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"Hey, wait!" cries Grimnír.

"Wha?"

Cirno stares back, puzzled. He can almost see a question mark out pop above her head. Wait, that can't be right. In any case, he needs to ask her something.

"Did you see any other weird things around here?"

"Weird things? Whatcha talking about?"

"You know, like that tree you just destroyed?"

"Tree? Whatcha talking about?"

Grimnír stares at her in disbelief. Very slowly, he points toward the broken remains of the Youkai tree behind her. She turns to look at it for a moment before smiling.

"Oh that? That's nothing! Weird stuffs been happening all over the place!"

"Weird stuff?"

"Yep! That's why Dai and I decided to help out! I'm the strongest, after all."

Cirno puffs out her modest chest proudly. Oh wow. Not knowing how to react, he just asks another question.

"Say, have you seen someone with a trident wandering around here?"

At the word 'trident', the ice fairy suddenly perks up.

"Ah, you mean the red man?"

"Red man?"

"He said that he was kinda busy, so he didn't play with us today."

"Play with you?"

"That's right! It's rude to bug busy people, ya know?"

"Wait, could you -"

"Anyway, I'm kinda busy right now! I'll play with ya later, Grim!"

Grimnír takes a moment to consider what she just said. This is getting even more confusing. The fact that she doesn't seem to be lying (is she even capable?) only disturbs him more.

"Ah! Hey, Cirno!"

He blinks stupidly. The ice fairy is already gone. He curses to himself quietly. For a moment, he considers going after her, but in the end he decides to stay put. Yukari might worry if he just disappears.

"..."

After a couple of minutes, Grimnír starts walking closer to the shattered remains of the Youkai tree. Cirno's destructive power is surprisingly thorough, but perhaps he can find some clues. He carefully examines the broken branches and leaves for clues. As he searches the tree stump, he notices something odd. He carefully picks up the item.

It looks like a tiny piece of broken clockwork.

"Ugh!"

Pain. His head is throbbing like crazy. He knows this. This type of mechanical design is exactly like -

"Argh!"

His vision is starting to fail. Crumpling down on the ground, he falls unconscious. But not without one last thought. He has seen this before. He is sure of it.

But where?

~~~

"..."

He opens his eyes. Darkness, all around him. There is nothing in this place.

[Welcome back.]

He frowns hard at the red eyes.

[Been a while, hasn't it?]

He shakes his head. He isn't interested in this.

[Not interested? Well, isn't that cute...]

"I'm going back," he says. "The others will be worried."

[You missed it.]

"What?"

[You almost figured it out, but you let the most important clue slip through your fingers.]

"What are you talking about?"

[Too bad. Now, you won't be able to stop them in time.]

"Stop who? What's going to happen?"

[...]

"Hey! Answer me!"

[Well, not everything goes according to plan.]

"Plan? What plan?"

[Let's see if you really are the one. Let's see if you have it.]

"Have what?"

[A king's luck.]

~~~

Grimnír groans. Something is shaking him awake.

[ ] A noisy girl.
[ ] A tiny person.
[ ] A strange doll.