The way Grisha looks... it feels similar to when Stabby woke him a few days prior.

This is bad. He has to stop him, but how? What stopped him last time? He regained consciousness after that weird flower petal landed on him, but... Stabby isn't sure where that came from.

He'll just have to keep running and hope he can figure out a plan before it's too late. The cat man is their biggest chance of getting information on the demons, at least that's what he gathers from Grisha. Grisha is pretty sharp in these situations, so he'll have to trust him on that. Stabby isn't sure how Grisha got this smart though, he doesn't enjoy books or anything like that. Maybe it's from experience? How old is Grisha anyway?

"Damn it."

His thoughts are diverting again. Why can't he keep his brain on topic? It's holding him back from reaching his full potential.

It's possible any flower can remove Grisha from his trances, it might be floral scents put him in a pleasant place. They are quite pleasant. Stabby's sure Grisha passed by flowers to get to him, though.

It has to be that specific petal, but... how will he find another?

The clone, as if reading his thoughts, points to Stabby's collar.

The same kind of petal he saw float down onto Grisha lies on him, waiting patiently to be used. Not just the same type of petal, but one that looks identical.

Did it fall from his brother and land on him? That's impossible. That would mean it stuck to him for the entire time they traveled and continued to hang on throughout his conflict with the yellow demon.

What the hell is this flower?

That doesn't matter, he'll figure it out later. He needs to focus on calming Grisha.

The demon forced Stabby much further back in his fight than he thought. He's running as fast as he can, but he'll still barely make it.

If he even can, that is.

No, this isn't the time for doubt. He will make it in time.

He's almost in shadow travel distance.

Grisha slams the demon with his sledgehammer, the attack forcing the feline to the surface.

No... please tell me he's alive.

Stabby continues running, despite his lack of certainty of the demon's fate.

The hammer rises again.

The blue demon lives, but for how long he's uncertain.

Stabby turns to the clone. "I need you to do something. You won't like it, but I'll figure out a treat for you later."

The shadow responds with a muted growl of protest.

"There isn't time to argue. If you know what I'm thinking, do it!"

The clone reluctantly melts into the ground, Stabby following close behind.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The hammer reaches its highest point, giving pause before beginning its fall. It crashes through the air, a meteor of hardened steel.

The demon closes his eyes, an accepting smile lining his beaten, furry face.

An undecipherable movement flashes above the feline's body.

The hammer hits the spot where the demon lies with a violent thud, and dark smoke rises from the point of contact.

Smoke... in a swamp?

Before he can question the oddity further, Grisha feels a cool touch on his cheek. The same he felt the day he attacked his brother. The cooling calm that relaxes the burning flames inside him.

The rage fades, clearing his vision of the red that blocks his view of all except the demon.

Stabby speaks in a hushed tone, "you in your happy state again?"

"Nope. Just tired," he responds in his usual grumbling voice.

"You're back to normal!"

Grisha ignores the younger prince's enthusiasm.

He let that damn fire control him again, and so soon after he used it against his brother.

He turns to Stabby and away from the corpse of the demon. He'd rather not look upon another of his failures, one caused by something his mother warned him about constantly, no less.

"Where'd you get the petal from?" Grisha asks.

Stabby glances to the petal and shrugs. "Found it in my collar. Kinda odd, isn't it? But you might want to question the assassin dying on the floor behind you before he joins his friend."

"What do you mean? How can I talk to someone who's skull I just caved in?"

"Well, let's just say it wasn't his skull you caved in."

Grisha looks to Stabby's shadows to see the second glare at its owner, then turns back to the demon's body.

He remains intact. Stabby's clone blunted the shock-wave, leaving the demon unconscious, but alive.

"You did it... you separated from your clone again. And you beat the demon, by yourself. That's amazing," Grisha says, tone deep with exhaustion.

"I can tell by the excitement in your voice," Stabby chuckles.

"Sorry, heh." Grisha scratches his head. "Shadow travel drains me like a leech."

"So that's why you don't use it much. I thought it would be the whole berserker mode thing."

"Weird thing is that's the one thing that doesn't drain me." Grisha's eyes pop open. "Oh right, questioning the blue demon. Your easily distracted nature seems to be contagious."

Stabby smiles at the joke but twitches slightly at Grisha's words.

Maybe he shouldn't have said that.

After mentally slapping himself, Grisha turns to meet his wounded opponent. He's knocked out cold.

He grabs the demon by his cloaked collar, shaking him just enough to wake him.

The Bijokajo's eyelids peel open. He examines his surroundings, piecing together his location. "It seems I still live. Quite rude of you to tear me from my blissful journey." He laughs a single painful time.

"Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't stop you, but I still have questions for you," Grisha says.

"Be quick. I judge I only have time to answer three."

Grisha wouldn't normally trust the demon's judgment, but he doesn't question it for risk of wasting the few precious moments of info gathering he has.

"What weapons do your cohorts use?"

"The Orange demon uses a tower shield, Gray a crossbow. Purple a pike, Green a lance. Black a poisoned scythe, and White a holy blade."

"Can you elaborate?"

"Is that your next question?"

"No… Where is the Demons of Sunlight's hideout?"

"There is none. We travel until black or white gives us orders, don't know how they find us, but they always do."

Grisha is unsure of what his last question should be. Not for a lack of questions, but rather the opposite.

The one to choose ends up being a lot clearer than it first appears. One question sticks out from the rest. Not about the demons, their plans, or even the light empire.

