Luce remembered his promise and said, "Damn, sorry Erold, I have to go. See you later."
Erold went to the hut, lay down, and spoke to Arthur: "I didn't know there were people who did this, Arthur." Arthur replied, "I don't think it's a Jinn." Erold said in confusion, "I don't know. If there were a Jinn, we would have felt it." Arthur said, "You're right. Wait, let me ask him. Hey Dante, do you have any idea who did this?"
Erold was surprised and said, "Are you two friends now?" Arthur said in a childish voice, "He has calmed down from what he was. What do you think? We are alone here." Erold smiled and said, "At least you live inside me and don't pay me anything." Dante said in a deep voice, "How I hate this man." Arthur replied in a serious voice, "Me too."
Erold stood up and said, "What? Have you united against me or something?" No one answered. Erold called them, but no one responded. He said in a friendly voice, "Come on, seriously! Arthur, Dante!" Then in a serious voice: "You know what? To hell with you, I'm going to sleep."
Luce headed to the concert site to find Monica waiting for him outside. He saw her shivering slightly, so he took off his dark jacket and placed it on her, saying, "Sorry for the delay. Do you want to walk around the city?" Monica replied gently, "Of course."
Luce and Monica wandered through the city, exchanging conversation until they reached the center. There were benches and a small pond reflecting the stars. Monica sat down and said, "I'm truly sorry, I didn't realize how much I've been talking to you, as if I've known you for a long time."
Luce smiled and said, "That's what everyone tells me. But you must finish the story of your father's friend first."
Monica replied, "Right, right. After Mr. Ross trusted him, he took that boy and treated him like his own son, and even left all his property to that boy. After finding this out, the boy took all his money and kicked him out. The boy was seeking revenge all this time because his mother died on Mr. Ross's farm ten years ago due to illness. Even though Mr. Ross took him in since then and cared for him, and even trusted him blindly... why do people betray those who trusted them the most?"
Luce smiled a smile devoid of warmth and said in a quiet voice that flowed into her soul: "Because trust is a weapon, and only a fool hands it over easily. Time has warned us of that. People move out of fear or interest, and they remain loyal only until betrayal becomes more beneficial to them. But you call it love, or friendship, or brotherhood. No, it is just a tactic. And when the scales change, they turn. So, stop giving your loyalty to someone who has not yet been tested against temptation. Character is not proven by promises, but by actions. Not everyone around you deserves your trust; some deserve only your distance."
Monica said, tilting her head toward Luce, "You are truly smart, Luce, and polite, but do you deserve trust?" Luce stood up and said, "That is up to you. Well, I must go, Monica. I will leave tomorrow, so I must rest."
Monica stood up quickly and said, "Wait, wait! Are you leaving? Won't you stay for me?" Luce looked at her in surprise and said, "Excuse me, Monica, I've had a pleasant time with you, but what will you offer me? I have a goal for this journey."
Luce began to move, saying, "Goodbye." Monica replied quickly and nervously, "Love!" Luce wondered, "Love?" Monica replied quickly and nervously, "Yes, love, Luce. Stay with me! Doesn't every man need love in his life? I am offering you this love, Luce."
Luce replied with his back toward her, in a decisive and calm voice: "No, no, no, no. A man does not need love in his life, but power. If a man anchors his heart in a woman before his glory, he has sentenced himself to doom. Love is a trivial term thrown around to make monsters look kinder. And I am still that monster. I aspire for greatness, I aspire for something bigger than your minds."
He turned to Monica, whose face was filled with shock, and said, his eyes piercing through her: "Can your love make me this great? Can your love make me stronger?" He raised his voice and roared: "Can your love make me Perfect?"
Monica fell silent, weeping. Luce shouted, "No, of course not! This love is of no use to me, and here I am approaching perfection day by day, while you are here uttering this nonsense!" He approached Monica and said with quiet sharpness, "Have you tried living with those who are better than you every day, knowing you will never be like them? And most infuriating of all is that they treated me with kindness all this time, as if I were one of them, but I am not!"
Monica fell to the ground trembling. Luce's normal features returned. He said, "I apologize, Lady Monica, I lost my temper." Luce extended his hand to lift her while she was crying. He turned to bid her farewell as he departed, saying, "Goodbye, Lady Monica, I apologize again. It was a pleasant time with you. You can keep my jacket."
Luce went and left Monica alone in shock, tears filling her eyes.
