Ranpa nodded.

"It'd all mercilessly come back, and I'd be begging for something else to save me again. Though I know that this time nothing would come." he shook his head.

Ranpa fixed his posture, before scooping slightly closer. Atomu's horns, nails and tail retracted, and the other Paladian stared, taking it all in.

"The pressure itself is greater than the act if I might be guessing." Ranpa chuckled. "I can't say I share the same story."

Atomu shook his head again before the two's eyes met. There wasn't any awkwardness, but silent understanding, broken by the few rivers crashing elsewhere.

"Maybe you're right." Ranpa continued. "I didn't know if that's what I wanted either. Maybe my heart belongs elsewhere too or is overshadowed by that... love you mentioned back then."

"S-Seriously?"

"Corny, isn't it?" he accented the first word. "All you said though is true. A demon and a human, fighting a war, but love sparkles and creates that light. Some... measle Royal tries to run away from his past, and ends up with all the same love in his hands. I wouldn't dare to compare that, though." he went through his hair. "Love and hate. Light and shadows."

"...then there's the other part." Atomu continued. "Love for someone we can't love."

Ranpa pointed, clicking his teeth. "Glad we agree on that topic, and thanks for the... reassurance." he rolled his eyes.

"Reassurance?"

"For a second there I thought there was no other Paladian like me out there. Not royal, as you might've guessed" he scratched his head. "It's a bit awkward to say this, but problems create great bonds, don't they?"

Ranpa's eyes quickly found himself focused on something near Atomu's chest. With a quick word, he pointed it out, and Atomu glanced down.

The crystal from earlier seemingly formed into a ring, tightly wrapped around a black, metallic necklace. Blood came out of a few spots but the wounds quickly diminished, and the Paladian scanned its bronze exterior.

"It's too small to put on your finger," Ranpa muttered. "Man, all this magic stuff is really weird. Any other day for you Demonears, isn't it?"

"Or demons." Atomu flipped it around, meeting a few scribbles in Old Manjuno reflecting within the same blue lights. He played with a strand of hair, before looking towards the exit.

***

Back ashore, the two met the door waiting on the other end. Atomu put the ring closer to where the circular hole awaited, crouching and looking inside. Putting his hands on the metallic necklace, he felt a sharp pain moving through his palms.

Ranpa quickly turned, as the other Paladian put his hands near his face and looked at the small marks spawning blood.

"I can't take it off," he muttered.

"Jeez." Ranpa gulped. "This is not just any magic."

"You like that word, don't you?" he asked.

"Not more than love." he chuckled, and Atomu rolled his eyes, before staring into the circular entrance.

It was a perfect fit, and now two fingers found themselves pushing it towards the hole. Atomu's face grew closer, following that rule, as he heard some muffled noises on the other side.

Ranpa shrugged when he glanced at him, but then, something else sounded, with both moving back.

The old Manjuno scribbles led to the paper falling onto the ground, and such to specific symbols lighting in a purple hue.

However, when Atomu expected them to be of exactly that, certain parts became darker, forming into the letters the two knew.

Soon, three could be made out, with Ranpa pointing at the plaque.

"Welcome back, bearer." he read, blinking a few times. "Bearer?"

"Ringbearer?" Atomu asked, putting the object into his hands. Once again, scanning its insides revealed nothing but puzzles and another question lodged into the many. Either way, the moment was too short for him to ponder longer.

The door left of the plaque started sliding open, with the dirt crumbling into a triangular entrance and the setting sunlight blinding the two.

When Ranpa's eyes focused, however, the scenery revealed itself. A hollow river, heel-deep, followed into the pathways and nature growing further along.

Hills formed at the sides with various oaks and alike and some other trees, with moss obtusively carving a path.

Stepping out revealed something contrasting as well. The wind moved here, despite Dear customs, and birds chirped, the same ones Atomu swore he saw flying away to warmer lands. Amongst the songs they created, a few other tunes came, and soon, the greens swapped into smaller reds.

Moving, the wind felt chilly, opposing the pleasant warmth of everything present, and when the splashes of the water seeped through Ranpa's shoes, he turned to the other Paladian.

