Arriving on the outskirts of the Endora tribe was almost terrifying for Suwa—intimidating if nothing else. He had been gone for so much longer than he had originally planned that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call himself an outsider now. Despite that feeling, and despite technically still being an exile, Suwa still requested that Sezio stay back a ways from the village while he entered alone. Even if it had been a while, Suwa thought that their message might be more easily accepted if he were the one to bring it.

The village seemed surprisingly calm, but maybe Suwa was just expecting some kind of big welcome home. Instead, there seemed to be few gehm out, and the ones who were looked more eager to ignore him than welcome him. Suwa wasn't bothered by this though, as he had never had a particularly close relationship with many of the villagers anyway.

His first stop was home, of course. It didn't look like it to have changed much—maybe a little more overgrown than usual, but otherwise exactly as he remembered.

“Mom, Feris, I'm home,” Suwa said through a smile as he pulled the vines aside to enter. “Oh, I guess they’re not here.”

The home was empty, though there were still some signs that someone had been home recently. He was curious how they'd been, and started to look around while waiting, but it wasn’t long before he heard footsteps rushing in his direction. Once again, the vines were pulled aside as someone stepped in—out of breath from running.

Suwa was unsure of which one it might be, and even after turning around he failed to recognize them for a moment. They were hunched over to catch their breath, so it was impossible for Suwa to see their face. Inhaling deeply, the visitor finally looked up.

“Rena?” Before Suwa could ask what she was doing or where everyone was, there was a loud smack as pain filled his cheek.

“How dare you come back like you weren't gone for ages!” Rena shouted, shaking her hand in pain. It wasn't the kind of greeting he expected, but while holding his still stinging cheek, Suwa couldn't help but smile.

“Rena, how have you been? Where is everyone?”

Suwa's attempt to act nonchalant seemed to backfire, however, and Rena looked at him with shock and pain in her eyes. He knew he had been gone for a while, but he was sure that Rena, if no one else, would have been excited to see him. Her expression and silence only served to confused him more.

“They’re not here, Suwa,” Rena finally said after struggling to find the words. “They were taken not long after you left.”

“Taken? Taken where?”

Rena hit him again, this time, against his chest but with almost no energy, “The beasts came and took them.”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“They were taken, Suwa,” Rena's voice cracked. “Rashendala’s beasts came and took them as an offering.”

“No …” Suwa refused to allow himself to process what Rena was telling him, but Rena just nodded her head in silence. “No!” He shook his head again, but before sadness could fill his heart, it turned to anger which he directed at Rena, “How could you let them be taken? Why didn't you stop them? You should have—”

“Don't you think I tried?” Rena shouted, silencing Suwa in an instant. “They were like family to me too, Suwa. The only ones I had left. Would you have been able to stop them? Could you have done anything differently? Don't forget that you left first, Suwa.”

“I … But, I …” Suwa couldn't find the words to respond. Everything Rena said was true, and each word from her mouth stung like frozen wind against his skin.

“They were being punished,” Rena continued. “We were being punished. And the punishment was bore by Feris and Deia.”

“What for? What could they have done?” Rena directed glare at Suwa so sharp it could cut before her face softened and she answered his question.

“They were being punished for killing a plant. One that,” Rena smiled bitterly, “They said was covered in pretty flowers.”

Suwa's eyes widened and the blood in his face drained as he fell to his knees. A plant. A flower. They were punished … for a flower.

Suwa clawed at his face as if trying to scratch away his realization. “It was me? They were taken because of what I did?” Everything was silent as he processed what he’d just learned, and then, “When? When were they taken?”

“It wasn't long after you left, Suwa. There's nothing you can do now.”

Suwa scratched at the ground and then clenched his fist. “I'll kill him,” he mumbled, “I'll kill Rashendala.”

“Wh— Are you listening to yourself, Suwa?” but Rena was unable to get to him. “You're just going to get yourself killed, too. What would be the point in that? You just came back. Why throw your life away?”

“Rena,” the calmness in Suwa's voice sent chills down Rena's spine. Despite his words, Suwa was in complete control of his mind, and that scared Rena even more. “I came here for something which I still need to do. I need to talk to the elders. After that, I’m going to get rid of that snake once and for all.”

“But you know you can't just—” before Rena could finish, Suwa had already left the room.

Even if Rena hadn’t said it, Suwa already knew. No one was able to approach the elders whenever they wanted. Not usually, anyway. Exceptions were made for beasts, of course, because everyone was too afraid to stop them, so the answer was simple; Suwa just had to be a beast.

When Suwa reached the cave where the elders stayed, he was stopped as expected, but he wasn't interested in giving up. There were only three council members present outside the cave, but it seemed like they were expecting him. Someone must have told them that they had seen Suwa walking through the village earlier, which gave them time to prepare.

