I let out another sigh, this time deeper, as if it could carry away the absurdity of this situation. Kyle?! I shouted internally, struggling to comprehend. What in the realm of questionable coincidences is going on?
"Wait, what?" I squinted at the grinning kid through my Kitsune mask. "Who are you calling uncle?"
"You, obviously!" Kyle said with an exaggerated shrug, as if the answer should've been obvious to everyone, including the fish beneath the ship.
And just as I was about to send him on his merry way, another figure appeared. A girl, probably 18 or 19—definitely no longer a kid but not quite an adult either. She moved with a certain grace that immediately caught attention, but it was her striking resemblance to someone I knew that froze me in place.
Miranda. The name popped into my head, uninvited. The resemblance was uncanny. There was no denying it—she had to be one of Miranda's kids.
"Alright," I said, turning my attention to her. "What brings two little kids aboard this ship? Shouldn't you be with your parents? Go on, scurry off."
Kyle puffed his chest out indignantly, looking like a tiny, angry rooster. "I'm not a little kid! And besides, we're here for important business."
His sister, however, simply observed me calmly, a slight smile playing on her lips. Kyle leaned toward her and nudged her arm. "Nee-chan, nee-chan, I told you, right? This uncle looks exactly like the one in the portrait!"
My ears metaphorically perked up at the word portrait. "Wait, what portrait? And also, stop calling me uncle—"
"Wait, wait, wait—hold on," I said, raising a hand. "You can see through my mask?"
"Of course," Kyle said proudly. "My ability lets me see through anything!"
I blinked. "Anything?"
"Anything!"
A rush of inappropriate thoughts flooded my mind, followed by immediate guilt. Why does a kid get such a useful ability? This is wasted potential!
The girl—Lily, as she introduced herself—finally decided to address me directly. "What's your name?"
"Ace, Lord of Silver Ci—"
"He even has the same name!" Kyle exclaimed, cutting me off mid-sentence.
Lily ignored my attempt to introduce myself entirely, her expression remaining calm but curious. Hey, not cool, I thought. Not cool at all.
Desperate for backup, I turned to Yin Xie. She was leaning lazily against the dragon-shaped railing, her golden eyes half-lidded and entirely disinterested, as if this entire encounter wasn't even worth a second of her attention.
"Uh, Yin Xie?" I whispered, hoping for some sort of intervention.
She glanced at me briefly, smirked, and then turned her gaze back to the sea. "You got yourself into this mess, human. I'm not saving you."
Great, I thought. Even the dragon is abandoning me now.
Meanwhile, Kyle was staring up at me with wide, sparkling eyes. "Uncle, can I ask you something?"
"What is it now?" I muttered, already bracing for something ridiculous.
"Do you know Miranda?"
My heart skipped a beat. For a moment, the Nelodrian Sea's unsettling green hues seemed to grow darker, as if the Kraken themselves were leaning in to eavesdrop on the conversation. I forced a casual shrug. "Uh… Miranda who?"
Kyle squinted suspiciously, but before he could press further, Lily placed a hand on his shoulder. "Kyle, let's not pester the nice uncle too much. We still have work to do, remember?"
"Fine," Kyle huffed, though his curiosity was far from satisfied.
As they turned to leave, I caught Lily's gaze lingering on me for a moment longer. There was something sharp in her eyes, like she knew more than she let on.
When they finally walked away, I slumped against the railing, exhaling loudly.
"What a pair," I muttered.
Yin Xie chuckled softly behind me. "You handled that well. For a human."
"Oh, shut up."
---
The unease from yesterday clung to me like a bad dream. The thought of Miranda—possibly on this very ship—unsettled me so much that I decided to barricade myself in my room.
"Alright," I muttered, throwing myself onto the stiff cot, "I'm not stepping out until we reach the destination. Let someone else deal with cryptic kids and lingering memories."
---
The next day, though, curiosity got the better of me, and I wandered back to the dragon-shaped section of the ship. The greenish tint of the Nelodrian Sea was gone, replaced by a clear, deep blue. It was as though the sea itself had decided to shift moods, like a fickle deity granting a reprieve from its ominous warning.
Yin Xie appeared behind me, her presence as sudden as a shadow cast by a flickering flame. "It's time to fly again, human."
"Fly?" I groaned, turning to her. "Can't we just stick to the ship? It's cozy. No krakens. I've got my nice, safe little corner—"
She interrupted me with a pointed look. "The auction is in two days. This ship will take one week. Also… there are those kids."
"Say no more!" I declared, already readying myself. "Let's go. Let's fly. Forget ships, forget oceans. Flying is the future!"
Yin Xie smirked knowingly and placed her hand on my shoulder. In an instant, the ship was gone, replaced by the open sky.
And then she transformed.
It was always mesmerizing to witness. Her human form unraveled like a silk ribbon caught in the wind, her golden eyes flashing one last time before they morphed into the luminous orbs of a dragon. Scales rippled across her body, shimmering under the sunlight, and her wings spread wide, their sheer size casting a shadow over me. Her elegant, humanoid features were gone, replaced by something fierce, powerful, and utterly inhuman.
It was breathtaking. It always was.
But today, I found myself laughing quietly, half in awe, half in relief. "You know," I said aloud to no one in particular, "if I keep seeing this every day, I'll probably get used to it. Might even stop appreciating her beauty when she's human."
Yin Xie, now fully in her dragon form, turned her massive head toward me, her golden eyes narrowing slightly.
"Did you say something, human?"
I cleared my throat. "Uh, nope! Just admiring the view."
She gave an amused snort, and with a powerful beat of her wings, we were airborne.
As we ascended, the ship shrank into the distance below, the ocean spreading out like a vast blue canvas. Up here, the world felt limitless, the air crisp and filled with the sound of the wind rushing past. Floating islands dotted the sky once more, their mystical temples and lush greenery defying the laws of nature.
The worries of yesterday began to fade as the horizon stretched endlessly before us.
"Yin Xie," I called out, gripping tightly to her scales as she soared higher.
"What now, human?"
"Next time, let's buy a ship instead of sharing."
She laughed, a deep, rumbling sound that echoed across the skies. "That's the first smart thing you've said all week."