*Roa*

I reclined my head against the stone wall of the cell as I clenched my right arm. I flinched as another surge of pain rushed up my arm and toward my core. I yanked the blanket which I had wrapped around it, but even that wouldn't help numb the pain.

My eyes widened as the sound of tearing cloth echoed in the dark cell. Blue crystals had risen from beneath the blanket. What was happening to my body?

I clenched my teeth shut and banged my head against the stone wall as the pain increased further. The pain was indescribable. Not even getting stabbed by Naoru's angel tool hurt this much.

Wait, his angel tool... Was that the reason I was in this state? I hadn't been able to heal properly since that battle, but the anti-healing effect should've been gone.

My eyes shifted toward my blue-crystal-covered arm. I rapidly removed the torn blanket and saw that the dark boils were now completely replaced by a matrix of blue stones. The stones ran from my elbow up to my shoulder.

If I was in this state then what about Etsuo? Last time I saw him, he hadn't been in this state, but that could've changed. I closed my eyes and pushed myself up the bed with my other arm. I had to find out how Etsuo was doing, even if I had to go through this pain.

I collapsed to my knees as soon as I reached the edge of the bed. I punched the stone floor with my left fist, cracking parts of the stone floor. I grumbled as the shards of stone punctured my skin. This was probably the first time in my life that I'd been hurt this much by punching stone.

I forced myself up despite the creaking of my bones. They felt like they could shatter at any moment from the force I was exerting on them.

"Roa? Roa!" a voice yelled from the other side of the cell.

I closed my eyes. "Boun...cy..." I muttered before losing consciousness.

*Dine*

"Roa!" I screamed as his head hit the ground.

"Dad, open the cell!" Kiara yelled, taking control over her body.

Hideaki furrowed his brow. "Dear, I know that you've grown close to the abysmal within you, but this could be a trap. That fox who took you brother's life likely did something similar to escape.

"Roa wouldn't do that! He might've been friends with Satoru at some point but they aren't the same!" I protested, taking over Kiara's body once more. "We need to get him help!"

"I'm aware, but also think of how you can help him," he said. "I doubt you'll be able to find a cure for his condition here. You would need to return to the abyss."

That was true... He and the others likely wouldn't agree to that, even if we had them accompany us to make sure. Some of them would see it as a trap. Plus, there was always the chance that our allies would attack them which would only make matters worse.

'Wait, I got it! Takeshi!' Kiara said mentally.

'What about him?' I asked.

'Well, he might know something about abysmal biology that could help Roa.'

"Hey, dad, do you know how to contact uncle Takeshi?" Kiara asked, giving her dad her best smile.

"What are you up to?" he asked as he took out a crystal from his pocket.

"He might be able to identify what's wrong with Roa and heal him."

He smiled. "I see. If it's him then that would work." He raised the stone in his hands. "Contact Takeshi."

The stone in his hands became deep black. A blurry image of a large, black panther-like cat within a cage of thorns appeared.

"What's that?" Kiara asked.

Dad dropped the stone to the floor. He gulped. His entire body shivered.

"What's wrong, Dad?"

Her father kept his eyes on the gray stone floor. "That was... Takeshi..."

Kiara's eyes widened. "What?"

"It's his abysmal form," I answered. But why was he in that state? What had happened? Those vines, though... they had to be the doing of Lord Reginald.

"Reginald?" Kiara asked.

"Huh? But that's Takeshi's dad... why would he do that to his own son?" Hideaki asked.

I sighed. "This is war. Takeshi stood against Abyssia."

"Heh...Indeed. That's... one less obstacle for... us."

I turned and saw Roa, still laying on the ground but with one eye now opened.

"Roa! You should rest," I exclaimed, clenching the cell bars.

He smiled slightly. "Dine... I..." He laid his head back on the floor and closed his eyes.

"Is he still alive?" Kiara asked, gulping.

I glanced at her father. "Can I pick him up? If Takeshi is no longer an option then we need to figure out something here."

Hideaki's red eyes lingered on my friend. He took a deep breath. "Alright, but don't attempt anything funny or else I'll be forced to ensure he can no longer move."

Kiara's father reached into his pocket slowly and pulled out a ring of keys. He pressed the key into the keyhole, but before he could turn it, a voice cried out, "Stop!"

