"Was that Old Manjuno?"

"It's Shin's preferred speech, but-"

"I don't speak Old Manjuno, sorry." she turned around, crawling over to her sleeping place, with the glaska still in her hands.

"I said... Blessings to the guardian, Anna. Let her life be as sweet as strawberries."

Anna stopped for a moment, before turning to Arthur. "Strawberries don't grow in Shimori. They're in Lignoria."

Arthur slowly blinked twice, and Anna sighed again, lying on the ground, without any other questions.

"But they are sweet."

"Shin understands the common tongue," Arthur continued, while Anna turned around, closing her eyes as tightly as she could, trying desperately to fall asleep. "You'd be surprised, Mrs. Anna. I see all those people in bars in Wendigo, talking about a demon's pelt that they'd sell from under the counter. They'd commit crimes and do things against Shin, but still, they'd pray that their actions could be forgiven. In jail cells in Magna, and with naughty children locked in homes in Mistwick, they'd all find time to pray too. They'd pray for what they think Shin may bless them with."

Anna didn't answer, hoping that Arthur would stop talking, and after a while, she heard sounds of shuffling in between bed sheets and was rather sure that the kid finally gave up. However, something went amiss, and his words stopped making sense to her. She slowly opened her eyes, before shooting up straight as an arrow, and sat.

"How do you know all that?" she asked, supporting herself with her hands. "How do you know how those people feel?" she continued, but, Arthur didn't answer.

She made a strange expression, and a bit annoyed now that something caught her interest, she went back to sleep with furrowed eyebrows.

***

The next day began the same way the last one did, with a quiet breakfast, and Anna left to start her daily training. This time, she was very keen on succeeding, knowing that if she finished her most difficult tasks, she'd be able to leave Lockum and Arthur behind. Her first goal was finally catching up with Ella, and perhaps staying in Magna by her side for a longer period.

She stretched as she used to, put on her boots, leapt over rocks, and twirled her rope like the wind. Once, she even managed to strike beneath, essentially discovering a new move, even if didn't create any elemental attacks.

...and finally, after a while, the challenge stood before her. She used to look at those same rocks every day, knowing that her efforts would be futile. Her heart skipped a beat, and she got ready, and into the position that welcomed her with the most significant progress.

"Mrs Anna! Mrs Anna!" Arthur ran in the distance, with something in his hands, but she seemed to ignore his words. Nothing but a blur echoed into her ears, and she struck, completely focused on the task at hand.

One, two, three, then a loop, and without realising it, Arthur was already close enough. He kept running as if he didn't see the things happening before him.

One, two... Anna's heart started pumping, but before anything could happen, Arthur appeared in front of the rope, with a tight smile.

Her eyes shrunk.

The rope let go, without connecting to the last object, and the fury on her face was visible. She lost her balance through anger, and fell down the sharp rocks and into the steep terrain, before lying next to Arthur, who curiously eyed her.

The kid brushed off the rocky dust from the back of her coat, and then took a step back. "Mrs Anna, Mrs Anna!" he said, and she turned to him, annoyed. "I found this in your cupboard! You did believe in Shin all along!" he smiled, pushing a book into her face.

She looked at its cover, clearly recognizing that such was the most prominent peace of literature connected to the beliefs of Shin, the Rightforth Passage. She squinted her eyes, looking at the symbol embedded in the matte cover. A long, thin arrow with two circles left and right.

Yet, there was nothing at such a key moment that could've enraged her more. She took the book from his hands, stood up, and threw it as far as she could, before grabbing her rope and leaving its end to hit the book, as it disappeared into the snowy mists.

Arthur looked back at Anna, a bit terrified, and she crouched, putting both of her hands on his shoulders.

"I DON'T BELIEVE IN YOUR STUPID SHIN!" she yelled, taking a step back. "Go home!" she signalled with her hands. "I don't want to see you here ever again! Go home and tell the freaks who raised you that no force in Errarion will make me even remotely close to changing my mind! Nothing you do will ever make me believe in Shin!"

"B-But." Arthur put his hands together. "The book..."

"I had no books with me. Hell, I don't even enjoy reading as a hobby..." Anna shook her head. "I prefer complete silence in my free time, and you're the obstacle standing in my way. Out!" she pointed. "If you found yourself here, you know the way back home!"

Every last bit of empathy that grew in her the other day completely faded, and Arthur, with a bowed head, turned to the direction Anna suggested. He started walking, with his hands together, and Anna-Pom made sure his steps were final.

***

Still in anger from earlier, she returned home and laid in her bed that had been occupied for the last few nights, sighing out, exhausted. She looked at the rope clenched in her fist, seeing nothing but the familiar signs of whips, and damage in places she struck the hardest.

She spotted all the little withered plants that grew on the sides, once green, now grey and rotting. She put down the Guardian Demon and covered her eyes as if to stop herself from crying, yet no tears came out. She sucked in air through her teeth, before pushing her hands onto her stomach and looking at the ceiling.

She sat up, pushing the makeshift cupboard with her legs and opening the drawer, pushing the other small little objects to the side before unearthing a wooden case with a woollen inside, which held a purple-blue Lapuna flower, which, despite all the years that went by, still shone beautifully, reflecting the light of the noon sun. However, its crown dimmed a bit, and Anna slowly peered out the other window.

She stood up, taking her head out, and felt a light wind coming down from Century Valley, and snow fell on her head. She sniffed the air that passed her, feeling a cold whiff through her nostrils. The gust kept growing stronger and stronger and eventually, she realised that a snowstorm was heading her way. She breathed out, putting the flower back into the case and pulling down the duvets of the tent, readying herself for a day inside.

