The Truth of the Great River

A few weeks had passed since they attacked the drowned temple, and with the guidance of the Guiding Light, the cohort sailed toward where Jet and Effie were.

Surrounding the Chain Breaker was a gray fog, swallowing everything near them.

On the Chain Breaker, Cassie stood inside the circle of runes, controlling the steering wheel. Beside her, Raphael waited silently. Meanwhile, Sunny and Nephis were under the sacred tree, clinging to its sturdy trunk for support.

Sunny under the tree looked at Cassie and yelled:

"How much longer?!" 

His shout was swallowed by the mist. At almost the same time, though, the veil of fog was torn apart for a few brief moments. When Sunny saw the scale and magnitude of the vortex they were trying to brave, his face turned ashen. The whirlpool was indeed colossal, stretching as far as the eye could see. The raging tide moved in a vast circle, forming a revolving crater. They were currently sliding recklessly down its slope.

Far away and below them, a harrowing darkness devoured the world. The depths of the Great River lay naked and revealed, but his human eyes were not capable of discerning what dwelled below. Or maybe there was nothing there at all. Just an endless, bottomless abyss. 

However, there was an island hovering in the air above the darkness. Flowing mist shrouded its dark cliffs, and a magnificent tower rose from somewhere far inland, obscured by fog. The sight of the island was both austere and sinister, like a stark omen of ill fate. "Hurry!" 

Cassie let go of the steering oar and stepped out of the circle, allowing Raphael to take her place. Raphael was there a split second later. He took both steering oars and looked ahead. Then, his dark essence poured into the runic circle, flooding the enchantments of the ancient vessel with incinerating power. Sunny yelped and grabbed a railing. In the next moment, the Chain Breaker shook slightly… and soared into the air.

Raphael gritted his teeth, pouring his essence in the circle while making sure the Chain Breaker didn't fall was taking a toll on his essence.

The Chain Breaker continued flying to the sky. A few moments later, the shroud of mist obscured everything once again. Only the glow of the Guiding Light was there to show them the way… the Chain Breaker sailed through the blinding fog, with only the rustle of countless leaves proving that the sacred tree still existed somewhere out there, near them, hidden from sight.

They didn't have to struggle against the current anymore, but the hurricane winds were still raging. They slammed into the hull of the ship with vicious force, trying to push it back. 

Suddenly, Raphael moved and smoothly raised one of the oars. At the same time, the Chain Breaker began to descend.

Gradually, the fury of the winds was extinguished. The mist was still obscuring the world… 

But then, the ancient vessel finally fell onto soft, white sand. 

There was a violent crash, but the hull of the Chain Breaker withstood the impact. The runic circle fell dormant once again, and the enchantments lost all power. There was nothing but mist around them... and silence. 

They had reached Wind Flower. 

——————————————————

Raphael took deep breaths; this was the first time he had used such a significant amount of essence.

He looked into his soul sea. Judging by its current state, he estimated his remaining essence to be around 15%. He sighed and glanced around.

Cassie lay nearby on the deck floor, catching her breath. Nephis was sitting under the sacred tree, also breathing heavily.

Raphael's gaze shifted to Sunny, and his brows furrowed. Sunny was standing near the bow of the ship, staring at the island, muttering to himself.

Raphael stood up and approached him.

"Sunny… what loop is th—"

"The last loop," Sunny interrupted.

Raphael sighed. "Can you see anyone else on the ship besides us?"

Sunny nodded.

Raphael gritted his teeth. 'Fuck…'

He had overlooked something crucial. The reason Sunny could remember the loops was thanks to Sin of Solace. But in this first loop, Sin of Solace hadn't yet fully manifested.

This meant that the influence of Sin of Solace on Sunny was far less than in later loops, and it also implied something worse: Sunny had died more times than in the novel.

Raphael knew well that death could drive even the most sane person to madness. With the sheer number of times Sunny had died and returned to this place, his eventual descent into insanity was inevitable. It was likely this madness that had caused Sin of Solace to manifest in a humanoid form.

Suddenly, Sunny leaped from the Chain Breaker onto the island, leaving the others behind.

Raphael sighed, walked back to the steering wheel, and approached Cassie.

