Deep beneath the Akafuyara jungle in Sargon lies a Durin city surface-dwellers have never once laid eyes on.

One day, the city's young architect Stitch Canvas comes up to Akafuyara asking for help, saying "the city is in crisis." Akafuyara's grand chief Inam, chief Tomimi back from Rhodes Island on vacation, and all-purpose guide Elysium head underground first, and once word reaches them late, Akafuyara's strongest warrior Gavial and her childhood friend Eunectes follow via a shortcut.

But what everyone finds upon arrival is neither a collapsed civilization nor a city in flames. If anything…… it's closer to an amusement park.

1. The Underground City Was Supposedly in Danger — Turns Out It Was an Amusement Park

Stitch had thoroughly scared the surface-dwellers on the way down. "Fireballs falling from the sky, giant mushrooms blotting out the sun," she'd said. Tomimi, Inam, and Elysium steeled themselves all night and sprinted down at full speed.

But when the elevator doors open, what greets them is a giant waterfall, a super spiral slide, and Durin joyfully splashing about. The 'crystallization of wisdom' dome Stitch had been so proud to show off? Nobody's even looking at it — everyone's eyes are glued to the slide behind it.

Elysium is already in a swimsuit, cheering; Tomimi's eyes light up at a Durin clothing shop. Drunk Durin are locked in a factional war between 'Old Karl Honey Wine' and 'Spirits Number Seven.'

Stitch, the one who caused all this commotion in the first place, cries out in dead earnest: "Not a single person here understands the aesthetics of simplicity!" No one is listening.

2. A Day That Started with a Welcome Vote and Ended in a Drinking Party

In Ceruercha, everything from streetlight color to visitor permits is decided by citizen vote. When design representative Catch Lightrace puts forth the motion of whether to welcome the surface-dwellers, everyone checks the glass in their hand first.

The result: a near-unanimous pass. The reason is simple — the Durin make friends with strangers fast.

Tomimi gets a free swimsuit, Elysium gets drinks bought by two fan clubs at once, and Inam, in the middle of it all, sells commerce representative Croc Diamondface on a business idea: the Super Water Race.

"Do you Rhodes Island people pitch tents and sleep in elevators too?" Inam is baffled, but honestly, the surface-dwellers are adapting to Durin norms faster than expected.

3. Two People Take a Shortcut and Land Right on Top of a Stranger

Meanwhile, Gavial and Eunectes, following the high priest's guidance (or rather, orders to jump), take the shortcut by leaping straight into an underground river. Where they land happens to be right where Durin Abdotiya was quietly lost in thought.

Abdotiya, the Literature Representative, ends up ambushed mid-way through drafting the city's ad copy. "Surface-dwellers, so you've finally come." Her first words aren't a welcome — they're a warning.

Abdotiya soon appears before the two and declares to the citizens of Ceruercha: "We don't need help from you 'great surface-dwellers.'" Her nerve — not flinching even at the axe-wielding Gavial — only riles up the crowd of Durin even more.

Abdotiya, in fact, isn't originally Durin at all. Born in Ursus, she draws a firm line: "This is the home I chose." Why, she hasn't told anyone — yet.

4. The Rivals' Taste War: Simplicity vs. Extravagance

Stitch and Catch have been rivals and sworn enemies for years. Both competed over redesign proposals for the dome, Ceruercha's symbol, but neither could win the citizens over.

Catch, visiting Stitch for the first time in a while, shows off her new idea. "Complex geometric patterns, with yellow, green, red, and blue all clashing against each other!"

Stitch grimaces, but the moment the dome comes up, she snaps to attention and gets defensive. "Don't you dare touch that dome." They pretend not to give each other an inch, but it's plainly obvious each recognizes the other's skill.

Meanwhile, Eunectes meets the Durin's old assistant robot, unit 0429, and proposes, "Let's be friends." Robot manager Decouture Silvermint initially draws a line — "a robot is just a tool for work" — but slowly softens under Eunectes's warmth.

5. Paradise's Last Summer, and a New Landmark Rivalry

Stitch's real goal wasn't the dome at all, but the railway bridge. Fix the earthquake-severed railway and reinstall the Originium prospecting equipment, and the dome need never be touched. The problem: the railway bridge's spot is currently occupied by none other than the famous giant slide.

After a representatives' meeting, a conclusion is reached: blow up the slide, and let Stitch and Catch each build their own new landmark in its place. The citizens are actually delighted — "We were getting a little tired of it anyway."

Right before the demolition, Catch proposes everyone take a group photo.

After the countdown, the slide quietly crumbles into the water. The two rivals then shake hands and formally declare war. "From here on, it's a real showdown."

6. A Swim Meet Turns Up an Actual Disaster

A preliminary survey of the railway bridge somehow morphs into a joint 'Ceruercha–Akafuyara–Rhodes Island Swim Meet.' The representative athletes: Gavial, Elysium, and, unexpectedly, a volunteer entrant, Abdotiya.

The race is heading smoothly toward its climax, when Stitch and Edge Earthheart crash in on a stolen boat, throwing everything into chaos. In the end, the out-of-control boat slams straight into the tunnel wall.

But the collision reveals something unexpected. Beyond the wall, an active Originium vein. The true disaster that had been slowly waking for a long time was uncovered by pure accident, in the middle of a water park meltdown.

