stories of your kind. Who are you?"

"I'm Nereid. You?"

"Shiro. I'm friends with Ori. It's nice to meet you."

Nereid's light cast iridescent sparkles over the surrounding water, and she seemed to glisten with the water beading on top of her fur instead of matting it down. Ori looked like a wet cat in comparison. They clambered out of the sea and lay flat on the road for a moment.

"I'll see you soon. Get there safe!"

She vanished underwater and darted off in the general direction of Niwen. Ori revealed the prize that they had forcefully collected to Shiro while still on the floor, in the process of getting up.

"There are some horrible people out there... Worse than I could have imagined. But I was so graciously gifted this strange orb! Maybe it was worth it... I just need to see what it does."

Chapter Text

Ori attempted to consume the orb. And as they did, their conscience was sucked away and back into the water. They were instantly disoriented, and still weren't the right way up when they arrived at their destination. 

"Where..." They thought to themself. "And who?"

Looking down- or perhaps up- they noted that they were in the memories of a second Diffracted. They were tied up by the ankles and hung upside down, surrounded by Adorned unfalteringly mocking them. The sheer amount of hate behind these words was flooring, and Ori absolutely heard many words they'd rarely seen used before. The memory cut, and reappeared at a slightly later time when the Diffracted was untied. They were moved around barbarically, shoved and hit, on the way to a slightly familiar looking gate.

"Uh oh..." The arena. This was a second execution, and it seemed like this one would be successful. The Spirit in the memory was already heavily bruised from the beatings they had sustained before, and having a solid hoof planted in their back to force them out didn't help in the slightest. The commentator was back - though Ori did not pay heed to his words. They were only focused on the assailant; another Land Spirit, with the appearance of Nimorean descent. The Spirit listened intently to the commentator as he talked, glancing over to the poor Diffracted several times. It was difficult to tell, but this one looked quite unfriendly towards the Diffracted that Ori was watching.

The commentator finished his spiel, and the Spirit locked eyes with Ori. Well, it felt that way. It was looking at the prisoner; Ori was not actually there. The memory just felt so realistic that it was as if they were. As it approached with its eye on the stupid, no-good Star Prize, they heard the Diffracted speak for the first time.

"We don't have to do this!" There was desperation and hurt in their voice; Ori held no qualms that this poor creature was completely innocent. The Spirit responded coldly to their plea.

"You heard him. No matter what, you'll die. Better to die fighting than to be dealt with unceremoniously behind the scenes."

It slashed at them with their weapon, a plain metal one. The blade got close enough to see its signature craftsmanship; definitely one of Frank's. The Diffracted yipped in fright and swam backwards, materializing the same orb that Ori now wielded. Holding it out towards the attacking Spirit, they tried again.

"Please! There has to be something we can do-"

It swung again. The orb detonated and flung them well out of reach. The move certainly smarted; Ori felt a tingling pain in their hands through the memory. If it wasn't clear from the start, it was now; the Diffracted had no weapon of their own to defend themself with. Tiny teeth, no claws, no hooves.

The Spirit approached for another swing. Evidently, the protagonist of this memory intended to dodge using the orb again. And while they did so, they did not look at where they were aiming. The orb sent them directly into the floor at great speed, and Ori felt a bolt of lightning shoot straight through their body from their leg to their brain. The Diffracted lost consciousness for a moment, but came to quickly and let out a horrible cry. Ori looked down at where the "pain" had originated from, and saw an extra bend in the leg that wasn't meant to be there. The tingling was in their arm too, and they quickly realized that their arm and head were both rapidly haemorrhaging light. The Spirit was indifferent to their pain. It drew closer once more, knowing that this was it.

"Mercy! I beg you!" The Diffracted hollered, straining against the pain and knowing their fate was staring them in the face. The Spirit pulled their weapon back...

"N-no! I d-don't wanna die-"

The memory cut abruptly and Ori was thrown back into reality. They awoke from their trance with a start, and their heart picked up pace from the adrenaline of that nasty experience. 

"Ori! What happened?!" Shiro was rightfully concerned. They had been out for several minutes, judging by how she responded.

"...I just witnessed a murder!" Ori exclaimed indignantly. 

"That explains nothing, Ori. Why did that thing knock you out?"

"Okay... These... Abilities, they're the remnants of dead Spirits, as I'm sure you know. They could possibly be their souls? But anyway, once... The first Ancestral Tree I ever found came with a memory... Of how the Spirit died. But this one... Oh, it was so much more vivid... I did not like it." Ori was still catching their breath and the explanation was anything but coherent.

"You saw it die?"

