….
Lightning ripped through the heavens—so close it illuminated the chaos in a blinding white flash. The thunder followed a heartbeat later, rolling across the sea like the roar of a vengeful god. The Seraphim lurched violently, its sails flapping against the wind as the storm broke in full fury. The air turned electric, sharp with ozone.
They were edging closer to the island. The jagged outline of Valdyr loomed faintly through the mist — black cliffs rising from a boiling sea, lightning crowning them in eerie glory. But none of them had the chance to marvel. Every instinct screamed the same truth:
Danger was not limited to the man before them.
Havelock laughed—a low, cruel rumble that seemed to shake the rain itself. His armor glowed faintly beneath each flicker of lightning, the gilded veins of his Codex sizzling in the damp air. The light crackled along his gauntlet, bleeding through his skin like living fire. He rolled his neck, the sound of popping joints drowned beneath the storm.
"This just got interesting,"
he mused, lips curling into that wolfish grin again.
The first raindrops hit like shards of glass. Within moments, the deck had become slick, reflecting the flashes of the storm above. Footing was treacherous—one wrong step could mean a plunge into the raging dark sea below.
Zayn's grip tightened on his blade. Nora, beside him, cracked her knuckles, that ever-present smirk not faltering even under the pelting rain.
"Try to keep up." she said.
Zayn shot her a withering look. "Try not to get in my way."
Then they both moved.
Havelock swung first. His lance tore through the air in a golden blur, the pressure alone forcing Zayn to duck low. He slid across the wet deck, sparks flying as his katana parried a follow-up strike. Nora leapt into the fray, her Codex flaring—a gust of violet energy rippled from her hands, colliding with the knight's chest and forcing him back a few paces.
He barely flinched.
Havelock grinned.
"Two children? They send me children?" He spun his weapon, letting it hum with divine resonance.
"At least this will be entertaining."
He lunged—blindingly fast. Nora dodged sideways, her bare feet slipping slightly on the rain-slick deck. Zayn parried again, metal screeching against divine steel. The impact rattled his bones. Havelock twisted the lance, using its haft like a club, slamming it against Zayn's shoulder. Pain flared. He barely had time to recover before the next strike came, and the next.
"You can back down if you want!" Nora jeered, hurling a flash of explosive purple energy toward Havelock's head.
"I think I've got this covered."
The knight deflected it with the shaft of his weapon, the magic dispersing in sparks. He turned on her, thrusting sharply. She ducked under, spinning, her palm glowing as she sent another concussive burst toward his chest.
He blocked again—but Zayn was there this time.
Zayn's blade cut through the mist like lightning, striking at the gaps in the knight's armor. Sparks exploded as steel met gold. Havelock staggered a half step.
Nora smirked. "Got him."
"Don't—" Zayn began, but she was already moving in front of him. Her reckless burst of violet light blinded them both for a fraction of a second—enough for Havelock to retaliate.
The knight's gauntlet flared and he slammed it into the deck. Golden chains erupted from the boards, snaking toward them like living serpents. Zayn vaulted over one; Nora wasn't so lucky. A glowing link caught her by the ankle and yanked her backward.
She cursed, twisting midair, firing a violent burst of energy from her palms that shattered the link and sent her tumbling to her feet again.
"Stay still, woman!" Zayn hissed.
"I don't do still!" She spat back.
Their coordination was terrible. Nora's attacks threw off Zayn's rhythm, while Zayn's precision forced her to reposition again and again. But despite the chaos, they kept pressing, hammering Havelock from both sides.
Zayn practically zipped toward Havelock, boots skidding across the slick deck as his blade came alive in a brutal flurry of arcs. Each strike hissed through the rain, a flash of silver under lightning's glare. Havelock's spear rattled violently as he deflected every blow, the clash of steel against steel ringing like cannonfire across the storm.
It was payback—pure and simple. Every ounce of frustration from their first encounter poured through Zayn's arms, yet even in his fury, his precision was merciless. Every cut had purpose. Every movement was controlled chaos.
With each parry, Nora was there—striking with perfect timing, a violet blur in the corner of his vision. She spun in, the heel of her boot cracking against Havelock's side with a thud that echoed through the storm. The knight grunted, staggering back a half-step, armor scraping against the wet wood.
For a moment, impossibly, the two of them moved in unison—Zayn's cold discipline and Nora's explosive recklessness weaving into a rhythm that even the storm seemed to pause for.
"Where's your fire!?"
Nora shouted, voice slicing through the chaos. Her eyes gleamed with a manic challenge.
Havelock answered with a hammering punch that caught her mid-sentence. The blow sent her skidding across the deck, rain splashing upward as she rolled to a crouch.
"I'm working on it!"
Zayn snapped back, blocking another furious swing from the knight's spear. Sparks exploded between them—lightning and gold colliding midair.
Havelock's hand shot out, gauntlet flaring. A golden chain burst from his palm, hissing through the air like a serpent.
