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[X] Approach the source of the commotion. Someone might be hurt.

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"Let's investigate," says Grimnír. "Someone might be hurt."

"Alright," says Alice as she nods in agreement.

The two of them quickly change direction and fly toward Mystia's red-lantern stand. Or what is left of it, anyway. When they arrive, all they find are the charred and shattered remains of the little restaurant. Broken and burned pieces of wood are scattered all over the side of the road. A few of the trees nearby are still on fire, and there are several small craters dotting the ground around them.

Then, as they land to examine the damage more closely, the ground rumbles for a few moments. The tremor seems to have come from the direction of the flashing lights and loud noises. The commotion itself looks to be moving away from them.

"There," says Alice.

She points to her right, where several trees have strange burn marks upon them. He recognizes them immediately as the same type that he observed on the remnants of the street stand. If they follow this trail deep into the Forest of Magic, they are sure to discover who did this.

"Night bird... night song~" whispers a faint voice.

Grimnír turns around to see a strange blackened figure under some of the debris. His eyes widen in horror when he recognizes it as the owner of the red-lantern stand. Alice gasps and covers her mouth when she sees her (Shanghai mirrors the gesture with a tiny frightened expression of her own).

How can Mystia still sing in this state? Her hair is disheveled, and her face is caked with ash. Her clothes are tattered and burnt - black and red stains are all over her chest; her hat seems to be missing, and her ears droop sadly. Both of her arms are bleeding, and the one on the left looks broken. And her wings... oh god... one of them looks like it has been completely torn off, leaving a single bleeding stump on her back. She looks barely alive.

"Mystia!" cries Grimnír.

He immediately pushes off the debris to reveal even more injuries to her legs and lower body. This looks like a combination of a gunpowder accident and an animal attack. Very carefully, he starts examining her wounds.

"Dream in the night... red in the night~" sings Mystia.

"T-This is horrible," whispers Alice. "Who could have done this?"

"... shall crucify in the darkness~"

"Can youkai regenerate from wounds like this?" he asks.

"Youkai... in the light~"

"Eh? W-well, I think so," replies the dollmaker. "But I'm not sure. The abilities of youkai regeneration vary greatly, and Mystia isn't very powerful among them."

"Humans shall turn off the light~"

"We should take her back to Eientei," says Grimnír. "Maybe Dr. Yagokoro can -"

Suddenly, Mystia grabs on the side of his robe with her hand. He quickly moves closer to hear what she has to say.

"Lonely and frightened," she whispers. "Firefly in the darkness~"

With those last words, the sparrow girl falls unconscious in his arms. A moment later, they hear another loud crash from the direction of the Forest of Magic.

[ ] Head into the Forest alone. Leave Mystia with Alice.
[ ] Head into the Forest with Alice. Leave Mystia behind.
[ ] Stay with Mystia. Let Alice head into the Forest alone.
[ ] Stay with Mystia and Alice. Forget about the Forest.
[ ] Custom