"A Spirit killed them! And it was UNAPOLOGETIC! They were trapped in the arena, just like me and Nereid, but... This one was different... It never even TRIED to find another way. It just... killed one of its own kind, for whatever crappy prize the stupid commentator had for it. And that means this is a REGULAR occurrence, not just a one-off for me! They're just killing Diffracted! It's - it's... GENOCIDE!" Carried away. Their frustration towards the Adorned was boiling over; they had never before felt the need to raise their voice like this. Kii had gotten them close, but this treachery against Spiritkind was a step beyond what Kii had to say. Luckily, Shiro stepped in to prevent them from doing anything rash.

"Ori, stop! I know how you feel, but you need to stay on track! We can sort out this whole thing with these guys later, but right now, you need to get back home or Nereid will get there first and be greeted by Decay. You've just set a timer for yourself, you know that, right?" This was entirely different from what she had been saying; just half an hour ago, Shiro was clinging to Ori like velcro, but now she was trying to hurry them up. And she was so unbelievably right.

"...Nereid... Yeah, I need to go. I can't let her get there before it's safe. I can't be responsible for her death." Their voice was laced with a slight and sudden urgency, and they stood right up.

Ori picked up the explosive orb and started heading back to the Dark Thicket, Shiro in tow.

Chapter Text

"Do you hear that, Ori? That's so many people!"

Ori and Shiro were in the Dark Thicket, just reaching Octans. It was surprisingly empty... Strange. As they passed by, they couldn't help but reminisce about their good times here... First meeting the Octans. Their hospitality. Quinn's inappropriate humour. Their willingness to look after Gumo when they couldn't take him. The heartbreaking moment when Quinn said goodbye. They decided to head towards the voices. They passed Velara's pit, where they fought the giant scorpion. Their first battle in Nimor. They crossed the little river that flowed from the Thorny Glades, and they finally walked through Ali's old village, back to the moss patch where Ori first landed. It looked like nearly everyone they had met was here. A notable absence was King. Perhaps he didn't know they were leaving, or maybe he still wouldn't leave the Crags. They didn't blame him either way. There was every chance he wouldn't be widely accepted back.

"Wow, you all knew I was going? I... Don't know what to say except... Thank you."

For the first time, Ori was seeing the full picture of what they'd done for this island full of strangers. Sol stepped forwards to speak to them.

"Ori, I don't know if you know this, but look at all the people around you right now. You have helped every single one of us to some degree. You are an incredibly selfless person, and you've done more for us than we ever could ourselves. And if you come back soon like you say you will, I hope that we can repay you however we can. You said you would look after our Spirit Tree too! I can't imagine where we'd be in a few years if you hadn't turned up; probably all long dead from the Decay. I say this on behalf of everyone here, I reckon: Thank you for everything."

Ori couldn't help but smile widely.

"Hey, you've also helped me. If it wasn't for all of you and your generosity, I'd be dead. I'm grateful for all of you, and I owe you all massively. Sol, thank you for letting me stay in Octans. Kor and Akka, you taught me that everyone can change. And Sapphire too, just recently. Frank and Victa, thanks for helping me with getting my weapons back. Without them, I would not have won my fights, and I'd not be here. Harmony, most of my money came from you. Without that, I wouldn't have been able to do much of anything here. And I hope you achieve your dreams of starting a museum."

They sighed. Rascal the squirrel came running to them from the crowd and climbed up their leg. Ori scratched her head and let her nibble their finger.

"And finally, Shiro. How many times have we shared an adventure? You have helped me far more than you can imagine, and I'm sure I've helped you too. I... Truly wish we could go on one more right now, but that will have to wait. And speaking of... I know you didn't believe me back then. And I want you to trust these words..." They placed both hands on her shoulders, looking into her downwards-facing eyes.

"...I will come back. For you, Shiro." The words were spoken so softly, yet each one was massively enunciated, driving their point deep into her mind. This was meant to be a moment that she would never forget.

Shiro struggled to hold it together. It was true; Ori had helped her immensely from the moment they met, and she had done more in the last couple of days than in the ten or so years she had been self-imprisoned in her Palace. After having been around them nearly every moment since then, she couldn't bear seeing them about to leave. No words would form in her mouth, though she tried to respond.

"Well, my time has come. Rascal, you might want to hide. I have a feeling that Ku might think you look tasty."

She scuttled away, into the crowd. Ori turned to the sky, signaling to everyone else to cover their ears.

And just as their adventure began, they called for Ku to come and fly them home.

Chapter Text

The silence of the Wellspring was interrupted by a loud screech as Ku swooped over triumphantly, casting a majestic shadow across Niwen. Today was a day of rejoice for everyone, and it was a cause for celebration; Ori was returning!

The Spirits cheered for Ku as her form grew smaller with distance, on her way to Nimor. The hardships were finally coming to an end for them. Still, they remained wary. A great force had attacked before; who was to say it wouldn't try again?

Minutes later, Ori watched the skyline with everyone else. Suddenly, Frank piped up. 

"Look! There she is!"

