Deep within the forest on the outskirts of Eden Villages, hidden among the trees, was a stone walkway that led to a marble monopteros surrounded by trees, vines, and flowers, which lent it color.

  Inside the structure, sunlight bathed the area in light, revealing a large cave opening that broke past the surface and into the depths below.

  The dangerous, yet intriguing entrance beckoned many to venture into its depths, where cave roaches and rats scattered across the rocky floor, and the echo of screeching bats filled the area. On the cave walls, ropes were nailed to the walls with torches, helping light the way down.

  But the further one descended, the quieter it grew, and the stone walls started to change from gray to a dull white. Torches became fewer and fewer, and the luminescent stones and mushrooms took their place to provide a bright natural light, bathing the tunnel walls in a strange blue-green glow.

  The tunnels grew wider, and like a tree's roots, they started to branch off in different directions. Some led to dead ends, while others led to environments that were larger than cities.

  And in one of these environments was a massive forest, filled with light, greenery, monsters that took on the role of animal life, and a ceiling that was as high as the sky. This chamber almost mirrored the surface perfectly.

  But in the chamber's center, at the base of a ceiling high, there was another tunnel that went deeper.

  Through twists, turns, and straight paths, this tunnel led to a different atmosphere. A less clear, humid, foggy chamber.

  Moving through the knee-high gray grass, azure blue eyes remained vigilant. Scanning through the fog, as massive stalagmites and stalactites formed pillars that looked like they held up the ceiling.

  A sudden rush from the grass caused blue eyes to dart to the noise, following the rustling grass. That sharp gaze snapped to the right, and another sound caused her to snap to the left. Dozens of movement lines circled her.

  Eden's Dawn was freed from its holster while Lucina followed the rapid movements

  Whatever circled her was unknown, but one thing was clear as day: they were numerous.

  It only made the elven girl steel her mind and tighten the grip on her wooden blade. A quiet breath followed by a low exhale when the circling swarm gradually grew closer

  Then suddenly, a canine creature with two pairs of razor-sharp fangs protruding from its mouth leaped from the grass. Deep black eyes reflected the elf's actions back at her. Bisected by an upward slash from Eden's Dawn, its blood-stained the creature's pale black fur.

  "Phantom Jackals, this should be interesting."

  A second Phantom Jackal attacked her side, but it met the same fate and was sliced in two. The echo of a severed body splattering against the ground called the pack, the rest circling motion ended, and they all rushed in on Lucina's position.

  Leaping over them, the moment her feet returned to the ground, the snap of a twig caused her attention to turn.

  Trying to attack her from behind, another Phantom Jackal leaped at her, only to be hit with a spinning kick, sending the creature flying.

  "Firebolt!"

  A sparking blue flame left her hand, touching the monster.

  Azure blue eyes darted all over the field marking the surrounding swarm that seemed unending when they closed in, leaping at her.

  Countless heads were severed; bodies were slashed apart and burned to cinders, blood and blue flame tainted the gray grass. One after another, the pack continued their assault, snarling bites and body slams were met with fire and a wooden blade and their numbers started to dwindle.

  It was a one-sided slaughter.

  Stabbing the ground, she skewered another two. From both her right and left, two more leaped at her, in an attempt to catch her off guard.

  Letting go of Eden, her hands caught flame, and she cried out, twin bolts shot out from both her hands. Both jackals on her right and left got a mouthful of flames that blasted back as blue flames burned them from the inside out.

  A low breath escaped her as she took Eden's Dawn out of the ground. Surveying the area, she found that the remains of the Phantom Jackals swarm had run away. Self-preservation won them over.

  "That took longer than I thought." Kneeling down, grabbing one of the decent-sized monster stones, and the horns that fell off. The stones were about half the length of her finger; the horns were double that length. Looking over the field, a new groan echoed from her. "Picking these up is gonna be a pain."

  It took a few moments for her to collect the stones, but rather than put the final one into her bag, she just held it between her fingers.

  'These always look so pretty, it's easy to forget that these are basically monsters...

  A low roar echoed from the cavern in her, causing her to turn her gaze back to the fog-covered chamber.

  "... hearts."

  Getting back onto her feet, Lucina ventured deeper into the chamber.

