Heavy rain poured onto the wooden decks of the fleet as the storm crept steadily closer.
The First Ones' ships finally set sail, abandoning the Lunar Isles behind them.
Gasps rippled across the connected vessels. Cadets whispered in shock, disbelief, and pure horror as the news spread. Blood dripped steadily from Jerry's boots, the crimson trails quickly dissolving beneath the relentless waters.
He stepped onto the hull of one of the ships, dropping Kaiser's limp body into the arms of a stunned lieutenant.
Lieutenant: "C-Captain? What—?"
Jerry: "Where is she? I need to speak with her. Right now."
⸻
On the rain-soaked stern of the flagship, a shadowy feminine figure lay stretched across the planks.
A pair of knights approached the lady cautiously, clearing their throats to gain her attention.
Knight: "Dictator Hera! The First Captain has returned to the ship!"
Hera Xyles. She was the eldest daughter of the High Prosecutor and one of the First Ones' Seven Elective Dictators.
Hera had chosen to accompany Jerry on this expedition of her own accord. This wasn't her first time doing this.
Dark-brown curls clung to the wet wood beneath her head as she slowly opened her eyes, revealing cherry-red irises that reflected the storm-dark sky above.
She was drenched
The rain had soaked her completely. She let out a soft sigh before pushing herself upright.
With calm precision, she adjusted the brim of her black peaked hat, allowing its shadow to fall across her face.
Her bright blue cloak whipped violently in the chilling breeze, its edges lined with pristine white feathers. The dark fabric of her uniform clung to her curves. Her black armored breastplate heaved with her every breath.
She finally decided to grace the knights with her lazy expression.
Hera: "What took him so long? Is Kaiser back as well? I cannot tolerate Windfield's insufferable presence without a witness."
She lifted one arm above her head as she leaned back again. Her left hand was not flesh. It was made entirely of clear, polished glass.
Fragments of the shattered rainbow still lingering in the sky reflected through the sharp angles of the prosthetic. Brilliant colors shimmered inside the transparent limb, scattering light in every direction.
Then the colors faded. The reflection collapsed into pale, glittering shards of white.
Knight: "Kaiser has been critically injured! He returned in the First Captain's arms—covered in blood! His eyes were lifeless!"
Hera froze.
In an instant, she shot upright and turned toward the knights, her expression suddenly hard as iron.
Hera: "What did you say? What happened?"
After several tense minutes, Jerry finally stepped onto the stern of the flagship. Hera stood there, leaning against the railing with a cold, deathly expression.
Her eyes scanned over Jerry like a hawk.
He was marinated in flesh and blood—none of it his own, of course. His once vibrant blue eyes had grown much paler… almost desaturated.
Jerry raised a hand, signaling for the surrounding knights and cadets to leave them alone.
They were gone in seconds.
Hera: "Where is he?"
Jerry: "In the infirmary. On the brink of death."
Hera's heart shattered as the words echoed beneath the rain.
Hera: "What!? No…
What did you do? What the hell did you do!?"
Jerry looked up toward the sky before slowly returning his gaze to Hera, carefully considering how he could even begin to answer.
Droplets pattered against Hera's glinting shoulder plates as her eyes narrowed. She took a demanding step forward, her voice sharpened.
Hera: "Answer the question, Windfield. Tell me—how did your search for some 'trinket' lead to this disaster!?"
She had suspected the lie from the beginning. From the very first minutes of the expedition, when Jerry claimed they were merely retrieving old treasures he had left behind.
What a pathetic ruse.
Jerry drew in a long breath, forcing every fragment of air into his tortured lungs. Then he looked directly at her with those eyes of his—once starlit, now frozen with pain.
Jerry: "I have been condemned by the Titan of Banishment for attempting to release the Defiled Ones upon the Hell Raisers.
Now I must anger every one of the Five Titans within two months.
If I fail… our kingdom will burn."
For a moment, the rain itself seemed to pause. Hera's voice broke before it could even form.
Silence swallowed her whole.
It felt as if her mind had been ripped apart… as if something inside her chest had twisted until it snapped.
She trembled violently. Jerry's eyes narrowed as he studied her reaction.
Jerry: "It's simple as that. I thought a lie would fare better in this conversation… if it were anyone but you."
Hera reeled her head back, staring into the stormy heavens above. Tears. Thin tears slid down her cheeks. She made no sound. She simply cried.
Then a small, chilling giggle escaped her lips.
Then another. And another.
Hera:
"Eheh… heheheheh… HAH! Oh gods!"
Her laughter blared across the entire fleet.
The disturbing sound echoed through the rows of naval ships like a thunderclap. Lieutenants, cadets, even hardened generals stood frozen, shivering at the manic laughter.
Hera clutched her chest as she howled even harder, tears gushing from her eyes like rivers. Her scarlet pupils beamed with absolute insanity.
Jerry stumbled back slightly, surprised but undeterred. More soldiers began gathering around them.
Without warning, Hera lunged forward! She slammed her fist straight into Jerry's face, rocking his jaw!
