Cynthia.
The single name was enough to change the atmosphere.
Cynthia stood at the edge of the camp with a cold expression on her face.
She didn't look surprised to see them.
If anything...
She looked as though she had been waiting.
Rose's face immediately became pale.
For a moment, she said nothing.
Then she forced a smile.
"Oh, sister..."
Her voice was unusually careful.
"You are here?"
Cynthia's eyes remained fixed on her.
"I'm sure you already know about my killing intent toward you."
Rose's smile disappeared.
Only now did she and Nora fully notice the camp surrounding them.
A large carriage stood several meters away.
Several members of Cynthia's cohort were preparing equipment around it.
A few tents had already been erected.
They had made camp at the very edge of the Great Ocean.
Apparently, Cynthia's group had been resting here for some time.
Rose glanced toward the tents.
Then back at Cynthia.
"So..."
She sighed.
"You're going to kill us?"
Cynthia's expression didn't change.
"What did you expect?"
Her voice was cold.
"You thought I would suddenly forgive you because we're sisters?"
Rose remained silent.
Cynthia slowly walked closer.
For several seconds, her eyes remained on Rose.
Then they shifted toward Nora.
Her gaze lingered.
Nora noticed immediately.
There was something different in Cynthia's eyes.
Not ordinary hostility.
Calculation.
She was measuring her.
Studying her.
Trying to determine how dangerous she truly was.
Nora didn't react.
Her expression remained calm.
She had already learned enough about Cynthia to know that showing fear would only make things worse.
Cynthia finally looked back at Rose.
"But no."
Rose raised an eyebrow.
Cynthia continued.
"I won't kill you here."
A faint smile appeared on her face.
"I don't want to stain my hands with your filthy blood..."
She paused.
"...not yet."
Rose's eyes narrowed.
Cynthia turned away.
"If Plan A works, I'll simply watch you die."
Her footsteps stopped.
"But if it doesn't..."
She glanced over her shoulder.
"...I'll do it myself."
The killing intent surrounding her intensified for a brief moment.
The air seemed colder.
Then it vanished.
Cynthia walked away.
Her cohort followed.
None of them said another word.
The camp gradually became quiet again.
Rose remained motionless for several seconds.
Finally, she released a long breath.
"That woman..."
Nora looked at her.
"You knew she would come?"
Rose shook her head.
"No."
She looked toward the distant camp.
"But I knew she wouldn't give up."
Nora's eyes narrowed slightly.
"She mentioned Plan A."
"I know."
"What is it?"
Rose's expression became serious.
"I don't know."
That answer didn't satisfy Nora.
But she could tell Rose genuinely didn't know.
And that made the situation worse.
Because if Cynthia had already prepared another plan...
Then they were walking directly into something they didn't understand.
---
Nora eventually prepared a small camp for Rose.
The journey across the Great Ocean had exhausted the Awakened woman more than she wanted to admit.
Rose sat cross-legged inside the tent.
Her eyes were closed.
Pink essence slowly circulated around her body.
Normally, restoring essence was simple.
For Rose, however, it came with another problem.
Her flaw.
The longer she pushed her essence reserves, the greater the danger became.
Flowers could begin growing across her body.
And once they appeared...
She had to stop.
Fortunately, nothing happened this time.
No petals.
No vines.
No flowers.
Rose's breathing gradually became steadier.
Nora glanced at her before leaving the tent.
"Rest."
Rose opened one eye.
"And you?"
"I'm going to practice."
Rose sighed.
"You really don't know how to rest, do you?"
Nora smiled faintly.
"Not really."
Then she left.
---
The Great Ocean stretched before her.
Nora walked toward the shoreline.
She eventually found a quiet place at the very edge of the water and sat down.
Her legs crossed.
Her hands rested naturally upon her knees.
Her eyes slowly closed.
She breathed once.
Then twice.
She emptied her mind.
The sound of the waves gradually faded.
The wind disappeared.
The world became silent.
Then—
Nora opened her eyes.
She was standing on water.
Not beside it.
Not above it.
On it.
The endless ocean stretched in every direction.
There was no land.
No sky.
Only water.
Nora took one step.
The surface remained solid beneath her feet.
