She found Moonjumper in some kind of study. Contrary to the usual attentiveness he gave his surroundings, he didn't notice her when she first came in. He seemed distracted, giving her a moment to look around before approaching him.

The room didn't seem anymore furnished than the much of the rest of the castle, but there were shelves lined with numerous books across the walls to her right, encompassing a large desk. They seemed old and well-preserved, with strong spines and thick, heavy bindings. None of it was light reading: The Art of Architecture, Essays on Old Magic, Law and Philosophy of the Ancient World, The Lexicon for the Supernatural. To the left was a table decorated with a vase filled with luminous flowers and a doorway connecting to an adjacent room. Ahead of them was another, wide balcony left open to allow the Horizon's dim, natural light to pour inside.

He actually jumped a bit when he finally noticed the child, shoulders jolting in surprise and sharpened fingers jerked into defensive, clawing pose before he relaxed a second later. A mix of childish mischief and concern bubbled inside her. On one hand, Hat Kid thought it was funny to catch the phantom ruler so off-guard: On the other, nothing ever really did, so it was strange for him to be that distracted in the first place. Regaining his calm stature, Moonjumper hovered over to her, "Ah, child! How did your search go? Any luck?"

She shook her head. For a second, she forgot about the spirits and the red eye she'd seen in the woods as she asked, "Are you ok?"

Moonjumper paused before answering. It was the kind of hesitant silence adults always fell into when a child walked in on something that was beyond their age or knowledge. "Nothing you need to worry about," he said at last, "I'm just worried about one of my younger subjects. They've run off."

That only raised her curiosity. Hat Kid had seen all kinds of ghosts lingering in the Horizon, but not many kids—and what few there were seemed to be older than she was. "What happened? Are they alright?"

"They're going through a bit of a tantrum," he explained, folding his arms across his chest, a hand lifted under his chin in thought, "Death tends to be harshest on the young. Typically, I give newcomers some time to adjust, but this has gone on for a while. The others lost track of them. As weak a soul as they are, I'm worried something might happen to them."

"Maybe I can help."

He was quick to turn her offer down, "No, don't get involved. I've already sent out more watchmen: I'm sure I'll have news soon."

For all the different things people said about him and as strange as he was, the young alien could admire his precise leadership. If the Horizon was a chessboard, then he was likely a player that observed all of the pieces before considering each move—and had each move planned two-steps in advance. Although now she was just curious and concerned herself about the lost soul.

"Can I watch you work then?" she clasped her hands together in almost pleading fashion.

The request seemed to surprise him a bit. The phantom stared back, somewhat tilting his head at her, before answering with even more reluctance, "I'm not sure… Wouldn't you rather continue your search or play in your room? We can talk later."

It felt like he was trying to deflect her. Hat Kid pouted a little. Noticing her disappointment, Moonjumper shuffled back a step to consider her carefully.

"There really isn't much for you to see," he continued, "I'm afraid all I can really do for now is wait, so my hands are tied."

"Then I'll wait with you," she insisted. The young alien honestly didn't have anything else to do to keep her occupied: She'd combed the Horizon so often for Time Pieces that all she could do was wait around herself. Besides that, her room was too quiet and isolated, and her free time with her toys was becoming too stale. All this time here though and she really hadn't done much with Moonjumper herself: She wanted to learn more about him.

Unless he outright barked at her to leave, she wasn't going to be easy to sway. Maybe he knew that, because his shoulders rolled in a giving fashion as he moved back toward the balcony. He waved at her to join him and she followed along. It was much wider than the one in her room, with flowers growing in a tangle of greenery along the outer walls. She took a moment to examine the delicate blossoms before jogging back over to the baluster—leaning over it to gaze down at the village below.

It felt a lot smaller up here than it did on the ground. Emptier too, with clear streets all save for the rare, tiny streak of color that marked one of the town's ghostly denizens as they passed through. Overall, it was a good vantage point: She could make out most of the town all the way to the edge of the woods and the wastes far away were an expansive, mostly flat range that dwindled on into nothing. There was probably an even better view higher up in the castle, with full-sight on all of the surrounding areas.

As her gaze turned to the wide stretch of 'sky,' she wished the celestial spirits would make another appearance. It would've been a good place to watch them too. For the second time that day, Hat Kid thought of the broken spyglass. She felt more eager to fix it than before, wondering what all could be seen from up here. Maybe that's what Moonjumper used it for.

All while she explored the scene below with her eyes, Moonjumper said nothing—arms folded behind him, gazing into the distance as they shared the view. He was as silent as the stone wall to their backs, the subtle dip of his chin the only indication of his alert watch from behind the mask.

Hat Kid observed him quietly for a moment longer. To her, he didn't seem quite like the ruler most of the ghosts or spirits praised or the madman a handful of others claimed he was. She still wasn't really sure what to think of him yet. It was kind of amazing really, how little she knew about him for the time she'd been here.

