The forest did not feel natural anymore.
Not after the fox vanished.
Measly couldn't explain why.
Nothing had changed—not really. The trees were still trees. The wind still moved through the branches. The dirt beneath their feet still shifted and crunched the same way it had before.
And yet—
Something about the woods now felt… aware.
Like they had crossed some invisible line without realizing it.
Raymond clearly felt it too.
He kept glancing behind them every few minutes, his tail twitching nervously each time the trees creaked or shadows shifted in ways that could almost be mistaken for movement.
"…I still don't like him," Raymond muttered quietly.
Measly adjusted Tillie slightly against his chest.
The newborn armadillo had fallen asleep again sometime during their walk, bundled carefully against him beneath scraps of cloth and blanket salvaged from home.
Home.
The word hurt now.
So Measly stopped thinking it.
"…You already said that," he replied.
"Yeah, but I'm still right."
Measly didn't argue.
Because Raymond was right.
The fox had been wrong in the way storms were wrong.
Not openly.
Not obviously.
Just enough that your instincts noticed before your mind caught up.
But he'd also given them food.
And direction.
And right now—
That mattered more.
The forest stretched endlessly around them as they walked.
Raymond had long since finished most of his bread, though he'd forced himself to save part of it after Measly snapped at him earlier for eating too fast.
Not angrily.
Just firmly.
Because they didn't know when they'd eat again.
The thought sat heavily over both of them now.
"…You think this Ixis Mogul guy's actually gonna help us?" Raymond asked after a while.
Measly shrugged slightly.
"…Don't know."
"That's not exactly reassuring."
"We don't got a lotta options."
Raymond went quiet at that.
Because he knew it was true.
The war had turned the world into something smaller and harsher than it used to be. Villages burned. Roads unsafe. People disappearing overnight.
And they were just kids.
Two five-year-olds carrying a newborn through forests because there wasn't anywhere else to go.
Raymond kicked lightly at a rock in the path.
"…Still think this is crazy."
Measly glanced at him.
"…You can leave if you want."
Raymond looked genuinely offended.
"The heck's wrong with you?"
Measly blinked once.
"What?"
"I ain't leavin' you!"
The response came so quickly that it almost startled him.
Raymond crossed his arms tightly.
"You're my best friend, stupid."
The words landed awkwardly.
Simple.
Childish.
Completely honest.
Measly looked away slightly.
"…Yeah."
Raymond huffed.
"…And somebody's gotta stop you from bein' weird all the time."
That earned the faintest twitch at the corner of Measly's mouth.
Not quite a smile.
But close enough.
The woods thickened again as they continued forward.
The further they walked, the stranger the forest became.
The sounds started disappearing first.
No birds.
No insects.
Even the wind seemed quieter here somehow.
Muted.
Like the forest itself was holding its breath.
Raymond noticed too.
"…Okay, now I really don't like this."
Measly slowed slightly.
The silence pressed strangely against his ears.
Not empty.
Dense.
Like there should've been noise here and something had removed it.
Then—
Stone.
Raymond stopped.
"…Whoa."
Massive shapes emerged between the trees ahead—jagged formations of blackened stone rising unnaturally from the forest floor. They didn't look placed there.
They looked forced upward.
Like something underground had pushed them through the earth.
The path narrowed between them.
And the further ahead Measly looked—
The less natural everything became.
Even the trees looked different here.
Bent oddly.
Roots twisting over exposed rock in spirals that looked almost deliberate.
"…This gotta be it," Raymond whispered.
Measly didn't answer immediately.
Because the fox's words echoed quietly in his mind.
Stone where there should be none.
Silence where there should be sound.
His grip tightened slightly around Tillie.
"…Yeah."
The air felt colder now.
Not freezing.
Just… absent of warmth.
Raymond moved closer again.
"…You think we should yell or somethin'?"
"No."
"Why not?"
Measly looked ahead carefully.
"…Feels wrong."
That was the only way he could explain it.
