Cauron blinked once, then twice, as he believed he had misheard what the boy had said, his lips parting in confusion.
"What…?"
Noticing the stumped look on the Sea King's face, Aaron immediately realized his error, hurrying to explain with a slight stutter.
"M-my friend looked upon a deity's true form and received enough backlash to kill her…"
He turned his gaze downward, the absurdity of what he had said not lost to the orange-haired man who laughed darkly.
"I cannot revive the dead, boy."
There was an awkward moment of silence before the blond child spoke up again.
"Well… She's not dead anymore…"
He looked up at the elder with a wry smile, the man's face frozen before a sigh escaped his lips, a mixture of disbelief and resigned amusement.
"You are truly full of surprises…"
The sound of the Ghostship lurching forward as it departed the island of Nautilus echoed through the cabin, the jolt disrupting Aaron's balance and sending him sprawling forward.
Ignoring the boy who fell onto the foot of his bed, the Sea King's voice came out in a soft, resolute manner.
"I will not ask how she returned from the dead as I assume such a secret is far surpassing what the Knowledge Barrier would ever allow you to share; however, I will need to see her before I can determine if it is possible to help her."
The turquoise-eyed boy nodded seriously—the words of the smartest man in the world were something far greater than anything he could've hoped for before.
With Aaron standing up and bowing his head deeply, the two men began their transaction, a deal that, if completed, would revive two women and change modern medical science forever.
…
"Without a specific tool to channel the frequency of the World Between, it will be impossible for you to enter it. However, with a Ghostship, this can be bypassed."
Cauron held out his hand, the harsh winds of the sea ruffling his perfectly combed orange hair, and the deep salty smell seeping into the fabric of his clothes.
He, alongside the blond-haired boy with whom he had formed a new bond, stood at the bow of the vessel, a small lesson between Ghostship wielders taking place.
The two men had spent hours before this discussing the specifics of a certain object brought out from the Vault of Nautilus, that being the mysterious egg of an unknown species.
Not only that, but after learning about the anomaly that had been observed throughout the world, and likely the heavens themselves, they could not quite place the object on any normal scale.
Determining it was possibly the kin of a deity, they left it alone within the King's cabin, Ocean's Bane resting beside it as a guard.
Aaron hadn't disclosed the existence of the sword's spirit, or its former owner, to the Sea King, thinking that if he was ever against such figures, some secrets were better kept than given.
That didn't stop him, however, from explaining the mysterious ring upon his finger, albeit leaving out the details about Mr. Crab.
They also discussed the odd runes that Cam had believed to describe the strange world between all others.
"With that unusual ring, I believe that you might be capable of breaking through the barrier between worlds; however, in doing so, you would likely experience Brymyn's Law and die on the spot."
The boy's face paled at the words of the Sea King, and he vehemently shook his head, not keen on testing his luck.
Cauron laughed at his reluctance, his outstretched hand slowly beginning to crack that very barrier itself.
"Wise choice. Even now, I'm expending so much mana that I feel as if my core will be ripped apart and devoured by terrors. Without the Ghostship aiding in my recovery, it would be impossible to open a rift large enough to fit the vessel through."
Gradually, the tear between dimensions grew larger and larger, the sound of a gong in the distance resounding in the blond boy's ears.
Looking over at the man for explanation, he received a simple shrug of his shoulders, an equal look of curiosity marking the older man's face.
"There is no explanation for why a gong rings out when the gateway is opened or closed. All I can believe is that it is an alert for the terrors that lurk in the Devil's Triangle, granting them time to flee before the entry of their natural predator."
Aaron nodded, taking in the information and coming up with a question of his own.
"I've been meaning to ask, but how long did it take you to grow your Ghostship's core to the strength to ward off stronger terrors?"
He had been meaning to pose the query ever since seeing that pulsating light in the lowest levels of his vessel, a power strong enough to scare even high-level monsters.
Waiting for an answer, he watched as Cauron's forehead wrinkled, his gaze falling on the boy.
"Your Ghostship isn't already at that level? Regardless of their contracted deity, all six known vessels were found in the exact same state they are currently in."
