Jill and Sarah finally let out a breath of relief as they looked over the deck—every pirate lay unconscious, sprawled across the planks like broken puppets. Just then, a rope ladder dropped down from the Black Pearl's side with a heavy thunk, swaying gently in the sea breeze.
Raviel descended first, followed by Excella and Abigail, each stepping lightly but confidently onto the battered pirate ship.
"You're not hurt, are you, sweetheart?" Abigail rushed straight to Sarah's side the moment her boots hit the deck, her hands immediately checking for injuries.
"I'm okay, Mom. Really. All my wounds are already healed," Sarah replied with a small smile, reassuring her mother.
"Well, well," Raviel said with an amused smile—one hand resting on her hip, the other idly twirling her sword. "Looks like you two managed just fine. For a moment I thought I'd have to jump in myself."
She then gestured elegantly to the women behind her. "Oh, and allow me to introduce myself. I'm Raviel. This is Excella, and this is Abigail."
"Oooh! I'm Yuumi! And this—" she floated forward proudly, "—is Book!"
Yuumi drifted closer to Raviel, sniffing exaggeratedly. Her ears perked straight up.
"Wow… you smell amazing! Like… super-duper amazing!"
Raviel blinked, not sure whether to laugh or be confused.
Before Yuumi could bury her face in Raviel's hair, Book smacked her cheek with a firm THWAP from one of his pages.
"Hey! Book! Stop!!" Yuumi protested, rubbing her face while spinning around in the air.
Clearly, the magical tome did not tolerate Yuumi's improper behavior toward their rescuers.
"I'm Fizz!" the blue Yordle said cheerfully as he hopped forward, his tail flicking like an excited fish. "Thanks a ton for saving my scales back there!"
"You're welcome," Raviel answered with a soft chuckle.
Jill then turned to the pile of unconscious pirates. "Uh… so, what do we do with them?"
Raviel glanced at the bodies. Excella crossed her arms. Abigail just sighed.
"Hm," Excella muttered, narrowing her eyes. "Should we… throw them to that giant sea monster from earlier? If we leave them alive, they might come back for revenge later. And honestly, I'm not in the mood to deal with more unnecessary trouble."
Her tone was calm but practical—brutally practical.
"Hey, Excella, that sounds awful. I don't like that idea at all," Jill shot back, frowning. She didn't believe these people deserved something that extreme.
"Hey, did you forget they're pirates, Jill?" Excella replied sharply. "They've definitely done far worse things than this."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we need to kill all of them. There has to be a proper way to punish them without going that far."
In the middle of Jill and Excella's argument, Sarah raised her hand a little. "What if we turn them in at the Bounty Hunter posts down in Bilgewater Bay? We could get a reward for bringing them in—if they actually have bounties on their heads."
"Bounty Hunter?" Jill and Excella echoed, equally curious. The concept sounded strangely familiar, like something from the customs of their own world.
"Well," Abigail stepped in to explain, "you get paid for capturing or killing criminals. And most pirates usually have a bounty. Once they're turned in, the authorities decide their fate—either imprisonment or execution, depending on their crimes."
"Hm… I guess that's reasonable." Jill sighed. "Alright then, let's tie them up first. We can deliver them there after."
Jill and Sarah got to work, binding the unconscious pirates one by one so they could transport them to the Bounty Hunter station later.
Meanwhile, Raviel turned to Fizz and Yuumi. "So, what about you two? Do you want to come with us? We're headed to Bilgewater."
"Oh? Really? Can we hitch a ride? I actually need to go there too," Fizz said excitedly.
"Of course! And what about you, adorable kitty?"
"Yuumi would love to go—"
But Book suddenly smacked her shoulder with a firm thwap.
"—oh, right, right! I forgot we're busy. Sorry, Book."
Yuumi floated closer to them with an apologetic blink. "Sorry, but Yuumi and Book have to part ways with you for now. We're searching for our master."
"You're looking for your master? Who is she?" Excella asked.