The place didn't feel abandoned.
It felt occupied.
Not visibly.
But undeniably.
The two boys continued carefully between the massive stone formations, their footsteps sounding too loud now in the overwhelming quiet.
Tillie stirred faintly.
The tiny sound seemed enormous here.
Raymond swallowed nervously.
"…I don't like this place."
Measly still didn't argue.
Because he didn't either.
But beneath the fear—
Beneath the uncertainty—
There was something else growing quietly inside him.
Expectation.
Because this place felt powerful.
Not in the way stories described heroes.
Not warm.
Not inspiring.
Old.
Heavy.
Like something ancient had settled here long ago and the world had simply learned to grow around it.
Measly's eyes narrowed slightly.
Power.
Real power.
Not the kind his parents had talked about.
Not the kind police officers carried.
Something bigger.
Something dangerous.
And despite everything—
Despite the fear pressing into his chest—
Part of him wanted to keep going.
Because weak people lost everything.
He knew that now.
The memory came back suddenly and violently.
The village.
The smoke.
His parents falling.
Tillie crying.
Him hiding.
Unable to do anything.
His hands clenched.
Never again.
Raymond glanced at him.
"…Measly?"
He blinked.
"…What?"
"You got that look again."
"What look?"
"The scary one."
Measly frowned slightly.
"I don't got a scary look."
"You really do."
Measly rolled his eyes faintly.
But Raymond didn't laugh this time.
Because even he could feel it now.
Something about Measly had changed since the village.
Not all at once.
But steadily.
Quietly.
Like grief and fear had hardened into something sharper.
The path ahead widened suddenly.
The trees thinning exactly as the fox had said they would.
And beyond them—
Something waited.
Not fully visible yet.
But close.
Very close.
The air itself felt different now.
Heavier.
Charged.
Raymond stopped walking entirely.
"…Measly…"
Measly stared ahead.
Between the final rows of twisted trees.
Toward the darkened shapes beyond.
Toward wherever—
Whatever—
Ixis Mogul was.
And for the first time since leaving home—
He realized they were truly close to something that could change everything.
-------
The trees finally ended.
Not gradually.
Abruptly.
One moment there was forest surrounding them on all sides, twisted trunks and heavy shadows pressing inward—
And the next—
Open space.
Raymond stopped so quickly he nearly stumbled backward.
"…Whoa…"
Measly said nothing.
Because the place before them did not feel real.
The clearing stretched wide beneath a gray sky barely visible through the thick canopy above. Massive black stone pillars jutted from the earth at unnatural angles, some cracked with glowing lines that pulsed faintly beneath the surface like veins of dim green fire.
At the center—
Ruins.
Ancient.
Not broken by time alone, but reshaped by it.
Stone structures curved into impossible spirals, half-swallowed by roots and moss yet still standing with a stubbornness that felt deliberate. Symbols were carved into nearly every surface, patterns neither boy could understand but which seemed to shift strangely when looked at too long.
And the silence—
The silence here was absolute.
No wind.
No birds.
Nothing.
Even Tillie had gone still.
Raymond swallowed hard.
"…I really, really don't like this place."
Measly took another step forward.
Then another.
His heartbeat was loud now.
Not from fear alone.
Expectation.
Because something was here.
Something old.
He could feel it.
Then—
A sound.
Heavy.
Slow.
Not approaching quickly.
Not hiding.
A presence moving somewhere within the ruins.
Raymond immediately moved closer to Measly.
"…You hear that?"
Measly nodded once.
The sound came again.
A measured step against stone.
Then another.
And from between two towering black pillars—
A figure emerged.
Large didn't describe him properly.
Massive did not either.
The Mammoth Mobian towered above the ruins themselves, his brown fur thick and heavy beneath a long robe the color of dying embers. Long braids hung down his back, swaying faintly with each slow step he took.
Dark green eyes regarded them calmly.
Not with surprise.
Not with hostility.
