After sailing in calm waters for long minutes, our group reached the edge of the crimson rocks. The sun was just beginning to rise, bringing with it an orange glow, amplified by the reddish hue of the cliffs. It was a magnificent sight. And as Sora hoisted the sail and guided the ship closer to the first rocks, Ori, fascinated by their colors, leaned over the side of the boat and reached out toward one of those red stains.

“Get back here!” Sora exclaimed, yanking him by the collar. “Avoid any skin contact. The red algae clinging to the rocks will hurt you with the slightest touch. Bleeding, then fever for days. I wouldn’t recommend it—it’s not pretty.”

“But it’s so beautiful!” Ori replied. “I almost got tricked. It’s kinda like rose thorns, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, more like plunging your arm straight into a whole thorn bush,” Ozan corrected.

“Stay sharp,” Ylva added as the boat stopped beside a rock.

After tying the ship—clumsily at best—to a boulder, Sora jumped onto it.

“We’ll disembark here. Too many rocks around the caves. If we keep going, we’ll damage the boat. Try not to break your neck.”

“Easy for you to say with the breeze at your feet,” Flore muttered as she approached the prow.

Then she leapt and landed with surprising ease on a nearby rock. The others followed, some more gracefully than others. Kuwa stumbled but caught himself with his metal hand, while Nochi turned out far more agile than one might expect from someone his size. Landing with elegance, the fighter cast the general a haughty glance, chuckled, and skipped ahead from rock to rock.

“I swear, I’m going to end up testing my weapons on him,” the cyborg grumbled.

“They’re only childish antics,” Ylva replied from the rear. She had unfurled her silver wings and was gliding from one rock to the next. “I can’t believe you let yourself get drawn into his little games so easily. It’s pathetic…”

“I don’t even understand what he’s doing with us. He has no reason to follow.”

“And you have a better one, General?”

“The man we’re chasing…” Kuwa paused for a long moment before continuing. “He seems to wield a kind of magic I’m interested in. I studied it years ago. That’s why I began traveling… I was looking for someone who could tell me more about it. But very few people know enough.”

“That’s not the whole story,” Ylva pressed. “I can tell you’re keeping things to yourself. And so is that mountain of muscle. Maybe it’s just intuition, but keep in mind—I’ve got my eye on both of you.”

Then she glided off again to rejoin the others.

After scrambling to the shore, Sora turned to the group.

“There are a lot of caves around here,” she whispered. “We’ll split up to cover more ground. Try to stay quiet.”

“I don’t think that’ll be necessary,” Flore replied, pointing toward a cave entrance. “She’s in there.”

“How can you be so sure?” Ori asked.

“Don’t you see the bloodstains on the rocks?”

“The other side’s practically impassable anyway,” Kuwa added, visibly worn out from the jumps. “Might as well all head that way.”

They scrambled toward the mouth of a half-submerged cavern. The lapping of the waves echoed from inside, and the rising sun reflected off the water, casting faint light into the first few meters of the tunnel.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” Flore called. “We mean you no harm.”

A faint clatter echoed through the cave. Everyone turned toward Kuwa, who was struggling to climb onto solid ground inside.

“Don’t look at me!” he protested, throwing up his hands. “That sounded like wood snapping—I’ve only got steel…”

He said this while rolling up his sleeves. Sora stepped forward, muttering:

“Then we must be close to our boats… Let’s move on. Those rocks look safe.”

A few steps further in, almost no light penetrated the cave, and the group now walked in near-darkness. The water still trickled on like a small stream, but there was enough room to walk without trouble.

“Hey, tin can, don’t you have a lightbulb in that fancy arm of yours?” Nochi asked. “We can’t see a damn thing.”

“What’s a lightbulb?” Ori wondered aloud.

“It’s a tool for lighting,” Kuwa explained. “Like a torch. But I’m surprised you know about that, Nochi.” His eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Savages like you don’t usually bother with Baru technology…”

“Well, I—”

Nochi was about to answer when a new sharp crack rang out, followed by a deep hiss.

“DOWN!!!” Kuwa shouted, diving to the ground—