“And so, I was forced to crawl away from the battlefield. Eventually, I ran into another group fleeing, and they carried me to a healer,” I finished my tale of how I indirectly met the Administrator. How we met her. Well, didn't you meet her directly? That I did. That I did. Are you still not going to tell me what happened? There isn’t much to say. I was summarily overpowered, my guards slaughtered, and stripped of everything that made me human. Oh.

“You know, the nonchalance of how you recited that tells me how horrible it must’ve been,” Vella finally said to fill the silence that had descended while Hanz and I conversed. Kira laid a hand on my shoulder, opting to not speak for once. The rest of the party likewise lapsed into contemplative silence. Is there a way you could, expedite, this encounter? I believe the Administrator has beaten us all to the… punch.

I looked over to what Hanz was mentally pointing out, and saw the party greeting an individual who was walking from the forest. Both sides seemed to be feeling the other out. There were hesitations, emotions, and uncertainty Hanz and I said in unison. Are you able to figure out what’s going on? With how shaken they are, easily.

“I’m sorry, was I out of line?” Kira said from next to me. Wait, had she been talking this whole time? Hanz? Hush. I'm focusing. Well…

“No, of course not! Sorry, this type of topic always has me distracted,” I defaulted to assumptions and basic conversation autopilot.

“Ok. Well, just know if you ever want to talk more about it, all of us are here,” Kira, along with the rest of the group, showed forced smiles. It seemed they were trying to mask their worry for me. I think. Who knew I relied so much on Hanz to read these situations. I did. I also have what we need. Oh? It seems we have our multisystem user. Only one? Yes, the second is unaccounted for. There are many different theories on their whereabouts amongst the group. The unanimous decision is that the boy over there is undoubtedly one of them.

“Isn’t calling him a boy a little demeaning?” Before Hanz could answer, I realized my mistake.

“What?”

“Huh?” Kira and Vella both voiced their confusion simultaneously. Again, they’re used to this, Hendrick. I find it sad that they’re used to this. Likewise. Not to change topics, but we should trail the Administrator’s group. They have the multisystem user and are leaving. Why are they just leaving? Shouldn’t they bring him to the guild representative here? I am unsure. When I tried to discover a little more, the whole group became empty… pinkness. Either way, they are leaving. I can track them for a little longer, but I would prefer to follow them.

“Hey guys, how would you feel about leaving the forest where everyone is hunting for the multisystem users?”

As the menagerie of adventures, faction members, and Yuclaus pondered away from the Misfortune, the light slowly dimmed. No, it was not Overcast, it was simply becoming overcast. I know, it can be confusing. On the contrary, nothing was confusing about the clouds stretching on the horizon. The preceding wisps of gaseous water started to dim the sun. The boom of thunder in the distance foretold of a storm.

“Should we look for shelter?” Yuclaus inquired with some hesitation.

“I wasn’t planning on it,” Khalil commented, “We can stop if you’d like. Though, it will be quite some time before it stops.”

“A little thunder never hurt anyone,” Jenny looked obviously at Yuclaus’ crotch, “Especially down under.”

“I like the feeling of lightning,” Darryn contributed.

“Have you never experienced the Cloud Continent?” Justine stated from behind the group of four.

“The cloud continent?”

“The Cloud Continent,” Meagan corrected from Justine’s side. “Unlike normal storms, the Cloud Continent is super special! It is a literal continent with countries and cities! Technically, I guess they are Cloud Continents, but only one passes over Reform controlled land.”

“Why are you so relaxed about this? I feel like a continent drifting over should garner more attention,” Yuclaus pointed out.

“Do you question why winter comes every year?” Justine inputted.

“But… it doesn’t.” The rest of the group looked askance at Yuclaus. He likewise, noticing their looks, returned them. The vine on Yuclaus’ arm also tightened.

“I thought the Misfortune experienced seasons as well,” Justine inquired suspiciously. Yuclaus ignored the ever tightening vine, and continued.

“Yes, but seasons aren’t constant. Just because the Misfortune experiences winters, does not mean winter will always occur.” If Yuclaus could feel pain, the vine would have been causing pain at this point.

“No. Any place that has seasons, consistently has seasons,” Justine’s eyes narrowed, daring Yuclaus to continue to challenge her. He was saved by Khalil’s interjection.

“It must be a difference of upbringing,” Khalil pointed out, “You have to remember that Environs experience things differently. Their laws changed just as much as ours. For all we know, the Environs came from a planet where seasons are temperamental like rain,” The conversation lulled for a second before Justine continued.

“The point is, the Cloud Continent comes every year at the same time. It is nothing special to us, it is merely a regular occurrence. Not to mention, everyone who could be killed by lightning is in a city, and they’re protected by a Mayor’s Tower. Well, approved cities are.”

“So then, do you look at it like its own regularly occurring season?” Yuclaus was also curious about “approved cities” but decided to focus on the bigger questions he had.

