Facing east, Skadi made her way towards the edge of the ship. Her hands clenched into a fist, and her eyes examined deeper down the reflective waters. For a fraction of a second, her eyes turned viridian-green. Her vision, enhanced, and her field of view, wider.
"There.."
Her eyes zoomed in on a faint figure heading towards the ship at rapid speeds. Although they are still kilometers of distance away from it, the pace at which the figure is going is troublesome.
She noticed the faint figure, examining its appearance - a humanoid face with no skin, a complete set of teeth with perfect dentition, gritting extremely, and a body akin to that of a human with its legs replaced by a scaly tail.
Its body seemed to be covered in barnacles, seaweed, corals, and other sea life forms, all of which seem to get shattered by the sheer speed that the figure was traversing at.
Therefore, fragments of materials at sea surrounded it and were left behind immediately - slowly falling below the depths.
For a second, Skadi noticed the figure clench its teeth and shift its jaw. Even from far away, Skadi could feel the vibrations caused by the figure's gritted teeth. She could hear the slight squeaking and ligaments around it, breaking.
Even with the mess caused by the figure's speed, the surface of the ocean seemed unusually calm. It was as if the water itself was not affected by the existence of the figure.
"Is that..?"
It was undeniable, what Dreadspawn had control over a domain in the oceans? Who else could it be but..
"Poseidon."
They were in the Poseidon Depths, after all - a part of the ocean where it is governed by the Great Leviathan, Poseidon. Only few had been reported to have encountered the beast and returned to live the tale, so the chances were grim for Skadi and her crew members.
Still, she did not expect the Leviathan to look so.. dreadful.
It was common sense though, Dreadspawns came from Dread itself.
From a tender age of 7, Skadi was exposed to the existence of Dreadspawns - beings that lost control of their Zeal - overtaken and going mad - and those that were born from Dread itself.
Any creatures in the world could not be classified as a Dreadspawn though, only those that possessed Zeal could be determined so. As such, the large octopus from back then did not contain Zeal, therefore determining it only as a normal beast or creature of the seas.
Skadi continued to guard the Leviathan, carefully searching for any unusual actions caused by it. Every now and then, it would grit its teeth, shifting its jaws, which would make a heavy vibration that could be sensed from kilometers away. Moreover, with every shift, bones cracked and shattered.
Skadi shuddered, not because of fear, but because of discomfort. To her ears, the sound of clenching teeth is rowdy.
It was very concerning to see the Great Leviathan of the Poseidon Depths. Skadi had encountered a number of Dreadspawns but it was only now that she found one of high level.
"It's a Pathfinder of the highest level, on the brink of ascending to Exalted, a Paragon-level Dreadspawn with max Flourish."
After mumbling words to herself, Skadi turned around and called out to one of her crew members:
"Reid!", Immediately, a long-white haired individual appeared in front of Skadi, "Yes, captain?"
"Perfect timing, look there."
Skadi pointed towards east, below the surface, where the Great Leviathan of the Poseidon Depths was quickly making its way towards their ship, "What can you see?"
Almost similar to Skadi, Reid's eyes glowed with a pearlish-hue. Instead of winds surrounding him, it seemed that illusory particles gathered around his eyes and entered his body through the portals of his soul.
Reid stared at the horizon, searching for what Skadi had asked him for. He moved his eyes in different directions of 10 seconds and responded to her queries:
"I see nothing, Captain."
"Peculiar. Very well, you're dismissed. Report anything that feels unusual."
"Aye.", with a bow, Reid ran back to where he once was.
It would make sense that Reid couldn't sense anything due to the distance between the Leviathan and their ship. But his specialty of Metaphysical Zeal is not to be underestimated. With one glance, he could see that the adrift Cetas was not a monster in disguise but rather a humanoid similar to them.
And he was right! Cetas, up until now, had not done anything befitting to that of a monster or a Dreadspawn.
