Deep beneath the surface of the Red Sea, a colossal blue megaledon lay half-frozen in a thick shell of ice. The frigid barrier around its frame was slowly melting, tiny rivulets of water trickling down its metallic scales.
A soft voice, echoed through the creature's comm system.
"Father," it said. "Are you not angry that I failed?"
"Should I be?" Another voice responded, the smile in his tone was unmistakable.
"I expected you to call me off after knowing that I had lost my target," Illya admitted, her words devoid of regret, only candor.
Ray's voice carried warmth beneath its detachment. "Mistakes are part of what makes one progress in their journey. Why would I be angry at yours, when you acknowledge it yourself?"
A pause, brief but deliberate.
"Then, can I have permission to investigate Cooper while I recover?" Illya asked, the question laced with a quiet purpose.
Ray's tone sharpened slightly, probing. "Are you unsatisfied with my information?"
"Such is not the case," Illya replied. "I am simply confused as to whether he had truly betrayed you or not. I can't understand his actions… for some reason."
Ray's amusement seemed to deepen. "I see. I am happy that you have formed your own opinions. You don't need to agree with every decision I make. You are not an unthinking child."
"I gave you the role of my executioner because you are not afraid to defy me," he added, voice heavy with pride. "If anything, I am pleased that you are looking at this matter differently."
Illya's next words came softly, almost hesitant. "But… if I had decided not to look at this matter differently?"
"Then I would have also been pleased," Ray answered.
"But you have decided to warn me of your actions. Your instincts are good. What you are about to do is a risk, and you saw that… and chose to warn me," Ray continued, his voice steady and almost approving. "Good intentions should not be punished."
"Thank you, Father," Illya replied, before the communication line abruptly cut off.
What followed was a silent wave of nanobots, surging through the water like an invisible current, all converging toward their target with precise intent.
Although Cooper had managed to slow her progress, he didn't know that one of her nanobots had already infiltrated their ship, hidden and undetected.
"None of the files I have on him say anything about how his father ended up in a coma…" Illya murmured to herself. "How is it that Father skipped that detail?"
She wasn't expecting the surrounding waters to answer, but the habit of talking to herself had taken root long ago, perhaps as a way to think more clearly.
Her display flickered, showing the image of a man who bore a striking resemblance to Cooper, cradling a child in his arms.
"So, he was a sorcerer, but his son had a high affinity for summoning. That's why he allowed him to join the Allen family at the age of five… Strange," Illya mused, her voice tinged with curiosity. "Father never explained why he chose him either. What made him a variable? There has to be something intriguing enough to catch Father's attention."
She continued to comb through the files, determined to uncover any hidden detail, but eventually sighed in frustration.
"This is a problem," she admitted.
The events that had unfolded in their lives were kept a secret for reasons unknown. But since Illya had been granted permission by her father to investigate them, stopping now would render all her efforts meaningless. What was the point of such permission if not to uncover the truth?
As she drew closer to the ship's location, an island emerged into view.
It was no place fit for human habitation. Rather than a thriving landmass, it resembled a cavernous structure—an ancient rock formation riddled with dozens of irregular holes, like an upside-down ant colony carved from stone. The hollow entrances yawned in the dim light, inviting and forbidding all at once.
The ships had stopped near the jagged coast.
From the angle of her observation, it appeared that only the ketch's crewmates had ventured into the island, leaving the other ships' personnel behind—likely tasked with guarding the vessels and preventing any intrusions, especially Illya's.
Their posture seemed tense, resolute, as if daring her to approach further.
However, unlike before when the pirates had fired without hesitation, Illya now had the perfect opportunity to sneak in unnoticed.
Her nanobots began to converge slowly, each individual particle moving with mechanical precision, as they reassembled into a new form, a blue crab.
Its shell gleamed faintly in the dim light, perfectly camouflaged against the sandy seabed. The crab's multiple legs carried it silently across the ocean floor, until it reached the mouth of one of the cave's jagged holes.
Without hesitation, the crab crawled in, disappearing into the darkness.
Illya was uncertain what awaited inside those ancient caves.
One thing, however, she knew for sure: this was the dwelling of spiritual entities. Not ordinary life forms, but beings of arcane origin, some born from sorcery, others drawn into the world through summoning.
