"Interesting…"
Deep underneath the ocean waves sat an old man shackled to the sea floor.
His eyes were focused on a flickering projection ahead of him, where he saw a truly magnificent scene unfold.
"Unsealing the core was truly foolish. That arrogant demon never expected my plans to outmatch his own."
As he spoke, the water around him rippled with something stirring nearby, bending reality to its will.
Watching the shifting currents in the abyss that surrounded him, the old man laughed and murmured to the presence that stared at him from the darkness.
"Soon I will have what I need to break free of your control, and he will be the key to it."
…
"Finally, my legs are back to normal!"
Aaron smiled as he stood near the helm, watching the miniature crab steer the Ghostship towards Sea Fallen at breakneck speed.
They had made incredible progress on their short return voyage. As Aaron helped Mr. Crab with the ship repairs, the crustacean gradually began to regain his size.
I guess the stronger the ship is, the stronger Mr. Crab gets… At least that should make it easy to tell how the ship is doing.
He sighed as he looked at the map he had taken from the cabin, noticing the crimson skull had vanished without a trace.
What? It was just there less than five minutes ago…
Furrowing his brow, he looked at Mr. Crab, who jumped from the wheel to the bow of the ship in one leap.
Wow, he's pretty mobile even at that size.
Aaron admired his skill; however, he noticed the crustacean's expression was unusual, not like anything he was used to.
Is he… frowning?
Trying to discern the emotions of a crab, he turned his gaze towards the distant city of Sea Fallen, the same place Mr. Crab had been observing.
"There's nothing out there, so what's got your attention?"
He spoke calmly while looking at the approaching shoreline, not thinking much of it.
Shaking his head in dismissal, he decided to return to the captain's cabin to look more closely at the map and figure out the meaning of the skull.
Well, someone must've solved the problem with the skull since it disappeared… I wonder what it was? A rogue sea terror? No… The Ghostship would've marked it separately, just like the others.
Mumbling under his breath, Aaron nearly walked into the freshly repaired door of the cabin.
"Ah… Oopsie."
Laughing to himself, he reached for the handle but paused, catching something in the corner of his eye.
"Huh? Is that a rune?"
A single rune was engraved in the center of the deck, glowing with faint cerulean light.
Looking at the symbol closely, Aaron tried to decipher its meaning, just like Eleanor would have.
As he reached down to touch the engraving, two more runes lit up beside the one he had seen before.
More?
Retracting his hand, he watched as the number of etchings increased dramatically until they nearly covered the entire ship.
W-What the? Even when that sea terror attacked, the runes didn't cover this much of the Ghostship!
Mr. Crab, still perched on the bow, simply turned towards Aaron and jumped into the air, vanishing without a trace.
Aaron watched his crab friend disappear right in front of him and sighed.
"Of course he vanishes when I need him most…"
The moment he spoke, the engravings began to ripple as if they were made of water.
His mouth opened slightly as he stared at the runes that slowly floated into the air, pooling together in the center of the ship to form a familiar shape.
"A mirror, eh?"
…
Eleanor stood in shock as the shards of glass around the chamber assembled into a large, curved mirror that surrounded the pulsing core.
"W-What's happening!?"
Her voice was drowned out by the rumblings that filled the mausoleum while everything shook as though the world itself was coming apart.
She watched as the silver-haired woman sprinted towards the center, where a figure lay with arms ripped to pieces and no sign of them reforming.
Turning to her right, she saw Olivia shouting something at her.
"Eleanor, snap out of it!"
Widening her eyes, Eleanor felt her mind cloud with thousands of thoughts; however, to her horror, she realized they were not her own.
As she covered her ears in an attempt to prevent the mental intrusion, a deep, gravelly voice resounded throughout her mind.
"At last, a taste of freedom."
The rumbling around the room suddenly ceased as absolute silence took its place.
Eleanor looked around, realizing the others had stopped their movements and covered their ears, as if they could hear the voice too.
Olivia ground her teeth, then looked at Eleanor and spoke in a low voice.
"Something ancient has awakened…"
The silver-haired woman turned away from her friend, who had fallen to the floor in a desperate attempt to push his head into the ground, as if it could protect him from the menacing voice.
Instead, she faced the two girls who stood behind her.
"What have you done, foolish girl?"
Her tone was shaky with fear, and that alone told Eleanor everything she needed to know.
Didn't they cause this? If they didn't, then who did…?
As the thoughts spiraled inside her head, the inescapable voice resounded again, this time with an amused tone.
"It's quite interesting that someone blessed with myaura is present here… It should be impossible for you to enter the World of Dreams without my permission."
Eleanor furrowed her brow, unsure who the man was talking about, until an idea struck her.
Something was concealing me from the silver-haired woman…
She shook her head at the thought before the voice spoke again, filled with curiosity.
"Ah, so it's you. You are the one he saved."
The others looked around in confusion, wondering who the voice was referring to; however, all of Eleanor's denials were erased by a single sentence.
T-This man must be talking about Aaron saving me, right? But how could I be blessed with his aura? Unless…
Just as her mind wandered to an unusual item in her possession, the raspy-voiced man interrupted her thoughts.
"Well, he has taken a liking to you, then I must follow his lead. You may ask me one wish, and I will grant it to the best of my ability."
While his words echoed throughout their heads, the freshly formed mirror lit up with a turquoise glow from within.
Eleanor watched as the injured man on the floor opened his mouth to speak; however, magenta light spewed from the mirror and struck him directly in the head.
The man's eyes rolled back as his body began to disintegrate into sparkles of purple and blue.
"We can't have mere insects interrupting, can we? Well, I won't be too harsh, since you are servants of that demon; however, all of you except for her shall be ejected from the World of Dreams immediately."
Without another word, Olivia and the silver-haired woman both rolled their eyes back and collapsed to the floor with a loud thud.
Their bodies quickly vanished, just like the man before, leaving Eleanor alone in the mausoleum.
Her heart was beating so loudly that she suspected the others might have heard it if they were still in the room with her.
"W-Who are you?"
She spoke quietly, careful not to offend the old man behind the voice.
Laughter echoed inside her mind before a reply came.
"You need not concern yourself with that knowledge; however, I can grant a wish of yours if you help me fulfill my own."
Eleanor thought for a moment, precisely choosing her words before replying to the man.
"C-Can you tell me what I must do for you before you hear my wish?"
A heavy silence settled over the room as she waited for his reply.
"If you insist, then I must be a good host and explain. All I ask is that you help free that 'Angel' you met before."
Eleanor's eyes widened at the man's words, struggling to understand his intentions.
He wants me to help my savior? This isn't what I expected…
She pursed her lips and spoke with cautious hesitation.
"Is… is that all?"
As the words left her lips, the mirror ahead of her brightened, revealing a dark silhouette outlined upon its surface.
Its appearance was blurry; however, she could make out a rough shape of what she believed to be the mysterious speaker.
"That is all. Now for your wish?"
Eleanor noticed a slight hint of impatience in his voice as she began to understand his character more clearly.
I can wish for anything I want, right? But wait… Do I trust this man not to twist my words, like the genies in those old storybooks?
Weighing her options, Eleanor decided on a wish she hoped was safe, but still valuable.
"My wish is to know your true identity."
She spoke with confidence and waited for the old man's response; however, the room fell into silence once more.
"That is quite the dangerous wish, but if you must know, I shall tell you."
He paused before chuckling under his breath.
"I'm a god killer."