As the days passed since Xue's late-night escape, Xiao had been thinking about what the older yaksha had mentioned. Diya…I don't ever remember him mentioning Diya before, he thought as amber eyes looked at the surrounding area of Wangshu Inn. Though it's not like he's told me much about his past. Sighing, Xiao continued to keep watch till he heard the yaksha in question calling his name.

"Xiao! Are you there?" Xue called out, walking towards the balcony. "I wanted to let you know I'll be heading out in a day or two, so if you need anything feel free to let me know."

Xiao looked down at him from his perch and jumped down, startling the fox when he did. "Where are you going?" Xue thought about it before giving the yaksha an honest answer. "I'm heading off to Sumeru, for a nice little vacation."

"Is that all?" Xiao asked, looking directly at Xue who seemed to be a bit on edge from the intensity of his stare.

"Yes? Is something wrong Xiao?"

"I should be asking you that," he said with crossed arms. "You left suddenly in the middle of the night a few days ago, as if I wouldn't notice. And now you're leaving for Sumeru? Is this something to do with this…Diya person?" The air between the two of them chilled and Xue's tail stilled behind him. It wasn't until Xiao cleared his throat moments later that Xue finally snapped back from whatever momentary daze he had entered.

"Look, you don't have to tell me if it's related to that person or not, just…be safe." The older male smiles slightly at the awkward way Xiao had shown his concern over the Cyro Yaksha. "Thank you, I'll make sure to be safe Xiao. And yes, it is related to Diya but also that I do want to explore and see what the nation has become since I last visited."

"I see…" Xiao said, turning on his heel. "Like I said, just be safe and if you see Aether, let him know I said hello." Xue nodded before having a light bulb go off in his head, smiling brightly at the idea presented before him. "If you want to say hello to the traveler, why not tag along? I'm sure it's been some time since the two of you have last seen one another, and I would love to have a travel buddy."

Xiao stood there for a moment, thinking. It wasn't a bad idea for him to tag along, it would be a great way for him to learn just who this Diya person was to Xue while also keeping an eye on him to make sure he didn't do anything or cause any unintentional damage. Looking over his shoulder with an almost deadpanned look in his eyes, the younger yaksha simply nodded before responding.

"Sure."

ts

The journey to the nation of wisdom was a very…awkward one indeed. Neither party really said much to the other, outside of Xue asking if Xiao wanted any of the Almond Tofu he had made and packed for their trip. Of course, things were still rocky between the two due to their past interactions and any time he tried to initiate anything, Xiao seemed unreceptive to the attempts he made. Though could the fox really fault him?

Once they had stepped foot in the lush rainforest of Gandharva Ville, Xue immediately felt a sense of relief wash over, knowing that the forests he was so used to hadn't changed much, if at all. Sure, most of the people resided more in the trees rather than on ground, but it still has that calming sense of ease that he had grown accustomed to.

"Something's truly never change," he muttered as he continued forward, feeling amber eyes on his back the entire time. "You know Xiao, I used to visit these forests a lot before I was sealed away. I believe I started coming here just a while before Morax had appointed me as a yaksha."

Xiao kept quiet, but made it known that he was listening by giving a simple "Mmh". "I don't know exactly what drew me in, the people, the knowledge they shared amongst one another, or the culture itself, but I kept coming around even after I became a yaksha. Especially when I met Diya, the God who resided in the forest."

"God? I don't remember there being two archons when the God of Wisdom took power."

"Diya was more like King Deshret in that while he wasn't like Greater Lord Rukkhadevata who was the Sumeru Archon, he did have people he commanded and those people served and revered him as their chosen god. If I remember correctly, he was someone the Greater Lord had trusted to take care of the forests so it makes sense they thought of him as the right-hand man to her."

If it wasn't obvious from the way Xue looked around the forest with a distant, fond look in his icy eyes, Xiao could hear it in his voice. The former truly felt at ease being surrounded by the calming greenery Gandharva Ville had to offer, and in a way it put Xiao at ease seeing someone close to him be so happy.

As they continued walking, Xue kept talking fondly of Diya and his village, recounting some tales he thought the yaksha would appreciate. It was during one of his stories that the Cyro yaksha felt another pair of eyes on them and, fearing they were being followed, walked further until they were in a more open area before confronting whoever it was.

