"Y-You're a god killer…?"
Eleanor's eyes widened in disbelief as she listened to the old man's laughter echoing throughout the chamber.
"Well then. Now that I have granted your wish, I trust you'll uphold your end of the deal."
As he spoke, the mirror ahead of her rippled intensely, then exploded into gleaming fragments that spiraled inward, vanishing into the crystalline core at its center.
Before she could reach out, her body began to fade away into shimmering sparkles that danced through the air as if caught in the wind.
H-He's a god killer? What does that even mean…
As her head crumbled, her mind drifted into darkness. She fell to the floor in a puff of smoke, returning to reality as the chaotic dream faded into oblivion.
…
Aaron raised his hand to touch the illusory mirror that had appeared before him; however, with the slightest touch, it shattered into thousands of translucent shards.
"So no wisdom this time, eh? What a letdown…"
Turning to his right, he noticed Mr. Crab twitching his claws in a seemingly nervous manner.
Why does he look so tense all of a sudden?
Shrugging off his crab friend's worry, he watched the shards sink into the deck, turning back into glowing runes that coated the floor.
So these will appear randomly? I wonder why they always form a mirror, though…
Pushing the thought aside, Aaron left the captain's cabin and walked towards the bow of the ship, where a familiar port gradually came into view.
As he stared at the illuminated city ahead, he suddenly realized he hadn't disguised the Ghostship since the battle with the hydra.
Tapping the sapphire ring twice, Aaron watched as the sails dimmed and the ship's radiant presence was reduced to a mere fraction of its usual self.
As I thought. While sea terrors and other creatures can still feel the Ghostship's power when it's disguised, the effect is weakened to a bearable degree. I wonder how the Sea Kings handle the auras that emanate from their ships…
He stood at the bow as the ship slowly pulled into port and noticed a small band of soldiers gathered on land.
"Boy! Did you do it!?" someone shouted from the shore.
The voice was just loud enough for Aaron to recognize the man as the commander who had approved his mission the day before.
Aaron cleared his throat before yelling back in the direction of the soldiers.
"Yes, sir! The beast was much more dangerous than you said, though!"
On the dock, the scarred commander laughed to himself before replying to the boy.
"Hahaha, I guess a rookie hunter must've struggled against a two-point terror after all."
Halting his ship next to the dock, Aaron looked curiously at the salt-and-pepper-haired commander.
"That was no two-magnitude terror."
He spoke flatly, then went on to secure the vessel to the dock, careful not to make a mistake in front of the watching soldiers.
Listening to Aaron, the commander furrowed his brow before an idea crossed his mind, and he regained his smile.
"So it was lower than a two, eh?"
Behind him, the soldiers smirked at the thought of any competent hunter struggling with a terror ranked below two points.
"I heard it was a requirement to bring the core of at least a level two terror for the Hunter test."
One of the soldiers whispered to the others, who had to stifle their laughter.
Comments quickly spread among the soldiers as even the commander seemed to be fighting back his amusement.
Aaron simply turned towards the group and replied without emotion.
"It was a hydra."
As the words hit their ears, silence fell over the pier, and the commander's eyes dilated with disbelief.
"You must've been mistaken. The Sea of Dreams doesn't have any creatures above magnitude three, much less any above four."
Nervous laughter broke out among the soldiers as Aaron stared at the platoon, his expression grim.
"Believe what you want, but analysis of the acid burns on my ship should be enough to prove my claims."
After that, he stood up from the dock's edge and walked past the soldiers into the city of Sea Fallen, without so much as another glance in their direction.
…
A faint tremor passed beneath Aaron's feet.
"That's the third earthquake I've felt since leaving the pier…"
Aaron stood in front of a tiny bakery that hadn't yet opened, watching the shopkeeper prepare fresh pastries for the day.
I'm so hungry I could eat a crab. Wait a second… I could eat a crab!
Laughing to himself, he noticed the baker wave him inside for the morning's first batch of goods.
"Ah, thank you. How much do I owe you?"
The shopkeeper pointed to a glass display covered in drawings of various pastries, each labeled with a number.
So expensive…
Aaron sighed before handing over two silver coins that he had found on the ground earlier.
The man took the money and handed over two large rolls he had just finished baking. Helping Aaron outside, he spoke to him in a low voice.
"Sir, you must be careful. Ever since last night, the entirety of Sea Fallen has been rocked by quakes, and the seas have been rougher than normal. Stay safe."
Aaron nodded, his thoughts lingering on the man's words.
Wasn't it last night when I used that absurdly powerful cannonball? Don't tell me I caused this…
Brushing the idea aside, he waved to the man who had baked him the excellent bread and headed off toward the last place he had seen the crimson skull.
"Might as well check if anything bad happened."
He reached into the bag and pulled out a fluffy bread roll, which he hastily stuffed into his mouth, savoring the rich, buttery flavor.
It's technically been months since the last time I ate something this good…
The glum thought floated through his mind as a frown spread across his face.
"Well… Two more days until the examination, then I can finally leave this island."
Taking another bite of bread, he continued east in the direction of the Great Sea Wall.
…
Opening her eyes, Eleanor witnessed the terrifying sight of black blood coating the floor in all directions, \clumping around her.
"W-What the hell!?" someone gasped from Eleanor's left.
Olivia sat there in panic, as if she had just woken up as well.
Didn't she get sent back before me?
Shaking off the strange feeling in her gut, she looked around and realized that they were still inside the mausoleum, though something about it was eerily off.
In the center of the room, Eleanor noticed two figures, one of them a red-haired man bleeding profusely from where his arms should have been.
The silver-haired woman emitted a black flame from her palms, pressing them against the wound in an attempt to cauterize it.
He made no sounds; however, his eyes were fixed just to Eleanor's left, where Olivia sat, now completely silent as well.
Eleanor leaned toward her friend and spoke in a hushed tone.
"W-We should go."
Her voice was hoarse, barely reaching Olivia's ears, and she noticed that her friend's eyes were glued to the man with the same red hair as her.
"E-Ellie… D-Do you remember who that is?"
Olivia's voice was shaky, only slightly louder than a murmur.
Eleanor furrowed her brow in confusion, glancing between her old friend and the figure sitting in the center of the chamber.
"Could it be…?"
Deep within her mind, a memory she had long forgotten emerged.
…
Ten years ago, in the orphanage, Eleanor sat playing with a half-broken doll that had seen better days.
In the silence of her bedroom, the door suddenly swung open, frightening her until she recognized the intruder.
"Big Bro Adam!"
She jumped up and ran to the door to hug him, nearly tripping over a pile of ragged clothes scattered across the floor.
"It's good to see you, too, Eleanor."
The young man knelt and patted her on the head, then spoke with a calm smile.
"Olivia is outside."
Eleanor's eyes lit up as her smile grew even larger than before.
"Thank you!"
Without waiting for his response, she ran out of her room only to see her friend twirling her crimson-red hair in the hallway.
"Olivia!"
She called out to her friend, who turned just in time to see the blonde girl about to tackle her in a hug.
"Hi, Ellie!"
The two girls smiled and began chatting as Adam stepped into the hallway, watching them catch up.
After a few minutes of giggling and talking, he gently interrupted them, turning to Olivia as he spoke.
"Now, now, Olivia, you know we can't visit this orphanage too often, or else Mom will get mad at us. So make sure you do everything you want today or you'll have to wait until next time."
The girl nodded to her older brother and watched him walk down the hallway towards the headmaster's office.