In the darkness of the spiral staircase, the winds grew stronger, swaying Elishia and Cetas’ hair backwards.

They continued to descend down, wearing their flimsy legs with each step they took.

Naturally, they stopped to catch their breaths once in a while.

But still, it couldn’t take long as they didn’t know what uncertainties awaited them.

"And that was how I met Skadi and the other crewmembers. Back then, I was so wary of them that I’d kept a frown on my face."

Elishia spoke with a cheerful tone, finding the memory quite laughable.

"I’m not catching on, how does this relate to you meeting Princess Auruea?"

"Did you not listen at all?" Elishia said with a pout on her face, "Ever since I met the Princess, the failure that she indirectly caused led to my banishing to Lang Village. Still, I don’t blame her for that, I understood that she only wanted to help the injustice that she saw.."

She smiled.

"She was a kind woman, through and through.. If not for her, then I wouldn’t have found a dream for myself, I wouldn’t even be free at all—roaming the seas and letting people around the world try my cooking!"

She paused for a while, only letting her voice out after gathering her thoughts.

"My point is.. she saved me by liberating me from the clutches of my family. If you think of it, it’s only in recent years that I’ve realized that my family was in the wrong.."

Cetas listened attentively.

Then, he asked in a curious tone, "Would you ever want to go back?"

Immediately, Elishia answered, "To my family? No. Definitely not.. Although if I were given the choice to go back to Lang Village, then I might visit once in a while."

"It’s nice to have people by your side—people you trust fully.."

Cetas looked lost.

"I can’t say I understand.."

"That’s fine!" Elishia placed her palm on his shoulders, "I’m similar to you back then.. I didn’t understand many things! But here I am, free and at peace!"

Although Cetas couldn’t see it, Elishia was grinning at him

"You’ll grow into it.. You’ll learn many things with us.."

"Yeah.. Thanks.."

Cetas felt a soft feeling in his heart, creating a sense of relief or rather.. trust deep inside him.

He held to this feeling and looked forward to the future.

Afterwards, his voice echoed in the staircase, "Then? What next? How did Skadi recruit you in her–"

Just then, Cetas felt something tingling in his skin. The obsidian-black scales on his surface felt a familiar sensation.

His ears caught a distant sound—a soft hiss that he knew all too well.

"Do you hear that?" He asked with a silent whisper.

Silence ensued between the two as they focused.

Shhhhh!

Soon, Elishia answered back, "That’s!"

Her face became full of astonishment.

"Those are waves! But how?"

Soft crashing waves resounded in the distance—down below. It was a sound that is all too familiar with Cetas.. Not the waves itself but the waters flowing and fluctuating.

"We must be close to the end of the stairwell.. Be cautious." Elishia warned, holding her weapon firmly.

"Aye."

With a nod, the two descended further down. Without any light permeating their eyes, they could only trust their sense of touch and hearing..

Soon, the distinct whoosh of the sea waves became louder, marking the fact that Cetas and Elishia neared the end.

Descending with only a few couple steps, the two finally found a peculiarity in the unending darkness.

Light came from below, casting the shadow of the earthen walls of the stairs.

It was a dim, soft light that could be comparable to moonshine.

Finally being able to see, Cetas quickly turned around to look at Elishia.

Upon noticing the same surprised look, Elishia nodded and gestured to the light.

"Let’s go.."

Cetas held the Ivory Flintlock tighter.

He held the walls to his right, carefully gathering cover if there were any trouble hiding within the light.

He slowly stepped down, carefully and with great caution.

After a few steps, the light coming from below became more prevalent, marking the shape of an archway.

"That’s the exit.." Elishia pointed.

A soft radiance came from outside the staircase, allowing vision but not to a great extent. Additionally, it seemed like Cetas and Elishia were in twilight—the atmosphere appeared so!

As they exited out of the darkness, their eyes slowly adjusted.

The frothing waves were much nearer now, only a few distances away.

Even more so, Cetas’ sight was greeted by an endless escape of a shore—black sand filled the ground, gleaming ever-so slightly at the existence of an unknown light.

Dark-colored waves washed up on the shore, seemingly slow and graceful.

But Cetas considered them to be far from such grace, rather, he felt they were akin to the still waters of the lightless depths.

