Kita and Ari step out of the bookstore once the old bookkeeper turned his attention to his customers. She glares at the book in her hand as she scans a few of the pages trying to get an idea of the point of the book.

"I enjoyed that book," Ari chimes in.

"You've read it?" Kita asks as they both start walking to the stairway that leads back down to the city.

"Mhmm," The fox nods, "I really hope she gets her soul back,"

"What?" Kita stops in place, glaring at the book in her hand. "What do you mean?"

"Well, the bookkeeper only wrote the book because he met one of the old humans," The Fox says as it prances around Kita. "Apparently, she's doomed to spend eternity wandering aimlessly in hopes that she reunites with her soul,"

"Aimlessly," Kita murmurs under her breath, "Did she ever find it?"

"The book doesn't say," Ari responds. "I hope she does, though. They say she's saved more lives than any soldier or warrior in history!"

"Hmm," Kita grunts, "Is that so?"

"That's what the book says," Ari wags her tail. "But it reads like a myth,"

"The old humans are just a myth,"

"I don't think so," Ari disagrees. "I think there were great cities all around the world. With giant towers reaching to the skies,"

"Giant towers?" Kita chuckles, "Myth,"

"I saw it in a dream. It's possible! We know so little about them,"

"The land was once covered in vast shades of green," Kita adds, "Life was so abundant, it carpeted the floors of this world,"

"Ooh," Ari grunts, titling her snout and raising her tail. "How do you know?"

"I guess I saw it in a dream too," Kita sighs, clutching onto the faint images of her alternate memories.

At the bottom of the staircase, the pathway splits into two. A path to their left leads to the West of the city, and another to their right leads to the East. The bookkeeper suggested they try the Southeast district, which would be located on the other end of the city- Since she's committed to helping this fox find its home, she might as well see what it knows. What kind of creature knows how to read? Many people can't even do that.

This fox is very different from Rayn. She seems to be knowledgeable and quite the avid reader considering she befriended a bookkeeper. But Ari's range is astounding considering she also has the sociability and intelligence of a smart child- Who, at the same time, has no clue where she lives.

"This town has more knowledge about the old humans than any other,"

"You've been to all the others, then?" Kita jests.

"Almost," Ari levels, prompting a wide-eyed response from Kita.

"Seriously?"

"Starlet isn't my first owner," Ari responds, "I have been alive for thousands of rotations… Some days, I dream about the first one,"

"The first rotation?!" Kita uncontrollably blurts aloud. "So you're old-old,"

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"Rude! I am a young, cute fox and that's all I will ever be," Ari scoffs adorably.

Kita chuckles as she places the book she'd acquired into her backpack. "So, You don't remember the old world? When you were a real fox,"

"I am a real fox,"

"I mean… A flesh one,"

Ari rolls her eyes, rotating her head more than her eyeballs, but still getting her frustration across. "Memories, no. Most of them occur to me in dreams,"

"How come?"

"I don't know. It's been so long since I was a flesh fox, the memories are likely to be fading,"

"You don't miss other foxes? Or that old world?"

"The last dream I had was of myself as a pup, running through the dirt and wrestling with my siblings… It was nice, not being the only one,"

"I uhh-" Kita bites her lip, tempted to share her dream with Ari but worried that she might find it stupid, or think it's a joke.

Screw it, she thinks to herself.

"I don't have any memories of my family," Kita releases with a heavy exhale. "I thought I saw my Mother before you showed up… But it was just a daydream or something,"

"Did it feel like you were there?"

"Yes. It was as if I was living in a different world and completely forgot I was ever here… but I got dragged back to this one somehow,"

"Those aren't 'dreams',"

"What?" Kita asks, reacting to a chill that passes through her body in response to Ari's blunt response.

"You know that book in your bag is about you, right?"

"Well, your description of it made me think so, but-"

"It is. In addition to saving more people than anyone else, you've also killed more than anyone else,"

"...Yeah,"

"I came to you because I recognized your scent,"

"So we've met before. Is this for revenge or something?"

"No, not exactly. I used to have owners in the cities you've plundered,"

Kita directs her head to the ground as she feels shame arise in her heart. An unfamiliar response to the collateral damage she's caused is the last thing she considers when she does anything.

"Oh…"

"The dreams you have are realities that your soul is trying to create. I've read everything there is about you, Kita. Many cities have records of your… antics." Ari's tail is stiff, and dragging along the floor as neither of them dares to look into one another's eyes. "You've killed two of my owners. So, I had to learn why someone would do such a thing,"

"Find what you were looking for?"

Ari shakes her head. "My first owner bought me at an auction. He had three other creatures cast to steel, just like me. He put each of us in a glass cabinet for permanent display on the outside of his home. We were simply collectables that he had acquired with his wealth. Remnants of the past that none of his rich comrades had. Bragging rights. I was trapped in that box for three hundred rotations. Every day was a claustrophobic suffering, and my dreams would taunt me with memories of running freely across the lands. I can remember how badly I wanted to die… to end the pain rather than stay trapped in a body that may never die, despite being caged for an eternity... Until, you came along and raided my owner's home. I never considered being inadvertently freed until you destroyed the glass of my cage to slice his throat and consume his soul before it escaped to death. You killed all of his colleagues too, and I thought a monster such as yourself was a necessary evil," Ari sighs, exhaling a deep breath of discomfort. "Then, there was my second owner. A man who treated me with love every day of my life. He was such a kind man, that he would place treats around the city, and let me search for them so that I could feel as though I was hunting again… And it worked. All he wanted was for me to feel happy, and as long as I would smile, he would smile. He taught me how to read, and how to speak just so that he could ask me how I am. The only reason I'm here today, and not with him is because of you, Kita. You killed him too,"

Kita feels the swelling of tears in her cheeks but manages to hold them at bay relatively easily. She knows she's a monster, she doesn't need to hear it from anyone else. She's not sad for the little runt… right? She is doing what she has to. That's all she's ever done, and she doesn't expect anyone to understand. That's her burden to bear.

And she will bear it.

"I was so mad at you. Not simply because you killed my owner. But because you had delivered me freedom, and then trapped me in a new suffering,"

"And you're still mad," Kita stammers.

"Yes," Ari stops and looks back up at Kita. "But now, I understand,"

Lies! Kita's mind protests. How could she possibly-

"You are still trapped,"