With instructions from Daress, the three, two Morians, and a Clowinger, headed towards what he deemed the Harm Lands. The transition from the Horhor Basin to these unknown places was relatively seamless.

It first appeared identical to the place they'd been treading for the past few hours. Looking down, they'd recognize the many corridors or corners they passed, which led them back to the same passages, soon realising that there was no other exit.

Daress guided them however, through what he called, the safest road, complete with many holes in the ground that the Morians almost fell into, cliffs with sharp, rocky edges or round and slippery tops, that were a doozy to climb on.

The colours didn't change, remaining the same monotone grey, which filled the air and any object surrounding it. The ground slowly turned even, from big bumps to little bumps, and then into a long, silver plain, complete with formations that went up in thin lines and often changed directions, zig-zagging up, before stopping right out of anyone's reach.

There were tunnels in the ground that led downwards into the many mazes resembling the ones in the Horhor Basin, but they were swiftly avoided, even if it meant walking on a thin line, almost falling to a certain death, yet they refused to change anything about the way they travelled.

There was no real way to identify if what they were doing was wrong or right. Even if they searched for it, it seemed as if no human had ever stepped foot in these lands. Daress was the only thing they could rely on.

Except for basic words like "Come!" or "Here!", the Clowinger didn't speak much to the Morians, yet the two conversed from time to time, somewhat trying to find reason in these strange choices. Morians weren't made for travelling in dry lands, their shoes were made to handle snow, and sometimes they'd slip down into the most mundane places. Then, Daress would wait for them to recover and chant the same words. It was a sickening pattern for Jyuzou and a chore for Morio, but they persisted.

Over time, they'd see a small change, as all the roads that spread left and right headed down a slope into what seemed like a long corridor etched in between two long formations, with many bifurcations in its way. At times like these, Daress slowed down and counted something on his fingers, looking back at the two who watched him curiously. He smiled, reassuringly, and then turned, signalling with his claw-like hand.

Eventually, the steaming temperatures of earlier faded away as well, turning to ones resembling the first days of a Shimori Dear. The two quickly put on their cloaks, even asking Daress if he was cold. Their question wasn't ignored, Daress looked into Morio's eyes, letting him know he heard his words, but refused to answer for whatever reason.

Morio gulped, scratching his head and then stopped, turning to Jyuzou. He shook his head and then shrugged his arms as if suggesting that it was his idea. Morio looked back, as a small wind picked up, and he could barely make out Daress' silhouette through the thick fog. He sighed, continuing.

Even if they vowed to not harm Daress, the two were still rightfully fearful of the unknown.

The roads grew wider, and the mist was dense, so they kept to each other at a much closer distance than before. Everywhere they went, it all looked the same, except there were these long, red flowers, with dark green stems and many dry leaves, that shook around even without any wind as if they tried responding to Morio's and Jyuzou's words. Sometimes, they'd disappear into the ground, only to find themselves elsewhere, but not too far.

"Morio," Jyuzou tapped his side, signalling him to come closer. The other Morian peered at Daress before creating distance between each other.

"Yes?" Morio whispered, turning to his face.

"I-I'm not so sure about this," Jyuzou muttered. "I'm starting to think our best course would be to head back home." he shook his head.

"Why?" Morio asked. "We both went here to achieve the same thing. If we went back, wouldn't we remain cowards?"

"S-Screw this, Morio." Jyuzou ground his teeth. "There are no interesting plants, animals or anything of nature that would make it even remotely worth it. It's all grey, foggy and scary. It's only rocks and those weird red flowers that I can't even recognize." he signalled to one that grew out of the ground, with its crown staring directly at Morio's face.

Morio breathed in, before shaking his head.

"There's no food, no signs of life. Damn it, it's so quiet too!" Jyuzou stepped. "...and now, we've got whatever that thing is promising to lead us to its home. What if it's just trying to kill us?" Jyuzou pointed.

"Don't say that, Jyuzou. I get why you're scared, but let's not take this for granted, okay? Maybe things will change sooner than later." Morio proposed, treading forward.

"Demons go a long way to find their prey. They won't give up until it's dead."

"All I'm asking of you is to keep calm. Don't let these feelings take over your rational thinking." Morio said, although he too, seemed a nervous wreck. He glanced back at Jyuzou, with a small frown.

"This is my rational thinking." Jyuzou furrowed his eyebrows. "You're scared too, aren't you? Afraid of trusting that creature, even if you already convinced yourself that it won't hurt y-you."

"Dorians?! Are you coming?!" Daress yelled from afar.

Morio clenched his fist, breathing out. "W-We're Demonears, Jyuzou. Don't forget that." he put his hand on Gloria's sheath, turning on his heel and following Daress' echoes. "If he tried hurting us again, he'd be dead."