Skadi contemplated.
Is it really due to the distance, or is it something entirely different. Up until now, Reid can determine whether someone is friend or foe accurately. His mastery of the Metaphysical is great and he has talent. But in this situation, even with that distance, Reid could sense even a little spark.
"It truly is peculiar, I haven't experienced anything like this."
Even Galkan, who was older than she, seemed demented. She gazed at his direction and saw the 60-year old man with a puzzled face.
Then, she gazed at Elishia and Jones, who seemed even more troubled due to the situation. Elishia was the youngest in the crew, of course she would have no experience. Jones, however, had moderate encounters with Dreadspawns, but even he was left disoriented.
With no one else left to relate to the predicament, Skadi searched for the dark-blue haired depth-dwelled, who was first to notice the existence of the Great Leviathan.
After locking on to his figure, she paced towards him.
"Cetas."
The boy, fear-stricken and shaking, slowly glanced up towards Skadi's eyes.
Then, in an attempt to calm the boy who seemed younger than Elishia, Skadi placed her palm on his sea-like dark-blue hair, putting the weight of her arms on his head. As if a mother calming her son down, Skadi warmly smiled and stared at him with compassion.
With that, she kneeled and leaned in forward, as if matching his height.
He's just a kid. She realized. Cetas, who could not be more than 15 years old, experienced being washed away from home, being separated from his parents or family, and being alone at sea for how many days or weeks! Now, he had been introduced to a completely foreign race with no methods of communication and now being swept by a ship leading to unknown lands.
Somehow, Skadi saw herself in the eyes of the boy.
Skadi, moved her delicate hand from the top of his head towards his shoulders, "It'll be fine."
Her voice filled with reassurance and comfort which made Cetas slowly calm down and start breathing carefully.
Seeing as the boy was beginning to settle, Skadi stood up and faced east once more. There were still distances away from the Leviathan but with the ship's regular pace, it would soon overtake them.
Within a fraction of a second, Skadi floated up - letting the winds carry her body. She made her way towards the ship's sails and her eyes glowed viridian-green. Suddenly, green winds surrounded her, making her hair flutter and fly uncontrollably. Then, her body exuded a chartreuse-green aura.
With the winds gathering around her, Skadi inwardly thought of the state that she was in.
Zephyr!
In quick succession, Skadi brought her arms up and pushed! A sudden gust of strong winds pushed the sails of the ship westward. Then, as if the ship was following Skadi's commands, it moved at a considerable pace, wading the waters in front such in a way that moved the waters to the side.
Skadi stared back, looking down below the surface. She saw the Leviathan gritting its teeth, shifting every now and then. She felt the vibration in the air but she remained resolute and gathered clouds above her.
Strong winds pushed the sails and the crewmembers braced themselves. As if a storm was arriving, the waves below became more intense, rocking the ship.
Below, Reid grabbed the dark-blue haired boy who was in a state of shock due to the sudden strong gust of winds. Then, they made their way towards the core of the ship, descending to where Jones spends most of his time at.
Determined that everyone made their way to safety, Skadi intensified the winds.
Similar to anchoring herself to the ship, Skadi flew with the pace akin to the ship's speed. However, even at this rate, they still wouldn't outpace the Leviathan.
Still, it was already considerable, because in a few hours, they will be out of its domain.
Green tempest winds surrounded Skadi's body, her eyes furrowed.
Will I be able to make it? Is my Zeal enough to go past the Poseidon Depths? She doubted herself, but immediately forgot those thoughts.
Doubt was the source of weakness. It was where people of great strength began to fall. Even a king had doubts, but did he let it consume him?
No!
Instead, they would consume their doubts and turn it into beliefs.
Skadi braced herself and prepared for a long rigorous trip which would ultimately make her defenseless. Thankfully, she had her crewmembers to trust.
So, flying along with the ship, she pushed the winds at a remarkable rate and determined to make it out of there alive!