"How long have we been on this island?"

"I don't know," Cassie replied.

"What about Sin of Solace?"

"He hasn't fully manifested yet. He's still in an illusory form."

Raphael exhaled deeply in relief. At least Sin of Solace hadn't completed his transformation. If he had, this loop would already be doomed.

Cassie walked toward Nephis, and Raphael followed her. She began explaining everything about their situation and the plan to rescue Jet and Effie.

Raphael listened intently, but something felt off. He wasn't mentioned in the plan. It was as if he had no role to play.

"What about me?" he asked.

Cassie smiled at him. "When Sunny comes back, he'll tell you."

Raphael sighed. He had a bad feeling about this.

A few minutes later, he saw Sunny returning from the island, riding atop Nightmare with Jet seated in front of him. As they reached the Chain Breaker, Nightmare sank into Sunny's shadow, and both he and Jet leaped onto the deck.

Sunny approached them, nodding at Cassie.

"Okay, we don't have time for introductions. Cassie's explained everything, right?"

Raphael cleared his throat, drawing Sunny's attention.

"What?" Sunny asked.

"Well, Cassie said you'd tell me my role in the plan."

Sunny glanced at Cassie, who gave him an awkward smile.

He stepped toward Raphael, attempting to place a hand on his shoulder but failing due to the height difference. Instead, he stood in front of him.

"You see, in the last loop, we encountered some abominations on our way to the tower. We tried to find alternative paths, but nothing worked. So… you—or rather, you in the last loop—came up with a plan."

Sunny took a deep breath.

"You'll lure all the abominations on the island away from us."

Raphael's face twitched. "So… I'll be the bait?"

"Yes," Sunny replied bluntly.

'Fuck this shit,' Raphael thought. 'Why am I always the bait?'

But he knew why. He was the best at it.

Raphael sighed and looked at Sunny. "Fine. But if I do this and distract the abominations, how do I get back to the Chain Breaker?"

Sunny's eyes gleamed. "Based on the information you gave us about your immortality and regeneration, combined with experiments I ran in previous loops, we'll cut a piece of your body and store it in the Covetous Coffer. Since you always regenerate from the largest piece of flesh, I'll signal you to destroy your body and regenerate from the arm we've kept."

Raphael blinked. He had to admit—it was a good plan.

"Fine. I'll do it," he agreed.

Sunny grinned. "Chop-chop, everyone! We don't have time to waste!"

A few minutes later, Raphael leaped from the deck onto the white sand. He glanced back to see Sunny grinning at him.

"Soldier, your sacrifice won't be forgotten!" Sunny shouted.

Raphael raised his middle finger in response. "Fuck you, captain."

Jet frowned as she watched him. 'Why does he remind me of Gehrman?'

Soon, the group heard Raphael's voice echoing through the island. It was the signal to proceed.

On the island's left side, Raphael ran at full speed. The ground trembled beneath him, and from the forest, abominations emerged, charging toward him.

From above, a massive black tiger with wounds covering its body lunged at him. The tiger sank its jaws into his upper body, tearing it apart. Yet even without a mind or a heart, Raphael's lower body kept running.

Within half a minute, his entire body had regenerated.

Raphael cursed under his breath. 'This is going to be a long run…'

———————————————————

Raphael had lost track of how many days had passed, but he knew one thing for certain: he had died more than a thousand times.

Of course, he hadn't just stood still, waiting for the abominations to kill him. No, he had taken plenty of them down with him. Over the course of his torment, he managed to kill ten Corrupted and two Great Abominations. His method was disturbingly effective. If an abomination devoured his entire body, he would turn himself into a spear of bones, flesh, and blood, tearing them apart from the inside.

In the distance, the sound of a bell rang out.

Raphael froze. He recognized it immediately. How could he not, when that same bell had shattered his hope countless times before?

Just as planned, he detonated his body into countless pieces.

On the Chain Breaker, Sunny held Raphael's severed arm. Suddenly, the arm twitched violently before throwing itself onto the deck floor.

From the disembodied limb, the regeneration process began. Bones sprouted first, forming a skeleton. Then muscles, organs, and flesh emerged, wrapping themselves around the bones. Finally, blood flowed through the veins, completing the reconstruction.

