“MOUNCHIOUN! OR WHATEVER THE HECK YOU ARE, WHERE IS THE REAL MOUNCHIOUN? WHO—WHAT ARE YOU?!”

Mounchioun stood facing the window in an ominous way, his hands brushing against the texture of the basket he held.

“ALRIGHT, SPEAK UP, BUDDY!” said Nimji, done with the shenanigans.

Kimji tried to hold Nimji back, but he kept pushing forward. Somji looked tense, wings flicking nervously.

Finally, Kimji let go of Nimji’s shoulder and hurried to Somji’s side, trying to calm her down as Nimji lashed out at “Mounchioun.”

“Alright, alright, here it goes…”

Mounchioun turned around slowly, an eerie smile curling across his face, his head tilted just so.

“Your sensei hid the powers of this world in plain sight; I just guided you to find them. It was me all along—the real Mounchioun is dead. Now the Hantens—only the Hantens—will harness the great power of unlocking Chikara and take over the world, wiping out mere mortals. Mortals like your sensei, who tried to lead but ended up desperate and dead.”

The pieces started to fit together in the trio’s heads. Nimji was bursting with anger, the opposite of his usually calm self. Kimji tried to hold the situation together, attempting to calm both Nimji and Somji down. She sat them both down, patting Somji’s back to help her snap out of it while holding Nimji’s arm firmly, preventing him from going on a rampage. Eventually, she had to let go, focusing on Somji’s fragile state.

“Mounchioun fled the house, likely heading to the Mountain with the potion.”

“NIMJII! HE TOOK OFF WITH THE POTION! WHO WAS THAT? WHAT WAS THAT? WHAT DO WE DO NOW? DO WE TRAIN? HOW MUCH TIME DO WE HAVE LEFT? I’M SCARED, NIMJII!!” Somji’s panic spiraled, her confidence completely shaken.

Nimji took a deep breath, slowly turning his head to face Kimji and Somji.

“I’m sorry, but the situation isn’t as bad as it seems. I had a feeling something was off, so I replaced the potion with a temporary poison. That should affect the Hantens, even with their power. We have to delay their ritual for Chikara and figure out a way to unlock ours—defeat the Hantens, and free this world.”

He sat beside Somji, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay. We’ll figure something out.” He forced a small smile at her.

“Wh-what does the poison do?”

“It temporarily disables some of the Hantens’ powers—makes them mortal again, for a short while.”

“So, ho-how do we do this?” Somji asked, her panic slowly subsiding.

“I’m not sure. We just have to figure it out.”

“But how? We don’t have much time to sit around and wait for disaster to strike.”

“You’re… right…”

“Hmmmmmm… Kimji, you’ve been awfully quiet. What do you think, hm?”

“I think we go back to the basics. We do a little rehabilitation training and rearrange these events. I have a feeling we are missing something—maybe we can figure out what that something is.”

“Still too vague, though. Where do you suggest we do this? We can’t stay here or go back to the hut,” said Nimji.

“Let’s see… we don’t have that many options. Maybe one of you knows where we can go.”

“I have a cousin in the Lotus Jungle. We can ask him for help, but it might take a little while. It’s west from here, I think. I could try to get him to help us somehow, but he isn’t the most inviting person ever.”