Treading the pathways, moving at the sides or stepping right into the shallow river, more things came flying in.

A bird landed on Atomu's shoulder, chirping a few unrecognizable tunes, and when he reached his finger out, it bit it.

"Ow," Atomu whispered, and the bird seemingly bowed, before flying away into the depths of the surrounding forests.

"Adam, look!" Ranpa raised his voice, as his hands dug through a stash of leaves near a small pond and a barren tree with thousands of branches. "This is it, isn't it?"

Atomu stepped closer. "Triangular in shape," he muttered, reaching his hand out. "...and stiff as a board. Úgau leaves." he smiled, as Ranpa picked a stash up and stuffed them into his backpack and pockets.

"All the conversations about love but here they are. Now we can go back to Saphrith and tell the fools to not send someone afraid of drowning to these parts of Orawood!"

As Ranpa stepped away, Atomu dug further in, amongst the few patches he already grabbed. Below all the leaves and rested flowers. Ranpa trod the riverside before stopping, while Atomu analyzed the stem's exterior and crown, squinting.

It seemed familiar, even though he swore it wasn't the time. He recalled Jyuzou mentioning something about callothia flowers growing in Shimori.

Callothia sprung only in late Dear and early Yule, as opposed to the Gorro this place suggested. They were in Lignoria and not Shimori to begin with. It all seemed strange, much like a few more of the birds passing by.

A sparrow, which he seemed to recognize from Bancho's message and the same tacoons which led him right to the waterfalls, to begin with.

"Untouched nature seems... very strange. But that message doesn't make sense if so." Atomu stood up, stretching. "Ranpa, you think there was anyone here before us?"

"Uh... yeah?" the other answered, and Atomu quickly turned.

The Paladian pointed forwards, as a structure revealed itself around the corner. Dark cobbles grew right where the hills ended, and some bricks lay flat in the river, diverting its flow.

"Oh, my." Atomu focused, as the two moved forward, and a hand rested right near Knrhum's Blade grip.

As they made the turn, the entire structure revealed itself, in a strange glory. It resembled a castle, much smaller in size but still bigger than those outposts all around.

The main gate was overgrown, much like everything in Saphrith, but the wall at the side had a few chipped bricks and a rock nearby suggested an easy entrance.

Ranpa rubbed his hands before putting his leg up and sitting on the masonry.

"Wait, wait!" Atomu shook his hands, nervously. "What if someone is inside?"

"We'll knock on the doors," Ranpa muttered, before throwing himself over the wall and landing in a pile of leaves. Úgau, again, and Atomu hesitated for a moment before following suit.

He jumped down safely, and when all the other walls piled at the sides, the only path open was towards the hefty wooden doors.

Treading the staircase, Atomu knocked, and nothing answered. A minute passed, and Ranpa knocked, even harder, but none came undone.

The two glanced at each other before Ranpa started pushing. Atomu reached his hand out, a little afraid of the idea, but he helped him in the task after a bit of self-wrestling.

The insides revealed the tons of dust piling up, as most of it flew off the hinges. Everything inside was hollow and destroyed, with a droning sound present. Round staircases extended behind the soiled carpets, vines grew into the chandelier and more chambers at the sides let water pour in.

"It didn't look like an outpost," Ranpa commented.

"You see the flags?" he pointed up, as the colours of the few emblems up near the staircases moved from white to black, but with some of the same hue remaining in the other ends. Then again, its shape was of the same rune the two painted near the waterfall, and answers were suggested.

Whatever the War Customs were, or what people they might've been, this was their hideout, supposedly. Seemingly royal both on the inside and outside, as the text suggested earlier.

Ranpa scratched his head at the thought of all that nobility talk, but Atomu turned to the most logical solution.

Shaking the Glyph Vial led to thousands of runes appearing. Even in Atomu's eyes, scribbles were formed atop others, covering some kind of history. The arrows pointed towards the few he could make out.

Two people, with a child in the middle, and the next traces led to the figure in the middle disappearing. Then, it transformed into a baby, and the parents were erased from there on.

