"Captain! What is that?"

"Where is the island?"

"What's going on? Cap?"

Many such questions flew from the crew, ignored by Conrad like whispers in the wind. The ship moved fast towards the winged humanoid, the currents seemingly leading towards the colossal gate ahead. Rall shook the Admiral's arm. Neither actions nor words were enough to get his attention.

The eyeless visage of the giant humanoid followed the Lady Veronica as it inched closer and closer. Slowly, he opened up the pair of arms he had crossed over its chest. In the middle of its torso, Rall noticed a previously covered gemstone. It was a rhombus-shaped purple crystal, and proportions told him it was at least the size of a human. The gem suddenly shone with mystical energy.

"Intruders detected. Request to enact 'Elimination Protocol': Denied. One Candidate detected."

Its tone was emotionless, mechanical. It had no mouth, but its booming voice echoed all around the clearing. After its declaration, the enormous figure started floating down towards the sea.

Conrad took a deep breath, then looked at the flying humanoid with fire in his gaze. "Oh, Great Guardian! I have brought another candidate as our promised. I ask that you honor your side of the agreement!"

Rall and Tui exchanged concerned looks. Something told them this would not end well.

"Identifying- Truename: Conrad Alexander Delaux. Human, male, ZERO. Status: Under Contract."

"What does THAT mean, Cap?" Asked the quartermaster. Panic was spreading throughout the bridge by the minute. Every question unanswered, every strange word, every unexpected phenomenon. They all served to heighten the tension. And right now? That tension was about to explode.

"We had a deal!" Shouted Conrad, disregarding his crew once more. "Where is Veronica?"

"Truename: Veronica Fatas Philier. Mixed sylph-human, female, ONE. Admitted as Candidate 76 in the Lilian year 21541st. Result of trials: Failed. Current status: lost in the Beyond, unretrievable."

The voice of the winged guardian sounded once more. At the same time, its feet reached the water, grazing it as if standing on it.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN UNRETRIEVABLE?" Conrad screamed, horrified. However, the guardian ignored him.

The ship was now close enough that Rall could notice the slight shift of the humanoid's head. Immediately, he felt like something was scanning him, probing his body and soul. It was an uncomfortable feeling, like thousands of needles pricking him all over. His face showed discomfort, and Tui soon noticed.

"Rall? Are you ok?" She asked without hiding her concern.

"Y-Yes. I feel- I feel strange-"

"Candidate number 77. Truename: Rall F______do _u_____a ___p_r_____ ________ Lightson. Mixed human-_n___, male, FIVE. Request to admit to the trials: Approved. Number of sacrifices present: Sufficient. Candidate 77, please step forward."

At the word 'sacrifices' everyone understood the danger. There was only one person that was not scared at that point. There was no space for fear in a broken heart.

Conrad violently turned around and, in an impressive feat of strength, he grabbed Rall by the neck. It was one swift motion, at the end of which the boy found himself staring at the murky waters fifteen meters underneath. Instinctually he fought for freedom, but he knew that he would not survive the fall. Nobody had ever taught him how to swim.

"Conrad! What are you doing!" Screamed Tui as she tried to reach for Rall.

"Stop right there! Take one more step, and I let him go." The mermaid knew that he was not joking. He was a liar who had deceived them multiple times - this time, he was telling the truth.

The crew voiced their protests, but no one tried to walk closer to their Captain. Part of them still believed in his legend, that all this was part of an elaborate plan to get them through. That the luscious lands that he had promised awaited on the other side of that gate.

Conrad turned once again to the guardian, Rall still struggling in his grip. "Give back my Veronica, or I will kill your damned Candidate!"

The Admiral's hand tightened around the boy's neck. Breathing got harder, and the boy felt his consciousness starting to fade.

The crystal in the middle of the guardian's chest shone once more. A thin ray of deep purple light shot down from the crystal. Not a moment later, Rall felt himself falling. But he was not alone. Beside him was the head of the familiar Admiral, a sizzling cut on the stump of his neck.

