I was still recoiling from the chills that made my fur stand on end. I not sure how long it has been dead quiet, but I knew it was far too long. I am almost certain it was Leru who lured the creature away before it realized that I was actually in the crate. As soon as my breathing returned to normal died I pushed open the lid of the crate.

It fell off with a clatter as the damaged hinges came apart. The noise made me flinch and I stared down at the long dark tunnel to see if the beast came back, but at the moment it seemed to be gone. I tried to stand up, but I wasn't going to be getting anywhere with this splint in place.

The pain hasn't been so bad as of recently so I could only hope that my leg had healed enough for me to use it. I undid the splint carefully, taking off the bandages and taking off the flat plank of wood which, unsurprisingly, was covered in the same sap mixture as all of the other bandages I was given. I didn't have time to wash it off. Using Leru's shelf of medicines I pulled myself up on to both legs carefully putting my formerly injured one down after the other.

It was very sore and began aching when I put my weight on it, but it was useable much to my relief. I took one very unbalanced hoof forward. It has been perhaps a few days since I last walked, despite that, I was able to recover quickly.

I did a few hops, bouncing from one leg to the other a few times to feel my limits. It hurt, especially with bigger jumps. If I stood too long on my injured leg it would cramp up and collapse, leaving me face first in the dark-gray, stone floor. I rolled onto my back and stared up at the ceiling, the pain in my nose made me feel incredibly dizzy and it was hard to think.

My eyes drifted over to the remaining pots of vitae. My cheeks were wet and my lip quivered. I wouldn't be here had Leru not found me and has not come back yet. The thoughts of that monster picking at her body make my throat burn and my mouth taste like acid.

I pushed myself on my hooves once again and looked down in the direction Leru had gone, It was almost pitch black, but I had to find her. Using my own dim light I began to walk quickly. My hooves echoed as I picked up the pace. The cave floor, however, came to an abrupt end. With my limited vision, I was not able to see the deep pit that I was plummeting down. Fear lodged itself in my throat, disallowing me to scream I cry out. I waved my arms about in the air, trying to grab onto anything I could not see.

Pain shot through my body before I was engulfed by a cold sludge. It burned, I felt as if my body was slowly being torn apart. My lungs began to burn. I moved my limbs about in a frenzy, trying to get up to the surface. Once I breached the surface of the poisoned water I sucked in as much as I could, but it was only brief before something bit down on my and pulled be back under. A gurgled cry came out of my mouth. I jerked and twisted about until I landed a solid kick to the head of whatever had bitten me.

Wasting no more time I swam to shore and pulled myself out. Burns covered my body and blood poured from my wounds. My body convulsed and I rolled onto all fours. My stomach lurched and I gagged until I began throwing up what amount of purple water had entered my body. My head spun and I was barely able enough to avoid falling into my own mess of vitae, sludge water, and stomach acid.

I was in the woods as I would discover once the world stopped spinning. The cave dropped me into a pool of water in the middle of nowhere next to a small mountain. I pushed myself onto my hooves and shivered as a cooling wind blew on the drenched fur that clung to my skin.

My ears perked up to the sound of something ringing. It was a very high pitched sort of ringing noise, like a single wind chime. It bounced around the trees. The sound was delicate and broken. It was afraid and calling out for help.

It was calling out to me.

"Hello?" I called out, my voice also echoing throughout the woods. The ringing became louder. My ears twitched, trying to pinpoint the direction the sound was coming from. I started looking under falling logs, behind stones and boulders. Underneath piles of leaves.

The noise became louder and louder. I came upon something familiar, something from my very distant passed. It was a tiny light resting on the ground. I began to approach cautiously until I was within arms reach. I knelt done and stared at the light, mesmerized by its glow. "Sein… is that you?" I asked and went to pick up the tiny light.

There was a distant loud thud that caused the ground to rumble. The light began to roll down the hill. I reached out to try and grab it, but it rolled just too far. "No no no come back," I whispered loudly and started chasing after it. The glowing orb bounced off the rocks and rolled along winding tree roots, eventually slowing down very precariously infront of a crack in the ground just big enough for it to fit into. I dived towards it, scraping myself against the ground, only to push it with my figure and watch it fall down… down… down… down… into the darkness. I stood up and covered my face and screamed into the palms of my hands. "Nononono!"

"Who'ss there?" A raspy voice hissed from down below. I jumped, yankign my arm from out of the hole before peering down inside.

"O-Ori." I stammered in response.

"Ah yes, the lost spirit. I've heard a great many things about you." The s sounds in his words were long and drawn out. "I heard that you chose to stay away from the spirit tree because you cared for someone else. Naru was it? I caring motherly figure."

"Who are you?"

"You may refer to me as Sin. I can read your heart by gazing deep into your eyes. I can sense the guilt the fills you for turning Nibel into ash. If you hadn't stayed with Naru, if you had listened to your dear friend perhaps everyone would still be alive. Instead, the world is falling apart all around you." There was a long pause as if he was letting the guilt sink in. "There is a way you can repair the damage, however."

I gulped and stared down into the pit. "What do I need to do?"

There was a raspy cackle. "You need to find a key. What you are standing on right now is a door reinforced with spirit energy. If you can unlock this door. Then I will return to you the light and eyes of the spirit tree." There was something very sinister about his voice. It made my stomach churn and my body tremble.

The was something shifting about in the darkness. It slithered up the wall and opened its two massive golden eyes.

"Do we have a deal?"