Zayn twisted his body in one fluid motion, narrowly dodging the whip-like strike. His foot slid across the drenched planks as he pivoted—and stepped into Havelock's guard. The katana came up in a clean, vicious arc.
SHHHK!
The blade tore flesh. A line of dark, dangerous blood traced from Havelock's cheekbone down to his jaw, hot in the rain. The sheer force of it staggered the knight backward. Even Zayn froze, momentarily shocked by the brutal precision of his own strike.
Before Havelock could regain his footing, Nora was already in the air. She vaulted over Zayn, her body twisting in a blur of violet light before she brought her fist down with crushing power—aiming for the fresh wound. The impact cracked through the deck.
The three froze for a single heartbeat, their breath lost in the thunder above.
Havelock's head tilted down. His gauntleted fingers brushed the wound along his cheek, coming away slick with crimson.
He looked up at them slowly. Then—he smiled.
But there was no warmth in it. Only hunger.
"Let's play then, shall we?"
Havelock's voice was dripping with venom and anger— frustrated by the fact that the 2 had found their pacing with each other.
Like the gears in a cog, the began to work.
Zayn slashed, fast and fluid, his blade tracing silver arcs through the mist. Nora struck from the opposite flank, her Codex pulsing with every hit. When Havelock blocked one, the other came for him. When he deflected Nora's blast, Zayn's sword cut through his defenses.
It was ugly. Unrefined. Desperate. But it worked.
Lightning flashed again. The storm howled louder. Havelock's grin had vanished, replaced with something darker — fury.
"You think yourselves warriors?"
His voice carried over the storm. "You're children playing with matches—fire you don't understand!"
He spun, his lance carving through the air in a golden arc. Zayn barely ducked, the blade grazing his shoulder, searing through fabric and skin. Pain burned white-hot.
"This bounty isn't worth your life," Zayn growled, a faint duality burning through the cracks of his voice, speaking in unison with his. Kelios. He gripped his blade with both hands.
"If you still don't understand that, I'll take it from you."
He charged.
Havelock's Codex flared in answer — a brilliant golden storm spiraling around him, the rain hissing into steam where it touched his armor. Nora joined the rush, her own magic twisting through the air like a storm of explosive purple flame. The three collided in an explosion of light and force, the deck cracking beneath them.
Zayn's blade met the lance once more, his every swing faster, more feral. Havelock blocked, laughed, countered. Nora darted behind him, conjuring bursts of blinding light to disorient him. For a heartbeat, it almost worked — and that was all Zayn needed.
He spun low, channeling everything—the storm, the chaos, the burning whisper of Kelios in his mind. His blade ignited in white fire.
Havelock swung down.
Zayn swung up.
SHHHHK—!
The clash of steel gave way to the tearing of metal. Zayn's blade ripped across Havelock's armor in a brutal upward slash — from stomach to jawline — the cut glowing with burning silver fire. For an instant, the world froze. Then came the sound of searing flesh, the scent of ozone and blood.
Havelock stumbled backward, breathless, smoke rising from the molten wound. He managed to strike him…again. His armor cracked, golden light leaking through. His knees hit the deck, the rain hissing as it struck his skin.
Nora exhaled sharply, her grin returning.
"That one's gotta sting."
Chauncey roared from where he lay bound, the gold chains around him flickering. Then, like wax melting under fire, they dissolved into golden essence that scattered into the rain. The same happened across the ship — every Drenmarch soldier dropping to the deck as the luminous bindings disappeared.
Jasmijn stumbled from the captain's quarters, drenched and disheveled, sword in hand. Behind her, her men limped out, gasping for breath.
"What the hell is she doing out of her cell!?"
she snapped the moment she saw Nora.
Nora raised both hands, smirking sheepishly.
"Uh… I think we've got bigger problems."
Jasmijn followed her gaze.
A shadow passed overhead.
Then another.
The rain parted for a moment — and the tentacle emerged.
Blue and violet, slick as oil and impossibly vast, it coiled above the ship like a living storm. The suction cups glowed faintly with bioluminescence, illuminating the terror-stricken faces below. It was larger than the Seraphim — seven times larger, maybe more. The sea erupted as it descended, spraying the deck with a tidal wave that sent men sprawling.
Even Havelock froze.
Screams broke out across the deck. Drenmarch and Plugish soldiers alike dropped weapons, scrambling for the lifeboats. Others stood frozen in awe, too afraid to even move.
Zayn grabbed Charolette's hand, pulling her through the chaos as debris and rain lashed their faces.
"Go! Now!"
They ran.
Jasmijn, Chauncey, and Nora stood for a moment longer — watching as the massive tentacle lifted high, blotting out the light from the storm.
Then—
SMASH!
The tentacle came down like the fist of a god.
Wood shattered. The Seraphim split in two, swallowed by the churning sea. The world dissolved into chaos — screams, thunder, and the endless roar of waves — as everything they knew was dragged beneath the surface.
Their lives had never been in more jeopardy than they were now.