Some rather unexciting traveling later, and Teepo was back in eastern Wyndia. He felt a bit tense at the border crossing, as his previous border crossing hadn't exactly happened in the most legal way. The guards didn't recognize him at all though, so his worries were unfounded. The passport that he had gotten in Rhapala was actually legitimate, so he got through easily. The main road running through Eastern Wyndia was more busy than the roads he had been walking on recently before that, not like it mattered much as no strangers tried to interact with him, and Teepo didn't try to initiate anything either. With the exception of one quick robbery done on the road by Teepo, as he was still running low on zenny with his latest attempt at stealing in Urkan Tapa not working out. The robbery went without a hitch, with Teepo just quietly knocking out the first person he saw that was both travelling alone and looked like they would have some money, taking their valuables, dragging the person off to the side of the road so they wouldn't be visible form the road, and then Teepo continued on his way. He later stopped by the coffee shop to plan a bit for the future, and to mock the person trying to pull vinegar out of the well.

"Hey, maybe I should go to Genmel, check in on how stuff is looking there." He murmured to himself as he idly poked around in the curry he had ordered.

"Doubt I'll achieve anything, but whatever. It's a pretty short detour in any case. And if I decide to go travel up to Dauna, which I might as well as I have been pretty much everywhere else, it is gonna be quicker to check in on Genmel now than later."

"Any other spots I should go? Man, should honestly buy a fricking tourist guide or something with how I'm just traveling around looking for something exciting to happen somewhere. Surprised this place doesn't sell tourist guides to be honest with it being next to the largest road in Wyndia pretty much. Welp, whatever, their loss."

"Following the road I'll pass right by Wyndia anyway, so I guess can pop in there for a bit. Kinda curious how that man I fought when I robbed his house is doing. Hope he didn't get hurt long term." Teepo winced a little bit at the memory.

"Could also take a trip to that freaky plant while I am here. Haven't been there yet."

"Selling mutated crops sound like something Balio and Sunder would get in on." Teepo snorted.

"Right, let's get going then." Teepo got up, paid for his curry, mocked the man unsuccessfully pulling vinegar out of the well again, this time with some very crude words, and then fled the scene before things got violent, headed for the plant.

The plant was a lot more mundane than the rumors about the place. Which Teepo surmised that he should have expected, but he had thought that using chrysm ore to grow plants would have been a bit more interesting. Sure, he heard some whispers about some talking mutated onion that had existed a few months ago, but that had apparently been resolved somehow, so it was hardly currently relevant. What Teepo did appreciate was how cheap some of the crops were, and though the taste was off by a bit it was not like the food Teepo had been eating while traveling around had been the most inspiring taste-wise, so he gladly took the opportunity to get some cheap food. He also decided to buy one particularly large pumpkin, to use solely to gloat at the farmers back in Mcneil village, if he was still in the mood to do that when he arrived there.

Wyndia was more or less the same as the last time Teepo visited, viewed from a bystander's perspective. Internally however, Teepo was unpleasantly reminded of the time he had spent frenetically running around the city looking around for Ryu and Rei, until finally coming to the bitter conclusion that they were dead. Teepo quickly peeked into the house of the man he had robbed, and felt some content at seeing that the man seemed to be fine. He also overheard some chatter about how the princess had apparently been kidnapped and only recently returned, which was news to Teepo. Not like it affected what he was doing though, so he moved on to Genmel as he had planned.

Teepo did not get assaulted by any thugs on the road to Genmel this time, as he had expected. He did stop for a bit by the bridge where he had been attacked, and his dragon powers… reawakened? Teepo was starting to feel that the memories around the time when Rei and Ryu were killed were starting to become increasingly fuzzy. Either way, he felt a bit melancholic, almost wistful, of when he was last here. Sure, getting ganged up on by a bunch of bandits hadn't been fun, but he felt some nostalgia at the wonder he had first felt after realizing he had somehow transformed into a dragon. Trying to kill Balio and Sunder had also felt more purposeful than the rather aimless wandering he had been doing as of late. He proceeded to slap himself in the face, telling himself that he was stupid for feeling wistful about getting ganged up on while having murder on his mind, and got going once again.

Upon arriving in Genmel, Teepo immediately noted that the city was much less crowded than last time he had visited, and also less smelling of vomit. Thinking about it for a bit, he realized that the contest had probably passed during the time while he had been away, which would explain both the lack of people and vomit. Teepo decided that with how he had skedaddled almost immediately last time he had been here due to the city generally feeling both unpleasant and unsafe, he should probably take and look around the city a bit more this time, with the absence of the crowds at least making it a bit more pleasant to be walking around, even though he figured he should probably still be a bit on guard. After walking around a bit and thinking that the city now actually felt a bit creepily empty, he decided that maybe he was being a bit overly cautious, and so opted to stop at a pub for a break, where he overheard a conversation between the bartender and another customer.