Making his way toward us was Silas. He shot me a glare before returning his attention to his father. "Father, don't get fooled by these creatures like Kiara and Dan were. Don't forget what they did to my brother!"

The duke's red eyes shifted to the copper key in his hands.

"Silas, how many times must I tell you that Roa has no fault in what happened to Dan? Plus, look at him. He doesn't seem to be in any condition to move, much less fight," Kiara said.

"As you said, he 'seems'. Are we sure it's not an act?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

I sighed. "Please, don't start this again, kid. I can vouch that Roa isn't in any condition to fight." I snuck a glance at my childhood friend. "His lifeforce is low..." I crossed my fingers together. "If he isn't treated soon, he might not make it."

"Then so be it. He is the enemy. Why waste precious resources on him?" he asked, a smug grin on his face.

'I'm sorry, Kiara."

'Huh?'

Before I could even answer, I dashed over to Silas and grabbed him by the collar of his red shirt.

His smug grin remained even as I raised him up. "So, you finally show your true colors, abysmal."

"Kiara, stop Dine!" Hideaki yelled as he stood still.

I sighed and dropped Silas on the floor.

The boy winced as he landed on his rear.

"Sorry about that, sir, but your son really gets on my nerves," I said as I kept an eye on the kid.

Silas raised his head. "The feeling is mutual, monster."

I brought Kiara's left hand to my core. Fuzzy images of a snowy land flashed before my mind. People screamed 'monster' as they ran from me as fast as they could, while others brandished their weapons and attacked. Their attacks proved futile and soon, crimson blood dyed the fresh snow red. The pool grew larger as the fleeing civilians, including children, contributed to it. Their bodies remained motionless as a roar filled the air. Not of rage, but one of melancholy.

"I... it's true... I am a monster," I said, clenching Kiara's hands into fists. Satoru had ordered me to kill, but I had been the one who failed to resist said command.

Silas' mouth widened a bit. He pushed himself up and much to my surprise, reached his hand at me.

"You're crying," he muttered, touching my tears.

I pulled away.

'Don't cry,' Kiara said, wiping away the tears.

"Can't you stop your body from crying?" Silas asked.

She turned to look at him. "Is that all you got to say?" she snapped.

He turned his head away slightly and pouted. "Well, it's not like I knew it would make her cry! N-not that I care if she does!" he yelled as his face reddened.

"How about we take this one to some place where he can be treated?" Hideaki asked. He carried Roa in his arms.

Kiara and her younger brother stared at him in awe. "When did you..."

"While you were distracted." He snickered. "I'm glad that you didn't accompany your older brother this time around. You still got a long way to go as a warrior."

Kiara gulped.

"Not that Hideo doesn't," Silas muttered.

Their father grinned. "True, but under the guidance of the others, he might become a hero for the ages."

Silas scoffed. "Really, Hide? I'm more likely to become a hero than he is, and I don't even fancy myself as anywhere near being heroic."

"You do wish to save Dan," Kiara said, patting his head.

The kid grumbled as his face flushed red, prompting his older sister to chuckle.

I laughed mentally. Perhaps, Kiara was right about him being a good kid at heart. Still, that hardened outer shell of his certainly wasn't going to help him make friends.

"You're a cute scramp, aren't you?" I said, ruffling his hair some more.

"I'm not!" he said, slapping my hand away. His face was a bright-red as a ruby. "Hmph, I'm going to go see if Mom finished dinner!" He rushed off for the stairs, almost tripping several times along the way.

Hideaki sighed. "I have to agree with Sy. He's not cute at all."

I chuckled. "I think so. There's a certain charm behind his 'I'm a tough guy' attitude. It reminds me of..." I paused. Wait who... who does he remind me of?

"You were saying?" Hideaki asked.

I lowered Kiara's head. "I'm... not sure," I admitted. "I forgot who it was I was thinking of." I wanted to say it was one of my siblings, but the right one wouldn't come to mind. It was as if someone had gone into my core and plucked out the memory. Maybe it was Satoru's doing, or when I fell into the pit.

Hmm, this feeling. I felt it right before we left Abyssia for this world. Was the one I failed to recall the same one I'm thinking of right now? Or maybe my memory just sucked.

"Dine!" a voice called out from one of the cells. It was Etsuo. His golden eyes widened upon seeing that Hideaki was carrying an unconscious Roa. "What happened to Roa?"

