As Zay saw Renzo, he walked up to him and hugged him tightly.
"I've never said this... but thank you for being my brother. Thank you for never giving up on me."
As he spoke, tears welled in his eyes, falling onto Renzo's shoulder. Renzo exhaled softly and hugged him back.
He let out a small chuckle. "What happened?" he asked, then sighed.
"Whatever it is... of course I'd never give up on my younger brother. We're family. Even if we fight, even if we hate each other for a moment... we're still blood. And I'll never give that up for anything."
[The Silent Sea: Completed]
The words echoed around them like a breath carried by the wind, soft yet absolute. Both brothers looked up as the surreal world around them began to dissolve. The misty silence twisted and shimmered, and soon the world returned—solid, familiar, and grounded.
They were back in Caelondis.
The cool air shifted as they found themselves lying flat on the floor of their hotel room. No longer the damp wood of a ship, but soft rugs brushing against their skin. The gentle hum of city life murmured beyond the window.
Zay and Renzo sat up slowly, catching their breath, each feeling the lingering weight of what they had endured. Wordlessly, they stood and approached the door. Zay retrieved the key from the side table, its surface warm from the sunlight filtering through the curtains. With a soft click, the lock turned, and they stepped into the hallway.
Thirteen flights of stairs greeted them, their footsteps echoing as they descended. Neither spoke. There was nothing to say yet. Just shared silence.
As they reached the lobby, the corridor opened into the common area where the gentle glow of enchanted lanterns lit the stone walls. Behind the desk sat an elven clerk with sleek silver hair tied back, his sharp ears twitching as he noticed them. He waved them over, standing up from his chair.
"I was beginning to think you'd vanished," the elf said, voice tinged with concern. "I came to check on you both a while ago... but your room... no one could get in. Not even with aura."
Zay met his eyes, a strange calmness in his gaze—a calm born not from peace, but survival.
"It was... rough," Zay admitted. "How long were we gone?"
The elf checked a nearby clockwork calendar on the desk. "It's September 23rd. Just past noon. It's been about three months."
Renzo's eyes widened. Zay ran a hand through his hair and exhaled.
"D-Damn," Zay muttered. "Alright... you can cancel the room now. We'll be leaving. Keep the change, if there's any left."
The elf nodded as Zay handed him the key. He scratched their names from the registry journal and offered a respectful bow.
"You're free to go. I hope the rest of your journey is kinder than what brought you here."
They returned the gesture with a small nod and stepped out into the light of Caelondis.
"The portal should still be open," Renzo said, glancing at the sky.
Zay nodded, and the two of them set off without another word.
The city streets faded into forest paths as they made their way back toward the portal, the woods now quieter, almost as if the land itself recognized their return. When they reached the clearing, a familiar figure greeted them near the shimmering gate.
"Ah, Mason Trueville and Maven Stonesbring," the guard greeted, his smile broad. "Did Caelondis treat you well?"
The man extended a hand to help them onto the deck of the True Wind, their ship now gently rocking at the forest dock.
"Had an amazing time," Renzo replied with a faint smile.
The guard nodded, saluted them with a fist to his chest, and returned to his post.
Zay and Renzo stood side by side as the True Wind pushed off once more Another journey began.
Zay and Renzo made their way into the hallway and entered the control room, they placed their hands on the wheel with aura. Violet from Zay, and red aura from Renzo flared into the wheel, as it began using it as fuel and took off quicker.
Zay positioned the ship, heading towards the continent Mivor It was the smallest continent out of all of them, but it also was the best place to meet other Arbiters because of that.
With that, the two brothers left the control room and went to their own rooms on the ship that they haven't seen in over three months. They collapsed into the soft mattress, soft sheets, and they were instantly asleep within just a minute.
Rain began to come down slowly as curtains around the windows in the rooms, closed on their own, acting with the aura they put into the ship, and the environment.
Zeke stood outside the door where Malica was staying on the Molten Ridge, eyes scanning the area. As he caught sight of the completed message scrawled nearby, he let out a loud, bitter laugh.
A twisted grin spread across his face as he lifted his foot and kicked the door down.
Inside, Malica looked up in shock, covering herself and grabbed her spear next to her bed hastily. Her body was bare, glowing faintly as she treated her wounds with aura. Blood-streaked bandages lay beside her, and her expression froze in horror.
"I'm here to kill you. You Fal—"
Before he could finish, or even snap his fingers—the world shattered.
The room, the heat, Malica—all dissolved into mist.
