A week after arriving at Pearl Coast, the Aztec group boarded a ship and were already well on their way to Owl Island.

Jake permed his lips as he was locked in his room.

It had been a while since they had gotten to the coast and yet, the king hasn't honored his deal.

Jake didn't concern himself with it. He had already expected such an outcome, even though it was more fierce than expected.

Instead, he took his time to enrich himself with knowledge.

Finally digesting all the pieces of information he got from the library, he felt his mind free and could observe things better.

With his newfound knowledge, he could understand many things.

For example, the Aztec group destination was Owl Island, an overly mystical place that was the residence of Astral Academy, owned by the Astral Sect.

Normally, there were only a few sects, here and there, as nowadays, cultivators don't rely on sects, but the few ones that stand out are all prestigious.

It was the same with the Astral Sect. It was a global sect that existed on all continents, with the headquarters being at the central continent.

Previously, they used to accept cultivators based on the talent system, but after being scorned, they lost a lot of popularity. This however did not stop them from being the biggest powerhouse in the southern continent.

If Jake was to make comparisons, the difference between the Aztec Kingdom and Astral Sect was that the latter housed a [Realm-4] cultivator, while the former had a handful of [Realm-3] individuals.

That was why the king was heading there.

Jake understood that Owl Island would serve as a gathering spot for all those who were escaping from the southern continent, possibly even being the place where they make their last stand against the zombie invasion.

He knew how serious the invasion was.

On his way to the ship, he had spotted other ships fully loaded, about five hundred(500) of them.

He also saw the royals of other kingdoms on the other ships. That was how intense the whole matter was.

He finally understood why Talon, the Second Evil, said their victory was inevitable.

[A/N: Thanos: I am inevitable.]

Anyway, Jake didn't care about that.

He stood up from his bed and looked at the blue water outside the circular window.

As they were on the sea, such a view was understandable. Yet, he was not allowed to watch the sea from a better perspective.

The structure of the ship was divided into three levels; the lowest level, the middle level, and the upper level.

Due to not having enough space, Jake was taken to the lowest level along with a few others.

However, he was the only one whose door was heavily guarded by Aztec guards.

The king had totally gone back on his words. Even after obediently acted as the middle-man between the king and the phantom, he still wasn't freed.

Jake understood that it was greediness. The Royals could not afford to lose their translator when they had just started communicating with the phantom.

'The phantom is also interesting,' smiled Jake as he placed his hand on the cold window.

After arranging his thoughts, he understood the identity of the phantom.

Just like what the royals thought, she was the dead queen, but this where it got interesting.

Technically, she wasn't the dead queen, but merely a part of the queen that got reborn as an undead.

Having died close to the [Nether rift], and also possessing some hidden requirements, it was safe to say that, through a series of coincidences, a part of her became a phantom.

At the exact point before death, her soul was able to gain an undead status, becoming a Netheran, and what best suited her was the phantom race due to her losing her body.

Such happenstance was extremely rare, but it was possible and had happened before.

It could not be artificially manipulated, and only fate could determine whether one would have the chance or not.

Jake was able to decipher it as he too, while not remembering much, had gone through a rebirth that was on a much larger scale.

However, what made the phantom more interesting was that she wasn't technically the dead queen.

She was the undead version of the queen. That would innately change her character and perspective on things. She would become apathetic like a Netheran.

Jake had noticed the gradual change in the phantom's personality, but it seemed to not be as exaggerated as he expected.

Her 'humanity' was still grounded in her.

'Well, it didn't matter,' thought Jake.

He had enough of staying passive and was planning something.

Jake removed his hands from the cold glass and looked at the guards that were watching him through the door.

He thought nothing of them as he sat back on his bed.

Looking at the ropes still tied to him, he softly muttered, 'Soon.'

In pre-rebirth, one of Jake's lowest days was when he was bound with metal chains. From that day on, he developed a sort of trauma for being chained with metals.

However, when he was captured by Cheyenne and tied with a rope instead, he thought he wouldn't feel agitated, but he was wrong.

He found it hard to keep check of his emotion in the ropes. Ultimately, he still couldn't shake off the feeling of being chained.

Closing his system, Jake simulated a location on the ship at the same level as him.

He pictured a small room filled with all sorts of complicated devices and stuff.

To him, it was his hope for revenge, the Engine room that powered the ship.

Having read extensively on the ships of the southern continent, Jake knew that they didn't originate from the continent.

They came from the central continent, which was rumored to get the blueprints from beyond the planet.

Jake was not lucky enough to get a blueprint of any ship, but he at least knew the basics of the ship. He knew that their power source was always an Engine built on the lowest level for security.

It powered the propulsion system that made the ship move at high speed.

It was also the most guarded place on the ship, signifying its importance.

Closing his eyes to take a nap, Jake sighed one last time, "Soon"