Once a year, Siesta holds the Obsidian Festival. Tourists buy obsidian souvenirs, and bands set up stages all across the city through the night. Amiya and the Doctor have come to this resort town, recommended by Kal'tsit.

There was exactly one thing nobody noticed: the temperature at the volcano east of the city wasn't quite what it usually was.

Provence and Skyfire, wandering the volcano's foothills on a 'field survey,' were the first two to notice the anomaly. Soon, Provence's voice grows serious over the radio. 'Doctor, this might be a matter of life or death for this whole city...'

Meanwhile, Amiya ends up helping Gummy sell mango smoothies at a beach stand. 'Following the Doctor around all day is exhausting you more than it should!' Gummy grabs Amiya and puts an apron on her before she can protest.

On the radio, the mayor's aide, who also serves as the city's Catastrophe Messenger, is bragging about obsidian. 'The volcano is like a friend to us — please, everyone, rest easy.' The voice belonged to Cronin.

1. Three Catastrophe Messengers Meet at the Volcano (One of Them Is the Mayor's Daughter)

Ceylon was on her own at first. She'd handed the observatory her volcanic anomaly data, only to get a verdict of 'no abnormality.' So there was only one option left: find real experts among the tourists flooding in for the festival.

Around then, at the volcano's foothills, Provence and Skyfire were bickering over an obsidian sample they were digging up. Strange smells, abnormal temperatures, and now a sudden swarm of Originium bugs.

After rescuing a young woman being chased by that very swarm, they learn her name: Ceylon Doicos. The mayor's daughter, and an Originium researcher.

Ceylon, who'd been investigating alone, and Provence and Skyfire, who'd just noticed the same anomaly — the three of them reach the same conclusion: something is wrong with this volcano.

For Skyfire, honestly, this was never just a vacation. 'As a researcher myself, I was quite curious. Chances to observe a volcano's ecosystem firsthand are rare, after all.' Provence, having given up trying to stop her, is half-resigned to it.

I need your help, so that Siesta can get through this crisis safely.

— Ceylon

2. The Mayor's Daughter Brings Evidence to City Hall, Gets Treated Like a Wanted Criminal

After a 40-minute remote analysis from volcanologist Eyjafjalla, the conclusion is in: this volcano will erupt within two to four weeks.

Ceylon takes this data to city hall — to Cronin, the secretary running the government in place of her father, who's away on business.

Cronin's answer is crystal clear: 'These suspicious tourists have deceived you, miss.' He then orders his guards to seize them all.

Cronin is almost impressively glib about it. He claims rumors of a volcanic eruption have popped up before, and dismisses this one too as just a scheme by people jealous of Siesta's prosperity.

In an instant, the mayor's own daughter becomes a wanted fugitive.

Round up every last one of them trying to ruin the Obsidian Festival.

— Cronin

Fleeing to the beach, Ceylon runs into a familiar face — Schwarz, the bodyguard who's watched over her since childhood. But what comes out of her mouth isn't what Ceylon expected.

'You need to listen to Master Cronin.'

3. A Young Caster, an Old Soldier, and a Bodyguard's Unfamiliar Face

Cornered, the group is suddenly joined by a young caster wielding an Originium flamethrower, Ifrit. 'If something fun's happening, you gotta call me!' — and with that, she roasts the guards on the spot.

Right after, Rhodes Island's veteran soldier Hellagur shows up and easily subdues Schwarz's remaining men. But the moment he crosses blades with Schwarz herself, his expression stiffens.

Silver hair, golden eyes, a Feline woman wielding a black crossbow. Hellagur realizes he's seen that face before — the legendary assassin who reportedly toppled an entire family in Columbia, and vanished a year ago.

If that killer we just talked about really is her, she's clearly a serious threat to us as well.

— Hellagur

Hellagur has one more rumor to share. In the Columbian frontier, a lawless patrol that had been pillaging the region vanished, member by member, hunted down in the mountains over the course of a month. The one survivor who made it back to the city came back completely out of his mind.

Hellagur leaves Ceylon, who'd been eavesdropping, with one last remark: even the person you trust most isn't guaranteed to have no secrets.

4. The Story of a Kid Who Used to Build Sandcastles

All Ceylon asked the Doctor for was a walk. As a child, hardly anyone came to this beach, so she used to build sandcastles alone.

Her mother died giving birth to her. From that day, her father buried himself in work, and father and daughter lived like strangers sharing the same house.

Schwarz was the one who stayed by her side instead. Like an older sister, and her only friend.

During her time studying in Victoria, Ceylon never quite adjusted to life there. But by the time she came back, she'd grown closer to being a Victorian than a Siestan.

But that Schwarz was suffering from Oripathy. There was exactly one reason Ceylon started studying Originium: to cure her.

I'll cure that, whatever it takes! I'll beat Oripathy myself.

— Ceylon

And now that same Schwarz is treating her as an enemy. Ceylon quietly asks herself — was everything she had, perhaps, fake all along?

Hearing the Doctor's answer, Ceylon stands back up. The one she should be angry at isn't the darkness in front of her, but Cronin — the one truly threatening this city.

Even if no one stands with me, I will save this city!

