The next day after the massacre that occurred in the Royal castle and, especially, the death of the Emperor and the fall of the Fallen God Clan, which only had a few remaining members outside of the kingdom, Ramel city became more restless and the number of crimes significantly increased, even with the interference of the soldiers, who no longer had a ruler to serve or a command to follow.

Only after making sure that Edward Ortberg properly ate and had a good night's sleep did Arthur instruct the mortal to sit down for a serious chat. The man had a very nonchalant attitude and he wasn't even scared of the Empress, who definitely had an unfavorable impression of him.

Arthur remembered that the man briefly spoke about a prophecy, which means that, at some point in time, he must've met Claud Venice, the man living inside the ARK, also known as the Prophecy Holder.

The Prophecies foreseen by the dead scientist tend to always be true and precise to every said letter. Moreover, the serial-killer was even helped by the Frog of Destiny, a mystical being that is seen once every tens of thousands of years, if not more.

"It's really funny, you see…" Edward stretched his sore over-rested arms while speaking.

"You didn't strike me as a talkative man when we met at the prison. I also never thought you're some sort of fantasy shapeshifter."

Arthur didn't correct the man and, instead, asked with a deadpan face.

"You said that you found the piece of paper somewhere in the forest close to the prison. How did you escape in the first place?"

"I didn't intentionally escape, per se." Edward widely grinned at the parasite and continued,

"A woman came in and broke me out. Yes yes, you'll want to see how she looks like… let me try to remember."

He tapped his index on his forehead while crossing his legs, appearing quite relaxed, to say the least.

"She had long silver hair but that was all. The rest of her body was covered in some mecha-like black armor with all many numbers."

"Silver hair? Are you sure?"

"Yes, I've never seen a hair like that so the sight of it was very memorable."

Arthur maintained an inordinate amount of time pondering about what was said in silence.

'Could it be Lucy? No, she's with the original body. Then… is it Angelina? The ARK was automatically transferred to her in the war.'

Arthur could remember some of Zodiak's memories but only vaguely as they were not his own. In fact, in the past, Zodiak did travel to a Claud's planet and there was a woman who had an identical appearance to Lucy.

'She was named Angel. Then is she her reincarnation? But she's not the type of person go out of her way to jailbreak a serial-killer.

While Arthur was in deep-thought, Edward cut him off by saying.

"I'm important, right? I do realize I'm not as strong as you and your 'associates', however, there must be a reason for my arrival to this magical kingdom. Maybe you'll be in need of my

intellect? I can do many things, you know."

"We'll see about that. You'll be coming with me for the time being."

"Sure, it's not like I can venture on my own."

Edward spread his hands as if he was stating the obvious.

…

As he was done with possessing Karima's body and the situation in the capital was going out of control, Arthur and the rest left on board of the Silver Spirit Boat, heading North.

Zaarae didn't ask anything about Edward and just chatted with the lively Shen Shen. Fariya was absent-minded as she stood at the edge of the speeding boat.

"'Sup'."

Edward greeted the quiet Esco, who reciprocrated with a bow as he thought the mortal was one of Arthur's real companions and not someone that had to be brought along due to the confusing circumstances.

"You one of them too?"

.

Edward saw how Esco acted around Arthur, he seemed to be an outcast and rarely got close or even talked so he got a bit curious, as is his wont.

"Wait! Don't answer… let me guess."

The mortal looked at the muscular red-haired Esco up and down a few times before spouting

"You're a prisoner too!"

In response, Esco frowned but neither confirmed nor denied the statement.

"You have to be. From what I've seen or gathered, Arthur purposely infiltrated the prison."

Edward pointed at the sexy succubus.

"She was one of the chief guards but ended up 'leaving."

Then he switched to Shen Shen and Zaarae.

"That woman called the Empress, although she does not have a good attitude, her status is the highest out of all of us. I also think she was one of the prisoners held in the 13floor. Those twin youngsters are recent prisoners who are devoted followers of Arthur so he must've come to break them out. As for that little girl called Shen Shen, I honestly have no idea. What do you think? Did I get it right?"

The man had astonishing observational skills and amazingly on-point theories. It's surprising to see him reveal the truth with just a couple of interactions.

"Anyway, what's up with your outfit?"

The mortal knitted his brow as he gazed at Esco's clothes. The ex-prisoner wore a blue leather shirt, black and tight pants and jacket-like cloth which was slightly oversized.

"They are my original clothes."

Hearing this, Edward nodded his head while repeatedly muttering 'I see'. Not long after that, Esco excused himself to his room, saying that he needs to recuperate for some time.

Of course, neither Arthur nor any of the rest bothered with him as he was only an informant, no more, no less.

...

"What are you going to do?"

Late at night, Zaarae sat next to Arthur and wanted to lean her head on his shoulder but he swiftly distanced himself and threw a cold glance at her. After a bit of time, she asked him while gazing at the starless sky.

"No idea. I need to reach the Garden of Words but the prophecy cannot be neglected. Trying to ignore it will only lead to much worse problems.

"Not all prophecies come true, Arthur."

The man shook his head in denial while retorting.

"No, you don't understand. 'His' prophecies are always true, to the very last letter. Edward was sent here but I don't know what his role is in this. "

"That may be true but that doesn't mean the prophecy will happen tonight or tomorrow."

