Ray and Athena go out to fish by the river, when a big fish pulls the rod out of Ray's hands and into the water.  They chase the rod along the water until they reach the mouth of a dark tunnel.  Athena dashes inside and Ray reluctantly gives chase.  The two wind up at the clearing.  They cross the water to retrieve the rod, but are sent inside the old world.

They find themselves among a group of leaflings1 who are planning an attack of some sorts.  Ko appears and throws a baby arthrosect2 at the group, causing the mother to appear and destroy the platform they are standing on.  Ray and Athena are sent plummeting to the ground, where they land in water and reappear back in the real world.  It starts to rain, and the two return home.

That night, Ray dreams that he is walking through an open, flat area where plants and trees slowly spring up.  He scoops up some clay and sculpts a small creature.  When it is half finished, it springs to life and gives a prophetic warning to Ray.  Startled, Ray tosses it into an open abyss before waking up.

In the morning, he quickly runs off to see Athena.  Athena is excited to see the fantasy world again, but Ray is hesitant.  He eventually concedes, reasoning that he still needs to find the fishing rod.  The water has gotten deeper, and he removes his shoes to cross the pond.  They enter the barrier again and arrive at the same village as before.  They come across Ko being berated by her parents for having participated in the catastrophe from before.  Ko sulks off to her room, and Ray and Athena follow her.  There Ko shows them the suit of armor she is secretly making.  She reveals that she is planning on going off on her own to prove her worth by slaying a legendary monster and bringing back its head.  Ray asks if they can join her, but she refuses, saying he is too cowardly to join.  This irks Ray, who asks if he can prove himself to her.  Ko reluctantly invites him to join her in hunting for the last piece of armor.  The three of them journey to the forest floor.  After searching around, they find a veyene3, which Ko instructs Ray to kill.  Ray refuses, but Ko finishes the job anyway.  Splitting it apart, she instructs Ray to eat some.  Not wanting to let her down again, he tries a small portion, but becomes violently sick and runs off into a small cove in the bushes.  When he emerges again, he sees that he is back in the real world, right near the Argosies4' backyard.  When he returns, he is called inside to eat.  He devours his lunch, much to Phil's delight.

Ray and the Argosies travel into town to deliver a truckload of fresh meat to the butchery.  While Phil does his business, Ray wanders off to an antique shop, where the eccentric shopkeeper tells him various stories about the artifacts there.

On the way home, the sky clouds over and it begins to rain again.  Ray runs out back to try and find Athena, but a flash of lightning sparks a memory in his mind, causing him to run back home.  While inside, Celinde encourages him to find something to distract himself from the storm.  He redecorates his room to create a look similar to the old world.

The next morning, the rain has subsided, and Ray runs off to the clearing to delve into the old world once more.  The water is even deeper than before, and Ray pulls his pants up to his thighs to keep himself from getting wet.

When he arrives, he is alone on the forest floor.  He wanders about, calling out for Athena.  A rustling in the bushes reveals the arthrosect, which attacks Ray in an attempt to eat him.  Ray attempts to climb a tree to get away, but a branch breaks and he falls.  Ko runs to his rescue, stabbing the monster in the eye.  Ray manages to pull off the arthrosect's skull before the beast runs away.  Ko concedes to bring Ray along with her, and pulls two teeth off of the skull, giving one to Ray.

The two make their way to a ferry, where they are rejected by the guard for not having any money.  They manage to sneak onboard, but Ray is caught halfway through the trip and thrown off.

Ray wanders through a deep part of the woods that has been taken over by birds.  One of them mocks him incessantly, warning him that he will be lost forever.  Before the birds can attack him, Athena appears and scares them off momentarily.  After a brief embrace, the two work together to fight back against the birds.

The birds prove to be too overpowering.  The torrent of birds sparks a flashback in Ray's memory, and we see him in a small, clean house with an unknown figure sheltering over him, comforting him as the house collapses around him.  Before they can fall victim, an old leafling shows up with a miniature cannon to blow away the birds.   With the birds scared off, the two are invited to the leafling's house to recuperate.

Inside, the old leafling asks Ray how he came to be in this part of the woods.  Ray doesn't explain, thinking that he wouldn't believe him anyway.  The grandfather points Ray towards the city on the mountain, telling him that there is a priestess with a powerful staff that can grant wishes, who can see all there is to see.  When Ray expresses his intent to go, the leafling gives him a book, asking if he can return it to the library.  With that, the three retreat to bed.

During the night, Ray dreams of the day he rescued Athena, but he is in Athena's shoes.  While he's sleeping, a human girl hangs a ball around Ray's neck before sneaking off.  The elder leafling tells her that he will "send him your way".

The next morning, Ray wakes up to a rainstorm only to discover that Athena has disappeared once more.  The elder leafling reminds Ray to see the priestess, saying that she can help.  He summons a tall bird to walk Ray towards the city on the mountain.

The storm turns fierce and the bird is forced to take shelter.  With the ball in his hands, Ray becomes determined to continue his journey, and steps outside to continue on in the rain.  The storm turns even harsher, and lightning begins to pepper the sky, triggering another flashback in Ray's mind.  As he cowers on the ground, Celinde appears to bring him back home.

He draws himself a bath, all the while holding the ball Athena gave him.  He sinks down into the water, where he hears a voice warning that he doesn't have much time left.  When he re-surfaces, he is back in the old world.