The trio began to walk off as the crowd and Cho cho waved them farewell, eventually an awkward silence enveloped them making Kim get a bit fidgety.
"So um, where exactly are we going?"
Anastasia shrugged at Kim before they turned to Valeo, his eyes fixed on the morning sun shining through the trees.
"Hey Valeo?"
Valeo turned to Anastasia.
"Where are we going?"
Valeo paused for a solid minute, before he let out a sigh.
"Anastasia, who the figure that attacked 'ale lake?"
she nodded but was a little confused in where this was going.
"His Na'e is Na'shando, Laylana told us to find the 'ap 'efore he does, we don't know why 'ut it was her last request 'efore..."
Kim had to reach to place a hand in Valeo's top shoulder but the gesture reassured him nevertheless.
"Shit, alright but do we know where this...is it a map or app?"
Anastasia asked looking a little embarrassed.
"I think he meant map, seeing that he has no lips."
Valeo nodded.
"Okay what my actual question was do you even know where to look for this map?"
Valeo did a so-so motion with his hand making both Kim and Anastasia raise an eyebrow.
"We were told to find a 'erson called Shadow an-"
"Wait, Aunty Shadow?"
Both ghoul and inventor said in unison making Valeo blink.
"You know her?"
Kim chuckled a bit at Valeo's question.
"Of course we know her, she practically raised us when mom and dad where out somewhere."
This got Valeo exited.
"But...I don't know where she lives."
Valeo lost his excitement just as quickly, Anastasia clicked her tounge.
"Well do you have her contact on your power box?"
Kim shook his head in the negative which made everyone sigh, but then Kim eyes widen and pulled out his power box from his backpack and pressed a few buttons.
"Uh, what are you doing?"
Anastasia rose and eyebrow, Kim held his finger up which made Anastasia a little irritated, from the box a hologram of the top part Cho cho appeared.
"Kim? Chime's grace it hasn't been an hour, what happened? Are you hurt? Who died?"
The rapid questions made Valeo blink and Anastasia smirk.
"Mom calm down we're all fine, I need to ask you something."
The digital sigh of relief made Kim smile a little before he got serious.
"We need to find aunty shadow, do you know where she is?"
Cho cho rose an eyebrow.
"I know where she could be, but why do you need to see her?"
This made Valeo squint his eyes.
"Wasn't she the one that said we have to find her, did she lie to us."
Cho cho took the split second that both Kim and Anastasia were distracted to wink at Valeo which made him confused.
"What was that?"
"We just need something from her mom, so where could she be?"
Kim asked while Anastasia walked back and forth impatiently.
"Just past the corpse forest and Trinity lake was the last time she mentioned she was anywhere."
Kim thank and bid his mom farewell before hanging up the call.
"Well just our fucking luck."
Anastasia said, her hand over her face.
"We could go around the corpse forest but then we'll run into bandits and clans."
Kim had his chin his hand in a thinking pose.
"You act like we can't deal with a few measley low life's."
Anastasia had a cocky grin on her face.
"No, not right now, your recovering and when I was in captivity i overheard The Tribe lead a conquest against the clans and practically absorbed them."
This made Anastasia click her tounge and Valeo to picture a very unpleasant sight in his head.
"It looks like we have to traverse through the corpse forest."
"What is that exactly?"
Valeo questioned while following Kim and Anastasia who started to walk in a direction.
"A place laced and palpable with scourge, people stay clear from it due the amount of people that go missing in it."
"Yet we're going in it...great."
Valeo let out a sigh with Anastasia mimicking him.
"Don't worry y'all, I got a portable ward with me so we'll be fine."
Kim had a thumbs up and a grin to match, this lessened the anxiety of the four arm teen and ghoul.
* * *
The trio stumbled upon a river and decided to follow it, Anastasia and Kim was making idle chatter with Valeo zoning them out for the moment.
"Why does this feel familiar?"
Something brushed against his leg knocking from his inner thinking, when he looked down he saw nothing. Valeo didn't payed any mind to it until it happened two more times.
