Dedede Castle's underground. The remnants crawled out. Pushed back. The evening sky had already shifted. Orange to purple. Kirby and Haru walked side by side. East path through Whispy Woods. Five kilometers northeast of Ploop Town. Dry leaves crunched underfoot with each step. Crisp. Sharp. The sky between the trees darkened gradually. As they moved deeper into the forest, the air changed. Damp. Heavy. Like the bottom of water. Thin black mist seeped from gaps in tree roots. Dark Matter residue. Fragments of darkness scattered during the large-scale invasion six months ago. Still pooling in the forest's "dark wells." Near where Shadow Beasts emerge. Kirby didn't speak. Just looked straight ahead. Walked. Red shoes on fallen leaves. That sound alone continued. Haru glanced at his profile. (He gets that face sometimes.) After all these years together, she knew. When Kirby carried everything alone. When he'd made his decision. No words. But everything was decided. That kind of ai