Just awareness.
Measly felt suddenly very small.
Raymond looked like he was debating whether running was still an option.
The Mammoth stopped several yards away.
Close enough to speak.
Far enough to feel intentional.
The robe shifted slightly as he folded his arms behind his back.
And for the briefest moment—
Something embedded within his chest glimmered faintly beneath the fabric.
Green.
Sharp.
Alive.
The Mammoth's gaze settled first on Tillie.
Then Raymond.
Then finally—
On Measly.
Silence stretched.
Not uncomfortable.
Measured.
Then—
"…Children."
His voice was deep.
Ancient-feeling.
Not merely old in sound—
Experienced.
Like every word had crossed centuries before reaching them.
Raymond swallowed nervously.
"…Uh…"
Measly stepped slightly in front of him instinctively.
The Mammoth noticed.
Of course he did.
"…You came far," he said calmly.
Measly nodded once.
"…Yeah."
The Mammoth studied him quietly.
Then—
"…Why?"
Simple question.
Heavy answer.
Measly hesitated only briefly this time.
Because he already knew.
"…Power."
The word echoed faintly through the clearing.
Raymond winced slightly.
The Mammoth did not react immediately.
His dark green eyes remained fixed on Measly.
Searching.
Weighing.
"…Most who seek power," he said slowly, "do not survive finding it."
Raymond immediately looked even more nervous.
Measly stayed where he was.
"…Then I'll survive."
The Mammoth's gaze sharpened slightly.
Not threatening.
Interested.
A pause followed.
Long enough that Raymond visibly started sweating.
Then—
The Mammoth stepped closer.
The ground seemed to feel heavier when he moved.
"…You are young," he said.
"Yeah."
"You are grieving."
Measly's jaw tightened immediately.
"…Yeah."
The Mammoth regarded him carefully.
"…And you believe strength will prevent future suffering."
The words landed too accurately.
Measly frowned slightly.
"…Wouldn't it?"
The Mammoth did not answer immediately.
Instead, his eyes shifted briefly toward the ruined structures surrounding them.
"…Strength alone prevents nothing," he said at last.
"Strength without purpose merely creates larger tragedy."
Raymond blinked.
"…That sounded important."
The Mammoth's gaze shifted toward him briefly.
"It was."
Raymond immediately quieted again.
The Mammoth looked back toward Measly.
"…What happened to you?"
The question came without cruelty.
Without manipulation.
Just… directness.
Measly's fingers tightened slightly against Tillie.
For a moment he considered not answering.
Then—
"…Overlander Supremacists," he said quietly.
The Mammoth's expression did not visibly change.
But the air somehow felt heavier afterward.
"They came through our village."
A pause.
"…Killed everybody."
Raymond lowered his head slightly.
Measly continued.
"…My parents too."
Silence followed.
The Mammoth closed his eyes briefly.
Not dismissively.
Like acknowledgment.
When he opened them again, there was something quieter in his expression now.
Not pity.
Understanding.
"…And now you seek power."
Measly nodded once.
"…I'm not gonna be weak anymore."
The Mammoth studied him for several long seconds.
Then finally—
"…Good."
Raymond blinked rapidly.
"…Wait, what?"
The Mammoth looked toward him calmly.
"Recognizing weakness is necessary."
A pause.
"But worshipping power is not."
His eyes returned to Measly.
"…There is a difference."
Measly frowned slightly.
"…I don't get it."
"I know."
The answer wasn't insulting.
Just factual.
The Mammoth stepped past them slightly, his massive form moving with surprising quiet.
"…Most adults do not understand it either."
Raymond glanced nervously around.
"…Uh… who are you exactly?"
The Mammoth stopped.
Then turned his head slightly.
"…Ixis Mogul."
The name settled heavily into the clearing.
Even without understanding why, both boys felt its importance immediately.
Raymond swallowed.
"…Oh."
Ixis Mogul regarded them again.
"…And you?"
"Measly."
