Emerion was just looking at the ceiling in his room. There wasn't much for him to do, even though the ship was like a carnival now, filled with many entertaining activities. His parents had never encouraged him to socialize much, because according to them, he was not clever enough to hold proper conversations. Because of that, he developed an introverted personality. His sister had just left for a walk, leaving him alone. Now, he was bored.
'I will have to admit, my sister is annoying… but it's boring without her now' Emerion thought to himself. He got up, sat on his bed, and put on his shoes.
'Iguess I will pick something to eat.' With this thought, he went outside his room to look for food. As he walked, he noticed the atmosphere of the ship. Without a doubt, it felt like a carnival.
Children were laughing, couples were enjoying their time together, and the elderly looked relaxed. He heard a lot of noise coming from a room or to be specific, a hall. When he went there, he noticed a large crowd gathered around, with a man standing on a table performing a magic show.
"Ladies and gentlemen… please pay attention. Now, the greatest mage of the current era will show you a new magic!" a little boy announced while standing near the table. The boy looked around eight years old. He held a cap as if it were a mic, then started collecting money from the audience by passing the hat around.
'The greatest mage of the current era, huh…', Emerion thought to himself. His curiosity was piqued, and he stepped forward to watch.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is a magnificent spell created by that Dawnveil runaway. Of course, he is a coward for a noble, but he did create an effective spell. I, the greatest mage of the current era, will demonstrate this to you," announced the man wearing a light green suit and a cloak.
Emerion felt a bit annoyed, because the man had just insulted him. But he knew he couldn't confront him otherwise, his true identity would be revealed. However, another thought crossed his mind, and his eyes widened.
'Wait… the man said a spell created by the Dawnveil runaway. The only spell I created is Zaltreign… but I don't remember teaching it to anyone. It can't be… nobody can copy it just by looking. And I have never encountered this man before.'
His thoughts were cut off as the lights dimmed. The room went dark. The only light that remained was focused on the man who was about to perform the magic.
"Hold tight… because this spell can destroy even heavenly armor," the man said, adding a dramatic effect.
Emerion looked dumbfounded.
'Even I'm not sure if my spell can destroy heavenly armor. Has he somehow developed my spell to the next level? But how did he learn it in the first place?'
Emerion stared intently at the man, who held his staff close to his face. The man slowly closed his eyes, then took a step back and gripped the staff tightly. The audience went quiet.
"ZALTREIGN!"
The man shouted, and a blue light erupted. The audience cheered, and the man bowed deeply. The little boy from earlier came forward again to collect the money the audience was throwing. The boy and the man looked happy but it didn't last long.
"What kind of nonsense was that?"
The crowd went quiet as heavy footsteps landed on the table. A third person stepped up.
Emerion looked at the man with a cold expression.
"Um… young man, didn't you enjoy the show or something?" the man asked, trying to remain polite. The boy looked nervous.
"Yes, a show. A showstar… that's all you can be," Emerion said as he kept walking toward the man.
The little boy, despite being nervous, refused to show it openly, even though Emerion noticed the boy's legs shaking.
'Perhaps I shouldn't have said that… but this man is scamming people.'
Emerion took a deep breath and looked at the man.
"You are a scammer," Emerion said calmly.
The man looked nervous for a moment, but quickly composed himself.
"What makes you say that, young man?" the man asked back, trying to put on a brave face.
"It's obvious. I can't sense enough mana from you to cast a spell like Zaltreign. Second, your staff's orb isn't warm. I am a mage, so I know when we cast a spell, even a minor one, the staff's orb becomes slightly warm. But yours is as cold as ice," Emerion said, taking the staff from the man's hand.
The man's face turned pale.
'I can't believe someone is scamming people using my spell. I can't allow this.'
Emerion removed the orb from the staff and threw it into the crowd surrounding the table.
"Check it yourselves. You are being scammed."
The crowd filled with whispers. The situation suddenly turned hostile.
"Give us our money back!"
"You scammer!"
"You should be thrown off this ship!"
