As the mysterious ship with turquoise sails approached Eleanor's vessel, she couldn't help but be surprised.
I-Is this one of the Sea Kings…?
Eleanor had learned about the seven Ghostships that were wielded by the Sea Kings; however, she had never seen one in person.
Wait, why would one of the Kings be in the Sea of Chains? Unless… No. It couldn't possibly be 'him'.
Shuddering, the thought had occurred to Eleanor that the unusual Ghostship ahead of her could've possibly belonged to the First King who had vanished two centuries ago.
That's preposterous! It would be impossible for anyone to survive that long. Though nobody knows what happened to him within the Abyss, nor what happened after he returned…
Thousands of possibilities raced through Eleanor's mind as the small sloop sailed towards her.
…
At the same time, on Aaron's Ghostship, the blonde-haired boy stood watching the approaching brigantine as Mr. Crab inched the boat closer.
Aaron felt his stomach grumble, obviously displeased with his diet of fish and odd-tasting pustule liquid.
I wonder if this ship has anything to eat on it…
He silently reached down towards the floor to grab a rope that the other people could attach to their boat, keeping it steady.
Once the two ships were within 30 meters of each other, Aaron shouted towards the figure standing on the deck of the brigantine.
"I'm going to throw this rope over! Make sure you tie it to the cleat tightly to prevent it from dislodging!"
He threw the rope as far as he could, with it landing perfectly on the deck of the other ship.
Watching as the person aboard the other ship grabbed the rope and began to tie it to the cleat, he felt reassured.
Fortunately, they surrendered immediately. I might be on a mysterious Ghostship, however, I have no idea how to use the damn thing…
After tightening the rope, he grabbed the small boarding ladder he had found beneath one of the floorboards that he had accidentally damaged when he tried to move the anchor.
Mr. Crab wasn't too pleased with me after that. He kept jumping up and down, pinching his claws in my direction…
Attaching the small ladder to the edge of his boat, he threw the other end towards the brigantine that was floating closer and closer now that it was connected to the Ghostship.
Aaron yelled out towards the person on the other boat again, with a commanding voice that he had mimicked from the elders in his village.
"Come aboard my boat, we'll discuss what to do when you're here!"
The figure began to move across the ladder carefully, with Aaron finally being able to make out the shape of this person.
It was a girl who looked to be around the same age as him with thick blonde hair that swayed in the wind.
Her eyes were the color of sea fog, with a grayish glow, and her attire was that of a small tunic that seemed three sizes too big for the small girl.
She carefully made her way off the ladder and onto the Ghostship landing with a thud onto the flimsy floorboards.
The girl turned towards him, deliberately avoiding direct eye contact, seemingly out of fear, as she gently trembled.
Aaron looked at her and said with a comforting smile.
"Welcome aboard."
She finally decided that it was safe to look at the man, with the fear of 'him' finally leaving her mind.
As she carefully observed him, she noticed that he was not any of the Sea Kings she knew, but instead a boy who looked to be nearly two meters tall with long blonde hair.
Quietly, he asked her a question, hoping to reassure her that he wasn't someone who would do her harm.
"So, who are you?"
The blonde-haired girl simply looked at him with a strange gaze before speaking.
"M-My name is Eleanor Lynn, I'm a priestess in Sea Fallen."
Aaron looked down and studied the girl.
She does resemble a priestess, though that doesn't explain why she's out here.
He spoke calmly, thinking of the best way to discern the situation.
"Well, Eleanor, it seems you are quite far from Sea Fallen."
The girl looked at him before responding to his observation.
"I was kidnapped and was being brought to Svall before a chained angel saved me. She told me to go South and find the man with the flaming turquoise sails."
Aaron's expression collapsed for a second, realizing that the same angel he had met on the island had saved this girl.
What a coincidence! She must've sent her here because she knew where I was headed somehow.
"Sir… I told you who I was, but who are you?"
Eleanor quietly asked Aaron who was looking at the small heart that was hanging around her waist.
