It spoke in a way that sounded as if it was still underwater; as if it was drowning. The sound of its gargle was eerie, as it looked around at everyone on guard, until it started staring directly at me. “…You…” It would say, pointing it’s arm, that was now fused with a cutlass, at me.

“Shit. Fuck. Shit.” I muttered to myself, first pirates and now a fucking Deimos? It lunged at me, and I unsheathed my sword to try and block it. As I was trying to hold off its cutlass-arm, it would suddenly deliver a devastating punch straight to my gut with its tentacle-like left arm. It would recoil me back so hard I hit the pillar of the sails. “Uh… A little help, Hawthorne!” I’d yell out at him, desperately trying to get back up as it lunged at me once more.

“Fuck!” He’d yell out, asking another crew member to take command of the ship, jumping down and tackling the Deimos, pinning it to the ground and conjuring a ball of light right on its eyes. “Take that, you son of a bitch!”

It would quickly push Hawthorne off of itself, blindly slashing the air in panic. I’d attempt to catch him so he wouldn’t take that much damage, but instead got crushed by his massive physique. “Get… Off!” I’d push him off me too, and charge at the Deimos with the Tempest Song in hand, imbuing it with my Numen, growing exponentially in length.

I slashed away at it, carefully parrying its attacks with the cutlass and dodging the ones with its tentacles. It would manage to give me a few slight cuts all across my body a few times, and we’d continue exchanging blows until Hawthorne conjured a beam of light aimed directly at the Deimos, “Get down!” He’d yell, and I’d immediately duck to the ground as the compressed beam nearly grazed me, and directly hitting the monstrosity.

Alongside the hole going through its chest, there was now another hole on its forehead. Somehow, it was still standing, slowly staggering towards me, “…Die…” It would softly say, before collapsing to the ground, finally dead.

It would disappear, and unlike the last time we killed a Deimos, it dissipated into nothingness and I could see the Numen, slowly flowing back in the direction of the tree of beginnings. It was as beautiful to see as it was sorrowful, so that’s what happens when we die… The others who would suddenly exit the living quarters, looking confused as to what had just happened.

“What happened?” Reanne would calmly ask me as I wiped the sweat dripping off my face.

“Another Deimos… Why didn’t you guys come to help?! I could’ve really used it, you know!” I’d respond to her with another question, exhausted, bleeding, and bruised from the fight.

“Oh, we knew you could handle it, Talis.” She’d say, giving me a playful and sly smile, before walking around with the other two. These fuckers. They knew I was having a hard time and they still decided to eat peacefully? Sigh…

Me and Hawthorne would stay seated in the middle of the ship, getting treated by his crewmates as we sailed our way across Altrae’s Rest. And so, the relatively uneventful days went by once again.

“…Talis… You’re back…” I’d hear a whisper in the middle of the night again. I got out of bed carefully so as to not wake Reanne and carefully went up to the deck. Hawthorne wasn’t the one steering this night, and instead it was one of his crewmates. I looked over at the water and saw the silhouette of a Rahasan cat with four wings. It was Altrae. But I thought he had perished? How come I can see him?

“You’re back! You’re back!” It would gleefully say, the silhouette was skipping across the water, matching the speed of the ship. “Wait… You’re not Talis… But… You are?” He’d walk on the water, entering the boat and coming up to me. It was another ghostly figure, similar to the ones I previously encountered, and it seems I was the only one who could see it, seeing how the other crewmates on deck didn’t pay attention to it. “Who are you?” It would ask me, going all around me as if it was examining me.

“I’m Talis… Who are you?” I’d ask it, despite knowing who it really was.

“I’m Altrae! And you… You seem familiar…” He’d start sniffing me, “You smell like my good ol’ pal! He had the same name as you too!” He exclaimed.

“Oh, really?”

“Yes! Really! He always smelled like the rain and thunderstorms, well, he was the God of Storms and Tempests after all!” Altrae was surprisingly very joyful, which reminded me of Yani. He would start talking about his experiences with his friend, and it was enjoyable to hear.

“But… What are you doing here?” I’d ask him abruptly, “Aren’t you supposed to be dead?”

“Oh, you silly fish! Us Gods don’t truly die unless we are forgotten!” He’d proudly exclaim, since he hadn’t been forgotten by the mortals of this realm yet. “When a God dies at the hand of another God, our Numen is too much and too pure to be sent back to the tree of beginnings! And so, it’s compressed and a fragment is made!” His explanation was similar to what Reanne had explained to us a while back, “Even if we do die, as long as we are always remembered, we’ll always live in the hearts of the people who believe in us!” He’d say with a smile so big his fangs were showing.

No wonder why I could see him, since I came into contact with a piece not too long ago either. But it was too much of a coincidence, that I had found the greater fragment of a God that had shared the same name as me… Was it fate? The murals and paintings I found in the temple were too accurate to be mere prophecies, the eerie detailing of my entire life up until that point was as if someone had made that in preparation for me.

“Wait! But then why was Skiiva and Leventis ghostly figures at the temple then? Aren’t they still alive?” I’d ask him, confused.