“Yup! Towards the end it can get a little cold, but in general it is just rainy for a month or two. Well, it isn’t always rainy, the Reflux try to keep water where they can. So sometimes you can have a week without rain—”

“Reflux?” Yuclaus interrupted Meagan. By this point in time, the vine was inert.

“Yup! The Reflux! You know, the people living on the Cloud Continent.” Yuclaus truly didn’t know, but he was not willing to show his ignorance anymore. Khalil picked up on his hesitation.

“Just wait, I’ll explain it when we see one of their cities.” And so, the group returned to their individual conversations. Jenny gave Yuclaus a wink before moving forward to talk with Khalil. Justine and Meagan fell back, silent. Darryn and Yuclaus were soon alone. Well, as alone as one could be when travelling in a group.

“I don’t like the Reflux,” Darryn commented.

“Why not?”

“Last time I met them, they kept trying to drown me.”

“Oh. That makes sense.”

“Cents.”

“Cents?”

“Yes, like the currency.”

“The currency?” Yuclaus asked, confused.

“You know, you have five cents, you have five one-hundredths of a dollar.”

“Oh, you mean ekats.” If Jenny or Khalil saw the confusion on Darryn’s face, they would have been in shock. Darryn did not get confused, he confused others.

“Ekats?”

“Yeah, if you have five ekats, you have five one-hundredths of a dollar.”

“What language is ekats from?” Darryn inquired. He normally did not care much for conversation, but using unique things amused him.

“Greek, where we get a majority of our words from.” A drop of water fell on Yuclaus’ arm.

“I thought Latin was where we got a lot of our words.”

“Latin? As in, the language the Romans used?” The drops started falling in quicker succession.

“Yup.”

“Didn’t Greece conquer Rome?” Darryn furrowed his brows in confusion. With Yuclaus sounding so convinced, he was starting to doubt his own education. He was born on Start after all. He made a mental note to ask… he had no family to ask. “Hold on a minute,” Yuclaus said after Darryn stopped talking. “You guys are from Earth right?”

“I am not, but my parents were.”

“What country were your parents from?” Yuclaus pulled his cloak tighter in front of his body to keep the rain out.

“South America.”

“South America?”

“South America.”

“Where is South America?”

“South America is a continent. I believe it was part of the New World.”

“The New World? You mean the Columbias?”

“The Colum—”

“We should take shelter!” Khalil shouted from somewhere in front of the two. Where he was, Yuclaus could not see. The downpour made visibility so poor that, other than Darryn, no one else could be seen. It was by pure luck that Yuclaus was able to hear Khalil.

“It is raining far more than we expected!” Khalil shouted once more. “We are setting up camp. If we try to meet up, we could get se—” The rest was cut short by a boom in the heavens. “Just take shelter where you are! We will find each other when the rain stops!”

“I will go to Jenny and Khalil. Are you fine on your own?” Darryn looked at Yuclaus. Without waiting for an answer, he hefted the large bag on his back, and walked forward until he was lost from sight. Another explosion went off; however, this one was from behind and below. A mesh of vines opened a hole, the vine on Yuclaus’ arm tugged on him. It was safe to say, Yuclaus understood the message.

Now aware of the deluge, Yuclaus jogged over to the hole. He meant to jump and fall feet first into it, but jogging in heavy rain while on a dirt road is not the smartest of ideas. Jogging in the rain with a leg inconsistently fading out of existence, less so. Understandably, Yuclaus tripped, and when he went to catch himself, he found he was falling head first into the hole. The hole soon started to slant, turning into a slide. Isencia watched as Yuclaus slid into the underground cavern head first. Seeing the situation he was in, Yuclaus propped his head with his hand, and crossed his legs. Turning on his side, he resembled the pose of a beach model.

“Why hello there Sen, I didn’t see you there.” Isencia smiled.

“You’re an idiot.”

“Why thank you. You truly flatter me.” Yuclaus pushed himself to his feet, almost returning to the vine floor when he realized his foot had yet to truly solidify. Instead, Isencia caught him on her shoulder, and helped to prop him up.

“You should be more careful.” She commented.

“You should be more clear with your arm-vine-squeezes,” He rebutted.

“One squeeze ‘yes’, two for ‘no’?”

“Let's do one squeeze for ‘no’, two for ‘yes’, three for ‘you’re on your own’,” Yuclaus said after mulling it over. A chair made of vines soon found itself behind Cause, Isencia let him down slowly, opting to do it herself rather than with vines.

“What’s our plan Sen? This situation feels like a bomb. It feels like a bomb that is going to explode while I’m holding it.”

“You aren’t wrong.”

“Then should we separate from the party?” Yuclaus suggested. He was too convinced to be swayed by my influence.

“Not yet,” Isencia said, thinking for a moment, “When we get to the city we can. Might as well use them to get in. What if the Reform city requires paperwork or identification? We wouldn’t be able to get the Reform system. Let's use them to get in.”

