"Huh," Jyuzou said, as Morio glanced out, looking at the distant darkened clouds which covered the orange sky. "It doesn't look that bad."

"I'm not sure," Morio replied. "It must've been snowing beforehand, but we couldn't see it."

"Well, we won't be going back into that forest." Jyuzou continued, stuffing a Bullion seed into his pocket. "Nothing interesting there."

"If it starts hailing, we'll have to," Morio announced as the two continued their march. Jyuzou sighed loudly, at the thought. "Or, if we're quicker, the Whiterobe could be a good alternative!" he put his hands on his hips.

"I don't know." Jyuzou shook his head. "Whiterobe isn't any safe either."

"Like I said earlier, don't focus on the bad that could happen!" Morio raised a finger.

"Alright, I get it!" Jyuzou fixed his glasses. "You're still leading the way."

The trees led down a path into a different forest, that from above resembled just another patch of snow. The two stared at the extending horizon for a minute, and the sleet slowly fell onto their hair. They couldn't waste time, so they headed down the steep, rocky path, following into the Whiterobe Forest.

Such was known for trees which twisted and spun like the horns of certain Demons. Some grew out of the ground, some into it. It resembled a white maze, that could only be passed through by Morians, as they were the only ones who could navigate its crazy paths, and if for some reason, one would get stuck in between the branches on the ground, they'd have to patiently wait and hope that nothing dangerous approached. The trees would let go as if they were nothing but a warning to look out for the dangers of Shimori.

Its leaves were pure white, even in other seasons, they'd remain the same colour. They hung from the branches, obscuring one's vision, and if it was snowing that day... well, good luck trying to navigate through that windy fog.

There was once a group of five Paladians, presumably a family from Wendigo, trying to make their way through the mazes. Two of them were unfortunately found dead the next morning, and the others were shaken and frozen up somewhere at the edge. It could've been a demon's attack or something else that used the area's dangers to its advantage.

...and that was exactly what Morio and Jyuzou were afraid of. For long moments, they had to stop and look around, making sure they were not putting their foot into any unknown or unstable territory. With time passing, there was more and more sleet, flying all around the place, hitting their faces, jabbing their clothes, and creating a heavy wind, that was fortunately stopped by trees. Such also gave way to a certain feeling.

What if someone was following them through this downpour, and they didn't even know it? Both agreed through short conversations about such and focused on the task at hand. The night was now in its full swing as well. Much time was wasted, and Morio swore he could see the setting sun somewhere in the far distance.

At this point, there was no going back to the other forest, and they weren't sure if they'd be protected from the snow there either. They still had kilometres to pass through, but before that, stood a massive, open field, that quickly turned into these big walls of impenetrable snow. Each step they took slowed them down, and the hailing sleet wasn't of any help, as one could've guessed.

At first, they could barely take their hands out of the drifts, then, they couldn't even raise their heads to search for the road.

Jyuzou grabbed Morio's shoulder.

"We have to stop!" he shouted, amidst the howling winds. "This is pointless! We'll get buried in the snow!"

Morio put his cloak together, covering his entire body. "We can't go back!" he yelled, putting his foot on the snow and climbing to its top. He lay his torso on it, trying to make something out in the distance, squinting his eyes, as a silhouette made itself apparent.

Among the dark sky, something started taking shape in the distance. Each tiny snowflake coloured what resembled to be a very sharp and tilted, rocky hill. "Titled Hill!" Morio pointed. "We'll sleep there, for the night!"

"It's too far, Morio!"

"There's a path by the forest that's still clear! Quick!"

***

Jyuzou coughed, as he and Morio stepped inside what looked like a small dent in the stone.

Morio touched around the wall behind him, before finding an open hole. He ground his teeth, squeezing through. "Jyuzou! My backpack!"

Jyuzou threw the Morian's things inside, then his, and followed Morio. He breathed out, feeling shivers down his spine, followed by the sound of water dripping, opposing the muffled hails.

