10 - 3

Mary, Naoya and Luna, having escaped from Ella arrive at the location which will allow the trio to enter Yomi which was revealed to be a well that wasn't too far down.

Mary, baffled by this, asked, "Is this it?"

Luna answered "Sure it is, here!" Luna then grabbed Naoya and threw him into the well, shocking Mary. Naoya screamed until he reached the bottom where Mary and Luna hear a sudden but oddly quiet thud. "See?" Said Luna.

"That's odd... Shouldn't the well be making a loud thump instead of a quiet one?" Asked Mary, bringing up a good point.

"True but theres a reason for that!" Said Naoya in the well as his voice echoed inside. He began climbing up, where his gradually became less echoey while explaining, "You see, the location that we are in, is in the middle of the island or also known as the core..."

Naoya fully returned back up from the well as climbed out.

He explained in detail to Mary saying, "You see, when father created the islands, he had discovered the gateway that leads to the layers that you've previously seen on the map and believing danger could emerge from beneath, he along with our godfather Katsura, created a prevention lock in which prevents anyone from entering in or out... But this came in the price that our godfather had to remain the bottom to guard and prevent anyone from leaving."

Listening to this, Mary asked, "But then if this Katsura person knows you, wouldn't he allow you to come in and out?"

Naoya answered, "I'm afraid not since whatever may lie within may or may not attempt to sneak their way out of the underworld and come here and... Who knows what threat they may prove..."

Mary, now understanding of whats at risk, says, "Then lets proceed... For Zukafu."

"For Zukafu." Said Naoya.

"For Zukafu." Said Luna.

Luna opened the scroll and dropped it down the well and upon touching the floor, the scroll began to disintegrate, revealing a purple portal at the bottom. Mary notices signs of fear on both Naoya and Luna as they felt anxious.

Naoya then jumps down into the well and into the wormhole followed by Mary and Luna. The wormhole then closed behind them, hiding its existence from any likely nosey people snooping around.

THE LAYERS BENEATH

The wormhole lands Mary, Naoya and Luna onto some a small cavern, made of rocks. As they stood up, they were shocked to see that what was in front of them was a large gaping hole that led deeper and deeper down to where the Earths core likely was.

"Holy sh-" said Naoya, expressing immense shock upon first witnessing the hole.

Mary sarcastically remarked, "It'd be stupid of us to go and jump down there, am I right?"

"Yeah well, its not stopping me!" Said Luna as she immediately began climbing down with careful precision.

"Luna!" Shouted Naoya.

But Luna told Naoya, "I'll do what I'll do while you grab Mary and use that staff of yours. Now be quiet and climb down!"

Naoya sighed and tried summoning his staff but it wouldn't appear, worrying him.

Luna said, "Great! That means we have to properly climb our way down..." saying that, she could see Naoya moving away from the edge. She then said "What are you doing? Come on!"

Naoya then made an excuse saying, "Y-You and Mary go down ahead, I'll wait here and-" Then suddenly, the scroll that was used, reintegrated and landed on Naoya's hand, further giving a better excuse for him to not climb down.

He continued saying, "I'll wait here and get the portal ready for us to escape." With a smile on his face, annoying Luna.

And because of this, Luna continued climbing down when Mary decided to join her as she climbed down as well, leaving Naoya by himself which he was okay with.

Mary commented, "Don't think I'm going to let you do this by yourself!"

Luna then scoffed and shaked her head as she said, "Well alright then!" And together, the duo climbed further down, seperating themselves away from Naoya who decided to chill.

But suddenly, he began hearing eerie voices and sounds that disturbed his ears, causing him to shout, "Hey guys, wait for me!" As he jumped down deeper into the otherworld.

Further annoyed, Luna tutted and remarked Naoya as "Idiot." Before she grabbed Mary and together they jumped down and chased after him.

The trio feel deeper and deeper, witnessing the world around them rapidly changing in colours. The trio then noticed some dense fog on their way and upon passing through, they found themselves at the layer called Yomi.

Yomi appeared desolate but also shrouded by fog, hiding details that only the keenest of eyes could notice with the texture around them appearing as rocks but made of some sort of sand-like material. The fog below the rocks appeared unclear with what seemed to be lightning or storms flashing below.

The trio then landed, face first, on a ruined pathway which lifted itself up to allow them to land.

After suffering from what felt like minimal pain, they looked around and felt uncomfortable being here as they began to feel warm. Their armours began to appear and immediately flew cool air into them as much as they could due to them being underneath where the centre of the Earth is.

Mary looked at the environment, taking in every single detail about it and said, "This is Yomi?"

Luna then commented, "To be frank, we're more surprised than you are... I always wondered what kind of place that our godfather would be inhabiting... Never believed it to be THIS accurate..."

"Yeah..." said Naoya, he then changed the subject as he said, "Come on, lets go and find Zukafu."

"Right." Said the girls in unison.

Meanwhile, Katsura's opens began to widen, showing them to be red in its outer layer while the pupils were a mixture of yellow and orange. He looked down at the sleeping Zukafu and placed his hand atop of him, soothing him.

He then said, "Its time..."