The NeverLight sailed gently across the Imitation Sea. The sea sprawled between an enormous forest, its surface thick with mossy vines that endlessly tried to drag the ship under. Flames had to be released constantly to burn them away and keep the vessel afloat.

Actually…

When Halo was tossed from the ship, the force should've carried him to the fourth sea, Imitation Sea. Instead, he passed out, his body's defense mechanism triggered by the fear of plummeting into the lava below.

The moment he landed, the vines spreading across the water acted quickly, sending him deep into the surrounding forest to make sure he never found his way out.

The Sinners here, Camouflage Spirits, could mimic anything they'd encountered.

Trees were ideal for them, offering cover beneath the bark, control over the forest, and the ability to eventually produce a crystal that would transform them into true spirits, their final evolution.

But as Halo found himself stranded and lost on the Imitation Sea, the NeverLight crew faced their own battle.

Beneath the previous sea, the Lava Sea, an obsidian golem slumbered. Only the gods knew what could rouse it.

The last time Halo had been aboard, a pirate crew attacked them, the same one they'd fought and destroyed before. Those pirates should've been dead, but they'd survived somehow. Now they were back for revenge.

Their relentless pursuit of revenge was enough to wake the golem, a giant creature made of stone, its form roughly hewn, with lava glowing between every crack.

The golem was large enough to reach every inch of the sea, and not only did its wake send Halo plummeting into the next ocean, but it sent both the NeverLight ship and the pirate crew veering off course.

The crew's priority was staying alive. Halo's disappearance nagged at them, sure, but not enough to override their own survival instinct.

The golem was enraged, deeply disturbed because its sleep had been interrupted. Its massive stone hands lunged in all directions with devastating force. This burden fell heavily on two: Saint and Hazard.

Dark Saint's True Ability, Black Mirror, allowed her to counter every action. Mental or physical, it didn't matter. As long as there was an action, she could counter it perfectly with equal force.

But she was the Dark Saint, her ability had evolved beyond the original. Not only could she read minds, but she could also mirror actions with inverse effects. She could make a flying bird plummet as long as her ability was active, and she could even nullify actions.

Black mirrors spawned from pure darkness whenever the golem attacked—dozens of them, reflecting no images, only force. They caught each massive hand, making it seem as if the golem's hands were meeting themselves.

As a servant of Darkness, every use of her True Ability demanded a price. Physical applications drained her stamina, psychological ones taxed her mind.

With this limitation, Saint was only able to counter three attacks from the golem before she couldn't move anymore. She had no idea where her master, Halo, was, and collapsing from exhaustion wasn't an option.

Even with their ship, they stood no taller than an ant beside the golem. She could only do so much.

However, when fatigue claimed Dark Saint, Hazard stepped up. His True Ability, Fated Prey, was perfectly suited to fight the golem. But it came with challenges and a price.

Fated Prey gave Hazard the ability to mark anything or anyone he considered an animal as his prey. As the predator, he automatically gained strength in every aspect that would help him dominate his target.

But the power had a fatal flaw: if Hazard ever realized his prey's actions were justified, the ability would fail. Despair servants could only draw power from genuine, deep-seated belief.

With his Flaw being Considerate, Hazard was compelled to understand others' perspectives. Even the golem had one. From its raw, devastating fury, the truth was clear: it hated being awake. It just wanted to sleep.

Though Hazard managed a few strikes before his empathy kicked in, he couldn't fight from the ship like Saint had.

Instead, Brave launched him toward the golem's fists, where he'd meet each blow with greater force. When the impact sent him falling toward the lava, Saint used her remaining energy to pull him back aboard.

But their efforts had limits. When they finally collapsed from exhaustion, the golem was still raging, unfazed.

At this point, their ship was heading back to the second sea, the Storm Sea. They could have died, brutally and painfully.

But White, the friendliest of them all, whose True Ability allowed her to make any desire come true, hadn't fully recovered from her nightmare on the Storm Sea. Yet she gathered enough strength to make a final wish, one that cleared their presence from the golem.

They sailed gently and quietly for days until the golem went to sleep once more. The pirates? They had no idea what happened to them, but they simply hoped those bastards never came back.

Soon enough, they ended up on the second sea, and the relentless dread they'd barely escaped the last time came back. Stormy atmosphere, constant sailing, lightning, and the sheer dread of never sleeping.

But with Thor's matured mind and his mysterious True Ability, Great Ally, an ability only he and the NeverLight's leader, Jihriel, knew the true extent of, he was able to adjust the ship to sail on the correct path, bringing them back to the Lava Sea.

Halo's clones were heavily affected by his disappearance. They were alive, which meant he was alive as well. But they couldn't get to him since each sea could practically be considered a different dimension.

This quiet uneasiness forced Kysa to reveal herself to the rest of the crew, mask and all. She couldn't communicate with them as Saint could, but she let her concern be known.

The three of them, Light, Saint, and Kysa, were deeply distressed. It was as if a part of themselves was being torn away.

The crew wanted to save Halo too, after all, his absence was heavily felt. With the crystals operating the ship, they couldn't change its pace and had to painfully endure.

When they finally got to the Imitation Sea, Kysa, the only one among the three capable of knowing Halo's whereabouts at any time, acted without question, rushing in to save him when he desperately needed it.

However, this ordeal switched something within the crew, something subtle but dangerously potent. It could be deadly or a blessing.

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