The night was calm, but my mind felt like a raging sea. Elizabeth's words echoed endlessly: "Our ship sets sail at dawn. If you want to say goodbye... show up at the harbor." Goodbye? The thought of watching them leave left me restless, a feeling not even the cool pre-dawn breeze could soothe.
I walked alone through the cobblestone streets of the underworld. The near-full moon bathed everything in pale silver. My hands trembled slightly—not from cold, but from the lingering adrenaline of the tavern, the bitter beer still burning my throat, and the smirk of that captain who seemed to know things even I didn't.
I reached the inn, a crooked building of weathered wood, and climbed the creaking stairs to my room. The hard bed greeted me with a groan of rusty springs. I closed my eyes, but Alice's face appeared—her bright eyes, her jokes, the way she seemed to believe in me even when I doubted myself. And then, Elizabeth's image, imposing like a storm about to form.
"You're more than just a mortal, Ishida. And I hate waste."
What did she mean by that?
Exhaustion finally dragged me into a heavy sleep.
Morning arrived with an amber sky, but the harbor was already bustling like a disturbed anthill. I ran to the docks, my heart pounding in time with my hurried steps. And there it was—the Ebony Dragon.
Alice spotted me first. She was sitting on the ship's railing, swinging her legs like a child.
— "Oh, Ishida! You actually came!" she shouted, leaping into the air and landing beside me as lightly as a leaf. — "I thought you weren't going to show!"
The rest of the crew laughed. Gyda, the Viking, raised a beer mug in my direction; Natsuo, the alchemist, gave a discreet wave; and Belur, the dwarf, let out a grunt that was probably a greeting. Even Elizabeth, high up on the deck, tilted her head in a nearly imperceptible nod.
— "Of course I came… I… wanted to thank you," I said, swallowing the lump in my throat. — "All of you. But especially you, Alice. You showed me a path I didn't even know existed."
Before Alice could respond, Elizabeth's voice cut through the air like lightning:
— "Raise anchor!"
Sailors scrambled up the ropes, and the ship groaned like a waking monster. Alice took a step back, but I grabbed her wrist, the question slipping out before I could stop it:
— "One day… will we meet again?"
She opened her mouth to answer, but Elizabeth descended the deck stairs with steps that echoed like thunder. Her crimson cloak trailed behind her like a river of blood, and her eyes—those violet eyes—pierced me like knives.
— "Brat." She stopped just inches from me, her aura making me feel like an insect, but her voice wasn't scornful. It was a challenge. — "Do you want to get stronger, brat? If you want to see Alice again, you need to grow stronger. This world respects the strong."
The question burned. I looked at Alice, then at my own hands—still trembling, but not from fear. From desire.
— "Absolutely," I answered, locking eyes with Alice, my voice steadier than it had ever been. — "And we will meet again."
Elizabeth studied my face for a moment. Then, she laughed. A deep, booming laugh.
— "HAHAHAHA!" She pulled something from her pocket—a black metal pendant, studded with a ruby. — "Take it. It's my Command Token."
— "In Rivercalm, look for Gilsa at the Adventurer's Guild." Her eyes narrowed. — "She'll teach you how not to die quickly."
Before I could ask who Gilsa was, or what the hell Rivercalm even was, Elizabeth turned and strode back up to the deck.
— "Miss Elizabeth!" I shouted, clutching the token as if it were my own life. — "Why...?"
She didn't look back.
— "Because waste makes me sick. Train hard, brat!" Her words carried on the wind. — "Or I'll hunt you down myself!"
The ship began to move, pulling away from the dock. Alice jumped onto the bow, waving as if this were a casual outing, not a farewell.
I stood there, unmoving, until the Ebony Dragon became a black speck on the horizon. The token weighed heavily in my hand, but the weight in my chest was even heavier.
The name echoed in my mind—I have to go!
The sun was already high when I returned to the inn, Elizabeth's token burning a hole in my pocket. I needed to prepare—but where the hell was Rivercalm?
That's when I saw Jack.
He was leaning against a barrel near the inn's entrance, arms crossed, his face redder than a boiled shrimp. When he spotted me, his eyes narrowed as if I were a ghost.
— "Damn it, Ishida!" he growled, spitting on the ground. — "Where the hell have you been? Two days gone! Was the hangover that bad?"
Before I could answer, he was already yanking my arm, nearly dragging me.
— "Come on, hurry up! Captain Rikkert's ship leaves in an hour. You almost got yourself stranded here in the Undercity." He laughed, but it was a rough, humorless sound. — "Imagine, a mortal stuck here with no coin or guidance..."
I planted my feet.
— "Jack!" My voice came out louder than I expected. — "I'm not going back."
He stopped, slow, and turned to stare at me. His eyes were like two smoldering coals.
— "You... been drinking again?" He sniffed the air near my face and grimaced. — "Quit the jokes and let's go. This isn't your place."
— "I've become a cultivator, Jack."
The silence that followed was so thick I could almost touch it.
Jack blinked. Then blinked again. Then, as if I'd said the sky was green, he reached out and pressed a rough hand against my forehead.
— "You got a fever?" he muttered, more to himself. — "Hallucinating? Did the Undercity rot your brain...?"
I took a deep breath. And then, I told him everything.
The tavern. Alice. The drunken night. The brutal training. The pirate ship. Elizabeth Sell, the Sea Empress. The token in my pocket now.
By the time I finished, Jack had gone pale.
He opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.
— "You... you're telling me..." His voice cracked. — "That you met one of the Four Sea Emperors? That she gave you a token? That you're going to... to..."
— "Rivercalm."
He swallowed hard, his eyes wide as coins.
— "Ishida..." His voice came out hoarse. — "If this is a lie, you're dead. If it's true... you're even more dead."
He snatched the token from my hands, turned it under the light, and then shuddered—as if he'd touched poison.
— "By all the gods..." He handed it back like it burned. — "This is the sigil of the Chaos Fleet. Only captains and madmen carry these."
I looked down at the ruby embedded in the token.
— "So... you believe me?"
Jack laughed. A half-desperate sound.
— "No choice." He rubbed his face. — "But listen carefully, brat: if you're really going to Rivercalm, don't tell anyone about this token. Or the Empress." His eyes darkened. — "There are people who'd kill for less."
Pulling out a map from his pocket, he traced a path with a tobacco-stained finger.
— "Head east, to the port city of Velmire. There, ask for Old Kray's Ghost Ship. He'll take you to Rivercalm... if you survive the trip."
He held out his hand—and for the first time, I saw respect in his eyes.
— "Good luck, Ishida."
I shook his hand, the token burning against my palm.
I didn't know what awaited me in Rivercalm.
But one thing was certain:
My life as a cultivator had begun.