"All our Silver for some stupid compass," Morio muttered, wandering off.

Clockwise, the night's colours made sure of their presence. The conifers shook without a wind, and the moon battled against the last presence of the sun, before paving the path for him to follow.

Still, almost instinctively, he looked back, now unable to spot his friend. Jyuzou was, obviously, strong enough to fight off against any danger, but this wasn't a big enough quarrel to cry over.

Hesitating, breathing out, he decided to tread those footsteps back, as the moon said so in the first place.

However, by then, something else already caught his attention.

Something swam in the small pond to his right, eventually connecting with a river towards a lake closer to the Silva Tops. A couple of fish swam by, sticking their heads and snake-like bodies out from beneath the surface.

Morio's eyes widened, as he crouched, taking a closer look.

Exactly five snishes looked back, meeting his gaze.

"Oh, damn it. Jyuzou was..." he stopped himself. "No. He wasn't right! I found the damn animals!" he muttered, before moving to the left and scribbling their location on the map, acting as if he didn't want to do so.

The snishes, however, almost begged for his attention. One shot of water out of their mouths in the direction of Morio's face pissed him off, but when squeaking, growl-like noises followed, he was left more alert than earlier.

"What?!" he raised his voice before a silhouette flew past the corner of his eye. With a quick turn and a gust left, mist appeared where he was sure it flashed.

Morio turned back to the snishes, as they immediately dove and swam away with the river's flow. He tried running after them, but then again, the black silhouette flailed between distant trees, and the fog only spread further in.

He raised both swords, grinding his teeth. A flying demon, the Serpigo trying to strike in to attack again? He wasn't too sure, but no matter what it was, he needed to fight. To find an answer, dig deeper, and bury a weary notion or dig out something great.

The creature only inched closer, now circling the Morian. Mist forced him to squint, and eventually run forward blindly.

He screamed, trying to strike, but only water gushed, sending him to the ground.

With a cough, he looked up, seeing a figure resting atop a line of water moving down the conifer. It quickly dove, and that's when Jyuzou heard another scream.

He stuck his weapon out, with a disk flying out from behind his basket. One leg forward, the other back, he was ready to run and strike at whatever was to approach.

The yells only grew louder, and when they changed pitch, he raised a brow.

"M-Morio?" he asked, unsurely, before the Morian's flying figure was followed by something else pinning him from behind. "T-that's!"

...and as loud and abrupt as everything came. The bird, fish... or whatever the deformity was let go of the Morian, as he rolled down a conifer's crown. The creature stopped, with its avian legs bouncing off the barren tree, snapping it in half and taking the other part up into the sky.

A line of water dropped near Jyuzou, and the other Morian eventually stumbled down the same path.

"What the hell?!" Morio yelled, desperately trying to fix his clothes. "What's that even supposed to be?!"

The other was too focused, however. Taking the lens out, he eyed its motions before disappearing into the sky.

"No way..." he uttered, shaking a bit.

"Huh?"

"Did you see any snishes there?"

"Yes, but-"

"Did they immediately dive and swim away?"

"Huh?!" Morio raised his voice. "Yes, they did, but-"

"It's a dark deformity snish! Kithanth, to be precise, and here I thought it was a witchtale!"

"Oh, so no we're believing in the impossible!" Morio ground his teeth, stepping forward.

"Don't move!" Jyuzou yelled out. "It senses all living creatures and desperately tries to-"

Kithanth dove in from above, before snatching Morio, with the other part of the tree falling, denting the ground.

Jyuzou tumbled to the side, before focusing on what was above. He breathed in, deeply, before focusing again. His screams permeated before he threw the Morian against another tree, and the force made it bend to the side, before crashing onto the Long Path.

Jyuzou ran, sticking his spear out, and recollecting his thoughts in the process.

"Kithanth? You found that book in the stash?" Bancho asked.

"Yes, Mr Bancho! Have you ever seen something as c-curious as him?" the Morian jumped up.

"Hmm. Once, maybe, and deep in Malikan, to be precise, but I've heard thousands of words saying it never stays still. Spouting a mist to shroud its prey, it won't stop until they're eaten or... something else replaces the kill drive."

"What could that be?"

"Heh, Kithanth's not a pet, so I wouldn't suggest trying. Devil's Leaf will numb it, even if for a moment. It was an instinct when it dove and wrecked half of one coup. The next time I saw it, though, the same story repeated itself."

"Devil's Leaf?" Jyuzou asked himself, digging into his pocket while Morio was thrashed around relentlessly. Taking both weapons out and even channelling thunder wasn't enough for it to stop its constant strike.

Trees were brought down, rocks crashed and waters were sent up into the air, and there the Morian was, sitting on the ground, searching in his basket.

"I've got it!" he yelled, grasping some of the plant. "I know the solution-"

The white-haired Morian dropped into a nearby pond, and right as Jyuzou's focus shifted back to the task at hand, the other part of the barren willow was raised, and immediately thrown his way.

Jyuzou dodged, barely, while Morio tried to run for his life, with Kithanth on the chase. However, now with a goal in mind, he wasn't to easily flail and give up.

