"That means that I've awakened my bloodline?" – Nameless was toying with a small purple flame.
Captain was walking on his left. – "Yes, and you also managed to activate your dagger right away. I wasn't at full power since you're still pretty weak, but it was enough to injure than Bastard King…"
After the match Captain took Nameless away. When the boy awakened, he was in an unfamiliar house. Captain didn't stop in an inn but directly rented an entire house. When Nameless asked about more than hundred missing temporal crew members he found out than captain placed them inside the ship because the third and fourth islands were too dangerous.
"But why didn't you take them inside the ship from the start?"
"They are not awakened, so its dangerous to stay too much time under the compression of the ship."
Captain, Nameless, and others were returning to the square. – "Oh, right, Captain, can go for a moment to bid farewell to a friend? I will be quick!"
"You mean the that girl from Araignèe family?"
Nameless was surprised. – "You know her?"
"No, but I know some of her relatives…Well, go, we will wait for you near the square."
[…]
*Tock* *Tock* *Tock*
"Yes, come in, boy." – Gherda as usual was reading her book near the window when Nameless knocked on the door and entered.
"I came to say goodbye and thank you for your help."
"It was my pleasure…come visit me here sometimes in the future, boy."
Suddenly he stepped forward and hugged her.
Even if somehow stiff, she also hugged him. – "Ah, another thing. If you encounter some other people from my family, you have to be very cautious with them."
Nameless looked at her and seriously nodded.
[…]
On the square in front of the palace stood six people, waiting for something.
The doors slowly opened, and they entered inside. After following a four-armed golem for a few minutes Nameless and other arrived in a huge hall. In the middle of it was the already familiar platform: passage to the next island. In front of it was standing Victor, but his eyes were azure. 'Possessed by the God…'
"Ocean Lord! You made me wait."
"Sorry for that." – Captain didn't care.
"Are you going on the fifth island? Or even beyond it?"
"Only the fifth. I need the altar. And the guys from the Church need it."
Victor nodded and gestured them to step on the platform. After a few seconds a golden pillar of light hit the royal palace and the outsiders were gone.
[…]
The view Nameless saw once on the fourth island was very peculiar.
"Auch!"
Something hit his head. He turned around to find a system of three gears floating in the air. Once he looked around, he noticed that these systems were everywhere, and some were formed even by hundreds of gears of different measures and shapes.
"Welcome to the Fourth Star Island, the Clock Island." – Said Doctor to Nameless. Meanwhile Captain made everyone else, apart Doctor and Nameless, enter the ship. – "You're still injured and weak, so it's too harmful to you to stay inside now." – This was the answer to the Boy's request to also enter the ship.
*CLACK*
Suddenly all the gears moved in the same moment and the ground trembled. *CLACK* *CLACK*
The ground trembled, Nameless lost balance and fell on the ground. 'What? An earthquake? No…'
"We're pretty unfortunate, Cap." – Commented Doctor.
"Yeah, to arrive on directly on the Major Clock during the Midnight Shift is pretty bad…"
He took out a strange looking pocket watch and paled immediately after looking on it. – "DAMN! I WILL MURDER THAT FROST BASTARD!"
"Doctor, quick help me to create a shield!"
"How powerful?"
Captain only pointed towards the sky. Nameless also looked up and paled. The sun was shrinking at rapid pace and becoming whiter. – "The Frozen King sent us to the Star Major Clock…"
Doctor frowned and immediately created transparent shield around them. Captain raised his index finger and whispered something, and it started glowing red.
Then he began inscribing, directly on the shield, some strange symbols. – "These are runes. I create an inscription to reinforce the shield."
He was very quick, but the sun shrunk quicker and was like a shining white dot in the sky. Doctor with a splashing sound transformed into a pool of black liquid and fused with the insides of the shield.
*BROOOM*
"Prepare for the impact, Boy. If you have something to protect you, use it now." – Captain was gloomy and touched the shield.
