[ Time until next wave: 1d 1h 14m 02s ]

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The sun climbed up the side of the horizon. It was still nothing more than an orange ball emitting dim warm light, but Tanuki accepted it as his own.

He felt the same about the fey forest. Walking down the beaten path, he reminisced their first encounter with the blue gibbons and the horned swans, who have grown so attached to him.

Looking around, he saw a blue mushroom hanging off the trunk of a tree. It emitted those blue spores that Tanuki once used to delve into the Sati cave.

He walked up to the mushroom, gently pulled his hand across its surface, and took a palmful of spores from it.

"Here." He said, turning around.

Maduka followed closely behind. She had a small bag in her hands, something they've sown with the help of a few gingerbread soldiers.

Maduka still bore the gingerbread crown, whose beauty was only outshined by her warm smile. She was excited to help his friend, holding the bag vigilantly as Tanuki put the good stuff inside.

They had already gathered a few, just enough to make three shining balloons.

Diablo followed close behind the two. She was confused about the importance of those mushrooms.

"Excuse me if I'm wrong, but weren't we supposed to go underground?" She asked, wondering about the spores’ importance.

"That's da plan!" Said Maduka, hopping around with excitement. “Nuki makes funny balloons that shine in dark! They help when we go down, sis!”

Hearing that, Diablo sighed.

"Please don't call me sis..."

She would have left days ago, be it not for Maduka's persistence. Her lie of being a lost relative really hyped up the little gobbo, who hasn't given her a moment of privacy since.

Not even while sleeping, as Maduka stuck around to cuddle her arm until both of them (or at least Maduka) fell asleep.

"I think we're here!" Tanuki yelled, then rushed forth.

After half an hour of wandering around, they finally arrived at a small clearing. Amidst the open plain was the opening for a large cave, barricaded by thick logs of wood.

"Where's the entrance?" Diablo asked.

"Right there!" Tanuki pointed at the barricade, pride shining from his stance.

Diablo looked at the wood with confusion.

"Did a storm do that?"

"Nope, we were!"

"Are there any other caves?"

"Not to my knowledge."

"Alright." Diablo stepped away. "I'm not dirtying my hands."

Tanuki grew a smug smile. He stepped closer to the barricading wood and pulled out his weapon, Kurohyou.

"Maduka! Prepare yourself!"

The goblin's eyes glittered as she heard her name. She reached under her cloak and pulled out a staff coated in green.

Diablo watched with confusion as both approached the barricade.

"How do they plan to move those trees with a brush and a staff?"

Her answer arrived sooner than expected.

The two raised their weapons and charged the barricade, cutting the tree with ink and beating it with a staff.

"Come on, Maduka!" Said Tanuki while painting destruction. "Try to cut them into even logs! We can use these to build more houses!"

The gobbo did not hear any of that. Instead, she laughed crazily while destroying everything before her.

In less than a minute, the impenetrable barricade was devolved into a pile of toothpicks.

Tanuki sat down on the warm grass and wiped off his sweat. He took a deep breath, then looked at his attacks' results with distraught eyes.

"Yeah, I guess we can build huts out of that. But for the gingerbread people."

Maduka walked next to the pile and puffed out her chest with pride.

"Maduka's for da people!"

The way forward was open. A slight cold breeze oozed out of the cave, twirling around Tanuki's neck, choking him with worrying thoughts.

He knew what lies below. The Satis, the pink monsters, the unexplainable bugs...

Yet he had to move forward. If not for himself, but for all those who believed in him.

While he mustered up determination, Diablo approached him from behind.

"Excuse me for another question, but exactly are we cave diving for?"

"Jellystone." Tanuki answered. "It's an unbreakable gem that's basically a mixture of rubber and glue."

"U-huh," Diablo nodded. "Never heard of that before. Where exactly are they found?"

Tanuki's expression turned serious. He did not answer, looking away as he thoughts emerged in his mind.

Diablo narrowed her eyes.

"Oy!" She leaned closer. "What's wrong? You don't know?"

Tanuki swallowed his anxiety. He closed his eyes, let out a deep sigh, then looked at Diablo.

"We have to clear a shrine."

Diablo cocked her head as if saying "I still don't know what you mean by that".

Tanuki continued.

"There is a shrine down in this cave. It's guarded behind enemy lines, but once we get there, I can use it to teleport us into a separate plane of existence, ruled by another god."

Diablo’s eyes widened.

“Wait, does that mean…”

Tanuki nodded.

“Shrines are an infestation to this world, corrupting it the more we leave it untouched. But if we go in, teleport to that realm, and defeat that god, we can save this world and earn a Jellystone. The only problem is, to do that, we have to kill a god…”