A few hours later...
Arthur groaned. He rubbed his eyes and sat up. He gazed around the dark room and then, stood up. He walked to the panel and turned the light on. Right then, Kay grunted and woke up.
"Hey…What's your problem?"
"Nothing…Just got enough sleep…" Arthur yawned.
"…Well, I didn't…turn it off…" Kay flipped onto his side.
"Get up…It's probably been a few hours since we slept." Arthur entered the bathroom.
"Just a few more minutes."
Arthur didn't respond and went to do his business. After a few minutes, he exited the bathroom and Kay had woken up. He waved at him and walked over to the hanger. He put on his windbreaker and vest. He twisted his body and waited for Kay. The latter was also ready after a few minutes. Right then, the room shook violently and tilted. They grabbed onto the hanger and then it tilted to the opposite side. Then, the room stabilized. They tucked their katanas in and opened the door.
Rain and hail instantly assaulted them. Arthur closed the door and turned towards Kay.
"Did they give us umbrellas?"
Kay shrugged and look around. He walked to the corner of the room and found two umbrellas.
"Yes, they did." He tossed one to Arthur.
Arthur clutched it and opened the door. The two of them walked into the thunderstorm with umbrellas that were barely hanging on. They strolled through the deck and arrived at the front. Lightning crackled through the skies and thunder spilt the clouds as the seas churned into a disastrous mixture. They ignored the hellhole they were in and turned towards the storage. Many enforcers of the AEOC and UEOC were already there, picking canned foods in a cramped space.
The two squeezed through the crowd and managed to pick up a few cans. They returned to their room right after.
"Gosh…that was tight." Arthur sighed.
"I don't know if I'm supposed to take that literally or metaphorically." Kay opened a can.
"Take it both ways." Arthur sat down. "That way you're not wrong."
"With you? I'd take it literally."
"Let's eat before we talk, shall we?" Arthur opened his can.
"Okay." Kay took a bite.
Then, they proceeded to have their lunch. After finishing, they sat in silence for a few minutes.
"This is…quite boring." Kay commented, lying on his bed.
"It is…"Arthur yawned.
"You need to sleep some more. You're yawning too much."
"Maybe I do – Maybe I don't. That's for me to decide." Arthur stood up and picked his umbrella.
"Are you seriously going to take a walk in the gatekeeper sea?"
Arthur didn't respond. He opened the door, opened his umbrella and headed out, slamming the door behind him. Kay shrugged and turned the lights off. He went back to bed, planning to fulfill his sleep.
***
Arthur slowly treaded through the ships deck, reaching the front. The sky was in a torrent of war, the waves crashed against each other and the ship, creating massive walls that reached the clouds. The ship dipped low, then, sprung up, almost vertical. It pushed itself through the thunderstorm. But the strangest part was that benthos had yet to attack them. Arthur was quite perplexed as to why this was but even the top researchers of Stratos academy could not explain this phenomenon.
Then, something peculiar occurred.
Arthur felt a strange sensation throughout his entire body, mind and soul. To him, it felt like his skin was being ripped off of his body, like something had been stripped from like. He shuddered backwards, feeling immense pain and could hear the groans of the other enforcers and crewmates echo throughout the ship. The sound echoed for long – too long even…He drew a deep breath and straightened his back.
He peered ahead and instantly; his eyes widened in shock. The thunderstorm had suddenly stopped. Neither was thunder ripping the sky nor was rain and hail pouring down on him.
'It's just like the first time I went to the forbidden continent…how strange.'
His thoughts grew more incredulous as he approached the edge of the ship. He gazed around and realized that the tsunamis and waves had also stopped…For miles, he could only see calm waters as the ship moved forward without shaking or titling. He scratched his head and closed his umbrella, seeing no need for it anymore. He tucked it between his arms and put his hands into his pockets.
He let this…this strange feeling sink in for a few moments. A few minutes passed in silence. A calming breeze passed through the air. Then, a single scream cut through this calming silence. He frantically turned around.
'What the hell was that?'
He saw three men near the edge wearing all black clothes. One of them had fallen while the other two were trying to help him. As he approached, he saw that the collapsed was in an extremely shocked state.
'What happened here? Is he the one who screamed that loudly?'
The other two turned around, noticing him and opened their mouths.
"Oh! Um…lieutenant general! It's so good you're here. Our friend just…saw something…" The man said he looked at Arthur's insignia
Arthur raised a brow. "Saw something? What did he see?"
"Well…" The other responded. "We don't really know…he's spitting nonsense."
"Let me ask him. Then, you can take him to one of our doctors." Arthur crouched down.
He looked at the man's face. His eyes were widened, foam came from his mouth and his jaw shook violently. Arthur frowned and his lips parted.
"Hey."
As he called out, the man turned toward him with a dark expression.
"Can you see me?"
The man shook in head up and down slightly. Arthur understood and asked again.
"Are you okay? Hurt anywhere?"
The man shook his head. Arthur nodded and raised two fingers.
"How many fingers am I holding up?"
The man didn't respond. Arthur put his fingers down and questioned the man again.
"What did you see?"
This time the man responded but his voice erratic and scared.
"S-something…E-eye…r-red…r-red…massive…w-watching…"
Arthur's brows furrowed in confusion as the man spoke.
"L-lurking…h-helpless…sorrow…c-corruption…"
Then, he fell unconscious.
The other two panicked and looked at Arthur for directions. Arthur frozen in shock, couldn't respond for a few moments. He snapped back and told them to take the man to the doctors. The two men picked him up and rushed away. Arthur stood up, his umbrella falling. He looked outward, trying to find the eye but had no luck.
"Something's wrong…What exactly did he see?" He muttered under his breath.