The passageway was barely a crawlspace, and it was held together by concerningly thin wooden beams. A man without Magnus' eon-forged patience would have lost track of time, but his skin continued to heal faster than the knee-dragging could scratch it.

Fortunately, Sayuki was petite enough to dash comfortably within the vent-sized tunnel. The venture was longer than an hour, but they did not make conversation. Not until they found themselves at a dead end, and before Magnus could ask what to do next, Sayuki pulled at the ceiling, unlatching a few feet of rope.

She looked at Magnus, with tension welling behind her eyes.

"Come," he said, walking over. With shaky hands, she gave him the rope and Magnus crouched over Sayuki, shielding her with his back. Then, he pulled on the rope with all the strength in his right arm, bringing down a storm of dirt, leaves and sticks.

Magnus slowly stood up, watching the glow of Sayuki's eyes subside as the hole became filled with sunlight. They shared one last look of complicity, before helping each other outside. They had yet to shake off the dust and dirt when they heard the entrance cave in, with vibrations suggesting the rest of the tunnel followed. It must have been designed to destruct itself after being used.

"We made it" Sayuki said, hands clasped together at her chest.

Magnus looked up at the sun: it must have been close to midday. Then, his surroundings. They had emerged at the edge of a lush forest, which thickened toward the horizon, climbing upward rocky, snow-topped mountains. A cascade came from one of them, rushing down several steps of stone down to a coastline to the east. It was a natural fortress, walling a valley of grass that was closer to turquoise than green.

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"It's a lovely landscape, for sure." he said, reaching to clasp her hand.

"My father's ancestor found this place in his travels, and called it a land blessed by the Goddess of the Spring. He dug the tunnel on his lonesome, although I believe it was my parents who set it to self-destruct after a single use."

Magnus could tell Sayuki was making an effort to speak of other things, but her heart was shook from leaving her family behind. He knew nothing of her mother's whereabouts, and she could only pray to the Goddess of the Snow that her father and brother would be safe.

They were both dirty, him even more so, with mud and dried blood up to his knees. Nevertheless, Magnus felt he had to hold her close, and he did. Sayuki hesitated, but she left herself be hugged. Then, she slowly put her arms around him. For a long moment, she didn't say a thing.

"I'm scared, Magnus..."

"I am too, Sayuki."

She rose her eyes from his chest, a desperate gaze in them. She expected him to say something uplifing.

"But it is not the end for us." Magnus granted her unsaid request, touching her forehead with his.

"We will get back on our feet" he continued. "And we will take your home back, I promise you."

Sayuki hadn't stopped to think of what the fate of her homeland would have been. But, faced with an unknown number of those silver-armored soldiers, perhaps the answer was as obvious as Magnus had made it seem. She broke in tears, clutching his clothes, and he gently patted her back, silent, yet gritting his teeth.

It was a horrible situation, but he'd see to the end that they got out of it.