Suddenly, everyone heard a sharp cracking sound coming from the ice. The huge sculpture began to fracture, triggering a chain reaction of crisp cracks that echoed through the air, breaking the silence and drawing everyone's attention.
After a few breaths, the crystal-clear giant wave ice sculpture, shining like a gem, was already riddled with cracks, looking as if it could shatter with the slightest touch. Suddenly, with a loud "Boom!", once it reached a critical breaking point, the ice sculpture completely disintegrated, breaking into countless small pieces that scattered across the sea, instantly creating an icy expanse.
"That's really unexpected," someone murmured. "I thought it would just shatter the giant wave outright."
Cluck eyes swept over the floating ice fragments, and she sighed in surprise.
'So, this Nen beasts uses transformation abilities? Its power is to freeze the surroundings?'
Those unfamiliar with the mysteries of Pokémon abilities could only interpret it based on their own understanding of mind powers. Ice-type transformation abilities are rare but not unheard of.
Larry smiled faintly, put away the dragon, and said nothing further. After clearing each obstacle along their path, they were finally able to press forward.
There were no more incidents after that, and whenever minor troubles arose, Morel and the others handled them without needing Larry to use his "trump card." After a day and a night of sailing, the next morning finally brought them close to their destination.
Their ship was top-notch, if it had been an ordinary vessel, the journey would have taken four or five days. This place was different from Carter Port; it was much deeper at sea.
Although still within the six continents' map and not yet in the waters beyond the Dark Continent, it was understandable why strange creatures or dangers could appear here.
A soft coo echoed as a white dove gently landed on Cluck's arm, delivering specific information about what lay ahead. Even before Cluck could speak, Larry and the others already sensed what was coming next.
From the deck, they could see their destination: a strange, thick gray fog so dense that nothing inside could be seen from the outside. Sea fog is a common weather phenomenon in spring and summer, often seen as milky white mist along coasts or over the water.
But this fog was different, ominous and gray, clearly no ordinary sea fog. In the worst-case scenario, it might even contain a deadly poison.
Cluck noticed this right away and quickly sent several white pigeons to fly into the gray fog. Since they are living creatures, white pigeons are perfect for testing the environment.
As the ship slowly moved closer to the outer edge of the fog, the pigeons managed to fly back out safely. "Looks like there's no poison in the fog," Morel said with a relieved sigh.
If there had been a deadly toxin, it would have made the investigation much harder. However, he added, "There's no strong poison, but what's inside might be more dangerous than we thought."
Cluck gently lifted her arm, letting the white dove perch on it, but her frown revealed her frustration.
"The white pigeon I was controlling just now slipped from my grasp for a moment, I almost couldn't pull it back," she said. "Just hearing a faint melody through the gray fog had such a strong effect..."
Everyone's expressions shifted uneasily at her words. Could it really be the Dark Sonata? If even the controlled white dove nearly broke free just by entering the area, what would happen to someone else who went in?
Moreover, they noticed something strange about the white pigeons that had ventured inside. Unlike other pigeons, these ones moved awkwardly, their motions stiff and unnatural.
Their eyes seemed to have lost their color, as if they were mere puppets on strings, only capable of simple actions under Cluck's control.
"These white doves look a bit like..." Knuckle began but stopped abruptly, his face filled with surprise and unable to continue.
Larry glanced at him quietly and finished the thought, "It's like they've lost their souls."
Everyone agreed; these birds seemed soulless, reduced to hollow shells.
"Besides their expressions, have you noticed any other changes while controlling them?" Larry asked, hoping for some positive news.
Suddenly, a spark lit up in his eyes as he turned to Cluck. After a moment, her face darkened, and she replied in a low voice, "There are indeed some positive changes. These white pigeons have become noticeably stronger."
As soon as she said this, Morel and the others exchanged grim looks. They all understood what this implied: the pigeons had gained physical power at the cost of their souls. This exchange, losing one thing to gain another, was exactly in line with the nature of the Dark Sonata.
It was clear now: the source of this incident was the Dark Sonata. Not the flute part they were familiar with, which seemed to cost health for special abilities, but one of the other three unknown parts. Judging by the effects, this version of the Dark Sonata demanded the sacrifice of one's soul to gain strength.
Larry wasn't sure whether the strange effect came from the piano, the violin, or the harp. He looked again at the white doves and focused his aura through his eyes, digging deeper into his thoughts to pick up on subtle details.
Using a level of concentration far beyond that of several others, Larry finally noticed dark, deathly thoughts tangled around a few of the pigeons. The good news was that if this effect could be identified, it could also be reversed, meaning Gengar had the ability to remove this negative influence.
If losing one's soul simply meant gaining more powerful energy, it would be hard to say whether it was a loss or a gain. But after Cluck tried again, she realized that even though the pigeons had come out of the gray mist, they were slowly slipping out of her control.
The aura she was using to control them was weakening. At that point, it didn't matter who was winning or losing in this mental battle.
This applied to the birds for now, and doubly so for humans. Without a soul or self-awareness, no matter how strong you were, it was meaningless.
Suddenly, Morel and the others noticed a shift in Larry's aura and turned their attention to his shadow. There, Gengar was drawing out the deathly thoughts from the pigeons, sucking away the dark influence they couldn't even see.
In an instant, the pigeons' expressions cleared, their eyes brightened, and they looked just like normal birds again. It seemed that because the effect hadn't lasted long and hadn't caused permanent damage, they could be saved.
This situation was different from the health problem with Melody last time, since this involved something deeper, the soul itself. Larry couldn't guarantee that a soul could always be restored after being corrupted, but for now, as long as the damage wasn't too prolonged, recovery seemed possible.