Even if it was just for a few days, as dangerous as it was, it could've solved the meaningless conflict between the two. Morio wouldn't have been happy with the outcome, judging by everything, but still.

It was an answer and something the two sought. Proving that what was impossible could've been real all along, and even in a split second, Jyuzou thought about Morio's story.

Maybe it was all waiting for them to be discovered, all along.

Two disks flew from behind his back, with one sticking into Kithanth's rainbow side. Its beak opened with a scream, and its snake-like body headed for the other Morian.

Morio stood, shaking off the excess water out of his hair while Jyuzou focused with ground teeth. Sticking the spear into the ground and running circles around it led to a tornado forming around the axis.

The creature couldn't dare to approach, and that's when Morio stepped in.

One leg back, and a smile matching his shining eyes. He raised the twig, or, as he called it, his wand as if trying to cast a spell.

A tug and nothing happened, but that's when he closed his eyes and focused.

"Believe..." he uttered, as a thick, colourful thunder flew through the heavy Gloria.

Chucking the twig back into his sleeve, he took the weapon out of the sheath and flew forward.

A clap came from the sky and flew into the area Jyuzou created, with such eventually extending towards Kithanth. The snish flew above, and both Morians let go and involuntarily met in the middle with the recoil.

"It's gonna strike again!" Morio yelled, and Jyuzou ran forward, blindly.

...and as Bancho once entailed, it wasn't Jyuzou who stopped, but the deformed snish.

A point under its colourful body pulsed, but its eyes and everything else were deeply focused on what Jyuzou held in his trembling hands.

"Shin," he uttered, before straightening up and throwing the plant in his direction. With a chomp, it swallowed it whole, and only one more tree crashed elsewhere before everything settled.

***

The three rested near a small campfire, where the willow was plucked out of the ground. Kithanth sat by their side, carefully observing, and Morio patted some of his wounds with more of the Devil's Leaf Jyuzou kept passing either to him or the snish.

"Kithanth." Morio rolled his eyes. "What a stupid name."

The snish suddenly bit into Morio's hair, and the other made a few weird noises.

"Dark deformities tend to be a little smarter than the average animal." Jyuzou giggled. "So take that into consideration."

"An awful idea, but I can't help but admire you for figuring that out. Guess you listened to more of what Mr Bancho had to say back then." he shook his head. "...and even though I was the kid."

"Mr Bancho once said that dark deformities tend to scare others of its kind away, and such especially applied to Kithanth here. T-To be honest, I didn't really believe it either." Jyuzou scratched his head. "So I guess we're on the same page here."

"As in?" Morio asked.

"Let's say I'm willing to trust that something I thought was a dream was real. The Frisks are real, the words they said were real and... what that man in the bar implied was also real. Are you willing to tell me now?" he smiled.

Morio tugged on his cloak, before staring up at the moon.

"I'm sure it was all there. Maybe I lied a little about the wand since I tried using that against the snish and it didn't even budge- AH!" it chomped into his head again, before quickly letting go. "Damn you!"

Jyuzou threw another helping of the Devil's Leaf to the animal.

"Anyhoos." Morio continued. "The transformation was real too, and exactly as he described. I didn't speak much of it since I doubted my own eyes back then. When I met Shi Hon in Harabara, it almost took a life of its own. Flesh and eyes staring back at me right as he described, but then it happened again, just a few hours ago."

He took Gloria out of its sheath.

"Maybe that's why the dent was there, and... some proof that the Frisks are real." he chuckled. "When the creature which called itself just that dared to touch it, it showed its horns, if you get what I mean." he turned to Jyuzou, who nodded.

"My Guardian Demon never did something like this, though." he shook his head. "If we're willing to believe that man's words, it may be cursed."

Morio glanced at the stars, as the moon dove behind a conifer.

"Maybe it was some coincidence, who'd know? The Frisk told me I wasn't ready for something, so taking the first step towards seeking that knowledge may be an answer. Kabun, or whatever they were called. If I get to meet them, then maybe I'll find even more to a few witchtales."

Jyuzou shook his head, laughing. "Let's not rush, though. Someone's waiting for the Angel Twig in Saphrith."

"Right. Feisty as they were about the topic." Morio rolled his eyes. "But, you think Mr Bancho would know too?"

Jyuzou turned, a little unsure.

Morio chuckled, shaking his head. "If he was here of course, maybe he'd know the answer."

***

With a few raindrops outside, Rowan slid the curtains of the Mokotan tower, before wandering downstairs and opening a book near a neatly lit candle, amongst all the clutter that characterised Tributal houses.

Pans flew by, and before they found their seat, one look was snuck to Ambrosia. Again, they lit up a few herbs, stuffed them into a glass and placed them near the body, before sticking their hands together and leaving a prayer.

The downpour arrived, and with one glance outside, they returned to their lecture, but only for a few minutes, since another distraction followed suit.

Someone knocked on the door, and Rowan raised their brows, before moving forth.

"Yes?" they asked, without an answer. "YES?!"

With a pronounced sigh, they raised themselves and waddled to the door.

Opening it revealed nothing, but a few cries left in the rain.

Glancing down, however, Rowan's eyes met a helpless child, stuffed between a few white blankets.