The Northern Seas which bordered Argon, Lome, and Elion were turbulent. The wind carried by the waves had a biting chill. Vice Captain Nora, a 4th Circle Water mage, noticed something was wrong. Clouds dispersed as the strong waves and winds grew still. "Captain, the weather's starting to turn! Something's definitely off!"

Lyla Nyx was no longer a Tower Master. The Blue Tower had been destroyed by Argon and no longer existed. To retaliate, Lyla assembled a pirate crew made up of ex-soldiers, mages, and knights. Lyla had gotten her revenge when she and her crew destroyed a large portion of Argon's fleet in Valenciamo. Her crew had been celebrating their victory for almost a week.

A pit formed at the center of Lyla's gut. She cursed, "Shit!" "Captain! What's the matter?" Lyla only had this feeling when a storm or a sea monster outside of her ability to control was on its way.

While using only a small burst of water under her feet, Lyla leaped toward the crow's nest like a shooting star. She stood on the ship's crow's nest as she started chanting a spell. "Oh, spirit of water! Layer your gentle springs together and unveil the secrets that lie ahead! Reflect all that comes from this world unto the next, Mirror of Mystery!" A white foaming mist exploded from the top of the crow's nest, and a massive human-sized mirror made of swirling blue water appeared. Lyla looked directly into the mirror and said, "Show me what's to come."

The mirror slowly shifted its position while rotating gently at a slow speed. A few moments later the mirror turned in the direction of the horizon. Lyla frowned when she noticed the mirror was pointing South-East, in the direction of Argon. Soon the water which made up the mirror's reflective portion began swirling faster and bubbling. Like a telescope, the mirror started focusing an image of some of the darker clouds in the distance.

Suddenly, an image of a blond man dressed in royal garb appeared, and he was flying toward them at an astonishing speed. Sweat started forming on Lyla's brow. "Fuck! I never expected him, of all people, to move!" A deckhand yelled out from the ship's bow, "Captain! It looks like a storm is approaching from the South East!"

The Blue Tower Master took a deep breath and yelled out commands to her crew, "Don! Take the helm and move in the opposite direction of the storm."

"Aye!"

"Nora! I'm leaving you in charge of the ship while I'm gone! Head Westward at top speed, and don't look back!"

"Aye, Lyla!"

"Jameson let down a dandy for me! I'll need a small boat to rest my feet on!"

The crew knew not to question Lyla's command as they called out, "Aye, Aye!"

She leaped off the crow's nest and landed on the small wobbling dandy boat. It rocked unsteadily as her crew unfurled the ropes holding the boat and dropped onto the sea. A small jet formed at the rear of the dandy as it practically flew in the direction of the storm. "I'm off!"

The strange rotating Mirror spell continued revolving behind her at a set speed and rhythm as she traveled in the direction of the blond man.

Only a few minutes passed as Lyla sped toward the man in the sky. Her instincts grew more and more chaotic the closer she got to the man. Then she saw him up close with her own eyes. Gritting her teeth Lyla's worst fear was realized. She identified the man floating in the sky above her as Argon's third Emperor, Lucius Daybright, the lightning Archmage.

A battle between sky and sea was about to unfold.

"Well, well dear Tower Master, I've been looking for you."

"A visit from an Emperor? To what does little me owe the pleasure?"

"The pleasure comes after you destroyed my naval fleet in an unprovoked attack. I do not enjoy having my toys broken, so I decided to come and find you. Which wasn't easy, you know."

"How did you find me? You flew in my direction as if you knew exactly where I was?"

"I could have sought out the oracle if I was really curious, but finding you didn't require anything so tedious. Asking around a bit got me the answer I was looking for." The Emperor threw a cloth sack into the ocean. A gray-haired head came out of the cloth sack and was revealed. Lyla bit her lips and said, "Old George, huh."

Rumbling thunder and lightning began to center around the Emperor as his furious mana lit up the sky. Dark and heavy clouds grew fervently behind him as his mana seemed to feed into the sky and make them grow.

Lyla cried, "Don't pretend like you hadn't raided my home first! You destroyed my tower! Thousands of innocent lives lost! Because of Lome's Fat retarded King! You struck the first blow!"

The Emperor smiled and yelled back, "That is the right of the strong! If you hadn't gotten in my way; I would have just ignored you! You crossed a line when you touched my things. So I was thinking; of ridding the world of a Tower Master today."

