The leviathan pulsed. Then again. And again. It was a tremendous roar in John’s ears. He expected to be battered to pieces, along with Matayal in his arms. Maybe he deserved it, for failing to be stronger. But while it was deafening, it was somewhat comforting. Seeing what happened to the Molten Sea cultivators, however, he knew it had as much power as he expected. No, more. With each pulsed they were pushed around, their bodies crushed against the leviathan’s walls and dragged along out of the heart.

His eyes flashed towards their alliance. While they showed some discomfort, they were relatively intact. Sitora and the Sky Islanders were somewhere in the middle. They were knocked about, but not crushed against the leviathan. Not yet, at least. She looked towards John and Matayal- no, past them. A flash of greed in her eyes… but she settled for grabbing Gesine’s body. The sphere of ice that had held her was shattered into a million pieces by the leviathan’s power, leaving only the burnt husk of a body- and great quantities of valuable equipment, durable beyond anything John had seen.

John knew he was entitled to some of that… but he didn’t care. Wealth was a part of strength, but at the moment he just wanted the Sky Islands to leave. And it seemed they were happy to do so.

Each beat of the leviathan’s heart sent out a pulse. As John let it move him and Matayal, he found they were gradually being pushed along with a flow, towards the rest of their alliance. He let it carry them along and out. They passed remnants of the leviathan’s ‘immune system’, but they were peaceably ignored.

John tightly clutched Matayal as they fled the waking leviathan. Just because it declined to harm them at the moment did not mean it couldn’t change its mind. His spiritual energy flowed between him and Matayal, but he found less and less effect from doing so. Her body was breaking down from the inside, her dantian and spiritual sea falling apart. But that was just her cultivation. He hoped that if her body could last through it, she could survive. He hoped…

-----

On the surface, not knowing of Gesine’s defeat, the forces of the Molten Sea continued their assault. From the perspective of the triplets, it seemed their alliance was winning- but they couldn’t know for certain. At least they had a moment to rest, no assaults reaching their ship within the last few minutes. Nik and Melanthina were snuggled together by the railing. Tirto was leaning back against his other sister, as sturdy of a support as anything else. The nervous form of Verusha was plopped down in the middle of the deck nearby.

“Is battle always like this?” Verusha asked.

Tirto shook his head. “It’s usually not this much. This is a war, simply compressed into a smaller space and shorter time.”

“It’s not as fun as I thought it would be,” Verusha commented. “Dad seems to like fighting.”

“Maybe if you’re stronger…” Tirto shrugged. “But even now, I’m not sure if he feels that.” Tirto vaguely gestured in the direction of Lucanus and Yustina, boiling seas in the midst of a thunderstorm. “That’s a lot of effort to put in. It would have to be for the purpose of protecting people. Like us, or you.”

Ursel shifted, and Tirto nearly fell over. “Sorry,” she said. “I thought I… felt something.” She stood up, her movements slightly rocking the ship. “Maybe I- ooooh!” Excitement entered Ursel’s voice. “They’re here!”

“Who?” Tirto asked, standing up with her. Were their parents returning? That would be good news, at least. But he was well attuned to their spiritual energies, and he didn’t feel them approaching. It wasn’t too hard to pick out something approaching though. “Who’s that?” All Tirto could make out were some ships coming from the west.

“The Emerging Bamboo Sect!” Ursel said excitedly. “And others from the Viridia Wildlands! I thought they weren’t coming!”

“They’re rather late,” Melanthina muttered from her position by the railing.

“Shush, you!” Ursel said. “I’m sure they had a reason.”

As the small fleet began to circle around the battlefield to reach the Molten Sea’s forces, whether they had arrived late or not hardly mattered. Perhaps they would have been a significant boon had they been around… or perhaps they would have hardly swayed the battle. But arriving fresh at such a critical point, they quickly overran several ships, and it wasn’t long before the Molten Sea began to withdraw.

But the Sky Islands ships began to meet them as they drew away, leaving only a small portion to make their way back towards the shores of Astrein. Though they did not know it, their reception would not be warm.

-----

The return to the surface was filled with remnants of sinking ships, though John vaguely noticed a general lack of sea beasts. They tended to avoid large groups, and the stirring leviathan spooked away most of those in the surroundings.

Surfacing to find burning flotsam, John was at least relieved to find the triplets waiting. The battle seemed to have been resolved. That was unfortunate, because he could have used an outlet for his emotions. With Matayal in his arms, the waters raised him up onto the deck.

He found himself bombarded with questions and worry, but he had no answers from them. He didn’t even have answers for himself. When he had anything resembling thought, it was foolish ideas. Memories of fictional characters who had suffered something similar. He should find some way to preserve her. Freeze her in ice, until he could find a medicine to cure her. Cure her of what? He didn’t know.

But the time for action had already come and gone. In the end, he did nothing. When thoughts returned to him, he found himself huddled together with the triplets, all of them wrapping their arms around him and the unresponsive Matayal. She was soaked from their time underwater, and the triplets were wet from the rain. Yet the skies had the audacity to clear away the clouds and reveal the sun, which only highlighted how Matayal was getting colder, not warmer.

