The journey back wasn’t too hard, but there were some obstacles of course. They were able to overcome each one, with even the strange girl Traz helping out in some of the necessities.

Her already known skills of hunting and shooting surprised everyone at first, which only raised more questions.

And though she didn’t quite understand it, the group she followed kept mentioning something of ‘how many kilometers left’ or ‘how many months are there left of this journey’. She asked the leader, to which she would teach her things like Distance and Time.

Sure enough, there were still many things and concepts in this world left for her to understand, but that itself made her curiosity tingle in excitement.

Many sunrises and sun falls passed as they journeyed in the direction opposite of where she and Rye went. But eventually, they followed a tunnel all the way back to a grand city burrowed underground like that of Venisi.

Once they had finally reached the gates of this town, a gathering of people welcomed them as Traz and her group made their return. At first they were greeted with stairs of excitement and anticipation, but a mere glimpse at them and their expressions were immediately cast down with loss.

People greeted them, though now in a melancholy tone, and welcomed them back on their return. But Traz saw through on their fake words of gratitude. She couldn’t put a finger on why everyone put up a facade on being unhappy, but before she spoke on it, she remembered Rye words when it came to minding her business.

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After a while, all except Traz was brought to the resupply station for their next runs to the surface.

Traz on the other hand was requested to be seen by someone, and had to be taken away. She said her proper farewells to the leader, as well as the others who brought her to this place, and went to meet with this person who called on her.

Tightening her grip on the strips of Ryes' now time-worn backpack, Traz waited at the spot the guards told her to. While idly standing by, she noticed a pair of wires etched into a wall start moving inwards, and saw a large metal box slowly descend from above. She watched in awe, amazed that the sciences of such a device almost seemed to match that of the ancients.

And before she knew it, the metal box reached the same ground she stood on, and out came a woman with an expression she never had ever seen before.

The first thing to grab her attention was the fiery red hair that she had, to which Traz grew wide eyed at how pretty it was.

But what surprised Traz the most was that the fire-haired woman wasn’t focused on her, but instead the backpack she wore.

“Excuse me, little lady,” She swallowed as she still had trouble making sense of it. “But where did you get that pack from?”

Traz glanced to her sides, eyeing one of the few memories she had of Rye, before giving a response to the woman.

“Why, the man I could call my father Mr. Rye gave it to me!”

The woman felt herself tremble for a moment, but she calmed herself as she began to understand what this actually would have meant to him.

“So Rye, I guess you finally did it?”

Traz watched as a tear glazed across the woman's cheek as she paused.

“You found what you’ve been diving for after all this time?”

Traz tilted her head in confusion, while tightening her grip to the backpack.