Wallowtear

The ocean stretched endlessly before us, waves cresting in slow, lazy arcs as if the sea itself were half-asleep. Seagulls cried overhead, looping through the pale blue sky, their white wings glinting like knives in the sunlight. Silver-scaled fish leapt playfully out of the water every so often, trailing little arcs of foam in their wake. The gentle rocking of the ship beneath us was almost hypnotic—almost peaceful.

"Man… Lucas used to carry this whole damn ship." kevin laughed, shaking his head. "Good old days. Phoenix hated that, you know? But Raptor? That guy lived for it. Honestly, so did I."

Kevin's hand resting gently on the polished wood like he was touching an old friend. "That idiot never did things halfway."

He hadn't stopped talking about his past adventures ever since we set sail for Wallowtear Island. The name alone sounded cursed. He went on about 'the wheel,' his pride and joy. Meanwhile, Ophean—followed us around with a comically large pile of luggage slung over his back. We'd told him it wasn't necessary. Told him he didn't have to. But he insisted, claiming it was his job, that he had to carry it. Maybe he just needed something to hold onto.

Wanora, on the other hand, hadn't said a word to Kevin. Not once. She stood at the starboard edge of the deck, her eyes fixed on the churning sea. The wind teased her hair, but she didn't seem to notice. Her arms were crossed, her expression unreadable. Maybe she was sulking. Maybe she was just tired. Who knew with her.

I walked up beside Kevin, my curiosity finally getting the better of me.

"So… how did Lucas even lift the ship, anyway?"

Kevin didn't miss a beat. "Eh, that mad lad had monstrous strength. Him and this beauty—" He patted the ship's wheel like it was the love of his life. "She helped him do the impossible."

"Wait. He lifted it, and threw it at enemy ships? What even is that?" My eyes widened. "How could he throw something this massive? Don't you need, like… solid ground to do something like that?"

Kevin looked at me like I'd just asked why the sky was blue.

"He used to solidify water."

I blinked.

"…Solidify what?"

"Water," he repeated like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"SOLIDIFY WATER?! What the hell was his Clarion?!"

It didn't add up. To lift a ship—easily several tons—you'd need a strength-focused Clarion. Something like Smell or Hearing, maybe. But those didn't allow you to manipulate the environment like that. Certainly not solidify water.

Kevin scratched his chin. "Clarion of Touch."

"…Huh?" I stared at him blankly.

"Clarion of Touch, little man."

"No. That… that's not possible."

Kevin shrugged. "Solidifying water? It's possible, boy."

"But how?!"

"I wouldn't know." He looked genuinely unbothered. "I ain't no Clarion user."

"…Ah. Sorry."

He waved it off with a grin. "Ain't nothing to be sorry about, little man. I did slay a kraken once. Doubt any Clarion user could say the same."

My mouth opened. Then closed. "…Okay, yeah, that's pretty insane."

He slapped the wheel with a loud thunk. "This beauty tore through that legendary bastard. Like slicing butter with a hot blade."

"That's crazy," I whispered under my breath.

That was when Wanora finally walked over. She tugged lightly on my sleeve, her voice as flat and emotionless as ever.

"Stop talking to him," she said, eyes not even looking at us. "It's a waste of time."

Then she raised a hand, pointing forward.

"We're here."

I turned to look.

In the distance, just past the fog-slicked horizon, was the island. Wallowtear. Shrouded in an eerie mist that clung to it like old secrets, with gnarled trees jutting out from its center like the bones of something long-dead. The sea around it had gone silent. Even the seagulls had vanished.

The air shifted.

And for the first time since we set out, the ocean didn't feel peaceful anymore.