"Well, she's a Yordle named Norra! Have you ever heard of her? Meow."
"Norra…? I'm sorry, but we've never heard of a Yordle by that name," Excella answered. She turned toward Abigail.
"I haven't heard of her either," Abigail added.
Slowly, both women looked toward Raviel—because if anyone in this group had an all-knowing answer, it was her.
Jill and Sarah also shifted their eyes toward Raviel.
"Hey, why are you all staring at me?" Raviel said, pretending to be innocent and uninterested.
"You definitely know something, Raviel. You're a goddess, after all," Jill said with a teasing smile.
Yuumi and Book, hearing the girls' words, drifted closer toward Raviel.
"Is it true? Does Raviel really know where Master Norra is?" Yuumi asked, squeezing herself right into the soft space between Raviel's breasts and hugging her tightly.
Book panicked, frantically slapping Yuumi with his pages to pull her away—terrified that such disrespect might make the goddess refuse to share any information. But Yuumi held on with surprising strength, snuggling deeper.
"Please, can you tell Yuumi where Master is? Meow…"
"Hahaha—stop, that tickles!" Raviel burst into laughter as Yuumi kept rubbing and nuzzling her. "Alright, alright! I'll tell you where Norra is. Just let me go first."
"Really?" Yuumi's ears perked up and her tail shot straight like an excited flag. She finally released Raviel from her fluffy grip.
"Yes," Raviel nodded, dusting off her dress. "But let's move somewhere safer first. This ship is about to sink—the hull's cracked from that earlier collision."
"Ah! Okay, okay!"
Soon after, everyone transferred to the Black Pearl, while Jill and Sarah moved the unconscious pirates to the deck and locked them inside the holding cells built into the ship.
Once the crew settled, they gathered in the captain's quarters to rest. Abigail prepared snacks for everyone—something sweet to calm nerves after the chaos.
"So… can you tell us now where Master Norra is?" Yuumi asked, sitting politely atop Book, who hovered like an obedient magic carpet beneath her.
"Of course," Raviel replied with a small smile. She took out a dried fish and began feeding Yuumi, who eagerly nibbled it with a delighted munch munch.
"Norra is currently in The Realm End."
"The Realm End?" Yuumi tilted her head, confused. She'd never heard of such a place.
Everyone in the room perked up with curiosity—especially Excella, who leaned forward.
"Yes," Raviel continued. "The Realm End is a dimensional pocket located at the very edge of reality itself. Once someone enters it, the chance of ever returning is… well, nearly impossible."
"Oh no… Book…" Yuumi's voice trembled. The dried fish slipped from her paws as her ears drooped. "Does that mean we'll never see Master again…?"
Book tried to calm Yuumi down, who was still crying—though it didn't mean they had completely lost hope of finding their master.
"Hey, don't be that sad. I can help you, you know? I can help you get your master out of that place," Raviel said as she walked closer to Book.
"Really? Raviel will help Yuumi?" Yuumi perked up instantly, floating around Raviel and rubbing her body against Raviel's cheek.
"Hahaha, of course, of course. Alright, Book, come here. I'll make a new page for you so you can open a portal to the Realm's End and bring your master back."
Book hovered closer to Raviel, still confused about how she even knew he had such an ability. And sure enough, moments later, an empty page inside him filled itself with a new map—a path that would let Book access the location of the Realm's End.
"There. All done. Now the two of you can go look for your master," Raviel said.
"Wooohooo! Really?! Let's go, Book! We need to find Norra as soon as possible!" Yuumi cheered, clearly unable to hold back her excitement.
Book nodded—he was just as eager to leave. He opened the newly created page, preparing the portal.
But before they left, Yuumi hugged Raviel tightly and said, "Thank you… I'll never forget your kindness. Ohh, I really hope we can meet again after I find my master."
"Okay, travel safely," Raviel replied.
"Take care, and good luck!" the others said, smiling at Yuumi's adorable behavior.
"Okay, bye-bye! Come on, Book!" Yuumi shouted. Moments later, Book swallowed Yuumi, and the two of them vanished into a portal leading toward the Realm's End.
