The second day after the group boarded the ship, everything still went on as usual. The third day, the fourth… and so time drifted by. Nearly a month adrift at sea, everyone began to feel as though time itself was stretching endlessly.
Inside the ship's main cabin, Sivall stood with arms crossed, eyes fixed on the map spread across the wooden table, his voice deep and sharp:
"Are you sure we're going the right way, Sill? We've been drifting for nearly a month and still haven't found anything."
Sill bit her lip, worry flickering in her eyes, but she still nodded:
"The right direction… at least according to what I've researched."
Senki sprawled on a chair, stomach growling loudly, groaning:
"Right direction or not, my stomach disagrees. The food won't even last us another week."
Senmi clutched her belly and nodded in agreement:
"If this keeps up, we'll starve. We can't fish here either. What if we reel in sea monsters instead?"
Kael sighed, glanced at his pouch of dried rations, then turned to Renar:
"How much do you have left?"
Renar opened his pouch, his eyes downcast:
"Just a few hard biscuits… maybe enough for two more days."
The atmosphere in the room grew heavy.
That night, while the others slept soundly, Renar quietly stepped onto the deck. He sat by the railing, gazing at the starry sky, his eyes shimmering as if longing for something beyond reach. In that moment, all his worries seemed to fade, leaving behind only a strange sense of peace.
After a while, Renar returned inside. The ship, reinforced with magic and equipped with warning wards, seemed safe enough—no one bothered to keep watch. But then, the unexpected struck.
Dark clouds gathered, swallowing the sky. Winds howled, waves crashed violently against the ship's hull, shaking it fiercely.
The noise jolted everyone awake. Sill sprang to her feet, glanced outside, and paled:
"No way… there's never been a storm in this border sea!"
Sivall unsheathed his sword, voice stern:
"Save the explanations! Just give the orders, Sill!"
At once, Sill shouted over the roaring wind:
"Everyone, hold the anchor lines! Senki, Senmi, check the mast! Kael, take the helm! Renar, help Kael—don't you dare let go!"
Senki yelled back:
"What's the point? The ship's enchanted to sail itself!"
"Just do it! Better than sitting here waiting to die!" Senmi screamed, her face pale with fear.
Kael gritted his teeth and clung to the helm. Renar clung beside him, trembling all over but refusing to let go.
The storm raged for what felt like eternity before slowly fading. The clouds parted, revealing a faint moonlight. Exhausted, the group collapsed onto the deck.
Kael gasped for breath:
"Strange… why would there be a storm in these windless waters?"
Sill clenched her fists but brushed it off:
"Probably just a rare phenomenon. Go rest—we continue tomorrow."
The next morning, Senki woke first. She stepped onto the deck, stretched, and froze. Not far from the bow, a massive green island loomed above the waves.
She shrieked:
"EVERYONE! GET UP HERE! AN ISLAND!"
The group rushed out, eyes blazing with hope. The ship glided toward the shore, where an untamed jungle awaited.
Sill pulled a cube from her magic pouch, tossed it down, and the ship shrank back into its cube form before flying into her hand. The group set foot on the island.
Renar inhaled deeply, delighted:
"The air here feels… so fresh!"
Kael stayed cautious:
"Don't get careless. An island this wild won't be simple."
They pushed through the jungle, overcoming cliffs, rivers, and prowling beasts. But as they reached the base of a cliff, arrows rained down, striking into the earth before their feet.
Senmi stumbled back, trembling:
"An ambush?!"
Sivall narrowed his eyes, tightening his grip on his sword:
"We didn't sense them coming… dangerous."
From the trees, a group emerged: some wielding spears, others with drawn bows. They looked like primitive tribesmen, eyes hostile. One spoke in a strange tongue:
"@#₫%^&@₫^&%#!"
The group froze.
Sill stepped forward, pulled a small device from her pouch, pressed it to her mouth, and answered in the same strange tongue:
"*#&%%@!&#^%#&@"
The tribesmen hesitated, then responded:
"&#%@&#%@"
Sill turned to the others:
"They're taking us to their village."
The primitive village stood hidden deep in the jungle. Villagers stared at them as if they were monsters. The group was brought to a large hut where an elder awaited.
[From this point, the tribesmen's speech will be translated.]
The elder eyed them and asked bluntly:
"You're treasure hunters too, aren't you? Here for the golden city beneath the abyss?"
Sill replied calmly:
"No. We are adventurers, seeking only to uncover mysteries."
The elder sneered:
"Every adventurer says that, yet their purpose is always the same."
Sill didn't answer. Instead, she pulled a crystal orb from her pouch, its needle pointing downward.
The elder's eyes widened in shock:
"That… that's the guide to immortality! How do you have it?!"
Sill smiled coldly:
"Merely stolen… from a deranged prisoner."
The elder trembled:
"So… someone truly escaped from there…"
The group turned to Sill at once:
"What is that thing?"
Sill only smirked:
"Just a treasure guide."
The elder inhaled sharply, then spoke firmly:
"Give it to me."
"And if I do, how will I find my way?" Sill retorted.
"I'll give you everything I have."
"But I don't need your things."
After a pause, the elder called for a frail little girl, no more than five or six, dressed in rags.
"Then… I will give you Layla. Her gift will aid you."
Sill arched a brow:
"A child? What use is she?"
The elder declared:
"She remembers every path she's ever walked. Once, she was cast into the abyss as an offering to the god Kan. Yet somehow, she returned. Proof that her gift is extraordinary."
At those words, Sill's face twitched, but she nodded in acceptance.
The group was given a hut to rest. That night, while the others slept, Sill sat writing in her journal.
The door creaked open. Sivall stood at the threshold, moonlight cutting across his stern face.
"How long were you planning to keep it from me, Sill? This mission—it isn't just exploration, is it?"
He continued:
"You say adventure one moment, treasure the next… You prepared for this long before, didn't you? And that orb… what is it really?"
Sill turned away, silent.
Sivall's voice softened:
"It's about Mother… isn't it?"
Her hand froze. She bit her lip, voice trembling:
"Yes… everything is for Mother."
Then she told him: a year ago, on an errand to the prison, she had found the crystal orb. A gaunt prisoner had clutched the bars, eyes burning red, whispering in madness:
"The golden city… immortality… the abyss… the giant eye… slime… the hell of mankind…"
When she asked him, he only laughed hysterically, repeating:
"Below… below… only blood and gold… blood and gold…"
That sight haunted her ever since, driving her obsession to uncover the truth.
Sivall listened quietly, then bowed his head—a gesture he made only before their mother. His voice was low, choked with emotion:
"Alright… I'll help you. We'll save her."
Beneath the moonlight, the siblings' vow rang heavy and unshakable, carrying with it a weight of mystery and destiny yet to come.