With Suzie holding onto a feather of his snow wings, Yokuza followed Winter Lily through the grey-tiled streets of Dalaureus. Sapphire lazily sprawled out on Yokuza's head while snoring as she slept like a cat refined in its catness. Yokuza glanced over at Malfarothian Stadium in the distance, causing Suzie to glance up at him.

"Alright~ we're here!" Winter Lily stated as she spun around and waved her arms excitedly. Behind Winter Lily stood a red forest with the non-paved parts of the ground covered in large red flowers and populated by tanned fairies and faes.

"Behold a sanctuary for spirits and faes, and the home of one of the Hero Spirits: Elanae~" a fae stated before Winter Lily angrily pushed her hands in the fae's face.

"Hey! I'm guiding these lot, no guide stealing," Winter Lily exclaimed. The fae giddily giggled before flying off, and Winter Lily defeatedly sighed. Yokuza placed a hand on his chin, sighing to himself, and recalled a conversation he overheard the other day.

The previous night in the airship carrier's cafe, Lola sat at the bar counter as she sulked and defeatedly ate her tenth bowl of ice cream. Yokuza sat on the stool next to Lola while having a puzzled look on his face.

"Why am I here again?" Yokuza uttered mentally as he rested his arms and head on the bar counter. Solus and Nebula, with Sylvie sitting on her lap, sat at a table with Lumina, Lumios, and Kimmi-Ka on the table's other couch.

"I must say, it's a shame I wasn't able to see the fight with the aether construct," Lumios remarked as Kimmi-Ka looked at Solus through her magnifying glass. Lumina amusedly huffed as she rested her arms behind her head. While he walked past, Maru jokingly remarked that Lumios sure likes to use old-fashioned words.

"Serves you right; I knocked on your door for like a solid minute, and you didn't respond," Lumina said condescendingly with a mix of annoyance and amusement in her voice before she sat up straight, "What could be so important you ignore your surroundings anyway, Lu-chan?". Lumios shrugged, causing Lumina to glare at him unamusedly.

"Is it worth trying to explain when you'd fall asleep halfway through?" Lumios asked smugly as he poked Lumina's nose. Lumina thought of responding; however, her cheeks turned red, and she defeatedly slumped her head to the side, acknowledging Lumios was right.

"Although, on the topic of what I'm working on, could I ask a favour of you, Solus?" Lumios asked.

"Given our location, does it happen to have something to do with Elanae of The Hero Spirits?" Solus asked. Lumios nodded as he placed his arms on the table and his head on his clasped fists.

"Indeed, I managed to get spirit energy from Quenoe on my way back to the capital of Senithrown and from Inaka, before she went on a pastry grand tour," Lumios remarked with Solus nodding along.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"And you want me to get some spirit energy from her since you ticked her off the last time you met?".

"That's certainly a way to put it," Maru remarked as he walked past while carrying a tray of desserts over his head to the table with the other kitsune egos/visages. Nebula rested her chin on Sylvie's head as Sylvie waved around The Heart of Wonders, and Kimmi-Ka looked at it through The Eye of Revelations' lens. Kimmi-Ka's attention slowly diverted from Sylvie and stared at the exhausted Yokuza.

"Sol-kun... I think he should go himself... and apologise," Nebula muttered softly, causing Lumios to defeatedly sigh.

After hearing someone sit on the bar stool next to him, Yokuza turned his head slightly to glance to his side and stared at Kimmi-Ka. Yokuza raised an eyebrow as he heard a distant voice getting bolder and clearer until he fully comprehended it.

"Hey! Hey! Boss snap out of it!" Winter Lily exclaimed, snapping Yokuza back to the present. Yokuza rubbed his forehead and sighed.

"What is it, Winter Lily?" Yokuza grumbled as he regained his bearings.

"A kid appeared from a portal thingy," Winter Lily stated as she pointed at the small figure floating behind Yokuza. Yokuza rolled his eyes before he registered Winter Lily mentioning the word portal. Yokuza sighed as he wondered if it being Providence or Nola would be worse. He reluctantly turned around and, while not showing it, got the life spooked out of him as he came face to face with a floating Kimmi-Ka. Kimmi-Ka silently and emotionlessly stared at Yokuza before she waved The Eye of Revelations around, making rouge red/snow white/golden mana flow out of it and form into floating letters.

"Help me find the Hero Spirit for Father," Kimmi-Ka's letters read. Yokuza rubbed his forehead and defeatedly rolled his eyes.

"Fine... just let me get Suzie here back to her mother first, alright?" Yokuza requested. Kimmi-Ka apprehensively nodded her head as she narrowed her eyes into a scowl and slowly flew circles around Yokuza, much to his confusion. She poked and prodded his body before bunching his wings and trying to lie on them, only to fall through the wings as they parted. Defeated, Kimmi-ka floated in front of Yokuza before moving his arms together and sat on his crossed arms with a regal posture.

"Good grief...," Yokuza grumbled as a small yellow D.P. portal surrounded by star clusters formed above him. Providence's hand descended from the portal while carrying Sylvie, and placed her on Yokuza's shoulders. Winter Lily watched Providence retract his hand into the portal before it closed.

"Um... boss?".

"I noticed, Winter Lily," Yokuza defeatedly muttered as Sylvie poked the cheek of a sleeping Sapphire on Yokuza's head.

Meanwhile, Zinvallia stood on the suspended walkway hanging from the glass dome of Malfarothian Stadium. She paced back and forth, watching the seas of adoring fans raving to Kurai's band's music. Zinvaliia raised her hands to her head and placed earplugs in her ears. She clicked her neck as Kukorama reiterated the plan for the hundredth time played in her mind.

"Have the necklace temporarily turn Kurai into a heathian and, with the research I received from Fox using an azure core, the angorthite mixed with siad azure core should alter Kurai's azure ability and induce forced awakening in the crowd. Then your job is to locate an individual with a purification azure ability and scoop them up," the recollection of Kukorama's voice stated. Zinvalia sighed, moving her mask to the side and rubbing her forehead.

"But how am I supposed to know who's got what abilities even if they do awaken?" Zinvalia grumbled as she put her mask back on and tossed a shadow mana crystal sphere to the glass dome. The sphere shattered upon striking the dome before a veil of shadow mana began spreading across the dome and to the walls of Malfarothian Stadium.