“Why were there so many children in that tribe?” was the first thing Yoko asked when she opened her eyes.

Sam had reunited her with the clone over ten minutes ago. Ten minutes in which he stood in silence and wonder as she summoned three other clones to perch in the trees, staring intently at something, while others continually ran about the forest and the ruins, gathering berries and fruits Sam hadn’t noticed the first time around.

A version of morning had dawned on the world above. The sky was still split by a nebula that was quite visible even in the daytime, but the sun’s light was bright enough to overshadow its beauty, though it enhanced it from certain angles.

“They survived the apocalypse or were born in it. Women and children first, remember?” Sam shrugged. He had his own questions for her. “You’ve been busy, find anything useful?”

Sitting cross-legged on a tree stump, Yoko looked up at him through her Regalia. “You mean besides actual edible fruits? Yes.”

“You ate them? I thought… never mind. What did you find?” He was concerned because of what Yakubu had said about the green berries growing near the ruins—ruins that sank into the earth the moment Sam and Yoko’s clone were released. Zacchaeus wasn’t kidding when he said we wouldn’t find them again.

“I trialed and tested the berries, but that’s not what you’ll want to hear about. Seems you and I came to an agreement down there.” She folded her arms and scratched her chin in thought. “Making a beeline for Domus does sound smart, especially if Domus throws Belua at us, but what if he doesn’t?”

Sam narrowed his eyes and groaned. “This is why I didn’t want to make plans with a clone.”

“Hey, hey! Everything she said was true. She is me, and I am her when I want to be. But forgetting that, if we’re going to hunt Belua before Regalia, then I found something you might like.” She smirked, and her Regalia vanished from her face. “Over here!” she called from a perch atop a tree.

“How did you even… What do you see?” Sam asked. His mind was muddled, and his body was tired. He couldn’t keep up with Yoko, who seemed to have an endless amount of energy no matter the circumstance.

She waved him over, and he strolled, her clones accompanying him. At least they had the courtesy to help haul their dwindling provisions: Yoko’s gathered fruits—mostly apples but also a spiky green one Sam couldn’t name—and her weapons.

Striking his lances into the tree, Sam made a ladder he could climb up to her branch. The trees around stood taller, and their branches were questioningly thick and broad. As he climbed, Sam noticed the bark leaking a shimmering pink sap. It looked a lot like the river of purple waters and the crystals that grew wherever they could.

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Sam was beginning to think those crystals played a major role in how the world had become so strange and largely desolate. At the top of the branch, Yoko pointed out toward something deeper in the forest. From their perch, they saw the forest floor slope into the side of a hill.

“There. If it were night, it would be blindingly obvious,” she said, squinting against the sun’s rays. Strangely, despite its intense light, the sun didn’t give off much heat. “See that? Right there!”

Sam squinted and stared as intently as he could, but all he saw where she pointed was wood, grass, and part of the purple river. He opened his mouth to tell her as much, but then— “Oh my god, is that… are those more Kobolds? Are they using that place as a hideout?”

He would never not recognize the ugly green fiend, even as it pushed apart a curtain of vines hanging over an entrance to a cave that led into the hill where the forest floor sloped. The most curious thing about the sight was that it carried a bucket. “What’s in the bucket?”

“Meat,” Yoko said, her smirk growing larger. “Give me that map Zacchaeus left you. These Kobolds—I sent a clone earlier to see what they were up to, and it’s a butchery of sorts. They’re the reason this forest, large as it is, has no prey animals running around.”

At that, Sam hummed. He had been so concerned about threats from Belua and other Invaders that the idea of natural-born creatures like rabbits, skunks, squirrels, or even a likely bear or wolf didn’t cross his mind, even when they were absent.

He looked back at the spot where Zacchaeus’s ruins once stood. “They didn’t look like they were getting the best kind of protein. Yakubu got someone killed just trying to get a facsimile of meat in his meals.”

Yoko traced her finger on the map and leaned in for Sam to look. “The better question might be why. Why are Kobolds hunting, skinning, and butchering animals?”

“For the Stewards or maybe Domus?” Sam answered, quickly catching onto what Yoko was saying. “That means they can lead us to them.”

“And we can get some meat too.” She flicked the map with a wide grin. “Zacchaeus isn’t the best mapmaker, but there are four towers leading up to and a few landmarks between each of them. Right here is where we are, and if you notice, the river flows north—the same direction those Kobolds are delivering the meat.”

Sam nodded. “And the only thing up north is that city, or what’s left of it. Let’s go.”

“Now?”

He nodded once more as he fell out of the tree and landed on a waiting platform of glass lances. “Zacchaeus won’t thank us, but he doesn’t need to. We’ll break up those Kobolds, steal the food, and release whatever animals are still alive. Are there any?”

“I think I saw a bear chained up. It was a small one, though.”

“Great. Now let’s hurry up and finish them. I want to get our Regalia as powerful as they can possibly be before we face another Invader,” Sam said, already walking away.

Landing roughly on her feet, Yoko caught up with him and her clones. “What if we end up meeting Ulx? We’re still within range of their tower, aren’t we?”

On the map Zacchaeus had given them, the four towers were labeled with names, and the closest to them was Domus—the very same one they had exited. Sam couldn’t be bothered, though. There was nothing he or anyone could do about that, so he said, “It doesn’t matter. One way or another, the Stewards of this world will be coming for us. Every inch of this world is within their range already. Zacchaeus is scared for a reason, but he has no world to return to, while we do. We fight, Yoko, and we save our world.”