It all happened too fast. Rall landed hard on the surface of the water. The impact sent ripples through his body. He wanted to struggle, to keep afloat for as long as possible. But the strong currents dragged him down as he tumbled violently in the water. He lost his breath, salty water entering his mouth and nose. His vision blurred to the point that he could only see white. It was his Fairylight. At least he would not die in the darkness.

Suddenly, the white light darkened, and a shadow took its place in front of his eyes. Dazzling blue hair floated around the enchanting features of a young girl. Half of Tui's body still retained her human form. The lower half had turned into the tail of a marine creature, completely covered in light blue scales that sparkled against her golden Fairylight. Tui grabbed hold of him, but he was still drowning. He kept spasming uncontrollably as his body started to shut down. Until...

...Rall felt her lips touch his. It was like a bolt of energy. Suddenly, the water he had inhaled did not burn in his lungs anymore. He opened his eyes wide at the realization. He was breathing underwater! With his mind clearing up and the immediate danger subsided, his cheeks reddened at the sight of the royal mermaid. Part of him wanted to move away and hide in embarrassment. Instead, she was holding him close, their lips sealed. A memory resurfaced in his brain, a story about an Alcian prince saved from drowning by a mermaid's kiss.

I thought it was just a children's story.

That peaceful moment ended abruptly when mysterious purple energy enveloped them both and pulled them up. Rall and Tui still hugged as they rapidly reached the surface, and then kept going. Soon, the two light mages found themselves floating in the air. They turned around and noticed that the whole crew found themselves in the same situation, the guardian's powers holding them up forcibly.

"Number of available sacrifices: 32. Sacrifice ceremony: Start. "

A bone-chilling crunching sound rose from the bodies of the crew members. One at a time, the seamen started experiencing unimaginable pain. Their bodies contorted, bones snapping and organs boiling. Rall and Tui saw in horror as the quartermaster's spine suddenly bent backward in a right angle, then even more as his body twisted in as compact a form as possible. Then, the quartermaster's skin caught fire. The rest of the crew members received the same cruel treatment. Thankfully they all seemed to die before they started burning.

Rall turned around at the sound of a familiar voice.

"Please, please, please! I have done nothing wrong!" It was Billy. The assistant to the ship's chef was crying, desperately begging to be spared as he felt his turn arriving soon.

Rall turned to the winged guardian. "I-It's me you want, no? Let him go!"

The guardian did not budge, and soon, Billy's body started painfully convulsing. However, the process for him was slightly different. Instead of receiving the final blow quickly, Billy's skin started burning as he was still alive to feel it.

The screams that followed held no trace of humanity. Billy shrieked from the pain for more than twenty seconds before his vocal cords ruptured. Even a minute later, Rall was speechless as he still felt the boy's soul holding onto life.

"How can you be so cruel!" Tui shouted to the guardian.

As if to answer her question, the purple energy yanked the mermaid's body away from Rall's. The two tried to hold on to each other, but the guardian was too powerful. Rall saw as Tui stopped five meters away, right in front of him. The boy's mind was still sharp, and his subconscious calculations gave him an answer that he could not accept. Thirty-two sacrifices. Without Tui, there were only thirty-one burning bodies in the air.

"NO!" He screamed in realization. "DON'T YOU DARE!"

Once again, his protests were not acknowledged.

Tui realized the situation as well. She thought of her little sister, still imprisoned in Motu Rere by the King of Skys. She had promised to save her, but destiny had been vile to her since her birth. Why would it be any different now?

Her expression flinched as the pain started to hit her. A tear streaked down her face, but she opened her eyes wide. She saw the way Rall looked at her, and she gave him the best smile she could. "Don't worry," she whispered.

Rall could not take it. His white Fairylight trembled violently, and his face morphed in anger. "From the Kingdom of the Divine, the light of the Goddess shall fall on my enemies. SMITE!"

