“You can see all of Ishtarica from here,” Jayle said. “It’s an artificial view of course, but I still think it’s wonderful.”
“It’s beautiful!”
“Awesome! We’re so, so, so high up!”
I should go too, Ein thought. He didn’t know why he was being shown all of this, but he was curious as to what Jayle was about to do. But try as he might, Ein couldn’t step forward. A hand on his shoulder had stopped him from moving at all.
“Satisfied?” said a man who stood behind the crown prince. Ein had last encountered the man when the former royal capital had gone up in flames. He’d retreated when the legendary trio first arrived.
“Do I look like I’m satisfied?” Ein replied.
“No, not at all.”
“And why did you show me all this?”
“I didn’t. You gazed into his memories of your own accord.”
“Why are you here to stop me?”
“Plans changed. I can no longer fight outside.”
“Huh, so you lost to everyone?”
“Unfortunately, yes... They’ve all pinned me down. Considering that I’m still a newborn, it’s been tough for me to handle them all at once. Good grief. If you united with me, we could’ve ended it in a flash.”
“Well, sucks to be you. I’m not planning on doing that.” Ein said as he arched his eyebrows in defiance.
The man stared at the crown prince. “But as I said, plans changed.”
“Are you here to forcibly rip my consciousness from me?”
“That’s right. I can’t wait for much longer.”
“Huh... I’m baffled as to why you haven’t done it sooner.”
“I’d naturally considered it, but now that you’ve got something of a powerful hold over your consciousness... Things have become unfortunately difficult to control. It’s now imperative that we unite as soon as possible. I’m rather tired, and I don’t exactly have much leeway to worry about other people anymore.” The man was in the doldrums. “What a pity.”
The hand gripping Ein’s shoulder tightened, preventing him from fighting back. Without any control over his body, the prince was thrown off the path and flew into the Ishtarican skies below.
“I absolutely detest those who dare point their blades at me,” the man said. “I’m quite saddened by this all. I wanted you to die by my own hand, but I haven’t recovered enough of my strength to fight you just yet.”
With that, the man vanished. The strong breeze that brushed against Ein’s cheeks served as a cold reminder that he was falling faster and faster. His body would eventually hit the ocean or the ground. Regardless, a fall from this height would leave him in extreme pain. He knew that he was sturdier than most, but not once had he considered falling from such a high place. He thought of using his skills to break the fall, but...
“Nothing’s working,” Ein muttered.
From his Phantom Hands to Thick Fog, none of his powers would activate. All he could do was sprout roots, and he almost let out a giggle in light of this horrible situation.
“Well, I guess he’s taken most of my power already!”
Ein braced himself for the impending fatal impact about to ravage his body. However, he was suddenly hit with a much softer blow than he’d anticipated. Before the shock could settle in, Ein realized he was surrounded by ice-cold seawater and that he had a salty mouthful of it too. He swiftly rose to the water’s surface in hopes of getting some air.
“Bwah!”
He spat out the seawater and looked around—he’d fallen a short distance away from Kingsland’s port. He also noticed that Kingsland was no longer the royal capital of legend, but the one he’d grown up in. What now?
Despite his best efforts to remain vigilant, Ein felt a sharp sting in the back of his eyes when his gaze found the royal capital. He knew that it was no time to cry before the scenery of his beloved home, but that was a tall order to fulfill. When he whirled around, he spluttered in astonishment.
“The Leviathan?!”
Several moments later, he’d managed to swim next to the vessel. In fact, the boat was so close to him, he could hardly believe it. As he hadn’t seen it on the way down, Ein wondered if the Leviathan had always been beside him. Now’s not the time to be lost in thought. While approaching the boat, Ein summoned a root that allowed him to climb onto it.
Huh, why can I still summon roots? When one considered that the prince had been born with the ability instead of absorbing it, perhaps a different set of rules was at play. With that in mind, it would make sense if his innate abilities remained.
“I should hurry.”
He urged his body to keep moving forward, taking great strides across the ship crafted from Sea Dragon scales. Once he passed the deck, Ein climbed atop a streamlined roof. It was only then that he took a moment to sit down and wring the seawater out of his clothes. As his clothing lost its extra water weight, Ein noticed that the jet-black sword was still firmly fastened to his waist.
Out of breath, he gazed up at the skies and noticed that the clouds hadn’t moved an inch. Jayle had mentioned that it was all artificially made; however, the realization that this also applied to the clouds saddened the crown prince.
It’s so quiet. If that man’s words were to be believed, he would surely come to kill Ein. If so, it was foolish to simply wait here for him. Just then, time finally ticked forward for the world around Ein. There was a deafening splash as the ocean in the distance wavered, and bubbles arose from two spots. The serene ocean soon transformed.
Ein unsheathed his black blade and braced himself as he strained his eyes to peer beneath the water’s surface. Whirlpools began to form and the currents were all awry, dominating an area of the ocean. It can’t be... Ein’s chest pounded with dread as a creature bulged from beneath the water and broke through the surface, splashing water everywhere.
“GRAAAAH!”
The King of the Ocean’s mighty howl made the sky waver, and Ein could even feel it vibrate against his cheek. What’s more, two of them appeared at once. The second one appeared right beside the first, and glared at Ein who was atop the Leviathan.
“I absolutely detest those who point their blades at me. I’m so sad. I’d wanted to end you with my own hands, but I haven’t recovered enough where I can fight against you.”
I see now. He’s gonna try to kill me using my powers... The ones that he stole. But...
“Did you think that I’d give up here?” Ein asked.
If he’d found himself in an even more precarious position without a power to his name, Ein would’ve admitted defeat. However, the prince knew that his innate powers were still at his disposal. If he could still summon his roots, he was certain that his Toxin Decomposition EX skill remained intact.
“RAAAAAH!”
The two dragons rushed through the water and headed straight for Ein. Don’t worry. I have nothing to fear. I just need to fight like the last time, when I went to save Chris. That’s all. As he braced himself for the dragon’s impact, the resolute prince faced his enemies head-on. But suddenly, a wispy, white wind glided across the sea’s surface.
“I had a feeling this would happen after Sea Dragons appeared.”
His breath grew white from the sheer cold, and the ground quaked and rumbled. With air growing even colder, Ein had already braced himself for the worst. The ocean’s surface began to freeze over as a creature leaped out from the royal capital, creating a shadow over the Leviathan. The King of the Tundra’s roar reached his ears.
“GIIIAAAHHH!”
The monster in the air raised its massive arm high above, and the Upaskamuy let gravity do the rest. It stomped towards the Leviathan, and the Sea Dragons easily broke the ice as their snapping jaws headed straight for Ein.