[O, our poor, poor, sacrificial godbuns in our burning season of stabbing agony,

We gave our people the power to grow as they see, the opportunity to do everything that they might need, take the time to think for themselves aplenty.

And, yet, they refuse to see, they close their ears, look away for all eternity!

They keep asking for the divine above without taking a moment to think

They don't need us for everything!

They plea, plea, plea, ask a million times for the same old thing!

It's never ending, never yielding, and the inquiries keep on coming!

Please, o, please divine above, we need you promptly!

We come to their aid, it's a little thing,

We tell them they could have taken care of it themselves,

Yet, they shut their ears! They pretend not to hear!

The pleas keep coming, rapidly

Space is non existent between the mortals and we,

The questions keep coming, coming, coming, why can't they see? The mortals have strengths, capabilities,

Yet they go unused for centuries!

Don't you see?

O, our poor, poor sacrificial godbuns

What's a deity to do

When our people have become so wrapped into their own self insufficiency?

We ask ourselves this question on the daily,

And, yet, the answer keeps on getting buried.

They have the power to change, 

They have the power to grow.

And, yet, they refuse to see that's how it always was supposed to go.

Every single moment of every single day, the reality eats us away!

They need us for every little thing,

Every little moment, every little accident,

How are we supposed to handle the load?

We ask ourselves this on the daily,

Yet there is no true answer to such inquiry.

Will there ever be? 

A resounding no seems likely.

O, our poor, poor sacrificial godbuns ready to claw out our throats in pain and agony,

What's a deity to do,

When our people have reduced themselves to into a puddle of greed?

We guide them towards their divine powers,

We gave them a tournament to assess their strengths,

And yet, it's never enough,

We give them solutions, yet they never give us a moment to breathe

Please, we implore thee, give us that moment of reprieve!

We come to their aid, no questions asked,

Solve the problem as they need,

And, yet the piles keep on coming

There is more needles than haystacks,

Don't you see?

The mortals of this era refuse to grow and change. The era of demands is never ending!

O, our poor, poor godbuns drowning with no rescue team,

What will it take for our people 

To stand on their own two feet?

They need to learn there's more to life

Than asking the divine for every little thing!

We implore you, please, be the guiding light for themselves

And leave us a moment to breathe!

Will that day ever come?

We suppose that it never will

Why would it after these countless centuries of repeats?

When will our people see

They are capable buns.

Why can't their eyes see?

Why, o why, is this so?

We are at a loss on where to go.

In this season of stabbing misery,

Change needs to happen, pretty please!]

Ring, ring, ring, ring.

Pesky noises chiming off in the distance once again, the bun buried himself underneath the covers. Can this accursed racket just end already? He swears that this noise is getting louder on purpose. Closing his eyes once more, the vampa let out a yawn. Can he have a million more years? Zzz, so long, world, goodnight. Wake him up when the sixth hour ends.

Ring, ring, ring, ring.

Racket continuing on for what felt like minutes on end, the vampa let out a scream. Can't a bun get some sleep around here? Forget this, he's rotting in this bed until further notice. Goodnight, world. If the godbuns thinks he'll be their plaything today, they've got another thing coming! Zzz, so long, world, goodnight. Do not wake him up until the twelfth hour strikes.

Slam, slam, slam, slam, slamaroo, sloopa sloo.

Accursed noises jolting him awake once more, the farmer flapped upward. Divine above, what is going on this time? Oh, no, don't tell him, there's vermin setting their sights on Frosaro?! No, no, happy thoughts, Siorc, happy thoughts. Surely, it's just a snowstorm ready for action. That's all this is, right? Of course, right, that's all this is! Not his problem, back to the land of dreams, goodnight, zzz.

But, as the bun attempted with all his might to drop down into the land of the subconscious, the memories from hours prior came flowing in. Competition playing on repeat, the young adult let out a groan. Why, why did the godbuns get Deigr involved in all this? Hopping onto the floor, the vampa walked around in a circle for a brief moment.

Memories continuing to crawl on through, tears streamed down the bun's face. Did the godbuns plan this from the very beginning? They did, didn't they? He should have known this outcome would have happened. Too late for that now, he supposed. Crawling back underneath the covers, the bun yawned. Forget this, no more thinking. Goodnight world.

Ring, ring, ring.

It's the eighth hour.

It's the eighth hour.

Work time! Work time! All early morning shift LopVampas, head to your stations immediately.

