As I crossed the forest through the "Arcane-Palm" trees—a name I gave them due to their leafless, haunting aura—I felt an unnatural atmosphere. The trees grew denser the closer I approached the wreckage, but more disturbingly, they appeared withered, as if a force had drained them from within.
I muttered to myself while advancing until I reached the ship graveyard. It looked like a forgotten tomb, eroded by time. I paused for a moment; the presence of these ships here was illogical. There was no nearby ocean, no trace of water—only giant mountain ranges and this gloomy forest.
As I stood lost in thought, my eyes fell upon the "Akyara."
I froze.
It was the flagship of the "Duke of the Kingdom," carrying the elite warriors he had hired... and I, too, was once on board.
I hesitated to enter. I had tried for so long to bury my past life, but curiosity—or perhaps something deeper—pushed me inside.
I inspected the cabins that remained relatively intact, while others were completely crushed. I climbed to the deck, but found nothing but faint traces of lightning mana filling the air. The same sensation lingered in the nearby ships, as if they all shared the remnants of a single memory.
"Hmm... I've searched every room and found nothing. Only the Duke's carriage remains. I hope I find something worth the effort there."
I headed toward the carriage, which was charged with more mana than anywhere else. I opened the door cautiously... but it was empty.
"Are you kidding me? I was at least hoping for something useful... a sword, gold coins, anything."
I sighed deeply and left the room. I didn't want to stay any longer; the entire place was unsettling. Even if it meant leaving my questions unanswered, leaving was the better option. But it seemed this place had no intention of letting me go easily.
Suddenly, the scattered remnants of lightning around the ship began to gather, coiling around themselves to form strange entities.
"Hah... this is why I was hesitant to come. What a nuisance."
The mana took the form of humanoid creatures, but with wings and pale, lifeless faces. They radiated a suffocating pressure—the kind of pressure felt only in the deepest abysses of the ocean.
"Tch... so this is what the book was talking about? I thought the name was an exaggeration... Spirits, then. And they carry lightning properties as well... How wonderful. With pressure that only exists in the deep sea. It seems the way back just got longer."
I slowly unsheathed my sword, my body settling into a combat stance.
I smiled faintly and whispered to myself:
"Time to show the fruits of my years of training."