“It’s too early for you still, Talis.” He’d say, diving back into Altrae’s Rest. And I’d see a large tidal wave, one even bigger than the ship, about to crash into us.

“Everyone! Get down!” I’d yell as hard as I could, but no one batted an eye to my screaming. The tides would sweep me away, and I’d get sucked into a whirlpool in the middle of the Rest, slowly being dragged down by the currents.

I opened my eyes, awaking in a small canoe. We were… Under the water? But I could breathe and speak normally, as if I was still above ground. “Hnngh…” I’d look behind me and see a tall skeleton man in a cloak and hood, its eyes glowing deep purple. It was rowing the canoe somewhere…

I calmly stayed seated, looking down at what we were floating atop of, and see… dark blue ghostly hands, that appeared to be grasping at the air. I looked up and saw even more ghostly figures in a dark blue shade, all wearing cloaks. “Where am I…” I’d try to ask the boatman, only to be met with the same groaning as a response.

We kept rowing across the hands of what seemed to be an endless amount of souls, an ominous silence sweeping over us. “Hnngh…” The hooded skeleton would say, as I saw land in the distance. When we made it ashore, I got out of the canoe and stepped on the ground, it felt like soil. The boatman would then leave, canoeing back.

I walked aimlessly, desperately searching for any signs of life, or civilization, until I came across the ghost of a little boy, who was curled up like a ball and crying. “Excuse me, are you okay?” I’d ask it, attempting to gently touch it, only for my hand to pass through it completely.

He didn’t seem to be able to see me, “Sniffle… Sniffle… Wait… Up…” It would say in a distorted voice, as I walked away from the crying child. I kept wandering around, eventually finding a long line of ghosts, all headed towards the gate of a grim looking walled city. I tried to make my way up front, only to be stopped by a three headed Rahasan wolf, “Halt! No skipping in line, Drowned.”

It seems the ghosts were called drowned here, and as I was walking all the way to the back of the line, the Rahasan would stop me again. “Wait… Are you a shade?” He’d ask, all three heads were sniffing my scent. “Huh… How odd… Come with me.” I’d follow the large Rahasan to an open area, and suddenly a door made of water would appear right in front of us, “Get in.” He’d say to me, before heading back to his post.

I’d cautiously open the door, and slowly made my way inside, as if it was a portal. Inside, was nothing but darkness, I tried to reach for the door going back, but it was gone. Suddenly, torches burning with a bright blue flame would light up the room, I’d look around and it was a large chamber with three thrones sitting atop the steps that was ahead of me.

Sitting on the three thrones was three… Ominous looking figures, to say the least. On the left was a woman made of plants and vines wearing a crown of thorns, her eyes glowing crimson red. On the right, a man with long and lush hair, wielding a trident, and fully clad in dark blue armor and a crown made of seashells. And sitting in the middle, was a woman sitting cross legged and arms crossed, wearing an elegant robe made of pure darkness and a spiky crown of shadows, wielding a bident.

“Talis…” The woman in the middle would say, how the fuck did she know my name? Who is she?! I don’t even know how I got here! “You’re not supposed to be here, yet.”

“What? Who are you?! Why am I even here!” I’d yell out in frustration, just a little while ago I was on the deck of the ship, and now I’m in… Whatever this place was.

“We’ll be seeing you soon, Talis.” She would say, giving me a soft smile and winking at me, before pointing her index finger at me,

“Wait! What do you mean!” I’d suddenly wake up next to Reanne, waking her up and she’d look at me worried.

“Talis! What’s wrong?” She’d ask, getting up from bed and looking at me, a cold sweat running across my face. “You look scared. Was it another dream?”

“…I think.” I didn’t know what to answer, it felt all too real to be a dream, and it was too ominous to be one. I had this foreboding feeling that what had just happened was a reality, and I’d end up back there again soon.

“You should go for a walk, you know, to clear up your head.” She’d suggest, and I’d leave the room as she tucked herself back to bed. The sun could barely be seen over the horizon, and Hawthorne was busy steering the ship.

“You look like you’ve just seen a ghost!” He’d yell from atop the helm as he laughed.

“Well, technically I did.” I’d tell him, coming up the steps and standing next to him, the wind blowing on my face.

“Sometimes, I can see the ghosts of the damned on the ship, when it’s late at night.” He’d suddenly say, in an attempt to empathize with me. “They would appear to me, grasping at my legs and feet, as if wanting to escape.”

I felt pity, it must have been the side effect of being a sailor for such a long time, and he looked like he was in in late forties. “It’ll be three more days now, right?” I’d ask him.

“Yes, those three days will pass by in a flash, so savor every moment you have here on my ship.” He’d say, smiling happily as we continued sailing.

Three days, huh? The first thing we have to do in the grand city was to go and find Yani and Ethanael to get back to Trazia in time to stop the empire’s schemes to use everyone there as sacrifices to summon a God. Hopefully, we won’t be too late. I wouldn’t want to go back to ruins.