In the distance, the dark sea stretched as far as the eye can see, creating an endless expanse filled with only a dimly-lit darkness.

The tenebrous shores were.. Peaceful, to say the least.

And yet, a sense of Dread filled Elishia’s heart.

A feeling that they were familiar with..

Elishia felt like this before—a treacherous impression that grasped her entire being.

"Poseidon.."

Tracing back to that day where they were chased by a Great Leviathan, Elishia held her chest and clutched on it.

Whatever lay beneath the shores, it was far more lethal than what Poseidon could ever hope to be..

And yet.. Cetas remained in awe.

He stared at the dark waves with such nostalgic demeanor that he wanted to reach out and grasp upon them.

Something or somewhere beneath its depths called to him.

As if he were back at home..

Home..

Is this.. Where I came from?

He took a step forward, his eyes in a trance-like state.

Then another, burying his feet in the murky sand below.

Then once more, a few more, and then a couple more.

"Home.."

But before he could take any more, Elishia came from behind and held his hand.

"Cetas! It’s dangerous!"

He turned around and saw the auburn-haired girl with a glint of deep worry in her face.

"Whatever lies beyond, it’s far more dangerous than we think! Something far more dangerous than Poseidon!"

"That.." Cetas somberly said, looking forlorn, "That can’t be true.."

He raised his hand, pointing at the sea.

"That’s my home.."

Elishia’s mouth turned ajar, "What.. But that’s.. No.."

She felt her knees weakening, her heart thumping at immense speeds.

Elishia held her head with both of her hands, as if trying to keep herself sane..

"Cetas.. Wait.."

Her words were futile, the boy already started to walk towards the waves.

Elishia’s eyes trembled uncontrollably.

"We shouldn’t be here.. No! We can’t be here.."

Soon, Elishia lost all control of her joints.

"Ce..tas..!"

Her mind raced, filled with numerous thoughts.

A number high enough to make an individual crazed.

Then, the whispers came..

"████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████"

It whispered, no, screamed at her.

No, it didn’t seem like it screamed at all. It was soft, gentle but furious and filled with rage at the same time.

The voice ravaged her mind, trying to split it apart into myriad pieces.

And yet, she remained whole.

Perhaps it was due to the excessive mental training that the punishments she experienced in childhood.. Or maybe it was completely something else.

Elishia didn’t know.

She wanted to scream..

She opened her mouth and let out an ear-piercing shriek.

At least she thought she did..

In the lightless shores, only the sound of the hissing waves could be heard.

Elishia held her head so dearly, thinking that it was going to fall off if she ever stopped.

"NO! NO! NO! NO!"

Her saliva dripped down from her mouth as she let out a silent scream. Her eyes teared at the excessive strain that she had put her throat to.

The sand below seemed to absorb her cries instantly.

"████████████████████████████████████████"

Cetas never felt any of what Elishia experienced. Rather, he enjoyed a soft hum behind his ears. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

It called to him..

"████████████████████"

His eyes looked straight ahead.

"Yes.. I’m coming home.."

The sea beyond extended to infinity. From Cetas’ vision it was as boundless as the stars from above.

And it stretched even more, going upwards, sidewards, and backwards, even inside himself, it stretched!

The world seemed to only encompass the darkness of the sea.

His physical body neared the waves, feeling the damp sand beneath his feet.

The obsidian scales around his body flared up, wanting to absorb the liquid in the horizon.

Just a few more steps..

The sounds of the waves remained the same, revealing a soft tenderness to their noise.

And yet, Cetas felt at home.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

The waves crashed and Cetas’ feet followed along through it.

He raised leg, aiming to take one last step.

But then, he heard a flutter in the winds.

It was a simple, tender flap, and yet.. It seemed so impactful.

When Cetas took a step, he found himself back at the exit of the endless staircase.

Elishia, too, warped to his side, her entire stature kneeled down as she grasped her head.

"Children.."

A familiar feminine voice permeated the silent shores of the deep, Their voice bringing the two back to their senses.

Cetas looked towards the direction of the voice.

A naked woman with black hair lengthening towards her feet, covering various parts of her body stood before them.

She had a radiant smile painted on her face, her eyes as dead as the shadows around them.

She opened her mouth, whispering ever-so slightly.

"You shouldn’t tread on a Drowned God’s prison.."