Falcon lunged toward Azalor, desperate to seize Majd from his grasp. Azalor vanished in a flicker of violet light, reappearing ten paces behind him. Reiz immediately charged, his jeweled blade raised, grey fire swirling around him like a shroud. "This is good," Reiz sneered, his eyes manic. "He's losing focus. How pitiful."

  Falcon turned, fury burning in his eyes. He didn't dodge. He struck Reiz with a violent, two-handed sword swing that smashed through Reiz’s guard and sent him skidding across the frozen mud.

  Without pausing to check if Reiz was down, Falcon sprinted toward Azalor—just as Lainas's ship finally ground to a halt on the shore.

  Azalor vanished again, but this time, he hurled Majd toward Falcon as he disappeared. Falcon caught the boy tightly, skidding to a halt. He lowered him gently to the ground, his rough hands trembling. "Majd? Majd, can you hear me?"

  Before Falcon could check the boy's pulse, Azalor reappeared on a high ridge. He raised his hand, revealing a strange object pulsing with pale light. It was a heart—carved from ancient blue ice, beating with a slow, heavy rhythm. The Heart of Bastet.

  THRUM. The temperature on the island plummeted instantly. The air sharpened into knives. Several pirates collapsed where they stood, frost spreading over their skin. Others clutched their heads, screaming as their eyes turned white. They turned on their own comrades, slashing wildly in confusion and madness.

  Azalor smiled, the frost reflecting in his eyes. "Let the show begin."

  Lainas leaped from the wreckage of his ship, seeing the chaos spreading. "Healers! The cure—now!"

  The healers of the Luminous Tree scrambled forward, throwing glowing golden fruits toward the maddened pirates. But the pirates recoiled, shouting in paranoia. "Poison! They're trying to poison us! Don't trust them!"

  From afar, Mehran watched, gripping his spear. "A cure? So that man was telling the truth... or is this another trap?"

  Falcon’s voice boomed with heavy breath across the battlefield, raw and furious. "MEN! EAT THE FRUIT! It's our only hope!"

  Hearing their Captain's command cut through the madness. Hesitant, trembling, the pirates began to catch the fruits and bite into them. The madness in their eyes began to fade.

  Falcon exhaled, his shoulders sagging in relief. "Thank the oceans..." He looked down at the boy in his arms. "It's going to be okay, Majd. You're safe."

  Majd was staring up at him. His eyes were empty. Void-black. SHKKT.

  Falcon froze. He looked down. A dagger was buried to the hilt in his chest, piercing his lung.

  Falcon staggered, dropping to one knee, coughing bright red blood. Majd stood up before him, the dagger dripping. The boy’s face was blank, a puppet on invisible strings. "Majd..." Falcon wheezed, blood running from his mouth. "What happened to you...? Did they... curse you...?"

  Reiz burst into laughter from the shadows. "Well? What do you think of your men now, old fool? Saved by the boy who killed you!"

  Falcon ignored the pain. He glared at Reiz and Azalor with burning hatred. "You... lunatics..."

  Lainas arrived beside him, breathless. He saw the wound. "Falcon!" "Sorry for the delay!" Lainas gasped, pointing his sword at Azalor. Falcon met his eyes, exhausted but grateful. "About time... Tree-man."

  Lainas: Tree-man huh? you're bleeding your lung is torn and you're throwing jokes...?

  Lainas glared at the villains. "You two... after everything you've done... you dare stand here as if nothing happened?"

  Reiz smirked, spinning his blade. "Tree-man. Nice to see you again. Did you bring more firewood? what happened to the that healer is he alright?! "

  Reiz burst into laughter.

  Azalor’s eyes flicked toward Lainas—just as Lainas hurled a glowing fruit toward Majd to break the mind control. "Reiz! No!" Azalor shouted. "The fruit! Destroy it!"

  Reiz shifted direction instantly, grey fire exploding behind him as he raced to intercept the cure in mid-air.

  Lainas charged Azalor. "So you helped this boy... old man? Does that make us allies?" Falcon shouted, gripping his bleeding chest. "Of course it does!" Lainas grinned. "Good."

  Azalor fired a violet bolt, but Lainas dodged, and the warriors of the Luminous Tree surged past him to engage the Black Order.

