As Niko entered a clearing in the forest, he heard the familiar voice of his feathered friend.
"Niko, over here!"
Leta flew up to him, before gently landing down on his head.
And then, someone else came up to them as well.
A young girl, with pale blue hair and golden eyes, who wore a layered skirt.
Even under the darkness of the night, her presence spread a faint glow through her surroundings.
It was the ghostly girl who had been following them around.
She smiled and greeted him with a bow.
"Oh, right", Leta spoke, "and this is...sorry, what was your name again?"
The girl thought for a moment, and then raised her hand, causing vines to sprout from the ground.
The vines grew and bent, spelling out a name on the ground.
Hana.
"Right", Leta nodded, "Hana and I had a talk while you were away."
Then, she rubbed her head with her wings.
"Well, maybe 'talk' isn't the right word for it."
The girl couldn't speak, just like Niko. So Leta had to spend hours trying to understand what she was trying to tell her.
Just thinking about it was giving her a headache.
"Anyway", she shook her head, "The village where she lived was struck by some magical calamity, and she needs your help in freeing the village from its effects. That was why she was following you."
Niko thought for a moment, and then nodded.
He offered Hana his hand, promising to help, and she shook it happily.
"Alright, then", Leta flew down to the ground.
She tapped the ground with her foot and spoke arcane words.
A brilliant glow spread through the ground in front of her, and it started to morph, forming a map of the five continents.
Leta turned her attention to the part showing the continent where they were, Ashwing.
It showed the small patches of land where people had settled, forming a handful of kingdoms and a few dozen settlements, surrounded by vast stretches of No-Man's Lands, perilous regions that were teeming with Abyss Spawns.
Hopping over to a particular spot, she pointed with her wing.
"This is where we are right now. Now, can you show us where your village is?"
Hana traced her finger across the map, moving it away from the Erethean Kingdom. Niko was a bit concerned about the distance, but it was alright.
But then, her finger continued to move, going across several settlements, through the No-Man's Lands, over the distant coasts, until it finally stopped a moment later...once it reached the plains lying at the heart of the neighbouring continent of Aresia.
Hana smiled as she pointed at the spot on the map, but her smile wavered when she saw Niko, who was staring at her with wide eyes.
This girl wanted him to accompany her...to another continent?!
Not only was it far away, it was seperated from them by countless dangerous places, as well as a vast ocean!
Wait, but then how in the world did she even end up all the way here?!
Niko looked at her with eyes full of disbelief.
Hana shrugged with a sheepish smile.
She honestly didn't know either. She had overused her powers while helping people escape and had fallen unconscious.
When she woke up, she found herself near a river in this forest.
Niko's face paled.
He only now realized the mess he had gotten himself into.
But it was too late now.
It was his duty to help souls and spirits, and he had already made a promise.
Niko raised his hand and stared at it, his eye twitching slightly.
He suddenly found himself regretting many of his life decisions.
***
The next morning, Niko, Hana and Leta stood near the edge of the forest, preparing to depart on their journey.
Niko snapped his fingers, sending green sparks flying through the air. Heeding his command, a large, reptilian creature came running towards them. It stood on a pair of powerful hind legs, with its forelegs ending in sharp claws.
Its body was missing most of its flesh, yet it still seemed to be brimming with life, kicking up clouds of dust as it dashed towards them.
It stopped in front of them and let out a loud shriek, before gesturing towards its back. Niko got on while Hana was picked up by the lizard's long tail, before being placed down on its back as well. Leta flew onto the lizard's head.
"Right then, onwards!", Leta pointed ahead with her wing.
The lizard ran with great speed, leaping over obstacles as it dashed forward.
And with that, their journey began.
***
The group spent the rest of the day travelling on the lizard's back.
The massive reptile moved with great agility, cutting through the wind as it dashed ahead.
The path was uneven and full of obstacles, but their nimble mount gracefully carried them across it.
It leapt, dodged, ducked, effortlessly avoiding whatever stood in their way.
After some time, they arrived near a group of mountains, with one particular peak towering high above the others.
The land near the mountains was covered with what seemed like tall, metal pillars.
Each pillar was several meters tall, and was supported by four skeletal legs. Its lower part tapered into a spike covered in spiral grooves.
They appeared to be ancient, covered in rust and full of dents. Even the symbol etched onto them was hardly visible, with the only discernible part of it vaguely resembling a cage of some sort.
Niko was feeling a little overwhelmed.
Not because of the long journey, and not even because of their strange surroundings.
No, rather, it was because of Hana.
The young girl was full of childish curiosity, and had the energetic personality to go along with it.
She had been jerking left and right throughout the ride, twisting to see every curious thing that caught her eye.
He had lost count of how often their mount nearly fell off balance due to her constant movement.
Feeling dizzy after an entire day of that, he decided to stop for a minute or two.
So now, he was sitting on the ground next to one of the ancient pillars as he struggled to keep himself from throwing up.
Leta looked at Niko with concern, rubbing his back with her wings as she tried to help him feel better.
While sitting, Niko glanced at Hana who sat not too far away, and tilted his head.
