Rei leaned against the railing of the large ship beside Zay. "Did you hear?"
Zay turned his head toward Rei, his tone puzzled. "Hear? What happened?"
Rei slowly closed his eyes and looked out toward the ocean before opening them again. "There's a rumor going around that the princess of Ruvy, Selene Vy, has been killed. From what I've heard from other passengers, that's all—no other details, no time frame, nothing. Just that one person is rumored to have taken her place and declared himself king. More specifically, he's being called the Scorched Emperor. That's all I know."
Zay sighed, gazing out at the ocean before pushing himself off the railing. He raised his arms, fingers interlacing as he cracked his knuckles.
"Scorched Emperor? Interesting… well, it doesn't have anything to do with me, but thanks for the information. It might come in handy, who knows."
He slipped his hands into the pockets of his black trench coat and walked toward the staircase leading below deck, heading for his room to get some rest.
'Scorched Emperor… the princess of Ruvy murdered… and that king? Interesting. I'm slightly curious. I figure Renzo is probably fine under that king's rule, if the rumor's true. Maybe he found a boat or made one and left. He could even be at the house with the rest of our family. Still… I have no plans to return to Ruvy, so it doesn't really concern me.'
Zay made his way to his room, opened the door, and stepped inside. The room had wooden floors, a bed, and a drawer. His eyes immediately locked onto the bed, where he saw Naomi reading a book.
"What are you doing in my room? How the hell did you even get in without the key?"
Naomi closed her book slightly and looked up. "I have no idea, Master!" She reopened the book and continued reading Graces of Neverborne.
Zay shook his head slightly before sitting down on the edge of the bed, deciding to ignore it. "Do you have another copy, at least?"
Naomi nodded, and a shadow wolf emerged from beneath the bed, holding a book in its jaws. Zay reached down and took the book before the wolf faded back into the shadows beneath the bed. Curious, he glanced underneath but saw nothing. He sighed. S'hadow creatures… am I right?'
Zay lay back on the bed, holding the book up in the air, and began to read.
...
It was now May 31st, three weeks since they had boarded the ship.
During the first week, nothing much had happened, aside from receiving food every few hours—something Zay found rather pleasant. He had also spent time writing on three full sheets of paper, though no one knew what they were for except him.
The second week passed quietly as well, with little of note occurring beyond Rei and Naomi gradually adjusting to the constant rainfall that blanketed Pluvialis.
In the third week, they traveled by horseback to reach Summitset. Thanks to the horses purchased from Neil's Services—a renowned company that had been breeding steeds for centuries, they made the journey in only a week. These specially bred horses could channel Aura from their riders, greatly enhancing their stamina, agility, endurance, and strength.
...
Zay leapt off his horse in front of a small wooden building with the name Yuso written in bold letters across the front. Naomi stood to his right, Rei stood to his left, his hand tucked into the pocket of his trousers as he studied the modest house. It wasn't anything extravagant—just a simple structure of wood and steel, with a small porch and steps leading up to the door.
He glanced down and counted the steps: three in total. They were made of dark oak, each with a thin stripe of black paint running through it. The door matched the tone of the porch floor but bore a single white stripe running vertically down its center.
Zay looked up at the house, then at the door, before closing his eyes for a brief moment. He inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly, and opened his eyes again. His hand clenched into a fist as he stepped toward the porch. After a short pause, he released his fist, reaching instead into his Arbiter: Vault.
A moment later, he pulled out the three sheets of paper he had written on during the voyage. Crouching down, he set them neatly beneath the porch roof, just to the right of the door. His gaze swept the area until he spotted a small rock, which he placed carefully on top of the papers to keep them in place.
When he turned back, Rei and Naomi were watching with evident curiosity, clearly wondering why he was doing all of this instead of simply knocking and going inside. That's when realization flickered across Rei's face.
"Are you sure about this? You don't want to just… go in and visit for a bit?" he asked, his voice low, almost a whisper.