  Reiz reached the fruit. He snatched it out of the air. "So... this is the cure?" He squeezed it, ready to crush it into pulp.

  But he felt a presence behind him. Falcon. Despite the knife in his chest, the old man moved like a phantom. His aura blazed dark blue, fueled by pure adrenaline. The deep blue starts piercing the skies between the dark, thick clouds. Reiz barely had time to raise his blade. CLANG. The impact was like a cannonball. It knocked the fruit from Reiz’s hand. An assassin of the Luminous Tree blurred past, snatching the fruit before it hit the ground.

  Reiz snarled, his hand numb. "Damn it! You should be dead!" He tried to strike the assassin, but Falcon pressed him with overwhelming force, driving him backward, step by step.

  Reiz stared at Falcon in disbelief—then he smiled. A genuine, battle-crazed smile. "This... is interesting. You really are a monster that's explain a lot..."

  Azalor raised his staff. "Reiz! Don't let them—!" He unleashed a violent wave of shadow, dark winds spiraling toward the wounded Falcon and the boy.

  VRROOOOOOM.

  Before the shadow could land, the world turned white. A massive beam of condensed hydro-energy shot from the distant sea. It struck the ground between Azalor and Falcon, vaporizing the rock. Reiz was caught in the shockwave and crashed to the earth. Azalor was forced to shield himself.

  Azalor turned slowly toward the source. Far across the water, Valina surfaced. Her massive eye stared directly at him. She opened her mouth, let out a low, warning rumble, and sank beneath the waves again.

  Azalor lowered his hand. His voice trembled, not with fear, but with recognition. "Valina..."

  The assassin forced the glowing fruit into Majd's mouth, massaging his throat to make him swallow. Majd convulsed once, then collapsed, unconscious but breathing steadily. The darkness in his eyes began to recede.

  Falcon roared, parrying a strike from Reiz. "Get him out of here! NOW!"

  Lainas shouted over the din of battle. "You heard the Captain! Take the boy to safety!"

  The assassin nodded, hoisting Majd over his shoulder. He sprinted toward the shoreline where a small skiff waited to ferry them back to The Green Comet.

  As Valon appears suddenly Swinging his scythe

  Lainas screaming Watch out!!

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  Valon steals the assassin’s soul coldly, a freezing aura surrounding him as he grabs Majad by the throat.

  In seconds, a shadow appears—Valon, looking amused, as a falcon lands and a herd tears up the ground, his aura pulsing while he grabs Majd.

  Valon vanished, letting out a cold, mocking laugh.

  On the deck of the main ship, Sowsan (Yamen's daughter) stood by the railing. The guards around her were panicked. "The Whale is circling us..." one guard whispered, clutching his spear. "And this strange fog... it's surrounding the ship. Is this camouflage? Or a trap?"

  He turned to the girl, trembling. "Lady Sowsan, we should retreat below deck!"

  Sowsan didn't move. She stared into the swirling grey mist, her expression serene. Her fingers brushed the pendant of the simple necklace her father had given her before he passed. She smiled—a small, knowing smile that looked out of place in a war zone. "Do not fear the mist," she whispered. "It knows us."

  On the beach, Lainas fought through Luther's men, his sword a blur of steel. He cut them down one by one as they tried to aim their rifles at the fleeing boat.

  Another Assassin appears, snatching Majd in a blur from the Falcon and sprinting toward the ship.

  Azalor, perched on the high ridge, saw the assassin carrying Majd toward the water. His eyes narrowed. "You think you can leave with my prize?" He raised his staff. The violet gem at its tip screamed. Above the clouds, the sky tore open for the second time. Another Meteor. Smaller than the first, but faster. A burning rock the size of a carriage, trailing violet fire, aimed directly at the assassin and the small boat.

  Falcon saw the light shift. He looked up and his heart stopped. He rushed forward, ignoring the pain in his chest. "MAJD!"

  SLASH. Reiz appeared instantly behind him, carving a deep gash into Falcon’s arm with his grey-fire blade. Falcon stumbled, gritting his teeth as he barely blocked the follow-up strike. "Eyes on me, old man!" Reiz laughed, dancing around him. "You can't save everyone!"

