Several questions remained unanswered as Xander walked away, leaving the tree behind, and stepped into the portal. He hoped to arrive directly at the carnival ground, but due to some inexplicable reason, he ended up in a different destination.
When Xander stepped out on the other side, the carnival was gone, and he found himself standing in the middle of the train track running from Faros to Florentia. On his right lay the familiar grassy plains which bordered Lake Tamaki while fields of unripe corn stretched out on his left.
Instead of sending him back to the carnival, the portal had teleported him to the other side of Lake Tamaki. But things looked markedly different from last time.
The rolling green plains were dotted with sunflowers, and the midday sun was shining overhead, blessing the rustic lands with its loving warmth. It no longer looked like Xander was trapped inside a dark memory, and he couldn't figure out what had caused the drastic change.
