Ori and the Spirits Within: Revitalized

Chapter 16: Return

The sun slowly rose behind a partly cloudy sky, bringing a new dawn to Nibel. It was warmer than yesterday, but still rather cool. It wasn't long after dawn that Ori and Ku woke up from their slumber, feeling ready for their flight back to Niwen. Ku felt comfortable with her time in her native forest, having dealt with emotional attachments that she couldn't have dealt with before, but she missed Naru and Gumo and couldn't wait to see them again. Ori, despite sharing a similar calm feeling about the time he spent here, was really anxious to get back home, partly to see Naru and Gumo again but mostly to deal with the situation he found himself in.

Ku insisted they leave right away, but Ori decided to take one more trip to the Spirit Tree to go over the plan with Sein again. Ku agreed to stay at Swallow's Nest until he came back, and the spirit jogged on over to the Spirit Tree. But as he walked over there, he... asked himself something, a question he hadn't thought to ask before.

Why didn't Ku just tag along? Surely, it would have been easier for her to just fly them over to the Spirit Tree, let Ori talk things over with Sein, and then leave from there. However, he didn't really give it much thought. Perhaps Ku just didn't want to come to the Spirit Tree with him, which he could accept.

It didn't take Ori long to reach the base of the Spirit Tree. The spirits quietly came by to say hi, but some asked if he wanted to play with them for a while. Unfortunately, he had to break the news that he was going away again, to which the spirits pleaded for him to stay. As much as he would have liked to play around for a bit, to take the weight off his shoulders for a while, there was a plan to uphold. The spirits eventually accepted Ori's departure, with a few giving quiet hugs to their heroic spirit. Ori did his best to reciprocate their gestures, but the real Ori should be the one receiving these compliments, not him.

He quickly climbed up the Spirit Tree to have a small chat with Sein, who was surprisingly already up. She had already begun preparing a raft the night prior to sail over to Niwen with, estimating that she'd probably get there early the following morning. They quickly went over the whole plan again, rehashing some of the details before the two said goodbye to each other. From there, Ori sprinted back to Swallow's Nest to not keep Ku waiting any longer. Before he knew it, he was racing up the hill towards the purple owl, seeing the satchel he brought from Niwen on the ground next to her.

"Everything alright?" Ku asked.

"Y-Yep... *pant* Think I... ran too fast," Ori replied, catching his breath at the top of the hill.

"We're not in a rush, you know," Ku laughed.

"I didn't w-want to keep you waiting."

"Fair enough," Ku smiled. "I'm happy we came back to Nibel. I know you still don't remember much of it, but being here with you again made me really happy."

"Well... I'm glad to hear that," Ori smiled at her. "And... I'm happy that I... t-tried my best to remember something."

"Well, you said Sein has a plan, so I'm not worried," Ku replied.

"Neither am I."

"Alright, come on," Ku said, lowering herself down. Ori quickly grabbed the satchel he brought with him and got onto Ku's back, giving a gentle pat on the owl's head. With a quiet chuckle, the young owl spread her wings wide, dashed forward, and propelled herself upward, beginning her flight back home. Past the Sunken Glades and Forlorn Ruins, the siblings hit the eastern seas and flew back towards Niwen.

Ori looked up to the sky, feeling the wind rush past him and Ku, pondering to himself in silence. He thought about his time in this world thus far, the people he'd met, the world that surrounded him, and the circumstances of his arrival into this realm. Despite recalling most of his time here, it frustrated him that he had no source of comparison, considering his true memories have been lost, or at the very least severely repressed given what happened in the Soul Scape. Still, he... enjoyed his time here, interacting with Ori's friends and family.