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“We—have—arrived!”A flash of blinding light shot down from the blackened sky to the ground before revealing a tangled heap of three male travelers in strange robes, with a white balloon-like creature on top of them.The slender, blond figure spoke first. “The landing is as rough as ever. Are you alright, Kuro-tan?” The smile on Fay D. Flowright’s face widened further at the reaction he had hoped to get out of his companion.His brooding, raven-haired counterpart snapped back almost immediately. “And whose fault was that, huh?!” Kurogane never failed Fay’s expectation, with his red eyes glowering at the grinning magician with pure irritation.Wincing slightly as he extracted himself from the mess, the shortest of the three surveyed his surroundings with wary eyes. “Do you know where we are, Mokona? This place… feels different.” Syaoran was used to the antics between Fay and Kurogane, but the joyous mood from their banter could not overshadow the uneasy feeling that was making his skin crawl.‘Different’ was an understatement as the quartet looked ahead at the ominous caste that stood at the end of the winding dirt road. Black lightning flashed every now and then around the building’s moss-covered turret roofs, and soon it turned into a raging thunderstorm. With nothing else around them in this barren land to shelter them from the weather, all four members were in silent agreement to make their way to the castle as fast as their water-filled boots could carry them.It was a good thing that the countless travels they had across many dimensions had given them plenty of experience to brave even the harshest of circumstances. In no time, the quartet stopped short before the front huge front door painted in gold. There was no bells nor knockers, but that didn’t stop Kurogane raising his fist and hammered hard. “Hellooo! Anybody home?”No response.The ninja clicked his tongue, then he kicked the door in annoyance. “This world is giving me creeps. And it’s obviously not from the blowing wind,” he added, glaring at Fay’s opened mouth.“How do you know what I was going to say?”“Of course I’d know!”Just then, a booming thunder behind the party made them turned around in alarm, with their arms raised in a defensive stance at a hooded figure not far away from them.“Welcome… to Castle Oblivion,” it spoke with widespread arms. “However… a piece of advice, if you would lend an ear.”“Who are you?” Kurogane’s deep voice was rough with impatience and suspicion as he placed a hand on the hilt of his sword.Ignoring the ninja, the figure pointed at Syaoran and spoke again, “Ahead lies something you need… But to claim it, you must lose something that is dear to you.” With that, the hooded person faded into the heavy downpour.“I don’t exactly like what our mysterious helper had just told us,” Fay began, glancing at the castle door with a slight frown. Meanwhile, Syaoran and Kurogane were exchanging looks of confusion and irritation, respectively. “But It’s the only way we can find out more about this world.”