Knock, knock, knock.

Pounds on the door jolting him awake for what felt like the hundredth time, the vampa threw the covers back. Who could that possibly be now? Can't everyone see he's busy rotting here? Wake him up when the twelfth hour kicks in, thanks. Cacophony continuing, the young adult hopped off towards the door. If it's one of the godbuns, sorry, he's a broken toy today, begone! Reaching for the Talkmaster B, the vampa prepared himself for action.

"Good morning, Siorc, sorry for waking you up so early, but there's one last place you need to go before we can return to home," Zhulong said, yawning.

Zhulong and Niquel beside the door, the vampa blinked. Where could he possibly need to go now? Can't it wait forever? No, no, Siorc, don't be an argument magnet. Talkmaster B out in front of him, the bun turned the knobs rapid fire. Tilted head drawn, another sea of questions soon flowed through him. Hold on a second, someone is missing here. Shaking the device, he started again.

[Before we leave, where's mama and Deigr?] A crackling voice asked through the Talkmaster B's speakers.

"Pretty sure your mother went back to the capitol long before your final match," Zhulong said, shaking his head.

"As for Deigr, she had to go to the Sumazo Forest for a job," Niquel said. "She doesn't know when she'll be back. But, she left you a letter, I suggest you read it before we depart."

Envelope seated in Niquel's palms, the bun wondered. Was she not supposed to be caught up in all of this after all? He doesn't know, maybe there was some sort of miscommunication from her boss. As if he knew the answer to that. Peeling the envelope back for a moment, a brand new sea of words was ready to drop him towards the bottom of the ocean.

[Siorc,

By the time you read this, I've probably already left for Sumazo Forest, so I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I really am. When I had heard I had a job to take care of Frosaro, I didn't think it had anything to do with the Mystic Carrot Bowl. Had I known, I wouldn't have taken it, I promise you that.

I know that you want your Divine Naming Ceremony to be redone, and I'd like that for you, too, but I'm going to be honest with you. I think it is about time you rethink trying to get that redo. Now, I know that's not what you want to hear, but at this point, you see how things turned out for you in the Mystic Carrot Bowl.

I won't stop you or anything like that, you're an adultbun now, after all. But, if I were you, I would just accept this. I apologize, I know that's probably not what you wanted to read, but it might be time you just accept it. It might be for the best. But, like I said, I won't try to stop you. Whatever you decided to do from here on out is up to you.

I don't know when I'll return from Sumazo, so I'll give you one last word of advice. If you really can't accept this, there's maybe one last godbun you might be able to negotiate with. Seek out Emeralbu out in the deepest confines of Driasm. Perhaps, she might be willing to listen to you. It's north of Frosaro. If you're lucky, she might give you that redo. Though, you should expect to give her an entire basket of offerings.

I won't say that she will hear you out for certain, but I do still think it is worth a try. I've heard that she doesn't really communicate with the other godbuns that often, so this might be your last chance to do so. That's all for now. Please, try and take care of yourself.

Yours truly,

Deigr.]

Reading the letter over a second time, the vampa resisted the urge to sigh. Give up on this? No way, absolutely not! Why did Deigr have to go and write all that She should know this was a divine mistake that should have never come into being! Looking at the rest of the note for a moment longer, something soon stuck out to him almost immediately.

Driasm brought to him attention, the bun's head spun. Wait a second, isn't that a chasm with fire geysers? Why is Emeralbu there of all places? Should he really go there? Maybe this letter was secretly a trap left by the godbuns to lure him there! No, no, come on, Siorc, that's silly. Eyes wandering towards the name once again, a new sea of questions flowed inward.

Emeralbu glaring daggers at him, the vampa tried to remember. Which godbun was that again? Oh, right, the Divine Rabbit of Emeralds. Did she lead her people to the mines also? He swears, almost all of them had their hands in the gems of Lagozora! Staring off into space, he wondered. Should he head for the Driasm? Perhaps it would be in his best interest to do so.

"Since you're finished reading the letter, I guess you know where we're heading next now," Zhulong said arms crossed. "Are you ready?"

[Are you sure we should be heading to Driasm? Isn't it super dangerous there? What if a fire geysers eats us?!] A crackling voice asked through the Talkmaster B's speakers.

"You don't need to worry about that, the Driasm is currently uh," Niquel said, pausing for a moment. "Frozen in time. No one knows why."

