Hat Kid bundled her cloak tighter around herself. The mountain air was always a little chilly, but it was especially cold at night. She wasn't as prepared for drop in temperature as she thought she'd be when she beamed down to the planet's surface.

Her ship wouldn't warp her anywhere it deemed too dangerous or unstable, so—just as she'd done multiple times before—she darted through the Alpine Skyline by the long, winding banners that connected its various islands. As she neared the Twilight Bell, she glanced up at the night sky. She was used to seeing countless stars during her space travels, but… Well, there was just something different looking at them from the world's surface, the way the colors of the sky shifted under the pale light of the moon and the atmosphere's swirling hues of blue. Then there was the shimmering aurora that danced over the Alpine Skylines, painting the scene above her in beautiful waves of greens, purples, and pinks. It was amazing…

The colors of the sky reflected across the Twilight Bell's silvery form, making it seem even more ethereal than it already was. Hat Kid looked behind her to make sure she wasn't followed. Most of the village was asleep, but the warm glow from the windows of the scattered cabins and longhouses tried to beckon her back—like she was gazing at a safe harbor across a sea of clouds. There was no need to second-guess herself though. She was determined to do this.

Now, however, the girl came to a problem she hadn't yet considered. For the most part, the bell was too heavy for the wind to ring it alone: Once she used it to travel to the spirit realm, the noise would probably wake up the entire village. Hat Kid already knew she was going to have to make multiple trips in, but the goats would undoubtedly try to stop her the minute they found out how she failed to heed their warnings. The thought of how hard it would be to try to come back later made her pause.

"Reluctance doesn't really suit you," a calm voice murmured to her right, startling her. Eyes wide, she spun on her heel in a rush of panic. Sitting as still as the stone beneath him except for his usual, twitchy, mannerisms, she didn't notice the figure until he spoke. Peering into the darkness, however, she relaxed a bit when she found that it was only the Badge Seller—their legs crossed under them, resting forward against their walking stick with both hands.

They were a cryptic character, somehow appearing wherever she went with a store of badges ready for purchase. She didn't think they were following her as she always had a chance of just bumping into them like this, often crossing their path first. Sometimes, she wondered if there was actually more than one of them: A tiny group of Badge Sellers that independently travelled around where they pleased. Taking a breath to clam her racing heart, she quietly asked, "What are you doing here?"

They simply shrugged, "I could ask you the same thing, young one." But they didn't, and they didn't bother giving her a real answer either. Instead, their masked gaze lifted to face the sky above. "A lovely night, isn't it? You won't find a better place in the whole world to stargaze than right here."

With a huff, Hat Kid shook her head before stepping close to their side. They played a neutral role no matter what events transpired, but despite this seemed to always know more than they let on. Sometimes they'd give her a hint or two on something about a place—partly thanks to her being 'such a good customer.' If they were feeling chatty, then she hoped it also meant they didn't mind clueing her in on where she was headed.

The vendor continued, "Tell me, what do you know about this planet's constellations?"

"Not much," she admitted, once again tugging her cloak further around her shoulders to block off the night breeze. She tried to turn the conversation in her favor from there, "I know one. The first goat that found this place followed the stars to do it and then turned into a constellation."

That's what the 'storybook' she'd obtained from the Alpine Skyline's time rift anyway. Although, give that the purple rifts always connected to someone and how surreal the rift had been, a part of her wondered if it was something more like a memory of a memory—something passed down and given new life by the original teller's descendants. Otherwise, she just couldn't make any sense of how the rift had formed on its own. Not to mention that real stars were just flaming balls of gas, so the tale itself was impossible.

The Badge Seller turned to look at her, appearing to smile behind their mask, and gave her a single nod, "That's the simplified version of the story, yes."

When they didn't explain what they meant, Hat Kid raised a brow and pointed over to the Twilight Bell. "Does the long story have anything to do with where that goes?" It had to. She remembered something involving the bell anyhow, even if the storybook pages she collected didn't go into much detail about the process.

"Yes," they replied in a steady tone, "Long ago, the goats came from a dying land. One of them had found favor with the celestial beings that rule the night sky, who took pity on him and his people. So they led him here to establish a new home. The goat continued to grow in wisdom, and before his death left to join the spirits in their realm, a place simply called the Horizon."

Strange as it was, Hat Kid was able to piece the new information with what she'd personally gathered. It made sense, the way the realm was designed: It looked like a celestial place, stars and all, even if she didn't think she'd seen any of the spirits that the Badge Seller tried describing to her. There had been goats though, and it fit what she already knew about the spiritual realms. The child had already seen first-hand how the magic that flowed through them could alter a mortal being—to the point where they were hard to tell apart from the spirits themselves.

"The Horizon…" she echoed softly, brows furrowing, "Is that why the goats don't want me there? Is it like I'm trespassing?" Spirits could be pretty territorial at times—like how the fire and swamp spirits could be over their own domains in Subcon. The latter had been so extreme, in fact, that they had tried to drown her just for trying to reach the well.

"Well, yes, but not in the usual sense," they answered, "The Horizon isn't connected to the physical world. It's a place entirely of its own making, on a separate plane of existence where all varieties of spirits can reside. For mortals, however, it exists as a kind of limbo. That is why it's so dangerous for you to be there."

The young alien felt a shudder course down her spine. Limbo?! She'd entered some kind of afterlife?! No wonder there were so many ghosts and she'd had such a bad feeling about the place! Now a part of her almost wished they hadn't told her. Despite her initial reservations, going in blind now seemed like the better decision if only because the idea of it earlier had frightened her less.

But there were Time Pieces to be found and no way for her to back out of going. A disbelieving curse slipped past her lips, "Peck!"

The Badge Seller's tone turned scolding, "Language, young lady."

She winced, "Sorry…"

They stared at her a moment longer, then leaned up, rolling their shoulders to stretch stiff muscles. "I wouldn't worry. You've come this far, haven't you? You're pretty impressive, for a child. I'm curious to see what you'll do next."

Hat Kid pursed her lips at their choice of words, but a part of her was thankful for a small reassurance. That's right: This might be on another level, but it was to things she'd already experienced. Her adventures in Subcon Forest had given her a lifetime's worth of spooks. What was a few more? Out of habit, she readjusted her hat before walking away. "I'm going then," she said, tightening her grip on her umbrella to steady her nerves. She glanced at them one last time, "Unless you have any advice for me?"

"Look before you leap," was their only response.

Given no hint to what they really meant by that, she motorboated with a sigh and looked up. The inside of the Twilight Bell was even more weird to look at during the night than it was in the daytime. It looked like an empty, starry void, like she was starting out of her ship's viewport instead of at the bell's interior. Even the bell's clapper seemed to partially disappear within it.

With no other ideas, she repeated what she did the first time. Hat Kid fired her hookshot at the clasp dangling above, the device pulling her off of her feet to swing in the open air. She kicked out with her legs, thrusting herself back and forth until she'd gained enough momentum to ring the Twilight Bell. Its loud, steady tolls echoed on the wind, and for a moment she feared she was doing something wrong and that she'd be spotted before she could figure it out.

But, no: As soon as she's released the hook and landed back on her feet, she watched the world begin to distort around her in a vortex of swirling blues and greens—just as it had the first time. 'Freak accident' indeed! Hat Kid looked over her shoulder, noticing the Badge Seller watching her spirit away. Before they too were distorted by the haze, they dipped their head low in a silent goodbye.

When her vision cleared, she found herself back in the twilight realm.