A small black dot in the sky slowly grew larger as it got closer. Ku's trademark screech pierced the ears of the Nimoreans as she approached the island. She landed gracefully despite her size, and nuzzled Ori. Her grandeur struck everyone, as they had never actually seen Ku. They only knew of her from description, and it was obvious by their reaction that she was far bigger than they thought.

"It's time. I just need to say, one last time, thank you all. And... Wish me luck!"

They swiftly mounted Ku and waited. 

"You coming, Gumo?"

"Gumo stay here for a while? Like my friends!"

Ori wasn't expecting this response. They didn't know how to feel.

"Uh... Okay. You know what, it's probably safer here for now. Anyway, we'll soon be able to get between these islands quickly with those translocators. You can stay."

Ku got up and turned around. She spread her wings wide. Ori waved goodbye one last time and they took off. As they rose higher into the air, they turned back and noticed Akka getting Shiro's attention for some reason, then the Hunters both took her away towards the Fen. Strange.

All the inhabitants of the Wellspring were looking out for Ori; they were on the wall, on the balconies, even on the jagged rocks surrounding the building. As Ku came back into sight, they all brimmed with the same excitement, like they were a Hivemind. Ku slowed down as she approached, and hovered over the court. Ori grabbed the feather and dropped off of her back. As they parachuted to the ground, she gracefully flew off, back home. They landed in a piling horde of ecstatic children and had to fight to stay on their feet.

"Thank the Light you're all alive! I've been so worried that I'd come back to nothing!"

The pile began to calm down after a while, and Opher came over to talk, grabbing and pulling them free.

"Hey there, Ori! It's good to see you again. You got the ropes of being a Spirit again?"

"Oh, I'm even better now! I could take on anything, let me tell you."

They turned around to reveal their sheathed axe and modified Spirit Edge, which they'd materialized simply to show them off at that moment. Opher was impressed.

"Well, Ori, we've also been doing a lot of work here! Myself and Grom built this wall to protect this place from decay and creatures, with the intent that it would be taken down after all this. But there's a flaw! It was built by a Gorlek! Nothing's knocking this down! But secondly, I have been training a few budding adventurers. I'm sure you met one already."

"Ah, Eris. I'm surprised she's doing all of this stuff at, what, two days old? Most of them were only able to talk properly at three days old, let alone fly to another island and fight vile Decay creatures from the depths of hell. I saw a lot of potential in her when I met her. And who are the others?"

"There's Kiri. He's one of the older children of this generation at two months. You might recognize him as the one that spoke quite formally or without many verbal contractions until a couple of days ago. I think Eris influenced him. He's been very helpful elsewhere too. You should talk to Grom about what he's done with Kiri. And there's Amity. She used to be quite shy, but she's starting to come out of her shell. She showed a lot of bravery when there was an attack, and fended the ghost off well. She also seems to have some kind of time warping magic that she needs to learn how to use. Speaking of Kiri, he's coming over now."

Ori sort of recognized him. He was one of the most similar looking Spirits to them. They could see the large sword on his back and understood the potential Opher saw in him.

"Hey, Ori! Or would you rather be called dad?"

"I don't mind."

"Uh... Can I come with you? I wanna see you fight the bad guy."

Immediately, Ori almost dismissed the thought. Far too deadly. But then, they started to think about it a bit. Maybe if he was hidden or far away, he'd be safe enough. And Opher said he would be able to defend himself. But it would be a huge risk.

"...Fine. But it's extremely dangerous."

Kiri jumped for joy and ran off to Eris and Amity. Ori heard him excitedly telling them about how lucky and excited he was, or something. They let him babble for a bit, then called him back.

"We can't be wasting time. Let's go."

They climbed the wall and ran through the almost familiar landscape, towards the decaying Spirit Tree.

Akka carefully hopped across the planks covering Seva's Fen, closely followed by Shiro. Kor kept watch over the Decay sea. He led her down to a small pier right at the southwest of the island, where a small paddle boat covered in barnacles sat.

"I reckon you'll make it in time. Good luck, Shiro."

She hopped into the boat and swiftly paddled away.

Ori and Kiri scaled the vast cliffs of Niwen, perhaps the only pristine parts left because of nothing living on such bland rock faces. The view from up here was haunting; their home, entirely laid waste to by the strongest wave of Decay they had seen by far. At the summit was Willow's End, the plateau destroyed by Shriek and the old location of the last Spirit Willow. There was no longer a way to get up to the floating island where Atto was. It was still a mystery as to how and why it was floating; it didn't seem to have any kind of advantage to being grounded, aside from being hard to reach.

"Siri, we're going to need you to do your magic again."

The shiny orb formed itself and darted around them wildly.

"Oh boy! Do I get to explode things?!"

"...Yes."

"Woohoo! I love exploding things!"

