To Join.

Skadi briefed everyone on the information she had gathered while interrogating Falkone.

The faces of the crewmembers changed as she divulged more knowledge upon them, turning some of their mouth's agape.

In the whole briefing, Cetas remained silent and listened to her words carefully. He could vaguely familiarize himself with specific terminologies such as Gigantia Sea, ravings, core, and many others!

One thing struck his ears though,

"Bloodrenders.."

Casually whispering to himself, Cetas traveled to the back of his mind. Then, a flash of notability appeared in his mind.

Cetas remembered the red-cloaked individual with an eyepatch on his right eye. 

Furthermore, Skadi mentioned a core with sun-like features and seven tentacles rising up from its surface.

With his eyes widened, Cetas found the all-familiar scenario to be a commonality between them. He determined that he'd have to speak to her later.

Before the crew could discuss further, Skadi raised her voice to gather their attention, "Everyone! Let us discuss this subject in a more clandestine area. I thought that I had to let you all know about the situation that I've put you all in. We are to return to the forest and determine our next set of actions."

Skadi looked left and right, staring at each of the crew member's eyes.

"I know this may be sudden, but with the commotion that I and Falkone had caused, the Church of Helios would soon engulf this place with their presence."

The crew members and Cetas all agreed and nodded their heads to acknowledge Skadi's words.

Then, collectively, they stealthily walked back to the mountain forest. Utilizing a silent path, the crew made it out of Seyil with no alarms rung.

Upon setting camp and lighting a fire in the deeper parts of the forest where the smoke couldn't be seen, Skadi gathered everyone around and made them sit on makeshift chairs made out of wood.

The members sat in a circular position - around the fire. 

Cetas sat near Skadi and Reid, listening to the embers of the warm fire.

Then, as he was beginning to become cozy, Skadi let out her soft voice:

"Now... Regarding the Bloodrenders, they are but a myth to us Heliosians.. I assume that you haven't heard of them yet, Jones, especially as a person whose roots came from Reverie?"

Jones shook his head, "None of which are particularly desirable for the mind.. No information at all.."

"What about you, Galkan?" Skadi shifted her head to his direction. 

"In my long years of living, I haven't heard of anything yet!"

Skadi nodded, then continued:

"I thought so too.. Then, let me tell you all the myths that were passed down in Helios."

Cetas listened attentively.

"The existence of Bloodrenders dates back from the Eclipse Era, the Age of Mystics, which approximately occurred 500 years ago. That was the age of our previous King, Amunra des Helios otherwise known as the World's Light. Some of you may be familiar with that title, while some of you are not," Skadi gazed at Cetas, who looked to be immersed with her story.

"Anyhow, as foretold in the myths, Bloodrenders were a notorious group that utilized the forbidden Zeal of Blood - a rare type of Zeal that is formed from multiple Elemental Zeals and Physique Zeals. Only a few can harness this Zeal and one must be quite lucky to even form it."

"Nevertheless, their Zeal was one of taboos that are set by the ancestors of this world. The forbidden Zeals include: death, necro, blood, as I've mentioned, and lastly, the most dangerous of all - the essence of all life itself"

She stared at Cetas, "Water.."

"This is common knowledge among the Zealots of the world. Death was obvious as no mortal nor God should preside over Death. Necro, too, is considered taboo due to its manipulation of the people's bodies, especially those that have succumbed to death. Blood, as previously mentioned, manipulates their own bodies and requires the blood of others in order to prosper, as showcased by Falkone."

"However, the last one seemed intricately odd, as if it didn't belong to the list. Water of all things? The aforementioned had relations with death and control of the living body, but water had no correlation to this at all."

She clasped her fingers and shifted her head to gaze at the campfire.

"It is due to the existence of Leviathans - beings that continuously aim to ravage our world - that water is considered forbidden. Those that manipulate the Zeal relating to water would have the capabilities to control Leviathans."

Skadi sighed then sat uptight, "But enough about that.. The Bloodrenders were said to have ravaged entire nations and destroyed them in a week. One story in the myth of the Bloodrenders stated that a town that an investigator had once visited turned eerily silent. Traders that communicated with that very town on a weekly basis reported to the investigator that the dialogue between the two suddenly vanished"

"When the investigator came, all that he encountered was an abandoned town with no individual on the streets. Only the winds could be heard as the empty void left by the absence of the humans echoed in the town. When the investigator entered one of the houses, he finally encountered someone.."