The next day, everyone was at the port except Luce. Gilgamesh said to Jasmin, "Little one, where is your friend?" Argus jumped, hugging Gilgamesh, saying, "Isn't he your friend too, buddy?" Gilgamesh looked at him with a terrifying silence. Argus backed away, frustrated, and said, "I'm sorry, I won't do that again."
Arthur came out of Erold and said, "What a clutz you are, Argus," and laughed, then said, "Isn't that right, Erold?" Erold ignored him. Arthur said coaxingly, "What's wrong, Erold? Are you angry with me?" He bumped his shoulder and said, "Come on, Erold." Erold ignored him. Arthur looked at Gilgamesh to find him staring with sharp eyes. Arthur said, "Alright, I should go back inside."
Jasmin asked curiously, "Erold, where did Luce go? Why is he late?" Erold leaned down and whispered, "Come here, little one, it's a secret." Jasmin approached, and they found Argus had approached too. Argus whispered, "What happened?" Erold whispered, "Luce went out on a date yesterday!" Jasmin was surprised: "Luce?" Argus said with envious spite, "A date, huh! Damn that handsome bastard! Was she beautiful?" Erold smiled with a false look: "Extremely." Jasmin's eyes gleamed: "Is she rich?" Erold: "Yes, extremely." Argus stood up with the anger of an envious person and said, "That bastard! He's having a good time now while we wait for him here!"
He found Luce behind him quietly saying, "What's wrong with you?" Erold shouted (mockingly), "Luce! Where were you, Luce? You left me alone, Luce! Is this the parting, Luce?" Luce looked at him in wonder and said, "What are you talking about?" Jasmin approached, winking at Luce, and said, "We know everything about the rich date, Luce." Luce looked at Erold, who was avoiding his gaze. Luce said quietly, "I apologize for the delay, I was training in the mountains. What you call a 'date' ended before midnight." Argus looked at Erold, raising his eyebrows, and said, "So the real date was in the mountains, right Erold?" Erold started laughing, while Luce ignored them and began saying, "Shouldn't we set sail, Gilgamesh?" Gilgamesh replied, "Come, let's go. Mr. Lorn is waiting for us with a ship there by that mountain."
They headed to Mr. Lorn to find their ship ready for sailing. Luce said, "Beautiful, but who will lead it?" Gilgamesh said, "Leave it to me." Jasmin wondered and said, "Great, Gilgamesh! Can you ride Utma?" Then Jasmin realized: "Wait, where is Utma?" Erold replied gently, "Sorry Jasmin, but I left him with Mr. Lorn. He will take care of him; there's no place for him here. So we will get him back after we finish, don't worry." Jasmin looked sad and said, "At least let me say goodbye to him." Erold leaned down, held her shoulder, and said gently, "Goodbye means the end, and we will return, so there's no need for that." Gilgamesh said firmly, "Come, we must move." They boarded the ship and Erold said, "So, to the North." The ship began sailing through the sea.
...Three days later... Jasmin was vomiting into the sea, saying, "My God, how I hate the sea!" Erold checked on her and said to Luce, "Can you do something for her? She's going to vomit on Argus again!" Argus, lying down, shouted, "Get that kid away from me!" Luce, at the front of the ship, replied, "It's just seasickness, so don't worry."
Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes to find the sea ahead had turned into fog. He laughed and said, "So that's it!" Luce looked at the fog as if his senses were warning him, and shouted to Gilgamesh, "What are you doing? Don't you dare go in there!" He looked at Gilgamesh to find him possessed by excitement. Luce said, "What's gotten into you?"
Amidst the fear of those present, they entered the fog. The waves played with the ship and moved it forcefully, yet features of excitement remained on Gilgamesh's face. Gilgamesh said enthusiastically, "Interesting."
They arrived at the unknown island. Their ship suddenly stopped after a violent collision with the sand. The entire island was covered in thick white fog, enveloping every palm tree and the large cave in the center, making vision almost impossible. The smell here was strange—a mixture of musk and old salt.
They disembarked with difficulty. Erold and Luce searched cautiously, while Jasmin was still vomiting and clutching Argus. Suddenly, Gilgamesh noticed something moving in the fog. It had no sound of footsteps; it was more like the dragging of heavy debris on damp ground.
In the heart of the fog, a strange creature appeared. Everyone looked at it with fear except Gilgamesh, who was calm. It was a massive entity, made of clay and shadows; its head could not be distinguished from the end of its body. It walked on all fours. It had no clear features in the fog, but there were two glowing red eyes piercing the fog directly and staring at the group.
