"Fhiron."
There was a voice, silent and respectful.
"Lord Fhiron?"
It came again, but this time more urgently.
"Hey, Fhiron!"
Finally calling out their name once more, Fhiron snapped out of his daydream.
He was sitting on the rim of a barrel tied down with rope on the ship's deck.
"Oh, sorry, lad." He gave a small smile, shaking his head as if to throw the ghosts off. "What is it?"
Kyto stood before him, arms crossed, leaning casually on the railing with the smallest sign of worry on his face.
"You alright? You were out of it. Looked like you were a hundred leagues away."
Fhiron chuckled lightly, but the sound was hollow.
"Aye. My mind wanders sometimes. Old memories."
Kyto narrowed his eyes, studying him.
"That bad, huh?"
"Bad… and beautiful."
Fhiron looked away, out to the horizon where the sun cut a glowing path over the clouds.
"Memories of someone I lost. Someone I'll never forget."
Kyto didn't press on.
He knew better than to dig into wounds someone wasn't ready to expose.
"Sorry to hear that."
Fhiron let the silence settle as the clouds brushed over them while the ship traversed the sky.
He could feel his heart still beating with the heaviness of his memories, but he masked it with a smirk for Kyto's sake.
All of a sudden, a burst of laughter broke across the deck.
It was deep, but oddly lighthearted.
"By the frozen peaks… just look at me!"
Both Fhiron and Kyto turned to see Estrilda Leegran, the frost giantess herself, spinning in a slow circle near the mast.
Her long, red hair whipped about her shoulders as she clutched at her arms and legs as if checking to see if they were truly her own.
She looked human now.
Not the towering colossus that once shook towns with her steps, but scarcely taller than Kyto now, and her stature contained by Ebony.
"This is just incredible!" Estrilda laughed again as her voice trembled with disbelief. "For centuries, I could barely step into a village without fear of crushing its gates in Midgard, but now this is all brand new!"
"This is the third time you spouted on about being smaller." Proclaimed Grimhild, holding a book in her hand. "I'm trying to read if you don't mind."
"O-Oh, my apologies!"
Jean smiled at Estrilda as he walked past, approaching both Fhiron and Kyto.
"So, how'd you do it, lad? I never asked." Said Fhiron.
"It's Ebony's doing. She shrunk Estrilda to human size, but let her retain her physical strength."
"You Ayleons really do have it easy. Fwa ha ha!" Fhiron laughed to the heavens, crossing his arms.
"You know, I never really got to ask, but… what exactly is an Ayleon? I mean, I put two and two together and assumed it was those who can summon a Champion. But what are we exactly?" Asked Jean.
"Ah, I see, so you really don't know?" Fhiron crossed his leg over the other, leaning against the railing of the ship whilst on the barrel. "An Ayleon is a Divine word for Maverick; they're individuals with deep desires. They have the power to manifest their desires into reality and impose their own logic into existence. These desires take the form of what people call Champions; or some may refer to as Apparitions."
Jean blinked before furrowing his brow as he tilted his head.
"Manifest my desires? Into reality? That sounds… ridiculously overpowered."
"Ridiculously dangerous too, by the sound of it." Said Kyto.
Fhiron waved a hand lazily, as if brushing aside their assumptions.
"Not as simple as it sounds. One's desire alone is wild and untamed, and is liable to burn the fool who wields it. To be an Ayleon means you must have infinite willpower, and that willpower can never falter, or your Apparition will be no more."
Estrilda had stilled from her spinning before watching them with curiosity.
"So Champions are born from the hearts of those with infinite willpower. Your very being. And they are not merely servants, but… extensions?"
"Exactly so." Fhiron said with a nod. "Each Champion is not some beast on a leash, but a reflection of the Ayleon's craving. They carry fragments of your will, your fears, and your resolve. That is why you are called 'Mavericks.' You impose your logic against the world's."
Jean rubbed the back of his neck.
"I-I guess that makes sense. I always had the desire to control the world and change it for the better. I suppose that's why I can manipulate cosmic forces of the universe?"
"Most likely." Said Fhiron.
Fhiron's explanation left Jean silent and lost in his thoughts while Estrilda remained standing with her hands planted on her hips, still marveling at her newfound size.
The moment felt almost calm—until the door to the lower deck creaked open.
Elizabeth emerged, yawning and stretching as she stepped out into the light.
She squinted across the deck until her eyes landed on Grimhild.
The witch sat perched against a thick piece of rope with her wide-brimmed hat angled to shade her face. Her attention was buried in the book balanced across her lap.
"Grimhild… do you have anything to eat? I was learning a bunch of physics stuff from Obsidia in the lower deck. I'm mentally drained and want food…"
Elizabeth called, strolling lazily across the planks.