  Qaws and Velins, still recovering near the crater, looked up in horror. The meteor was descending too fast. Qaws spat blood, clutching his side. "It's Azalor... that bastard!" He saw Velins tensing his legs, looking ready to jump. "Velins!" Qaws barked. "Don't even think about blocking that meteor! You'll be vaporized!" Velins cursed, slamming his fist into the ground. "Then who stops it?!"

  Nawal, locked in combat with Loran, sensed the heat. She unleashed glowing water spheres to force the Archer back, her blue aura flaring. "He's strong," she muttered, deflecting a shadow arrow. "We need to be careful—" Then she looked up. She froze. "The meteor... it's heading toward the ship!"

  The rock screamed through the atmosphere. The assassin carrying Majd was still ten yards from the water. The shadow of the meteor swallowed them.

  Qaws and Velins clashed with the Black Order soldiers who had poured out of the mist the moment Loran raised his hand. Steel met shadow. Arrows rained down like a dark storm, hissing as they cut through the snow.

  Nawal sprinted forward, gathering water in her palms to clear a path— THWACK. A shadow-tipped arrow struck her squarely in the back, piercing her leather armor. She gasped, the breath driven from her lungs, and crashed to the frozen ground.

  "Nawal!" Qaws shouted, slicing a soldier's throat and spinning around.

  Velins rushed to her, sliding on his knees. He lifted her carefully, his hands hovering over the shaft protruding from her shoulder. "I'm fine..." she insisted through clenched teeth, her eyes watering. "It missed the lung."

  Velins examined the wound, his eyes widening at the spreading purple necrosis. "I don't think so. That's poison."

  Nawal didn't argue. She reached back, gripped the shaft, and screamed. SQUELCH. She ripped the arrow out herself in one brutal motion, tossing the bloody projectile into the snow.

  "What—?!" Velins froze, pale. "Are you insane?!"

  Velins: These people are crazy, there isn’t a single one who’s normal?!

  Qaws appeared behind them instantly. He didn't ask questions. He snatched the arrow from the snow to check the tip, then immediately pressed a cloth packed with pungent green herbs against her bleeding back. "Press this. Hard," Qaws ordered, his voice flat and professional. "You can hold out like this. It will numb the toxin."

  Velins stared at him, stunned by the precision and speed. "You people... do you practice getting stabbed?"

  "We live in the Valley of Wonders," Qaws muttered, helping Nawal stand. "Everything there tries to kill you."

  A sudden volley of arrows streaked toward them from the fog. Velins stepped forward, his shock turning to rage. He didn't dodge. He swept his arms in a blur of lavender motion, deflecting every single arrow with swift, powerful shockwaves.

  Loran landed before them, his boots crunching the snow. He was surrounded by elite Black Order soldiers, forming a perfect circle of death around the trio. "How touching," Loran sneered. "Now die together."

  Above them, pirates stopped fighting to look toward the sky. Snow fell in thick, silent sheets. The massive meteor drifted slowly, ominously, toward its unknown target.

  On the other side of the battlefield, Azalor watched Lainas approach. The mage smiled faintly, a look of genuine pity crossing his face. "You..." Azalor whispered. "You fight with such righteousness. It reminds me of him."

  He struck the ground with the butt of his staff. DOOOOM. A deep, vibrating sound echoed through the earth. A dark portal ripped open in the air—not a void portal, but a tear in reality that smelled of rot and old earth.

  From the darkness, a figure stepped out. It was a man. Or it had been. He wore shattered emerald armor that looked like it had been chewed by a beast. He held a broken sword, the blade snapped in half but still glowing with a faint, dying light. He raised his head. His eyes were hollow, devoid of life, fixed on Lainas with an intense, silent accusation.

  Lainas froze mid-stride. His sword lowered. The color drained from his face, leaving him looking like a ghost himself. "No..." Lainas breathed, his voice cracking. "It can't be... You died... We buried you..."

  Even the Black Order soldiers nearby hesitated, sensing the overwhelming aura of grief and death radiating from the summoned knight.

  Azalor stepped behind the Broken Knight, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Say hello, Lainas," Azalor murmured. "I believe you two have unfinished business."

