"Argh! Will you wake up already?" Leo yelled at Lyra, who was still fast asleep.
She slowly opened her eyes, and a small smile formed on her face as her gaze landed on Leo. He raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Don't you think it's too early to be acting crazy?"
Lyra shook her head. "No, no. Look behind you and see how far we've come."
Leo turned around. In front of him stood the half-finished skeleton of a titan. Today marked their second week working together on the ship. Leo had come to understand that while the mechanics of this era were different from his own, they shared enough similarities that—with the help of the gloves and Lyra's guidance—things were becoming easier. Together, they analyzed the sketches and improvised through the gaps.
It took massive amounts of hard work and brainpower, but Leo was determined. To keep from losing his identity to this memory, he constantly reminded himself of the Castle of Light. He had reached the conclusion that helping these people escape the water and the madness was his path toward that ultimate goal. It made sense; he couldn't have stumbled into a void-infested ship in a black desert by mere coincidence.
Their resilience had paid off. They had built the ship from the keel up to the first few inner decks. Only the upper levels and the main deck remained. At this rate, they would escape long before the Spirit of Madness reached them.
'It's already looking like the ship I found,' Leo thought, a small smile playing on his lips.
Lyra stretched, her joints popping, and walked over to the remaining pile of materials. She glanced back at Leo with a sudden scowl.
"What?" Leo asked.
"Ah, nothing much. We just happen to be running out of materials."
Leo walked over to join her. He still hadn't learned how to glide like the King—and strangely, Lyra hadn't glided once either. Scratching the back of his head, he sighed in dejection. "That was to be expected. The ship is massive."
Lyra stared at him, looking annoyed. "Well, maybe next time, get better prepared before setting out to build the world's largest ship. Anyway, it's not a big deal. I'll go to the market and get more."
She turned to leave, but Leo caught a fleeting glimpse of red on her cheeks. He stood there, confused. 'Why was she annoyed? And was she blushing? At what?'
"Uh, Lyra," he called out.
She spun around instantly. "I knew it! You wanted to come along. What a pervert you are. Fine, I'm not evil; I'll let you come."
Leo blinked. "No, I just wanted you to get food." He smiled sheepishly. "I'm actually tired of eating boiled seaweed."
Lyra's expression darkened so fast it sent chills down Leo's spine.
"You know what?" he added quickly, sensing the danger. "I think I should follow you and carry the supplies. It'll be too much for you to handle alone. I don't want to be a bother."
Lyra's smile returned, bright and sharp. "Wow. So thoughtful of you. I wouldn't want to stress you, but if you insist..."
"I wasn't insisting," he muttered under his breath.
"Did you say something?" she asked, her smile vanishing again.
"No, no! Lead the way."
Lyra turned back and started walking. Leo trailed behind her, doing his absolute best not to gaze at the way she moved.
'Gods,' he cursed himself silently. 'Leo, when did you become such a pervert?'
Leo did not exactly know what the city looked like, since he had only viewed it from afar occasionally. The view hadn't been very clear, as the castle was tall and the surface where they worked on the ship was higher than most of the city buildings.
Here, everything was curved. The buildings were massive, calcified structures of spiraling shells the size of cathedrals, and towers made of black volcanic glass. Instead of torches, the streets were lit by glowing moss tucked into the crevices of the walls, casting a steady, pale blue light over everything.
The castle loomed over the center of the city like a jagged crown. It wasn't built on the ground but was anchored to the sea floor by massive, rusted chains. The entire fortress floated a few hundred feet above the streets—a citadel of white coral and sharpened obsidian. Leo noticed that the armored giants—the King's guard—patrolled the castle's outer rings, their glowing blue armor making them look like slow-moving stars against the dark water.
Upon reaching the market, he felt as if he were on a tour. If he had been looking at Lyra, he would have noticed her staring at him with a blushing expression.
The market was a sprawling maze of stalls built into a natural ravine. It was loud. Because they were underwater, voices didn't travel clearly; they sounded heavy and muffled, creating a constant, vibrating roar of sound.
Leo watched as merchants traded items he had never seen. There were small spheres of glass containing bioluminescent shrimp used for portable lamps; heavy, translucent rocks that the merchants were weighing on large copper scales; and large metal barrels that hissed whenever they were opened, releasing a thick, murky liquid, along with many other things.
The people were a chaotic mix. Some were tall like the King, though most were more Leo's size. Many had skin with scales like fine jewelry, while others wore heavy, pressurized suits made of leather and brass that clanked with every step.
"There," Lyra said, pointing to a stall at the far end of the ravine. It was piled high with the iron-wood beams they needed and boxes of those strange glass tuning pipes.
The merchant behind the counter was a stout man with four eyes—two looking at his ledger and two looking at Lyra with deep suspicion.
"If it isn't the King's female lackey?" the merchant grunted, his voice sounding like two rocks grinding together. "Back so soon? I thought you'd be halfway to the surface by now, escaping from madness with that crazed being from the end of the sea."
He glanced at Leo and chuckled. "Oh, the madman is here."
Leo looked at the pile of supplies. It was a lot of weight to carry back.
"Change of plans," Leo said, ignoring the insults while leaning against the counter and trying to look like he belonged there. "I need more iron-wood. A lot more. And whatever food you have that isn't green and slimy."
The merchant chuckled, a wet, rattling sound. "Food is expensive today, traveler. The supply lines from the other Realms are cut. We haven't been hearing from them lately. But for the man building a ship to escape the tides and madness? I might find some dried meat. I heard it's a madman's favorite."
As the merchant started loading a crate, Leo noticed gazes falling on him and Lyra. They were gossiping about them. So, no one had actually believed Aquarius about the Spirit of Madness.
"Maybe that explains why the shipwreck wasn't filled with the fossils of dead people."
Lyra glanced at him and raised an eyebrow. "Did you say something?"
Leo smiled. "No. I just remembered a very shy girl who would have fainted at the amount of stares on her."
Lyra nodded. "She sounds cute."
"Yeah. Yeah, she is."
Suddenly, he felt anger radiating from Lyra, her expression turning dark again.
"Really? She's cute, huh? Wow! So you're a certified pervert."
A deadpan expression appeared on Leo's face.
'That wasn't what I meant, klutz.'