“Suwa, I don't know why you're here, but you should already know that your exile still holds. And even if it didn't, you wouldn't be permitted to see the elders.”

“Move."

“Wait, Suwa, what are you trying to do?” Rena had followed Suwa and grabbed him in an attempt to stop him from whatever it was he was trying to achieve.

“I just want to speak to the elders. After we've spoken, I'll be on my way.”

“If you only wish to speak, then speak.” Rudahl said to Suwa as he walked out of the cave.

“Rudahl? What are you doing in there? Where are the elders?” Suwa demanded.

“I am one of the elders, now,” Rudahl smirked. “Now what does the troublemaker want?”

“I have a message for all of you.” Suwa did his best to ignore Rudahl's obvious taunting. Even if all he wanted was to break his nose. “I’ve come back with Sezio, with the outsider from before.”

“You're both outsiders now. And you being here brings even more danger to this village. Go, before Rashendala takes the rest of what you care about.”

Before Suwa could even realize that Rena was no longer holding him back, her fist was pressing so deeply into Rudahl's face that his whole body was sent smashing into the ground as his legs were swept out from beneath him. Even Rudahl didn't know what had happened until he was already writhing on the ground in pain, holding his face.

“You have no right to speak to Suwa like that! Even if you did usurp the position of elder through your annoying, conniving … face!” Rena appeared to have run out of words before running out of the energy to speak them.

“Thanks, I needed that,” laughed Suwa, “But should you have really done it?”

“I always hated Rudahl,” Rena confessed, “And no one would have listened to you if he was still flapping his stupid mouth.”

It wasn't until this point that Suwa realized a crowd had formed behind him. Everyone in the Endora tribe wanted to know what was going on and what would happen next. But Suwa saw it as an opportunity to address them all at once.

“Everyone,” Suwa started, “I came here with a message and an invitation. When I left, I did so with the intent to return and liberate all of you from the beasts that control you through fear—once I gained the power to do so. I found that power, but I also found a new path.”

There were a few murmurs amongst the gathered gehm, but they were still listening, for the most part. Even Rena was completely focused on what Suwa was saying.

“I joined a group of gehm who believe that we have the power to do anything it is that we want, regardless of what the beasts around us think. And to prove it, we built a new community, filled with food and shelter, and free of any beasts that would try to take our freedom from us. We have already brought in many gehm to live there, and it's still growing. I came here to bring you to that place.”

“We cannot leave this place,” a voice spoke from the entrance of the cave. The other two elders had come to listen to Suwa speak, but they did not trust his words. “The only place that is safe is here.”

“Can you really believe that, though?” Suwa questioned, his voice soft as if speaking to a child. “Can any of you really believe that when Rashendala, at his will and whim, could kill any of you he desires whenever he wished it? Do you really feel safe?”

“You can only say that because you have not lived outside of this community. You do not know what it was like in the past when everyday could be the last day for any gehm.” The elders argued.

“But I have, and I do. You were the ones who pushed me away, remember? Maybe if it wasn't for that, I wouldn't know, but I do now. And I also know that what we have here is not the limit of what we could have. There is more for us out there. You just need to be willing to take it. Are any of you willing?”

Despite Suwa’s speech, and the full crowd of listeners, Suwa's question was met with silence. However, it wasn't a complete defeat for Suwa, because in that silence, there was also an absence of any argument. There might not have been the overwhelming acceptance that Suwa was hoping for, but no one was disagreeing, either. Not even the elders.

Suwa released a sigh, but one wrapped with a smile. “I have something else to take care of now, Rena. You take it from here.”

“What? Wait! Suwa!” before Rena could get anymore answers, Suwa was already running away.

As Suwa disappeared, the silence in the area began to fill with mumbling voices as everyone present started to discuss the things Suwa had said. As for Rena, she was still too bewildered to know what was going on. She didn't know what Suwa's plan was, but her imagination hadn't pictured this. Just as the mutterings of the villagers were getting louder, they suddenly stopped. The discussions ended and everyone fell silent when they saw Sezio approaching.

“What's going on here?” Sezio asked as he looked around at the group that had gathered. Then he noticed Rena and waved, “Where's Suwa? He told me he wanted to speak to everyone alone, but that was a while ago, now. Is he okay?”

“You're … Suwa said he came with you,” Rena spoke, finally recognizing the man who had lured Suwa away from home. “He just left. I thought he would have been rejoining you.” Rena thought for a moment, trying to understand the situation, and then her eyes widened with fear, “We need to stop Suwa. Now! He's about to do something crazy!”