"It was not just someone though, it was the leader of the town - the one that the trader communicated with. The leader stood still, seemingly frozen in place. His face was lifeless, his body possessed no movement, and his eyes looked.. empty."

"From then on, more towns near the area began to fall silent. Days went by and the numbers doubled. Upon a week passing by, the entire nation had fallen silent. No one knew what happened. But, a sense of trickling fear struck everyone's hearts."

"A lingering question kept them up at night:"

"Would we be next?"

Skadi abruptly stopped and in two breaths, she opened her lips once more.

"And so, in the following day, the King of Helios at that time - the World's Light - took the matters into his own strength."

"In the span of an hour, he brought a male human head to the Church of Helios. Then, he projected a light that portrayed the man's confession, showing his misdeeds, his abomination of a form that consumed that nation's blood, and the group behind him - the Bloodrenders."

"From then onwards, the World's light felled the Bloodrenders, ironically taking a week to gather them all. In the story, it told that the Bloodrenders were basked under the sun and burned to ashes, purging their entire existence."

"No one was certain if that story really did occur as it seemed only too much of a fiasco to be considered as reality. Hence, the people regarded it as a myth. They believed that Blood was forbidden from the start and some even perceived the story as one of the King's propaganda to spread his greatness."

Skadi shook her head and caressed her temples.

"Now, we have definitive proof that the Bloodrenders did exist. Especially with the existence of the sun-like core that Falkone possessed. Whether the tale of the World's Light's achievements are true, we do not have any concrete evidence to mark it as factual."

"Additionally, the existence of the core proves the fact that the Bloodrenders weren't annihilated. If Falkone had an innate talent for blood, then sure, we can disregard their existence. However, the core proves otherwise," Skadi looked at each of her crewmember's eyes, looking to judge their reactions.

Some looked composed and aloof, while some looked to be concerned. 

Naturally, the Heliosians who knew about this myth were the latter while the former are those that didn't preside in Helios.

Skadi continued:

"Well then, now that we are entangled in this.. debacle. It is safe to assume that our paths with the Bloodrenders will intertwine, I believe that we will encounter more of them in the future. Therefore, we need to consult the Historian regarding this, formulate future plans, and be ready for the upcoming trifles to be had."

The crew members agreed, nodding accordingly to her plans.

"Let us now plan for our path later or tomorrow. I presume that the members of the Church of Helios will arrive within half an hour or so, if not faster."

"I believe our next course of action is one that we'd already talked about."

She grinned, putting her hands on her chin and resting them upon it.

"We dress as sailors- no, this time we dress as merchants."

*

After their discussion, most of the crewmembers fell asleep except for Skadi. 

Cetas, too, was awake, peeking at the stars through the filtering leaves fluttering among the nightly breeze.

Skadi sat near the fire, poking the embers out of boredom with a charred stick. Upon hearing rustling behind her, she instinctively turned around.

Entering her sight was the boy with dark-blue hair and abyssal-like black eyes. 

"Cetas, why are you still up child?"

Cetas turned his gaze towards her, "I am admiring the night sky."

"I see," Skadi replied with a gentle tone, "Don't stay awake for too long."

"I won't."

In the serendipity of the night, owls hooted, winds resounded, and the leaves swayed. 

Silence ensued within Cetas and Skadi, lasting for half a minute.

Then, while admiring the stars, Cetas opened his mouth and asked:

"Skadi, do you think I can ever return home?"

Poking the embers of the fire, Skadi replied, "I'm certain."

"Hm," Cetas let out a short breath.

After 2 seconds, he let his voice out once more, "Then.. Can I be as awe-striking as you?"

This time, Skadi turned around and looked at Cetas in the eyes.

Then, she smiled.

"I'm certain."

Cetas, unconsciously, smiled back at her and felt a sense of calmness wash his heart.

"Thank you."

Silence ensued once more, only the sounds of crackling flames resounded.

Cetas let out a long breath.

"Skadi?"

"Yes, Cetas?," she replied in a forbearing tone.

Cetas smiled, feeling tranquility in his heart.

"I want to join the Aegir Pirates."