  Passing by gray, leafless trees that looked like they were on the verge of death. Large, luminescent mushrooms slowly started to outnumber and replace them, their light penetrated the soup like fog.

  The lights were blurry but still lit up the area all the same.

  Some of these mushrooms barely grew higher than the top of her shoe, but others started to reach almost a hundred feet into the air, their caps unable to be seen as they were covered by fog.

  Sliding down an incline, she entered a valley where the grass was shorter and boulders became numerous.

  Small white flowers gave off a slight glow that helped make their presence known.

  With each step Lucina marched forward, she was unfazed by the fog, not even the colder atmosphere affected her... much.

  Stepping into a small clearing filled with brown caped mushrooms that came up to her waist in terms of height.

  They seemed to form an almost perfect circle, spaced out with enough room for each of them as they seemed to gather in a circle.

  "Huh, normally mushrooms tend to either grow in patches or a single one is all by its lonesome. I've never seen them organize like this before, so I wonder...

  A blue flame engulfed her hand while she approached one of the outer ones, reaching out, Lucina tried touching the cap.

  Her hand barely got within grabbing distance when the mushroom in front of her started to violently shake. Shaking that spread to five others.

  Reaching for Eden's Dawn, she watched six of the shaking mushrooms ripped themselves free from the ground.

  They all stood around four feet tall and an odd mix of all extremes, from being as thin as a stick with a cap the size of an umbrella, to wide than a tree's trunk and with a cap the size of a cup. Some limbs were elongated and narrow, while others were short and stubby, looking more like minds rather than limbs.

  There was one that seemed to have a balance of traits, from long arms, a sturdy body, and thick legs that helped it up.

  There was no in between when it came to the others. Just one extreme after another.

  The misshapen army of six started to make their way towards her. One was almost comical as it almost fell to the ground, forced to wobble rather than walk due to its misshapen body.

  "Fungels, this shouldn't be that bad." Her voice quickly took on a serious tone.

  Dashing toward, her gaze looked to them all. Her first target was clear: the most normal-looking one.

  Rushing past the one who could barely walk. The Fungel raised its arms up high and slammed its fists down.

  Darting to the side, Lucina avoided the strike that cracked the ground.

  In an instant, Eden's Dawn caught flame, and with a single slash, the wooden blade effortlessly cut through its arms.

  Before its arms even hit the ground, Lucina's wooden blade cut off the Fungel's cap, and its eye sockets flew along with it. A third strike was aimed at its center, piercing through; its monster stone was skewered on the blade's tip.

  It crumbled to useless crumbs as it broke apart.

  Pulling her blade free, she watched the remaining five surrounded and started to rush her down.

  A smile grew and blue sparks formed around her.

  "With flames as numerous as stars in the night sky, I call on thee to light the path to victory. No matter what odds stand in my way, these flames shall light the way forward."

  In an instant, five flames took shape around her, adding a blue glow to the fog. Unaware of the sudden heat, the five Fungels continued their advance.

  "Each flame gives light to a star that will reduce those obstacles to ash."

  Then five more joined around her as her hand shot to the side.

  "Flare Storm!"

  Sending those ten blue orbs of fire at the Fungels in all directions, the moment they felt the heat, their charge stopped. Trying to run away the best they could, trying to avoid the flames.

  It didn't matter.

  Even if their bodies could allow them to scream, they wouldn't be allowed to. Ten flames collided, shooting through them, two burning holes were made in each body, leaving behind five fungus bodies that caught fire the moment before they hit the floor.

  "Alright," Opening and closing her hand, she made her way to one of the bodies. "I've really gotten the hang of this spell."

  As she got closer, something took off flying away from the body. With a quickened pace, Lucina arrived and looked into the burning body as it started to char and crumble, only to find there was no sight of the monster stone.

  "Huh, that's strange. I know the stone is hidden in that spot. Did I destroy it?"

  With a suspicious shrug, she searched the body.

  "What are these?" Strange markings were hidden on the soft, mushroom body. "These aren't caused by fire, but what did it? It looks like something put its weight on it."

  Lucina didn't linger around the body for long, moving on to the next to gather its stone...

  "What the...

