Iota had gathered his supplies and was at the end of the cave. Chief Honaly was there.

“Normally we would aid you on your journey but we are currently underhanded.”

“Whatever.” Said Iota. He turned around and walked out. “He doubted they would have helped him even if they could have.”

As much as he didn’t want to, he had to leave Zeno there. He would be much safer in the village than in the forest.

He walked down an underground passage equipped with a bug lantern to guide him in the darkness. Thankfully he didn’t have to go above ground at least for most of the time. The village was only one of larger caverns in a massive cave system that even the villagers hadn’t fully mapped. The cave system had apparently been formed due to several massive earthquakes that thad ripped and split the internals of the earth apart. Iota shone the lantern’s green glow towards the walls. Some sections of the tunnels were rough while for some sections the walls seemed to when compared to the rough walls of the village tunnels, they seemed almost man-made.

At the end of the tunnel there was a small opening. Light cracked through from the other side. He was able to squeeze his body through and out into the open air.

It wasn’t long before he saw it.

He could see the green forest. The ground turned from dry coarse sand to rich dark brown earth. Scattered ruins turning to vibrant tree roots. The forest was foreign but from what he could tell it didn’t seem especially dangerous.

Rain pitter-pattered against the leaves, plants greener than anything he had seen before enveloped him. A cacophony of whistles, birdsong and animal calls decimated his ears, It was as if the world outside had been nothing but a dream. Leaves spanning his entire wingspan grew from branches above and around him. He spotted glimpses of animals he had never seen before. A glimpse of brown feathers, a scampering white figure, a flash of teeth.

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Iota drew up his hood yet again and went further in. Despite fending for himself for years he still felt out of place. The outlands were harsh, harsh beyond imagine but this place was different, no not just different he thought. He heard a small shriek from a creature. He turned his head towards the sound. A small dark blue and black feathered bird was crying out while a vine was constricting itself around the bird. As the vines tightened the bird’s shrieks died down before becoming silent. This place wasn’t just different, it was dangerous, more dangerous than even the Outlands. A shiver went down his back. He had had this feeling before. He first felt it the first day he was alone in the Outlands, when it had dawned on him that he was alone in a world where one misstep could kill him.

He took a break after a while taking refuge under a tree. He ate some dried meat he had smoked from a lizard he found in the cave.

He was finishing it off when suddenly a hape appeared. Or at least that’s what he thought it was. It seemed to match the description Noire had given him. It was a waist-high humanoid, but one is not to be fooled by its stature. Its build was immensely bulky, thick bulging mechanical muscle coated its body, the muscle on the forearms of its oversized arms were the size of his head. Thin wavy metal pieces that coated its body seemed to mimic hair. It grunted once, It’s lips forming an oval shape which revealed sharp metallic canines the length of his fingers tucked away in its mouth. Iota’s mouth was agape. He couldn’t believe it. If he wasn’t in danger he might have actually laughed at the idea that hape’s actually existed since if the anima before him existed then maybe a real living hape did as well.

They stared at each other. It had no doubt not seen anything like Iota before either. It locked eyes and darted forward. Iota braced himself. Lightning fast it reached forward a spade like hand towards him snatching his food and disappearing into the greenery. Iota didn’t even have time to react.

“Hey!” He shouted into the undergrowth but it was long gone. Although a part of him was glad at that fact. He wasn’t in any hurry to be in a confrontation with a creature like that. The speed at which it had moved, especially for its size, was terrifying, not to mention its menacing fangs.

He felt around in his pockets. Luckily he had some more food but he would have to ration it out.

If he was lucky he would have been able to ration out the food he brought with him until he found the flower as well as his return trip but luck had never been on his side and even then he probably would have had to hunt or collect food in the forest. He went further into the forest avoiding large tree roots that snaked the jungle floor as well as vines, insects, spikes and anything else that wanted him dead.

He wandered around for a while without prevail, it became dark before long. There wasn’t any good place to settle down for the night but he was able to find some refuge under a tree with no visible danger and that had large leaves that would protect him from any rain. He soon fell asleep against the tree.