"Then what about the timing? Why did Edward appear now of all times? From what I've experienced in the past, the first part will occur in the near future, at the very least."

As she listened to him, The Empress thought back to that dangerous pit filled with creepy faces and the moving mud-mixed sand."

***

The next day at sunrise, the Silver Spirit Boat came to an abrupt halt as the desert below them started acting strangely. The golden and shiny sand quite literally rose in the air in a very slow manner.

"It's happening."

Arthur emotionlessly spoke as he gazed at the golden grains of sand surrounding the Spirit Boat, blocking their view of the surroundings.

This, however, was but the beginning as the sand became violent and big, solid cubic blocks bumped into the silver floating boat, clearly acting hostile.

Zaarae stood next to Shen Shen and held her hand, a translucent purple layer protected both the Empress and the blue-haired girl.

The succubus was next to Arthur, enjoying his protection without doing anything. A Dark Barrier was more than enough to resist the sand cubic blocks but the more time passed, the faster and bigger they became.

"This seems to be out of an old fiction book, wow!"

Edward loudly laughed as he stood behind Midolf and Radolf, his eyes shining as he witnessed this 'spectacle.'

Ten minutes crept by and the unceasingly violent sand dispersed the clouds and covered the blinding canopy with its golden radiance.

The sun's eternal illumination was replaced by a magnificent sea of sand, which some may interpret it as a sign from the God while others will consider it a bad omen.

Arthur cast his eyes below only to see something that made him gasp. He wasn't the only one shocked as the rest of the crew stared at a ginormous hand.

One of the fingers was hundreds of meters thick and kilometers long, though the skin looked decayed to the point that even the bones could be seen protruding out of the yellow-ish dead layer.

"I-is that a hand?"

Shen Shen was terribly shocked as chills run down her spine. She clutched the Empress' hand while taking a step back. Even someone with a purified soul like hers couldn't handle the aura emanating from below, more specifically, that hand.

"Is that God's hand?" questioned Edward as he peeked through the edge while putting a hand on Radolf's shoulder as to not fall.

"Depends on which damned God you're talking about." retorted Midolf, appearing as distressed as his twin companion.

"I understand why they always said Karima protects only the land of Golden Sand and not the clan." Radolf sighed as he glanced at the thick layer of sand domination the sky above them.

"Philos is buried here."

"No he's fucking not! Can't you see?! He IS the desert! Question is, what the fuck is happening?"

…

Zaarae looked at the massive hand then thought for a moment before casting her sight.

"It's not about what's happening… but why?"

Even a knowledgeable person like her wasn't unable to comprehend the reason behind this extraordinary yet dangerous occurrence.

"Prepare for impact!"

Arthur shouted out loud as he raised his hands, which emitted a mass of total darkness that transformed into a jet black cube that enveloped that whole silver Spirit Boat.

His reaction was, fortunately, just in time as the golden sound came crashing from above, aiming only at Arthur's boat, for some reason.

The passengers, a bit prepared, held into something as the ship intensely shook and the black cube, which was meant to entrap enemies, managed to hold on for a few breaths before shattering like broken glass.

"Huh? It's aiming for us?"

Edward, visibly confused but not at all afraid, looked at the moving and clustered sand, which changed into a hand no smaller than the one down below. Hundreds of thoughts rampaged inside the mortal's mind. He didn't know much about this magical world but nothing happens like that and even if it was because Arthur possessed Karima's body, the retaliation is not only late but exaggerated.

This time, Arthur and Zaarae acted at the same time. The Empress, still standing next to Shen Shen, pointed her finger at the incoming large hand and shot a violet light.

The light became a rapidly-moving greatsword which hit the hand's palm, stopping it and disintegrating it into nothingness. As for the parasite, he transformed into a medium-sized bluebird that was half-covered with crystalline scales.

The bird wildly screeched and waved its lengthy wings, which caused a formidable wave of water to drop from the sky, falling onto the sound all around them, solidifying and weakening it at the same time.

This was but the beginning as Arthur then took the form of the Vermillion Bird and conjured a sky-piercing flame tornado which forced all the sand out of the area, clearing it for a brief amount of time.

…

"Strange… very strange." commented Edward as he looked at the closed door leading to the interior of the ship.

He cautiously walked toward Zaarae, lightly tapped her shoulder, causing her to turn her head and furrowed her brows.

"I think I know why it's attacking us."

"You think it's time to hear your remarks while it's crazily encircling us?" The Empress spouted back at the serial-killer then shot two purple swords made of lights, crushing other sand hands coming from far away.

Edward looked at the vanishing hands, which were pulverized by the swords, nodded his head and added,

"Yup, it's definitely the time."

He pointed at the closed boat cabin and explained,

"'The thief's identity is clear'. That's enough to know that the prophecy was talking about a close person, who is, in fact, the thief you've encountered. That quiet man with the red hair, Esco, was it? Why is he inside when hell is breaking loose? Ever thought of that?

Oh, you'll say that he's weak and hiding inside but it's much safer outside, with you freaks. I still don't know why he hasn't been discovered by you guys yet but, in my opinion, his involvement in this mess is more than you think."

Zaarae wasn't that convinced but she still focused her sense inside the boat, precisely where Esco was supposed to be but he, to her surprise, the place was empty.