Vikas slowly blinked his eyes open on the moving boat, groaning as he sat up. He looked around and saw Rei, Nakamu, Miku, and Junie sitting in total, gloomy silence, looking down at the deck like they just lost a final boss fight.
"Ayo, chill guys, what's with the tragic anime backstory vibe?" Vikas wheezed, forcing a small grin. "Why's everyone so down? We literally made it out of that death zone! Did... did that crazy flame guy get wiped or what?"
Rei looked up, his face full of guilt. "Vikas... we're so sorry."
Right then, Aryan snapped awake, rubbing his bruised neck. He scanned the boat, realizing a massive piece of the puzzle was missing. "Wait... guys, where the hell is Ayush?"
Vikas froze, the reality hitting him as he checked every corner of the small ship. Both Vikas and Aryan lunged toward Rei and Nakamu, panic spiking in their chests.
"What happened to Ayush?!" Aryan yelled. "Where is he?! How could you guys just leave him on that cursed island alone?!"
Aryan sprinted toward the helm, grabbing the wheel to turn the boat straight back around.
"Aryan, stop! Listen to me!" Nakamu shouted, stepping in front of him.
Junie activated her skill, Rain of Calmness.
Soft, glowing pink flower petals began cascading gently from the sky. The surrounding ocean suddenly transformed into an absolute aesthetic masterclass—crimson sunset clouds, calm crystal waters, and a soft breeze floating through the air while birds glided past.
"I'm so sorry, guys..." Rei said, his voice dropping. "We couldn't save him. Ayush literally forcefully threw us onto the boat. Nakamu, Junie, and I were completely out of it. He begged Miku to pull away while he held off the boss."
Miku burst into tears, covering her face. "I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have listened to him! I shouldn't have let him stay!"
Aryan stared at the pink petals falling around them. He took a deep breath, clutching his fists tight.
"Guys... thanks for saving us and having our back," Aryan said, his tone shifting into pure, grounded logic. "Miku... do you remember the exact location of where we were?"
"Yes," Miku sobbed, wiping her eyes. "I remember everything."
"Alright," Aryan said, his eyes darkening with absolute resolve. "It hurts like hell that he sacrificed himself for us, but let's be practical right now. Sitting here crying isn't going to respawn him or bring him back. We head to the kingdom, gear up, level the hell up, and we go back to pull Ayush out of there. No matter what it takes."
Meanwhile, back on the beach...
Len stood a few paces away, crossing his fiery arm over his chest. "Honestly, what even are your powers? It's my first time seeing anything like that in my entire life. Thinking about it, you're literally the first person to—"
"Bro, what are you mumbling about?!" Ayush cupped his hands over his mouth, shouting across the shore. "I can't hear a single word! We are way too far apart! Can you speak up?!"
Len's terrifying general face instantly cracked into a hilarious, ultra-confused "Hell naah bro, is he serious?" expression.
Len took five heavy steps closer, deadpanning hard. "I said... I've never seen someone with your specific skills and summons. It's totally different from anything in this realm. Can you just explain yourself?!"
Ayush blinked, throwing his hands in his pockets. "Umm... that's a compliment, right? Thanks, bro, I appreciate the clout."
"Are you stupid?!" Len snapped, his eyebrow twitching. "I mean your origin! How do these dark summons work?!"
"Ohhh, gotcha!" Ayush grinned. "Well, I'm Ayush, I'm 16. My bro Vikas is 17, and Aryan is 16 too. We were literally just trying to explore the open world, but then you pulled up and started dropping absolute tactical nukes on us!"
Len rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. "Okay... but how did you even locate this island? Explain that."
"Right, so this total NPC boat guy dropped us off here," Ayush rambled casually. "Super suspicious guy fr, looked like an absolute scammer trying to pull a fast one on us—even though we lowkey scammed him back first—"
"Wait, wait, wait!" Len interrupted, waving his hands frantically. "I am NOT listening to all this yappuccino! Get straight to the point!"
"I AM getting to the point!" Ayush yelled back, gesturing dramatically. "A boat guy dropped us here, and you immediately came out of nowhere throwing hands! We're just local adventurers, man! You seem like a nice guy—well, okay, you look terrifying, but you could be a chill guy—"
"That is STILL useless yapping! Just shut up!" Len roared, slapping his own forehead in pure frustration. "This island doesn't work like the normal world! You can't just sail here on a casual boat ride! NO ONE knows how to get here!"
Ayush raised eyebrows. "Well... technically, that sounds like yapping too, bro."