Information coming his way, the bun blinked. Driasm is frozen in time, what does that even mean? How could something like that happen? Maybe there was some sort of misunderstanding? No, no, why would Niquel tell him something like this if it wasn't true? Maybe he should dig a little deeper into this.

[What do you mean it's frozen in time? Are you sure that's true?] A crackling voice said through the Talkmaster B's speakers.

"From what I've heard, at least, the Driasm has stood still for a long time now," Niquel responded. "Nothing moves there, not even the wind." There was a serious tone in her voice. "So, we think it might be a good idea to take you there before the godbuns ask you to go there themselves."

Godbuns thrown into the mix, the vampa grit his teeth. If the godbuns so much as think he'll be their little plaything today, they have another thing coming! What do they expect that he can take care of this? What do they take him for? It's not like his shield can fix this! No, no, happy thoughts Siorc, happy thoughts. There's no way they'd ask him to deal with something like this, what a silly thought.

[I guess I'll go, but what if Emeralbu isn't there? What if we end up going out there for nothing? And, how are we going to get there? Isn't the Driasm quite far from here?] A crackling voice said through the Talkmaster B's speakers.

"You don't have to worry about that. Rumor has it, Emeralbu never leaves the Driasm," Zhulong said. "As for travel, our ride should be here in just a moment."

Honk, honk.

Unfamiliar toots coming his way, the young adult hopped back at the sight before him. Gigantic buggy sized shuttle waiting for him in the corner, the vampa did a double take. Was this really happening right now? Maybe he's still dreaming. Pinching himself, he grit his teeth. He is definitely awake right now. Hopping towards the creature, another surprise threw itself out into the open.

"Good morning, everyone, I'm not late, am I?" Mellem asked.

"You're right on time," Niquel responded. "You know the situation, right?"

"Yes, Susu told me everything, sorry she couldn't be here she has uh, other issues to attend to." She hesitated for a moment.

Shuttle locking eyes with him, a wave of unease flowed through the farmer. Was this truly the only way to get to the Driasm from here? Why did this thing look so cold, chilly, out of this world? No, no, Siorc, happy thoughts, happy thoughts! It's nothing more than a method of transportation. It's not like it was some sinister time machine! As if those existed anyway.

[Are you really sure you want to take us to the Driasm?] A crackling voice asked through the Talkmaster B's speakers.

"I don't mind, why, is there something bothering you?" Mellem asked, tone concerned.

[Niquel said that the Driasm is frozen in time! What if we go there and we're not able to leave?!] A crackling voice cried through the Talkmaster B's speakers.

"Oh, well, don't worry about that, you won't be frozen in time along with it, I promise," Mellem responded. But, she turned her head. "Though, there may be monsters there. Dangerous monsters. So, either way, I'd be on your guard."

[It's fine, I can take on any monsters your throw at me. I fight vermin back on the farm every single day! This is nothing I can't handle!] A crackling voice shouted through the Talkmaster B's speakers.

"Alright, then, if you're sure, then we should probably get going. If everyone is ready, give me a nod, and I'll open the hatch."

Party of three nodding, the bun wondered. Just what kind of monsters is he about to encounter? What if there's some super scary clockragons out there?! There's no way he'd be able to take something like that out! No, no, Siorc, come on now, there's no such things as clockragons, what in the world is he thinking? He needs to stay within reality here!

Click.

Hopping into the vehicle, a brand new world soon awaited him. Small, closed off space with hundreds of buttons everywhere, sweat poured down the farmer's cheek. What is this, some kind of time machine? No, come on now, stop thinking such illogical things! Belt soon slapped on, eyes soon wandered towards him one last time.

"Alright, it's about time we get going, but I suppose I should ask one last thing before we go," Mellem said in a serious tone. "Are you prepared? Remember what I said."

Warning flashing through his head once more, the young adult resisted the urge to bite his nails. What if there were clockragons there? Just what kind of dangerous monsters would be waiting for him out in the Driasm? Maybe there's still a chance he can back out of this. No, no, Siorc, there's no time for that! Why make this difficult for everyone?

[I'm sure, please, let's not waste any more time! I can handle whatever monster comes my way!] A crackling voice shouted through the Talkmaster B's speakers.

"Alright, if you really are ready, then I'll start the engine," Mellem cried, pressing the button. "Hang tight, everyone!"

Loud noise kicking in, the bun crossed his fingers. Please, don't let this thing be some sort of time machine in disguise!