She was happily playing with several small animals. They had all started gathering around her, as if attracted by her soothing presence.
Niko could feel that the girl was quite special.
After all, he could tell a lot by looking at a person's soul, and Hana's was perhaps the purest soul he had ever seen.
It was almost blinding to look at, considering how bright it shined.
Soon, even the undead lizard joined in to play with the girl. Hana started stroking the lizard's head and scratching its chin, causing it to purr like a cat.
It seemed to like it a lot.
So much so, that it soon fell into a deep sleep, refusing to wake up no matter how much they tried.
Leta even tried screaming into its ears, yet it just grumbled and shooed her away, before going back to sleeping peacefully.
Niko covered his face with a hand.
It seemed like they would just have to walk from here on.
He got up and started walking, beckoning the others to follow him.
But then, he felt a hand tapping his shoulder, and turned to see Hana holding a rabbit.
She gave him an apologetic smile and raised the rabbit towards him, as a peace offering.
Niko smiled a little, and raised his hand to pet the hare.
But the little bunny trembled in fear, leaping out of Hana's arms before running away.
Niko lowered his gaze and backed away. He should have known that would happen.
But Hana didn't understand and, confused by the rabbit's reaction, she ran after it.
Niko hesitated for a moment, before chasing after her.
He followed after her as she chased the rabbit, but then stopped when he noticed something odd.
He looked up at the sky and felt small, white flakes fall onto his face, spreading a subtle coolness through his skin.
Snow.
Niko tilted his head in confusion.
Summer had yet to end, but there was snow falling down from above.
He was curious about the strange weather, but before he could dwell more on it, he felt something else.
There was a slight disturbance in the world around them, one that only he could sense.
It was restless soul, and it was frantically trying to move, as if something horrible would happen if it didn't act quickly.
He closed his eyes, following his senses to the source of the disturbance.
He was led near the base of the tall mountain, where a pile of rocks and snow covered the ground.
Niko's expression tensed upon seeing it, and he quickly started digging through the rubble.
Hana stopped when she noticed his actions, and came up to help him dig.
Hana gasped when she saw a human's face emerge from under the rubble as they were digging, and soon, a whole body was uncovered from beneath the rocks.
She winced when she saw it.
The body was pale, and horribly mangled, all of its bones having shattered completely.
Niko wasted no time before touching the body, causing green wisps to emerge from it.
The wisps condensed into a glowing sphere which morphed and changed to form the body of a young boy with green hair and eyes.
While his physical body had become broken and mangled, his Spirit form appeared completely unscathed, aside from a burn mark on his palm.
The boy fell to the ground, still reeling from his recent death.
"Argh, what...what's going on?", he grimaced and scratched his head.
Looking up, he saw Niko, and gasped.
"The...the Child of Death! Wh— why are you here?"
But then he looked down at his transparent body, and realized the answer on his own.
"I'm...I'm dead?", his eyes widened in disbelief.
"What happened to you?", Leta flew in, asking in a concerned tone.
'What happened to me...?'
The boy wracked his brain, trying to remember what had happened, but his mind was still fuzzy and disoriented.
But then, he started to remember.
The cutting wind, the dire cold, the despair creeping into his heart.
He recalled him and his brother climbing up the mountain.
But then, an avalanche hit them.
He...he had pushed his brother out of its way to save his life, but he himself got hit instead, dying as he was crushed under the rocks and snow.
But what were they even doing up there? And his brother...his brother! His little brother was still stuck up there all by himself!
He grabbed Niko's shoulders, and pleaded.
"Please! My brother—my little brother is up there on the mountain! You have to help me save him!"
Niko glanced at Hana, who nodded firmly. Having her consent, Niko nodded as well.
With a snap of his finger, the boy's body turned tangible, and he was untethered from his lifeless corpse.
Finally able to move freely, the boy dashed towards the mountain.
"Follow me! I'll explain everything on the way!"
Niko and Hana glanced at each other, before rushing to follow after the boy.
The boy gritted his teeth.
'Don't die, don't die, please, don't die on me, little brother! I promise I'll come to save you.'
***
Somewhere up on the mountain, another young boy was treading through a narrow path with unsteady steps.
The pendant around his neck hummed as the chilling air bit into his skin.
It was a charm given by the village shaman that shielded against the cold.
But even that magical charm was struggling to fend off the freezing winds blowing through the strange mountain.
A powerful wind rammed into him, knocking him off the ledge, but he managed to grab hold of the ledge in time.
Groaning, he dragged his tired body back up, and sprawled on his belly.
Lying on the ground, he panted heavily.
His eyes welled up with tears, and he started sobbing.
"Brother...I...I'm sorry", he hiccuped, "I'm sorry I couldn't save you."
But then, his gaze turned sharp.
Wiping away his tears, he got back to his feet.
"But...I promise...I won't let your death be in vain. I'll find that flower and save dad, no matter what."
He was almost at the top, it wouldn't be long now.
He clutched the charm around his neck, and set off for the mountaintop once again.
He was completely oblivious to the massive shadows glaring at him from high above, waiting patiently for the chance to tear him apart.