Raphael opened his eyes and glanced around, seeing four women and one half-man staring at him in various states of shock and curiosity.

He gritted his teeth and roared, "What the fuck are you staring at?! Move, you fuckers! Let's get off this godforsaken island!"

Sunny averted his gaze and asked dryly, "Could you at least put some clothes on?"

Raphael looked down and realized he was completely naked. With a huff, he quickly summoned his kimono and slipped it on.

"And so what?! You should be grateful to have been graced by the sight of my naked body."

Effie, standing nearby, gave him a long look—particularly at his lower half.

"I truly was graced…" she murmured with a smirk.

The cohort wasted no time. Everyone moved to their positions, ready to leave the island.

As for Raphael, he slumped under the sacred tree, finally allowing himself a moment to rest.

Just at the moment, the island quaked once again. In the distance, the black cliffs rising above the beach crumbed and collapsed, falling down like a black avalanche. A giant crack appeared on the ground, the sand spilling into it like water, and crawled in the direction of the Chain Breaker. Then, the flying ship moved, as well. Slowly at first, then faster and faster, it rose above the ground and soared into the sky. Nephis was guiding it away from the disintegrating beach. Raphael watched Aletheia's Island break apart in silence. 

The entire island shuddered one last time and broke apart, falling into the abyssal darkness below. All the horrors, secrets, and treasures left behind by Aletheia of the Nine disappeared with it.

The flying ship hovered in the air for a few moments, and then slowly started climbing down. It was heading for the same lightless abyss that had swallowed the island… 

Diving into the darkness that lay at the heart of the Great River. Soon, the darkness welcomed them into its silent embrace.

———————————————————

The Chain Breaker entered the heart of the whirlpool. After some time, Nephis lost most of her essence, forcing Raphael to take over.

"Can't I rest for one damn hour?" he grumbled under his breath.

Suddenly, the sacred tree glowed brilliantly. Its leaves shone with a pure, radiant light, casting an ethereal glow over the deck. At the same time, the runic circle surrounding Raphael flared to life, flooding the ship with renewed power. Their flight, once turbulent, became smooth—much smoother than before.

The circle had been fully repaired.

Raphael let out a sigh of relief.

The Chain Breaker continued its journey through the underwater tunnel carved by the whirlpool.

Days passed. The crew faced dangers in the tunnel, but none too severe to handle.

Standing on the deck, Raphael sensed the Chain Breaker accelerating faster than ever. Most of the cohort were thrown off balance, except for Raphael and Nephis, who clung firmly to the steering wheel.

As they reached the tunnel's end, the Chain Breaker shot out of the vortex with tremendous speed, breaking free from the whirlpool's grip.

The twisting tunnel vanished, replaced by a vast, empty expanse. The oppressive aura of the Great River was gone, and time seemed to flow naturally again. Yet the space around them… it felt strange.

Raphael stepped to the edge of the deck. In the distance, he saw a vibrant ribbon painted in shades of lilac, azure, and crimson, with sections shrouded in shadow. Seven small motes of light moved slowly through the surrounding darkness, creating a breathtaking spectacle.

The ribbon formed a circle, its surface twisting on itself like a Möbius strip.

"The Great River…" Raphael muttered.

The Chain Breaker was now far, far away from the Great River. The vast, empty darkness around them was the interior of the Tomb of Ariel.

"I see… that explains why the defiled come from both the past and the future," Raphael murmured, piecing the puzzle together. "Because both are connected."

He paused, his gaze fixed on the mesmerizing ribbon.

"The Great River is an infinite loop… If one travels from the future to the past, it resets everything, creating a loop that starts over and over."

Raphael turned to face the cohort.

"Then the Estuary must be the point where the law of time and space doesn't exist," he said, his voice calm but resolute.

"This is the truth of the Great River: an endless river, connecting the future to the past, creating an infinite loop."

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I think most of you have noticed that I'm rushing this volume. But you don't have to worry the next chapter will be Twilight, and then the attack on verge will happen, were the action and lore drop truly begins.

Leave a review on this fanfic, chapter and some power stones, so more people can read it.

See you again next time👋