The impact snapped his head sideways and sent him crashing onto the deck with a bone-cracking thud.
She roared with fury, ripping her silver longsword from its sheath and swinging it straight for his skull.
Jerry's eyes widened. In a flash, he drew his dagger and barely caught the blade before it split his head open.
Hera: "YOU FOOLISH BASTARD!"
A terrified voice rang out from the crowd of knights.
Lieutenant: "Dictator Hera! Please—stop this madness!"
Jerry grunted as he forced Hera off of him, shoving her away with enough strength to send her stumbling hard into the railing. He wiped the blood from his lips and slowly pushed himself upright, a deep frown carving its way across his face.
He barely had time to breathe before Hera lunged again.
Her hand shot forward and clamped brutally over his mouth. With her other hand, she threw her sword out into the raging sea without even glancing at it. The blade vanished into the storming waves, sinking into the deep waters.
She slammed her foot into Jerry's stomach.
The impact folded him instantly. He crashed back onto the deck, air ripping from his lungs as Hera followed him down, throwing her full weight over his body and pinning him against the wood.
Her hands wrapped around his throat, nails digging savagely into his skin as rage poured out of her like a wildfire finally unleashed.
Hera: "A monster! That's what you are—a monster at its finest! You have no heart for anyone around you! No soul for anything except yourself!"
Jerry's hands came up, prying at her wrists, preparing to tear her off of him—but he froze.
Warm drops struck his face. The tears. He had never witnessed Hera like this before. So devastated. So very broken.
Her pupils were wide and unfocused, completely drowned in grief as tears spilled endlessly down her face.
Hera: "You liar! You fucking LIAR! We're all going to die because of you! Every one of us!"
Her fists began to fall. Hit after hit. Blow after blow.
A puddle of blood slowly began to form beneath Jerry's head as the strikes continued to rain down on him.
Yet he did not fight back. He simply stared at her… pale and silent.
Hera: "WHY?! Why must we drown in the misery you drag around with you everywhere you go?!"
Her voice cracked.
Hera: "For the love of all living things—LET IT GO ALREADY!"
With a broken cry, Hera hurled her arms high into the air before bringing them crashing down one final time. Her bloody knuckles slammed into Jerry's skull with a dull, brutal thud.
By then, several generals had finally reached the scene. They rushed forward, grabbing Hera and pulling her away from Jerry's battered body.
She shoved them off with a cold, animalistic growl that forced them to step back immediately.
Slowly, Jerry sat up.
A few cadets rushed toward him, trying to help him stand, but he waved them away without a word. His gaze lifted slowly toward Hera, who loomed above him like a thundercloud, her face twisted with pure contempt.
Hera: "I loathe you, Windfield."
Her voice dripped with venom.
Hera: "I loathe you."
With that, she turned and walked past him, disappearing into the womb of the ship and toward the infirmary.
Every step she took was stiff and rigid, driven entirely by raw emotion.
Jerry rose slowly to his feet. He brushed the rain and blood from his torn cloak, his face unreadable. After a moment, he reached back and lifted his Horcriax, fastening it once more along his spine with a quiet exhale.
Without another word, he pushed his way through the crowd of silent onlookers, avoiding their eyes as he passed.
Eventually, he reached his private quarters. He shut the door behind him with a soft click. He then extinguished the harsh lantern lights, allowing darkness to swallow the room whole.
Jerry stepped into the center of the chamber. And he simply stood there.
One hour passed.
Then two.
Then three.
For over three hours, Jerry remained perfectly still—standing tall in the dark as he breathed, listened, and thought.
Finally, his voice broke the silence.
Jerry: "Let it go…?"
He scoffed bitterly.
Jerry: "Let it go. Just let it go already… tsk!"
Suddenly he spun and drove his bare fist straight into his bed. The frame exploded apart in a violent burst of splintering wood, white sheets ripping in half as the entire structure collapsed.
Jerry erupted into motion.
Like a rabid animal he tore through the room, smashing tables, ripping drawers from their hinges, shattering mirrors, and destroying anything within reach.
His vision blurred and his mind burned with images.
The Ageless Brain.
The punishment.
And those cursed nightmares.
A scream tore from his throat—so loud that the walls themselves trembled beneath it.
Jerry: "DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT ALL!"
He collapsed to his knees, clawing viciously at his own skin as rage flooded through him like poison.
Then he stopped.
Something caught his eye. A faint glimmer.
Fragmented glass slid across the floor as he leaned forward. The broken shards pressed into his palms, but he barely noticed.
His focus was locked on the object lying among the wreckage.
Jerry slowly drew slim strands of lunar energy from the Horcriax along his back, weaving them carefully between his fingers. With a soft snap, one strand ignited into a faint blue flame.
He lowered the glowing light toward the floor.
His body trembled. His breath hitched.
The object was small. A framed portrait of silver and aged wood.
It showed two figures.
Him. And—
His breath caught in his throat. A single hiccup was made.
Jerry: "K… Korosa…"