Gabrio had no real information about their movements. Perhaps he would have remained ignorant if it wasn’t for the fact that Zyra was part of their party. She was someone he at least could believe.

“So you’re telling me that when you arrived here… I mean after the time where I got thrown away. You were fighting the Sea-kin?”

Gabrio asked with understandable confusion. Ever since he had that accident with Mana. He had stopped thinking about what time it was. His journal didn’t even have any dates.

“Yeah, we spent ten months in this area already, you know? So it should be the fifth cycle now of the year 1501.”

“I didn’t even notice that a year had passed.”

“Time is hard to calculate in this area, it looks like our astronomers have been able to figure out that with the days switched. So even if it's morning right now. It should be evening.”

“Ah, I heard of this. Isn’t this because of that theory that the sun turns off at night?”

“What? I don’t think that makes sense. I thought it was about how the world is rotating and that only the side of our world is being lit on.”

“That’s… hmm then how come we’re not feeling the rotation?”

Zyra snorted. “There’s a reason we don’t feel the Galleon move at all. It’s because we’re standing on it that we’re being pulled down by some force. I thought you’d know this.”

“Well, I am a Doctor and a half-baked surgeon, so how would I know?”

“Enough about the world. Anyway, it should be the fifth-cycle now.”

“I should remember this. So, what’s the date then?”

“Around fifteen maybe?”

“So It’s the Fifth-cycle of the 15th of 1501?” Gabrio wrote the date in his personal journal. Zyra followed his hand while he wrote in his journal.

“You are interested in dates. Why’s that?”

“I like to be organized. It was something that I was told to do. Once you don’t know how much time left you have… it'll make a mess of you.”

“You… look refreshed. So, do you still want to know?”

“Of course, please do.”

Zyra continued. “Once you were gone from this place alongside Lady Mana. The Captain told us to leave the Galleon or at least change our home. I don’t know why Cap wanted me to stay, but I guess he was worried that the folks here would get angry. Man, when you really have been through a lot, I guess you see everyone here as family. Even those noble folks up in the upper decks would side with us because we are the crew members of the Milostiv.”

“Well if we do get separated. It’s best that we are all friends here. At least that’s what the nobles think. There are a few of them and there are more of us. Most of us are armed to the teeth. And these people are well-educated.”

Gabrio had met nobles in Aon. Most of them were not unnecessarily cruel. Prideful as they are, the nobles were either apathetic about the commoner’s Lot or uninterested. There was a divide in the first place that couldn’t be crossed. Minding one’s business was holy in those times and although there are times where the common people would revolt. Those times were rare.

No one was eager to break their way of life. There were only a few who were so rabidly evil that the commoners rising up against said evil was so few. Not only that it was a waste of human resources, the farmers killed, who could be plowing the land would have been wasted if they died. It was expected of them to be smarter than the uneducated lot. Harsh disciplines were carried out to those who went against their masters. Degrading it may be, there was a good reason that education wasn’t a common right until the Chancellor’s Revolt that finally freed the mind of the citizens. The hundred-year stagnation was overcome and the quick progress of technology made it the clear answer.

It was a wise move on their part to be nicer to the people of Milostiv.

“So after that whole incident we started our journey. The Icean Spine’s large. And there are spiritual nodes that we must activate. Well, think of spiritual nodes as places of power where Terin could gather power from the land to communicate to the sun.”

“Communicate? I see. So was this because of the path paved for him?”

“It is. No one can teach him how to learn. Do you really think that the singers could?”

“No, but what if you didn’t find one?”

“Impossible, really. Each continent should have one. And there is a reason that we are accompanied by Lady Rosalve. She… has a talent for finding one or possibly making one. Every land has a focal point of power and we simply have to climb the highest point or the most fertile land to sucker on the energy around it and make a spiritual node. You can guess that it wasn’t exactly the easier thing to do. The creatures of the interstice… our enemies aren’t exactly enemies that mindlessly attack us either.”

“Well, they are sentient so that should be expected.”

“That’s right. We have Caldor Ando around to make sure that none of us are ambushed. I have my own abilities which make it easy for us to travel.”

“I’m surprised they haven’t tried to overwhelm your group.”

“They did try. But Terin… There is a reason that he is the blinder of light. His grasp of using the giant of light made it easy for us. Of course, you know the destructive powers of the singers. They aren’t pushovers either so most of the time we manage. Though the healing powers of Lady Frigus had been helpful during our travels here.”

“I guess that’s why I barely hear anything other than the events that couldn’t be hidden.”

“It is. At least the monsters of this area can be predictable.”

“Monsters… huh.”