"It's dark."

"Matches!"

"Do you think this little fire will light up this entire area? It's a waste of resources!" Jyuzou asked, annoyed.

Suddenly, Morio banged Jyuzou's head with what resembled an unlit torch he found on the ground.

"Oh." Jyuzou fixed his glasses, before lighting it up, and Morio snatched it from his hand. "Someone's been here before us."

Morio nodded and the two started walking through the tight corridor in the front.

"What is this place?" Jyuzou asked.

"No clue."

"Well, you seemed to know its name."

"If I made a map, of course, I'd know its name." Morio shook his head. "Besides identifying it, no clue what else it's supposed to hide."

"Things are named for a reason. It's bound to have something inside." Jyuzou raised his finger, and Morio did the same, mocking him.

The two quickly exchanged small, non-brutal hits.

The corridor grew wider, changing into the empty inside of the hill, with a crack in the ceiling, revealing the falling snow. Some of it fell inside, almost illuminating the next room, which seemed different. Above its entrance, stood a shining, blue sign etched into the rock.

"I can't read old Manjuno," Jyuzou muttered. "Morio, take a look at this." he turned around. "Morio?"

"WOOO!" Morio yelled out, in excitement, and his voice echoed from the next chamber.

Jyuzou hurriedly walked in, as his eyes shrunk.

Before them, stood a flight of stairs, some broken, some in perfect condition, and upon walking up, they'd spot a long, overgrown, square-like flooring, which led to a path carved into the rocks. Above that, stood a massive arch, cut off, with more pillars standing on the sides, and an inside, full of spiky columns that had small stairs leading down, and a sealed-off, door-like entrance in the back. Overhead grew a natural rock formation, coated with stairs that led to the top and an exit to the outside.

"It's a temple!" Morio exclaimed. "Oh, how cool, how cool!"

"A temple?" Jyuzou was confused.

"Haven't you heard about them?! Mr Bancho told us at least three stories about strong demons sacrificing something to create an obelisk. Half of their power went into a shining orb in the middle, but in turn, they couldn't be killed if it still gleamed!"

"W-Wow. Is this really a safe place to sleep in for the night?" Jyuzou asked, coughing again.

"Sure it is! Look at its state, absolutely wrecked!" Morio walked around. "No demon would be interested in ever reminding themselves of what strength they once had! Haha! Morian power!"

Jyuzou sighed. "I trust your judgment." he pointed. "But if something happens and we end up dead, I'm killing you!"

"Even after we're dead?" Morio asked.

"EXACTLY!"

"Pff." Morio waved with his hand. "We can always go back out into that snow..."

Jyuzou's eyebrow twitched. "We'll sleep here, actually."

***

The two climbed up the rock formation and rested on one of its highest levels. In general, Morians prefer to sleep on higher steps, since the ground tends to get cold. In almost all the houses in Shimori, the beds are placed on some sort of extension, almost hanging from the ceiling. Of course, there are a few exceptions. Bancho prefers to stay near the ground, for whatever reason, and a few of the Morians in Wendigo follow the more normal approach of the present Paladians.

In this case, it wouldn't matter where the two would sleep. The entire rock was cold, but one could think it was a force of habit.

After an hour, Morio started twitching lightly. His body trembled, and he opened his eyes, feeling a numb pain in his head. He turned to Jyuzou, fast asleep, still wearing his glasses. He snored loudly, as Morio covered his ears.

He crawled towards the edge of the formation, looking down at the temple. His eyes shone, and he gulped.

All of a sudden, a loud growl could be heard, coming from below.

Morio froze, as Jyuzou scaredly woke up, sneaking scared glances at the other Morian.

Morio shook his head, almost shushing him, and another growl echoed, followed by heavy footsteps, which slowly reached the temple's chamber.

The demon's horn could be seen from above. Twisting inside, followed by its sharp nails landing on the outer edge of the entryway.