Zeke shot upright in his bed, drenched in sweat.
"Dammit!" he roared, slamming his fist into the wall. The impact cracked the stone, leaving a jagged hole behind.
His breathing was heavy, his eyes filled with rage. Suddenly, his hands began to shimmer and his rage vanished instantly. He smiled as he faded into dust.
The rain whispered against the deck as the ship gently rocked, nearing its destination. Lyra lay on a soft bed inside her cabin, her arms tucked beneath her head as she listened to the muffled hush of the storm outside. The distant call of gulls and the subtle creak of old wood welcomed her back to land.
Ovaris.
The ship docked moments later, and Lyra stood, slipping into her large coat. She stepped out into the drizzle, and with a quiet flick of her wrist, uncurled a dark violet umbrella. Raindrops tapped gently against the canopy as she descended the gangplank and stepped onto the stone streets of Ovaris, where mist clung low to the ground and the sky wept in silver sheets.
People bustled past in coats and cloaks, faces hidden under hoods. Still, Lyra walked gracefully, her boots clicking against rain-slick cobblestone. Her umbrella tilted to one side, she stopped a passing merchant near a small tea stall and offered a polite bow.
"Excuse me… do you happen to know where the Yuso family resides?"
The man blinked at her, squinting through the rain, then nodded. "Aye, head down this path, past the stone bridge. Their house is the one with the twin lanterns. Can't miss it."
Lyra bowed once more. "Thank you kindly."
She continued her walk, the rhythm of the rain joining the hum of her thoughts. A gentle smile spread across her lips—soft, nostalgic, almost childish in its warmth. Her hair, now damp with the mist, clung faintly to her cheeks, but she didn't mind. The feeling of being here, in his homeland, where the skies cried endlessly and the wind whispered old stories, filled her heart with a strange kind of peace.
Step by step, she moved closer to the house of the Yuso family, each footfall light with quiet anticipation.
. . .
Far away from Ovaris…
Beneath the cracked earth of a forgotten continent, in a chamber hidden by time and sealed by ancient aura, a hand twitched.
Fingers moved. Dust stirred. Eyes opened.
A dull, red glow pulsed once in the darkness. A heartbeat. Then another. And then, silence.
From the shadows of the chamber, an old man stepped forward, cloak dragging along the stone floor. His face was weathered, burned with symbols only the dead would recognize, and around his neck hung a chain of bones. It had a number.
1771.
He knelt before a twitching body, a cruel smile tugging at the edge of his lips.
"It begins," he muttered. The man held out his hand, and a mark of blackened stars hovered above it. Cracked. Incomplete. Flickering.
The body twitched again, and this time, it spoke—in a voice that didn't sound human.
"Is it?"
"I'm not certain… but there's a chance. I wouldn't have woken you unless I was at least ninety percent sure."
The dull red glow of its eyes turned toward the man again.
"Then... I must go. It is my duty."
The old man nodded. "It isn't just your duty... it's all of ours."
As he spoke, the creature's gaze swept the vast chamber around them. Within the shadows, vampires with eyes like dying stars, werewolves bound in rune-carved chains, stone giants with moss-covered skin, and dragons twisted by mutation stood in still silence. Their forms loomed beneath the ceiling, asleep, ancient, and waiting.
And yet, it wasn't just monsters.
There were other beings too — creatures that might even predate time, wrapped in shifting veils of shadow, resting among a field of moonflowers that shimmered with hues of white and soft blue.
The red-eyed being, cloaked in darkness, looked over the gathering once more. It lingered on the moonflowers then closed its eyes.
Everything went still.
The red-eyed being murmured in an unknown language, its voice dripping with ancient power. It opened its eyes wide, and a sound so deep and primal escaped its throat that it shattered the silence of the world. The noise rippled outwards, stirring every creature from their slumber. Howls, growls, and roars erupted in unison, so deafening that it summoned thirteen tsunamis to tear through the oceans, crashing onto the shores of the world.
Werewolves, once bound by rune-carved chains forged in fear, snapped their shackles and howled in defiance. Their eyes blazed with violet and blue flames, the glow of rebellion igniting their blood. Vampires emerged from the depths, their wings slicing through the sky as they bathed in blood, rising to the skies of the chamber like harbingers of a forgotten era. Stone giants, who had long remained motionless, creaked and groaned as their immense forms stirred, their colossal roars shaking the earth beneath them.
The light that had once forsaken the creatures of the dark, banished them, and chained them deep underground in runes and aura out of fear, had now risen from their slumber...
End of Volume I