For the first two hours alone, Wyn listens to his favorite music from the karaoke machine while lying down and staring at the ceiling. Once he can listen without crying, he quietly slips out of his tent and heads to Cateto’s campsite. Upon seeing the cat, he immediately bursts into tears.
“What is wrong? You are the guy who brought Anish into your team, right?” the cat asks.
Wyn takes a deep breath, gently holding Cateto with both hands. He then delivers the news.
Cateto looks up at Wyn. “...But he was here not very long ago. He was telling me about all his adventures with you. He even told me he won the race with my kart,” Cateto says, his voice steady but clearly disturbed. “How?”
As Wyn finishes recounting the story through tears, apologizing to Cateto for his perceived mistakes that led to Anish’s demise, Cateto remains silent, staring down at the counter.
“If only I could retrieve his band, I would’ve given it to you,” Wyn says.
Cateto looks back at Wyn again, this time with a smile.
“I will personally make a request for the ability to keep bands of the fallen members,” he says. “I believe it is time to add one more letter on my chest, ‘A’, for ‘C&A’. What do you think?”
“I love it. Thank you Cateto. Because of you, Anish wasn’t alone before he met us,” Wyn says, shedding more tears.
“You are welcome,” the cat smiles. “He spoke highly of you guys. Now you must live on and fight on his behalf.”
Cateto enlarges to human size, embracing Wyn in a tight hug. They hold each other for a while, sharing their grief. When they finally pull apart, Wyn promises to visit Cateto again when he has the chance before bidding him farewell.
After a very brief visit with Catutu, Wyn decides against sharing the news and instead takes a smart vehicle to revisit the sandbox playground where Anish first brought him. While there, he manages to free a few trapped souls from the playground equipment. When no one else is around, Wyn tries to manipulate a powerful cyclone, attempting to bend it like Yu does with water. Despite his efforts, the cyclone remains unyielding. He continues his attempts until the sand is almost entirely gone, and all the sand noodles are eradicated. Too pitty to collect the essence, he leaves for the museum.
In front of the museum, Wyn is overwhelmed with emotion, reflecting on their harrowing encounter with the mimics.
"Without Anish, we could've been dead here. No, we might not have even made it past the playground," he muses quietly to himself.
Opting not to enter the museum, Wyn heads to the park where he and Anish had spent time while Yu and Mira were at the tent. As soon as he steps into the park, the floodgates open. Wyn breaks down, crying uncontrollably. Passersby notice his distress and come forward to offer their comfort.
Sitting alone on a bench, Wyn's emotions surge uncontrollably. Sadness intertwines with anger, and amidst the turmoil, he finds a glimmer of gratitude for having met Anish and his team. Yet, despite these conflicting feelings, an old foe begins to resurface – depression, creeping slowly back into the vulnerable corners of his mind. The realization that he’s just another soul who couldn't even save his friend pushes him further into despair. His mind inundated with doubts:
“What if I hadn’t met Yu or Mira in the first place? What would happen to Anish?”
“If I were able to control my cyclones, would the outcome be different?”
“Was I nice enough to Anish?”
“Would it be better if someone else was the leader?”
"Am I happy? Have I been happy?"
"What do we fight for anyway?"
Wyn stares at the message box, contemplating writing to each of his team members. With tears streaming down his face, he begins typing heartfelt messages, thanking them for their support and for always being there, especially Yu and Mira.
Meanwhile, Yu, Mira, James, and Lisa leave the tent, unaware of Wyn’s whereabouts. They return to the Mystical Land for a leisurely stroll on an elephn’t. Thanks to Mira’s and Lisa’s bargaining skills, they manage to hire four demons to give them massages during the ride.
“I’m still worried about Wyn,” Mira says, sipping a glass of orange juice in her bikini.
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“He blamed himself for Anish’s death. Give him time,” Yu says, his eyes swollen.
“Mister Wyn shouldn’t blame himself. I feel bad for taking you to Old Hell’s Ride,” Lisa adds, her voice shaky.
“We all had a part in it. I rushed Wyn out of the tent before he could ask the master AI to teach him how to control his abilities…”
“And me, who insisted we help Judy,” Mira says.
“And we could’ve killed the cat prototype for more essence,” James says. “Argh, let’s not relive those moments, eh? We’re here to clear our minds of the negativity,” he adds, clearing his throat a few times.