Deciding to grab the offending object Valeo felt a familiar leather texture, he tugged at it and felt it was attached to his pants.
"THE BOOK!"
Quickly detaching the book from a leather strip, Valeo opened the book with miniscule glee, finally being able to read the book from Valeo the game.
'Wind was harsh, calm mind soothed the rage.
Boundless possibilities, little to imagine.
Flow like water, stagnant like stone.
Clam mind soothed the rage, calm body guided the water.
Unseen by the other eye, haults the invading snake.
Stood like stone, no hand would grasp.
Winds of change, destined to play it's part.'
Valeo blinked, Kim blinked, Anastasia blinked, all three collectively blinked.
"Dude, what the fuck am I reading?"
Anastasia said leaning over Valeo's forearm, Kim doing the same.
"I think it's a poem?"
Kim and Anastasia looked at Valeo who was still staring at the book.
"Where in the wither world you get a book?"
Valeo finally took notice of the duo and closed the book, he strapped it back on its leather strip.
"In a cave."
Anastasia and Kim looked at each other before looking at Valeo.
"In a...."
"Cave?"
Valeo nodded, seeing that was the only answer they were going to get Kim and Anastasia let the curiosity sit in the back burner and continued to walk.
As the sun begins to set, the trio made a small little camp to rest for the night. Kim set up his ward, he poured some of the energy in his mechanical arm into the ward.
"Alright, it's about a good time as ever to ask, Kim what made you so highly sought after that made the tribe kidnap you?"
Anastasia said, her lute layed flat in her lap, Valeo was listening on the conversation also curious.
"Heh...it's a long story."
Anastasia scouffed in irritation.
"Cut that shit Kim, just tell us."
"Fine fine, it's this."
Kim opened his mechanical arm to show the duo, the red and orange core pulsing in power.
"What is that?"
Valeo asked, for some reason it felt off to him, like it shouldn't be real.
"I don't have...essence or a role, even amongst outcast I was an outcast, that's why we moved into the forest, it's...my answer, I call 'sun's blood'. Heh my dumb brain thought it would be a good idea to try to sell it so I can help mom, it only made things worse."
Kim clenched his mechanical arm closing it, Anastasia looked shocked and Valeo didn't know what to feel.
"So you're saying that you made another source, dude that's fucking impossible, How did you..."
Kim set up a bed roll and climbed in subsequently ending the conversation, Anastasia looked annoyed but worried.
When Anastasia fell asleep Valeo was left to his thoughts, the words from the book replaying in his mind.
"They have to mean something, but what?"
Valeo grabbed the book, looking at the cover his mind began to wonder getting off track.
"Winds of change?"
Valeo looked up to see multiple of the lost, at first he was frighten at their appearance but it slowly died down, the words of Himrick echoing his head.
"They were once people..."
Valeo began to look closely at them as they crawled around the ward and away from it, they varied in all race's and ages.
This broke something in Valeo.
Laying down, Valeo couldn't help but to feel empathy to the lost ones, the ones that you make it.
* * *
Once morning broke the group started their journey again, the silence lasted for two hours, they all had hundreds on things in their minds.
"Hey Valeo."
Kim got Valeo attention.
"I've been meaning to ask this but, what was the energy when you fought Antonio?"
"Yeah, you used it during your fight with Rogmir too."
Valeo stopped and looked confused at the duo.
"What do you 'ean?"
Now it was Kim and Anastasia to look confused.
"You know, the energy that was around you?"
Anastasia swung her arms around her in a showing of the arua they saw.
"Oooohhh, uh we don't...know actually, it just sort of..."
Anastasia looked flabbergasted.
"Dude that's your essence, at least I think so, though, I can't feel your presence when you use it, it's like you...disappear."
Anastasia started to ponder to herself as Kim and Valeo begin to talk.
"Could you try to use your essence?"
Valeo scratched the side of his temple, his eyes not meeting Kim nor Anastasia.
"Uuuuuh, how do we do that?