The Black Gull's cells reeked of urine, rotten fish, and salt. Igneous soon got used to it. Living on the streets for so long, he became almost immune to those unpleasant smells. Alya, on the other hand, nearly threw up from the intense, pungent stench.
'Poor girl,' Igneous thought, 'she needs more street experience.'
She could look rough. She could put on that steely expression that made her look strong. She could wield a sword, but Igneous could see that under all that, an inexperienced, green girl was hiding.
All the years of surviving on the streets gave Igneous a useful skill, if you will, to be able to see beyond a person's gaze, to assess whether someone is really tough, or just pretending to be.
Igneous and Alya were locked in the cells deep inside the Black Gull. Both of them had had their Treasures and sword taken away, so there was no chance of transforming and escaping.
"Let me out!" Alya shouted, waving the metal rods that produced an echo. "I am the daughter of an important diplomat! Do you know Lord Meijer from the city of Yish? He's my father, idiots! I have the family sword to prove it! You can get a big reward if you let me go! Hello? Is someone there? LET ME OUT!"
Igneous raised an eyebrow upon hearing that the girl was the daughter of a diplomat. Was that true? Why was she traveling alone then? The daughter of someone important would not be around, running dangers, without escorts.
'There's something fishy here,' thought the boy. And it wasn't the smell of urine and fish.
"Let me out!" Alya insisted, shaking the bars harder. "I swear if you don't release me you shall regret it! My father shall make you pay!"
"Is that true?" Igneous asked, sitting inside the cell, arms crossed.
"What thing?" Alya stopped waving the bars and turned around to face the boy.
"That thing about you being the daughter of an important man."
Alya lowered her head and avoided Igneous' gaze.
"Yes…"
The boy closely watched every muscle on Alya's face, trying to determine if she was telling the truth. That was another skill he learned while surviving on the streets. What he could see was that she was telling PART of the truth. That story was missing a piece.
"There's something you're not telling me," Igneous pointed out.
"What are you talking about?"
The boy shrugged. "I think you're not being entirely honest."
"Well, I don't care if you don't believe me," Alya turned around and continued yelling and shaking the bars of the cell.
"Could you stop?" Igneous complained.
"Why? Don't you care if we're going to be handed over to the Legion?
"Of course I care, but there's no point in yelling anymore."
"So, should we let them turn us in? I think not."
"Let me put it this way," Igneous stuck his right little finger into his ear, to remove some of the wax, "when they come down to get us out and take us to the Legion, we'll take advantage and escape."
"Is that your plan? Fight our way out?
"At least it's better than screaming until you lose your voice."
"Diplomacy can be much more effective than fighting."
"If you say so," Igneous pulled some wax out of his ear.
Eventually, Alya got tired of screaming. As much as she shouted she didn't get an answer. So she dropped next to Igneous' side.
"We're going to die," she said, snorting in resignation.
"Perhaps someday," replied the boy, with a grim smile, "but not today."
"We shouldn't have trusted that woman..."
"We shouldn't have come to this port..."
Alya grunted at that comment. How long had they been locked down there? Hard to say. Maybe hours. Maybe it was already night.
Alya sighed deeply and smacked her lips. "How does a human woman become the leader of a demon army anyway?"
"Is that so strange?" Igneous asked.
"It makes no sense. Demons and humans don't usually cooperate in this way. That woman has achieved something that very few would: becoming the leader of a huge group of demons," in Alya's voice there was a hint of admiration, of respect.
Footsteps were heard coming down the stairs, approaching the cells. Alya jumped up and walked over to the bars.
"Hey! Let me out and Lord Meijer will give you a juicy reward!"
It was one of the captain's demons. The guard walked to the cell door and inserted his key into the padlock.
"I'm glad you heard me," Alya celebrated with a good-natured smile. "It shows that you are an intelligent man.. demon. You will be rewarded."
The man twitched the corner of his mouth. "It's not you she wants," he pointed to Igneous, "she wants him."
Alya and Igneous looked at each other skeptically.
***
Igneous was guided to the captain's cabin. Unlike the cells, this place smelled very good. There was incense burning on the walls and in the center of the room lay a table full of delicacies.
Around the table, there were candles that gave a cozy atmosphere. Kalina was sitting at the other end of the long table. She was holding what appeared to be a wine glass.
"Please, darling," she spoke to Igneous, "sit and enjoy."
The boy remained standing, incredulous.
"Don't be so suspicious," Kalina smiled, stirring her glass of wine. "I don't usually share my delicacies with just anyone. Feel lucky."
Igneous' stomach growled.