W-Why does she have a heart on her waist? Though it doesn't look like the human ones I've seen in textbooks… C-Could it be a sea terror deterrent?
Noticing his silence, Eleanor gently coughed and repeated her question louder, afraid Aaron hadn't heard.
"Sir, who are you?"
Sir? It doesn't look like I'm much older than her… Why does that kinda hurt…
Aaron looked at Eleanor, who was about to ask again, and finally spoke, breaking the silence.
"My name's Aaron, self-proclaimed captain of this Ghostship and the lord of pustules."
The girl didn't respond, and Aaron began to think inwardly about his joke.
I-It wasn't that bad, was it…?
"P-Pustules?"
Eleanor was flummoxed by the boy's strange introduction before looking behind him at a strange bucket that seemed to be filled with bumpy fish.
Oh. He eats those? This poor man…
Eleanor sighed, but was quickly startled when Aaron spoke again.
"Where are the other people from your ship?"
Eleanor's expression suddenly became cloudy with the fear returning.
"A-After I set my course, I explored the rest of the ship a-and discovered a small room that was boarded off."
Aaron listened in on her recount of her story, gradually coming to his conclusion of what lay inside that room.
"T-there were b-bodies of other kidnapped girls inside. T-They had been c-cut to pieces and u-used as bait–"
Eleanor suddenly stopped and ran to the edge of the ship and threw up over the edge as she remembered the gruesome sight that could've been her fate.
Aaron grimaced, feeling regretful about broaching the subject.
"I'm sorry…"
Eleanor's breathing steadied, and she responded quietly.
"I-it's alright. I'm used to seeing those who have passed on. However, that was truly… awful."
Aaron nodded in agreement as he spoke again.
"Well, it seems like you've had a hard time. Is your stomach alright?"
He hoped she would mention that she had food aboard the ship; however, his dreams were crushed when she said that the food supply was empty.
Guess it's back to the fish tonight. I wonder if she would want some…?
"This boat isn't big enough for us to both stay on, so will you continue to sail the brigantine until we arrive at Sea Fallen?"
Aaron asked, half-questioning if she would be competition for his food supply.
"I guess so… By the way, Mr. Aaron, you mentioned that this is a Ghostship, but you're only the self-proclaimed captain?"
Eleanor looked at the cabin, wondering if someone else could be aboard.
Aaron responded to her question while looking towards the helm, where his little friend should be.
"The actual captain of this boat is my dear friend Mr. Crab, who seems to be the personification of the ship itself."
Eleanor stared at Aaron in disbelief, not understanding how a crab could steer a ship.
"A c-crab is the captain?"
Aaron laughed at her bewildered reaction, looking around to see if his little friend had appeared; however, there was no sign of him anywhere aboard the ship.
Turning his gaze back to Eleanor, he asked a question he had been concerned about since he first met her.
"What's that heart dangling on your hip?"
Eleanor looked down at her side and grabbed the sea terror's heart before answering.
"This is the heart of a small sea terror. You must be familiar with what it does since you wield a Ghostship with an aura far more powerful than what this little heart can produce."
Aaron, who had no idea what she was talking about, reached out towards the heart as if he was subconsciously drawn to it.
As his hand gently brushed it, sapphire sparks burst from the heart, enveloping it in a glow.
"W-What's going on…?"
Startled by the sudden turn of events, Eleanor retracted the hand in which she was holding the heart; however, the sapphire glow continued to shine, brighter and brighter.
"I-I don't know!"
Aaron shouted as the heart had reached a blinding level of brightness.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Mr. Crab appear from the side of the cannon, quickly jumping at Eleanor and grabbing the glowing heart within his claws.
The deck of the ship began to shake, and a brilliant turquoise light enveloped their vision, rendering them blind.
Aaron suddenly felt tired with his eyelids drooping as he fell to the floor amid Eleanor's worried screams.
"A-Aaron! Are you alright? What's happening?"
His vision swayed before he passed out, hearing Eleanor's frenzied yells in the far-off distance of his mind.