"That's deeply concerning, Siri."

It dashed off to the underside of the island and found a huge scarlet bead, next to which it began building up Light. It stayed there, drawing residual natural Light into itself for a while; this was going to be a big one. Ori and Kiri looked away as Siri released its reserve. A huge shockwave rocked their bodies and the deafening sound of the explosion felt like it was tearing them apart. Siri quickly escaped from under the island, now falling hard, and in seconds it had crashed to the ground in a spectacular fashion. An unfathomably huge cloud of gaseous Decay sprayed upwards from the impact of millions, possibly billions of tons of dirt and rock smashing into the floor at hundreds of miles per hour. Jumping down to where it landed, Ori climbed the ridge it created and checked for anything dangerous. There looked to be a clearing past a few small shriveled trees which was where they decided the battle was going to happen. Ori helped Kiri up carefully.

"Now, stay right here. I don't want you getting hurt. Opher will kill me. But if he does beat me, you can come to try and save me."

They hadn't yet been noticed by Atto... Or at least, he hadn't shown that he had seen them. Slowly, they slunk through the dead trees towards the base of the Spirit Willow. Eventually, though, they could get no closer. Knowing they currently had no way of forcing Atto out of the tree, they had to come up with a plan. Quickly, they noticed a strange object on the floor next to the trunk. It looked to be a stubby etching knife. This most likely had some significance to their own excision from the tree. They dashed out of hiding and grabbed it. The handle had a strange black runic engraving on it. They ran around the base of the tree and spotted that same engraving carved into it. Finally, Atto took heed of them. Without saying a word, he manifested a tendril out of their sight and attempted to grab them. But they noticed and slashed it apart easily, their Edge doing great work.

"Don't bother fighting it, Atto! Your time has come."

They looked closer at the engraving. A single line had been burnt off the tree by something. They dug the knife into that spot and the engraving suddenly came to life in a flash of light. It burst into red flames and Ori felt a sort of energy being dragged from it. As the energy began to coalesce in one place, it took on a darker crimson colour. Slowly, more gathered, and it began to take the shape of a Spirit. They could see the decay in the tree weakening fast. But the flames were also growing. Then, everything calmed down. The tree was still very infected and, worse still, the base of the trunk was now ablaze, burning bright scarlet. Atto fell to his knees. His hands clenched into fists as he opened his glowing white eyes. That crimson colour still lingered in nasty streaks all across his body, like veins pumping the Decay into every part of him, and he was far more red-tainted than when he entered the Willow. Those eyes snapped to Ori, filled with delusional rage. 

"I won't give up this power," he growled. Fumes of decay spilled from his mouth as he talked. He darted to his left and grabbed a sharp stick from the ground, brandishing it threateningly at Ori. The flames slowly grew. Ori held their Edge defensively, knowing that Atto, with his aggressive stance and mindset, would make the first move. Indeed, he did; he attempted to end it quickly with a nasty downwards swing at their head. It was expertly parried, and they easily bashed him away. As he got up, they backed into the treeline, baiting him towards the clearing they had seen. In his incensed blindness, he rampaged after them without a thought. They both burst into the clearing at about the same time, Atto fervently and barbarically swinging his stick at Ori. 

"I had a plan, Ori!" He spat venomously. They were quick to retort in kind.

"Well, your plan sucked! It's killed everything, and I'm left to pick up the pieces."

Atto roared and hawked up a huge cloud of decay from his mouth and sent it forwards as if it was some kind of disgusting Pokémon move. Ori lost sight of him, and he charged through the smokescreen, striking them down without a chance to react. As he stood over the top of a vulnerable Ori who was holding their arm up to protect themself, the newly-dubbed Kinetic Orb finally worked, detonating behind them and propelling them into Atto's head elbow-first. He was stunned and knocked to the floor, and Ori positioned themself midair, dropped and stomped hard onto his chest. The wind left his body and after a moment of recovery, he struggled to get up.

"I planned- to fix this world by cleansing it of impurity, and you're- in my way!"

The tree burned brighter in the background. Branches began to drop off as they started to die without a host, and they began to self-immolate as they fell. 

"*You* are the impurity! Don't you see the harm you've caused? To your siblings, to your friends, to the forest here... To me?! Do you understand that we exist to protect these islands and their nature, not... Whatever this is?" Ori feigned emotion to try to manipulate Atto into softening at least a little. In reality, they were loving this finale, fighting to liberate Niwen a second time and be the hero that everyone was hoping for.

"Ha! It's beautiful, isn't it? Maybe you're the one who doesn't understand here."

The tree had weakened significantly. Seir knew it was its time to shine. It began to glow brighter, preparing itself for the strain it was about to go through. The decay, even without a host, grew tighter around it, detecting the Light and trying to subdue it. The Light silently grew stronger and stronger, until it overpowered even the sun. It let off a deafening, ethereal scream and a burst of extreme power split the top of the tree entirely in two. Everyone turned to face the Light as Seir descended from its crimson prison with grace and a desire for vengeance. It rushed to Ori's side.

