Night falls in the forests of Euna. Shokei and her party are camping out together after a long day of events.

  "So," Shokei speaks out to her party and asked. "What really happened to you guys when I was stuck inside that book?"

  "This might be a lot to tell you Shokei, but I'll tell you exactly what you need to know." Marie said to her.

  "Sure. Go ahead."

  Marie tells Shokei just about everything that happened to them. The events of fighting a series of monsters made by the Necromutants all the way to finding the book that Shokei was trapped in. After listening to their side of the story, Shokei tells her party what it was like being trapped inside the book and how she had to go through the story's plot until she finally found her way to escape.

  "Wow.... You really have been through a lot in that story." Saeko said.

  "I mean, that is nothing compared to what we been through." Rei said.

  "Not only that, I forgot to mention that I was not alone inside that book." Shokei turns her attention on her new ally. "I met someone else who joined me through that story."

  The party looks at Mariko, who appeared to be quiet and had her head down. She looks up as she heard Shokei mentioning to her. Feeling shy, she averts her eyes away by looking at the campfire and did forget to introduce herself to the group.

  "...you seem awfully quiet, young one." Mizuki said to her with concern.

  "Hey! Newcomer! Who are you? And where you're from?" Rei called out to her.

  "Ummm...S-sorry about that..." Mariko said, trying to break the ice. "I'm...I'm not used to meeting new people...I tend to be nervous..."

  "Wait, what?" Rei said and blinked.

  "It's ok." Tamiko said. "Just introduce yourself."

  "I...ok." The witch looks up at the party and greeted herself. "The name's Mariko...and I'm from a small town of Indum."

  "Aha. That's who you are." Rei said, nodding.

  "But how did you wind up being trapped inside that book?" Marie asked her. "Do you remember?"

  "I...hmm, how should I say it." Mariko takes a breath and expins. "...I was on an adventure by myself on that day. I was heading to an abandoned town searching for a relic. Suddenly, I was under attacked by a strange woman that wore a strange red dress. Then all of a sudden, that woman used some children's book at me and then I was being pulled inside the pages of that book."

  "I see." Shokei said. "That expins how you got trapped inside that book."

  "Yeah." Mariko nodded.

  "When you said, 'that woman', I know what you mean. You encountered a Necromutant." Shokei tells her.

  "A Necro...mutant?" Mariko asked. She hears the word for the first time and felt slightly confused.

  "I know what you're thinking. A Necromancer." Shokei said to her. "That woman you met is referred as a Necromutant. She's far different from a regur Necromancer and there are others just like her."

  "Really?" Mariko asked. "I did say that the strange being wore a strange dress. I didn't think she looked like a Necromancer, but I assume a sorceress."

  "I think you need to understand the whole story." Rei said to her.

  "I'll expin what you need to know." Shokei tells her.

  Lei listens to the conversation as Shokei gave out detail regarding on the Necromutants of Chaos and what their objective is. Mariko was trying to absorb much information on Shokei's situation, but she felt lost in her head.

  "...and now you see why we cannot let these forces prevent us from retrieving the gems." Shokei said, finishing off her expnation.

  Mariko stares at her with a bnk expression.

  "What's wrong?" Rei asked. "You seemed lost in the conversation."

  "Did you fully understand our situation?" Shokei asked her. "These are no ordinary Necromancers if that's what you're thinking."

  "Ummm...I don't get it." Mariko said with a shrug.

  Almost everyone sweat dropped. Shokei pces her hand on her forehead and sighed. She did her best to expin everything to the young witch.

  "Sorry, but I am new to all this." Mariko said, feeling embarrassed. "I really have no idea what is going on."

  "It's ok." Shokei said to her. "If you were to encounter the Necromutants, you'll understand what I mean."

  "I...guess." Mariko simply said. Then, she recalls something in her mind and said to Shokei. "Say, I have a favor to ask you."

  "What's that?" Shokei asked.

  "I don't know if you and your party could help me out for a moment, but I need some assistance." Mariko said to her. "I need to find an important relic that is located in an abandoned town. I don't want to go over there all alone."

  "Why do we want to go there?" Saeko asked. "Is this something important?"

  "Actually yes." Mariko replied to her. "I am looking for a particur item that is found hidden in that ghostly town."

  "What kind of item is it?" Shokei asked.

  "Ok. This relic, from what I recall, is ancient." Mariko said with detail. "A friend of mine from Indum needs to find that relic. If I recall, it's a book, but I am trying to remember what she told me."

  "Do you have any idea what kind of book you are looking for?" Rei asked.

  "I...I know she told me that this book is rare that nobody knows about." Mariko said. "The particur book was owned by a sorceress several years ago. Whatever that book is, I don't think I can do it on my own..."

  "Then we'll be gd to help." Shokei tells her.

  "Y-you will?!" Mariko asked, looking up to her.

  "Of course!" Shokei said with a slight smile. "My allies and myself will aid you to what you are finding."

