Atlus blinked in succession, as if he was drunk while holding the telescope. He was scared silly. A man was really gliding in his direction! He couldn't help but throw the telescope in the man's direction.
His goal was to hit the man in the head and gain a head start. But as the telescope slipped through his fingers, he realized that the man was still far away. The telescope fell into the sea with a splash.
SPLASH!
Another round of water rose in the air as Atlus also jumped into the sea. He had tied a rope around his waist that extended to the wooden treasure box. So, the box was also pulled into the sea with a splash!
SPLASH!
The gliding man dove under water too. The scene appeared like 4 cannon balls of different sizes fired into the sea one after the other.
Atlus swam diagonally downward. He wanted to dive deeper and pull distance from the military man at the same time. He looked back and saw the wooden box and the man chasing him like a wiggling fish.
The deeper you go farther the sun gets. Thus, Atlus felt the water getting colder and colder. In the past, he had dived under the sea multiple times, but today the experience was bone chilling. It was as if he could feel the weight of the shadow that was chasing him.
But he kept diving like a harpoon with infinite energy. The multiple layers of soaked clothing also made him sink further.
Arden Finch was in hot pursuit, but his mind was calm. He dived to chase the muscular man and wondered why the hat was still stuck on that guy's forehead. The wooden treasure box also raised many questions in his mind.
He was now further down the sea than he had ever been. On top of it, the distance between the muscular man and him wasn't lessening. He felt like he was chasing a half merman.
After a while, he looked back towards the surface. The light of the sun seemed out of reach. He had reached only 70% of his breath-holding limit but stopped. It would take him quite a while to swim back up. So, he suddenly changed direction and swam perpendicularly upwards.
On reaching the surface, he gasped as much air as possible. Then he climbed onto the large ship. Streams of water fell down his uniform as he walked on the deck with heavier steps. He looked around, his eyes returned to their natural brown color.
The rotting wood, the tally marks on the mast, the single sail with stitches confirmed it was a ship that disappeared 9 years ago. He looked in the direction from which the ship arrived. According to his knowledge, there were no islands in that direction.
In this age, humans were still exploring uncharted stormy seas. Thus, different kingdoms had different world maps. But the Frey Empire united all western kingdoms and combined all maps.
If you laid the combined world map on a table and looked at the farthest right side. About 10% of the space would be blue with no islands but images of sea dragons, skulls, and shipwrecks.
Guess which one of them was true?
The first island from the west was Westuna. It was under Captain Arden Finch's command. Many explorers docked their ships on this island's western port, but none of them ever returned after sailing off.
Thus, locals named the western port Shipsbury. But the island itself was a somewhat popular location for travelers. Many came to this place just to feel the chill. There was a popular joke, you didn't fully explore Westuna if no native greeted you with the special saying.
"Welcome to the world's end."
. . .
Atlus gasped for air like a fish on a tree. He was lying on a rock at the feet of a rocky cliff. His legs were still under the sea. And the position wasn't ideal as the surface wasn't big enough. In order to get on the island he would have to climb this cliff.
As most of his clothes had become heavy and were dragging him down, he had to remove his disguise underwater. Thus, he was in his minimal clothing, an old t-shirt with no sleeves, and shorts that reached to his knees. Despite being exposed to the bright sun, his stick-like arms and legs felt cold.
Water poured out of his mouth, eyes, and nostrils when he sat upright. The treasure box tied to his chest with a rope was floating nearby. He pulled the rope to reach the wooden box for his diary.
[Explore Westuna: Blending in as a traveler won't be a problem. As a wise man once said, "The glazing smell of onion-tuna rings windward my ship here". Take up lodging as a base location for scouting the rest of the island. Beware of flying men.]
After filing out a note, he took out a knife to cut the rope that tied the treasure box to his waist. Then he held the knife in between his teeth and tied the treasure box on his back like a backpack. He w, but the light in his eyes was just as bright as when he first saw the island.
Luckily, Arden couldn't follow him.
Atlus looked up at the uneven rocks and smiled on touching the cliff. He waited for his hand and feet to dry in the sun before taking his first step upwards. It was a steep cliff and if he fell, then there wouldn't be the sea to catch him, only uneven and hard rocks.