“You mean I’ll use them to get in. Unless you’re planning to reveal our ace in the hole?”

“No, I will figure something out.”

“You will?”

“Yes, I have a plan.”

“Alright then. Speaking of plans, are we going to keep meeting at night?” Yuclaus asked his partner.

“No, the only reason I’m here now is I feel confident with the rain, thunder, and the earth between us; Meagan can’t hear us. In any other situation, I would be worried she would overhear.”

“Why don’t you just talk in Environ, or whatever your language is called.”

“I fear it will be too suspicious. That could work, but we couldn’t do it every night. I will figure out a plan.”

“Sen, why don’t we try to figure out a plan? It sounds like you will just be trailing us. I'm glad I absorbed the tree when I did, imagine having to tail us, listen to our conversations, and lug a shadow-tree around.”

“Speaking of conversations, what do you mean seasons aren’t constant? Are you trying to make them more suspicious of you? Though at this point, I am fairly certain everyone knows who you are.”

“Who I am?”

“One of the multisystem users. There is no way everyone would leave a hunt for the multisystem users unless they already had one. My guess is they are trying to get us to the city to turn us in themselves. They would not have to split the reward.” Isencia reasoned.

“Ok, so we have two things we need to figure out. Actually, three. One: we have to figure out how to get you into the city. Two: we need to figure out how to escape them when we both get into the city. Three: We have to be strong enough to do the first two.”

“Well put. However, I also have to remain hidden, while trailing you.”

“About that Sen, aren’t you going to get lonely?”

“I of all people won’t get lonely. But no, there are actually a few other… beings that decided to follow your party. They have to do with my plan to get into the city.”

“What I’m hearing Sen, is we are doing some divide and conquer.”

“Aptly put Yu.” The two sat in companionable silence. Isencia had at some point during their conversation made a chair next to his.

“Also, beings? Not just Reforms?”

“Well there is a party of Reforms. They have to do with my plan. But, do you remember that black snake?”

“The Leviathan? The one who destroyed my leg? Yeah, it was pretty nice when the Lord of Earth arrived.”

“It seems it agrees with your positive sentiment. It has been following you as well. When we were convincing the group you were an Environ, it gave itself up for a second.”

“Did you not use your goat Wisp since the forest?”

“No, I figured we didn’t need it. Plus, with all the adventurers around even if I did, I would just sense the Reforms.”

“Its stealth ability is really something, huh?”

“It truly is, we can still get a Wisp from it if we want.”

“No, I feel like the Leviathan is much more sentient than we think. At that point, I would feel cruel. It would be like if I stole a memory from Jenny.”

“A truly tempting situation. You could always do that. Take memories from Jenny, it would make your life easier if she forgot you.”

“You’re funny Sen,” Yuclaus said as if an afterthought. He ignored the faint sign from Sen, continuing on their previous topic, “I think we should leave the Leviathan be.”

“I think it is amusing Yu,” Sen decided to allow him to redirect the conversation back, temporarily. “When we first met, you were ripping memories and killing monkeys. Now you’re worried about goats and a giant snake that nearly took your leg.”

“Well, you made a good point. Whether or not this is real, it feels safer to just assume it is. I mean, worst case, I wake up and forget all this.” He waved his hand at the air around him, “Best case, I don’t slaughter a bunch of creatures.”

“Do you think Jenny is cute?” Isencia said suddenly.

“Huh?” Yuclaus said, confused.

“Is she cute?”

“I think? I really am not the best judge. They all look a little weird to me.”

“Do I?” Isencia asked.

“No. Initially, besides the hair, you looked normal. And now that I’ve spent so much time with you, moreso.” Isencia was tempted to ask another question: am I cute? She decided not to. It felt… strange to ask. Either way, she was happy with what she did get. A sweet aroma filled the underground cavern, surrounded by vines.

“Let's plan another day,” Yuclaus eventually said.

“I don’t know how long it will be until we have another opportunity to talk,” Isencia said.

“Exactly, so let's just talk now. We can plan on our own. I won’t have much else to do during the night. I’m guessing they’ll have to sleep.”

“The adventurers?”

“Mhm,” Yuclaus nodded.

“You should use it to check on Gourami and figure out how to get your slots working.”

“I’m not sure I want to check on Gourami.”

“You did just give him the shadow tree.”

“Exactly. What if he tries to attack me, take over?”

“It is your mindscape. You have absolute control.”

“Fine,” Yuclaus relented, “I’ll check on Gourami, and try to figure out how to get the Wisp slots working.”

“Good.” Isencia concluded.

“But for this rainy day... or is it night?”

“Evening.”

“But for this rainy evening, let's just relax.”

“Ok Yu. I have some meat I’ve been wanting to cook.”

“Meat? Where did you get meat?”

“I did say beings are following us.”

“Ah.”