A pause.
"…The Armadillo."
Raymond pointed at himself awkwardly.
"Raymond. Flying squirrel."
Ixis nodded once.
Then his gaze shifted toward Tillie again.
"…And the infant?"
"Tillie," Measly answered quietly.
Something softened in Ixis's expression at that.
Barely visible.
But real.
"…You carry responsibility unusually well for one so young," he observed.
Measly looked down slightly.
"…Somebody's gotta."
Ixis watched him carefully.
Then—
"…Yes," he said quietly.
"They do."
The clearing fell silent again.
But unlike before—
It no longer felt empty.
Raymond shifted nervously.
"…So uh… what now?"
Ixis Mogul turned slightly toward the ruins behind him.
"…That depends," he said.
His robe shifted faintly as he moved, and this time the green crystal embedded within his chest became visible more clearly beneath the fabric.
An Anarchy Beryl.
Its glow pulsed softly.
Alive.
Raymond stared openly.
"…What is that?"
Ixis glanced down briefly at the embedded gem.
"…A burden," he replied calmly.
Then his dark green eyes returned to Measly.
"…And a responsibility."
The air shifted suddenly.
Not violently.
Subtly.
Reality itself seeming to bend faintly around Ixis for just a moment.
The ruins behind him flickered—
Then stabilized again.
Raymond's eyes widened.
"…Did the world just move?"
"Yes," Ixis answered simply.
Raymond looked horrified.
Measly looked fascinated.
Ixis noticed both reactions immediately.
"…Power," he said quietly, "is not impressive because it destroys."
A pause.
"…It is impressive because it changes reality itself."
Measly stared at him.
Listening completely now.
Ixis regarded the boy silently for a moment longer.
Then finally—
"…Come," he said.
Turning toward the ruins.
"…You have traveled far."
The massive Mammoth began walking deeper into the ancient structures without looking back.
But somehow—
They both understood they were expected to follow.
And after only the briefest hesitation—
Measly adjusted Tillie carefully in his arms and stepped forward.
Raymond groaned quietly.
"…This is definitely how people die."
But he followed anyway.
Into the silence.
Toward Ixis Mogul.
-------
The ruins stretched far deeper than they first appeared.
From the outside, they looked broken.
Collapsed.
Ancient in the way all forgotten places were ancient.
But inside—
Inside they felt alive.
Not literally.
Not breathing or moving.
But active.
Like the structures themselves still remembered what they had once been.
Measly followed close behind Ixis Mogul, his eyes darting across glowing symbols carved into the stone walls around them. Some pulsed faintly green. Others shifted colors subtly when viewed from certain angles.
Raymond stayed close enough that their shoulders occasionally bumped while he nervously looked everywhere at once.
"…This place is cursed," Raymond muttered.
"It is not cursed," Ixis replied calmly without looking back.
A pause.
"…Though several individuals across history have certainly attempted to curse it."
Raymond blinked.
"…That somehow ain't better."
Ixis continued walking.
His massive frame moved surprisingly quietly for someone his size, heavy footsteps softened by centuries of controlled movement. The fire-colored robe shifted around him with each step, occasionally revealing the faint green glow beneath his chest where the embedded Anarchy Beryl pulsed like a second heartbeat.
Measly stared at it.
At the power.
At the impossible feeling radiating from it.
And the thought returned immediately.
Strength.
Real strength.
Not guns.
Not numbers.
Not the kind of strength that had failed his parents.
Something beyond that.
"…Can you make us stronger?"
The question came suddenly.
Directly.
Ixis slowed slightly but did not stop.
"…Strength comes in many forms."
"That ain't what I asked."
Raymond glanced nervously at Measly.
"…Maybe don't challenge the giant magic mammoth guy."
But Measly kept going.
"…Can you?"
Ixis finally stopped walking.
The silence inside the ruins pressed heavily around them.
Then slowly—
He turned.
Dark green eyes settled calmly on the young armadillo.