"Seir!" Siri chirped, making itself visible but hiding behind Ori as it was mostly defenseless against this threat.

"Siri! Ori freed you?! This is amazing! Let's end this treachery, all of us." Seir's real voice returned once more, without the power of the Tree to amplify it. The two Spirit Lights circled each other playfully, ready to go.

"I will not let you win, Atto. Niwen cannot fall to the hands of just one simple traitor."

Ori dashed forwards and slashed at Atto, knocking him backwards a few steps. He blocked the next hit and retaliated with a whack on the head with his stick. Seeing double, they continued their monologue.

"Everything and everyone you love... You're just going to kill it? You're mad. This place is your entire life, and you wanted to throw it away being a malicious tyrant, overthrowing your own parent to inflict misery on your kin. I don't know how else I can get some sense into you. If you don't care about that, you're a monster."

Something dark red shone within Atto, but it wasn't promising. It was then that they noticed Kiri was nowhere to be seen; not where they left him.

"Atto is not in charge. I am in control. I'm sure you know what's up; you've seen my kind before. Don't make me remind you about your wise old friend."

Ori felt like a needle was stabbed through their heart. The disrespect towards Kwolok spurred a rush of anger in them. But with it, they now knew the real cause of all this. They drew their axe and slashed at him. Barely missing, they tried again but Atto blocked the blow. He was knocked onto the ground and his stick snapped. Seir drifted over to him and shot a burst of powerful Light straight onto him. Decay burnt away in a seething red cloud, but it was so strongly imbued into its vessel - so concentrated - that it ultimately did nothing. He began to get back up, even more confident without a weapon. He looked unkillable; everything Ori did never put a scratch on him.

Kiri clambered back onto the ledge, followed by Eris. He handed her a completely full syringe of the cure.

"I believe in you. If no one else can do it, you can."

Eris flew far into the sky and lined herself up against the scarlet light that was fiercely battling Ori. Then, she dived. Her speed climbed higher and higher, surely nearing two hundred miles per hour. She held her foil out in front of her as she pitched up to hit Atto. Flying perfectly horizontally, inches above the ground, with burning wood falling all around her, she smashed straight into him at ludicrous speed. They tumbled across the field and as Atto began to react, she yanked the sword from his back and stabbed the syringe in. She injected everything, and a horrible guttural screech flew from the hole she had made. Something big writhed under his skin and broke free, flailing wildly in the open air. As Atto went limp, it scuttled away haphazardly. Ori ran over to him after realizing the battle was over. They looked at the thing and confirmed what it had mentioned. A Foul Stench, though a tiny one and no longer threatening without a host. Its tentacles rapidly lost energy, and it collapsed, no longer moving. Just for good measure, Ori leaped into the air and absolutely obliterated it with the Spirit Smasher. That tiny thing... That was what caused this? Turning to Atto, they saw him lying on the floor, groaning in agony, but alive and free of decay. Eris was handling him carefully.

"Wow! How did you do that? He was in front of me and then he wasn't!"

She shrugged.

"Just a bit of flying practice and some good aim."

Atto remained on the floor. Ori forgot that they had just ignored him.

"Uh... Seir? Should we help him?"

It floated over to him.

"Yes. If we don't, he'll die."

It rested itself next to him and began radiating a gentle green aura. Gradually, Atto's injuries were mostly healed. He sat up and looked around.

"...What happened? How did I get here?"

Ori crouched down next to him.

"You got infected by a Foul Stench. It took over the Spirit Tree and tried to destroy Niwen." Ori felt they should be honest with him. He deserved to know what he was put through.

"Oh... I'm starting to remember."

He shuddered violently.

"I don't think I want to..."

Ori turned to the tree, still burning bright. Finally, it couldn't hold itself up anymore. It violently collapsed and sent ash, sparks and splinters flying into the air in all directions as it crashed into the ground.

"It's morbidly beautiful. My old shell being destroyed just like that. Perhaps it's a symbol of a new life for me. I don't want to go back." 

Now Kiri was with them, and so was Amity, who had chosen to sneak away to watch the spectacle.

"Anyway, it's nice to meet you all in person. This kind of thing has probably never happened before in our history." Everyone involved formed a tight huddle, celebrating this great victory.

Chapter Text

Ali had finally had enough.

"I swear... If it wasn't for those two, we would have got Ori easily with my hex. And now they're all together?"

He sighed, overwhelmingly frustrated. Pacing back and forwards in the air, he debated executing his idea.

"Fine. You leave me no choice, Spirits. I'll have to take matters into my own hands, again."