She took another.
Still nothing happened.
No sinking.
No ripples.
No resistance.
A faint smile almost appeared on her face.
Almost.
But she stopped it.
She understood now.
Emotion was the problem.
If she became excited...
She would lose control.
If she became frightened...
She would lose control.
If she became proud...
She would lose control.
Ocean God had not taught his sorcery through emotion.
It had been built upon something colder.
Will.
Understanding.
Control.
Nora looked down at the water beneath her feet.
"My will is what allows me to stand."
"The water is what I must control."
She took another step.
Then another.
Her movements became steadier.
She extended one hand.
Her essence flowed outward.
The ocean reacted.
A small wave rose.
Then collapsed.
Nora frowned.
Again.
She concentrated.
The water rose higher.
This time, she didn't merely move it.
She tried to give it form.
A seal.
The shape appeared.
But something was wrong.
It looked beautiful.
Elegant.
Almost perfect.
Yet it lacked something.
Power.
Authority.
The overwhelming presence she had felt when reading about Ocean God's sealing sorcery wasn't there.
What she had created looked like nothing more than a beautiful design made from water.
Nora stared at it.
"This isn't it."
She tried again.
The seal formed.
Again.
Still wrong.
Again.
The same result.
Nora's expression remained calm.
But her mind was racing.
Ocean God's sorcery wasn't simply water manipulation.
It wasn't even simply sealing.
There was something deeper.
Something she hadn't understood yet.
Then the illusion began fading.
The ocean disappeared.
The sky vanished.
Nora's consciousness returned to reality.
She opened her eyes.
A mass of water floated before her.
It was much smaller than the ocean she had seen in her mind.
But it was real.
Nora stared at it.
"So..."
"I can actually control water."
She moved her hand.
The water rotated.
A small sphere formed.
Nora compressed it.
Then launched it toward herself.
The water splashed harmlessly against her body.
Nora blinked.
"...That's useless."
She tried again.
More water.
More concentration.
The result was the same.
She could control a small amount of water.
But the moment she tried to increase its power, her concentration became unstable.
If she wanted to injure someone with it right now...
She might as well throw a bucket of water at them.
Nora sighed.
"And I'd have to maintain concentration the entire time."
Still...
She wasn't disappointed.
She had learned something important.
She had taken the first step.
The problem wasn't water.
The problem was the seal.
She needed to understand why Ocean God's sorcery possessed that strange authority.
Why did it feel like a true seal?
Why did hers feel like an imitation?
Nora looked toward the Great Ocean.
For some reason...
The ocean made her uncomfortable.
Not because it was dangerous.
Because it felt as though something was watching from beneath it.
Something ancient.
Something that had been waiting for a very long time.
Nora frowned.
She couldn't explain the feeling.
So she ignored it.
For now.
---
When Nora returned to the camp, Rose was still meditating.
Nora quietly opened Rose's storage bag.
She took out a piece of meat.
Then started a small fire.
The aroma soon filled the camp.
Rose opened her eyes.
"You're cooking?"
"I was hungry."
Rose smiled faintly.
"Fair enough."
Nora roasted the meat until it was properly cooked.
Then she sat beside the fire and began eating.
The moment the meat entered her stomach—
The familiar voice of the System echoed inside her mind.
"You have received 10 Tyrant Fragments."
Nora paused.
Another notification followed.
"You have received 20 Tyrant Fragments."
She glanced at her profile.
Tyrant Fragments: 30/5,000
Nora's eyes narrowed slightly.
She had already begun thinking about how long it would take to reach the next stage.
The journey had only just begun.
And already...
Cynthia had appeared.
Her plans remained unknown.
The Great Ocean was hiding secrets.
The Ocean God inheritance was still incomplete.
And somewhere ahead waited the Misty Mountain.
Nora looked toward the darkness beyond the shoreline.
Her expression became serious.
There was something about this expedition that didn't feel right.
Her visions had already warned her.
Cynthia had already revealed her hostility.
And now the ocean itself seemed to be whispering a secret she couldn't yet understand.
Nora slowly tightened her grip around the piece of meat.
Whatever waited ahead...
She would uncover it.
Even if Fate itself tried to stop her.