"He passed out, but he's still alive. However, his signals are weak," I admitted.

"Those crystals on his arm..." Man-kin said. He stepped back. "Could it be..."

"You know something?" Etsuo asked, inching closer to his brother.

Man-kin glanced back at his cousin. "I saw Mai reading one of mom's books which talked about a condition that involves crystallization of the body. It occurs when the core has been overly strained or partially broken."

"Is there a cure for it?" I asked, grabbing the bars of the cell.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure if we'll be able to gather the ingredients here." He tilted his head and looked up at the ceiling. "Let's see, it included silver-mintia, einril, topia powder, and zalunize. We also need to boil the materials at an incredible temperature, but that shouldn't be too much of an issue with all the fire users here."

"H-how do you remember something you didn't even read?" Etsuo asked.

"Well, I did glance at the page," he said, snickering.

"Just one glance? Are you sure that you don't have a photo-graphic memory?" I asked.

He moved his head side to side. "Hmm, I'm not sure. I don't think so."

Etsuo sighed. "What I would give to be as talented as you, little bro." He smiled. "But we're lucky that you recalled the cure."

"Yeah, but where do we get them?" I asked. "They're items found in the abyss, and even there, some such as zalunite are hard to come by."

"I saw something that resembled einril near the ruins," Man-kin responded.

"Really?" I asked, smiling.

"Yeah, it's worth checking out."

Etsuo sighed. "That takes care of one of the four, but what about the rest? Plus, we might need to make our own topia powder. For that we need seven items."

Kiara rubbed her chin. "Wonder if uncle Takeshi had any he might've left behind."

"Uncle?"

"Oh, right, I didn't tell you. He's the husband of my aunt Anis."

"Huh, you're Anis' niece?"

"Yup! Anyway, it might be worth a try checking her place out. Even if we don't find anything, at least we can drop by to say hello."

Her dad smile. "True. I'm sure your mother would love to accompany you."

"We should take the whole family," Kiara said. "After all that's happened, it would be a nice break. Plus, it is summer vacation and we've yet to have our summer trip."

"Good point. I'll bring it up during lunch. As for the einril, we can get it before heading out."

"Will you be taking Roa with you?" Etsuo asked.

"I'm not sure if the trip would do him good or harm," Hideaki said.

"How about letting Etsuo go with you? I'll stay here and take care of him," Man-kin said. "I know of a few potions using Zionian ingredients that mom used to make, so if you have the ingredients, I can whip something up to at least alleviate the symptoms."

Hideaki's gaze lingered on the young monkey-brother. He took a deep breath. "Alright, I'll trust you. Kiara, here's the key. Use it to open the cell."

"Thanks, Dad, you're the best," Kiara said as she took the key from him.

Hideaki backed away and kept a firm grip on Roa as Kiara let Etsuo out.

"Stand by here," Hideaki said.

Etsuo walked over to where he stood while Hideaki moved over to the cell and handed Roa over to his cousin.

"It's not contagious, right?" he asked.

Man-kin shook his head. "Thankfully, it's not."

"Alright. Then take good care of your cousin. I'll bring you some paper so you can write down what you'll need for the potions you spoke of."

"Roa, hold on. We'll make that cure for you in no time!" I said.

Etsuo nodded. "Yeah, before long, you'll be up and running like a wild-horse! Once this war is over, we can then go home. The three of us."

"Uh, I think you're forgetting about the MVP here?" Man-kin said.

His big brother smiled. "And of course, the MVP."

The younger monkey-brother grinned. "Good luck, big bro! We'll be waiting." His stomach suddenly grumbled.

"Huh, I thought that abysmals didn't need food," Hideaki said.

Man-kin blushed. "Well, the pure-blooded ones don't have to eat. Being three-fourths, I can spend days without food, but eventually my Zionian need for food kicks in."

"I see. In that case, I'll have the maids bring you some food."

"Great! If you have any, can I have a banana-mango split? Pa mentioned having one of those during one of his stays in this realm, and I've been dying to have one ever since then."

"I want one too!" Etsuo quickly added.

Kiara snickered. "Sure! Two splits for the monkey brothers coming right up!"

"We should bring something for Roa too, should he wake up," I said.

"I'm guessing carrots would do?" Hideaki asked.

Etsuo snickered. "Sounds about right."

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter!Thoughts? Predictions?**