  Only to be met with a similar sight. A missing stone and strange markings, distorted by blue flames

  Her confusion only grew, and her pace quickened, looking over each body, until only one remained.

  'Ok, this can't be right, what are the odds that I destroyed all those stones and those marks... I'm not the cause of those, am I?'

  As the final one came into view, she started to run. The closer she got to the final Fungel, it came into view. Watching as something reared up, its head turned 180 degrees, flashing a pair of haunting, bright yellow eyes that locked on to her.

  "Firebolt!"

  Before she even had a second thought, a blue flame raced towards the culprit.

  A four-foot-long body with massive wings, twice its size, shot out, and with a single, silent flap, it became airborne. The blue flames gave some light to the creature. A large body covered by dark white and gray feathers.

  Dropping the stone, it took off, vanishing into the fog.

  Grabbing the dropped stone, Lucina looked around, trying to find where the creature went.

  "So it was an owl that took the stones. Well, that's a—

  A flash of pain spread across her left arm, a splash of blood fell down her arm as a blur of white and gray passed by.

  Knocked to the ground, Lucina could only watch the owl, without making a sound, started to loop around.

  'How did it—

  Rolling across the ground, avoiding the bird's second attack.

  Grabbing at her arm, she ignored the blood falling down her arm and staining her hand. Crying out as a blue flaming bolt left her hand, and an ear-piercing screech rang through Lucina's ear.

  The flame raced after the owl. A smile grew just as it was about to connect...

  ...but it just flew past the owl.

  "How did I miss?"

  Turning to look down at the elf, the owl brought its wings back and followed with a heavy flap.

  A burst of wind was sent soaring towards the ground. Lucina moved to the side, only to watch the wind blast collide with the ground, causing an indent.

  But she didn't have to look at the hole; the owl didn't give her time, firing off another screeching echo. The pain barely gave her the chance to see the owl diving towards her; Lucina's hand rose once again.

  "Firebolt!"

  As the bolt ascended, a smile grew.

  'Let's see you dodge that.'

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  The owl didn't dodge; it just flew past the flames as the attack kept going, as if there was nothing there.

  "What the... Firebolt!"

  Launching yet another spell, this time the owl dived below and guided above the grass as it charged in, with talons open and ready.

  Gripping Eden's Dawn, Lucina slashed at the incoming owl. The wooden blade looked ready to cut the owl down the center.

  Another screech followed.

  Her slash's aim was true, cutting through the owl like flames piercing the fog.

  She barely had time to react. The owl's wing slammed into her as it passed her by, and with a silent clap from its wings, a condescension blast of wind slammed into her.

  Hitting the ground with a thud, everything was quiet; the only thing she could hear was another burst of wind. Spring to her feet to avoid the strike just in time to watch the owl disappeared back into the fog.

  'The silent flapping, these blasts of wind, those white and gray feathers, and these nauseating screeches...

  Her ears twitched, rolling to the side she avoided another passing attack.

  Her hand caught flame and shot up.

  "Firebo–

  A sudden wave of pain washed through her ear, causing the flames to burn out. Her hand shot to cover her ear, trying to block out the pain-causing sound.

  ...it's a Banshee Owl.'

  Tracking the owl's flight, the moment it's screaming came to an end, she started chanting.

  "With flames as numerous as stars in the night sky, I call on thee to light the path to victory. No–

  When the blue flames started to form, a loud burst echoed from above and another blast of wind came crashing down, knocking her back and interrupting the chant causing the flames fizzled out. Looking up from the ground, Lucina watched the Banshee Owl came soaring down from the ceiling, razor-sharp talons extended, ready to latch on and slash at her.

  Rolling to the side, she narrowly avoided the attack, leaving the owl's talons stuck in the ground. Like a dancer, Lucina planted her palm in the ground and, with the twist of her wrist, plus the force of her waist, she spun around, aiming a kick at the avian foe.

  The owl broke free from the ground, and it took off, Lucina's kick managed to strike at its leg, causing it to stumble in the air before balancing itself and taking off.

  'I can't let this thing get away!'

  "With flames as numerous as stars in the night...