The stroll to the Bouncy Floating Isles goes smoothly, with the cats easily fending off the occasional creature that crosses their path. When they reach the station, the demon masseuses promptly shoo them away before vanishing into portals. They revisit Rex and learn that he’s not allowed to take essence from a soul’s kill anymore. After paying him for a ride to the village, they notice the Only Faith are now gone, though no one knows where they are now. Not wasting time, the four lose themselves in song, using a reaper to display the lyrics while hiring the Purrformeow to mimic the instrumentals. It’s Yu’s first time rocking out to a metal tune, and he’s all in, shocking not just his friends but the reaper and the Purrformeow also.
“You should stick to easy listening music,” a Purrformeow member comments before leaving the area with the crew.
After their heartfelt performance, the four sit by the sea, arms draped around each other, watching as a kraken drags a ship beneath the waves. They close their eyes, listening to the distant screams that echo across the water. Suddenly, Yu's band vibrates. Wyn is on the other end, his voice faint and breathless.
“Bring everyone to the facehole cave,” he manages to say, before adding, “Please…be careful.” The line then cuts off.
Worried, the four race toward the rendezvous point. Along the way, they’re surprised to find the path – different from the previous one they took – to the cave mostly cleared, with trails of essence creating a faint sparkling guide to their destination. As they near the battlefield, they spot Wyn in the center. Mira gasps, her eyes widening at the sight of his battered condition.
Wyn is missing an arm and a leg, his head hanging low in exhaustion. He resorted to using his nose to operate the call to Yu.
“What, what happened to you, Oppa? Why do you look like this? Why are you back here all alone? Where are the faceholes?” Mira fires off questions rapidly, her voice laced with panic, while Yu and James quickly move to stabilize Wyn.
“They’re all dead.”
Wyn had never sent the messages to his team. He was caught in a struggle between fury and emptiness. After witnessing a soul’s death at the park, he had been consumed with rage. Venting his anger, he stormed through Old Hell’s Ride, obliterating any enemy in his path. Once he reached the cave, he swiftly dispatched all the habibis. Summoning cyclones into the cave, he forced the faceholes out of hiding. But when he saw the enemy that had taken his friend's life, all his strength gave way, and he collapsed to his knees in despair.
“In that moment, I was ready to leave it all behind,” Wyn says, his voice ragged.
“You fool! Why? Didn’t you say you loved us?” Mira demands, tears streaming down her face.
“That’s the thing,” Wyn replies, catching his breath. “I thought of all of you. Then, for just a split second, Anish’s face flashed in my mind…Then I did it. I fucking did it. I was able to control my cyclone powers.”
“I don’t have anything smart to say, so I’ll just give you a hug,” Yu says while sobbing, enveloping Wyn in a gentle embrace.
“It’s sad to think of it. It took Anish’s death for me to master this specialization.”
Mira and Lisa join the embrace, forming a tight group hug around Wyn. James, caught off guard, finds himself pulled into the group by Mira’s arm.
“The essence…I wanted to share it all with you,” Wyn says, his voice trembling with emotion.
Despite his team's pleas to return to the tent, Wyn insists on gathering the essence first. James steps forward, volunteering to carry Wyn on his back. With his one band-wearing arm and the help of his nose, Wyn begins collecting the essence.
“I know you don’t like me, but I’m staying,” James says. “You guys saved me. There were other teams before you, and they all left me to die.”
“I just didn’t want our number to grow. You’re here because of your persistence, like Anish,” Wyn responds. “Keep being you...except for when we’re in a fight.”
“I’ll try. Just don’t die. They need you, no, we need you,” James says, voice shaken. “And we need to honor Anish’s death. We owe him that much.”
“Yes, dad.”
“Erm, ‘fuckface’?” Yu asks out of the blue.
“Renamed it out of spite. Also renamed glimmering deer to deericious…for no particular reason.”
“You’re something,” James remarks.
After collecting a substantial amount of essence, the now five-member team returns to Wyn’s tent. To ensure he doesn’t slip away again, they settle him on the second floor while the others relax downstairs, watching movies on a device they’ve just purchased.
Once Wyn has recovered, they gather for an important team meeting.
“It’ll be harder now without Anish’s support. I can control my jump and more now, but I still can’t gently get you out of danger with cyclones.”
“We’ll just have to keep an eye out for each other. We’ll all do our parts to keep everyone alive,” Yu says. He takes a deep breath, then continues, “I refuse to lose anyone else.”
“What’s next?” James asks.
“Champion hunting,” Wyn replies with confidence. “Let’s get us closer to Heaven and put an end to this nonsense once for all. For Anish, for us, and for all the fallen souls. Fuck the divine entities.”
And with that, the team peruses the bestiary, searching for potential candidates. Their sense of purpose feels renewed, as if they’re ready to take on whatever comes next.