In a kingdom that was forgotten by the world, four people stood before several semi-invisible figures. One of these four people was Azura, who had led her new allies, Corrin and Jakob, to this land. The former missing Nohrian knight, Gunter, managed to join their group after trying to survive there on his own for quite some time.
"Leave now…" the lead figure began. "You should not be here."
"What the- Who are you?!" Corrin demanded, raising her sword and positioning herself into a fighting stance.
"I am a mage of Valla… You were warned. Vallite warriors, eliminate them."
"This is bad…" the blue-haired songstress said. "I don't think we're strong enough to defeat them. Let's retreat to the other world!"
Without hesitation, the group turned and ran to follow Azura. Once she had led them to safety, they had noticed that they were on a cliff by the Bottomless Canyon just as a storm began.
"Phew… It looks like we've made it back," the estranged princess sighed in relief. "Who was that woman down there? She said she was a mage…"
Once catching her breath, Azura looked down, clutching her pendant, and said, "When dawn turns to dusk. When dusk turns to dawn. Then the door will spawn."
"Huh? Is that a poem, Azura?"
The songstress looked up and sighed, "My mother… She said those words to me a long time ago. She said that when dawn turns to dusk, and dusk turns to dawn… The pass in the Bottomless Canyon opens or closes."
"My lady," Jakob interrupted. "My apologies for my rudeness, but I'd recommend that we seek shelter in this growing storm."
The two women began to look around and took notice of how the rain was quickly picking up.
"I agree," Gunter added. "If I recall correctly, there should be an abandoned Hoshidan fort nearby."
Corrin raised an eyebrow. "Abandoned? Did we find out that it wasn't abandoned the last time we came here?"
"Yes, that was the case then, but if you also recall, we managed to dispatch most of their troops with the aid of your siblings."
"… Right, my Nohrian siblings…"
"Corrin, you can worry about them later. For now, we need to find shelter," Azura stated as the rain began to pour down.
With a simple nod, she and the rest of her group hurried over to the fort. As the fort became visible to them, many puddles began to form around them, some could even be mistaken for tiny lakes. Upon closer inspection, the Hoshidan fort did appear to be abandoned, but Azura could feel some strange power building up. The butler and the knight began to examine the other sides of the fort, in case of any possible stealth attacks, while Corrin ran under cover and shook her hair in an attempt to dry it out.
Azura, however, froze where she stood and turned towards a particularly large puddle after hearing a peculiar SPLASH. Before she began to approach it, a figure emerged from the puddle, carrying a large box in one hand. In the darkness of the storm, it would have been nearly impossible to identify who they were, if it was not for the bright, white hat they wore and the pink stars which patterned his clothes. They stood up and looked around, grinding their teeth in frustration, until their eyes met with Azura's.
"Um… Johnny?" the songstress asked somewhat fearfully, clutching her lance so she would be able to strike if she needed to.
Johnny's eyes widened upon hearing his name and seeing this woman again.
"… Azura, right?" he asked with a dumbfounded tone. "What the hel-?"
"Azura! Watch out!" Corrin yelled as she suddenly took sight of the completely soaked man in blue.
The songstress turned around to try and stop the princess, but she was then joined in her advance by Jakob and Gunter, who took to action upon hearing her scream. Johnny instinctively raised a hand to fire off a nail bullet, but it was then that he noticed how few he had left since his most recent encounter. He was also reminded of the immense pain he felt from the gaping hole in his hand which clearly put him at a disadvantage.
"Corrin, stop! I know this man!" Azura shouted as she stood between the three warriors and the Stand user.
Slowing down to a halt, the platinum-blonde princess stood by the songstress and lowered her Yato, silently motioning for the other two to do the same.
"How is it that you know each other?" she asked, genuinely curious about who this person was and how they ended up here of all places.
"We met a few years ago," Johnny answered. "When she and I fought off a bunch of demons, or something, down in that place… What was it called again?"
The groups widened their eyes, save for Azura, upon hearing that he knew of the hidden kingdom.
"I'm afraid you can't speak its name outside of its borders," Azura spoke. "That's the curse I told you about before. And it wasn't years since we've met. The last time I saw you was no more than a month ago."
Hearing this alarmed Johnny, but he was unable to ask any follow-up questions due to his sudden dizziness, most likely from blood loss.
"W-Well… I th-think I-" he stuttered before falling down on his side, causing a splash in the puddle and splattering some mud on him.
The women jumped forward, barely missing getting hit by any mud. Corrin looked down at him with concern.
She looked back at Jakob and Gunter and said, "Bring him inside with us. Make sure to treat his wound."
They nodded and hesitantly did as they were told. The butler tried to take the box out of his hand, but as he reached for it, Johnny's body seemed to surge with energy as he sat up slightly.
"Do. Not. Open. My suitcase," he stated with a deadly tone in his voice, his dark intent showing itself once again.
His body then slumped back down again, still clutching the box. In an attempt to not bother him again, Jakob and Gunter gingerly picked Johnny up and started to make their way to the abandoned fort. Corrin and Azura followed them, both watching him in concern.
"Please be safe, Johnny," the latter whispered to herself as they entered the fort to escape the rain.
-To Be Continued