The ship groaned as it bent back and forth with the tides.

Ryn barely caught his footing as another tentacle tightened, wood cracking under the pressure. Water surged across the deck, dragging loose debris and bodies alike toward the widening breach.

Their objective wasn't to win…it was to survive.

"Listen to me!" Ryn shouted, forcing his voice above the chaos. "We don't kill it—we drive it off!"

Hadrik snapped his head toward him. "With what?"

Ryn looked around until he finally found it. The cannons mounted along the side of the ship, dwarven-built artillery meant to deter mostly other pirate ships.

But in this situation?

It was perfect.

The remaining artillery was swung into position, iron barrels creaking as sailors shoved and braced. A cannonball was rammed into the chamber, fuses sparked, and—

"Fire!"

The shot thundered across the deck and slammed into the Kraken's tentacle.

It bounced.

The iron ball struck its rubbery flesh and ricocheted into the sea with a dull splash.

The Kraken didn't even react.

Silence followed, followed by collective gasping from everyone on board.

"…That's it?" someone whispered.

Ryn's mind raced.

Of course.

Raw force wasn't enough. Not against something this large, and importantly—magical.

Understanding hit all at once.

"Essence," he said. "The shots need to be infused with Essence."

Jay's eyes widened. "You mean—"

"Yes," Ryn replied. "All of it."

Another tentacle slammed down, shattering part of the deck as the ship lurched violently.

"Load again!" Hadrik shouted. "Hurry!"

Amelia moved first.

Flames curled around her arm as she pressed her palm against the next cannonball, heat sinking into the metal until it glowed faintly.

Fritz followed, jaw clenched as he poured power into another, wind swirled around as it was loaded into the next cannon.

Ryn grabbed the last shot and fed Cold Essence into it, frost crawling across the iron as the air cracked sharply.

"Fire!"

The second shot roared, infused with Amelia's firepower.

This time, the cannonball roared across the air and slammed straight into the Kraken's gigantic head.

It tore into the creature's flesh and detonated in a spray of corrupted black ichor. The beast shrieked, its tentacle spasming as its grip loosened on the boat.

"It worked!" someone shouted. "Keep going!"

The next shot came, infused with Fritz's wind that accelerated the ball hard. It flashed across the sky in a blur and went straight through.

A chunk of the Kraken's limbs was torn free, forcing it to recoil.

But the pain didn't make it retreat, it made it thrash.

Tentacles whipped across the deck with renewed fury. One smashed through a cannon, ripping it free along with the sailors manning it. Another crushed the railing, bodies disappearing into the sea.

"Hold it together!" Hadrik screamed. "Reload!"

The hull cracked again.

This time, it didn't stop.

Water rushed in faster now, the ship listing hard as the deck dipped beneath their feet.

"Taylor—!" someone screamed beside Ryn.

The planks gave way.

She lost her footing as the deck collapsed inward, vanishing below the break—

"AHHHHH!"

Her scream was cut short as she was dragged down with the sinking ship.

He lunged forward, boots skidding on the tilting deck as water surged past his ankles.

But stopped.

Fritz was already moving.

He didn't hesitate. Didn't look back. One moment he was there, the next he was sprinting across the collapsing deck and diving headfirst into the churning water where Taylor had vanished.

Ryn froze for half a heartbeat.

Then he clenched his jaw.

Right, I have my own part.

Ryn snapped around, voice cutting through the chaos.

"Jay! Get the wounded clear—now!" he barked. "Amelia, cover the breach! Buy us some more time!"

Amelia turned instantly, flames flaring as she redirected them toward the rushing water, steam erupting as heat met sea.

Jay nodded once and moved, dragging a sailor out of the flood as the deck tilted further.

"Hadrik!" Ryn shouted. "How long before we go under?"

The captain didn't sugarcoat it.

"Seconds!"

Ryn's eyes flicked across the deck, forcing his mind to focus as the ship groaned around them.

"Alright," he said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Abandon ship protocol—now! Anyone who can swim, over the side. Anyone who can't, grab something that floats!"

Another violent jolt shook the vessel.