It groaned as if in pain, and then its entire body found itself just a few metres away from the Morians.

"Shin. Shin!" Morio stood up, immediately grabbing Jyuzou by his sleeve, sprinting towards the stairs leading to the cold, snowy outside.

Before them, stood an altar, completely covered in the white puff. Morio looked around, panicking.

"What do we do?!" Jyuzou yelled out. "There's no way out of here!"

The demon started climbing the formation, grabbing onto its sides, instead of taking the stairs. It edged closer, sniffing the backpacks left by Morio and Jyuzou. It looked up, before leaping and making the entirety of the Tilted Hill tremble.

Morio and Jyuzou hid behind one of the broken pillars and in the middle of two big stones.

The demon trod, taking one big step after another, growling, searching.

Morio breathed heavily, while Jyuzou kept shaking and closed his eyes, covering his face.

The demon suddenly stopped in front of the pillar.

Morio could feel its fiery warmth nearby, as it inched closer with every moment. A cold sweat rolled down his face.

A sharp claw sought blindly, reaching out towards Morio, almost touching his face.

The snow hailed on their cheeks, as Jyuzou's eyes widened before he glanced at the other Morian.

Morio put his hand on the sheath, ready to take his sword out, despite knowing it wouldn't help.

Jyuzou closed his eyes, gulping, before putting his shaky fist into the pouch, and grabbing all the Metho, Shato and Bullion seeds he had. He ground his teeth, raising his hand, and then threw the seeds in the front, as they disappeared into the fog, thrown out of the spiky, open ceiling.

The demon immediately turned, with its elongated jaw searching for the moment. Its blind eyes sought, and eventually, it flailed forward, jumping out of the altar, and leaving a dent in the rocks.

Morio slowly stood up, breathing in and out. He put his hands on the pillar and closed his eyes. "Damn it..." he huffed. "It was just hungry?" he asked, with a weak voice.

Jyuzou followed after, slowly moving. "Shin..." he said, putting his hand on his forehead.

Morio stepped around the altar, looking up at the sharp rocks above, then at the surrounding formations: a big stone circle, with some form of a pedestal in the middle, comprised of two smaller pillars and some open space in the middle, now wrecked by its footsteps.

"We need to be more careful next time," Jyuzou added, gulping. "We almost got ourselves killed just now." he turned, grinding his teeth and looking into Morio's shaky eyes. "This isn't Mistwick, Morio." he continued.

"I k-know, Jyuzou!" Morio added, raising his eyebrows.

The other Morian put his hand on his forehead, breathing out, stepping around nervously.

Morio glanced to the side, gulping. "I'm sorry." he looked down. "I don't know if it was the dangers of the Tilted Hill or whatever. Maybe I should've listened to you back then and waited out in the other forest." he shook his head. "I won't make that mistake again, p-promise!"

He looked up, and all of a sudden, Jyuzou almost ran in for a tight hug. The other Morian clearly trembled, clenching his jaw, but in the end, both could agree.

They were glad to have made it.

Morio glimpsed at the Victis sword, resting in its sheath and then took a deep breath, putting his other hand over Jyuzou's.

"Both of us ought to be more c-careful." Jyuzou beamed, fixing his glasses.

The two went down into the small cave again, cleared some of the snow off their faces and decided to wait for a while, eating some of the leftover food. One would look down at the temple and listen, making sure nothing came. The other, up towards the altar. The wind picked up again, making loud, whistling noises. After the sun started rising in the distance, the two glanced at each other and firmly agreed to call it a day. Or a night.

This time, they were safe.

Perhaps, the demon sought refuge, finding itself out in the snow. That's what Jyuzou thought, for a moment, but at the same time, it seemed to have been chased off by the seeds he threw. Morio continuously tried convincing himself that it was just hunger, but Jyuzou added that he heard here and there that demons rarely ever eat anything.

They didn't seem to know much about the world, as of now.