Through fields of flowers, colza and wheat, the sun peeked in the early morning.

Sam moved into Agroste, meeting a familiar face in the streets.

"Oh, Paula!" Sam raised his voice, and the mentioned quickly turned, with a worried expression. "Were you at the bar yesterday? I swear I saw you in the crowds..." he scratched his head. "I h-hope you didn't drag Kan and Rob along, hehe." he chuckled.

"I went home afterwards," Paula uttered, dismissing his words. "Parties aren't my thing."

"Same here." Sam shook his head. "But I guess it was joy, you know? Something we, in these times, don't really get to experience." he looked down, clenching one fist before his other hand landed on the collar of his red and black shirt. Swiftly, he took it off, brushing sweat off his forehead, as the sun's heat was already unbearable, even at dusk.

Paula sighed. "Joy, yeah? You could say that."

Sam stopped for a second. "Ranpa once told me that time heals all wounds, although he referred to a scar that I got from a sheep kicking my shin." he scratched his chin. "Well, it was a good analogy, either way. We're not going to forget him, Paula, but if we keep trying to circle back to the topic, we're just... always going to be sad and miserable."

Paula rubbed something nestled between her cheek and under her eye, before leaning against the fence. A few people walked by, waving to the Turons, riding atop pigs or tending to the cats sitting around. One such ran up to Paula and meowed a few times.

Paula's face turned sour. "It's easy for you, Sam."

"No it isn't Paula." he gulped, his expression turning stern. "Everywhere I go I keep getting reminded of him. The whole thing about death, then sneaking through that same street and finding someone that at first glance looked just like him... I try to push those thoughts away but I can't."

"I heard his name yesterday!" she raised her voice, rubbing under her eye again as if trying to stop the tears. "I heard his name, Sam!" she yelled out.

Sam stepped back, breathing out. A few birds flew by, one landing atop a tent behind Paula, who covered her eyes with her hand.

"A-Atomu's dead." Sam opened his mouth after a few seconds. "No matter what you tell yourself, he's not coming back." He quickly softened.

Paula tried to deny her feelings. She stared forwards, into the forests and open flowery fields of Agroste.

There were a few seconds where both stared at each other in silence and an entire minute passed since.

"Maybe he's still here, hiding somewhere?" she asked. "Out of sight, watching us."

Sam walked up to her, placing his hands on the fence as well, breathing out. "You saw the..." he stopped for a bit. "...body. We buried it."

Paula shook her head, softly. "I closed my eyes."

Sam didn't add anything. Every notion that went through his head somehow circled back to the people he cared for deeply. His sister, younger siblings, mother, father, grandpa... and his deceased brother.

Then, an image flashed in his hand, of the weapon he managed to raise with his bare hands. Either way, there were more important things for him to focus on.

"Don't tell mum." Sam stood back. "You'll only worry her."

"Is there another Atomu Turon in this world?" she asked, biting her lip nervously. "Is he dead?" she whispered the last words.

"Paula," Sam added. "Please."

"I closed my eyes." her shaky voice uttered.

The Paladian sighed, before taking a few steps away and moving further along the road. He clenched his fists, holding back, trying to stop the floodgates from opening.

Atomu was dead. He saw the body covered in cloth right as the casket was covered with a wooden lid. His name was engraved atop, written by his father.

Sam stopped, breathing in. A few people passed, heading towards Medulla.

Life went on, after all. Bancho died, and it seemed everyone managed to move on in honour.

Sam had to do so as well.

"Ranpa," Sam uttered to himself, clenching his fist. "There was something he wanted me to do."

Mentioning that name, Linno Palski, visited his house in the morning, only after he sobered up from the night before. Carrying the Royal silver axe in his black robes and bearing a sceptre fit for a ruler, the two started making agreements in the doorway.

Ranpa leaned on the wooden pole, glancing at the two guards patiently waiting behind the mayor.

"Starting tomorrow, right after your morning duties as a shepherd, you are to report at the Royal Square to either of these two." he pointed, squinting his eyes.

Ranpa nodded. "Although I don't know how I'm going to be of any help. I don't know a thing. I just found the bodies, like I told you."