"Huh?" Elizabeth tilted her head to the side, noticing Grimhild not responding. "You've been glued to that thing since we got the Frost Giant on board. Is it some world-ending spell again? A map of Yggdrasil? A recipe for pickled eggs maybe?"
There was no reply as Elizabeth was genuinely asking for an answer.
Grimhild didn't even look up.
Her lips twitched, and even though it was slightly, Elizabeth caught it.
Grimhild wore a smile—no—not just a smile.
Elizabeth froze mid-step, narrowing her eyes.
She had a weird smile.
It looked too sharp at the corners.
Too pleased.
Too… lewd.
"…Wait a second."
Elizabeth widened her eyes as she stood in front of Grimhild, only for her to snap the book a little closer to her chest.
"Grimhild…" Elizabeth said, suspicious now. "What are you reading?"
"A book." The witch replied flatly.
Elizabeth squinted her eyes.
"Really? What kind of book?"
Grimhild tilted her hat lower, as if that would help.
"It's simply research. Begone."
Elizabeth wasn't convinced.
She darted forward before Grimhild could pull away, snatching the edge of the book.
They wrestled briefly, Elizabeth's voice ringing across the deck; but her physical strength was superior.
"Hey, let me see!"
"No, stop!"
"Ha! Got it!"
She yanked the cover wide open and then she froze.
Her face went blank.
"…Oh my!"
Everyone on deck turned their heads at Elizabeth's sudden stillness.
Kyto raised a brow, Jean tilted his head, and Estrilda blinked in confusion.
Elizabeth slowly turned the book toward them.
On the page was not some ancient magic, nor a map of Yggdrasil. It was a full-color illustration of a very effeminate young man in thigh-high stockings, striking a coquettish pose.
Fhiron widened his eyes.
Kyto coughed violently into his sleeve.
Estrilda's frost-blue eyes went wide as saucers.
Elizabeth's eye twitched as she flipped another page.
And another.
And another.
Every page, femboys.
Entirely femboys.
Different races and different outfits.
And every one of them was painted in loving, almost scholarly detail.
Elizabeth's voice rose a bit higher.
"Y-You're reading a femboy pin-up book?!"
The deck went silent.
Then Kyto slapped a hand over his mouth to stifle a laugh, but he couldn't help it.
"BAHAHAHAH!"
"The Witch of Destruction… Slayer of Spirits… Witch of forbidden knowledge… reads smut about girlish boys?!" Shouted Fhiron, laughing until Jean calmly intervened.
"…What's wrong with that, exactly?"
The laughter was cut short.
Kyto blinked at Jean while Elizabeth lowered the book, raising her eyebrows.
Jean crossed his arms with a perfectly composed look.
"There's nothing wrong about liking pretty boys in stockings. At least she's honest about her tastes."
Grimhild smirked from beneath the shadow of her hat—pervertedly.
Kyto cut in, trying not to laugh again.
"W-Wait, are you… defending her?"
"Of course I am, because I… well, I actually crossdress too."
The deck went dead silent again.
Elizabeth's mouth fell open.
"Y-You what? Seriously?"
Jean held his ground.
"I crossdress. I've done it for years. Started out for missions, disguises, and infiltration. People underestimate someone who looks delicate, guards don't suspect you, nobles don't question you. And after a while… I realized I liked it. It feels right, and pretty comfortable to me."
Kyto blinked multiple times before his lips contorted into a grin.
"So you are one of these illustrations."
Jean gave him a side-eye.
"If you mean graceful and well-put-together, then yes, I am."
Fhiron slapped his knee and burst out laughing again.
"Fwaaaa ha ha ha! The lad admits it like he's announcing his lineage! By the Light Mother, I respect it!"
Elizabeth's face went red as she frantically waved her hands.
"N-No! No no, hold on, so you're telling me you willingly… put on dresses and makeup?! I didn't know that was so common!"
Jean smirked at her fluster.
"Yes. And I look good in them too, at least that's what a lot of people said." Said Jean, confident.
Kyto lost it, nearly collapsing against the railing.
"Pfft, Jean, I swear, one day you have to show us if you're half as pretty as this book makes femboys out to be! I'll die on the spot!"
Jean nervously chuckled.
"I-I guess one of these days, sure!?"
Meanwhile, Grimhild simply reopened her book, her smirk still lingering.
"Fools. You mock me, but knowledge of the feminine and the masculine together is power. Besides…" She glanced at Jean with a look of approval. "At least one of you understands."
Jean gave her a small nod of solidarity.
Fhiron howled again.
"By Odin's beard, the Witch of Destruction and the Crossdressing Maverick! This ship grows stranger by the hour!"
Kyto wiped tears of laughter from his eyes.
"And somehow… I wouldn't have it any other way!"