Time
Aaron sat with his legs crossed, facing the relaxed Mr. Crab, who had resumed his fishing after his assault.
At this point, I hope he gets eaten by that sea terror…
Groaning, Aaron placed his hand over his stomach, feeling the effects of hunger finally setting in.
This is what I get for rushing off to fight this terror in the middle of the night without stopping for a meal…
He decided to check what Mr. Crab had caught so far; however, when he looked inside the metal bucket next to him, he noticed its contents were odd.
"Y-You're catching sea snakes…?"
Aaron had instinctively stepped backwards, watching the venomous snakes slither throughout the container.
They were varying in length, with some being as large as a meter, and others being only a few centimeters.
Observing them, Aaron noticed a common trait among them.
There were thin yellow stripes that ran along their bodies, with their eyes sealed with skin.
"I've seen these guys before…"
Thinking back to when he watched the fishermen in his village hunt, he remembered a breed of deadly snakes that typically attacked the nets they laid, attempting to eat the fish inside.
Old Man Oak once got bit by one of them, leading to him losing his entire hand… Why would Mr. Crab be hunting for something that could kill us easily?
He turned his gaze towards the crustacean, trying to understand his actions; yet, all he witnessed was him reeling in the line with his blue claws.
He's not a human, so I can't just ask him for answers… Well, he's never let me down before, so maybe I should just trust him…
Coming to a conclusion, Aaron decided to leave Mr. Crab to his endeavors while he walked inside the captain's quarters he had decorated with Eleanor.
The locked cabinet had been moved across from the map table, with the damaged piece of paper placed atop a shelf they had fashioned out of driftwood.
Aaron stepped forward into the middle of the room before turning towards the table to his left.
The map had been rolled into a wrap with an ink and quill weighing it down, preventing it from blowing away in the wind that flows through the open window.
Aaron unwrapped the paper, allowing a blue glow to wash over the paper, marking the area in a certain radius.
Eleanor had deduced that it could measure a distance of fifty kilometers around the ship; however, after upgrading the ship with the sea terror core, differences were noticed by Aaron.
When he had originally viewed the map, there was a marker for the sea terror in the general area, with the Ghostship itself being the direct center.
After the absorption of the core, the detection ability had changed, with a strange tab being printed on the top left corner.
When pulled, a painting was produced on that tab of the water surrounding the ship.
Little dots marked any creatures within a short distance, including those deep below the waves.
This is some sort of sonar system like what the warships use. It's incredibly expensive to purchase on commercial vessels, but, strangely, this ancient Ghostship has it…
Assuming that it was just some innovation by Mr. Crab, he shrugged off the occurrence and watched as the tab produced a teal light that materialized a crumpled piece of paper.
Grabbing the ball, Aaron observed the readings, noticing that in the direct center was a dark black dot that was moving erratically within the range of the ship.
So this is a sea terror. It must've sensed the aura of the Ghostship and kept its distance… This means I have to mask our presence if I want to approach.
Aaron scratched his head, thinking about what he could do to hide the mysterious atmosphere produced by the core of the ship, when he heard a sound at the door.
Spinning around quickly, his eyes observed the empty doorframe before dropping to the floor, where Mr. Crab stood calmly watching his movements.
The crustacean scurried inside and jumped atop the map table, looking at the sonar readings pinching them inside its claws.
Aaron watched his crab acquaintance stare at the dots carefully before his beady eyes switched towards the main map below the painting.
Having no use for the sonar readings anymore, he chucked them out of his claws in the direction of Aaron before checking the map thoroughly as if he was looking for something.
His eyes stopped on a small point off the coast of Sea Fallen, with him moving his left claw directly to the location he was looking at.
"Is something there?"
Aaron, whose curiosity had been piqued by the unusual actions of the crab, stepped closer, glancing at the place where his claw lay.
Under his firm grasp was an empty patch of water with no visible markings or objects, leaving Aaron confused by his purpose.