There were already signs of monsters in Aon. They were creatures that were no different from animals in the eyes of his teacher. Gabrio could recall the first monster he had seen. It was a furry beast with a long elongated tongue and tall emancipated limbs. Such a beast took four men to capture and the six of them who went with them died. It was a beast with immense speed and strength. Teacher knew that there was something wonderful about them. To Gabrio they found their existence disturbing. Such creatures were rare but now he felt like he could just turn around and find one.

“Most of the monsters here are ferocious. I’ve to rely on the support that Lady Felecia blesses us to get through their defenses. There are also monsters that take time to kill. It would honestly far better if Terin kills them, but we need his powers if any creatures of the interstice appear before him.

“Of course, it’s not because they are unbeatable. It’s because it’s the same as firing artillery in a point blank range. We would die if his powers were used around us. It hasn’t been long since he had started to take control of his powers. His light cannot be distinguished from friend or foe at the moment.”

“How does that exactly work?”

“Who knows? I don’t have any answers on how his light works.”

“I see. So you started roaming the continent in search of spiritual nodes? Was it successful?”

“More than the other lives at least.”

“What?”

“This isn’t the first cycle where the others had only blinded the light. The eye of the world might not even be the location that we are after that.”

“What are you saying…?”

“The eye of the world… it is a sun’s spawn. Think of it as a giant made of crystallized energy. It is the sun’s light turned solid that brings desolation to those who it looks at. You saw how old Carthan turned into a desert made of salt, right?”

“I do.”

“Then do you have thoughts on why it became like that?”

Gabrio held his chin. “On the farther east, especially in Kinibu, there is a business that relies on harvesting water from the ocean, and carrying it in tons back to their workshops.”

“Kinibu… wow, you are well-traveled, Gabrio.”

“I had to look for employment and field-medics were highly recommended those days. Surgeons especially were… worth the price of hiring.”

“Oh, I know that. So, what about Kinibu?”

“I don’t know about the process and they’d kill me if I had known. But observation told me that they have made specially made square pools where they would bathe the saltwater they collected from the nearby ocean and dry them under the sun.”

“Dry them?”

“No, I had observed their process for one week and two days. It seems that those square-like pools have places underneath it that allows for them to boil the pool. They boil the pools for thriteen hours and after boiling they produce salt flakes. The next day they have small hills of salt to which are somewhat less salty than rock salts, but are better to taste.”

“So what you are saying is that the ocean was boiled?”

“I think so. And from what I saw the area around the old carthan seems to have been superheated and melted -- then when the salty water rushed in, got boiled, and turned into a mountain of salt. After all, if it's the sun, then it can do that instantly right?”

Zyra widened her eyes. “And here you were saying that you don’t have much talent for anything else other than medicine.”

“Talents? No it’s more of a --” Gabrio held his head. He staggered to the side which made Zyra sit upright.

“You okay?”

“Headaches, nothing more. My time being stranded had caused me problems in health. That’s all. Anyway, so what is the real reason?”

“It’s the same,” Zyra planted her foot on the floor. “Are you alright?”

“Headaches, anyway, what do you mean?”

“The eyes of the world need to be blinded because when it stares too long. It melts the land and boils the ocean. This discrepancy seems to have been a natural cause.”

“Natural cause… odd when we have someone we call a chosen one.”

“Well, the Gods are merciful at least. We want to blind the eye of the world for said reason. And after the eyes of the world settle down, we will stab the heart of the world and dissipate the energy it gathered.”

“Killing a powerful being like that...made from the sun.”

“We can just kill it, but that would result in a much larger destruction. Do you know the legends? About why the seas are so far apart and the lands are gathered together? It was said that during the first cycle that they did try to kill the being of the world only for it to cause an explosion that shook the lands, killed the seas, and created the thousands islands and the giant continents.”

“That really doesn’t explain why the creatures of interstice would want the blinder to die.”

“True. It’s not like they are talkative. Why would our enemies try to talk with us? They may look human, but they sure as hell don’t want to make peace with us. Their actions are unpredictable and yet they would act as a unit that wants to kill us. Tell me, would you even need this many to cross the ocean? The people before us crossed the ocean with inferior ships and relied on stopping on every ocean. This time we still crossed this ocean in hopes to save the world...but let me tell you that we aren’t the only ones. The world’s large and wide that it would not be a surprise if we have neighbours that are stubborn like the Icean Spine.”

“Ah, would they accept our blinder then?”

“Who knows? Anyway, there is more to say… you don’t have alcohol in the clinic right?”

“Why would I?”

“Bullshit, Gab. How come you are making so much liquor candy?”

“Hmm...fine, I’ll have some spirits we can use.”

Gabrio stood up and searched for the spirits he used to concoct his liquor candies. Although he would prefer to use them as medicine than a drink. Still, this was a good chance to learn about what happened when she was traveling. Ignorance could only take him so far and the rumors of the Great Seas stirred his heart.