Ryn nearly lost his footing as a section of railing tore free and vanished into the churning sea. Water surged up past his calves now, cold and heavy, pulling at everything not nailed down.

And that was when he saw it.

One cannon remained.

It sat farther down the deck, half-buried beneath fallen rigging and shattered planks, its barrel angled uselessly skyward. The crew that had been manning it was gone—either dragged away or forced overboard.

But the cannon itself was still intact, and it was the one loaded with Ryn's Cold Essence.

Ryn's breath hitched.

Shit…now or never, I guess.

Another tentacle slammed down, the impact sending a shockwave through the deck. A mast cracked overhead, snapping loose as ropes fell and blocks came crashing down.

Ryn took haste, Aquila flaring under his feet.

The ship shook violently beneath him as he sprinted across the collapsing deck.

Paths of light lit up in his vision. He dodged as a length of rigging came right past his head in that exact same trajectory. Rolling to the side, he barely dodged just as a crate broke free and slammed down where he'd been standing a second earlier.

The deck tilted violently.

Ryn barely caught himself on the edge of a fractured beam, fingers digging in as freezing water surged up around his chest. He hauled himself forward with a grunt, teeth clenched as the ship groaned beneath.

He finally made it to the cannon, but the deck dropped sharply, turning into a broken slope.

Ryn twisted mid-slide, boots scraping uselessly for traction as he slammed into the cannon's side. Pain flared through his shoulder, but he wrapped both arms around the barrel and forced it into position.

Ryn gritted his teeth as he clung on for dear life.

Now or never.

The trajectory was off, but Ryn knew what to do.

Ryn sucked in a breath.

He didn't try to steady himself.

He let the slide do the work.

"Come on… come on…" he hissed.

[Limited Foresight]

His eyes went blank as the stars emerged once more.

He saw the angle, the path of light that was needed to hit the shot.

Ryn struck the wick with the match.

Fssss—

The wick caught.

A thin line of fire crawled forward, hissing softly as Ryn slid with it.

Fsss—fsss—

The deck pitched again, dropping him lower as the ship split apart, the cannon grinding forward in tandem, iron screaming against splintered planks.

Fssss—

Ryn's boots lost what little purchase they had left. He let himself fall, body aligning with the angle he'd seen.

The origin point, the moment…and the only way they're getting out of this alive.

The wick vanished into the barrel, before—

BANG!

The cannonball streaked through the air.

It tore through mist and rain in a streak of blue-white light, the cold around it so sharp that the air itself crystallized.

The shot slammed into the Kraken's core with a deafening crack, ice erupting outward in jagged shards as Cold Essence detonated on impact. Black ichor burst from the creature's wound, spilling into the sea until it almost looked like an ink cloud.

The Kraken convulsed.

Its massive body seized, tentacles stiffening as the creature let out a ruptured shriek.

Ryn covered his ears with his hands, letting go of the cannon.

The grip around the ship loosened, then broke instantly, as the beast reeled backwards and sank back into the water, its colossal form vanishing into the vast sea.

For one brief moment—

Ryn allowed a small exhale of relief.

Then the ship gave up.

A sharp, final crack split the hull from end to end. The deck folded inward as the vessel's spine snapped, water surging up in a violent rush.

Ryn felt the world drop out from under him.

Cold water swallowed his body from head to toe.

Bodies, wreckage, and broken planks were dragged down together as the remains of the ship went down with him.

Ryn barely managed to move his feet, kicking as hard as possible until he finally emerged on the surface.

Ryn sucked in another breath, forcing himself to steady as debris drifted around him.

Then he saw it.

A flash of red, clear against the dark water.

His heart burned.

"No—"

He swam toward it without thinking, arms beating through the waves as dread tightened in his chest.

The closer he got, the clearer it became—red hair fanned out across the surface, unmoving.

Amelia.

She floated face-up in the water, eyes closed, body limp.

And around her, the sea was stained red.

Ryn reached her just as a wave rolled over her face, grabbing her instinctively and pulling her close.

"…No—no…no…." he breathed.

She didn't respond.

The water rocked them gently, and Ryn couldn't breathe.

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