Rishia looked at Darcy and Benni as he began his tale. "First of all, you must know that it is rather obvious that the two of you are strangers to Akiyama, just like Irene. That puts a target on you by those who would wish to obtain secrets about your land through any means possible. After all, until Irene arrived, it was thought impossible for anyone from the forbidden lands to move through a portal in the veil."

"Oh..." Darcy said, realizing that it had been a mistake to not change clothes.

"I will get you both something to wear." Rishia reassured her.

"Thank you." Darcy quietly replied.

"Continuing on, Irene's appearance from the forbidden lands was startling to many. Especially since she somehow learned how to keep finding and using the wild portals." Rishia explained. "My younger sister Selina met Irene and wanted to learn from her. she became her apprentice. They braved the often dangerous road together."

"Did Irene ever get attacked or something here?" Benni interrupted.

"Nothing serious, she managed to gain the friendship of Queen Lilith. Queen Lilith supported her and was very interested in your world. She protected her. In fact, we should head for Kyon, our capital, and request the aid of Queen Lilith Stryfe."

"We?" Benni asked.

"Yes. I'm going with you. I want to find my sister." Rishia said. "Besides, you're going to need a guide."

"Fine, you can come." Benni said. "But we can probably figure out our way to the capital just fine with Irene's journal."

"Journal?" Rishia asked.

"Here," Darcy pulled the book out of her bag.

Rishia gasped as he looked at the journal. "H-how? How is it here?! The last I had heard, Irene left the journal with Lilith's son. Prince Damian wanted to study the forbidden lands."

"It was in a library near the portal we used." Darcy explained.

"That can only mean one thing. Prince Damian must have gone to your world!" Rishia exclaimed.

"How?" Benni asked in confusion. "If our world's so forbidden?"

"Perhaps Queen Lilith is looking to change this." Rishia said. "But we wont be able to figure that out unless we talk to Irene. Finding her and Selina is our priority."

"So, where too next?" Darcy asked.

"The LunaDusk Ruins are the quickest route to take. From there, it's through the Everstar Forest, and around Loria Lake. After that, we'll be in Kyon." Rishia said. "We'll leave in the morning after breakfast."

"Good." Benni said. "The sooner we find them, the sooner we can go home."

"Why don't you tell me about your world?" Rishia asked. "It's your turn to tell me about yourselves."

"There's not much to tell, not really." Darcy admitted. "We were at summer camp when we found Irene's journal. It seemed like a fun adventure to come here and find her. But we didn't tell anyone where we were going and people are probably getting very worried about us by now."

"In hindsight, taking off like we did wasn't the best idea." Benni agreed.

"All we can do now is find the professor, so we can get home. We'll figure out how to explain things later." Darcy said.

The trio got ready for bed, and as they settled in for the night, Darcy flipped through the journal to the final page.

I have enjoyed my time in Akiyama and the rest of the countries of the continent Haruhi. I have met people both wonderful and terrible. I have witnessed magic. I have worked with fantastical creatures. I have learned more than many every will. I have also learned something truly surprising. There are more people than I thought possible who travel between worlds. From thieves to heroes, they live in many dimensions.

But the wild portals are not the only method to cross. Another way exists. Objects of immense power. And she is after them. I thought she was my ally, but she hunts what could give her for power over all. She must never get ahold of them. No matter what, I must find them first and protect them. She does not know that I know her plans. I must find the dimension se-