Jyuzou wiped the sweat off his forehead, following right after.

Passing through the small gorge, the Morians climbed up a bigger formation, where the edges of the cliffs faded into a thicker, distant fog. At times, the ground almost resembled frozen lava, but with a few more turns, everything evened out with another path leading down into the splits.

"D-Demonears, huh?" Jyuzou smiled lightly. "I don't think I ever got the chance to ask you about it."

"About what?" Morio asked, curiously.

"E-Everything. Your weapon, your class, your element, all that other stuff that the blacksmith mentioned that I forgot about." he scratched the back of his head.

"Man, I was completely lost through the second part of his speech!" Morio smirked.

"Me too! Why would you possibly read three pages from some weird book that's not even written in our language? How's that supposed to work out?"

"Don't even get me started about all those fear attacks!" Morio waved his hand, chuckling.

"Wait, no. That was actually interesting, and pretty important. That all took place before the book. How long have you been not paying attention?" Jyuzou continued.

"Um."

"Morio."

"Well I'm sorry you half of the words he said sounded like something from a Bollsend book!" Morio jumped up, and Jyuzou shook his head, almost playfully.

"Dorians, come on!" Daress signalled. "Uuh! Over here!" he ran back to the two. "Follow me to the left!" he muttered, before treading forward again.

Morio followed his moves and then turned back to Jyuzou, who breathed out. "Anyway." he shook his head, as Daress climbed up on the side, watching the two carefully. "M-My element is air, and my class is Vitaglia. You?"

"Oh, Vitaglia too!" Morio clapped his hands once. "Thunder for me! I already saw your weapon, it's a spear, but what about its name?"

"The Great Kowitzer." Jyuzou took it out from behind, holding it in both hands. "It's made out of arkan, found in the depths of Mirillis. Elton told me that the people living there had to mine for months to reach such a rare, wood-like material, found halfway through the Orawood Forest. I'm glad then, that something like this is in my hands."

"But, from what I've heard, the Guardian Demon chooses its host by itself. Meaning, the rare arkan was fated to land in your hands!" Morio smiled.

"See. You can be nice." Jyuzou beamed.

"Four-eyes." Morio grinned.

"Shut up." Jyuzou shook his head.

"Over here!" Daress continued.

"Well, I'm not sure what my weapon is made of!" Morio added. "Elton didn't forge it. It was Mama that made it."

"Wait." Jyuzou stopped, and Morio took the blade out of its sheath. "I-Isn't that?"

"Yeah, exactly! I always looked at it, wondering what weapon I'd get when I finally became a Demonear. Do you think Mama would be proud?"

"She does seem like that person." Jyuzou folded his arms. "M-Man, now that you mentioned it." he fixed his glasses. "Victoria will be pissed about the sweater."

"Worried about all that, and there's something I've always meant to ask you!" he pointed.

"Yeah?"

"Why do you always call her Victoria?" Morio asked. "Mama would kill me if I dared to use her real name. We're not Paladians to do that!"

"Uh." Jyuzou looked away.

"I mean, I know all families are different, but she doesn't seem like the type of person to just go with the flow." he chuckled. "Eh, Jyuzou?"

"She's not... exactly my mum."

"What?" Morio raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you knew that," Jyuzou replied.

"But you look similar!"

"Again, I think I've told you that dressing the same doesn't make you look the same! First of all, why doesn't she wear glasses if I do? I've been told it's genetic, so my real parents would probably wear them!"

"Real parents?" Morio thought for a second. "That's why you don't have a dad!"

"Not like you're one to speak!"

"Hey! Mama said that he's out exploring the world, okay? Look into my eyes! They're testimony!"

Jyuzou sighed, moving back. "W-Well, maybe mine are somewhere in the Mainland as well, or, even further away. Victoria told me that a man left me near the well in Mistwick one day, and never came back. Hell, I'm not sure if they'd want to see me." he scratched his cheek, looking to the side. "I'm fine like this either way. Victoria and everyone else are good enough."

For a second, the glassy Morian thought he spotted something in the mist. A floating figure, permeating through the thick fog and looking back. In the blink of an eye, however, it disappeared, turning back into what resembled a formation. Jyuzou turned, sighing.

"Tsk." Morio scratched his forehead, before looking at his hands. "Sometimes I wonder how little we know about our world."

"Huh?" Jyuzou fixed his glasses.

"I haven't been out adventuring for too long, and it seems like everything everyone tells me is wrong or right but in a different way. Like... every story I've been told was made up or slightly changed like they don't want anyone to know what lies beyond a lie." Morio squinted his eyes.

"Dorians!" Daress yelled, jumping down from a rock. "Up here! I found a shortcut! Come on, quick, quick~! Uuh!" it closed an eye, trembling.

