"Cheers!"

The SeaSmack almost spilled out as the small cups hit each other. A moment later, they were empty as Lawkey and Alviss gulped down their contents.

Since a couple of hours awaited them, they had decided to try out some of the generous gifts they were given. Finally trying out the infamous drink of the merfolk had fallen as the first venture.

"!" Sitting across from the swordsman to his left, each one of them leaning on a side of the boat, Alviss caught a glimpse of a mark he had chosen not to comment on thus far. "Tis a long ride back, lemme ask ya… yar from the Kage clan, aren't ya?"

The dwarf gestured towards the emblem sitting just below Lawkey's stomach, a gift from the Sword Saint.

"Not really…" The swordsman narrowed his eyes slightly as he brought the cup closer for another sip. After taking it, he looked up towards the misty clouds trying to hide the moon. "You could say they took me in when I was a kid."

"The Kage clan took ya in?" The brown-haired dwarf chuckled as he refilled his cup. "That don' sound like 'em."

"True." Lawkey smiled. "But I guess at the time, it was the wiser choice to take me in than to throw me out."

"Oh?"

"I also kind of did pay them…" He added, thinking back on that time. "How come you recognize the clan logo?"

Alviss leaned forward and refilled his drinking companion's cup. Just then the boat rocked, making him accidentally spill some. As they both looked on agape, the spilled SeaSmack fell onto the sleeping purple-ish Hyking, still resembling some kind of stuffed toy from a horror story.

As they had promised, they had taken the creature with them and away from the Undine Clan. However, neither of them knew what to expect or what they would do with it once on shore. All they knew was that it was a dangerous Hyking, one who is able to invade and control minds, even turn as invisible as a ghost at will.

Alviss in particular kept his distance from it, pouring the drinks carefully over its sleeping body.

"Don't waste those drinks, it will be a while before we get there, right?" Lawkey raised his cup once more. "How about you tell me about how you got into this continent? What is the outside world like?"

"Friend, lemme tell ya, these drinks ain't enough for that story." The dwarf chuckled as he raised his own cup.

Soon the two were drinking and laughing, and before they knew it, the strong effects of the infamous drink invaded them both.

They fell asleep on the spot, joining Frido in his slumber, and allowing the boat to stir them as the wind commanded.

**👑**

WHAT DID YOU DO?!

?!

HOW COULD YOU?!

Every word he heard inside his mind sent shivers across his entire body.

Looking around, all he could see was a creeping emptiness devouring any shred of color.

YOU RUINED THEM!

Before he knew it, shadowy arms and chains restricted his body and limbs, pulling him deeper into the abyss.

WHY ARE YOU ALIVE AGAIN?!

WHY DO YOU GET TO LIVE AGAIN?!

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

WHY CAN'T YOU JUST KEEP YOUR PROMISES FOR ONCE?!

The darkness grew larger, enveloping his entire body, as if erasing him completely.

YOU SHOULD BE DEAD!

CURSE YOU!

IT'S ALL ON YOU!

The voices kept berating him, each word making his heart beat faster.

He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

His emerald eyes shook and trembled as the shadowy fingers crawled closer to cover them, to devour them.

He recognized them despite not having a direct view.

Riana.

Sana.

They had joined the voices plaguing him now too.

He gritted his teeth, grinded them.

TAKE RESPONSIBILITY!

LET IT GO!

EMBRACE IT!

Just before he completely lost his vision, the shadows in front of him merged together, then quickly dissipated.

!

They revealed the bodies of Munisai and Jun, chained in the darkness without a shred of light in their eyes.

Not far behind them, the bodies of everyone else he cared about began to appear in the same conditions.

Riana, Sana.

Taiga, Emi, Mai, Yasuto, Zenga.

Even-

No….

DIE!

JUST DIE!

His heart pounded against his chest, the heat rushed to his head.

"Nooo!"

DIE, OR THEY WILL!

**👑**

"Hey, friend!"

