As the mysterious ship with turquoise sails drifted towards 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 commanded by the Sea Kings, but had never seen one with her own eyes.

Wait, why would any of the Kings come to the Sea of Chains? Unless… No. It couldn’t possibly be ‘him’.

Eleanor shuddered at the thought that the unusual Ghostship ahead of her might have belonged to the First King, who had vanished two centuries ago.

That's preposterous! No one should be able to survive that long... Though nobody knows what became of him in 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, Aaron stood on the bow of his Ghostship and observed the approaching brigantine as Mr. Crab, somehow, inched their vessel 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 better to eat on it… 

He silently reached down to grab a rope that the person on the other ship could fasten to the brigantine, keeping it steady.

Once the two ships were within a stone’s throw of each other, Aaron shouted to the figure on the brigantine’s deck.

“I’m going to throw this rope over! Make sure you tie it to the cleat tightly so it doesn’t come loose!”

He threw the rope as far as he could, and it landed cleanly on the other ship’s deck, just where he’d hoped.

Aaron watched the person aboard the other ship grab the rope and tie it to the cleat, and he felt reassured.

Fortunately, they don’t seem hostile. 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 deck planks he had accidentally damaged while trying 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…

He attached the small ladder to the edge of his ship and tossed the other end towards the brigantine, which now floated steadily closer, connected to the Ghostship.

Aaron yelled out to the person on the other boat, imitating the commanding tone of the elders from his village.

“Come aboard my boat, we’ll discuss what to do once you're here!”

The figure began to cross the ladder carefully, and Aaron could finally make out their shape.

It was a girl who looked about his age, with thick blonde hair that swayed in the wind.

Her eyes were the color of sea fog, with a grayish glow, and she wore a tunic that seemed three sizes too big for her small stature.

She tentatively stepped off the ladder and onto the Ghostship, landing with a thud on the flimsy deck boards.

The girl turned towards him but deliberately avoided his gaze, trembling slightly as if afraid.

Aaron offered her a comforting smile, hoping to put her at ease, before speaking.

“Welcome aboard.”

She decided it was safe to look up, the fear of ‘him’ finally leaving her mind.

As she studied him, she realized that he was not any of the Sea Kings she knew, but instead a boy nearly two meters tall with shoulder-length blonde hair.

Gently, he asked her a question, hoping to reassure her that he meant no harm,

“So, who are you?” 

The blonde-haired girl met his eyes with a cautious expression before speaking.

“M-My name is Eleanor Lynn, I’m a priestess in Sea Fallen.”

Aaron glanced down, taking in her appearance.

She does resemble a priestess… even if her clothes are all wrong. Maybe it’s the way she stands or something? But that still doesn’t explain why she’s out here.

He tried to sound calm, thinking of the best way to figure out the situation.

“Well, Eleanor, you’re a long way from Sea Fallen.”

She looked at him before responding.

“I was kidnapped, and they were taking me to Svall before an angel saved me. A divine maiden with shackles on her wrists. She told me to go South and find a boat with flaming turquoise sails.”

Aaron’s expression faltered for a second, realizing that the angel from the island of Gharr had saved this girl, too.

What a weird coincidence... She must’ve sent her here because she somehow knew where I was headed.

“Sir… I told you who I am, but who are you?”

Eleanor asked politely, while Aaron stared at the small heart hanging from her waist.

W-Why does she have a heart dangling at her waist? Though it doesn’t look like the human ones I’ve seen in textbooks… C-Could it be a sea terror deterrent? 

After an awkward moment of silence, Eleanor gently coughed and repeated her question, raising her voice a little.

“Sir, who are you?”

Aaron blinked and looked at her, finally registering her words.

Sir? It doesn’t look like I’m much older than her… Why does that kinda hurt…

As Eleanor opened her mouth to ask again, Aaron finally spoke, interrupting her.

“My name’s Aaron, self-proclaimed captain of this Ghostship and the lord of pustules.”

The girl stared at him, eyes wide, and Aaron immediately regretted that last part.

I-It wasn’t that bad, was it…? 

“P-Pustules?”

Eleanor was taken aback by the boy’s bizarre introduction before her eyes drifted past him to a bucket filled with strange, bumpy fish.

Oh. He eats those? This poor man…

Eleanor sighed, only to be startled when Aaron spoke again. 

“Anyway… where is everyone else from your ship?”

Eleanor’s expression darkened as fear crept back into her eyes.

“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 quietly as she told her story, gradually piecing together the truth 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, then bolted to the side of the ship and vomited over the railing as she remembered the gruesome sight that could’ve been her fate.

Aaron grimaced, wishing he hadn’t brought it up.

“I’m sorry…”

She drew in a slow breath before replying, her voice still a bit shaky.

“I-it's alright. I’m used to seeing those who have passed on. However, that was truly… awful.”

Aaron gave a small nod before carefully probing.

“You’ve… uh, had a rough time, huh? Is your stomach alright?”

He hoped she would mention that she had food aboard the ship; however, those hopes were crushed when she said the supply was empty.

Guess it's back to the fish tonight. I wonder if she would want some…?

“This boat isn’t really big enough for both of us, so will you continue to sail the brigantine until we reach Sea Fallen?”

Aaron asked, half-questioning whether he would be forced to share his precious stash of fish and pustule juice.

“I guess so… By the way, Mr. Aaron, you mentioned that this is a Ghostship, but you're only the self-proclaimed captain?”

Eleanor glanced toward the cabin, suddenly unsure if they were alone.

Aaron responded with eyes fixated on the helm, where his little friend should have been.

“The real captain of this boat is my dear friend, Mr. Crab. He sort of seems to be the spirit of the ship itself.”

Eleanor stared at Aaron in disbelief, trying and failing to understand how a crab could steer a ship.

“A c-crab is the captain?”

Aaron laughed at her bewildered reaction, scanning the deck for his little friend; however, there was no sign of him anywhere on the ship.

Turning his gaze back to Eleanor, he finally asked the question that had been on his mind since she came aboard.

“What's that thing you’ve got on your hip?”

Eleanor looked down and held up the sea terror’s heart before answering.

“This is the heart of a small sea terror. You must be familiar with its effects since you travel on a Ghostship with an aura far more powerful than what this little heart can produce.”

Though he had no idea what she was talking about, Aaron found himself reaching toward the heart as if he was subconsciously drawn to it.

The moment his fingers touched it, the heart burst with sapphire sparks, enveloping it in a glow.

“W-What's going on…?” 

Startled by the sudden turn of events, Eleanor pulled the heart away from his grasp, but the sapphire glow only grew brighter.

“I-I don’t know!”

Aaron shouted as the heart reached a blinding level of brightness.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mr. Crab dart out from behind the cannon, leaping at Eleanor and snatching the glowing heart in his claws.

The whole ship shook beneath them, and a brilliant turquoise light filled their vision, rendering them blind.

A wave of exhaustion washed over Aaron, his eyelids drooping as he collapsed to the floor amid Eleanor’s worried screams.

“A-Aaron! Are you alright!? What's happening!?”

His vision blurred before turning completely dark, Eleanor's frantic yells echoing in the far-off distance of his mind.