  The moment those words left, the Banshee Owl caught those words, it brought its wings back, and with a heavy force, brought its wings down, sending a massive whirlwind at Lucina. It took everything she had to prevent her concentration from breaking.

  Digging her feet into the ground, Lucina did what she could to stand her ground.

  Slowly, with each passing moment, the flames she summoned went out.

  'I need to find a way to take this thing down!'

  ... sky, I call on thee to light the—

  Trying to push forward against the wind, it came to a stop as she stumbled forward. The owl's wings came into view, slamming into her.

  'Why can't I use Flare Storm?'

  'Why can't I land a hit?'

  Everything became slow, it was like time came to a standstill, watching the owl's body slowly flew over her.

  The sight of a damaged person stepping towards a roaring beast echoed; a burning flash of crimson appeared in her mind.

  Her hand shot out.

  Grabbing the avian monster's leg as tightly as she could. It panicked, flapping its wings like a wild storm, and wind slammed into the ground. Dirt and dust were knocked up, covering her skin and clothing.

  "That monster was a hell of a lot tougher than bird brains here."

  The flapping became harder, more rapid. Its screech echoed, ringing in Lucina's ears, but she didn't let go. Trying to keep the owl grounded.

  The wing beats grew faster until it managed to take off, taking Lucina with it into the air. Even with the added weight, the moment her feet were taken off the ground, the owl took off.

  Watching as she got further above the ground, then the airborne thrashing began, sharp turns left and right, trying to shake her off. Even descending back to the ground, dragging Lucina against the floor. Banging her against small stones, dirtying her clothing, and covering her skin with bruises and scrapes, before assessing back into the air. The whole time, she didn't let go.

  Another loud screech echoed from its beak; it started to descend again.

  'I am not going for another round of being your ragdoll!'

  With her free arm and against the Banshee Owl's screams, Lucina slashed upwards, aiming at its wing.

  The wooden blade cleaved through the thick, feather-covered wing.

  Falling through the air, the two plummeted towards the ground.

  Two bodies collided with the ground, skipping and sliding. One body went further than the other.

  A groan came from Lucina when she got back on her feet, rubbing the side of her head.

  'Ok, that wasn't my brightest idea, but on the bright side, its flying days are over.'

  A smirk rose when she watched the Banshee Owl get up. It was slow to move and struggled to find its new sense of balance.

  "Now's my chance to end this."

  "With flames as numerous as stars in the night sky, I call on thee to light the path to victory.

  As she spoke, blue flames gathered around her, creating light that the owl noticed as it turned its head.

  No matter what odds stand in my way,—

  A loud screech from the owl cut her off and it charged, its voice still screeching. Her hands rose without a thought, trying to cover her ears. Crying out in pain, the screech echoed in her mind.

  ...these flames shall light the way forward."

  But still she kept going, determined not to break this time and to end the fight. Even if her voice was drowned out by the screech.

  "Each flame gives light to a star that will reduce those obstacles to ash."

  More flames appeared, and with one final cry.

  "Flare Storm!"

  All the flames she conjured flew at the owl, intercepting its run with an explosion of blue flames.

  One after another, the flames' volley came to an end, and when the smoke cleared, the Banshee Owl could barely stand. Wobbling it tried to find its footing with its burnt body.

  Rapid steps were followed by a wooden blade that caught flame as a blur of blue fire ran through the owl.

  The screeching stopped, and its singular wing fell to the side, limp. Its head followed, rolling off its body before both fell to the ground.

  With a heavy breath, azure blue eyes looked back at the slain monster. "That took too long."

  With tired steps, she stood over the body and, after an aimed slash at its chest, Lucina reached in and pulled out a good-sized monster stone.

  "Not bad, but it better be worth all the ones you ate. Haha—

  The sharp pain in her shoulder caught up to her at the same time as her other injuries.

  "I should take a break, I need to take care of this."

  Looking around for a spot to rest, azure eyes landed on a large boulder that sat under the cover of a tall mushroom.

  Sitting down and reaching into her bag, Lucina pulled out a smaller bag. Taking out a roll of bandages, wincing as she wrapped the still fresh wound.

  'How long have I been down here? It gets kinda hard to remember sometimes.' Continuing to wrap her injuries, watching a little blood dripped through, only to be covered again until a tear of cloth marked the completion of the wrapping.

