Author's Note: Okay, here's the next chapter! I must warn you, this chapter is extremely depressing, especially for all of you Oina lovers out there. (Guilty!) This chapter was just heartbreaking for me to write, so I warn you now. But anyway, please don't forget to leave a quick review~!

~ With love always, Haachi ~

~ A Recap ~

"It's never been this cold in Kamui," She said as she looked around at the bleak landscape; there didn't seem to be a single living soul within miles of where they were. "The sky's so dark…"

She looked up to the cloudy sky, and she felt an unnatural chill go down her spine that had nothing to do with the subzero temperatures. Something about the deep darkness of the clouds and the particularly chilling wind unnerved her.

"Something's definitely wrong," She said. "I can feel the evil in the air. It's so strong, it's making me feel sick…"

She reached up to rub her temples, her mind willing the awful throbbing in her head to go away. "Come on," She said once the pain had dulled a little. "Let's head up the path to Uep'keer."

( Amaterasu's P.O.V. )

By the time the three of them had trudged through thigh-deep snow to where Oki's abandoned house stood, Amaterasu was numb from the waist down. Her teeth chattered uncontrollably, and she had felt her eyelashes ice over. She looked to Waka, who was experiencing the same bone-numbing cold she was.

"This is ridiculous," She said shakily, her teeth still clenched. "We can't go on like this. We'll freeze to death."

Waka nodded and took a moment to assess their surroundings. Just then, they heard a faint noise in the direction of Oki's lone hut, and a moment later a head poked out from behind the door.

"Come in, quickly," The person said. Without hesitation, the three hightailed it into the warmth and comfort of the little house.

Amaterasu shook her head to get rid of the snow that had lodged itself in her hair before huddling up to the fire as close as she could. As she looked around, she was terribly reminded of Oki; the place hadn't changed at all. Ammy continued looking around until she found the face of their savior, and gasped.

"K…Kai?"

The female Oina sat on the other side of the fire, her deer mask glowing in the warm light. She looked older now, but Ammy could still see the vibrancy of youth in her eyes through the mask.

"It's good to see you again, Amaterasu," She said, dipping her head. "I imagine you're surprised to see me here."

"Ya think!" Issun said as he hopped out of Ammy's warm kimono. "What the gods are you doing here, Kai?"

She lowered her head and exhaled. "Allow me to explain."

Ammy, Waka, and Issun all sat in silence as Kai walked around the little hut, putting more wood on the fire and preparing food for them.

"As you must know, Amaterasu," She began as she sat down near the fire. "The Oina are…were, a strong, unwavering race. We have heightened senses and much longer lifespans than regular humans. But you must understand how these harsh lands would have led to my tribe's demise…"

She paused, and Ammy could see the sadness in her eyes, which was the only visible part of her face. "As you remember, every year one of our people would perform the Volcanic Incantation to warm these Northern lands and give us relief from the unrelenting snowstorms. However, after you departed on the fabled Ark of Yamato, another eclipse came…"

Ammy's brow furrowed. "But why? It's only supposed to happen every 100 years!"

She nodded. "I know. It caught us off-guard. That year, Kemu died and my sister Lika fell ill. We had no one to recite the incantation that would promise our salvation. Everyone knew what was to come, but no one had the courage to say that we were all doomed to freeze…"

She took in a shuddering breath, overwhelmed with recounting the tragic tale. In spite of this, she straightened and continued, her voice only wavering slightly. "Chief Samickle led us to the base of Ezofuji, saying that the tall, rocky cliffs would shelter us from the harsh, merciless winds. The sky darkened, and I remember looking up at the covered sun and seeing a peculiar shadow, one with strange otherworldly markings. But as the days crawled by and even more snow fell, we knew in our hearts that we would not make it.

"We tried to get Lika to talk, to teach us how to perform the Incantation," She shuddered again, her eyes closed as she recounted the events that were still vivid in her mind. "But the illness had forced her into a coma. No amount of shaking her, of Tuskle's herbs, woke her, and she passed away about two weeks after we moved to the lake. When Lika died, we knew all hope was now lost. We sat in groups, huddled around tiny fires, praying that the gods would give us some salvation. The weeks turned into months, and every morning I awoke to more and more frozen corpses around me. It was maddening, seeing my family and friends dropping like flies around me and knowing I could do nothing."

She stopped to prod at the firewood with a long stick, her eyes clouded with sadness, her voice reduced to barely more than a whisper. "The day that Samickle was found dead, his body frozen underneath a layer of snow, Oki took over leadership of those of us that had managed to survive. There was me, Tuskle, and a few of the others. I remember the way his voice echoed across the lake, telling us that we needed to go to Shinshu Field, that it was our only chance for survival. I agreed with him, but some of the others insisted that we would never make it. A few of us, including Tuskle and myself, went with Oki to try and hike back to where the tunnel connecting Kamui to Shinshu Field was located."

Amaterasu felt tears welling in her eyes as Kai continued the story, her voice and the subtle crackling of the fire the only noises to be heard.

"And so we set out, facing the whirling snowstorms and the black sky, to try and get to Shinshu Field, where we knew it was warm. By now, we had run out of what little food we had, and pangs of hunger set in, driving some of us to madness. Those who didn't freeze to death crawled along, weak with hunger and malnutrition, before letting their faces fall into the snow and never getting up again. By the time we reached the hut that we sit in at this moment, only Oki, Tuskle, and I remained alive. We took shelter here, and Tuskle prayed fervently to the gods that we would find the strength to make it to Shinshu. There was only a small amount of damp wood, not sufficient to keep us warm while the merciless arctic winds howled outside."