Zay shook his head. He didn't want to speak since someone might overhear. Raising his right hand, he rapped three times softly against the door, followed by a fourth, louder knock. Without waiting, he turned back to his friends, descended the steps, and walked away from the house. Circling around the side, he made his way quietly between the neighboring buildings until he reached the horses once again.
He sat down on the wet grass, tilting his head back before letting out a deep sigh.
"I'll be honest—there's a part of me that wants to go in, to visit, to act like a loving family… but be honest with me. Wouldn't it just be too awkward? They probably think I'm dead. So if I just showed up, walked in, started asking questions, giving answers… I don't know. I just don't think that's what I want."
Rei slowly lowered himself onto the wet grass beside him, crossing his legs as he gazed up at the pale early-morning sky. The faint chirping of birds surrounded them. The rain continued to fall as always. He exhaled softly.
"I'm not sure, honestly. I never thought much of my own family—they were ex-nobles who cursed my name from birth. I've hated them my whole life, and if I had the choice, I'd never see them again. So… I can't say much about your situation, man. But we've been through life-and-death together, so I'll just agree to whatever you think is best and support you as much as I can. I mean, I've got nothing else to lose besides my right arm, right?"
Rei broke into a soft chuckle, trying to lighten the mood. Zay let out a faint smile, glancing over at him before chuckling as well.
"Don't go losing another arm, though. We can replace a sword as many times as we need, but we can't exactly be replacing arms whenever we lose one."
Rei scoffed, rolling his eyes before laughing. "Whatever."
Naomi stood over them in silence, her gaze drifting up to the sky. Rain streamed down her cheeks and neck in cool rivulets, each drop carrying a strange sense of clarity she couldn't name. Her lips curved into a faint smile—a smile she kept turned away so they wouldn't see. To her, this was the closest she had ever come to something that resembled family, aside from the silent company of her own shadows.
She had never known her mother, father, siblings—anyone bound to her by blood. From as far back as her memory reached, she had been a possession. A slave. A thing to be handled, examined, experimented on until her body failed, then left to rot in some cold corner for weeks at a time. She had been sold, bought, and sold again—shuffled between research labs, strangers with coin to spare, and cages where the air reeked of rust and rot.
Her teeth pressed into her bottom lip. She turned, looking down at them both.
Zay glanced up at her, and his eyes saw tears mixing with the rain. "…Are you okay?" It was a question he had never asked her before, partly because he had never seen Naomi cry until now.
She didn't answer. Instead, she smiled faintly and gave the smallest of nods before moving forward. In a sudden, fluid motion, she dropped down to his lap, her knees touched the grass and wrapped her arms around him—tight, almost desperate. Her head pressed against his chest as she held on with such force that he could feel the bite of her nails through his shirt.
Zay looked over at Rei, who simply exhaled and gave a slow nod. "I guess everyone's feeling something today," he murmured.
A soft chuckle escaped Zay before he leaned in, returning her embrace with equal strength. His voice was quiet, almost lost beneath the rain. "I'm not sure what happened… but do you want to talk about it?"
She said nothing. The rain fell in steady sheets around them, soaking her black tunic, its rhythm filling the silence. Finally, Naomi tilted her face up to meet his eyes, her voice barely more than a whisper. "Thank you."
And then she lowered her gaze again, tightening her hold as if she never wanted to let go.
Zay tilted his head back toward the cloudy morning sky as rain pattered against the three of them. Rei rose from the wet grass, stretching his back with a faint groan before letting out a sigh.
"Since… you're done with that, where to next?" he asked.
Zay glanced up at Rei, slowly closing his eyes for a moment before reopening them. His gaze drifted down to Naomi's hair, and for nearly a full minute, he remained silent. Then, he rose to his feet. Naomi loosened her hold on him and stood beside him, tears still shimmering in her eyes—tears he still didn't understand.
Gently, he lifted a hand to her face. His thumb brushed beneath her eye, wiping away the moisture slowly.
"We're going straight to Varnis," he said quietly. "Let's go."
The three of them mounted their horses, and soon the steady rhythm of hooves echoed along the dirt road. A creeping fog began to roll in, curling low across the ground until it swallowed the world around them in a pale, shifting haze.