He drew a menacing looking staff with metal mandibles holding a fine red gem at its tip. Clearly, this was not his own. It looked far more like something Evorsia would wield. He floated down to their level, making himself visible. From the decaying ground, he summoned a huge beast whose maw glistened with teeth like scythes and countless yellowy white eyes, towering thrice as high as everyone else. It was almost like a hyena or a rabid wolf, snarling at the delicious bunch of snacks it had just spotted.

They all panicked and backed away as fast as possible, not liking the idea of being eaten by this... Thing. As Kiri did, though, he tripped on a branch and fell. Before he had even hit the ground, the beast leaped forwards with immense speed, ripping up the ground it pushed from.

Amity gasped, threw her hands up and froze it in time, its teeth almost at Kiri's neck. He desperately clawed himself out from under it, but Amity's energy ran out. It came back to life with a start as she turned to smash a nearby energy crystal. Ori bolted towards Kiri, and they activated their shield as the beast was about to devour him. Its jaw extended around the width of the shield, crushing it in its maw and spewing void blood all over it as it splintered under the immense power of its jaws. Seir rushed over and pumped its signature yellowish energy into the shield, desperately trying to keep it up. But it wasn't enough. The shield shattered, and the monster mercilessly clawed, stomped and mauled Ori the second the opportunity arose. As soon as she could, Amity froze the beast again.

"Kiri, kill it!" She screamed urgently. Her energy was still dropping fast.

Siri emerged from Ori's barely conscious body. It was filled with rage, and flew straight into the beast's mouth. It charged itself up as long as it could until the beast unfroze, and exploded gloriously in a grand ball of light. The front of the creature was destroyed, rendering it mostly harmless. Meanwhile, Kiri now charged at the remaining half and swung at it with his Claymore. It cleaved straight through the rest of its flesh and bones, and it all dissolved into black particles, then into nothingness. Everyone rushed to Ori, who looked to be in very bad shape.

Light was escaping their body from what looked like everywhere. They sat up weakly and cradled Seir in their torn-up arms.

"Ori, I know you probably wanted to live your life now, I'm sorry, but you're too hurt. You-"

"No. I'll be honest, Seir, let me speak my mind. When you were gifted to me by Kwolok, you said you would help me. And that you did... Until Ku was hurt. From that point on, you hid the fact that the only way to heal her was for me to make this very sacrifice. It was a selfish move, keeping it from me until after I was mortally wounded. Just like I am now. While I don't hate you for it, I can't do it again. Plus, I made a promise. To Shiro, and all the others from Nimor. That I would protect them when I returned. I don't break promises, Seir."

Ori was rapidly growing weaker. They had to finish what they were saying fast, before they were gone.

"But... There's one person here who I feel is most fit to take Seir instead of me."

They turned to that person. Their voice and Light dimming, they held Seir out.

"Atto. Take it, and... Well, I know you'll do a good job this time."

There was a brief shock throughout the group, but they all seemed to realise that this was not Atto's doing. It was the Stench. Maybe he was the right choice.

Ori cast Seir to him with the minute amount of strength they had left. Then, they slipped into unconsciousness. Atto's eyes flicked around at everything with Seir in his hands.

"I guess I have no choice. I'm nervous... But I need to, for them."

He placed his hand on Ori's injured head and ears.

"Believe in me, Ori..."

He held Seir close to him, and it began to emanate a warm glow. He felt himself losing gravity as its power pulled him upwards. He watched intently as he dissolved and joined together with the Light. Once he had entirely vanished, the remaining energy crashed into the ground, embedding itself below the earth. Then, deathly silence. The wait as Ori lay there dying was unbearable. Kiri was by their side holding their hand in hopes that it would keep them here. But it wasn't so easy, and the world wasn't so kind to heroes like Ori. Their form began to grow fuzzy and translucent as death gripped their unconscious body. Gaps began to show in their form where light had been escaping. Everything was evaporating into thin air before his eyes... until nothing remained of Ori but a bright soul floating just above the ground. It shook slightly and cracks began to form on its surface, at which point Kiri clutched it, holding it close to his body. Not like this... Not after all they'd been through. Don't... Go...

Suddenly, a pulse of blinding light radiated from the ground. All the crimson and orange Decay around them was instantly destroyed. The light continued to flare, and a shadow of a figure formed itself around the soul. The Light pulsed, and with every burst, the figure grew brighter and more complete. And as the light receded and the new Spirit Willow sprouted, Ori dropped to their feet. They looked at themself in abject shock and disbelief.

"Whuh? Wait... Did I... Am..."

Kiri. Eris. Amity. They could all see Ori.

"Am I... Alive?!"

It was time for huddle part two! This time, without Atto.

"Oh, thank the Light! I thought I was surely dead..." Ori cried, their voice reaching high and tears of joy matting the fur of Kiri as they called rejoicefully into his shoulder, muffling what came out.