One type wielded the energy of death, cold and inevitable. The other was bound to the raw forces of nature, manipulating wind, fire, water, and earth.
Though these spiritual entities weren't truly alive—lacking physical vessels and existing within the intangible expanse of the fourth dimension, like demons—they could be granted form.
Through sorcery, a vessel could be created to house them, giving them limited permanence in the material world. Through summoning arts, they could be dragged down from their ethereal plane into temporary manifestation, bound by a summoner's will.
And just like demons, who descend into the material plane to spread negative emotions—emotions they later feed upon over time—summoned spirits sustained themselves in a different way.
These spirits fed on the positive emotions of their summoners while they remained manifest in the physical world, drawing energy from hope, joy, pride, or ambition.
"Why are these spirits running amok without attaching themselves to any vessels?" Illya asked herself.
Her voice was barely a whisper, tinged with curiosity as a golden deer spirit glided past her.
The deer's form radiated a soft, otherworldly light that contrasted sharply against the cave's darkness. Its translucent body shimmered like flowing liquid metal, its gentle, haunting eyes seemingly oblivious to Illya's presence as it drifted past without purpose or direction.
As Illya delved deeper into the cavern, an ethereal light began to illuminate the path before her, growing steadily brighter until it revealed a surreal scene.
At the heart of the cave stood a majestic white tree, its bark gleaming like polished ivory, and its yellow leaves shimmering with an almost otherworldly brilliance. The tree's roots were submerged in crystal-clear, luminous water that seemed to ripple with a life of its own, refracting the light into gentle patterns across the cave walls.
Surrounding the tree, countless spirits of all shapes and sizes floated gracefully in the air. Some resembled whimsical, translucent squirrels with glowing eyes, others appeared as sleeping bears, their chests rising and falling in perfect rhythm despite their incorporeal forms. There were even spirits shaped like miniature trumpets, softly emitting melodic notes that filled the cavern with a haunting harmony.
Perched atop the tree, resting with a regal air, was a black leopard adorned with striking blue spots that seemed to pulse with a faint energy. Its eyes remained closed, but its posture spoke of immense power and ancient wisdom.
From where she observed, Cooper, Iris, and the three orcs appeared to be desperately trying to capture the attention of the enigmatic leopard, their voices echoing with a mixture of frustration and supplication. Meanwhile, the remaining crewmates of the ketch moved carefully around the other spirits, attempting to appease them with gestures, soft chants, and offerings.
All of a sudden, as if it had sensed something fascinating, the leopard's ears twitched sharply. Its head lifted with deliberate grace, and its eyes locked onto Illya's direction.
Without warning, it leapt from the tree, moving like a bolt of lightning, its powerful limbs propelling it forward with terrifying speed.
The movement was so rapid, so fluid, that none of the pirates had time to react or even fully comprehend what was happening.
Before Illya could react, the leopard's jaws closed around her, lifting her into the air as if she were nothing more than a plaything. It rolled onto its back, playfully tossing her across its body, occasionally letting her drop lightly into the sand before attempting a gentle bite, more out of curiosity than malice.
For a brief, stunned moment, every pirate stood motionless, unable to process the surreal scene before them.
Then, as recognition dawned, Iris ignited herself into a blazing ball of fire, hurtling toward Illya with relentless force, her eyes burning with anger.
Although confused by the sudden shift in emotions and the spirit's strange behavior, Illya managed to slip from its grasp, narrowly avoiding Iris as she collided with the spirit.
The impact sent both crashing violently into the cavern's rocky walls, the sound of shattering stone echoing through the chamber.
"You… The spirit chose you?" Cooper murmured, his voice trembling, eyes glazed as if teetering on the edge of madness.
"Give it back..." he pleaded, his tone hollow and desperate, as if chanting an incantation. "Give it back to me!"
Cooper's scream of fury cut through the air. "Moon! Manifest fifty percent!"
One by one, the surrounding spirits scattered, their forms dissolving into the ether as though recoiling in fear of what was about to materialize.
A heavy silence followed, broken only by the faint hum of energy as space seemed to ripple and bend.
A cold, penetrating gaze fell upon Illya. She raised her eyes just in time to see a colossal crystalline rhinosaurus emerge, its immense form barely contained within what appeared to be a crack in space itself.
Its eyes, glimmering like frozen stars, locked onto her with undeniable intent.
"Kill her."