King Of Limbo

Back on the island, the explosion had roused the interest of other Komi of other tribes who observed it, however they could only guess as to what was the cause.

Some chose to send scouts to report the situation immediately while others chose to not make a move as too much was unknown about the situation to risk their lives so they opted to observe from afar.

After the light from the explosion faded the serpent looked to be in a state of confusion before redirecting it's gaze towards the settlement where the gathering of individuals was more than any other on that island.

"They should've seen the signal so Evanora and I will be on our way. I'll alert you via the scouter should anything unprecedented occur." Lady Rose said to Aron as they watched the light from the explosion fade. "Evanora will send another signal too when something unpre-unpra... when something happens." A blank faced Evanora added in a very casual manner.

"Right, make sure you lure it in a clockwise pattern so that it's easier for Jagu and I to follow it not too far behind on land." Aron added just as Lady Rose was turning to leave, she gave him a light nod and continued on her way with Evanora in toll.

Once the two left, Aron's attention turned towards Jagu's settlement which was in pitiful state, even more so now after they saw the serpent heading directly towards them.

"Where do they plan on fleeing to?" Aron turned towards Jagu and asked with a brow raised. Jagu's facial expression immediately became slightly tense after hearing that question and he showed hesitation to answer. "They... they are going to the clan's main settlement, this is simply one of many scattered settlements of our clan." Jagu explained slowly and with caution while observing Aron's expression.

When Aron asked for information about the Komi Islands, Jagu hadn't informed him just how vast his clan was nor did Aron inquire. Given how moderately sized the current settlement they were at was Aron could already guess they had to be more.

What Jagu feared was that Aron would hold him accountable for leaving out information but in truth their number or main settlements weren't important to Aron who had gained the information he came for.

"You should tell them to move in scattered groups if that's the case, that serpent doesn't need to travel that far to be within striking distance. However don't divulge how it tracks it's prey." Jagu was slightly surprised by how Aron responded. Not only did he ignore the matter of leaving out information but he even advised him on possible safety measures.

Jagu who was still more accustomed to the Komi way of being straightforward couldn't comprehend how Aron's mind worked nor could he even begin to imagine what his intentions were.

"What?" Aron noticed that Jagu was just staring at him a bit blankly and so he asked. "It's fine... besides they won't listen to what I have to say at the moment." Jagu muttered in a slightly dejected tone.

"Depression doesn't suit you Jagu, you need to understand that things rarely ever go as planned in life... I'm reminded of that fact each and every day. You have to endure more suffering, hatred, loss and loneliness than others... if this much has made you lose your spirit then it's not too late to chose a different path. Let's start moving before the sun sets." Aron advised before walking away in the northern direction. When he spoke he wasn't particularly referring to himself but to Harald and Argos, two of the most powerful individuals he knew.

Both who had endured much in their lifetimes and still didn't reach the heights of Limbo.

Jagu didn't immediately respond to Aron and instead just quietly followed behind him. Soon the sun began to set and the two continued to transverse through the jungle rather casually.

"How?" After walking for some time, Jagu finally decided to break the silence by muttering that one word. Aron who was walking in front came to abrupt stop and faced Jagu with a stoic expression on his face.

Silence once again fell for a moment with only the sound of the wind and fluttering leaves being audible. "How do you manage then... Aron?" Jagu asked while still keeping his head lowered.

Aron looked at Jagu blankly before looking at his own hands oddly. He didn't know how to answer Jagu because he couldn't relate to what Jagu was feeling.

He never had the sort familial love Jagu had received or the feeling of belonging to a society, so much so that he was willing to give up his own life for it. Aron couldn't understand this at all...

"I did have regrets, I did have dreams and aspirations but... I quickly had to accept that reality was different. So endure Jagu... endure until what you seek becomes reality." Aron averted his gaze from his hands and let out a small sigh before continuing to walk. No sadness was displayed on his face, just a sort of strange emptiness could be seen in his eyes.

"Endure..." Jagu repeated in a low tone.

...

A little while after the sun had set Lady Rose and Evanora arrived on the beach at the southern end of the island.

"Do we have to swim?" Evanora questioned as there wasn't even a boat in sight there or anything they could use to maneuver on the water.

Before Lady Rose could answer the clueless girl, a thick mist enshrouded the beach and much of the coastal area of that island.

"Over here" Jin's voice resounded from within this mist and caught the attention of both Lady Rose and Evanora. Lady Rose hadn't yet experienced or witnessed Jin's illusion arts so she was rather cautious before hearing his voice. 'What an interesting bunch you've gathered Aron.' She thought before gesturing Evanora to follow.

The pair didn't need to walk long as they soon found themselves in front of the Sovereign's boarding platform. After quickly ascending the mist began to disperse rather slowly while the Sovereign itself remained hidden within a barrier.

"Welcome back...?" Claudia had been waiting on the deck to welcome everyone back but upon seeing only Lady Rose and Evanora return she showed a perplexed look.

Without even needing to ask, Lady Rose quickly told them what Aron and her were planning or rather what it seemed they were planning. Claudia was a naturally aware of the fact Aron and Lady Rose hid a lot from the rest of the faction members so this sort of development didn't really surprise her.

What did surprise her however was the fact that Aron was planning to help Jagu secure his clan's position. This development sounded strange to Jin as well and the two immediately began to think of what he had to gain by doing such a thing.

The possibilities were many and none seemed to really suit Aron's style of doing things so it really left one curious. Was he perhaps just doing this to help a faction member?

No... it was more accurate to say he wanted it to look that way at the very least. The result would be the increased morale and loyalty of his followers but this still didn't seem like good enough a reason.

While Claudia and Jin continued to silently ponder possible reasons behind his decision, Lady Rose moved to the front of the deck and began controlling her scouter.

It made it's way out of the jungle where it had been searching for traces of Sayiva and hovered above the surface of the water just about five hundred meters away from the serpent.

Now came the hard part which was relaying instructions. As easy as controlling the scouter looked it was actually quite complex as was the case with most rune based inventions.

The artificial mana crystal on it's pedestal mainly acted as a source of power for it while the runed pedestal was like the brain which had a set of predetermined functions put into place.

Lady Rose's gloves which each had a glyph on the backside acted as the controller. "Raise the altitude of the airship." Lady Rose instructed as she gazed upon the many islands and planned the route to take.

Once the airship reached an ideal altitude, she readied her left had before beginning to make delicate gestures within the air with her fingers. To those on the deck this scene was rather odd, it was as if she was directing an invisible orchestral group.

But for many clueless Komi that resided on the Komi Islands, those hand gestures would bring about their end.

"Right, let's get started shall we."

With those words, Lady Rose made her scouter dive a few meters under water before the crystal began to glow a burning red.

The serpent that was making its way towards Jagu's settlement came to an abrupt halt and turned it's head back. Without warning and with a rather frightening speed it dived back under water leaving behind only a huge splash of water that soon drizzled down on the shores of the surrounding islands.

"It's starting, let's pick up the pace and reach a good vantage point. That burst of speed tells me it's incredibly fast under water." Aron's attention was caught immediately the serpent dove back into the water. Jagu couldn't even see the large serpent dive as he only looked when he heard the sound.

"There's a hill right after we cross over to the next clan territory. But how can something so big be so fast?!" Jagu blurted out without thinking but Aron had already began heading towards the next territory as quickly as he could.