SWISSH!

"?!"

In an instant, Lawkey's blade was unsheathed and inches away from Alviss' neck. While the dwarf took an instinctive step back, the swordsman was sweating buckets, his breaths short and quick as his face was twisted into a nasty frown.

"Calm down, friend. It's just me." Alviss reassured, putting his hands up. He had both his weapons on his back now.

"Ugh…" Coming to himself, Lawkey reached for his temple and rubbed it a few times.

"Ya scared me…" The dwarf put some distance between them, then looked over at the drink they had been sipping on not long before. "The rumors sure weren' wrong 'bout the SeaSmack drink. It got the same effect as those siren songs that tricked me…"

"Songs?" Lawkey raised an eyebrow, realizing what had happened to them. "So that's what it was…"

Had he known, he likely would not have drank that. It was one thing to enjoy a drink, but if he could, he would have rather avoided sleeping.

That nightmare again… He thought to himself, then let out a long sigh.

Without fail, whenever he shut his eyes to rest, those same voices, those same arms and chains come to plague him.

Now, even Riana and Sana's voices and arms had joined them. It left a bitter taste in his mouth, one far stronger than any drink could ever accomplish.

Are they really okay out there? Could something hurt them? Lawkey thought, looking toward the sea. Could I?

"How are ya doin', friend?" Alviss asked after having given him a moment to process things. "Sounded like ya were havin' a nasty nightmare there."

"I'm fine." The human sheathed his sword and tucked it back at his side. "How long was I out?"

"It looks like we're almost at the shore." The dwarf turned to the direction the boat was heading. "So it musta been some time since we left Sweet Scylla."

The boat was just short of hitting an empty shore with not even a docking station. The shore itself was small, the sand barely covering much before the trees dominated the surroundings.

Lawkey immediately recognized the atmosphere. They were definitely back on Tartarus' main grounds now.

"I was tryin' to wake ya before the boat's collision would alarm ya, but well…" Alviss trailed off for a second, then decided against it. "We'll only be stoppin' briefly here to recover our bearings."

"You still haven't told me where we're headed to exactly." Lawkey glanced over to his new friend.

"Right, you see that edge over there?" The dwarf pointed to where the shore ended to the left, and the waters continued on to the side. "We'll be ridin' that tide into the middle of Tartarus. Around another hour or so from here."

How convenient… Lawkey thought. If the leviathan really did take those waters six years ago, maybe I can find a clue…

He would have wanted to take this route either way, the waters that separated Tartarus into two parts. If he was going to get some promised pancakes along the way, especially on his big day, that wouldn't be too bad.

After six years since the last time he had Jay's pancakes, just a taste of it now could help push him along after everything that had happened.

Just a taste on his birthday, that's all he wanted right now.

"Alright, shorty. Lead the way."

"Can ya stop callin' me that?"

"Sorry, I'll try-"

"?!"

Just as the two were about to chuckle and land their boat, cold shivers ran down their spine.

The ominous chill exploding from behind them made them both shudder in place for a moment, then they both jumped out of the boat, and landed directly on the shore.

They looked on towards the approaching boat, a visible amalgamation of chilling darkness was rising around a small body.

"What's that pressure?!" Alviss reached for his legendary hammer, keeping his eyes focused on the boat.

"I don't know, but it has to be…!" Lawkey's narrow eyes suddenly widened as the darkness in front of him became clear.

The pressure, the darkness, the ominous chill… It all came together to reveal the purple-ish body of Frido floating above the boat.

DING-A-LING! DING-A-LING!

The two recognized the sound of the bells, the same ones attached to Frido's jester-like neck piece.

The bandages on the torso were still there, and for a moment, it looked as though the creature was still in a deep sleep.

However, as it raised its head slowly, its dark pink eyes glowed along with the marking of a third eye plastered on its forehead.

It only served to brighten the birthmark right above the eye.

XIII

The Hyking was awake.

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