To say the last few cycles were unimportant would be way less than an understatement. Recently, Five Pebbles' superstructure collapsed due to who knows what. Thanks to the entire superstructure no longer heating up the water, the ceaseless downpours have finally stopped, only with a bitter cold blizzard replacing them. Whatever caused that to happen, you just prefer snow days instead of rain that can turn you into a puddle. You were wandering around the sky islands, looking at the sights and sounds around you, finding them to be pretty beautiful, until you stop after seeing a green figure in the distance.

The figure was a slugcat with a brilliant (rather fluffy) lime green coat, staring off into the distance and mumbling something to itself. Following it's gaze, you could see a strange yellow, purple, and black creature hovering in place on a tall mountain of scrap and machinery, seeming to bend reality around itself. You thought this was incredibly eerie and something you should not get yourself near at all, but due to your curiosity (and lack of personal space), you decide to try listening in on whatever the scug a few meters in front of you had to say:

Okay, I'm back here again...the other times were a fluke, but this...this HAS to be the one! The air feels different this time around...this cycle isn't like the rest...just got to get up to it and then I'll finally be fre-

The slugcat suddenly froze, let out a yelp of surprise and a slight bit of fear, its ears swiveling right in YOUR direction. Uh oh.