The hall filled with such statements. The crowd soon turned violent. The man and the little boy tried to escape, but the crowd blocked them. Most of the people ignored the boy, but the man was consumed by their fury.
Seeing this, Emerion turned to leave.
"Daddy…"
He heard a whisper from the boy, who was silently crying as the crowd beat the man. Emerion stopped in his tracks, his eyes filled with sympathy.
'I didn't think things would get this bad… damn it, I messed up again. Why does this always happen to me?'
The boy turned toward him.
"You… you are a monster. We were making our living like this. Now who will pay for mommy's treatment? You? What have we ever done to you?"
The boy fell to his knees and started crying.
Emerion unconsciously took a step back, his eyes widening. He had never imagined he would harm someone in this way.
'I was just trying to save people from a scammer…'
Emerion looked away and turned to leave. His heart clenched with sympathy.
'The boy is crying because of me… but his father was earning money by scamming people. Perhaps I should have stayed quiet… but he was scamming people using my spell, which isn't even a proper spell. It was just trickery.'
As Emerion reached the doorway, a voice crossed his mind again.
"Emerion… the greatest thing a human can do is forgive. There will always be someone who will hate you."
Emerion stopped and turned around, but there was no one there. The words echoed again in his mind. He didn't know who the voice belonged to.
"Forgive, huh… I forgive you… scammer," Emerion slowly muttered to himself.
As he left, his heavy heart felt a strange sense of relief.
Meanwhile
Arlienne was sitting at a round table with a beautiful night-sky view of the sea. Several bottles of juice were placed on the white round table in front of her.
"So this one with this one… the last four drinks were awful," Arlienne muttered to herself as she mixed orange juice with milk and honey. Then she added strawberry juice and started shaking it with a spoon.
"Hey, Arlienne… you look lovely. Are you making something?"
A familiar voice caught Arlienne's attention.
Arlienne put on her polite smile and replied,
"Thank you, Ririyen. I was just mixing some juice," she said, resting her chin on her hands.
She then noticed another woman standing beside Ririyen. The woman had blonde hair and looked like an older version of Ririyen. She smiled warmly at Arlienne. She was wearing a white silk dress, as if she were about to perform, with a hint of makeup on her face.
"I am Riruka. I want to apologize on behalf of my younger sister's actions," the woman said in a gentle voice.
Arlienne kept her smile.
"It's alright. She didn't know, and after all, children make mistakes," Arlienne said politely.
For some reason, Ririyen pouted, and Riruka started giggling. Arlienne looked confused.
"Oh, forgive me you fell for that, huh?" Riruka said. "My younger sister is seventeen. So in general perspective, she is a teen, even though she will always be little to me."
Riruka patted Ririyen's head. Ririyen huffed in response.
"Seventeen, you say… That makes her older than me by a year," Arlienne said.
"Forgive me for my curiosity, but you didn't tell me your last name either, Ririyen."
Ririyen gulped for a moment, but before she could say anything, her older sister spoke.
"We are bastards, just like you. So we relate to your situation," Riruka said, her expression grave.
"I'm sorry to hear that. I shouldn't have asked," Arlienne said in an apologetic tone, though her eyes were full of curiosity.
"Hey… stop that drama. That makes us equal now," Ririyen said loudly.
Some people looked at them. Arlienne smirked, while Riruka laughed.
"Hey, what are you looking at? Mind your business," Ririyen said, clapping her hands twice.
She felt embarrassed, and soon after, the people looked away.
"So tell me, you are wearing stage clothes. Do you perform something, Riruka?"
Arlienne asked, looking at Riruka's outfit.
Riruka blushed for a moment, so Ririyen answered for her sister.
"Oh, you bet. My sister is the greatest singer ever. She has performed at events organized by nobles. This ship is full of nobles, so she will sing tonight. I hope you will come to watch," Ririyen said with pride and excitement.
Arlienne smiled.
"That sounds interesting," she said, looking at both sisters.
"Oh, stop it, Ririyen. I'm not that great," Riruka said, slowly composing herself.
"Stop being modest, sis. You are the best," Ririyen said as she hugged her sister, sharing a warm moment.
