With a chime announcing that ship activation had reached 80 percent, every vessel in the harbor let out a low, resonant horn.
The students still in the city streets and alleyways immediately abandoned their scuffles and sprinted toward the docks. Too late.
Whatever their reasons—whether they had wanted to prepare longer, or had grown careless when the ships stayed still—it no longer mattered.
The port city vanished in an instant, along with everyone who had failed to board. Wiped away, like a smudge from a painting.
Every ship launched at once, the world shuddering as all were thrust onto the open sea.
But the horizon was no true horizon. At the edges, vast walls of water cascaded upward like four boundless waterfalls, enclosing the ocean on every side.
And at each corner, just above the sea's surface, round black voids slowly yawned open, their destinations unknown.
Some ships began to creep forward, searching for clues about the treasure.