But then, something clicked, just as she was about to cover the entrance.

***

She looked left and right, pulling her coat together, and started running down the slope, in the direction she instructed Arthur to follow.

Down there was where all the snow gathered, in vicious and aggressive piles and gusts that kept getting heavier, almost pushing her away. Still, Anna couldn't hesitate. She ground her teeth, feeling the extremely cold wind inside of her mouth, and then jumped down the last steps of Lockum, and into a gorge-like area, before spotting Arthur, aimlessly and desperately trying to tread forward.

"ARTHUR!" Anna yelled out, making haste, swinging her hands back and forth, holding onto the rope. He turned around, with a shocked face, and before he knew it, a snowdrift from above was pushed, falling directly onto the kid. She whipped, and its end met the pile, splitting it into a hundred small bits of snow. She slid across the ground and grabbed Arthur's arm, pulling his shoulder and running together. Some of the snow landed on her head, but she didn't mind, and instead, took a turn, almost tripping because of the sleet gathering around her feet.

She wanted to run to the staircase she always used, but upon trying the first step, she hit her head, seeing just how slippery it was. She held Arthur's hand tighter than ever, though.

"Shin is angry. Shin wants to punish us." Arthur muttered.

"Not us! Me!" Anna yelled back. "He wants to punish me!"

She put Arthur onto her shoulder, and he clung to her back as she dashed around the gorge, searching for an escape route despite the snow blocking everything. Her vision grew blurry, but she kept running, even though all the snowdrifts created a pool of snow that grew to her knees, slowing her down.

She didn't want to give up, at least not on his life. Without many more options, she looked into his eyes and ground her teeth. "I'll need you to be very brave now, Arthur!"

"What?" he asked.

"Just trust me, okay?! And pray to Shin that it succeeds!" She threw the kid into the sky and then grabbed onto her whip. She spotted three rocks sticking out from the tall wall in front of her and struck.

One, two, three, the rope looped around the third rock. One, two... she kept counting. Arthur was now high up in the air, with a yell, and a friction that only forced him to keep falling.

...and three.

The rope finally connected, and the massive rock formation bent under her will, much to her silent surprise. She pulled as hard as she could, groaning, and the rock fell, creating a bridge, with an extending pile of snow that cushioned Arthur's fall.

She let go of the rope, exhausted, landing in the snow that kept gathering around her defenceless body. Arthur climbed up the formation a bit, looking down into the gorge, terrified.

To counter his emotions, she breathed out, before blinking a few times.

"Go, Arthur," she yelled, sitting up. "Go home!"

"I won't leave you here!"

"I'll find a safe way out too. I promise, Arthur." her voice grew significantly calmer with the last two words. "Don't worry."

Arthur gulped, and his head quickly disappeared from above the formation. Anna-Pom stood up, pushing her legs through the thick snow, brows still furrowed, and her heart pumping rhythmically.

She watched as all the snowdrifts crumbled and crushed around her, covering all possible exits out of this predicament. She wasn't planning on leaving in the first place, but, after hearing Arthur's words, something that dreamt inside her awoke, at that very moment.

She fell to her knees, and put her hands together, closing her eyes. The wind graced and went through her black hair, which was now just a bit whiter from all the sleet that covered it.

"Oh, Shin," she muttered. "If you're out there, I think this would be a good time to finally give back. Even though I couldn't succeed in becoming the Demonear I once was, at least I saved him." she stopped for a second. "At least I saved Arthur." she smiled, looking up. "Let his live be as sweet as strawberries, even if they don't grow in Shimori." she chuckled, only half-believing her words.

Her smile, though, quickly faded, turning into a miserable frown.

"I don't want to die."

***

"I hear your call."

Anna found herself sitting on the ground, looking at the blinding, silver light, enamouring her in a comfortable warmth. Her eyes shrunk in shock.

"Shin?" she asked, reaching her hand out, seeing an odd silhouette almost dancing in front of an oval, golden shine.

"You can't live without faith." a low and a high voice uttered. "Even if it's not me, let it be something else. Fate, luck, or the reassurance that your loved one will be there to help you through." it continued.

"You can't live without believing in something." he pointed, and his finger graced Anna's hand.

"Believe, Anna-Pom. Believe."

***

As soon as the apparition disappeared, everything faded to black, and then to an unsure dark blue, that felt as if Anna had seen light for the first time in a few hours.

She blinked a few times, feeling something strange going through her body. She put her hands on parts of her skin, still feeling the same flesh as before and the same scars hidden beneath her clothes.

"Was that a dream?" she asked, before looking up. The dark clouds of the snowstorm disappeared, and she breathed out, feeling the sinking cold snow climbing beneath her coat.

Anna dug herself out of the snowdrift, brushed off the sleet, and climbed up the side of the gorge, looking towards the formation she crashed into, feeling a slight headache.

She noticed something lying behind a boulder.

Crouching, she spotted the left-over, beige clothes that Arthur wore, and the mashoba bandages she made, which had no stains of blood.

And beneath all those clothes, laid a cutout of the book's cover from earlier. The sign placed above the clocks on churches in Shimori, the arrow and two circles on both sides.

Her eyes widened, and her head immediately turned towards Century Valley, and all the other lands of Shimori extending far in the distance.

She gulped, before clenching her fist.

"Believe," she repeated.