Ori looked up at the sheer rock cliff of the plateau that the Ginso Tree sat upon. Only then did he realize how far he had fallen. A large waterfall billowed down the cliffside, splashing into the water at Ori's feet and sending watery mist all over his body.

     "Ori, come," Sein said, this time with more authority. Ori snapped out of his thoughts, looking over at Sein. "R-Right," he responded, running to catch up with Sein. He didn't really want to leave such a tranquil and peaceful place so quickly. But nonetheless he followed behind Sein as she floated into the forest.

     They followed a small trail that led around the plateau, and Ori took as much time as possible to bask in the beauty of the greenery that he had not seen for a short time, but had desperately needed to see. It filled him with hope to see that he truly was making a difference and healing Nibel.

     Unfortunately, the greenery soon turned back into the familiar gray rot of the blinded forest. As Ori walked, tense once again, he caught a glimpse of the Spirit Tree through the treeline. It was just a little brighter and greener. Ori felt more hope build within him. He was fulfilling the promise he made to all the fallen spirits he had met. At this rate, Nibel was sure to be free from the blight of the Decay.

     The walk across Nibel was nearly unbearable. Because of the fall from the Ginso Tree, Ori had no idea where he was, so retracing his steps was not an option. However, he did know that he was going the right way thanks to the Forlorn Ruins, which loomed ever so slightly above the treeline, providing a marker for where Ori must go.

     After about an hour of walking, Ori laid back against a rotten tree to catch his breath. The texture of the decaying bark made his skin tingle, but he was far too exhausted to care. Even though he had new means of getting around obstacles, navigating Nibel was no less exhausting. Additionally, he was no longer deterred by bodies of water in his way, as all of the water in Nibel seemed to have been cleansed, not just the water around the Ginso Tree.

     As Ori laid back against the tree, his tiny chest rising and falling rapidly, Sein hovered above him to keep watch. She wasn't affected by exhaustion whatsoever, and was more than eager to get to the Forlorn Ruins as soon as possible, but she also understood just how hard navigating the rotten trees and twisted briars must have been for Ori, not to mention that the little spirit was also constantly on edge without Blitz's presence to reassure him.

     A subtle movement in the undergrowth caught Sein's attention. She didn't warn Ori yet, but kept her attention set on whatever the thing was. As Ori continued to rest, whatever was traversing the undergrowth suddenly started getting closer at an alarmingly fast rate. "Ori, get up!" Sein shouted.

     Ori shot up almost immediately, instantly at full alert. His ears twitched as he heard the rustling and he whirled around to face the direction of the noise. Just as he did, he spotted a small rat, but something about it was very wrong. It was covered in purple tumors, several patches of fur were simply gone, revealing gray skin underneath, and the rat's eyes were white with madness.

     Just as the rat emerged, so did another. And another, and another, and another at an alarming rate. Within several seconds, at least a hundred rats had emerged, all staring at Ori with white eyes. Suddenly, they all converged on a single point, clumping together. Ori slowly backed away in fear as the rats squealed and screeched. Within moments, all the rats had converged together into one single mass of interlocked rats. A rat king, far larger than Ori was.

     Then, the mass of rats surged forward like a viscous slime, intending to devour the little spirit before it whole. Ori immediately dashed off in the opposite direction, panic filling his entire body. The rat king gave chase at an alarmingly fast speed.

     The world all became a blur as Ori sprinted. He didn't know where he was going, or what he was going to do next. All that mattered was getting away from that thing. Ori felt as though the rat king was nipping at his heels, but in reality he had no idea if he was faster or slower than it.

     He ran and ran and ran for what felt like ages, until finally he was sure he could not hear the massive cacophany of maddened squeals and screeches. He slowed his pace down to a complete stop, and immediately collapsed. His heart pounded and his chest rose and fell at an even more rapid pace than before, and his entire body felt as if it were on fire. Ori couldn't move, couldn't open his eyes, couldn't even think. He was far too exhausted.

     Luckily, Ori seemed to have lost the massive rat king, as it was nowhere to be seen or heard. Sein floated above Ori, feeling great concern and hoping that Ori would have enough time to recover before the next danger presented itself. Right now, the little spirit was a sitting duck, defenseless and unable to flee again.

     "Ori," Sein pleaded with the spirit, floating above his nose as he panted. "We must find a place to hide before you can rest. Come on, get up. It is too dangerous to stay out here in the open."

     Ori didn't respond. He didn't even open his eyes. He was too exhausted to do anything but lay and pant.

     After a few minutes, Ori finally found the strength to at least open his eyes and look around. After another few minutes, he mustered up the strength to stand and wobble his way into a nearby cave. It was a shallow cave, but seemed to be uninhabited and would be a great spot out of sight for Ori to rest. As soon as the little spirit wobbled into the cave, he fell against a stone wall and laid against it, still panting the entire time. He hadn't been this exhausted in his entire life. As soon as he sat down, his body seemed to shut down again, not moving an inch.

     After about thirty minutes, Ori's exhaustion had finally passed. His body was incredibly sore, but he was able to get back to walking, albeit at a very slow pace. Luckily, he didn't run into that rat king or any other creatures.

     As he walked, he caught a glimpse of another shape over to the north: Mount Horu. Ori had seen Mount Horu so many times even before the Decay, that he barely even noticed it now. But something was different about it. A small plume of ash and smoke was billowing out of the top. But Ori didn't worry about it too much.

     The atmosphere took a noticeable turn as Ori approached the Valley of Wind. The wind grew even colder and more harsh, and the atmosphere turned from a gloomy gray to an ominous purple hue. Additionally, Ori spotted several creatures native to the valley, most notably a large number of owls. Not nearly as large as Kuro, but they looked just as dangerous and mad. Ori decided it would be best to avoid being spotted by them.

     At last, Ori made it to the edge of the Valley of Wind. Though, it would be more accurate to call it a canyon, as the walls of it were sharp and impossibly steep. At the very bottom, a river billowed through the canyon. On the other side of the canyon was what Ori assumed to be the Misty Woods. It was a large patch of forest, but with a heavy purple mist hanging over them. If not for the golden lights on some of the trees, Ori would not have known there would be trees to begin with, as the fog was so thick. And south of the Misty Woods sat the Forlorn Ruins. They were beautiful, even in their destroyed state. Ornate spires of stone shot out from the mountains, covered in intricate carvings which had faded to time. Some of the spires were entirely disconnected from the main structure, suspended in mid-air by an invisible force. Before it fell into disrepair, it was surely the most beautiful structure in Nibel.

     Ori shook his head to snap himself out of his amazement. He stepped up to the ledge, looking over the canyon and to the ruins on the other side. It was a very, very wide gap, and Ori was unsure if he could make that jump, but he was still bolstered with confidence, and so he prepared to leap across. He took several steps back to get a running start, but as he sprinted to the ledge, he heard a screech that sent waves of terror through his body: Kuro's screech.

     Ori immediately skidded to a halt, sending a loose rock tumbling over the edge and into the canyon. He immediately turned tail and sprinted back, hiding in the treeline behind a particularly wide trunk. He heard powerful wingbeats, and the sound of something massive landing on rock. He gently peaked his head around the trunk, and spotted Kuro perched upon a massive stone ledge, watching the other side of the canyon with sharp, hateful eyes.

     "No! With Kuro watching, the path to the Misty Woods will be blocked," Sein said with dismay, hiding behind the tree along with Ori.

     "There has to be another way..." Ori responded, his black eyes scanning the surrounding environment for anything that could help. Then, he spotted it: a large rock suspended above Kuro. A smile crept onto his face.

     "I have an idea."