One that bothers him profoundly.

Grisha stares deep into the demon's sharp, feline eyes. "What is lord Death's plan?"

The Bijokajo grins. "It seems I misjudged how much time I have left, I feel my life faltering. But for your question, you'll find out soon enough, for you bear the mark of death."

"What does that mean?" Grisha tightens his grip on the dark leather.

A response fails to arrive.

"Damn it." Grisha releases the assassin, letting him finally enter his state of eternal rest.

The worst part about killing a Bijokajo is that in the end… you're just giving them what they want.

"I hope you end up in the eternal skies," Grisha curses. An unusual curse, one that could only ever make sense in this particular circumstance.

"Did you get anything useful from him?" Stabby asks, lowering next to his kneeling brother.

"Yeah... kinda. Two questions answered, a million more gained."

"I think that counts as progress."

"Barely."

Stabby jumps to his feet. "Well anyway, ready to work on getting past this thick wall of impassable vines?"

"Not yet. I need some time to think... and rest. I can't focus when my mind's racing like this."

"I guess that makes sense. Naptime then?"

Grisha laughs. "Yeah, naptime."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Stabby examines the green walls that wrap around itself like a never-ending snake. Just as the story said, it shows no sign of weak point or entryway. No withering either, despite the long period it's rooted itself into the muddy ground. Stabby is unsure of how long that is, but he's confident it's been some time since it's growth.

"It's cold out tonight," Grisha says, jumping off the now restless Stomper.

"A long one too," Stabby responds.

He's learned through his travels, though they may be few, that times of day and night are inconsistent and ever-changing. He's unsure of how they work or how he didn't recognize the differing lengths in time they lasted as each day passes. Rumors he heard from the connected memory seem to point towards it being the god's doing, but that's a given. Doesn't help much in the matter of knowing how they work.

The connected memories are nowhere as useful as he thought they'd be.

Wait... it is cold. Practically freezing.

"During the coldest times of the coldest nights, a small part of the vines will weaken," Stabby says, repeating the words in his head.

"What'd you say?" Grisha asks. "Sounds like you're becoming a poet."

"Just something I read in the book about Kyoki."

"Something you read in what..."

"Oh, right... I was trying to keep that a secret," Stabby mutters. His head droops in defeat. "Sorry."

A heavy sigh escapes Grisha's lips. "No need to apologize. I'm not mad at you for bringing the book. I just don't think it's going to be the most helpful."

Stabby burst with energy, speaking at an intense rate. "It's actually extremely helpful. It talks about Kyoki's past, which is kinda sad, I might give him a hug when we find him. It talks about how the vines were created by a staff called Tadame's finger. A guy I heard about in my connected thoughts called Mantieo, who seems important though I'm unsure of who exactly he is, used the staff to make it. And it talks..."

"Wait, slow down. Mantieo created the wall?"

"Yeah, he worked pretty closely with Holy commander Iskander, I think his name was."

"Of course the light is connected to this somehow." Grisha practically curses the word light. "Those bastards always are."

"Most people were. It was a world army, though missing a few kingdoms. Mom decided not to join either."

"She was there? Why didn't she tell me any of this, then? And how old is this war, anyway?"

"Yep, she was. I don't know. And I have no clue. The one thing the book lacks is dates."

Grisha appears disappointed but drops the matter. "Guess I have to ask her myself. Continue what you were saying."

"Oh right, I was going to say that it mentions on the coldest days of the coldest nights Kyoki breaks out accompanied by one of his bodyguards..."

"He has bodyguards?"

"Yeah, three of them. A jackal man, crocodile man, and hawk man."

Grisha becomes tense. "You didn't think to tell me this earlier?"

"Well, I thought you knew…" Stabby quiets to a whisper. "And thought you'd get mad at me if you found out about the book."

"Ok... listen to me." Grisha copies the kind tone of their mother. "I will never get mad at you for something petty like bringing a book I thought would be unhelpful. However, withholding information that could help us, irritates me a bit. Not knowing about those guardians could have gotten me killed, so please from now on tell me everything that relates to our mission, regardless of if I know or not. It's better to be safe than sorry in these situations."

"Sorry." Stabby couldn't say no to words spoken in such a gentle voice. His brother's skill almost matches his mother there.

"It's fine. You can continue, and I'll try not to interrupt you this time."

Stabby restarts his explanation a last time, a bit shaken but still excited. "So during the coldest times of the coldest nights, Kyoki can find a spot in the vines he can break through, allowing him to travel the lands free from his prison until Tadame's power returns him to the swamp. Although, the last part is a bit vague on how he's returned. Anyway, I was thinking, since it's so cold, we may have arrived at the perfect time to see him."

"It's possible, but he won't be out forever."

"He could tell us how to get him out."

"True, but we're still uncertain if he'll cooperate, or if he'll attack us on the spot."

"I'm sure we can figure something out with our combined supreme wit." Stabby gives an undoubting smirk.

Grisha responds with a light snort. "It's good that you're confident, but don't let it get a hold of you, buddy."

"I'd never," Stabby responds, grin growing wider.

A thud interrupts their banter.

"What was that?" Grisha asks.

A second thud hits before Stabby could respond.

The very fact the thud comes from inside answers the shade's question.

A final thud strikes, breaking a hole through the sturdy greenery.

A cloth-wrapped arm grabs the side of the newly formed exit.

Stabby and Grisha speak in unison a single word.

"Kyoki."