7. The City Blows Up in a Month, and Everyone's Worried About Interior Decorating

By Master Edge's calculations, the vein will erupt in about 25 days. The moment the broadcast goes out, the Durin……calmly start deciding what to pack for the move.

"We built the water park knowing this risk from the very start." For the Durin, disaster isn't unfamiliar. It's their tradition: when a city's destruction is certain, you dress it up in its finest before sending it off, rather than mourn it.

Coincidentally, a similar fuss was happening up on the surface in Akafuyara. Adakris Yuta, given a terminal diagnosis, had spent months building his own tomb-slash-monument, the 'Yutayuta Tower.' That stubbornness — wanting to meet the end at your very best — has something in common with the Durin, somehow.

The real problem comes next. There's not enough time to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people through the narrow tunnels, and it's too late to dig new shelters.

In the end, Gavial proposes: "Just widen the elevator, and everyone can go up to the surface together."

Something that's never happened once in Durin history. Abdotiya is the first to object. "What if we trust you and go to the surface, only to find an even crueler reality waiting for us?"

8. The Invincible Gavial Hesitates for the First Time in Her Life

For the surface migration to succeed, Akafuyara needs grounds to accept the Durin. Inam has long urged Gavial to take the seat of Amir (regional ruler).

"If you really don't want it, the Sargon court will send an Amir of their own. Then Akafuyara can't stay as free as it is now."

For Gavial, who left her homeland with the dream of studying medicine and treating Oripathy patients, this is a first — a choice where both paths are right, and both are what she wants.

The moment Gavial hesitates on her answer, Tomimi steps forward first. "I'll become Amir!" Inam immediately volunteers too. "Better that I do it, since I've been here all along, than have Tomimi give up going back to Rhodes Island." In the end, the seat of Amir goes to Inam.

Your fist is much bigger than you think it is, Gavial. Because I'm here.

— Eunectes

That the axe, and the friend, both belong to Gavial. A quiet, warm line.

9. The Architect in Hiding Gets Dragged Out Through a Broken Door

While Abdotiya prepares her speech for the square, Stitch stays holed up in her room, frozen over a blank page. In truth, there's a story she's told no one.

Eight years ago, Stitch survived an Originium explosion and contracted Oripathy, and former design representative Pinch Canvas took her in as an apprentice. But Pinch vanished without a word a few years back, leaving behind only one assignment: "come see me again only once you've replaced the dome with a design of my own."

Gavial knocks on the door, but Stitch doesn't answer.

Gavial smashes clean through the door and wall to drag Stitch's true feelings out of her. "I've redrawn it over and over and it's never been chosen. Now even the sight of the dome scares me!" In front of the birdcage-like assignment her mentor left behind, Stitch had already been calling herself a failure.

Gavial swings her fist, telling Stitch to just take the one hit.

Relax, my fist only hits bad guys. You're not a bad guy. You're just bad at using your head.

— Gavial

The fist actually lands not on Stitch, but on the desk. With that one blow that doesn't hurt, Stitch finally decides to let something go.

10. Pouring Out, in the Square, What She'd Never Told Anyone

At the same time, Abdotiya was standing at her own cliff's edge, for different reasons. To get the surface migration passed, the Durin's fear had to be removed — and to do that, she had to bring out her own past first.

Not Abdotiya Razorpen, but Abdotiya Nikolayevna Ivanova. The story of someone born into Ursus nobility who lost everything overnight and fled.

The surface was never beautiful, she says calmly, but it wasn't as awful as they imagined either. And with that, the vote begins.

In the first vote, not a single hand goes up. But once Gavial and Stitch, arriving late, join the square, the mood shifts. In the revote, one hand, then two, then a flood of hands rise, one after another.

That day, Catch hands the new design representative seat over to Stitch and leaves the city, saying she's going to search for her missing mentor Pinch.

Stitch stands before everyone for the first time and speaks in her own voice. "Let's go to the surface together."

Paradise Lost, and the Next Paradise

A few days later, Stitch is still out in the square, touching up the dome. Except this time, instead of hiding away, she's out there having full-blown arguments with passing Durin. Master Edge calls it 'saving time,' but everyone knows Stitch has changed.

A letter Pinch left behind is found at the top of the dome.

The biggest problem you ran into wasn't a design flaw or the difficulty of construction. It was simply…… persuading people.

— Pinch Canvas

Her mentor had known the answer all along. Catch, smiling, says that on the day the city is rebuilt, she wants to design something amazing again with Stitch. Abdotiya promises to return to Ceruercha after the rebuilding — not yet knowing that Croc has secretly sold her off as a business partner headed for Rhodes Island.

At last, the final elevator rises. As Gavial walks out carrying Stitch, the Durin and Tiacauh filling the entrance to the cave erupt in cheers all at once.

Gavial raises her right hand in greeting. "The weather's nice today, so let's all head to the lake and have some fun!"

The underground city said to be in crisis turned out to be an amusement park, and the real crisis was only discovered by accident afterward. And the architect who'd been hiding, and the young woman playing dumb, both finally poured out their own stories in the middle of the square. And so the jungle's summer came to an end, swallowing an entire underground city whole.