They might have remained there forever, but the world was not prepared to let them off just yet. The seas trembled. Orders spread for the fleets to retreat from the area, removing themselves even further from the Kelp Spire Forest.

John watched with numb disinterest as the spires themselves trembled, rising and falling. The pulsing power of the leviathan was reaching a crescendo, despite whatever injuries it had suffered. As they continued to sail away, John got a small glimpse of a massive silhouette rising on the horizon- a strange conglomeration of spires, widespread fins in all directions, and more odd pieces. Yet John had the feeling that was only a small part of it.

Next to him, Tirto clutched the railing with a look of determination on his face.

-----

Flowers filled the waters around the central island of Pualani, and between each of its petals. Matayal was not the only one who died in the battle against the Molten Sea, the Brandle clan not the only one with losses. Many other islands were no doubt going through their own periods of mourning.

Was it a victory to overcome the Molten Sea in such a scenario? The treasures recovered from the bodies of enemies could hardly begin to pay for the lives lost. And for what? To protect a creature of great power. Would Gesine even have been able to slay the creature if left alone?

John shook his head. It was all speculation. He had known there would be costs for standing up to a region of great strength… he had just expected them to be different. But of course, everyone expected the harms to fall upon others. Nobody could handle the true consequences. John wouldn’t have been able to manage anything if he was always burdened with the true fear of what could happen. His partner of twenty-five years- only a small handful of which they were actually in each other’s presence- gone just like that.

-----

The club gathered together to meet, with two notable exceptions. The first was not even technically a member- Matayal was at most an accessory. The other was their founder, the one responsible for gathering them all together for a greater purpose, regardless of the initial casual intentions.

“I don’t know what to say,” Lucanus admitted. “Cheer up, man, you’ll find someone else like her? There’s no way that’s true,” he shook his head.

“Do you think… she could become like us?” Deirdre asked awkwardly. She looked to Renato and Yustina in particular. “Like you?”

Renato folded his arms, frowning. “We don’t even know why we reincarnated. Certainly, it happens. It could happen again.”

“But the odds are against it,” Yustina shook her head. “We can’t offer him false hope. Most likely, she is gone forever. Or at least, without memories, she could not be said to be the same person.”

“I don’t think the idea would comfort me,” Steve said. “I mean, if I were in the same situation…” he looked at Yustina. “I would likely find it unfair that people like Gesine reincarnated instead. Even if fairness has nothing to do with the situation.”

Renato grimaced, “We should speak to him about it. No doubt he will have these thoughts on his own. I do not wish to see my friend- our friend- obsess himself with what he cannot control. His current state will not last forever, with our support.”

-----

Contrary to how he might appear to others, John was not unaware of what happened around him. As he sat in his office back in the Tenebach clan, he was aware of important papers being placed on his desk, just as he was aware of his father, grandfather, and Melanthina dividing them among each other. He was aware, but he didn’t see the point in it. What did clan affairs matter, when people could die at any moment? It was of little consolation to him that he knew better. Because what he knew could only take a back seat to how he felt.

His state did not hinder his cultivation. In fact, in some ways it amplified it. It was easier to just give up all his worldly thoughts and focus only on the flow of spiritual energy. More and more of his day was devoted to growing his cultivation and diving into the sea of spiritual totems. After all, he didn’t have to think and remember when he was focused on something like that.

In just a few years he reached the thirty-sixth rank, growing to the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase. And he didn’t care. It was just a number, a meaningless accomplishment.

At any time, he could attempt to break through to the Ascending Soul Phase… but he achieved a time of clarity. The chances of the attempt killing him were not trivial, especially with his mental state. He understood that, at least on some level.

-----

There was a knock on his door. It was quiet, so as to not disturb him too much, but as a rare break in the silence it stood out all the more. “Yes? Come in.”

Into the room slipped his daughter. Neither of them had trouble with the darkness, but it was still an unusual meeting. “Father… the Clan Head is needed for some negotiations. If you are able-”

“You do it,” John said. His words were a bit harsher than intended, but given how little he spoke lately, he didn’t expect much else from himself.

Matayal frowned, “As the young mistress of the clan, my word has some weight… but there are some things I cannot do. And other responsibilities for the sect head have piled up.”

“Then you should manage it. As clan head,” John said firmly. Perhaps it was unfair to do this- but she had been prepared for this her whole life. And clearly, she couldn’t do any worse than him. He stood up. “I will prepare the official transfer of leadership.”

“But- I-”

“It is no different than what you are doing now, but you will actually have the authority. Do not worry, you are ready.” It wasn’t fair to lie to his daughter- but in this case, at least, the words were meant with the best intentions. It was as true as it could be. Nobody was ever ready to take over responsibility that affected so many others. And if he wasn’t going to be doing it, it was better to have someone take over the role.