The whale closed its mouth after swallowing a large portion of the water. Arthur wondered if it was eating this way, as the sea was also made of spiritual energy. His chains dug into the ground the more powerful they were sucked into the whale.

As the whale was about to close its mouth, Arthur noticed a figure swimming away from it. He squinted his eyes and could make out that figure had a giant tale and the upper body of a human. It was a spirit.

Before the whale could eat the swimming spirit, Arthur sent his chains toward it. The spirit flinched when the chain passed and wrapped around it. Arthur pulled the spirit away from the whale, which closed its mouth at last.

The currents generated when the whale swam away from them threatened to send them away. Arthur was sure that if this giant spirit brushed past an ordinary seeker, they would be obliterated by the impact.

He moved the woman and the spirit away from the whale lest they get hurt. When the whale was finally a distance away, Arthur released both of them after bringing the spirit close enough for him to see.

"A demi?" Arthur muttered with surprise as he looked at the spirit in front of him. It had a giant tale for its lower body, but it had a human torso. However, its big and blue eyes were bottomless blue.

"Reswan af nera," With its wavering hair and feminine voice, the spirit spoke of a language that Arthur didn't know. When it sensed Arthur's confusion, it swam closer and touched his arm.

Arthur felt knowledge seep into his mind, and he learned a new language with its vast vocabulary and grammar. The spirit looked grateful as it repeated its words, but this time they made sense to Arthur.

"Thank you for helping me," The spirit said before looking at Arthur up and down, not knowing how to address him. "... golden sun." It seemed to be a fitting name for Arthur's appearance.

"No need for thanks," Arthur waved his hand as he replied in the language he just learned. "What you did right now was...?"

"A special gift from the sea spirits, Language of the Sea." It said with a grin of sharp white teeth. "A small token of appreciation for the help." It said with a sweet voice and a sweeter expression, giving Arthur the uneasy feeling that he was under some sort of charismatic hypnosis.

"Ugh,"

The woman groaned, and it was brought to Arthur's attention that she couldn't stay underwater for long. He sighed and began swimming upward, carrying her above the surface. His chain impaled her raft, which had drifted away because of the whale, and brought it close.

Using his other chain, Arthur threw the woman on her raft and allowed her to recover. The spirit followed them above the surface as Arthur climbed into the raft to sit down.

"Is she your friend?" The spirit asked, looking touched by the scene.

"Nah, I just found her in the sea," Arthur replied with a shake of his head. "Tell me, do you know of a spirit called the bookkeeper?"

"I certainly do," The spirit nodded. "What do you need it for?"

"I want to find someone," Arthur brimmed with expectations. "Can you take me to the bookkeeper?"

"I'm sorry, but it's a wandering spirit. However, I'm sure that Her Majesty knows of its recent location since the bookkeeper is a friend of hers."

"Her Majesty?" Arthur seemed confused.

"The Deity of Seas!"

The woman said with a gasp and a hoarse voice. Arthur was spooked by its jump and almost slapped her off the boat.

"Indeed," The spirit looked at the woman weirdly. "His Majesty rules over the waves and currents, the Deity of Seas himself. If you wish, I can take you to the palace to repay the debt of saving me."

'No pun intended, but this smells fishy,' Arthur thought to himself. The spirit was too helpful, even allowing him to meet the queen it served just for saving it. 'Maybe I have grown too cynical?'

"Yes, please!" The woman almost jumped off the raft, but the spirit looked at it with displeasure.

"I was talking to golden sun," The spirit's feminine and usually sweet voice turned cold as it scowled.

"Ah," The woman seemed to realize that she was disrespectful and even trying to snatch Arthur's credit. She looked at him without a face, but he could tell she had puppy eyes at the moment.

"You can come along," Arthur shrugged. He didn't want to contract any of these spirits, but he needed to find the bookkeeper to find Gala's location. The woman almost kowtowed to him before the spirit began to lead the way.

***

An underwater palace.

Arthur looked at the grand entrance in front of him. He thought it would be a mountain beneath the water shaped like a palace, but it was made of crystal.

He turned to look at the seabed, and he found many spirits coming and getting out of the palace. They had different shapes and didn't exactly look like the spirit guiding them. There were shrimps, crabs, sea turtles, dolphins, etc.

"Does the palace belong to all aquatic spirits?"

"It solely belongs to the Deity of Seas, but it's a good place to meet seeker who wants to contract a spirit." The spirit explained. Arthur had asked for its name, but it told him that it didn't have one. "There ocean of the Skyey world is a gigantic place, after all."

"I see," Arthur nodded. "Do I need to pay the price to learn of the bookkeeper's location?"

"It depends on whether the Deity of Seas like you or not," The spirit snickered. Arthur nodded as he glanced at the woman beside him.

After she had recovered, she followed them underwater. It seems that as long as they didn't meet powerful currents, she could withstand staying underwater.

Arthur didn't know who she was or what she wanted other than her overzealous behavior about aquatic spirits. She almost fainted when they saw the underwater palace.

They walked through the gate, and Arthur got to see different seekers. Some were fading after contracting a spirit, while others were still looking for their fated ones.

"I reached the underwater palace, haha..." The woman laughed absent-mindedly. "I can finally rule over the seas!"

"Let's not get too excited." Arthur almost laughed. "You need to contract a spirit first."

"Right, right!" The woman nodded thoughtfully. "I need to convince the Deity of Seas to contract me!"

"You finally believed that I wasn't the deity?" Arthur said with amusement. "Why do you want to contract the deity of spirits that badly?" He was curious since the woman spoke Alvan Language.

"I want to be the greatest pirate!" The woman said with pride, but the snickers of the spirit guiding them through the palace made her shrink like a deflated balloon.

"Do you think that she can't do it?" Arthur was surprised. He was surprised about the woman's identity being a pirate, but he was confused as to why the spirit laughed.

"I mean no offense," The spirit hurried to explain as if fearing her actions displeased Arthur. "However, everyone who comes here is either sailors, captains, or pirates. They all seek to rule over the sea, but her affinity to water in comparison is..."

"Oh," Arthur turned toward the woman. "Is that true?"

"It is," The woman seemed downcast, and she clenched her hand into a fist. "However, a pirate doesn't need anything other than their skills to navigate treacherous paths!"

Arthur paused and nodded in understanding. He didn't understand a lot about navigating a ship or even sailing, but he encourages people's refusal of the cards that life dealt them.

They walked deeper into the palace until they reached a giant field. There were countless spirits inside meeting seekers from all over the sea. However, they all turned toward Arthur the moment he walked in.

His overflowing golden energy seemed to captivate the hearts of the present spirit. As if they have rehearsed it, the spirits began swimming toward Arthur simultaneously like a fleet.

"What is going on?" The woman beside him yapped with surprise as she took a step back.

The seekers were all shocked by the events, and Arthur was included. He knew that his energy was desirable by the spirits, but he didn't think that such a scene would occur.

He realized that it was the first time that he met more than one spirit simultaneously. Before the matter could get out of hand, a voice sang from within the deeper parts of the palace that made the spirits stop gathering around him.

The voice was melodic, and Arthur felt the familiar presence that allowed him to walk on water. The singing didn't convey a specific meaning, but Arthur could tell that it was an invitation to him and a warning to the other spirits to stay back.