"…Yes," he answered.
Raymond immediately looked alarmed.
"…Wait seriously?"
But Measly stepped forward slightly.
"…Then do it."
No hesitation.
No fear.
Just certainty.
Ixis regarded him carefully.
"…Power without understanding destroys more lives than weakness ever could."
"I don't care."
The answer came instantly.
Raymond looked shocked.
Measly's grip tightened around Tillie.
"…I'm not gonna let anybody die again because I'm too weak."
The ruins fell silent again.
Ixis studied him for a long moment.
Not judging.
Not dismissing.
Thinking.
Then—
"…And if power changes you?" he asked quietly.
Measly frowned.
"…What?"
"If strength costs parts of yourself," Ixis continued, "would you still seek it?"
"…Yeah."
No hesitation.
Not because he fully understood the question.
Because grief had already made the answer for him.
Ixis's expression shifted slightly.
Not disappointment.
Something sadder.
"…You are too young to answer that honestly."
Measly's jaw tightened.
"You don't know me."
"No," Ixis agreed calmly.
"But I know suffering."
That stopped him.
Only briefly.
Raymond shifted awkwardly beside him.
"…Look, we ain't trying to become supervillains or nothin'," he said nervously.
"We just…"
A pause.
"…Need help."
Ixis's eyes moved toward Raymond.
Then toward Tillie sleeping quietly against Measly's chest.
Then back again.
"…And you believe power is help."
Measly nodded immediately.
"Yes."
Ixis exhaled softly through his trunk.
Not frustration.
Weariness.
Ancient weariness.
Then he turned again and resumed walking.
"…Follow."
They hurried after him deeper into the ruins.
The corridors widened as they moved further underground, glowing symbols becoming denser along the walls. Strange floating lights drifted lazily through the air here, pale green and silent.
Raymond stared openly.
"…Okay this place is definitely magic."
"I invented Ixis Magicks," Ixis replied simply.
Raymond nearly tripped.
"…You INVENTED magic?!"
"It is more complicated than that."
"That does not sound more complicated!"
Measly barely listened.
His focus remained fixed.
"…Can you give us power?"
Ixis did not answer immediately.
"…Can you teach us?"
Silence.
"…Can you make us strong enough nobody can hurt us anymore?"
That question finally made Ixis stop again.
Not because of the words.
Because of the impossible request hidden inside them.
Nobody can hurt us anymore.
Ixis turned slowly.
His dark green eyes settled on Measly again with an intensity that suddenly felt much older than before.
"…No," he said quietly.
The answer hit immediately.
Sharp.
Measly frowned.
"…But you said—"
"I said I could give power," Ixis interrupted gently.
"Not invulnerability."
A pause.
"…No power in existence can prevent suffering entirely."
The words echoed faintly through the chamber.
Measly looked angry now.
Not at Ixis specifically.
At the answer itself.
"…Then what's the point?"
Ixis stared at him silently for several seconds.
Then—
"…Saving others."
The response came without hesitation.
Absolute.
"The only thing that matters in life is saving others," Ixis said calmly.
"All else is secondary."
Raymond blinked.
"…That sounds kinda heroic."
"It is practical."
Ixis resumed walking again.
"But power pursued only to erase fear inevitably becomes destructive."
Measly looked unconvinced.
"…You got power."
"Yes."
"…A lotta power."
"Yes."
"Then why ain't the world fixed?"
That finally made Ixis pause again.
A long silence followed.
Then—
"…Because I am only one person."
The answer was quieter than anything else he had said so far.
Not defensive.
Just true.
They continued deeper into the ruins.
The air grew warmer here.
Not naturally warm.
Charged.
Reality itself felt thinner somehow.
Raymond rubbed his arms nervously.
"…Okay seriously I feel weird."
Ixis glanced at him briefly.
"You are near concentrated Anarchy energy."
"That sentence means nothing to me."
"It will remain that way."
Raymond groaned softly.