  Pulling the medical bag back into the larger one, next she pulled a new bag and placed the Banshee Owl's stone in with the rest of the monster stones and monster parts she collected.

  They all ranged in size. Some were barely the size of her finger, others were a full circle, others were rougher looking, and many were some mixture of shapes. 'This isn't that bad of a haul. If I had to guess, all of these together could be worth 10... maybe 18,000 runix.'

  Closing the bag, giving it a light toss into the air, she grabbed it, and put it back in the main bag.

  A hand rose above her chest where her cloak used to clip. Gripping the place on her shirt where her cloak's coin-like clip used to hang.

  As her hand let go, she looked down at her palm. There was a spark that quickly led to a large blue flame resting in her hand.

  Watching it flickered, controlling its size the flame grew and shrank.

  The more she watched the flame dance, the more her mind drifted deeper into her thoughts. Not even the foggy dungeon atmosphere was able to keep her attention.

  Roars and cries echoed in her mind for a moment.

  "I wonder how he's doing?"

  There wasn't any time allowed to give her a moment to think. The sudden snap of a twig snapped her out of her mind and shot her hand out into the direction of the snap.

  "Firebolt!"

  A blue flame raced into the fog before she lost sight of it as a blue burning hand shot for Eden's Dawn, and her legs shot took a wide, stable stance. A sharp expression dominated her face while she looked out into the void.

  Peering from side to side, her eyes almost seemed to glow in the fog-filled chamber, matching the flaming glow that covered her blade. Her ears had the subtlest of twitches as they took in each and every sound.

  From every slight shuffle in the grass to the silent creaks of mushrooms supporting their weight.

  'I won't get caught off guard again.'

  So she remained still, ready to act.

  But nothing happened.

  Until a low grumble started to rise from where she stood.

  Her guard relaxed. "Guess it was just cold. Maybe it's for the best that I start making my way out, I think being alone in this fog is getting to me. I should get something to eat."

  With a last-minute decision, Lucina turned around and started to go back the way she came.

  —

  Moving through the chamber for what felt like hours, the light from both substance and fungi started to become less and touches took their place.

  The sound of footsteps started to echo less and less the closer she got to the light from the tunnel's opening that functioned at both its entrance and exit.

  A lit torch burned brightly, marking a tunnel's entrance. The closer she got, the brighter it became, and a fresh breeze followed, blowing away the stuffiness from what was below.

  The low chirping of birds helped welcome her back to the surface as Lucina stepped out of the monopteros. Her hand covered her face, giving her eyes a moment to adjust back to the sunlight.

  Walking through the forest, it gave off a calming presence, different from the tense underground chambers she had just left.

  With each step that followed the closer the forest's edge came closer into view.

  Passing through a smile grew from atop a hill, she gazed into the vast open field.

  Each blade of grass seemed to dance in the breeze as it washed over the flowers that painted the ground like a canvas.

  And in the center of this canvas, bathing in the heat of the soon-to-be setting sun, was Eden Village. Even from a few miles away, the Rainbow Tree was almost shining in all the colors it was named after when the sun hit its leaves.

  Without a second thought and with almost reinvigorated energy, Lucina took off in a full sprint, wanting to get home before the sun would set.

  —-

  The calm dirt roads of Eden were filled with people marching on the way home. Some chose to take some time to look around the shops before heading home, while others went into a small diner for dinner.

  At the base of the Rainbow Tree was where things were the most active, with only a few food stands, all the more reason for them to be busy, taking up shop there.

  But those stands weren't the only busy places. At the tree's base was a large white marble and green-stained wooden building. Flower pots hang off ledges as vines climb the walls until they reach the roof, with small pink flowers sprouting off them.

  Willow's Bloom, the Eden Village's local guild.

  Few came and went, passing through the building's swing doors, a glimpse of what's inside. The doors swung open while azure blue eyes looked into her stone and monster bag, now turned coin bag. There was a hidden annoyance behind those blue eyes with each step that lead her away from the guild.

  "I can't believe after all of that, they only gave me 9,075 runix."

  A scowl grew when she closed the bag and took off, tossing and catching it in her hands.