Suddenly, turquoise light appeared under Mr. Crab's claw on the map, illuminating the room, causing Aaron to close his eyes, preventing blinding himself.
The glow faded slowly, with Mr. Crab vanishing with it, leaving Aaron alone within the cabin again.
What did he just do that for…?
Aaron had glanced at the map quickly; however, he had yet to register what had changed.
Where the blank area of water had once been, a crimson skull had appeared that radiated a sinister aura, engraving fear into Aaron's heart.
What is that? Why did it appear after Mr. Crab touched it?
Aaron's mind whirred with questions as he watched the new marking move closer towards the Sea Fallen coast.
Should I go see what it is? No, I'm not an idiot… A big red skull means death, right? So if I went, I would die; however, if I don't go, it will make contact with the capital and possibly kill everyone on the island. That also includes…
His pupils dilated in realization of what leaving the threat could bring.
Eleanor could die…
Aaron had never been particularly fond of Eleanor; however, she was the only friend he could remember.
Either I lost all the memories of my friends, or I was a total loser back home…
Shaking off the idea, he decided that he would attempt to stop the threat approaching Sea Fallen, even if he had to risk his own life.
Dammit, I am an idiot to be risking myself for something that probably isn't even a problem… Wait… Isn't Lepaie Quinn in the area? Shouldn't this be his problem?
Aaron's thoughts converged on the possibility of the Sea King, Lepaie Quinn, who ruled the Sea of Dreams, defeating the unknown threat; however, he remembered something Eleanor had told him during their journey.
…
One week before the return to Sea Fallen, Eleanor and Aaron sat aboard the deck, arguing about the plan for when they arrived.
"I told you, Aaron, we can't just sail into the port immediately!"
Eleanor, who was red in the face from yelling, watched as Aaron stuffed his mouth with fish, listening to her calmly.
Swallowing the food, careful not to choke, he spoke loudly with his voice echoing in the fog.
"Why not!"
Eleanor let out an exasperated sigh and began to speak with anger seeping into her voice.
"I already told you this, but if you need to hear it again so you shut up, then I'll tell you. Currently, all the Sea Kings are present at the Conference of the Seas, so if you sail into the port with a very visible Ghostship, the people of the city will immediately assume you either stole from the Sea Kings or you are someone attempting to invade the city. Both would lead to our immediate imprisonment."
Aaron's brow furrowed slightly before he responded with confusion.
"Huh? Isn't the Conference of the Seas held in June?"
Eleanor blinked at him before opening and then closing her mouth slowly.
Collecting her thoughts, she raised her hand to her forehead and spoke rigidly.
"Aaron, answer me carefully. What month do you think it is right now?"
He looked at her, confused, before responding confidently.
"It's January."
Her eyes widened as she covered her mouth with her right hand, speaking in a murmur.
"N-No, Aaron, it's June 27th."
Eleanor watched the boy slowly connect the pieces with realization dawning across his face.
"I have been aboard this ship for six months…"
The words echoed throughout the fog as Aaron's thoughts were constricted by confusion with the fear of his situation returning rapidly.
He spoke again quietly under his breath.
"T-That shouldn't be possible…"
Eleanor shook her head before responding to Aaron's disbelief.
"What's possible and impossible isn't useful when speaking about something as unknown as the Ghostships."
…
In the present, Aaron's memories of his interaction with Eleanor repeated in his mind as he came to the realization that help from the Sea Kings wasn't going to be coming.
"Well, I guess I'll have to deal with these guys myself…"
He sighed before placing the map back on the table and exiting the cabin slowly.
"Set our course to Sea Fallen. We have a city to protect."
The turquoise masts unrolled at once as the helm began to spin with Mr. Crab's soft touch.
Aaron looked up at the crustacean who had revealed the crimson mark to him, noticing what seemed to be a smirk upon his face.
Wait a second… How is he smiling?