Eleanor observed the strange black chains that had rubies inlaid, wrapping around the woman's wrists.
Noticing her gaze, the angel moved her wrists near Eleanor, allowing her to take a closer look at them without straining her injured body.
Without realizing it, she had gotten close enough to the woman that when the angel reached out to touch her, she didn't even notice it.
Bright light burst from her shackled hands, slowly healing the severe injuries that covered Eleanor's body.
Her formerly white priestess attire had long since deteriorated into a mix of ugly browns and dark crimson, with not even holy magic able to restore it.
The angel removed the gag wrapped around Eleanor's face, finally allowing her to speak.
"T-Thank you, Your Eminence."
She stuttered through her words, fearing she would sound rude.
The angel merely nodded in acknowledgement.
Eleanor spoke again, hoping to grasp why an angel had saved her.
"I-I appreciate that you saved me, but why are you out so far from the Sea of Wishes?"
The golden-eyed angel held out her chains again towards Eleanor, showing her the dark metal that wrapped around her small wrists.
After some thought, Eleanor concluded that the angel must've been looking for a way to free herself from the chains and, with that goal in mind, had come to the Sea of Chains for a solution.
Isn't it too literal that you can be freed from your chains inside the Sea of Chains…?
Eleanor gradually gained the impression that while this woman was dignified and beautiful, she still had a childish innocence to her thoughts.
Slowly standing up carefully, she bowed to the angel before introducing herself.
"Your Eminence, I, Eleanor Lynn, am the priestess of the southern regions of Sea Fallen, a faithful servant of the God of the Depths. I shall accept any command that you bestow upon me."
The angel simply smiled and gestured for Eleanor to follow her as she walked out of the room.
As she continued behind the angel, she almost collapsed after a few steps due to her muscles being stiff from inactivity.
Adjusting her posture, she continued behind the angel while holding onto the wall for support.
Reaching the deck, Eleanor finally grasped the size of the vessel.
Large black sails hung from the masts with cannons lining each side of the boat, adorned with golden fixtures.
The deck was covered in strange burn marks as if something had happened there, but nothing was left to be seen.
In the center of the deck lay a small containment facility with a strange-looking heart resting inside.
Eleanor had heard about sea terror cores from the fishermen down at the port, recognizing it as the core of a small sea terror.
Brave hunters killed these weaker beasts without much struggle, selling their body parts to the merchants in various markets around the capital.
The hearts were important since, when the correct conditions were met, they created a deterrent effect that prevented weaker sea terrors from approaching.
The effect had been discovered after studying one of the Ghostships and learning that each vessel was embedded with a core that radiated the aura of a high-level sea terror.
This allowed the Ghostships safe passage through most of the seas as long as they didn't come across an apex terror, which even the Sea Kings couldn't defeat.
The angel approached the heart, gesturing for Eleanor to take it.
Surprised by the woman's gesture, Eleanor stuttered a response.
"M-Me?"
The angel gave a small nod again, with a gentle smile forming on her lips.
Eleanor stuck out her hands towards the semi-translucent pulsating heart, grabbing it with both hands.
Holding the pulsating core, she let out a small squeak.
"W-Why is it so squishy?"
The angel's face looked as if she was holding in a laugh; however, the curse from the chains prevented any noise from slipping through.
Eleanor, having gotten somewhat used to the disgustingly soft and thumping heart, looked at the angel, awaiting further instructions with an unpleasant expression plastered across her face.
The angel walked towards the captain's cabin, entering the room without waiting for Eleanor to trail behind her.
As Eleanor awaited her return, she wondered what the angel planned to do.
The angel returned soon after, holding a bottle of ink and a quill, which interrupted Eleanor's thoughts.
Moving near Eleanor, she took the quill and some ink and wrote directly on the deck.
Her calligraphy was elegant and beautiful as she wrote down instructions for Eleanor.
Take this ship. Head southeast. Find boat with flaming blue masts. Wave white flag. Explain situation.
Reading carefully, Eleanor understood the directions; however, she didn't know why the angel had told her to do such a thing.
"Your Eminence, why must I go south? And who is waiting for me there?"
The angel looked down and wrote three simple words that left Eleanor speechless.
You will see.
Eleanor's mind whirred with possibilities while she contemplated inwardly about the response.
Is such an explanation acceptable? Wait, of course it is. This woman is an angel; she must have a purpose in sending me south.
Thinking carefully, Eleanor eventually responded to the angel's message.
"If it is what you desire, I shall complete my mission with haste, Your Eminence."
Smiling, the angel slowly turned incorporeal, vanishing in a flash of brilliant golden light that nearly blinded Eleanor.
As she sauntered towards the helm, she grumbled under her breath while attaching the pulsating heart to her hip.
"She could've told me to cover my eyes at least…"
…
Somewhere in the Sea of Chains, a few days after Eleanor was freed, Aaron sat on the bow of his ship, watching crimson flashes of light crackle throughout the sky.
He laughed maniacally after one burst of lightning hit particularly close to the ship.
"This ship better have some sort of defense for this, or else we might be in trouble."
Aaron had directed his comment towards his only friend, who was sitting on top of one of the cannons holding a fishing pole within his claws, somehow managing to use it properly.
The crab, whom Aaron had nicknamed Mr. Crab, didn't show any reaction, continuing his expert fishing without a sound.
Tsk, I didn't expect a response anyway… but more importantly, where the hell did he get that fishing line?
Overcoming his urge to eat Mr. Crab, he turned his attention towards the waves, which were ever-increasing in size.
After making sure they weren't going to submerge the small sloop, Aaron moved from his seat, strolling towards the bucket by Mr. Crab.
Inside the bucket was a monstrous fish with strange white tumors growing from its body.
He lifted the fish by its tail and held it above his head, popping one of the pustules into his mouth.
From inside the tumor, a thick blue fluid dripped into his mouth.
The taste of the liquid was that of fresh water with only the tiniest hint of fish.
He had been disgusted when he first saw Mr. Crab popping the pustules into a bottle; however, after tasting it, he discovered it wasn't that bad.
This allowed Aaron to survive on the water pustules that existed on the fish while also being able to cook the fish on the turquoise sails.
He had discovered, rather painfully, that they were made of real fire, burning his arm in the process.
Mr. Crab had been catching these fish ever since they had entered the strange storm that had disrupted navigation.
Unable to use the compass, all further wayfinding was to be done with the small map in the cabin that had become Aaron's quarters.
Making his way towards his room, Aaron took one last look at the rough waves that rocked the ship before walking inside.
As he entered his room, he took out the map that he had stored atop the old cabinet where he originally discovered the strange parchment.
Unrolling the map carefully, he noticed some strange changes that he hadn't seen the last time he checked it.
Previously, the map was clouded, indicating the storm that was following them; however, the red dotted line pointing in the direction they needed to go.
However, the edge of the storm was now visible on the map, with the city of Sea Fallen not far from it.
As the map was updated, a small mark appeared just north of his location.
The mark had the outline of a small brigantine with large black sails with the icon slowly making its way closer and closer towards Aaron's ship.
Running outside the cabin, he looked off into the distance, slowly making out the outline of the dark-sailed vessel coming toward him.
As he prepared for a possible assault, his eyes focused on the very front of the approaching ship.
Standing on the bow of the vessel was a figure waving a small flag seemingly trying to surrender.
Immediate surrender? I guess this ship must be intimidating with its flaming sails.
Mr. Crab looked at him before vanishing into the hull of the ship, adjusting their speed to prevent the two boats from colliding.