"You said you perform at events. Have you performed on ships before?"
Arlienne asked curiously.
Both siblings looked a bit confused.
"No, it's my first time performing. Why do you ask?" Riruka said, rolling her eyes slightly.
Arlienne smirked.
"I checked the ship's records. The last four times this ship sailed, more than fifty percent of the passengers disappeared. The reason is still unknown, but the surviving passengers didn't seem to care much. So be careful."
Riruka and Ririyen looked worried.
"Do you mean to say this ship has ghosts?"
Ririyen asked, her expression turning horrified.
"No. There is no such thing as ghosts," Arlienne said calmly.
"There is no need for them when humans are enough."
"So you mean to say there could be humans behind it?"
Riruka asked with a worried yet curious expression.
"Most probably. Perhaps pirates. But the strange part is that the ship's passengers didn't seem to care about those who disappeared. But forget this I don't want to scare you. Just be careful, okay?"
Arlienne said with a smile.
"You just told us a horror story, and now you don't expect us to be scared,"
Ririyen said, almost shouting dramatically.
"Now it explains why the ship feels like a carnival," Riruka said thoughtfully.
"They are trying to lift the mood so the passengers don't feel scared by the ship's recent history."
"Yup, most probably. But don't worry. Even if things go wrong and pirates come, if you are lucky, you will survive unharmed,"
Arlienne said confidently.
Ririyen, however, looked unsure.
"How can you be sure?" she asked.
Arlienne sipped more juice.
"Because the pirates never tried to steal the Leviacore."
"Leviacore… what's that?"
Riruka asked, now curious. Ririyen also leaned in.
"Leviacore is the heart of the ship, in simple words," Arlienne explained.
"To go into more detail, it's a special mana stone that contains the essence of a sea dragon's mana."
"Oh… now I remember. We heard something like that," Riruka said.
"It is used to operate the ship, right? Those poor sea dragons who were slain."
"No. You don't have to slay a sea dragon to get the essence of its mana," Arlienne said.
"You can obtain it from a medium. For example, if a sea dragon uses its mana on water, a skilled mage can collect it from the water. However, you still need to survive the sea dragon first. That's why it's expensive."
Arlienne explained proudly.
Riruka's face twisted slightly, and Ririyen's expression darkened.
"So… he lied,"
Ririyen said quietly before starting to cough again.
Riruka quickly held her sister's hand.
"We have to leave. I think my sister is feeling a bit ill. See you soon, Arlienne."
Both sisters left hurriedly.
"You don't have to hide, brother. You should socialize too it won't harm you,"
Arlienne said without looking back.
Emerion stepped out of the shadows.
"I didn't want to disturb your conversation," he said, taking a sip from one of the glasses on the table.
His expression immediately changed.
"It's awful," he said honestly.
"Hey, you are a mean brother. I made it with my heart,"
Arlienne said, faking a pout.
"Besides, you wouldn't have disturbed anything if you had joined."
Suddenly, the drums around them stopped.
The atmosphere shifted.
"Huh? What's wrong?"
Arlienne looked around.
Emerion looked equally confused.
They heard people whispering. Then people started disappearing from the deck. Heavy footsteps echoed across the floor.
"Anathama is coming."
"Hide your children."
"Don't look him in the eyes."
Arlienne and Emerion heard the murmurs as people ran away.
As if summoned by the words, several soldiers wearing black and red armor appeared, surrounding a boy with long raven hair. He looked no older than fourteen. His eyes were emotionless.
The soldiers' crest showed two crows facing opposite directions.
"I will end you, monster."
The moment those words rang across the deck, everything went silent.
Arlienne and Emerion saw a child running toward the raven haired boy.
Emerion looked closely.
It was the same boy from the hall.
He realized the child was coming for him not the raven haired boy, holding a knife.
However, the raven haired boy misunderstood and thought the child was coming for him.
In a swift motion, he drew his sword.
'This is bad,' Emerion thought.
As the raven-haired boy swung his blade
Blood fell onto the floor.