"Man, someone oughta step up and take over running the contest. God knows that I hardly even make money on this pub when I can't sell shitty overpriced booze to the drunks that come to lose money on betting. Heck, ignoring my pub, this town is about as lively as a gooey when the contest isn't running."

Said the bartender, who looked like he had gotten a bit high on his own supply.

"Yeah, agreed. Don't know who really has all the connections to take that role though. Kind of a shame that Balio and Sunder aren't around anymore in that way, they did do a good job of running the contest." Teepo's ears perked up.

"Yup, guess they just finally got what was coming for them."

"True that. Lot of people here probably has something coming for them sooner or later though."

"Well yeah, but Balio and Sunder were in a class of their own. Kill people on the regular and it's only right that you get killed at some point as well."

"Whatever. I'm just glad that all their goons died with them at least, things could have gotten real messy around here if there was some power struggle.

Teepo didn't hear the rest of the conversation, as one thing stood above all else. Balio and Sunder were now dead apparently.

"Wow, someone killed them. Yes!" Teepo exclaimed with a grin and pumped his fist in the air. Some people around him looked at him for a bit and then went back to heir own business.

"How though? I struggle to think of anyone who would have the strength to do that. And wasn't this their home turf? Shouldn't they have had dozens of goons to help them out? But they all died somehow?" Teepo now whispered to himself.

"Well, doesn't matter, they could have been hit by a meteor strike for all I care. They got what they deserved, and that's what's important."

"That leaves Loki and Mcneil in case I decide to get revenge." Teepo rubbed his hands together a little.

"Mcneil should still be cooped up in his manor like the wimp he is. Loki the even bigger wimp can have run off absolutely anywhere at all to be honest."

"Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if he has settled down on an island in the outer sea or something." Teepo snorted.

"But yeah, maybe I should just head back to Mcneil village for now."

"And if nothing else, go back to where our house was and make some sort of memorial for Ryu and Rei. They deserve it."

"Man, their bodies are probably just the bones by now." Teepo stared down into the table with a glum expression.

"Should have realized they were dead earlier and should have gave them a proper funeral. I just was too much of a coward to do it right then I guess."

"Dang, I miss them. And I miss how carefree the world felt. I really was a naive and cocky little kid back then. And still am, well a bit less naive I hope, I don't think life has gotten bored of sucker punching me yet.

"Well, whatever. I'll go to our old house in any case, maybe it will help me move on a bit." Teepo got up and left.

Crossing through Central Wyndia and Mt. Myrneg was a lot quicker this time around, which Teepo chalked up to him being a total newbie to mountain hiking back then, compared to now. Upon reaching the fork in the road leading off to Mcneil village, he noted that the bridge connecting Yrrall to Dauna had now been repaired.

Teepo didn't know why he felt disappointed that Mcneil village still looked the same as it always did. While he had felt confident about walking into the village while he had been returning over Mt. Myrneg, now that he was standing on a distance where he could start to see people walking around in the village vicinity, he felt unsure about whether it was wise to let the villagers see him. While he doubted that the villagers would both have hostile intentions and be bothered enough to act on them, if word got to Mcneil that a kid that he had tried to get murdered was still around, he could get some other thugs sent after him. In a straight fight, Teepo felt confident in his chances, but he realized that didn't prevent him from getting murdered in his sleep. Teepo then had an idea. Even if it wasn't wise to show himself in the village, he could just disguise himself with a simple cloak, and that should be good enough for a quick visit to listen to what's currently going on. With the cloak on, he went to the inn to act as a traveler just asking around, which he matter of fact kind of was.

"So, what's up around these parts these days? Anything a traveler going alone should watch out for?" Teepo said, trying to act as inconspicuous as he could as he plopped down at a table with a drink.

"Actually, yes. There's some sort of tiger monster on the loose and seemingly running around between here and Dauna, and it has attacked people on a few occasions." The other person sitting at the table stated.

"Yeah, watch yourself. Well, not like it matters that you're travelling alone far as this is concerned, just means that there will be less dead and wounded if it decides to attack." Some other person cut in from another table.

"Gee, thanks. Anything else?"

"Nah. Or well, our cheapskate mayor is currently not in the area, so if you had any business with him, you will have to wait."

"I don- actually yes I do have some unfinished business with him. Do you know where he went?"

