The sound of the waves crashing against the boat plus the open breeze were a great calming measure for the man, who was still very tense.

It had been two days since he left the port, but it felt like time had blipped to the present since then. He was breathing heavily, and doing so unregulated, which made his health significantly worse.

He had stopped off somewhere an hour ago to get some supplies and food, though unsurprisingly, none of the foods he was used to were sold in this world commonly.

He also managed to get a map of the world, and learnt in the process that the world here is called ‘Planet Crystal’, and that Zankyo would take a good while to get to. This meant that he had a lot of time to ponder, which was natural I suppose.

There was a lot he had to think about, but he didn’t necessarily want to think about all of it. He was still in severe shock that the old man was killed by the guards, though he could have reasonably suspected this to be the case, but as to why it happened he was unsure.

He looked back at the map, trying to figure out where he was located. From what he could discern, he started at a small area off the coast of Cyris, which was to the east on the map.

The breeze passed over again, and once again he felt a sense of loss wash over him. Loss in both senses of the word, as of course he had just lost the old man to those guards…

A strong breeze passed him again, making the boat bob a bit.

…And the other form of loss being that he had no idea where exactly to go. He just knew he had to get to Zankyo, no matter what. He was unsure as to what it held for him, but a sense of duty given to him by the old man’s death meant he had to get there.

A question at the back of his mind still burned like an inferno, what importance did the old man’s boat truly have? He thought back to what the exhibit said, something about Spirit/Celestial war, and how it was involved with the conflict.

The war seemed to have been described as happening a long time ago, so maybe the old man didn’t own it when the war happened, but he was the latest owner of it. Meaning that the government, who ran and funded the exhibit, wanted a piece of history to do with the war?

Something wasn’t adding up. He racked his brains trying to think of why they would want the boat in the first place. Or maybe a different question, why did they steal it from the old man and not buy it off him or something? He owned it, they didn’t..

The man noticed something on the ship which he didn’t have time to notice earlier, but it was a symbol which looked like a circle, and a cross coming through the middle of it. He pondered for a bit, before remembering where he saw this symbol.

It was on the uniforms of all the guards at the port and the museum, meaning that it most likely was a symbol for the government. But why would it be here? And it didn’t look like it was added by them, it was fairly old and rusty, but still there…

..After thinking for a bit longer, he came to the conclusion that the boat may have belonged to the government before, maybe during the war? And that the old man may have stolen i-No, he must have been working with them. Perhaps.

He couldn’t fully be bothered to come up with a plausible story at this point, his mind was a total mess. He sat down for a bit, and looked at the map again. It was still the same. 

The navigation system was still working somewhat, though it was broken during the heist. It was on autopilot towards Zankyo, but it would take a good few days to get there at this rate.

He recalled an encounter he had when he was buying items earlier, where the shopkeeper told him that Zankyo was famous for its ‘Festival of The Wyvern’, which happened every five years.  

It’s supposedly a festival where the Spirit of The Wyvern will come to Zankyo, and give the Fish Spirit which resides there, its energy. This was initially done because of something that happened during the Spirit/Celestial war, but later became a festival due to the locals.

And whilst this may have piqued the man’s interest another time, he was too wrapped up in the battle against the government to care right now.

The waves passed over the boat lightly, splashing the man, and more importantly the map. He sat in silence for a second, before looking at the waves with a rather annoyed look. He stood up and put the map away, and took out some food to eat.

After having a bite, he realised the food here was really good, and felt like the best food had ever tasted to him, but this was most likely his hunger talking. 

The wind once again passed over him, this time creating a breeze which felt everlasting, the type which will wash away the feelings of negativity throughout the air and in one's mind. A hard push of wind will be the breeze needed to soothe one’s psyche.

His eyes began to wonder, feeling a heaviness about them due to the wind. And with this, he rested for a while…

…Horns. He could hear those in the distance, something was trying. Get attention. Who? He didn’t. He must. No. Wait. Wait! 

The man awoke to see some other boats near him, in an area which looked more populated than before. They were patrol boats, with teal flashing beacons on them and with a guard to boot. One of them called for the man to go to the docks up ahead. 

Looking over he saw a very bright and bustling island, which was filled with colour. The island he had been searching for since the port…Zankyo.

As he got the docks, hoisted the boat, and got off. He was greeted by a massive wall, with a similarly massive open gate. At the gate there were guards checking IDs. As the man wandered wearily over there, he noticed a few guards on the top of the wall, one of whom he may have caught the eye of briefly. 

When he got to the gate, he produced an ID which he got when he was getting equipment, and it was a temporary one. The guard looked at him, he looked at the guard, and he was allowed through.

There was a massive open passage, which led through to a small little area, which was very busy. It was very bright and dazzling throughout the street, and it had a feeling of comfort which the man appreciated.

After settling a few things, he managed to find a room to stay in for the night, whilst he decided what to do. He lay down on the soft mattress of the bed, and pondered for a bit.

The environment here was very relaxing, which tempted him to give up his mission, but there was something off. Since he arrived all the guards had been giving him funny looks. Maybe it was because he was human? No, there were other humans here, and the shopkeeper had told him that humans are a common species in this world.

Perhaps it was the boat…After all, he had stolen it from a government owned museum. That was probably the thing that got them to be suspicious of him. Though, none of them had said anything, not even the patrol officers who directly saw it..

Something wasn’t adding up. Nevertheless he figured that whatever it was shouldn’t be too hard to deal with, considering he got this far without…

…His mind thought of the old man again, dead on the platform…

…Perhaps being so cheery was a bad idea. This place was a hornets nest in reality, and he had to be on full alert. 

He tried to calm himself down a bit, maybe some sleep would help, and so, he closed his eyes and went to rest…

…Through the darkness of the night, something, or someone was coming to his room, and entering it. The door creaked very lightly, in a way which was hard to hear.

The figure gracefully wandered over to the man who was deep asleep at this point. They took out their baton which was in gun mode already, and aimed it at the man. They shot the trigger, and a sharp purple energy pierced the air.

The man had woken up just before the shot hit him, and he instantly dodged it. The man had a knack for these kinds of things. He got up and overpowered the guard physically, and stabbed them brutally with the knife.

He looked around with fear and anger in his eyes. He rushed out of the room, and through the dimly lit hallway stood several guards, all ready to kill him. He looked back into the room and saw the window. He bolted towards it, shattering it upon impact. 

He fell brutally onto the concrete floor, breaking and bruising some parts of his body. This didn’t matter to him as he was being pursued. The guards were also stationed on the ground floor, and started to chase and shoot at him. He ran like his life depended on it, which funnily enough it did in this case.

As he speeded through the streets, more guards piled up, and he had to make a move quickly. He noticed a forest up ahead, which was bound to lose them somehow, so he made for there. 

Just as he was about to get there, he was pulled aside by an unknown individual, but this move was made at an angle which the guards could not see, and so they continued their pursuit oblivious to the man’s disappearance.

After catching his breath, he looked at the figure, who appeared to be a girl, though more of a tomboy than anything. Just as he was about to speak, she interrupted.

“Save the thanks for later, come with me.”

‘Where? And who are you?’

“My name is Elisph. And I’m taking you to our hideout.”

‘Our? There’s more of you?!’

“Quit it with the questions, I’ll explain once we’re there. Come on, it’s just past this area.”

They continued through the forest, which led them to a path, further leading to a semi-rundown hideout, which consisted of wooden shacks, campfires, and other bare survival equipment and such.