The creature opened its mouth, and a hoarse, shaky voice came out: "You have arrived... the Island of Testing does not grant hospitality easily. Whoever wants the cave, step forward." He pointed his massive hand toward the cave in the center. Erold asked sharply, "Who are you?" The creature replied: "I am but a Collector. My mission is to collect news and information..." Jasmin: "You have my attention!" Gilgamesh pulled Jasmin and said, "Don't you dare enter with us, little one!" Jasmin asked curiously, "Why?" Gilgamesh said in a serious voice, "Trust me. There is a great danger I feel there." Jasmin said in a resigned voice, "Alright, you have your way."
Erold, Gilgamesh, Luce, and Argus headed to the cave, and before they entered, they heard the voice of the Collector say: "Don't believe every word spoken inside. For truth is the first victim of this cave."
Suddenly, the Collector stood before the cave door and said, "Wait!" He looked at Argus and said, "You cannot enter." Argus said angrily, "What? Why not? I don't care, I'm going in!" Argus tried to enter, but there was a barrier preventing him. The Collector said, "I told you, you cannot enter."
Gilgamesh entered first. He heard a quiet voice saying to him, "Welcome, little Gamsh." Gilgamesh looked toward it with dead eyes.
At that time, Luce and Erold were talking, and Erold said, "Argus, stay outside with Jasmin, please. I'm worried about her." Argus said boredly, "As if I could enter anyway." Argus went outside. Luce said calmly, "I can go in. I don't care about this." Erold said curiously, "Come on, I'm curious." Luce smiled, "Alright."
Gilgamesh came out of the cave and said boredly, "I heard nothing but lies. I'm outside if you want to leave." The Collector said, "You two may enter."
Erold and Luce entered to find a shackled person before them, hidden by a thin curtain. He wore an iron mask, and eyes could be seen through the curtain. He began speaking in a quiet voice, saying, "Oh my God, look who's here! Two entities visiting me!" Luce asked in wonder, "Who are you?" He said in a quiet voice, "You know who I am, but I will say it again: I am the one who will show people their true selves when the masks fall."
The stranger looked at Luce: "Your request is finished." Then he looked at Erold and said, "As for you, Dante..."
Erold was shocked. Luce said, "As the creature outside said, this man is a liar! He called you Dante... let's leave." Erold advanced slightly toward the man: "You truly are a liar!" The man was not affected by Erold's words, but answered in a quiet, cold voice that sent shivers through the body: "Do you want to advance further? To see what is behind the curtain? Come, nothing will happen to you."
Suddenly, the Collector's voice pierced the cave walls with a terrifying scream that shook the rocks: "Don't! You will die!" Erold stopped in his place, his breath rapid, then cursed under his breath: "Damn you!" At that moment, the earth shook violently, and they felt the cave walls cracking as if the entire island were trembling with fear.
Luce asked while trying to maintain his balance, "What's happening?" The shackled man burst into a hysterical laugh that echoed throughout the place, a laugh full of malice, and said, "The Lord of Destruction has returned to this world." Erold shouted in shock, "Where?" The man answered, still laughing madly, "In the village of Amil."
Erold and Luce exited the cave like a hurricane, panic gnawing at their hearts. Erold shouted to his companions, "We must move!" Gilgamesh asked calmly, "What's happening?" Erold replied in a shaky voice, "Ashura is in the North, specifically the village of Amil!" Gilgamesh's features changed in an instant and he shouted with a voice that shook the entire island, "To the ship, I won't wait for anyone!"
Everyone rushed toward the beach and boarded the ship, panting. Jasmin asked in terror, "What's happening?" Luce answered her, "Ashura is in the village of Amil!" Argus's body trembled and he said, "Damn this!" He composed himself and said, "Let's set sail!"
At that moment, Gilgamesh did what no human could imagine; he placed his foot on the beach sand and with all his strength pushed the ship in one go. It launched quickly into the water. Everyone screamed in fear! Gilgamesh had pushed the ship a hundred meters away from the island with speed. Jasmin shrieked, and Gilgamesh appeared from nowhere to grab the helm and shouted at Argus, "Wind boy, I need you here!" Jasmin was stunned looking at Gilgamesh and said, "Whoa! What level of power is this."
After the ship had distanced itself from the island, the Collector went to that shackled man to say: "The attack is in Egypt, not the North. Did you tell them any truth?" The man said quietly: "Yes, only two things."