  On the churning waters, the naval battle raged. Luther fired rapid shots from his enchanted musket at Aseel, but Ethra intercepted the blast with a precision counter-shot, the two mana bullets exploding in mid-air.

  "Father! Stop! Listen to me!" "Silence, girl!" Luther roared. He shifted his aim—firing not at her, but at the pirate galleon behind her. The shot struck the hull. BOOM. The vessel erupted in flames and began to list, slipping beneath the freezing waves.

  Aseel cursed, dodging debris. "Damn it! Ethra, we can't hold him back!" He turned—and froze. Ethra stood on the deck, trembling. Tears streamed down her face, freezing on her cheeks, but her weapon was aimed steady at her father's heart. "Father... why are you doing this? What happened to you?"

  Luther fired again. He didn't hesitate. The shot grazed her cheek, slicing a lock of her black hair and burning the skin. The blast continued behind her, tearing through three of her own loyal sailors. They dropped lifeless to the deck.

  Ethra flinched, but she didn't lower her gun. Her voice broke, raw with pain. "You... you betrayed my grandmother... my mother... my brother... everyone!"

  Luther stepped across the gangplank connecting the ships, pity and cold steel mixing in his eyes. "If you don't step aside... I will kill you with them. You know the punishment for treason, Ethra."

  Ethra lifted her hand, signaling her men to stand down. She looked at Aseel. "That's enough. We've destroyed all of my father's escort ships. Only his flagship remains. Aseel... go. Falcon needs you on the island."

  "But—" Aseel started. "Please," she whispered, a tear tracking through the soot on her face. "This is an order from Admiral Ethra."

  Aseel exhaled shakily. He looked at Luther, then at her. "Men! Move! To the boats!" Her forces and the surviving pirates hesitated, then obeyed, leaping to the smaller vessels to head toward the shore. Aseel looked back one last time. "Don't die... Falcon will be furious if you do."

  The deck cleared. Father and Daughter stood alone amidst the burning wreckage. Luther aimed at the retreating boats, but a blue mana-shot forced him to dodge. He turned back to the shooter. Ethra. "Stop this nonsense," she said, her voice dropping an octave.

  "Nonsense?" Luther growled. "I am saving this world from chaos!"

  Ethra smiled through her tears. It was a terrifying, broken smile. "I saw you. Did you think I didn't? I saw you kill my mother... when I was a child."

  Luther’s eyes widened. His aim faltered for a fraction of a second. "She knew what you intended," Ethra continued, stepping closer. "She tried to stop you—hundreds of times. She tried to save our family, to save Leonithra... but instead of listening, you murdered her in her own room."

  "That's not true!" Luther shouted, the denial instantaneous.

  "Don't lie to me!" Ethra screamed. "I know you! Look at your left eyebrow—it twitches when you lie. I inherited that from you!"

  Luther touched his face instinctively. He froze. Snow fell heavily between them. The fog thickened. The distant screams from Thera echoed across the water, but on the ship, there was only the sound of creaking wood.

  Ethra pointed her weapon away from him, toward the ocean. "Look," she whispered. Out in the bay, Valina—the colossal whale—breached. She smashed her tail down, crushing a Leonithra destroyer into splinters. "Valina is destroying every ship that tries to approach. Your ships. The Navy of Leonithra. The ships our ancestors built. The ships that once trusted Valina to guide them."

  She looked back at him. "And now... because of you... Valina destroys the very fleet she once protected."

  Her gaze shifted to the sky, where the second meteor was falling toward the island. "And these... these monsters... are the allies you chose over your own blood?"

  "You know nothing!" Luther roared, his face red. "That stupid whale betrayed our family! She betrayed our legacy! She chose a pirate over me!"

  "Is that true?" Ethra asked softly. "You taught me long ago that revenge is the weapon of fools. And now? Is she truly the one who betrayed us, Father? Or was it you?"

  "ENOUGH!" Luther raised his weapon, the barrel glowing hot.

  Ethra mirrored him. She raised her pistol, pointing it directly at the man who gave her life. "Then let me ask you again... Admiral..." Her finger tightened on the trigger. "What is the punishment for treason?"