Ep. 5

Summary

Source-backed · Version: v1 · Original

In the second layer’s dense Forest of Temptation, Riko uses the direction of amagiri leaves to navigate toward Seeker Camp. A human cry leads Reg toward an apparent victim, but Riko recognizes a corpse-weeper using a dead cave raider’s voice as bait. Another bird seizes Riko and carries her toward its nest. Unable to reach her with his arms, Reg instinctively fires the weapon in his hand, destroying the predator and a broad section of forest. Riko survives the second layer’s ascent strain and names the weapon the Incinerator, while Reg is shaken by how close he came to hitting her. He soon loses consciousness for hours, revealing a serious cost to using it. After waking, he learns that Riko lost her cave-raiding notebook during the attack. They cook the corpse-weeper’s meat, continue into the windy Inverted Forest, and notice a changing symbol on Reg’s helmet. Territorial inbyos force them away from the central route, but they reach the remote Great Porta tree that houses Seeker Camp. When Reg stretches both arms upward to gain entry, an unseen person seizes them and identifies Riko as still alive.