  "Ahhhh! That's great!" Mariko said. Her face smiled brightly. "I knew that I wouldn't be able to do the task alone. I'm grateful to meet you Shokei...and your allies."

  "Hey. That's what friends are for." Shokei said.

  "T-thank you very much for accepting my request." Mariko said.

  "No problem." Shokei said. "But it's been a long day for all of us...we should get some sleep..."

  "Me too..." Marie yawned. "My body feels tired from the experience we went through."

  "I'll put the fire out if that is the case." Kichiro said.d

  Kichiro went ahead to put the fire out. The party finds their spot on the ground to take a night's rest from the brutal day that they all went through. Soon, the party went to sleep as they rest for tomorrow's task.

  Morning came in the forests of Euna. Shokei and her party are continuing ahead in their journey in doing Mariko's task. The forest appears quiet as nothing unusual came to the party.

  It seems that our enemies are getting stronger. Shokei thought to herself, reflecting back on the past events that happened. The quest in finding those gems is proven to be dangerous as I search out for them. We seriously need to be cautious from now on in case of anything to what the Necromutants throw at us.

  The party continues through the forest. Suddenly, the party eyes their attention ahead to see an area of small buildings. There is a town just ahead. Shokei looks to see that the town appears to be deserted and does not look like a lively pce. The party walks up ahead to arrive in an abandoned town.

  A...Amia... Rei read the town's sign as it looks worn out, but the letters are still visible.

  Amia is a moderate-sized town that appeared to be in ruins, and it looks haunted. The town itself was known for advanced history and a pce for foreigners. The town's common feature is the factory that's located further ahead.

  "What is this town?" Saeko asked, looking around.

  "This is Amia." Mariko said to the party.

  ...Amia...it, it's been so long... Shokei thought to herself.

  "This pce looks very rundown." Tamiko said, viewing the pce. "It looks like this is a town that no longer existed."

  "True..." Mariko said. "But from the looks of it, this is what remains of this used to be town."

  "I wonder what happened here..." Marie asked.

  "My thoughts exactly..." Sadako said to her.

  "Are you sure this is the pce where you need to find this book Mariko?" Mizuki asked.

  "Yes." Mariko replied. "My friend did say that this particur book is found somewhere in this town."

  "A book, right?" Mizuki asked. "There must be a certain pce to where this book is found in the area."

  "That...is quite true...but there is a real reason for the book that I'm finding." Mariko said.

  "What does it do?" Mizuki asked.

  "I learned that this book contains mysterious powers that can help free someone from a terrible curse." Mariko said. "What I really want to do is to help another friend that is suffering from a curse in Indum."

  "Interesting..." Mizuki said.

  "You sure you're not making this up?" Marie asked with concern. "I doubt that we find anything here."

  "Marie!!" Saeko called out to her with an attitude.

  "I mean, I'm not making things up here." Mariko said. "I am serious."

  "Then what makes this town look ancient?" Marie asked. "I bet that there is some treasure that we can find."

  "If I remember, Amia has a factory that's no longer operational." Mariko said. "I got the information back in Indum about this. Legends said that there used to be a powerful sorceress that ran the factory and ensved young adolescents to do their bidding in making clothes. And I learned that those stories about the factory were not very pretty."

  Shokei became alert when she heard this from Mariko. Rei heard it too. Both remained silent as the pair listens to the group's conversation.

  "So, the question is, where do we start?" Mariko asked. "We should probably split up in groups if we are to look all over the pce."

  "That sounds like a pn..." Sadako said, and she turns her attention to Rei.

  "Hmm?" Rei blinks as she sees Sadako looking at her.

  "Is there something bothering you Rei?" Sadako asked her.

  "Oh! Ummm, no, not really!" Rei replied as she quickly gets herself in senses.

  "Ohhh...we were hoping that you were listening to us." Sadako said.

  "Yeah, it seems that you and Shokei were lost for a moment." Naoko said. "Are you two, ok?"

  "Sure, we are." Shokei nodded.

  "I was saying that I have no idea where to start finding that book." Mariko said to them. "We want to split up in groups."

  "Before we do that, do you really know where the book can be found in Amia?" Saeko asked.

  "I'm not sure...but I do know one thing." Mariko replied. "The book is locked away in a special chest. My guess is that the book must be found somewhere secretive. I bet that sorceress have anything to do with it."

  "Or maybe the sorceress has the book sealed away, never to be seen the light of day." Marie predicted.

  "Maybe...but I still think that it's here in this ruined town." Mariko said. Then, she turned to Shokei. "We should split up in groups to find this book. What do you say, friend?"

  "Sure." Shokei said, approving the decision. "Let's determine who is paired up before we split."

  Soon, the party is split up in four different groups...

  Shokei is lead in her group with Rei, Mariko, and Lei.

  Beatrice is lead in her group with Marie and Tamiko.

  Obsidian is the lead in his group for Ferron, Saeko, and Kichiro.

  Mizuki, Sadako, and Naoko make up the st three in a group.

  The party splits apart as they went their separate ways in exploring Amia.