"But how?! I was entirely gone, wasn't I? Is just a soul enough to bring someone back?"

"I guess... The Light can really perform amazing miracles, huh?" Eris chimed in. She had every right to believe in the power of the Light; it had lent her its power and healed her from a weak little husk into a very strong young Spirit. Ori agreed; it had healed Ku, too. And now, *they* had been dragged from the brink of death back into the world of the living.

Ori looked quite different; the beast had taken its toll. They were covered in white scars from the horribly deep cuts, scratches and bites. The Light had also granted gifts of its own, however. Their body as a whole felt weirdly stronger, and springier. From his tiny sapling, Atto laughed ethereally.

"You're welcome, Ori. You'll have to live with the scars for a while. I may be good at this, but I'm not that good. And maybe you could forgive Seir, since this was as much its doing as it was mine."

Ori nodded and bent down, looking for the tiny sparkle of Seir in the tree sprout. "I never said I didn't forgive you, Seir. But, believe me, I do. I'd be lost without you."

Being alive felt oddly strange to Ori. It was how they'd been for years, but at that moment they had accepted death, and felt that they had accomplished enough. But now, to be thrust back into the real world after a glimpse into the afterlife was quite a shock to them. 

"I'm impressed how each one of you was able to help with all of that. If any of you weren't there, then I would absolutely be dead. And I know that Ali is somewhere up there bashing his head on something because he got so close to killing me. It's not happening, Ali! I'm too good to die!"

Suddenly, an unexpected face appeared. Shiro popped up at the ridge.

"Hello!!" She called, ecstatic. She rushed to Ori and hugged them tightly.

"You did it! And oh, my Light, you look so cool now!"

They smiled bashfully and turned away slightly.

"Thanks. And I only died once!"

"That's grea- wait, what?" She was struck with instant confusion and concern. Were they joking? What the...?

"...It's complicated. Just know that it was Ali's fault. Someday he'll get too complacent and I'll get him. Just not yet... Hey, do we all want to watch Atto do his thing from the Wellspring?"

Ori looked towards the roof of the Wellspring to make sure Shiro knew what they were talking about. She seemed to understand anyway.

"Sure! Race you all up there!"

She ran to the edge of the platform, jumped off and grappled to the top. As she was reeling in, Amity appeared up there somehow. She landed on the roof, dead confused at this mental witchcraft.

"How did you do that?" Shiro asked in bewilderment.

"I have time magic. I simply paused time and ran up here. It's a pretty neat trick that I'm still learning. Takes too much energy still."

Back at the start, Ori attempted to dash, but just grunted, thrust themself a bit forwards and fell face-first into the dirt.

"Ow... That sucks."

Well, at least they had the Kinetic Orb. With a strong enough explosion, they launched themself up to Willow's End and then over into the cliffs of the Wellspring, barely making it to the top without passing out from the pain of using the damned thing. That orb did not pull any punches!

"All my abilities are gone... Again."

"Oh, no! That's no good. Well, hopefully you can get them all back before we have to do anything too dangerous." Shiro was certain that there would inevitably be something to cause a problem in the near future, but preferred not to think about that right now. It was too worrying.

Finally, Eris arrived holding Kiri.

"Huh! I would have thought I'd have half a chance of winning that!"

Everyone sat on the edge of the roof. Ori peeked over and spotted Grom, Opher and Grok on the balcony below them. It seemed they had the same idea.

"Oh, hello! Don't mind us up here! Just admiring the view."

They all looked up at them with smiles on their faces.

"You did a good job, Ori. I'm surprised you didn't take it back yourself. I guess that's just the way it played out," Grom called up. And the view was indeed brilliant. It was cathartic watching the decay be slowly exterminated and life filling the forest of Niwen again.

"I'm glad that this one was a happy ending where nothing bad happened to me after all. Seemed like all of my last stories needed to end with something sad. Makes a nice change. But, Shiro, I still think we have some loose ends to tie up in Nimor, don't we?"

Chapter Text

"So, Shiro, do you know where the translocator could be?"

She and Ori were leading the group on an expedition to restore the connection between Niwen and Nimor. It hadn't been very long since they had started.

"Something tells me that it will be around where the Tree is. Let's go around the ridge and see if it got buried or something."

Shiro sounded believable. Out of all of them, she was absolutely the most likely to know about these translocators. She was an engineer after all, and had a whole library full of history. Ori was just constantly looking around at the environment, smiling from ear to ear.

"I still can't quite believe it... It's back! I'm back! Niwen is back!!"

After a few minutes of searching, they noticed a peculiar spot of dirt and it caught their eye.

"Look, this bit's raised. I bet there's something there. Let's dig it out."