Linno sighed, taking a step back. "I'm making an exception and going against what my father told me. What my family said was a mayor's sacred mission. I know you, Ranpa, and it'd be a heap of disappointment if it turned out that Baumer's and Turon's efforts were in nought. Just remember, it's a deal that you can't back out from. Either that, or you'll be buried next to the Wise." he raised a finger, and Ranpa slowly shook his head, although a little stressed. "Understood?"

One of the guards gulped.

Ranpa glanced to the side for a moment, stressed out of his mind. Rubbing one drop of sweat off his forehead, he stepped to the side. "Understood."

"We'll see you tomorrow," Linno announced.

Palski turned on his heel, swinging the sceptre back under his robes, signalling for the other guards to move along. With one glance back at his house, Ranpa unsurely waved.

This essentially entailed another burden upon the heart of Paladians. Bancho may have passed, but his potential killer was still on the loose. Amid words passing to one another, letters sent to ships on the town's distant shore or problems being seemingly solved, two threads were still on the loose.

"Mr Palski?" One of the guards raised his voice, tightly gripping the spear in their hand.

"Yes?" Linno turned his head but continued strutting forward.

"Now that Bancho's dead, what's going to happen to it?"

"To what?" the mayor asked.

"The Holy Crown." the other guard promptly replied.

Palski stopped for a second, looking down. He counted something on his fingers, then stared at the reflected expression on the orb at the end of the sceptre. Biting into his lower lip, he looked back at both guards. "It's not up to you," he uttered. "Not up to any of us either. Crowns are worn by kings, and when that ruler falls, it is the descendant of the throne that picks it up. A prince becomes a king, and the cycle repeats."

Ranpa appeared in his mind again.

"No one has ever seen Bancho's will." Linno continued. "...and I doubt he even had one. Holy items are something not from our world, so its rules don't concern us either." Palski beamed a little. "At his burial, don't think about what he had, but rather, the human he was."

Ranpa stepped back into his tent, breathing out, sliding down the wooden pole. He rubbed his tired eyes, gulping for a second, before turning to one of the closed curtains.

Failure to abide by Linno's rules meant death. He clenched his fist in anger, before sighing.

"He's gone. You can come out now."

As Ranpa announced, Chyuuichi was kicked out of the adjacent room with Rowan's focused groan, who stepped out gracefully, even fixing their collar. Atomu followed the two, nervously looking left and right.

Ranpa stood up and walked towards the three who sat down on the couch. Atomu gulped, almost looking into his eyes, but not daring to drift too far in, and the Paladian leaned closer.

"Shit," Ranpa uttered. "I stepped into shit."

"Like, during yer shepherd duties?" Chyuuichi asked, raising a finger.

Ranpa groaned. "I stepped into shit because I agreed to hide the bodies for you. Now I'm rolling in shit because I took a path that led me further down even more-"

"We get that part about faeces!" Rowan announced, clearing their throat. "...and we're very sorry that we caused this. We'll leave soon if need to."

"You will have to." Ranpa nodded, and Atomu did the same. "You have time until evening and after the ceremony because Danuta will come back. I think she wants to agree with me, but I don't want to spark unneeded fires."

"Welp, we need to start packing! Atomu, I think I left yer flute in bed!" Chyuuichi said, walking into the other room.

"Ranpa?" Atomu raised his shaky voice, looking up.

"Yes?"

"D-do you know what happened to Elton's body?" Atomu asked, moving back a little and gulping.

"It's complicated," Ranpa replied, shaking his head.

"Where did they take it?" Atomu asked, and Rowan moved their head a little.

Ranpa breathed out.

"Nowhere, one would think." a voice suddenly came out from behind, belonging to none other than Sam, who ducked to get through the curtains in the back. Atomu's eyes shrank, and he stared forward to avoid eye contact, the other Paladian breathed out and sat on the couch.

"Who's this?" Rowan pointed.

"A friend of mine," Ranpa uttered, putting a hand on his forehead. "I told him about the bodies."

"What?" Atomu gasped.

"Oh no!" Chyuuichi raised his voice, peeking from the curtains, quickly closing them and yelling inside.

"You can trust Sam, though. He's the one that got me out of this whole ordeal, to begin with. The three of you couldn't, maybe except for the Mirillian."

Chyuuichi stepped in as if invited with a wide smirk. Rowan scoffed.