  "Oh, sorry, dear, but these Phantom Jackal fangs and monster stones have some serious burns on them. Because of this, these aren't going to be worth as much as they would normally." Speaking to herself, mimicking the guild's receptionist she just dealt with.

  "I swear, I should have just waited for tomorrow and walked to Kicon. It'd only be a half-day's walk, I'm sure I could've gotten more there, plus then I could have spent some time looking around the shops there." Quickly tossing the coin bag into the large bag, she moved out of the way. "Maybe after another good dive or two, I should be good."

  Walking through the village, she ignored everyone as they went along with their end-of-day routine. It was calm, peaceful, the total of the dungeon.

  "Well, if it isn't the Blue Burnout."

  That calm came to a sudden end as a new voice entered her ear. And it all came from a small group to her left.

  On the left was a zoophain girl with long, cream colored hair and rabbit ears. Mostly dressed in gray chainmail with a pair of tonfa that had two blades on both the back and front ends. A cocky smirk was plastered across her face

  On the right, a tan-scaled draconian that stood over everyone in the group, even her. He wore a mixture of leather and plate armor, even when so far to cover his tail. A great sword hung from his back.

  And in the blackhead in the middle, the cause of her annoyance.

  Yodei Press stood in front of the trio, and of the three, his clothing was more flash than substance. An overflowing yellow robe with blue markings and black pants. Holding a wooden staff that was made from the same material as her blade.

  "Oh... if it isn't Yawnei and the dimwitted duo Umbra and Gillian. What do you morons want? I was making my way home."

  Of them, Umbra, the rabbit girl, was the most annoyed. "How about you shut y'er trap before I—

  The larger hand of Gillian landed on her shoulder, pulling her back before nodding to Yodei.

  "Thank you, Gill." Shifting his gaze back to Lucina, back eyes looked into blue. "Now, I'll cut to the chase. We want you to join us when we go dungeon diving."

  "What?"

  "You heard me right. I... We have concluded that if we join up, delve into deeper chambers, and even uncover some new ones. Fight bigger and tougher monsters, collect more stones, and get more money. I know—

  "I'll pass." Lucina didn't even let him finish before walking off.

  Her footsteps shifted the gravel underneath, leaving the three with looks ranging from annoyed disappointment to quiet anger.

  "What, think you're so grand you can't be bothered to hand ground us?" Gillian's complaint went ignored. Umbra just shot a glare at her.

  Trying to glare daggers at her, the two kept a narrow look on her that was brushed off.

  "Take it easy, guys, if she doesn't want to join us, it's her loss."

  Hearing Yodei act calm was odd, but didn't really matter.

  "After all, if she's turning us down, then it must mean she's grouped but with that bloodeye."

  Her steps came to an abrupt stop.

  "Whatever happened to him? We only saw him once, then nothing else. Did you take him to the dungeon and get scared off by a Goblin?"

  Their laughter wasn't subtle. Incessant and while it continued, two roars echoed in her mind.

  Her fingers dug into her palm.

  "If you don't quit right now—

  "You'll what? Break my staff over my head, is that all you know is violence?" There was a short pause before a smart ass smirk formed.. "Maybe that's what happened, you pushed him too far and got hurt. Considering what happened to So—

  A blast of blue flame shot past between him and the other two. Turning to find a burn mark on a building as small blue flames burnt out, they quickly turned back to one hand engulfed in flame, the other hand a firm grip on Eden's Dawn.

  "If you dare to even speak hers or any of their names."

  Her eyes darted past Umbra to Gillian, as if trying to pierce through Yodei while he took a step back, using the others like a makeshift barrier.

  Everyone else who was around backed away, giving space to the group for a conflict none of them wanted to be a part of. Blue flames ran down the wooden blade.

  "I'll ask you again." Yodei called out from the back, his voice became more combative. "What are you going to do about it, Burnout?"

  A tense wall formed between them until a hand fell to her side and the flames went out. Relaxing her gaurd and returning the blade to her side.

  "You know what, you're not worth the effort."

  Turning her back to them, she walked off.

  Leaving the tree's base and making her way moo through the village as she marched her way home, ignoring everyone she walked passed.