All five of them began scraping away at the soil and within a minute there was a huge hole in the ground. But then, they struck solid rock. It felt smooth, like it was artificial. When they dug it up a bit more, it revealed itself to be a shrine, very similar in style to the one in Nimor. But it had no orb. 

"Well... It's missing quite an important piece. Uh... Wait. I have another big magic orb. It's a stretch, but it may work."

Ori pulled out their Kinetic Orb that they had only just got and placed it in the center of the shrine. It was their only movement assisting ability now, and it may have been a bad idea to give it up, but it was a necessary sacrifice to restore such a significant piece of ancient technology. They called Siri out and sent it to try and do its thing with the orb. Everyone got to safety from the incoming blast, and a bright ray of light shone from the crater as Siri pumped all of its energy into the orb. The light got brighter and brighter, until there was a blinding flash, and the orb was transformed into the silvery one that they knew created a portal. It began to eat through the colossal amount of energy stored within it and started to spin violently, releasing rapidly spinning beams of light from the top and bottom like a pulsar. Suddenly, it violently imploded and sent another mean shockwave through the island. Ori peered over the edge and saw that the Kinetic Orb had surprisingly worked!

"Yes! Now we need to work out how to use it!"

They approached the wormhole, and it expanded out into a doorway shape which pictured the dreary graveyard of Nimor on the other side. Nervously, they walked through. There was a brief flash of light, and then they were shoved out of the other side. The change in temperature was far more noticeable when traveling instantly, and they immediately felt hot. Shiro and Kiri came through first and waited for the others. Amity, Ceres and Eris followed, and now everyone was here. Shiro addressed the kids about what to do.

"Welcome to Nimor. I technically rule this island, so I know what's around. Firstly, do not go further east than this portal. I'm not in control of anything beyond here, and I'm pretty sure there's a huge dragon living on those rocks back there."

Everyone collectively turned to look at the burnt rocks and pillars of frozen fire over to the far East of the island. Yep. Totally what a dragon den would look like.

"Secondly, anywhere else that looks too dangerous is also a no-go. I don't want to be responsible for anyone getting hurt here. But most people living here are friendly. Anything else is fair game. Go and explore!"

The young Spirits walked off towards the Dark Thicket to see what this place was like.

"So, Shiro, I feel like I should show you something. Bring that mask with you."

She seemed confused. Her mask? How did they know about it? They must be going to the Ashen Crags. Wait... She remembered the day she first explored Nimor with Ori. How they pointed to the Crags and showed her... King. Were they going to see King? They both quickly headed back to the Glass Palace and she grabbed her protective gear. She easily grappled to the top of the cliff into the Crags while Ori had to climb up slowly because they had lost everything that would have taken them up.

"Follow me," Ori said cryptically.

As they both got closer, a little house revealed itself through the toxic dust cloud. It was exceptionally well-built, which seemed strange for such a place. Ori stepped up to the front door and knocked. There was a small shuffle from inside and King answered the door. He looked past Ori and recognized Shiro through her mask with a great smile.

"...Shiro? Oh my... You came to see me!"

She was just as overjoyed to see King as he was to see her. She thought that he was dead for the longest time; she had no idea he could build a home and thrive in such a hostile place as this. She wasted no time in hopping over and hugging him.

"I had no idea you were so close this whole time! I would have come up here way sooner if I'd known."

Shiro's voice was muffled through her mask. She could not breathe in this deadly atmosphere. Being so isolated from everyone had proved itself to be such a detriment to King's life by now... How would he have ever known how the Spirits' opinion of him had returned without anyone being able to tell him as such? All he knew was Sapphire and her vengeance. He had to ask.

"...Do you forgive my actions, Shiro? I've... not known for so long. It's been eating me alive for years..."

She stepped back and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"I do... I do. I think it's time you came down from this hellscape. It can't be good to permanently live here."

A huge smile lit up his face as, all of a sudden, his prospects for the future had changed for the better.

"Absolutely! I'll be packing my bags very soon. Thank you so much, both of you!"

As King was about to go back inside, Ori heard a faint whirring sound from somewhere above them. Shiro gasped and looked around at the sky frantically. She recognized the sound and it was not a friendly one. Suddenly, a small metal propeller drone emerged from the fog and circled the pair of them. It extended a small pointy appendage at them, and the tip began to glow red. Then, for no reason, it shot a lightning-fast crimson laser towards Shiro. It barely missed and singed her arm fluff as it passed by, serving to greatly annoy her. She cast a silken spear and prepared to shoot it from the sky, but it zipped away just in time. She watched where it had been hovering in a mix of shock, anger and fear. 

"A RenTech drone... Great. I think he's scouting our island out to take it over. This is a very bad situation." The mood had very quickly turned from happy to dead serious.

"There's probably a good way to solve this..." Ori tried to de-escalate the situation.

"No. If I'm leading this island, I'm doing it right from now on! And I consider this a declaration of war."