Even with the help of Tui, Rall had already almost depleted his magic energy just to maintain a ship-sized Lighthouse for three days. Thus, the offensive spell originating from his Fairylight was not one-tenth as powerful as the one he had unleashed at the Broken Vessel against the inquisitors.

However, he did not care. The white ray whistled through the air towards the guardian. The giant humanoid did not even move, as a small barrier of crackling purple energy materialized in the Smite's path and simply canceled it.

Rall witnessed with sunken eyes as the guardian squashed his last attempt so effortlessly.

"Please..." he started begging. Five meters away, Tui was now screaming in agony. "Please let her go. At least her! I will do whatever you want. Please!"

"Do you mean it?" It was a raspy female voice, old like time itself but still containing traces of an alluring power within. It came directly from his mind, with no clear origin in sight.

Rall did not know who had responded. Was he becoming crazy? It doesn't matter. I have nothing more to lose. Crazy might just be what I need!

"Yes, I mean it," he pronounced confidently. "Please help her."

"Very well."

At first, nothing happened. Tui still cried from the torturous powers around her, the pitch of her screams increasing second after second. Half her body was still the scaly mermaid tail, the original form she hid when she walked on land. She started twisting unnaturally, the force bending her into a ball as it had done with the others. Then she would burn, and that would be the end of her suffering.

Suddenly, the mermaid's wails stopped. For a moment, Rall feared that she had died. However, she soon returned to a more natural position. She was panting, and she was just as equally confused and relieved as he was.

"Received request from Empress Lilith: Approved. Starting bonding procedure."

Tui's body shook, and her painful wails resumed. Rall saw in horror as her extremities slowly turned into golden dust.

"NO! What are you doing! I asked you to save her!"

"It's the only way," answered the voice cryptically. With his energy exhausted, Rall was powerless to stop Tui's decay. Slowly, her arms and tail vanished, her torso would be next.

She cried in pain, crimson blood gushing down from her bitten lips as she tried to suffocate the sounds of her suffering. Now only her chest and head remained. Rall wanted to say sorry, but then he recalled her words.

'...And do not try to apologize ever again. My father used to say that if you still have breath to waste in the word 'sorry', you also have enough to do better...'

She would not want an apology. Now only her head remained, then just her eyes. Then nothing more. Finally, her Fairylight disappeared. The golden dust lingered in the air, condensing into a small ball. It floated lazily for a while, then it shot towards Rall's white Fairylight. The boy felt like a needle piercing through his brain, slowly moving through his head from side to side.

"Bonding takes time. You will understand soon," said the mysterious voice in his Rall's head.

There was a pause, just long enough for the pain to stop. He did not understand what was happening. Was Tui gone? He looked at his Fairylight. Where before was only white, now there was a mysterious turquoise hue.

The ancient female voice sounded one last time.

"The sacrifices were adequate. The gate will soon be open. Candidate 77, I have high hopes for you. May your live through your trials..."

As she said that, thirty-one floating burning bodies vanished one at a time, like snuffed candles. At the same time, the purple energy of the guardian started dragging Rall towards the colossal silver gate. Then the world shook. There was a low humming noise, so powerful that the surface of the water rippled in rhythm. Rall covered his ears, but he could feel the pulsing noise travel through his bones. The winged guardian turned towards the gate and fell on its knees with its head lowered in deference.

The incisions on the gate started moving, like the stories they depicted were coming to life. A supernatural wind rose, strong enough to make the Fog twirl around the clearing. The silver metal shone a dazzling white. Rall bathed in the light, unable to keep his eyes open as he floated through the gate.

When the humming sound stopped, so did the ripples on the water, the wind, and the dazzling radiance. Only the guardian remained in the clearing as it emotionlessly returned to its original spot. Not a trace remained of the Lady Veronica and its crew, its Captain, and the two young light mages.