The sun trembled.
And in the next moment the whole world was engulfed by pure whiteness. The impact on the shield was terrifying and captain paled slightly while Nameless was thrown on the shield like a rag doll.
Some cracks appeared on its surface but after a few moments they were mended by Captain's energy.
But a few second were enough to let some white specs pass through. They slowly floated inside. Nameless who already stood up wanted to touch one. – "If you don't want to die, don't do it."
Doctor's voice appeared directly inside his head. – "It has enough energy to destroy a small city."
Nameless immediately jumped back terrified.
"Just let it fall down and fuse with the ground…"
Nameless observed the white speck while it gently floated down and penetrated the ground under them. After a few seconds a green sprout appeared from the earth. Then the second one, the third…Until the whole terrain inside was covered by young green court. 'The speck that could destroy an entire city, created a small green field.'
Captain was becoming paler every second that passed, but fortunately the sun explosion slowly subsided and then finished completely.
John could finally relax. Doctor also returned in his physical form but was also pale and visibly exhausted.
After catching some breath John smiled. – "Well, we just survived from an explosion of a magical star!"
He snapped his fingers and the shield broke in many pieces. Outside was illuminated only by rivers of lava and burning ground. The sky was pitch black but many white specks like the one from before were floating in the air.
The gears in the air were still there.
*CLACK*
Suddenly a pale light illuminated the sky and something like a huge ghostly orb appeared in the same place where a few minutes ago was the sun.
The specs of light burrowed into the ground and everywhere started appearing some plants.
"The Fourth island is composed by many giant clocks. Right now, we also standing on one of them." – Explained Doctor while recovering on the ground beside Nameless. – "The clocks here affect the time of some elements of the world positioned on them. For example, like Captain said before, currently we're on the Star Major Clock, and the movement of the clock affects the age of this world's sun."
Nameless was clueless about the stars and their aging. – "The stars can age?"
"Yeah! Can age and even die. Just like you've just seen here. Every midnight the sun here explodes and the new one is born." – He pointed at the ghostly sphere in the sky.
"Normally this process is eternally long but here the things are…"
"More frenetic." – Concluded John.
Doctor stood up. – "Exactly."
"We have to go now. The Four Seasons Major Clock is near, and at least we won't die where." – Captain also stood up and looked at his pocket watch. – "Ok, follow me. I know the way."
After a few hours of walk surrounded by a growing nature they arrived on the edge on this clock. After some search they found a bridge.
It was made by floating rocks connected by chains. On the base of the rocks Nameless saw a few moving gears.
On the other side there was a huge landmass very similar to the one they just leaved but with more vegetation.
"Maybe we will encounter some Timeless people…" – Mumbled Doctor and some killing intent betrayed his intentions.
"You can't kill them. They are too useful for the Broken Ocean."
Meanwhile they already arrived on the other side of the bridge – "Well, we arrived in summer, so we have some time for the rest here."
They made a small camp near the clock's edge and Nameless was lighting a fire when a figure appeared from the nearby forest.
Suddenly Doctor disappeared from his sitting spot.
*BOOOM*
Nameless blinked once and suddenly was already alone near the fire. He turned around and saw Doctor crushed under Captain's foot and a strange humanoid figure slowly approaching them.
"I told you! Don't kill residents here. I know that you hate them, but not now!" – While saying this Captain, with some friendliness, stomped on Doctor's face.
"Ok…AUCH!...Stop…STOP IT! Ok, I…STOOOOP…I won't kill them this time."
Doctor could only comply.
Meanwhile the one of the so-called Timeless people already neared them. – "Hello, Outsiders!"
Nameless wanted to greet him but Captain snorted and suddenly slashed with his sword.
The figure was destroyed completely.
"At least greet us in your true appearance!"
Suddenly a formless silhouette appeared in the same place where the creature died.
"Greetings, Outsiders. Forgive me for my rudeness."