"I suggest you show yourself now," Xue said in a frosty manner, his tail swaying in a slow manner. "Or I can make you come out-"

"Please don't hurt me!" The young villager said as he emerged from his hiding spot. "I-I noticed you and your friend walking by and thought that you guys would be able to help." Xue turned a quarter of a way to face the young man who, upon getting a proper look at him, appeared to be no older than 17. "And why do you think we can offer any help?" The boy was startled by the icy way the fox was addressing him that all he could do was point at the visions both Xiao and Xue had.

"P-Please…our village is dying and the Forest Rangers are too busy to lend us a helping hand." Xiao looked at his fellow yaksha who in turn looked at him before nodding slightly, giving his okay that he'd be willing to help. "Alright, we'll help, just lead the way." Pleased to hear those words come out of the fox's mouth, the young man turned on his heel and quickly led the pair to where the village was.

"Xiao, though we agreed to help, are you sure this is a good idea?" Xue whispered loud enough for only the yaksha in question to hear. "If this is something you or I can't help with, we'll only be disappointing this young-"

"If you're nervous, just say so," Xiao retorted, cutting the man short and looking up at him. "I noticed the way your eyes glanced over what that villager was wearing, even if you tried to be subtle about it." When Xue didn't reply, but simply kept walking, Xiao continued. "You know he comes from the village you spoke so fondly of moments ago. So why? Why are you so nervous to go back there? Did something happen that you're trying to keep me from knowing?"

Again, Xue didn't immediately reply, he just walked in silence. But his silence said all Xiao needed to know before they made it where the village was and, compared to the rest of the forest area, this place looked almost uninhabitable. The dead and dying trees, the stifling air hanging over the area, and just the overall atmosphere looked so out of place from the greenery they had previously seen. "Most of the youth know what this is, but we don't have any visions to exactly do something about it, so we've been trying to get the Forest Rangers to help but to no avail."

Finally, the Cyro yaksha opened his mouth to speak, his voice low and tone as cold as ice. "And what of the elders? Aren't they trying to do something?"

"Those stubborn old men won't listen to what we have to say, no matter what we suggest doing." Xue nodded and walked towards one of the dying plants and held it gently between his index and thumb. "You say you know what's causing this," Xue started, glancing over at the young man who still looked on edge. "What is it? And is it someone that you think we can really take care of?"

Xiao simply stood back and watched as the two carried on with their conversation, the young man explaining that whatever it was that was withering the village had to do with something the village elders called Karmic Debt. "Though the people of Sumeru refer to it as the Withering nationwide, the elders call it Karmic Debt as that's what our late Lord Faisi called it."

"Where is this karmic debt coming from? Do you all have an answer for that?" Before the young man could answer, one of the village elders that Xue could make out as one of the descendants of the village keepers from 2000 years ago, answered in his stead.

"The karmic debt is the poison of a sly fox who dared to taint our late Lord Faisi," he mentioned, his eyes staring daggers at Xue. "And the fact that you, of all people, have the audacity to show your face around here shows you have no shame in what you've done."

Both Xiao and the younger villager turned their attention to Xue, who only stood there in silence before speaking. "I didn't poison Diya, I only wanted to-"

"Don't you dare utter that name, you traitorous, sly fox," the village elder snapped, his eyes darkening with anger. "It is because of your actions that our village is in this state in the first place! Our late Lord Faisi died because of the suffering your teachings and poison had inflicted onto him! He would still be with us if it wasn't for you!"

"Woah woah, why are you yelling at Xue?" A familiar voice to both Xue and Xiao said as both Paimon and Aether walked over.

"Great, more outsiders," the village elder hissed as he turned away. "You can deal with them, but I have no intention of seeking help from that demon." With that, the village elder walked away while Aether, Paimon, Xiao and the young villager all looked at Xue with questions plaguing their expressions. The yaksha in question just looked at the group before sighing, rubbing at the back of his neck.

"If we're going to help, I should explain what that village elder was going on about," Xue said, Paimon crossing her arms and nodding.

"Yes because Paimon feels like some context is needed before we offer any help." Aether deadpanned at Paimon before sighing, just nodding.

So for a solid minute or two, Xue explained the history between him, Diya, and the villagers and by the end of it, he could see Paimon was still as confused as ever, the village boy was almost sympathetic towards Xue, and Xiao and Aether were deep in thought. "If you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer anything."

"Okay because Paimon is confused. Did you or did you not betray your old master?"

