The week passed not with silence, but with motion.
Each morning when Luke and Ilyrana descended the winding path toward the hidden cove, the harbour beneath Virencia felt more alive than the day before. What had once been a quiet experimental site—half workshop, half dream—was now unmistakably transforming into something real. The VNS Hope no longer rested like an unfinished idea. She had become a vessel preparing to leave history behind.
The decision had been made. The date was set.
For the first time since her construction, Hope would sail not merely for testing along the coast, not for cautious mapping expeditions within sight of land, but for a true voyage. A journey without a guaranteed return point. They would sail forward until land revealed itself—or until the sea forced them to turn back.
And because of that single decision, the cove erupted into constant activity.
