Prince of The Abyss

”You said your name was Kade, right?” Aether said as he closed the compass and looked at the boy.

He could see that he was nervous, maybe even regretting his decision, yet the fire that still burned in his eyes told a different story; it was also why he had accepted to let him join him... it was rare to see such fire.

He hadn’t seen something like it since he entered this book.

Not even from someone like Kael, or someone from the Arena.

And for such a flame to be held by a Will-less, who would have thought... it was truly a miracle.

”T-thats right!” Kade quickly responded. He seemed frightened, but if you think about it, the one standing in front of him was the person who had killed his brother, so it was to be expected, really.

”Have you been to Stromfell before?”

Stormfell, a gigantic island in the middle of the world, to the point it could be considered a continent, if he were to compare it to his world, it would be as big as most of the Kingdoms combined, or even bigger.

Of course, there were more islands, with a few as big as and powerful as the one they were on right now, but there was none like Stromfell.

It was also where most parts of the ancient weapons were shattered, including the ancient rapier he was searching for, so of course, it was going to be his first destination.

Kael had been the one to tell him all these things. The old man was truly helpful; after all, he had also given him some embers.

However, he hadn’t given them to him so he could have fun, or buy himself other things to mess around with.

...

There wasn’t a road or a bridge that connected the islands together... You had to use a boat; that was the only way of navigation in this world. So the money he had been given, which was two hundred fifty embers to be exact, was used, or rather a majority of it, to buy a boat.

Kade had been surprised by his question, scratching his cheek with his finger in embarrassment.

”I haven’t, my family could never have been able to afford a boat, and it’s also a very dangerous place, so I didn’t have a reason to go there.”

...

The boy suddenly froze, looking at Aether with a horrified expression.

”You aren’t implying that you didn’t want to go to that place, are you?”

Aether didn’t respond, smiling gently at the boy, hiding his true intentions behind it. ”Of course not, don’t worry.” He turned around and started walking.

Kade didn’t follow imediatly, instead stopped a second to process Aether’s words.

”You say that yet... you’re going to the harbor.”

”I was? Oh, my mistake.” He continued walking to the harbor, not listening to Kade’s words, as if they had entered through one of his ears and left through the other, without his brain processing the information.

”You are, that’s exactly what you are implying.” The boy said, horrified, but still running after him.

Which was exactly what Aether expected him to do. While he seemed scared, and he wasn’t saying he wasn’t the boy, he was defently frightmend, right now, the one making the decisions was him, fueled by the fire burning deep inside.

...

...

...

The lowest island of Veyr is a shithole. He didn’t want to be mean, but it was the truth. Most people in this place didn’t want to live, and those who did were barely getting through; the air felt as if there was hardly any oxygen in it, and there was just something missing, like it didn’t have a purpose.

However, the harbor was different.

Maybe because nobles also came to this place, it was the only place that allowed people to live, so really, it was like the highest islands in Veyr; it was hard to see in this place because of the sheer number of people in this place.

But he could still sense the difference; the air felt a lot colder, maybe because of the sea, but also a lot more refreshing, plus the sky wasn’t clouded, but rather had a very vibrant blue color, with birds flying through the endless sky.

The sea looked to be extremely clear, sparkling in the warm gaze of the sun, yet if he was to look in the distance, he could see that it slowly got a lot darker, even the sky, which made him wonder why it was.

Why, here at the harbor, both the sea and sky were calm, yet deeper they were raging. His best guess was that it was the doing of those who held Will’s and strong users.

There were many boats in this place, some bigger, and some smaller, looking at some, you could see the banners, which knew to whom they belonged.

Aether walked on a pier, with Kade following him, hiding himself behind Aether.

At the end of the pier, a man was waiting.

”Hello there, are you perhaps interested in a boat?”

Aether grabbed the bag of embers from his pockets.

”I am.”

The eyes of the man instantly darted at the bag of money, as his eyes instantly filled with a spark.

”Oh, I see. Then Ill recommand you one.”

The man grabbed a bell from his pocket ringing it.

And then, from the water, a boat slowly emerged.

Aether’s eyes widened at the sight, a boat emerging from the water? That was something he had never seen before. Was it even possible?

The boat was of medium size and looked to be able to handle the sea quite easily, while keeping them in a comfortable state.

”This is the perfect boat, one of our best. I assure you that you won’t have any trouble with it. Now, give me the bag.” The man rushed to grab the bag from his hand, but Aether slapped it away

”Hold on, will you, I never said I was going to buy it,” Aether said, while frowning at the man, which quickly made him stagger back.

”O-of course, my mistake. It’s just that we tend not to like wasting the time of our buyers, you know... so um. Do you want to buy it or not?”

Aether sighed, putting his hand in his bag and grabbing fifty embers.

”Give me a dinghy,” Aether smiled, as the man’s smile fell completely, quickly taking the money and giving him another bell from his pocket, and handing it to the boy.

Aether left laughing, with Kade following confused behind him.

”What happened? Why did he seem so mad?”

Aether smiled as he put the bag back in his pocket and attached the bell to his belt for the time being.

”Mad is an understatement; he is probably fuming.” Aether looked back at the man, seeing that his smile still hadn’t returned.

”You see, these guys want to make a profit, so when they saw that the bag I held had a good number of embers inside, they tried making me buy a boat that would get the majority, or maybe even all the money inside the bag, and it was going well, since I didn’t stop them. All that just for me to buy the cheapest one.”

Aether laughed again, but Kade didn’t seem to have found it that funny, still confused.

”But how did you know what the cheapest boat was. Have you bought one before, or are you experienced in boats?”

Aether stopped as he reached a more secluded place, with not a lot of people.

”That bastard’s shadow just doesn’t know when to stop talking, even when no one is talking to it.”

Aether grabbed the bell from his belt and rang it, watching as the boat they were going to be using for a while emerged from below the waters.

Truly, it was nothing special. It was small, but enough to hold the two of them. The wood it was made out of didn’t look to be of the best quality, but still, with this purchase, he has saved two hundred embers, so it was more than worth it.

The sail looked to be also enough to handle some powerful winds, so they weren’t going to get stuck in the middle of the ocean, at least.

Aether stepped inside the boat, watching as it slowly moved, then turned to Kade.

”Hope inside.”

The boy seemed hesitant. This must be a hard decision for him, as if he did this, there was no going back, so was he really going to risk his life just now? If he dies, just like his brother did, who will take care of their family?

Yet, even if he stayed, things won’t get any better, so what was the point in staying?

He looks at the shore.

Then at Aether.

Then at the water.

”I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

He said, as he stepped foot in boat.

Aether punched his shoulder.

”Come on, it won’t be that bad.”

...

”So, um, do you know how to drive a boat?”

...

Kade stared at Aether with dumbstruck.

”Just how big a mistake have I made?”