"Ha, ha, ha," laughed the captain, "I see you're hungry. Will your pride be stronger than your hunger?
"I've lived on the streets for a long time," the boy answered firmly, with a cocky smile. "Believe me, captain, I know what it feels like to be so hungry you feel like you're going to faint. I have seen people eat in front of me when I was starving. I have seen them boast that they can fill their stomachs, while I beg for a slice of bread."
The woman shook her glass of wine and took a sip. "Should I feel sorry?"
The boy shrugged. "Think whatever you want. I don't mind. Why haven't you handed us over to the Legion yet?"
"If you sit down to eat with me, I will explain everything to you."
The boy turned his attention to the food on the long table. His mouth watered. So he lowered his defenses and succumbed to hunger. He sat down to devour as much as he could.
Kalina smirked as she took a sip from her glass. "This wine is one of the best you can find in the southern islands. Harvest of 17, brought from the Aspania vineyards. How is the food?"
Igneous shrugged. "It's okay."
"What's your name?" She asked.
"You can call me Igneous."
The woman nodded slowly. Then she leaned forward and looked at the boy, an admiring gleam in her eyes.
"You two are identical, Igneous" Kalina stated, with a hint of nostalgia in her voice. "It's like he's come back from the dead."
The boy stopped swallowing food and looked at the captain in confusion.
"What are you talking about?"
The woman got up from the table, took a piece of paper from her chest, and handed it to Igneo. The boy looked at it and almost choked on his food when he saw that it was a portrait of someone identical to him.
'But… this is me,' he thought, incredulous. 'It's not possible.'
"His name was Florian," Kalina said, a wistful look in hers, "but we all called them Ori. You are identical to him. Except for the eyes. Yours are full of fire. Ori, on the other hand, had this kind…innocent look."
Igneous's hands were shaking. Too many things went through his mind. He remembered Breeze and Alya. Both identical to each other. Were there people in that world a copy of those who lived on Earth?
"What do you want from me?" The boy handed over the portrait. The woman took it and put it back in her chest.
"What do I want from you?" Kalina walked to the wall of the room and stared at the painting of a man in purple armor, his face covered by a helmet. He posed imposing, straight, proud. "First I would like you to answer: what are you looking for?"
"What am I looking for?"
"Yes, what is your goal? What is your endgame?"
"Ah, well, that's easy: I want to liberate all the shrines. I want to fulfill the mission of the eon and thus recover my brother Eider."
"Accomplish the mission of the eon..."
"That's right."
The woman giggled in disbelief. "Accomplish the mission of the eon," she recited, "and whatever you desire shall be yours. You shall be like a god," she stared at the painting. "Did you know that you are not the first Marked One?"
"Oh, I'm not?"
Kalina shook her head. "Many have tried to liberate the shrines and have failed."
"Well, we will succeed where others have failed."
"HA, HA, HA, HA, HA," the woman burst out laughing. "You DO trust yourself," then he pointed to the painting of the man in purple armor. "There have already been others. Like this man here."
"And who is that?"
Kalina gulped and replied, "Ori's brother."
Igneous shuddered. Would that be the version of Eider in that world?
"He's a traitor," Kalina's voice held enormous rancor. "Because of him... Ori..."
"He died?"
Kalina nodded. "This man murdered him and joined the Legion. Damned he…"
Igneous had had enough. "What do you want from me?"
The woman turned around, approached the boy, and stroked his neck. He felt uncomfortable, tensed. "I want you to join me."
"Huh?" Igneous arched his eyebrows, "stop talking nonsense."
"I'm serious. I have an entire fleet under my command. It's practically my army. Together we can sail around the world. I will help you free the shrines, we will destroy the Legion. We will kill that traitor and together we will rule the world."
"But what crazy things are you saying?"
The captain stroked Igneous' hair. "Think about it. With your power and my army, there will be nothing to stop us."
"And what about Alya?"
"The girl?" Kalina shrugged. "She is a hindrance. We'll hand her over to the Legion, so they'll let us through."
Deliver Alya to the Legion? No, that was something Igneous couldn't accept.
"I'm not going to betray her," the boy sentenced.
"Why not? Is she that important to you?"
'Important to me?' He wondered. He hadn't wondered about it. No, it wasn't that Alya was important to him. It was simply that Igneous was not one of those who betrayed.
Kalina got so close to the boy's lips that he thought she was going to kiss him. "Think wisely. This is a once-in-a-lifetime offer."
Igneous didn't know what to answer. Betray Alya and join Captain Kalina?
"And so? What do you say?" The woman insisted.
The boy looked into her eyes and smiled mockingly.
"I accept the deal, but I want my Treasure back."