-----Y/n's POV-------

Kai and I battle the many ghosts that are swarming around us together. It's much easier to fend off enemies when back to back with a teammate, so that's how everyone is fighting. There are seven of us now, since Nya became a ninja, so Lloyd joins Kai and us to make a group of three.

"What is that thing and how do we defeat it?" Lloyd asks, gesturing to the Preeminent.

"Do you remember saying that maybe Earth is the cursed realm?" I ask.

"Yeah, why?"

"You were right."

"So... that monster thing was underneath the surface, like Cole suggested?"

"Yup."

None of us say anything for a while; we're all focusing on getting rid of those ghosts. Suddenly, I remember something.

"Um, Lloyd?" I start. "There's something you should know."

"What?"

"Your father's in the Preeminent."

"Wait, what?"

"Remember how your father was sent to the cursed realm? Well, the Preeminent is where all the souls go."

"Can we get him out?"

"I'm not sure," I admit. "But we can try."

Without warning, Lloyd runs straight towards the Preeminent.

"Where are you going?" Kai shouts.

"I need to save my dad!"

"Kai, go join another group," I instruct, them bolt after Lloyd.

"Y/n?" Lloyd says once I catch up. He's probably surprised that I can run faster than him.

"You didn't think I'd let you go alone, did you?"

Lloyd grins, and we have a moment of eye contact where it feels like we're the only two people in the world. Even though I could get lost in his eyes forever, our gazes were broken by a crash up ahead. Lloyd and I dodge the rubble caused by the Preeminent's blast, but the interruption makes us stop to come up with a plan.

"How are we going to get into the Preeminent?" Lloyd asks.

"The entrance is her mouth," I reply. "Hey Zane! Can you make us some stairs?"

"Sure thing, sister!"

Zane sends an icy blast towards Lloyd and I, but we move out of the way so it doesn't hit us. It goes beyond us, and it creates a staircase of ice leading up to the mouth of the Preeminent.

"Thanks Zane!" I call, and run towards the stairs. Lloyd follows close behind.

"Hurry! Before they disappear!" Lloyd says as we approach the staircase. We sprint up the stairs, skipping a few steps at a time, and leap into the mouth.

-------Lloyd's POV-------

"Oof," I groan as we make contact with the ground. I lift my head up and see that we're inside a cage. "Where are we?"

"We're still on Earth," y/n replies assuringly. "We've just entered the cursed part."

"Let's go find my father," I say, and walk through the bars that have been bent open.

We walk down a pathway that's lined with cages, all of them enclosing someone with an evil past. y/n shrieks and grabs onto my arm in fear when a villain reaches out to try and touch her, and she doesn't let go as we continue walking. I don't mind; I'm glad she feels safe close to me.

"Lloyd?" a voice says up ahead.

"Dad!" I cry, and y/n lets go of me so we can run towards him. "Here, I'll get you out of these chains."

"You can't," he says. "They're designed to hold me prisoner. Besides, I deserve this fate after all those lives I took."

"But you've changed!" I say. Out of the corner of my eye, I see y/n walk over to where the chain is attached to the wall.

"That doesn't matter," he replies, shaking his head. He then notices y/n tugging at the chains. "There's no use trying to break me free. The chains are made from deepstone reenforced with ghostmetal—they can't be destroyed easily."

"Ghostmetal," y/n mutters. She glances at the water katana she still has in her hand, and looks at it thoughtfully. She then raises it up, and slices the chain.

"H-how?" Dad asks, as the chain falls to the floor.

"H2O goes a long way in a ghost town," y/n says with a shrug. "Now let's get out of here."