The fox shook his head. "No, my old partner did and pinned his crimes on me because he was jealous and resented the relationship I had with our master. But even as Diya tried to tell his people the truth, they had already come to the conclusion that I was a vile and traitorous being who was bound to betray the next person he's to serve."

"So basically, the villagers from the past told stories about how you were nothing but a sore who ruined their god and caused him nothing but a painful death," Aether said, summarizing everything down so he could better understand. "And from what you told us, it's safe to say that what's plaguing the village isn't because of you, but rather the actions of the villagers from the past."

"Huh? What do you mean?" The village boy questioned, on the defense now that the blame was being placed on the village. Aether waved a hand in front of him before he continued talking. "I mean no offense, but it's evident with what Xue has told us that the villagers of the past are the ones that caused this withering to manifest within Diya before he eventually died because of it."

Xue was very obviously amazed that Aether was able to get to that conclusion without him saying it outright, to which he got a slight smirk from the aforementioned male. "Trust me, I'm not Paimon, it wasn't all that hard to understand."

"Hey! Paimon didn't have that much trouble understanding what Xue had told us!" Paimon said with a huff, turning away from Aether who could only laugh and try to comfort her while the other three kept talking.

"So, do you have an idea of how to get rid of the karmic debt, Xue?" Xiao questioned, speaking up after a moment of temporary silence. "By the look on your face, I would assume you do."

Xue nodded. "I do, but it's an old ritual I haven't performed in ages, so the chance of it working is low but not low enough."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Paimon questioned, floating up in front of Xue then turning to the others, suddenly acting very smug and proud. "Let's get going people! We have a village to save!"

ts

After gathering all that they would need for the ritual and ensuring the cave they were in was secure in the sense that nothing outside of maybe the withering could harm them, Xue set out on starting. Xiao, Aether, Paimon and the village boy say in awe as Xue began reciting a prayer and going about the ritual with the grace of someone who had done it many times before, despite him saying he hasn't done this exact ritual in over 2000 years.

The cave was cold from the yaksha using his cyro vision, yet warm from the karmic debt that began developing around them. Muttering a quiet "Stay close", Xiao grabbed onto Aether's hand as the village boy grabbed onto Xiao's arm. Seeming calm despite the withering gathering in the cave and seeping into a cyro orb in the center, Xue continued on with reciting the prayer and pouring more of his energy into purifying Diya's debt. When he opened his eyes and looked up, he froze.

Xiao noticed the panicked look on the yaksha's face and looked into the orb, seeing the figure of a man he didn't know there. But it was safe to assume who that man was and that seeing him was having an effect on Xue and the ritual. "Xue! Don't lose focus!" He held, startling the fox for a moment before he continued, although it was obvious to everyone, even the man himself, that he was struggling to do so. It's been ages since he last saw Diya and seeing him again while trying to purify the poison caused by the hate his villagers spewed.

It wasn't long before the ritual itself had concluded, the small cave soon being filled with the soothing warmth of a thousand fireflies, each one finding their way out as the group followed, watching as they danced under the evening sky, the color of forest green being restored to the village under their golden hue. Paimon smiled and floated around, commenting on how beautiful everything looked with the village boy while Xiao and Aether looked on in silence, admiring the beauty of the scene before them. Only Xue was the one who seemed quiet, his expression unreadable as he watched with empty eyes.

"Aether," the fox yaksha said coldly, speaking up again before he got any sort of confirmation that the traveler was listening to him. "Let the villagers know the ritual is done, but don't let them know it was me who did it."

"Okay, but why not let them know you-…huh? Xue?" When Aether turned to question the yaksha he was already gone and, much to his surprise, Xiao also seemed a bit put off that Xue disappeared without another word. "Where did he go just that fast?"

"I don't know, but it's odd that he doesn't want credit," Xiao responded, worried - though he won't outright admit it - about what the other yaksha was planning on doing. "Don't worry, I'll find out what's wrong and get back to you."

"Thanks Xiao," Aether said, looking at his friend to make sure he was alright, knowing that the last time he saw the Vigilant Yaksha was during his visit to the Chasm. Xiao caught warm, amber eyes eyeing him and the worried look in them, sighing and giving his own version of a reassuring smile that was more awkward than it was reassuring. With that, the group headed down to the village to inform them that all would and will be well as far as the karmic debt is concerned, Aether respecting the fact that Xue didn't want the villagers to know that it was he who restored the village to its former glory.