"Moonjumper?" she raised her voice softly and he turned his head to face her, "How did you even get to be the prince of the Horizon? I mean, you got here just like everyone else… didn't you?" She didn't think he was much older than most of the Dwellers, just maybe that he died around the same time as they did. For all she knew, he might've been a Dweller himself, chosen to rule since Vanessa went crazy and Snatcher hid his true identity from them.

He stayed quiet for another, long moment, then appeared to slowly nod to himself. However, she was surprised when he answered her with a question of his own, "Ask me, my child, what do my eyes gaze upon?"

She followed his stare back to the view below them. Nothing had changed: It was just as still and quiet as ever. Her brows furrowed in confusion and she wasn't sure how to reply.

He began to explain with his usual calm, a finger raised to direct her attention to the wastes, "When I first stumbled upon this place, I was hardly more than a vapor—and this area was just more of the same, barren emptiness you see in the distance. I lingered near the waypoint connected to my former home in the mortal world, but whenever I went back, well… it brought too many painful memories. So, I made the best of what I could here.

"Much like spirits in their own domains, a mortal soul—if strong enough—can learn to bend the supernatural energies channeled through the Horizon to their will," he paused absentmindedly, staring at the palm of his hand, "You must've noticed, when you arrived here, that the Goats' territory is marked by their design: Structures fashioned like fragments of their original homeland. This is my territory, manipulated according to my design."

Moonjumper reached out to a vine stretched along the baluster from the mass of foliage along the wall. To Hat Kid's astonishment, a large bud suddenly began to grow at its end, petals unfurling at a rapid rate until it had bloomed in-full. Just as quickly, the vine itself snapped and braided itself into a firm coil almost like a corsage. The phantom picked it up and offered it to the child, sliding it onto her thin wrist as she admired the gift with an amazed twinkle in her eyes.

She quickly pieced together what he meant. Again, she leaned over the railing, seeing it in another light and more excited than before. "You mean you made all of this?!" she grinned with intrigue, "The town, the forest… everything?!"

He fought back amusement, but there was a bit of pride in his voice, "To a point, yes. I shaped the landscape as I saw fit, worked the ether to my will—all fitted to the Horizon's unique conditions. When I said I lived and breathed this Horizon, I meant it. This may as well be an extension of myself. Because of that, the spirits began to call me the 'Moonjumper,' a mortal made a part of this celestial realm. I've kept watch over the souls that find their way here ever since."

"Can you show me more?" she was eager now, almost bouncing on the balls of her feet. She'd seen powers similar to his—Snatcher's deep attachment to Subcon Forest gave him a lot of control over its wildlife and he'd even sometimes bent the miasma that flowed through the place under his control—but this was on another level entirely. She wanted to know more.

Moonjumper chuckled in his throat, then raised his hands outward. It was strange, seeing the ether manifest into a physical form—like watching stardust spiral from the darkness of space. It pulled itself together into a silvery form: A funny-looking, bipedal creature with large tufts of fur for two long ears and a tail, four pointed teeth, and swirly eyes. With a flick of his wrist, it summoned a hat and umbrella much like Hat Kid's own before giving her a small, jovial bow. The child laughed with delight, watching as it mutely scampered around her, climbed onto the baluster to launch itself in the air, then glided slowly back down with the umbrella extended above it.

"This is hardly more than a party trick," he told her as the expressive phantasm landed back on its feet, patiently waiting for another command and looking back and forth between the ghost and girl, "I can't create life, of course, but it does have its own purposes."

Still giggling, Hat Kid reached out to shake the creature's hand. It enveloped her fingers with its much smaller paws, returning the gesture zealously. It didn't feel real though, like the hands clasped around her own would slip away like a fine mist.

Before Moonjumper could show her anything else, a green Dweller suddenly tore through the study—fading through the door with a somewhat panicked cry, "Sir!"

Moonjumper snapped his gaze in the other ghost's direction, the animal-like figment dissipating back into ether with a burst as the former lost his concentration and the latter skid to a halt. Hat Kid pictured that, if the Dweller was alive, he'd be out of breath. His fox-mask bobbed precariously, as if it was close to being thrown off his face by the momentum he'd bulleted in the room with.

In contrast to that though, he suddenly turned meek, fumbling with his words, "W-we think we found him…" His gaze drifted subtly to Hat Kid, then he added, "Some of the others said he found one of those hourglasses…"

The mood instantly shifted from its calm atmosphere to a serious one. It was clear that they were talking about the lost soul Moonjumper was looking for. The phantom ruler glided back inside the study as he turned to his subject, "Where…?"

"The wasteland, w-we think…" he answered reluctantly, "We lost track of him after he went over the ravine. The others are still looking."

"Show me."

Just like that, both ghosts veered one-by-one out of the room and down the winding halls outside. Hat Kid chased after them, but they'd already sped out of sight by the time she opened the door. Her lips twisted into a firm, determined line and she kept up the pursuit. Even if Moonjumper told her not to bother, even if he was more than capable of handing the situation on his own, she couldn't side by if a Time Piece was at stake.