Caw!
Caelum awoke to the piercing call of the seagulls that circled the boat curiously. He rubbed his eyes once.
Getting up and walking to the deck, he saw that Yezekael had woken up before him.
"You're awake."
"Yeah."
Caelum replied lazily.
The familiar humidity of the sea began to wake him up, strange enough.
In front of him, Yezekael stood just an inch away from the railing, with the sleeves of his white shirt rolled up to his shoulders.
His pants turned into shorts, and he rolled them up as well. His shirt was a bit wet.
In his hand, he held the fishing rods.
"Did you… dive in?" Caelum asked.
"No?"
"Then why are you wet?"
"I was pulled into the water. The fish here are real tough ones."
Caelum unbuttoned his shirt, leaving it on a shelf. He walked toward the railing.
"What have you caught so far?" Caelum asked.
Yezekael did not answer; he simply pointed toward a wooden crate filled with fish. Caelum stared, his mouth agape. His stomach growled.
"Heh. You just woke up, so it's expected for you to be hungry. Luckily, I'm a kind soul, and I'll allow you to take three pieces of fish."
"How kind."
Caelum rested his elbows on the railing, holding out a book. The cover was bare and red, with the words 'Tale of Two Stones' imprinted in the upper center, in silver colors.
A bookmark rested in between pages.
Yezekael's eyes glanced at him for a second, returning to the sea just as quickly.
"What's that book about?" he asked.
"It's about this guy who is transported into a new world, and goes crazy, trying to change everything."
"Crazy?"
"Yeah. He thinks he's in charge of everything, and tries to immediately infiltrate the ranks through force."
"To an extent, I don't blame him."
"Huh?"
"Maybe he's supposed to be calling the shots. If I were suddenly brought into a new world, I would be under the impression that I am the chosen one, meant to change all these things."
"…"
Caelum stared at him, slowly closing his book.
"You're… really strange. I don't even feel like finishing the book."
Yezekael laughed. Quickly, he stopped laughing, as he felt the pull on his fishing rod tighten.
Then, his eyes widened.
[Cast: Hall of Subjects]
Several arms of golden energy sprouted out of Yezekael's shoulder, helping him pull.
Despite the additional force, the fish barely budged.
Caelum's eyes widened, as well.
"Shit…"
"What the hell are we dealing with?" Yezekael grumbled.
"Whatever this is… it's gonna be a lot of meat!"
They felt the pull on the rod weakening, and whatever was under the water was rising to the surface.
Splash!
The deck was overcome with water. Yezekael flew back and Caelum became drenched in water.
"Ack!"
"Cold!"
The creature revealed itself.
A large serpentine monster. Besides its underbelly, it was covered in tough, dark red colored scales.
A bright white circle with two lines intersecting at the middle glowed red, behind the creature's head.
"What the… what the hell is that?!" Yezekael screamed.
"A manabeast. I'm sure of it."
"Manabeasts…?!"
"They exist everywhere, though they aren't called by that name anymore. How could one so big manifest, though?"
"Caelum, how do you know all of this stuff?!"
"I-I'm well informed."
At the glabella of the mana beast, white and red energy began to accumulate. Pulsating, almost. Lightning of the same color crackled and encompassed the ball.
It took the shape of a sphere, growing larger and larger. Casting a shadow over the boat, enveloping it in darkness.
Yezekael was left stunned.
"What… what the…"
At a loss for words.
"If you want to make it out alive, get your head out of your fucking ass, and-"
"What the hell do you expect me to do right now?!"
Caelum sighed.
[Cast: Hall of Subjects]
Out of his body, several golden arms of energy sprouted out.
Caelum walked closer to the ship's bow.
Yezekael fell on his back, stunned.
"If I'm correct, I'll have to explain quite a lot to you after this. If we survive."
"Caelum, what are you talking about?"
"Sorry. I've been lying to you. I'm not human. This manabeast is probably here because of my familiar essence. It's here because of me."
"…What the fuck is a manabeast?!"
"So I won't let you die."
Fyeom!
The ball of pulsating, white and red energy shot toward the ship's bow at a speed neither Caelum nor Yezekael could react to.
Caelum felt the pounding force hit him like a tidal wave, rippling through his body. It was as if he was lifting the entire planet.
It pushed against him.
The light was bright like a thousand suns.
Not only was it bright, but it sent waves of energy in the form of air. The wind blew intensely in different directions.
[Cast: Absorption]
Caelum's footing changed.
The energy began dissipating, very slowly.
Crack!
The floorboards began to splinter, his feet digging into the ground.
His skin started changing to a more grey color.
"Caelum…!"
Yezekael stared. He wanted to reach out, grab for his king, and help him in some way.
But in the face of such a strength, he could not feel anything but helpless.
"Keuk!-"
His right eyeball popped. Blood splattered onto the floor. But he had no time to scream. To divert his focus.
— A little bit… more…!
[Cast: Hall of Soldiers]
More arms manifested.
A thin tail shot out his behind.
Yezekael finally gained enough courage, to run behind him and push. To support him in any way.
"Caelum, this is too much energy! You won't be able to divert it all!"
"…"
Caelum pushed Yezekael to the side.
With all the force left that he could muster, he twisted his foot, then his body. Redirecting the dwindled ball of energy into the water.
Fwsh!
Instead of crashing into the boat, it crashed into the ocean. Sending waves of water and energy, that ended up splitting the boat anyways.
Just like that, the duo was left unconscious.