The turquoise-eyed boy paused, his curiosity replaced by confusion similar to the man before him.
So there's a chance it will never get any stronger than a low-level ward? But wait… that can't be right…
Remembering how the Ghostship expanded into a much larger size after his first core absorption, he mulled over the facts, a conclusion coming to mind that he didn't wish to share.
Could it be that when I myself get stronger, the Ghostship will do the same in turn? The Old Man said something similar when I first met him… Could that mean if I were to devour the core of an Apex-terror, then would the vessel reflect such a change?
Sighing hard and burying the question in his subconscious to ask the Old Man upon their next meeting, he gazed over into the distance.
The hole into the other dimension had grown vastly, and Cauron's ship was soon to pass through.
"Is there anything else I should know of the World Between?"
The Sea King pondered the query for a moment before pursing his lips, a smile curling up at the ends of his mouth.
"We've classified it in a way that's similar to what we use in our own dimension. Inside the World Between, there are three seas with their own natural terrain. Of course, without any dry land, we can judge the geography only by trenches such as the Trench of Mawlg that exists between where the Sea of Wishes and Sea of Dreams collide in that illusory world."
He paused, as if deliberating on what to explain next, but continued shortly after.
"The Devil's Triangle is all we know, so that is all I will discuss. I will try to explain to you how it works… Though with all your abnormal traits, I don't even know if it will work for you."
Removing a tiny slip of paper from his pocket and throwing it into the sea as they crossed over the dimensional barrier, he began to speak.
"The universe is divided into thousands of dimensions, and when standing within the World Between, its scale dwarfs them in almost all means, therefore making these incredible worlds seem like pebbles in comparison."
His tone was methodical, like a teacher giving a lecture to his students, but it carried a hint of admiration as he spoke of the vastness of the universe.
"When one crosses into the World Between, they enter this even more wondrous plane of existence and can see the Dimension of Waves itself. Of course, it is impossible to make out due to the Gates of Heaven that obscure it for even the gazes of deities. Within the Devil's Triangle, though, using coordinates and Heavenly Ichor provided by the God of Space that appears in various places, you can create a small entryway into our world at those specific locations."
Their very own portal that the Ghostship had previously entered closed behind them, sealing them within the confines of that incomplete world.
"Coordinates within the World Between are aligned with the Dimension of Waves for reasons lost to our ancestors; yet, thanks to the scale difference, we can traverse vast distances at a time far reduced. Our only limitations in this reality are finding pockets of Ichor that are scattered in random areas."
He finished with a heavy breath, his eyes glancing over at the boy as if already knowing that questions were on the way.
Cauron was correct, as only a moment later, Aaron's mouth opened again.
"So the World Between exists in a two-dimensional plane? Is there no curvature or any shape to its structure?"
The Sea King raised his brow, impressed with the remark that the boy had made.
"Yes and no. The dimensions themselves create a three-dimensional shape; however, when sailing across the waters of the World Between, they are completely flat, going from the bottom to the top."
He paused, thinking of a better way to explain it.
"If I were to place a map onto a table, then it would be flat, yes? However, if I were to place objects atop that map, then it would suddenly be only the base for the worlds built onto it. The World Between operates on that same metric, with the dimensions acting as varied hubs of life in a normally desolate wasteland."
Aaron nodded slowly, obviously not completely confident in what he had just learned, but satisfied with what he could understand.
Taking a breath and staring off into the strange world that stretched out before him, he bowed his head slightly to the Sea King.
"Thank you for your knowledge today, Lord Thorn. Though I should return to my friends beneath the deck so as not to worry them."
Cauron smiled, relaxing against the railing.
"If our deal stands, then be my guest. There is nowhere aboard this Ghostship that you may not enter, with the core room the only exception."
Sending a wry grin towards the boy who thanked him once again, the man watched as he vanished below deck, leaving him alone with the universe itself.
Turning his eyes towards a tiny spot of orange buried within one of the highest branches of the World Tree, he sighed, the Dimension of Life, and the home of his goddess.
Perhaps now, I'll achieve my dream before my time comes to enter that world at the end of life itself.