They both leapt from the titan's body, soaring through the air.

...and Baro faltered. His landing came short, the titan's massive stride sweeping down behind him like the shadow of death itself.

"Baro!" Renny shouted, spinning back.

The old man snarled. With a sudden crack, he whipped his walking stick against the titan's hand. The strike couldn't have been more than a sting, but somehow... it worked. The giant hand recoiled, just long enough for Renny to snatch Baro up and drag him clear.

They scrambled to the far side of the land, gasping for breath.

Baro wiped dust from his brow. "Now… now we see what stops it. If it can pass beyond this place, then we'll know."

Renny followed his gaze. The titan thundered onward, its colossal frame shaking the slopes. One step, then another, carrying it closer to the rim. It leaned forward, about to cross the boundary...

Something small shot through the air. Small… like them.

It struck the titan square in the chest.

The impact boomed like thunder, as if the whole Pit itself had been struck. The ground convulsed beneath their feet, hurling Baro onto his back and nearly toppling Renny beside him. A deafening roar of stone-on-stone split the air as the titan slammed down, ridges collapsing like broken ribs.

Baro steadied himself, brushing ash and grit from his suit with deliberate slaps. He let out a low, knowing grunt. "Ah. So that's the leash. That's what keeps it prisoned."

Renny blinked, his mind refusing to bridge the image... something their size, toppling a beast that vast.

Baro shook his head, turning to Renny. "That's what you should've done. Instead of climbing its balls."

Renny whipped around, incredulous. "Huh? Are you serious right now? You didn't do anything but hobble along like a cursed snail! If you'd moved faster, we wouldn't have had to risk being squashed in the first place! You think I wanted to ride the titan's balls?"

He ranted on, arms flailing, voice bouncing off the broken ridges as Baro chuckled to himself. And together, still bickering, they trudged onward toward Drosvale.

They arrived at a weather-beaten signpost jutting from the ground, its wood swollen with damp rot. Faded paint spelled the words in jagged strokes:

WELCOME TO DROSVALE – SECTION 7. LIMBOMITE ZONE

Baro tilted his head, squinting. "Limbomite?"

Renny frowned. "Maybe it means people in Limbo? I mean… this is hell. Limbo, Limbomites?" He looked to Baro for confirmation, but the old man's face was blank, dumbfounded.

Renny shook his head, muttering, "Nevermind," and kept walking.

The path beyond the sign sloped into a town wreathed in perpetual mist. Rotten greenery clung to the edges of broken fences, vines curling like veins along warped walls. The fog pressed down low, thick and suffocating, muting all sound except the crunch of their steps.

At first, it seemed abandoned... every door shut, every window opaque with grime. But the deeper they went, the less empty it felt. Faint noises began to bleed through the fog. A whisper. A call. Then a cry. Then dozens more, overlapping into a chorus of pleas.

Renny and Baro froze, heads snapping in different directions as the dissonant voices came from all around them, behind warped shutters, from alley mouths, beneath broken wells.

"What was that?" Renny murmured. His gut tightened. If Druvash lived in the woods among timber and bark… then this place could be Maeril's domain.

They pressed on.

A figure stumbled out of the haze. A man, pale and staggering, eyes wide with terror. He crashed into Renny's chest and nearly took them both down.

"Easy, easy... " Renny steadied him. "Where are you running? What's chasing you?"

The man's mouth worked soundlessly, his body twitching as though parts of him weren't fully formed. His face was disfigured, hollow-cheeked, pieces of his soul seeming missing.

Renny gripped his shoulders firmly. "Talk. Who is after you?"

But the man only clutched at him, trembling, his voice breaking into one desperate plea...

"Free me. Free me. Free me."

Old Man Baro squinted into the rolling fog. Something shifted inside it, a faint rhythm hidden in the silence. "You hear that, Renny boy?" he asked.

Renny tilted his head. "Hear what... "

Then it cut through. A sharp crack. Again. Like air being split, a whip tearing across the fog. Each snap drew closer, closing in on them.

The ragged man's eyes widened. He staggered backward, trembling. "It's here. It's here!" he wailed.

The sound split the air once more, and this time the whip came lashing straight for him.

Renny moved without thinking. His hand shot up and caught it mid-strike. The leather coiled tight in his grip, twitching like something alive. The man gasped, mouth open in horror and awe.

Renny gave a sharp tug. From the fog, the whip dragged its master into view... a Pitter, gaunt and furious, its eyes burning with resentment at being interrupted.

"Yu have problem?" it screeched, voice jagged. "Yu spoil everythin!"

It crouched, ready to spring.

But Renny yanked hard, pulling it off its feet, slamming the creature into the ground with a thunderous crack.

The Pitter twitched, scrambled upright, and with a snarl retreated into the fog, vanishing as quickly as it had come.

Old Man Baro chuckled, shaking his head. "Nice strength you've got there."

Renny dusted his palm where the whip had burned faint marks. "Not far from what you can do, old man," he said evenly.

The man trembled, still staring into the fog where the Pitter had vanished. His lips quivered, words tumbling out like fragments.

Then, suddenly, he froze. His cloudy eyes locked on Old Man Baro. His breath hitched."I… I know that voice," he whispered. Then louder, desperate: "Don Salvotore? Is that... you, Don?"

Renny glanced sharply at Baro, confused. "Who's he talking about?"

But the man lurched forward, clutching at Old Man Baro's sleeve with shaking hands. "It's you… Don! It's me... Rocco! Don't you remember?"

Old Man Baro stiffened, staring hard at the wretched, half-ruined face before him. His voice came low, almost broken."Rocco…? Is that really you?"

The man's cracked lips curved into something like a smile, though it wavered with exhaustion and grief. "Yes, boss… it's me."

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