Bancho quickly found himself wondering when and how Pollimer learned of Morta's landscape, but his notions were quickly disrupted by Morio's questions about the horse he sat atop since the young Morian swore Pearl had disappeared from his sight. The Wise explained that he had to use magic to carry the horse from boulder to boulder in the descent, but she handled water just fine. This was also the reason why the old Morian stayed in the back, as opposed to Elton and Anna who made the most haste.

There it was, though, and Pollimer's heart skipped a beat.

From the entrance they stepped out of, everyone's gaze turned, spotting thousands of small towers, surrounding a big, sharp and pointy palace, larger than anything in Soban, yet still far from reaching the ceiling above. At its top, was a translucent, marbled and white orb, which reflected some of the light Ambrosia's Guardian Demon created, as well as the natural, dark blue shining in from the cracks above. It wasn't the night sky, but the clumps of crystals hidden behind every wall, which still shone bright and gave a gleaming tint to every building in the massive Kakinoki city.

Mixed with the white marble, were left-over ruins made out of a black, sometimes slightly orange, stone. They hung off the ceiling, creating big overhangs or were partially destroyed, with only a few pillars remaining, some extending towards the stalactites on the ceiling.

"WOW!" Morio walked forwards. "It's huge!"

"Jeez louise," Elton muttered, covering his mouth.

"Mirillians, besides being great miners..." Pollimer took his helmet off and put it in his side. "...were amazingly talented builders. But that talent is mostly forgotten now." he looked down at the ground, clenching his fist, and gritted his teeth in anger.

Bancho tried putting his hand over Pollimer's shoulder, but was unable to reach it, opting for a pat on his side with a reassuring smile. Pollimer too, eyed the old Morian and nodded slowly.

The troupe decided to, once again, settle down to rest.

Jyuzou breathed heavily, digging around rocks on the ground, before finally unearthing the flower that waited beneath. "Aha! I knew this air had something to do with all of you putrid, hidden little flowers..!" he picked the stem, its crown was of neon blue, and as you might have guessed, it was his journal that landed on the ground with bits of charcoal and actual coal he found. Before he began sketching, his eyes desperately looked for Chyuuichi, as if to announce his latest discovery.

"What are you doing?" Ambrosia asked, crouching down next to the Morian.

"C-Condoning research." he fixed his glasses. "...and pushing this world forward because no one else is willing to do so!" he raised a finger, and Ambrosia giggled.

"There's a spot you've missed." they pointed. "A black dot right here."

"Oh! Right!" Jyuzou yelled out. "Thank you, Ambrosia."

"No big deal." they backed out, closing their eyes.

"Morio! Give me that map of yours!" Jyuzou reached his hand out, without turning around. "Morio!"

The other Morian was too entranced by all the abandoned buildings in Kakinoki, staring in awe, even though the troupe were seated further away from what once was the new Mirillian city.

"Ya can't change the past," Pollimer muttered, taking out some tea carefully sealed in a rocky bottle and wrapped around with thin ropes. "Huh? Did I really bring that little..?" he thought, before taking a sip.

Chyuuichi sat next to the Mirillian who conveniently found himself near Bancho.

"Fate's sealed, but only at times," Bancho uttered. "I'm still sure there's a fight to be had, perhaps for the future of Mirillians." he continued. "...and as Inigius said."

"A big day for Mirillians." he blinked. "I'm not sure. I don't want to witness d-death again." he clenched his fist. "I mean, I don't want to see anyone die,"

"Hm." Bancho straightened up, looking at the grandiose city in the front, and listening into the river that passed on the other side of the giant cavern. Pollimer breathed out, as if exhausted.

Anna-Pom paced around, either thinking about something or trying to understand some of the various words Ambrosia uttered out of nowhere while they travelled. Her eyes often landed on Bancho and the others, then on Chyuuichi, who put his sad head in his hands and kicked his foot around.

"Do you know why people overcome the biggest hurdles, Pollimer?" he asked. "Because they believe, that what they're fighting against, be it, a sickness, or perhaps, something more personal, is, in the end, worth it." he nodded. "Those little challenges in your path. Why should you let them stop you? Do you think the beliefs of some demons or goblins are stronger than a great Mirillian's?"

Chyuuichi glanced up, carefully observing Bancho's face.

"Well-" Pollimer muttered.

"Depends on whether you let them believe it." Bancho smiled. "If you want them to win, then don't fight. You can choose a passive side. But humanity has battled, over and over again, and hey... we're still here." he bumped his shoulder, now that they sat at the same height. "There's something worth fighting for."

Chyuuichi glimpsed down again, sighing quietly, and Atomu walked over, carrying tons of food he took from Soban and Magna.