  —

  The sun barely danced over the horizon, casting shadows across the land.

  Just outside the borders of Eden Village, a single modest-sized home, bathed in the light of the setting sun. Lights from the inside started to become noticeable with the approaching night.

  The clanging of dishes on a wooden table had a silent echo that traveled but was overshadowed by the sizzling and the smell of chicken emitted from the kitchen. The sound of a knife chopping carrots, broccoli, and tomatoes into bite-sized bits before being moved into a salad bowl. All at the skillful, delicate hands of a golden-haired elven woman.

  Lost in the world of cooking, Lumara didn't notice the arrival of her husband when he reentered the kitchen.

  "The table is all set. How are things looking in here, Lumara?"

  A smile grew. "Everything is just about done, Indigo."

  Moving towards the chicken, taking it out of the pan and onto the cutting board. Doing the same to the chicken before putting it into the salad bowl and giving it a good toss, adding cranberries and nuts to finish it off.

  Carrying the bowl into the dining room and placing it in the center, the couple took their seats, only to have their gaze fall onto the empty seat.

  "Indigo, did Lucina come home while I was in the kitchen?"

  "No, she hasn't come back yet, but she'll likely be home any minute now. You know how she gets when she sets a goal for herself." Indigo couldn't help but chuckle.

  "I know, I know. But you saw her when Lyn brought her back, she hasn't sulked like in years, not since... well, you know."

  "I remember that was a hard time; she didn't leave the house for months, but this time, it was barely a week, and she was out pushing herself."

  "Still, it doesn't stop me from worrying about her. It's only been a little over a month."

  "Ok, how about this, before we eat, I'll go out and—

  The sound of a bell chime rang out, cutting him off. "Hey, Mom, Dad. Sorry, I'm late."

  Barely out of his seat, he shot a confident look at Lumara, reaching out he started to fill his bowl. Even grabbing a spoonful of crotons and reaching for the dressing.

  Lumara did the same when she heard Lucina's shoes hit the floor. The moment they were about to take a bite, the forks stopped simultaneously, only an inch away from their mouths, as Lucina took her seat.

  "Thanks for the food."

  Watching their daughter fill her bowl and started eating, eating quicker than usual. "What did you season the chicken with Mom? It's really good."

  While she ate, their gaze wasn't really focused on her. Their combined gaze looked her over, making a note of every shallow cut, scrape, and bruise. But their attention locked onto the gaze that was wrapped around her arm.

  "Hm? Is something wrong?"

  The two looked at Lucina, trying to think of a good way to speak to her.

  "Lucina, dear." Lumara spoke up. "Can you tell me what caused that?"

  The chewing stopped. "On this..."

  "Yes, that." Lumara targeted.

  "Oh... I ran into a Banshee Owl..."

  Slowly, everyone's eating became slower. "I see, Indigo, tell me. Don't Banshee Owls spawn in the Fungal Fog chamber?"

  Lucina's chewing became slower.

  "That's correct, dear, and it's unlikely it left that chamber. You see, Banshee Owls rely on the foggy environment and their silent flight in order to launch surprise attacks from above. Combine that with its ear-shattering screeches, and fighting it alone is rather dangerous." He paused to take a drink. "So Lucina—

  "Yeah, I went to the chamber, so what?"

  Despite her quick answer, the uncaring tone she had only made her father's newfound disappointment grow. "Lucina, I gave you permission to only go as far as the Forest Planes chamber on your own. Anything beyond that is off limits."

  Before he could get out of his seat, Lumara placed a hand on his shoulder. "Now, Lucina, why would you do something so reckless? You could have come to me or your father if you wanted to go deeper. There's no need for you to go off on your own."

  Azure blue eyes were glued to the table, stuck there for only a moment, grabbing her drink, and emptying it in a single go. Lucina got up

  "Thanks for dinner." She didn't wait, getting up from the table, she didn't move to her room, but to the door.

  "Lucina, where do you think you're going? If you think I'll let you go to the—

  "I'm not." Cutting off her father, she simply opened the door to the now early night. "I'm just going there for the night, it's been a while."

  Leaving her parents to look at her, putting on her shoes, and picking up her bag, Lucina made her way out into the night.