Even as the world moved — fleets clashing, empires shifting, and Orimo's fate narrowing to a single thread —
she remained untouchable.
A quiet storm at the center of everything.
The unseen conductor of chaos.
The one pulling all the strings with absolute, unchallenged control.
{Scene – Ember Pirates, Open Sea}
Dravon Solmere stood at the bow of the Ember Pirates' ship as it cut through the wild, furious waves. The salty wind tore at his cloak, the sky rumbling above like war drums.
But Dravon wasn't looking at the storm.
He was lost in a thought that struck him like lightning.
{Flashback – The Old Era}
On a quiet island bathed in sunset gold, Ryuta Konan sat beside Arata Kuro, both leaning back as they sipped cold drinks and laughed like two men who carried entire generations on their shoulders.
Ryuta tapped the rim of his bottle.
"King's Throne… I reached it because of the Keys and Stones."
Arata tilted his head, confused.
"Keys and Stones?"
Ryuta smiled — the smile of someone who had seen truths buried for thousands of years.
"Ancient Stones holding forgotten texts. They guide you… to the King's Throne."
Arata squinted.
"And what is the King's Throne?"
Ryuta's expression hardened with a weight Arata had never seen.
"The greatest treasure in the world.
That's what you must say… when your era ends. Arata."
Arata laughed, raising his bottle.
"Count on me, friend."
{Flashback – Arata's Final Moments}
The scene twisted, darkened — the sound of collapsing stone echoing.
Arata Kuro stood in the center of a ruined Navy fortress, drenched in dust, blood, and defeat. His breaths were shallow… broken.
Yet his eyes still burned.
"King's Throne… the greatest treasure of the sea…"
He forced out a final shout:
"Find it!
It's real!"
And the vision blurred—
fading like the final breath of a dying era.
{Back to Present – Dravon Solmere}
Dravon's eyes narrowed as the wind brushed past him.
"Would I die… just as you did, Arata?"
The sea did not answer.
Only the storm did.