— Ceylon

5. Special Delivery (Door Included)

Ceylon's plan was simple: seize the broadcast station next to Garrison Amusement Park and tell the whole city the truth. But Schwarz was already waiting in front of the station.

'This will only cause greater chaos.' Schwarz blocks her path. Ceylon doesn't back down either. 'Why won't you treat me the way you used to, Schwarz!'

Meanwhile, at Cronin's hideout, another commotion is unfolding. A knock at the door, followed by a young voice: 'Anybody home? Special delivery!'

Open up! Delivery!

— Vigna

The whole door goes flying. Vigna waltzes in, all innocence, and makes short work of Cronin's men.

'Meteorite told me, sometimes a little violence is necessary!' Vigna, looking mighty proud of herself, points at Cronin's back as he flees out a window. 'That guy's in for it now — should've just stayed put instead of running.'

6. The Answer Was 'Friend,' Not 'Bodyguard'

In front of the broadcast station, Ceylon finally asks the question she really wanted to ask. 'What was I to you, really?'

Only then does Schwarz open up — about everything she's done, about her life before she came to the Doicos household.

Ceylon already knew. Not all of it, but enough. And knowing it, the only thing she has left to say is:

'I'm sorry.'

That's what friendship is supposed to be, isn't it? It's not friendship if only one side keeps giving.

— Ceylon

Schwarz finally gives the answer she's held back for so long. 'You are my friend, miss. Always.

And in front of Cronin's men, Schwarz reveals her real mission — one more thing besides the mayor's orders: what Ceylon had just asked of her — to protect her.

Vaulting off walls, spinning through the air, dodging every bullet without a wasted motion — Ceylon watches, utterly spellbound. 'Wow, that's incredible! You're amazing, Schwarz!'

7. How It Feels When Your Subordinate of 15 Years Stabs You in the Back

Just as Ceylon and Schwarz retake the broadcast station, Cronin turns up again, having fled there. And standing there with him is Mayor Herman, supposedly away on a business trip.

Herman already knew everything — that the banned obsidian was still in circulation, that Oripathy patients were being mistreated. All of it was Cronin's doing.

Everything I did was for this city! Who do you think taught me that!

— Cronin

Cronin brings up his days drifting with nowhere to go, sleeping the nights away in a trash bin. The one thing he learned then: a new life needs money, nothing else.

Cronin admits it outright. Rather than spend obsidian profits treating the infected, he'd rather let the volcano erupt. His plan was to hide out through the disaster, then return once the city was ash to mine it all over again.

Cornered, Cronin plays his last card. The volcano.

The evacuation route is already under Cronin's control. That's when Eyjafjalla cuts in urgently over the radio — there's a way to slow the volcanic activity.

8. Read as 'A Bug,' Spelled 'A Walking Volcano'

Provence, Skyfire, and Ceylon head off in search of that method — deep into a cavern carved along the obsidian vein.

Skyfire's explanation is simple. All these anomalies are caused by the volcano's Originium bugs struggling to expand their territory. All they need to do is subdue the one queen bug leading the swarm.

But the moment that 'one bug' reveals itself inside the cavern, all three of them go silent.

'Can you even call that a bug?' Provence mutters. Skyfire charges in instead of answering.

After a fight that leaves them scorched all over and Skyfire's skirt in tatters, the three manage to drive the giant Originium bug back to its original habitat. The immediate crisis is over.

'But we need to get back to Siesta. There are still people waiting for us...' Ceylon murmurs, on the verge of collapse. Provence quietly offers a shoulder to lean on.

'If people hadn't destroyed the Originium bugs' habitat first, this probably wouldn't have...' Provence trails off. Skyfire waves her hands, not wanting to hear the rest, muttering that she's never had a vacation that burned her skirt up this badly before.

Epilogue. What Remains in a City Bound to Vanish

Waiting for the returning Doctor was Amiya, arms crossed. 'Starting something this dangerous in a city we don't even have a contract with!' Gummy patched up the wounds, but couldn't stop the lecture.

Still, Amiya soon smiles and changes the subject. 'Just be more careful next time, okay?' Then she drags the Doctor off to the beach, insisting on collecting seashells.

A few days after everything settles, Herman asks the Doctor for a walk. The whole way, he talks about his wife, Barbara — how, along this sea where she now rests, he built Siesta into a paradise for her.

And Herman says he already knew — about Cronin's corruption, about the volcano's danger. But what he was really hiding was something else.

Siesta was no longer his paradise.

According to newly confirmed geological data, this city will eventually be swallowed by lava. That's why Herman has long since been preparing a new nomadic city. Once this Obsidian Festival ends, Siesta's people will move to that new land.

As long as the people of Siesta exist, Siesta will exist forever. Young people like them — they're the real 'Siesta.'

— Herman

Ceylon asks to join Rhodes Island. Schwarz comes with her. Her father's blessing was already given.

So, Doctor — I'll be counting on you from here on out too.

— Ceylon

The sandcastles Ceylon built as a child would always crumble once the waves came in. Siesta, too, will vanish one day, just the same. But the hand that always helped her rebuild that sandcastle is still right there beside her.