Morio and Jyuzou went up a few square rocks to an open hill above the long corridors. They looked out, and from above the mist, grew red and black clouds, forming atop Mount Aria.

"What the hell is that?" Morio asked, standing behind a dead bush that swang in the wind, next to a big red flower.

"Night is coming, Dorians. We need to tread quickly, and safely! Uuh!" Daress shook. "We need to find somewhere safe, out of the Harm Lands!"

"Why not here?" Jyuzou asked, a bit agitated.

"Uuh," Daress muttered. "I'm trying to keep you safe, you don't want to know, Dorians..."

"We do, so we can be ready to fight it," Morio spoke up as well.

"Demons... deadly demons." Daress put his hands together. "Even ones that a Demonear couldn't defeat!"

"N-Nothing's that big of a challenge, surely," Morio added, bumping Jyuzou's shoulder.

Daress looked at one of Morio's eyes, and his own gleamed. Biting his claw, he leapt forward. "Quick, quick, come, Dorians! Somewhere safe, somewhere safe!"

Jyuzou turned to Morio again, afraid. "Last chance, Morio," he muttered.

"Come on." The Morian shook his head, before treading down.

Afterwards, they ventured into another set of identical mazes, with the only difference in sight, being a slightly shakier ground. There were more of those red flowers, some in groups of three to five, and others in line, as if they were creating a path for the three to follow.

Something that Jyuzou noticed after a while was that, when Daress was far enough from the two, he'd start treading on all fours, making small leaps forward at a higher speed than normal. When the two approached closer, he'd straighten up on both, avian-like legs, a bit slouched. Morio thought that his wings were a burden to his back, not understanding the creature and trying to learn more, even if they knew asking questions right to its face would be pointless.

Jyuzou kept a safe, and rational distance, however.

Every time Daress approached a little closer and did something strange, Jyuzou tried to remind himself to take out the book and search for whatever a Clowinger could be, yet they kept getting distracted by either the wind's hisses or Daress' distant footsteps or words.

Now, letting you on a little secret, Clowingers are what came out of a fusion of an Eran with a bird, somewhere even before the First Errarion War. It was rumoured to be a bolt of lightning somewhere at the edge of Mount Aria, which connected through an eagle and onto a traveller who tried to cross through. Other stories involved Demons which had the power to put two and two together, and... one that I don't think deserves to be mentioned, but that's probably what happened.

They weren't a mystery either. The elders of Errarion heard their names or seen them once, flying over the mountains, or scouting for food. They were friendly, had specific but understandable accents, and could be seen virtually anywhere in the Mainland. Over the years, however, it seemed as if they had disappeared without a trace.

"B-Back to the Demonear topic." Jyuzou's grip around his shoulder strap tightened. "Were you paying attention when the forger talked about magic?"

"Oh, yeah!" Morio replied. "I think Mr Bancho also said something about it once. He has these spells that he chants even without using his Guardian Demon!"

"Yeah, I've heard a thing or two at the bar as well." Jyuzou nodded. "Chyuuichi was genuinely devoted to the idea that his spells would help him gamble in the casinos..."

"Pff." Morio chortled, snorting. "Good mindset, though!" he clapped. "When do we get out spells?"

"No clue," he answered. "No one ever mentioned that."

"Hmm." Morio stepped forward. "Welp! More fights mean a bigger chance for it to happen out of the blue." he extended his arms.

"R-Right," Jyuzou replied. "Everyone told me that Demonears don't just learn from listening, so by that rule, I don't expect us to master anything just by talking. You have to experience it firsthand."

"Same here." Morio scratched his elbow, grinning. "Ugh, but I'd love to know now! Magic and all those wizards sound so damn cool!"

"Patience is key." Jyuzou fixed his glasses.

"Like you're any patient! You tap your fingers against the pot to make the soup boil faster!" Morio pointed. "It doesn't work!"

"It does." he looked away. "Maybe."

"Whispering to flowers, Drawing in the snow when waiting for someone. Petting the horse to make it go faster even if it doesn't work." Morio counted on his fingers, and Jyuzou kept glancing around, trying to make something out of the fog. "I bet you want to see what spells you can cast as soon as I do! Don't try and hide it!"

"Morio." Jyuzou turned to him. "Where did he go?"

"Who?"

"Daress." Jyuzou gulped. "I swear I just saw him a few seconds ago."

Morio picked up the pace, stepping in the front, glancing down to see if he had left any footsteps. Back in the Horhor Basin, some rocks were covered in a dusty, silver material, which, when stepped on, left traces. "Daress!" he yelled out, as his voice echoed to nowhere. "Hello?! Daress!"

"Oh, Shin." Jyuzou covered his head with a book, trembling, and Morio suddenly ran into the mist. "What the hell are you doing?!"