"Heard something about him going to Dauna, but I don't really know." The person shrugged for emphasis.

"Ok. Looks like I'll have to wait a bit, although I was considering to Dauna myself."

"Yeah, don't know if you know this but Dauna is really too large of a region to realistically hope to end up meeting him there. Unless you're in a really big hurry, I would just wait here for him."

"Hm, yeah true. Anyway, thanks for the heads-up, I'll be going now."

With there being no point to go to the manor when Mcneil wasn't there, Teepo opted to go back to his old, now burnt down house, so that if even he ended up doing nothing else in the area, he would have been there, and hopefully get some closure along with it. The walk through Cedar Woods felt nostalgic, but with dread in the air. Sure, he had done a really brief visit immediately after the house had burnt down, so technically he wasn't visiting for the first time since that day, but that visit he had been panicking and generally not in an emotionally stable state, so this time he would hopefully remain more calm.

The house looked more or less like it did when Teepo last saw it. While it was still a sad sight of course, Teepo was at least happy that the house had been left undisturbed and wasn't filled with goblins or other local wildlife. Not like a burnt house that could probably have the roof fall in at any moment was the most desirable place to live in, even for the local monsters.

"Thought some spiteful person or other would have went and demolished the remains, but I guess not." Teepo said as he carefully stepped inside, stepping over some small rubble.

"Too much of a hassle to do that without getting paid or something I guess."

"Honestly, looking around, I'm surprised that just the fire itself didn't do more damage. Heck, I could still live here if I wanted to. Would need to do some repairs though."

"No, still doesn't feel right. And even though I don't think that Ryu or Rei would come back and haunt this place as vengeful ghosts, still feels like I would be putting myself at risk if I were to live here again, with the villagers knowing at least more or less where this house is." Teepo frowned.

"I am being a bit paranoid? Maybe, but still doesn't feel right to live here in any case."

"Let's see about the monument then. Actually, probably is a bit risky trying to build something here, it would certainly draw unwanted attention to this place."

"Actually forget all of that. Rei or Ryu really wouldn't want a fancy monument of any kind. They really were happy with just having enough survive, I was really the only one hoping to strike it big at some time and I'm the only one that would have been interested in a monument." Teepo stated with a downbeat voice.

"Well, that makes the decision easy. I will leave this house as it is, as a memorial. Hopefully it will remain undisturbed. Off I go then." Teepo stepped outside, saw the night sky, heard some distant uninviting noises, and then stepped back inside.

"Ok, on second thought I'll make an exception for tonight though and stay here, can't be arsed to go camp out in the woods and probably get woken up by a Ripper pecking at my face or something."

"And if Rei and Ryu are sticking around here as ghosts, then probably I'll be able to confirm that at least if I stay here during the night." Teepo simultaneously let out a snort and a single tear.

"Let's see what remains of my and Ryu's bed." What remained of the bed was a charred bed frame that might or might not would of have hold Teepo's weight.

"Yeah, not gonna sleep in those dingy remains of the bed. Well, the floor will do." Teepo said with a sad grimace.

"Man, seeing the house as it is is sad of course, but I really haven't felt that much by coming back here besides a little sadness, but nowhere near what I was expecting."

"Guess I had already moved on in the back of my mind."

"Or I'm just becoming emotionally number in general, wouldn't really mind that to be honest."

"Eh, not much use in thinking about those things much. Should just try to get to sleep."

"Good night to me then." Teepo laid down on the floor, and tried to sleep. After a long time of just lying there staring up in the ceiling and trying to sleep, failing due to a mix of the floor being uncomfortable, but also his mind feeling a bit restless over trying to fall asleep in a place which he still felt emotionally unstable about. When sleep finally came however, he was greeted by an unwanted sight.

"Why are you here again? Didn't you hear me last time? Piss off!" Teepo yelled at the familiar floating figure.

"...I did hear you, but sometimes-"

"Yeah yeah whatever, speak away for all I care, last time I started yelling at you I woke up and dammit it took long enough to fall asleep for me just now to risk waking up earlier than I have to, don't expect me to listen to you much though." Teepo proceeded to cut her off.

"...You would still be of great help in preventing the spread of the desert." She resumed speaking after a minute or so in her usual silky monotone.

"...But I won't press the matter if you are opposed, you do have free will, and I respect that."

"… The ones who caused your anger originally, Balio and Sunder, are both dead. You were aware of this."

"...Am I wrong in assuming that you are planning revenge on Mcneil, sooner or later?"

"Yeah, so what? Mcneil was the one who sent the order to kill me and my brothers. And I'm sure he would do it again given the chance." Teepo responded with audible resentment in his voice.