From the other tales, there was a demon inside the ranks of humans here. Black and white again, even though they were reflected in purples and blues, and finally, the same ring he bore shone right near the pillar separating the two staircases.

The two trod, and Atomu pushed the item into a slot.

More magic weaved in, much to Ranpa's raised brows, and the wall shifted as he pushed the vial back into his bag.

A staircase led towards a warm, orange light downstairs. Chills were sent down their spines, and Atomu took the blade out of its sheath.

They trod cautiously before the room revealed itself. All the noises from beforehand faded away, making way for the droning. Such came from a few sparks inside a lantern, with a fire inside, moving carefully.

No one else was present, and the workshop area, as such was what it resembled, with a wooden desk in the middle and bookshelves at the sides, led towards another door Ranpa focused on.

Atomu trod, however, meeting a small note near the lantern.

"Senau, thanks for the call!" the top read. "So, much like any other Paladian, shall you name the invention here after your surname?"

There was no response, but scribbled text turned into something else at the bottom.

"Great to keep that at bay. Dark magic makes a good replacement for keyholes. Left that with the others in Asno."

Finally, something was scratched out but then replaced by another message.

"By the time a human reaches this castle, no other shall be there to answer their questions. That's why they're here, however. Let this ever-burning fire be the sign of what is inside those who are to see it." Atomu read aloud. "Signed, War Customs."

Ranpa turned, breathing out. "There's another door here, but there's no keyhole or anything," he added, as he tried pushing it open. Atomu didn't entertain that idea, as something else caught his attention.

A book rested right near the notes, with something on the cover that he knew well.

A tree, extending above all the other magnificently tall conifers, with nine lights splattering at the sides. His eyes widened, as the first page answered some.

"Orania," he muttered.

Ranpa turned, as Atomu closed the book and quietly stuffed it into his bag, atop the leaves.

"You think someone out there knows about this place?"

"Probably." Ranpa tried pushing again. "Although I'd have no clue who to ask."

Atomu strolled by, staring right at Ranpa's struggle. The other moved, and with the little stamina left in the vial, he shook it again, only for nothing to be revealed.

No code, no story, but perhaps such waited elsewhere, waiting to be discovered.

***

Nights in Saphrith, in the heights of Dear, were rainy.

It wasn't the same downpour as in Herbes, as most of it seemed much lighter, with a certain smell lingering in the air. The vines and everything overgrown made most of Oldenklow's typically church-like scent into a forest.

At moments like these, Kania stepped out of the gates of the Goldenleaf castle.

The ever-distant linger of the candle lights, the flicker of the monotonous halls if you trod them a thousand times, or the commotion with everything still at bay. Words were thrown to a non-existent wind or agreements he already heard of.

It was a break and one he liked having. Nearing the middle arch, where a few torches rested near the marble, he put his back against the wall and sighed, taking something out of his pocket.

A few herbs were stuffed into the end of a wooden pipe, as he took a whiff and breathed out.

"Man. I'll have to tread back to Harabara for the fair share again," he muttered, stuffing the almost empty small sack into his pocket. "Thought I had enough."

Taking another puff, his eyes focused on the rain, or anything else that might've been there.

Splashes across distant puddles sounded and he turned with a raised brow. Putting out the herbs, he turned to the distant gate, as a figure trod forward.

"Need something, boy?" he raised his voice, grinning, but the figure didn't answer or stop. "You royalty to wander round these parts?"

Again, no answer. Kania stepped right into the rain, next to a building near a fountain.

"You deaf?" he inclined, and the figure's one visible eye met with his, through the mask it carried. Kania's brow shook, and when its step seemingly sped up towards the inner gate, the Haran threw his punch forward, knocking them elsewhere.

Quickly, though, they stood up, as the rain seeped into their navy attire.

Kania ground his teeth. "So, an intruder?"

The figure didn't answer. One fist was raised and thrown towards the Haran.

Kania caught their punch, before pushing them off with another hand.

The figure almost tumbled, before sliding their leg back. Focusing again, they stared right into Kania's pupils.

As if willing to fight.