After Yuumi's departure, the Black Pearl resumed its journey across the open sea, the waves gently rocking the ship as if the ocean itself were sighing in relief after the earlier chaos.
The atmosphere aboard the ship gradually shifted from tense to peaceful. With Yuumi and Book gone, a kind of quiet settled over the deck—almost nostalgic, as though everyone was silently hoping the little cat and her companion would succeed in finding their lost master.
Meanwhile, Abigail returned to the kitchen to prepare more snacks, filling the cabin with the comforting aroma of freshly baked goods.
Raviel stretched lazily on one of the cushioned seats in the captain's quarters, still giggling occasionally when she remembered how tightly Yuumi had clung to her earlier. The other girls gathered around, enjoying a moment of rest before the next leg of their journey.
Outside, the sky slowly shifted to warm shades of orange. The sea breeze carried the scent of salt and freedom as the Black Pearl cut through the waves, steadily drawing closer to Bilgewater Bay—a place where new problems, new adventures, and perhaps new chaos surely awaited them.
But for now, they simply continued forward, the ship sailing smoothly under the fading sunlight.
.....
Meanwhile, in Noxus, a tall and slender woman with long midnight-black hair, pale skin like moonlit porcelain, and golden eyes that gleamed with the cold sharpness of a raven's gaze, received troubling news. Whispers had begun spreading from Mount Targon—panic, confusion, and fear. The Aspects, or rather the mortal hosts of the celestial beings that ruled the peak, had suddenly lost all contact with their divine patrons.
Of course, she already had a guess why.
So… Aurelion Sol is rampaging through the Celestial Realm again, she mused with a soft, amused exhale. His hatred toward the celestials was well known, and if he was truly tearing apart their sanctum, it would explain the sudden silence at Targon.
"Hmmm… something extraordinary is happening up there. But what exactly?" the pale woman murmured. This woman—known in the shadows as the Pale Lady, one of the leaders of the Black Rose—leaned back in her seat, one long black nail tracing the armrest.
She had already dispatched one of her clones to investigate, hoping to gather clarity, but all she received were fragments: panic among the Aspects, celestial interference fading, and a rumor—barely more than a whisper—that someone had released the Star-Forger from his chains. But who? Even she didn't know.
"Tsk. So little to work with," she muttered in annoyance. "Should I inform Vladimir…?" she wondered aloud, tapping her nail against her lips. But after a moment, she shook her head, chuckling darkly.
"No… there's no need. Even if that blood leech learned of this, he wouldn't be able to do anything. Not about this."
Her golden eyes sharpened with interest. But the one capable of unleashing the Star-Forger… that is someone worth knowing.
"What kind of being could force the celestials into silence like frightened birds?" she whispered, biting lightly on her black-painted nail with teasing, thoughtful mischief. Her mind raced—calculating, imagining possibilities, weighing opportunities.
"I must uncover the truth… no matter the cost. And perhaps this is also an opportunity—an opportunity for me to fine this mysterious individual."
As she raised her hand, the shadowy wall beside her rippled like disturbed water, shifting and twisting before forming a towering, ghostly image: a massive armored figure clad in obsidian plate and wielding a colossal mace shaped like a war hammer.
Her expression soured immediately.
Mordekaiser.
The brutal warlord from an age long forgotten—one whose necromantic sorcery bound souls to endless servitude. Ancient, feared, unstoppable. Few living beings remembered the full scope of his conquests or the terrifying weight of his true power. But the oldest spirits did… and they trembled at the thought of him returning to claim dominion over both the living and the dead.
And the Pale Lady herself—despised him more than almost anything.
"I will not allow that monster to ever return," she whispered, voice dripping with venomous conviction. "I swore long ago that I would stop him. And I will do whatever it takes to make sure he is gone for good and never returne again."
The image of Mordekaiser glowed for a moment… before cracking like glass and shattering into a storm of spectral fragments around her.
******
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