"...Still, what makes him dangerous is the people he commands, not he himself. He isn't dangerous just by living."

"So what do you want me to do? Arrest him and throw him in prison somehow? Do I look like Wyndian military to you? And if you are gonna suggest that he doesn't deserve that at the very least, then I know you are just full of shit and I won't listen to a word you say ever again. Heck, why am I even listening to you right now?"

"…Imprisonment would be apt punishment."

"So you got some sense at least. But still, what do you want me to do? Wyndia bothering to arrest criminals around these parts is rarer than a eye goo winning a duel."

"...Have patience. People do get what is coming to them eventually."

"Oh, really now? When do I get my lucky break then? Cause I really think I deserve one after all the shit that has happened these last few weeks."

"...Well, what would you wish for in your so called lucky break?"

"Let's see, well I could happily do with finding a huge pile of zenny lying around if nothing else.. But just something good you know."

"… Wouldn't you consider discovering your powers of the brood as something positive? You would have been dead otherwise."

"I mean, I guess. But is it too much to wish for to have a lucky break that doesn't involve being attacked and having your life at risk?"

"...The world is unfair, and sadly my power is too limited to fundamentally alter that."

"Aren't you supposed to be a goddess or something? You are a fricking lame one in that case."

"...Even if I had the power, would you like a goddess manipulating how the world fares from afar?"

"Well, if you actually did change things for the better, then yes, why not? Not like I haven't already had my life turn to the worse out of my control because of shady people outside of my reach." Teepo responded with an exasperated sigh.

"...Might I ask for your aid in the matter then?" She responded after a few minutes.

"I know you're just gonna lie about what's in it for me, so not gonna bother asking about that. Still don't know why I'm even hearing you out right now. So tell me what exactly it is I would be doing. And if it sounds stupid or boring or just straight up wrong, you can bet your ass I'm not gonna be bothered with doing it."

"...To begin with, you would have to cross the ocean to get to the desert, and to where I reside."

"Sure, that sounds like a believable first step. Hard to do something about something if you aren't even where shit is going down. Except does it look like I can cross the ocean to you? My wings in dragon from aren't really good enough to fly with, none of my dragon forms help me swim or breathe underwater either, and none of those boats in Rhapala are good enough for the Outer Sea even if I were to hijack one."

"...I know. But there are other ways to cross the ocean, and with relative ease at that."

"Ok, so if I manage to get to the desert in the first place, then what's next? Because I know shit about how deserts work and crap, so you will have to explain everything you want me to do."

"...You will learn when you met me in person."

"Oh cut the crap, I'm not gonna cross the ocean without knowing what I'm gonna be doing on the other side. Why can't you tell me?"

"...You will see why, once you have crossed."

"Nope. Not coming if you can't even pretend to be honest and open with me."

"...If that's your decision, then so be it. I do respect your free will as previously stated. Still, I will tell you how to cross the ocean, should you decide to do so eventually."

"Sure, sounds good to know. Someone in Rhapala or Junktown might be willing to pay big money for that info. Fire away then."

"...First option would be to board the black ship. Should you manage to board it, it will take you across the ocean."

"The black ship?"

"...Ask the townspeople in Rhapala for more details."

"Uh, alright?"

"...The second option would be to use an old Techno age relic which would send you across in a matter of seconds. The one closest to you that has the necessary range should be located on the beach that you probably know as Steel Beach."

"And that is supposed to be the closest one?" Teepo grumbled under his breath.

"...Nevertheless, I would heavily advise against informing other people of this. The lands beyond the ocean are not to be threaded lightly, and you would be endangering their lives."

"Maybe I will, maybe I won't. Thanks for the info I guess."

"Oh yeah, another thing: You are the god that the Urkans worship, right?"

"...That I am."

"Ok. You won't smite me or anything for being part of the brood?"

"...While I did order the destruction of the brood 400 years ago, that was because they posed a danger to the world. Do you see yourself as posing a danger to the world?"

"No, not really. I mean, I do have more power than your average guy, and I'm maybe not the most concerned with the wellbeing of the world at large, but to pose a danger to the world, I think you need both the power and intention to do it, and I really got neither." Teepo shrugged.

"...There is my reasoning."

"Well, feels nice to know that I don't have a goddess watching me that wants me dead. Still not gonna be bothering to visit you in person unless you're gonna be open about what you want me to do though."

"...Farewell then. Sleep well." She softly said, as she slowly faded away.

Author's note: I have played through this game five times and I still do a double-take every single time I need to spell Yrrall, lol.