"Want a bite, Chyuuichi?" Atomu asked, still chewing.

"Ah. I'm not hungry." Chyuuichi scratched the back of his head.

"Weird. You haven't eaten a thing since we left Soban. At least, that I'm aware of." Atomu sat down next to him, his robes falling gracefully on the rock.

"Mhh..." Chyuuichi made a weak noise, kicking a stone forward. The pressure on his heart and the powerful stress biting his tongue forced him to utter no words. His hands and legs felt heavy, like they carried tons and tons of steel even heavy for a Mirillian, while his eyes were glassy and dull.

"Oi." Atomu inched closer. "Y-You know you can tell me what's going on," he whispered. "The normal Chyuuichi would never act like this."

"M-Maybe you didn't know the normal me," Chyuuichi spoke, his voice sounding a little different. "Maybe I was just pretending."

"Ch-chyuuichi, come on. Whatever it is, I'm sure that-"

"It's something I have to deal with myself, sorry... Atomu..." his voice sounded weaker with each wording uttered. "Ya can't help me."

"Can you... at least tell me what happened?" Atomu closed his eyes for a moment.

Meanwhile, Elton found himself quite ravished, and all the Magnanian food surprisingly didn't leave him satisfied. He crawled towards Pollimer's basket, and reached his hand in, sneakily taking out some of the Mirillian fruits, munching on them while sitting.

A hand appeared out of the basket, signalling for Elton to pass the fruit over, and it took him about twelve seconds to notice the arm, and only two to scream out in fear.

"DEMON! THERE'S A DEMON IN THE BASKET!" Elton pointed, crawling away, the precious Mirillian fruit splattering on the hard rocky ground.

Pollimer immediately stood up, alerted and Bancho kicked the basket over.

"Ow!" Tenor yelled, with each hit he suffered, rolling on the ground. "Ow, ow..." he kept repeating, before opening one eye.

"Huh?!" Morio stepped in.

"What..." Bancho squinted his eyes.

"What?!" Atomu stood up, raising his voice. "When did he get here?!"

"Ya should've just passed me that fruit, big guy manto..." Tenor scuffed, before being lifted by his collar like a Lignorian kitten, squeezed with Pollimer's two big fingers. Pollimer frowned in anger, while Tenor looked away, pissed off.

Pollimer breathed in a couple of times, through his nose, as if he was getting ready for something. "Why did ya join us?!" Pollimer yelled out.

"I wanted to investigate!" Tenor kept scratching the back of his neck. "Something very suspicious!"

Bancho laughed out loud. Even Morio stepped in, following in the old Morian's footsteps and having a hearty laugh and a snore.

"It's serious, why are they laughing?" Jyuzou asked, crossing his arms.

"Isn't he harmless?" Ambrosia asked.

"Who knows, it might as well be a demon in disguise!" Jyuzou continued. "From all the things I've heard..."

"Huh? That's going a bit far, isn't it?"

"No, I don't think so. You should never ignore that harsh and cruel possibility." he raised a finger. "A good man taught me once."

Ambrosia shrugged, glancing at Jyuzou.

"Um, b-by the way." Jyuzou tapped on his glasses. "I-If we're talking demons, do you think you could teach me how those... spells work... and stuff," he whispered, before looking away, a bit embarrassed.

"Oh, weren't you listening back then?" Ambrosia blinked. "Spells can't be taught, you just have to believe."

"That's a very broad way to put it, don't you think?" Jyuzou grinned. "Like okay, I may be the last person in line keen on learning Demonear business, but I ought to start somewhere. So, tell me. There must be something behind it." he pointed straight at their face. "If Chyuuichi could do it... actually, where is he? I need to show him that flower..."

"Hm." Ambrosia took a step back, putting a finger on their chin. "How do you pray to Shin?"

"Eh." Jyuzou was taken aback, turning around. "I don't really pray."

"There must be some way you show appreciation. I know a lot about Morians. Maybe a bit too much for your liking." they sat down, beaming.

"Well." Jyuzou put his hands on his hips. "I guess that whenever I find seeds I throw one into the river. The Rightforth Passage believes that Shin is everything in nature."

"Then..." Ambrosia took a stone from the ground. "Believe that this stone, when thrown into the water, can cast a really powerful spell."

"Huh? Is it really that simple?"

"Depends on how much you believe in its power."

"Doesn't that set me back?" Jyuzou chuckled, putting his hands on his sides. "Others don't have to rely on water to cast spells."

"No." Ambrosia shook their head. "Faith is stronger than anything you would've ever possibly imagined. I feel it can even make up for the biggest of mistakes." they closed their eyes, the smile fading for just a second. "Try it, Jyuzou."

The Morian picked up a small stone from the ground, grinding his teeth.