Measly spoke again.
"…Please."
Ixis looked toward him.
"…Give us power."
The word please lingered strangely.
Not because it was polite.
Because it sounded desperate.
And Ixis Mogul understood desperation very well.
He stopped walking once more.
This time in a massive circular chamber deep beneath the ruins.
The walls here pulsed with glowing green fractures. Symbols floated freely in the air around them, shifting constantly like thoughts made visible.
At the center of the chamber—
Space itself bent faintly.
Raymond immediately pointed.
"…THAT should not be happening."
"No," Ixis agreed calmly.
"It should not."
Measly stepped forward slightly.
"…Can you do it here?"
Ixis turned toward him fully.
"…How do you even know I possess the capability you seek?"
The question hung heavily.
Because he had never actually said it directly.
Raymond blinked once.
Then answered before Measly could stop him.
"…The red robe fox guy said—"
Ixis froze.
Not visibly at first.
But the chamber changed.
The floating symbols stopped moving.
The air tightened sharply.
And for the first time since meeting him—
Ixis Mogul looked genuinely startled.
"…What?"
Raymond immediately realized something was wrong.
"…Uh…"
Ixis stepped forward.
Fast.
Not aggressive.
But immediate.
"…Describe him."
Raymond swallowed hard.
"Fox Mobian. Red robe. Weird creepy talking guy. Gave us bread."
Measly frowned slightly.
"…You know him?"
Ixis stared at them.
And for one brief second—
Fear crossed his expression.
Real fear.
Then it vanished beneath control.
But too late.
Both boys had seen it.
The chamber grew quieter still.
Ixis closed his eyes briefly.
Thinking.
Calculating.
Reassessing centuries worth of possibilities all at once.
Then slowly—
He opened them again.
And his expression had changed.
Not colder.
Sadder.
"…I see."
Measly frowned.
"…What?"
Ixis looked at him for a very long time.
Then finally—
"…I will help you."
Raymond blinked rapidly.
"…Really?"
"Yes."
The answer came immediately now.
Too immediately.
Measly stepped forward.
"…You mean it?"
"I do."
But something about the way Ixis said it felt heavy.
Like a decision already hurting him.
The Mammoth raised one massive hand slowly.
Green energy began gathering instantly around his fingers.
Not light.
Something deeper.
Reality distorting softly around the motion.
Raymond immediately panicked.
"…Okay hold on what's happening—"
Ixis looked at them quietly.
And there was genuine regret in his eyes now.
"…I am sorry."
Measly blinked.
"…For what?"
The Anarchy Beryl embedded in Ixis's chest flared brightly beneath his robe.
The chamber shook softly.
Space itself bending outward in ripples.
"…If he has taken interest in you," Ixis said quietly, "then all of Mobius may already be at risk."
Raymond stared blankly.
"…What does that mean?"
Ixis did not answer.
Because there wasn't time.
The green light intensified rapidly now, filling the chamber entirely.
Reality twisted.
Folded.
The floating symbols around them spinning wildly.
Measly tightened his grip on Tillie instinctively.
"…What're you doing?!"
Ixis looked genuinely apologetic now.
"…Protecting you."
The energy surged.
Anarchy Authority.
Space and time bent violently around the chamber.
Raymond cried out.
The ruins disappeared.
The world warped inward.
And Ixis Mogul's final act before the teleportation completed—
Was reaching gently into their minds.
Removing.
Erasing.
The red-robed fox.
Himself.
The ruins.
The meeting.
Because if those memories remained—
Then forces far older and more dangerous than war itself might follow them.
"Anarchy Authority."
The light swallowed everything.
And in the final instant before they vanished completely—
Ixis Mogul lowered his head slightly.
"…Forgive me."
Then—
The chamber emptied.
And Measly, Raymond, and Tillie vanished from the ruins entirely—
Teleported across reality itself.
Toward the Sunken Demon Island.
With newfound power at their fingertips.
Or well, claws...