She paused momentarily to reach her hand under her mask to wipe her tears away, and Ammy did the same. "We managed to survive another month before Tuskle died. After that, Oki and I sat in silence, and I'll never forget the deep sadness and defeat in his eyes as he stared into space day in and day out. One day, about two weeks after Tuskle passed away, he spoke for the first time since we had arrived at this hut: 'I have failed.' I still remember how deep these three simple words cut into my heart. He didn't say anything after that. A few days later, I woke up to find him dead as well, kneeling outside with the guardian sword's blade thrust into the frozen ground. His hands were frozen to the hilt, his foggy eyes holding a sadness so deep that even now I lie awake some nights, that vivid image of his eyes fixed in my mind."

"How did you survive all of this time?" Issun asked, his hoarse voice bearing a sadness that Ammy had never heard before.

"I waited. I waited until the blizzards died down, until this wasteland became fertile enough for the animals to come back out into the open. I knew that evil had overtaken this land, but I could not bring myself to leave it. True, I could still hear the tortured cries of my brethren whenever the wind howled, or still see them struggling through the snow, looking for a light they would never find, but I knew that I had to honor my fallen race and remain here. It took many years, yes, but I have managed to survive all this time, only going out to hunt or to get snow to melt for water."

"By the gods," Waka muttered, his eyes in a far-off place as he gazed into the flames.

"So you see, I am the last remaining member of the mighty Oina tribe," Kai concluded, standing to fetch some dried meat off of a rack. She came back to sit down with a wooden tray of various parts of animals, salted and dried until they became imperishable. She held out the tray to them, but they all shook their heads.

Amaterasu let this horrific tale sink into her mind, moisture pouring out of the corners of her eyes. "I…I can't believe it…"

"How could I…" Issun mumbled. "How could I have not known about any of this? Ponc'tan…was so close to the village…"

Kai shook her head. "It is no one's fault. My people all died warriors' deaths. I may have been the only survivor, but they are at peace now, and I honor them every day."

As she said this, she nodded her head over to one of the walls to indicate something mounted there. Ammy felt her heart lurch as she looked, and saw four Oina masks hanging side-by-side: Oki's, Tuskle's, Lika's, and Samickle's. Next to these hung the sacred guardian sword of the Oina people, Kutone. Amaterasu stood and slowly walked over to examine them, sucking in a breath as she felt a wave of tears threaten to spill. She ran her fingers lightly over each of the masks, and then let her hand run down Kutone's shining blade.

Oki, Tuskle, Lika, Samickle…oh, how I wish I could have saved you all…

"Amaterasu?" Waka said softly, bringing her out of her deep thoughts. She turned and tried to focus her eyes on the Tao Master.

"I'm fine," She assured them, wiping at her eyes once more. "Although, Kai, something you said before has me interested…"

She cocked her head to the side inquiringly. "When you said you saw a strange shadow on the sun, what exactly did it look like?" As she waited apprehensively for the Oina's reply, she felt her stomach sink at what the answer might be.

"Hmm, well…it was perfectly round and sphere-like. There were odd swirling designs, and they glowed red on the sun. I felt an unfathomable darkness radiating from it, and it scared me, but I didn't say anything to anyone about it…"

Waka's brow furrowed and he stood, giving Ammy a serious look. "You don't think…?"

She nodded sadly. "Yes…I think Yami is the one responsible for this."

"Y-Yami? The Dark Lord?" Kai stammered, her nervousness visible in her warm brown eyes.

Ammy and Waka both nodded. "I don't understand though…I thought we defeated him," Ammy said, looking at the Prophet. He shook his head, just as clueless as she was; very uncharacteristic of Waka.

"Well, whatever the cause of his return, we need to find him," She continued. "But how can we? He appeared one hundred years ago."

"What about the Spirit Gate?" Issun said after a moment of silence. "That gate took us back to Kamiki one hundred years in the past; it can take us back to Kamui a hundred years too."

Ammy smiled and looked to Waka, who gave Issun an approving nod. "That's perfect, Issun!" She said. "But wait…isn't the entrance to Yoshpet sealed to outsiders?"

Kai shook her head. "Not anymore. When you used Sewaprolo to open it all those years ago, it never closed, and Tuskle figured that your Divine presence inside had caused it to remain open."

Ammy nodded and looked toward the door. "Alright, we have our next destination. But, isn't it kind of cold to go trekking out there?"

Kai went to the corner of the room and dug around in a trunk for a moment before pulling out a few bundles of skins and two pairs of makeshift snow shoes. "Here," She said, holding them out to Ammy and Waka. "I made these spare sets of winter clothes just in case. Take them."

"Thank you," Ammy said as she and Waka each took a set of the thick leather skins. "Also, Kai…I know this is a lot to ask, but do you think you could lead us to the Spirit Gate?"

Kai nodded without hesitation. "I'm the only one who knows the way. You would all be consumed if you wandered in there aimlessly."

"Alright then!" Issun said, bouncing high and fast in the air. "Let's get going! Yoshpet had better watch out for the Great Issun!"

At a glare from Ammy, he cleared his throat. "And Amaterasu and Waka, of course."

"Let us not delay any further," Waka said. "Yoshpet, here we come!"