The hard landing became one of the reasons why Atlus chose this place to enter the island. It was sure to be a deserted place with the past incident of people falling from the cliff. Maybe mothers on the island told haunted stories about this cliff to their kids.
"This place is perfect! No will see me enter the island through here. As long as I make it to the nearby market undetected, I can blend in and low-key commence my plans."
The higher he climbed the surer he was about this cliff's danger. He even turned to look down. The rocks peeking their heads above the water were like crocodiles waiting for their prey. With the help of a rocky ledge, he pushed his body upwards. He couldn't help humming a tune as he neared the top.
However, he saw a person as soon as he reached the top.
'Oh no!'
Not getting caught was the step zero of his plan. But now this person saw him entering the island through a suspicious place. This person's presence as a witness would enable the military to catch him in no time.
The surface at the top of the cliff was full of uneven rocks, he could easily trip.
His mouth widened in shock on seeing the person, causing the knife to slip from between his teeth. But he caught it as soon as it reached his hand.
He hid it behind his back.
100 meters away, a girl was sitting on a rock. She had long and shiny brown hair. A long bright and blue frock was covering her creamy skin. The sun made the pearls on her rings and the diamonds on her earrings shine like twinkling stars. It appeared like she was crying as she wiped her eyes multiple times with a white handkerchief.
This was the first time Atlus was seeing a girl of his age. He couldn't help but compare her to the girls in his favorite fantasy novels. He was a very avid reader who had nothing to do but read the same stories multiple times to pass time on the ship.
Needless to say, he had a very vivid imagination. But real life hits differently. The glossy brown hair, the shining jewelry, the smooth skin, oh the vulnerable maiden!
"Hmmm. This girl is just a middle-tier beauty."
Atlus had compared the imaginary girls to this real life beauty in the blink of an eye. But a witness is a witness, so he took a step back but realized his foot was already half in the air. A small rock fell because of the push of his feet to the sea below.
The girl's head turned towards him. So he gave up the thought of running away, instead took three steps forward.
"Hey there. Are you new around here? Welcome to the world's end." She said. Her smile was so inviting that it taxed the viewer to smile back.
But Atlus stood straight like a statue. He had only talked to himself for the last 6 years, casual greetings and deceiving flattery was not what he knew. Looking at such a defenseless person almost made him drop his guard. He tried to fake a smile but failed miserably.
"I am a traveler… onions chips tuna." Atlus said.
"Where did you come from?" The girl looked around with a curious smile.
Perhaps, she was too good with faking smiles or it were just her youthful lips that made half-true smiles whole. But the fact is, her welcoming nature did lessen a bit because there was something standing between the boy and the only way up to the clifftop.
It was her.
"Did you climb up the cliff… with a treasure chest? That's very brave, young pirate." The girl said, making the words 'young pirate' sound sugary sweet.
But Atlus's body shivered a little and his grip tightened on the knife that he was hiding behind his back. A plan formed in his mind. He thought of what the protagonists do when an obstacle arrives in their path.
They obviously run it down!
"Look!" He said. His voice came out louder than he intended. But the girl didn't look away, instead focused on him with even more curiosity.
"Hey look!" he said again, raising his hand to point in a random direction. But suddenly, his heart skipped a beat. He had raised the hand that was holding the knife!
The girl's brown eyes widened, and so did his own eyes. He took a step forward and even before the girl could blink; he was right beside her. His hand swung in an arc and the knife closed on the girl's neck. The knife's tip wasn't pointy like a needle, but it was sharp enough.
Only the girl had seen him entering the island. Only she could be a witness. Removing her from the path was like chopping off the sharp top of a grass called military.
The knife approached the girl's neck from the side and was powerful enough to make her skin seem like butter in comparison.
Shine!
As soon as the knife touched the girl, a yellow glow appeared on her skin, and it rapidly expanded to cover her whole body. Even her blue dress was shining in a dim yellow light.
It happened in an instant! The light shone and scattered in orange fireworks.
Atlus's body blasted away like a fluffy toy. His body was flung towards the sea, spinning like a mini tornado. He fell down the cliff in a straight line towards the rocks that were, waiting, like crocodiles with sharp teeth.