Sam nodded, nervously, before putting his loose shirt atop a chair and sliding it towards the others. Atomu looked away, while Rowan stared through their eyebrows.

"You can tell me." Sam smiled. "This stays between us."

"How can I trust you, Paladian boy?" Rowan snickered.

"I s-saw him there." Atomu suddenly uttered. "Sam is on our side."

"Wait, yeah. You were there. The guy in the alley." Sam pointed, glancing at Ranpa.

"Yeah. Adam, right?" Ranpa asked.

Atomu nodded, staring at the floor.

"Okay." Ranpa breathed in. "Then, where did you get the bodies?"

"We found them." Rowan pushed on Chyuuichi's shoulder, turning to Sam. "We were passing by the Orange Willows and found them laid in the storms and rains of Lignoria. They were bleeding out, and their pulses weren't there." Rowan clenched their fist, their head shaking a little. "Not even weak, completely gone. They had massive wounds in various places, presumably from where the Demonears struck."

"I knew you could never trust these bastards," Sam muttered.

"...and w-we didn't want to leave someone like Bancho behind," Atomu spoke up. "So we ran here and Ranpa let us in."

Ranpa nodded.

"Oh, man." Sam brushed through his hair, perhaps feeling a little stupid and taken aback at the same time.

"D-Did ya want to accuse us?" Chyuuichi asked.

"No! I'm just surprised with the outcome." Sam laughed, nervously. "I'd n-never judge Ranpa's decision. After all, it's in his blood to..." Sam peered at Ranpa, who rolled his eyes. "He always knows people's intentions."

Ranpa scoffed, the three quickly turning to him.

"So, you were there because you found that Guardian Demon?" Atomu asked, sticking his hand out.

"Partially. It was what motivated me to do so in the first place." Sam explained, gulping through his words. "I knew a quick way to the Royal Square but I was stressed out about this plan. So, I guess that weapon could be both a blessing and a curse."

"Plan?" Chyuuichi tilted his head.

"We had a plan, that I think Sam understood without my words." Ranpa stood up, walking over to the tent's edge. "When things went to... shit." he accented the last word. "A notion struck me. There were two bodies, right? One of Bancho, and one of another Paladian."

"Elton." Atomu thought. "Elton Kasper,"

Ranpa breathed out. "I saw Sam's face outside the tent, and remembered something he said that morning."

Sam scratched his lips, and the Tributal peered at the Paladian.

"A faraway place in Lignoria. A massive tree in Orawood, and through their familial beliefs, a place where the dead come back to living when buried."

Atomu's eyes sparked for a second. He knew that story very well. It was those countless stormy nights when no new books were found on the shelves of their house, so the Turons resorted to telling all the witchtales they knew.

"It sounds childish, I know," Sam uttered, chuckling, and Rowan moved their raised hand back down. "But I guess I'm still young and foolish to believe so."

"I heard about that tree once too!" Chyuuichi added, standing up. "Marpom Fullfork, right?"

"Who?" Sam squinted his eyes.

"Ya get it." Chyuuichi nodded, promptly placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Who?"

"This will sound ridiculous, but bear with me here." Ranpa extended his arms. "What if you, travellers, were to take Bancho's body and bury it in Orania?" Ranpa asked, brushing through his hair. "Wouldn't that make more sense, especially considering the person he was?"

"Orania?" Atomu spoke. "That's deadly far away."

"Where are you headed to anyways?" Ranpa asked.

"Not necessarily a destination, but we're following someone," Rowan uttered. "But if such a possibility existed, Orawood would've been the call. Further south, then towards Saphrith and elsewhere."

Atomu gulped. "But, Bancho's dead. L-Laid in his grave. The burial's in a few hours." Atomu spoke.

Rowan slowly nodded.

"There were two bodies," Ranpa repeated before his hand landed on a massive pile of blankets stacked atop one another in the corner of the room. With one smooth and swift swing, all now lay at the side.

Ranpa breathed in and out, directly staring into Bancho's closed eyes, his pale skin, and still body. Sam closed one eye, huffing, and Atomu stood up, his eyes widened. "Yeah, I can face it now. Looking at death itself toughens you up."

Chyuuichi peaked his head out, and Rowan folded their arms.

"I guess I got it," Sam added.