Billowing ocean waves surrounding Lyla grew turbulent as her mana surged in response, "Do you think you can kill me out here? On the ocean? I'd be afraid of getting dragged and drowned if I were you, Lucius! You're in my territory out here!"

The Emperor smirked before responding with two words, "Lighting Chain."

The clouds roared as dozens of purple bolts of lightning; came zipping toward Lyla.

She screamed, "Expand!!" The water mirror behind rapidly expanded in size as the bolts struck it from multiple directions. His spell was redirected in every conceivable direction, but soon the mirror couldn't handle the massive influx of energy flowing through it and blew up. A stray bolt of lightning came tumbling down and struck the boat Lyla was standing on. "Arghhhh!" Lyla was sent flying as wooden shrapnel dug into her arms and chest. Skipping across the sea like a stone on a lake, Lyla reoriented herself.

Purple light filled the sky as the Emperor's mana overflowed into the atmosphere. Lucius pointed his right index finger at Lyla's new position as he chanted, "Lightning god!" Rumbling echoes filled the sky as a massive purple lightning bolt was formed. The bolt was so enormous it appeared as though it would swallow up the sea in its wake.

Lyla had less than a second to react. Unable to chant the entire incantation, she used the spell she was most proficient at casting. Pressing her hands together as though in prayer Lyla screeched, "Kraken!" The sea rose around her as tentacles of water shot out from the ocean's surface forming a shield around her. They were struck and evaporated one by one as the massive purple bolt punched straight through her shield. The lightning didn't stop as it curved like a serpent in her direction.

Time seemed to stop for Lyla. Right as the lightning was about to strike her Lyla reacted. The small blue stone on her necklace was crushed into powder in her hand as she used the inscribed spell at the last second.

A large portion of the sea's surface quickly formed a mirror as the purple bolt struck the water's surface. The bolt of lightning disappeared into the mirror for a moment before being redirected back to the Emperor who had cast it. Lyla watched as the bolt swallowed up the Emperor and hit him point-blank in the sky.

Lyla gasped while trying to recover her breath, "Did I get him?"

The sky shuddered as a bellowing voice called out, "Raiment!" Like a monstrous volcanic eruption, hundreds of bolts rained down from above. Lyla desperately brought both of her hands onto the water and chanted, "Ocean Deep!" A whirlpool rapidly formed underneath her and pulled her into the ocean at breakneck speed.

In a flash of lightning, hundreds of bolts struck the ocean. As Lyla was descending, electricity shot through the waves around her, and into her body. Searing pain came flooding into her body as Lyla's muscles seized up and froze. Her spell continued dragging her down as she was pulled into the depths of the ocean. "Motherfuc.." Lyla closed her eyes as a bubble of water formed around her head.

Argon's Emperor looked at the ocean's surface for a few minutes before yelling, "Shit! The bitch got away. I should have cast one more spell to guarantee it!" He looked down at his shaking hands and said, "Maybe not." Sighing, he made his way back to Argon. "It'll take too long to catch her. The whore can live in the depths of the sea forever if she wants to. I'll have to wait till she emerges once again."

Lucius looked at the ocean one more time before glancing in the direction of Elion. "Wind Tunnel."

He may have won the battle, but Lucius felt as though he had lost the war. The Blue Tower Master had escaped with her life.

While the battle between the two powerhouses was taking place, a certain fox had gotten wind of the events happening in Ayes. Jamie Vallas was talking to a merchant when he heard some news on Ayes. "The crown prince is dead! Apparently, the Princess escaped, but it won't be long before Argon catches her." Jamie overheard a conversation between two merchants in a pub nearby. "Excuse me, Hector, it'll just be a moment. I heard something interesting I'd like to check out." The merchant nodded at him and replied, "Don't worry about it, Jamie. We'll finish our conversation when you're done."

Jamie nodded at the merchant before heading into the pub with the two men. Both of the merchants looked at Jamie strangely before one of them said, "What the hell do you think you are doing?" Jamie pulled out a gold coin and put it on the table, "I just want to hear a story if you don't mind. That was an interesting subject you two were discussing. Can I hear more?"

The two merchants' eyes lit up with greed as they excitedly told Jamie the most recent news they had heard. When they finished telling Jamie what they knew Jamie sneered and said, "I guess I'll be visiting Ayes for a bit. Thank you for the information."

Jamie pulled out another gold coin and placed it on the table before leaving. He walked back to the first merchant and asked, "We can discuss weapons later. Can you get me a Heral and carriage tonight? I'll also be needing a guide to Ayes." The fox found prey.