When they first departed from the Summit of the Western Heaven, both Black and the little slave girls were extremely excited.
None of them had ever experienced sailing among the clouds before.
But as the days passed, the novelty gradually faded and it began to feel somewhat boring.
The deck of the sanctuary soon returned to its usual rhythm.
Koala and Mandy were training, while Stella prepared refreshments.
Perona, however, sprawled lazily across the deck, completely unconcerned with maintaining any sort of ladylike image.
"This is so boring! It's no different from sailing on the sea!"
Black glanced at her with clear disdain.
"I can throw you off this cloud path. Then you definitely won't be bored anymore."
"Hmph!"
Perona was no longer afraid of him.
She snorted lightly and turned her head away.
Robin closed the book she had been reading and spoke calmly.
"We've been following this route for quite a while now. We should be reaching a Sky Island soon."
"Look! There really is an island!"
Before Robin had even finished speaking, Rami pointed forward and shouted excitedly.
Following the direction of her finger, they could see a Sky Island glowing faintly in the distance, surrounded by colorful light.
"What a beautiful island!"
Koala gasped in admiration.
Indeed, because of the unique geography and climate of Sky Islands, their scenery was often far more dazzling than most islands in the Blue Sea.
Soon, the sanctuary followed the cloud current of the Summit of the Western Heaven and arrived at the island's port.
Seven-colored Tone Dials were embedded within steps made from crystalline coral, shimmering with rhythmic vibrations like ocean tides.
A harbormaster stood before a control panel, adjusting the sound scales with a conductor's Dial.
"Welcome to the Cloud Mist Capital. I am Locke, the harbormaster here."
He greeted them with a polite smile, showing no sign of surprise.
Clearly, people from the Blue Sea occasionally arrived here through the Summit of the Western Heaven.
As Black signaled the girls to disembark, Locke pointed to the crystal steps and kindly reminded them:
"These Tone Dial steps will produce different musical notes depending on how you step on them. But please be careful…"
Before he finished speaking, Perona skipped onto the steps.
Several Tone Dials immediately screeched with sharp and discordant noises.
Locke hurriedly adjusted the control panel and restored the musical harmony.
"Tone Dials in damp areas tend to absorb moisture and produce overtone distortions. We usually suggest that visitors walk on the dry sections, where the tones are much more stable."
Black said nothing.
He simply stood at the highest step, calmly surveying the entire port.
His scepter tapped lightly against the ground.
Mandy immediately understood and pulled Perona back toward the dry pathway.
Robin glanced at the harbormaster's equipment with curiosity.
"Do these Tone Dials require regular maintenance?"
"Yes."
Locke nodded.
"They must be wiped with cloud whale oil every week, otherwise dust accumulates inside the resonance chambers and affects the sound."
He pointed to a groove along the edge of the steps.
"Maintenance oil is injected from this channel."
Black listened briefly before glancing at his wristwatch.
"Let's go. We'll explore the island today and return before dark."
The group walked further into the city.
Along the way, Stella casually purchased several Sky Island specialties from a small roadside stall.
After wandering for a while, Black and the others arrived at a scenic observation area.
Pipes of various thicknesses were suspended through the air in a neat and orderly arrangement.
Inside the transparent pipes flowed streams of colorful liquid, forming bright spiraling currents.
A technician inspecting one of the pipe joints paused when she noticed the visitors.
"These pipes transport fruit juices with different flavors."
Seeing everyone watching, she smiled shyly and scratched her head.
"Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Adele. I'm a maintenance technician."
She pointed toward the pipes.
"Mango pulp, coconut milk, cloudberry nectar… each liquid flows at a precisely calculated speed."
Koala leaned closer, staring with curiosity.
"Why does the strawberry juice flow faster than the mango juice?"
"Because their densities are different."
Robin answered gently.
Adele nodded and tapped the pipe wall.
"These spiral grooves reduce turbulence and keep the liquid flowing smoothly."
Suddenly
Bang!
A pipe joint burst open and mango pulp sprayed everywhere.
Adele quickly pulled out a Dial and shouted several command syllables into it.
The pipe instantly sealed itself and stopped leaking.
She wiped sweat from her forehead with an embarrassed smile.
"That's an emergency command. Every technician has to memorize these control codes."
Black watched silently.
He couldn't help thinking how extravagant Sky Islanders were installing entire pipe systems just to transport fruit juice.
After spending some time there, Stella asked Adele where the best sightseeing areas were.
Following her directions, they eventually arrived at the Sky Garden where "Heart Clouds" were cultivated.
An elderly gardener carefully pruned the cloud vines using a special Dial tool.
Rami reached out and touched a floating glowing cloud cluster.
The cloud immediately gathered together and formed the vague shape of an animal.
The old gardener stopped working and approached them.
"Heart Clouds respond to the emotions of the person touching them. But too much contact will cause them to crystallize."
Rami quickly withdrew her hand.
Robin noticed the change in the cloud cluster and asked curiously,
"Can they record memories?"
"To a certain extent."
The gardener nodded thoughtfully.
"However, they capture emotions more easily than specific images."
Everyone else began touching the Heart Clouds.
Each cloud shifted into different shapes and colors, causing the girls to gasp with amazement.
Black tried it once as well.
The cloud in his palm slowly condensed into the shape of a droplet of water, reflecting his calm emotional state at that moment.
They spent most of the day exploring the island.
By evening, everyone returned to the sanctuary and the ship set sail again.
Several days after leaving the Cloud Mist Capital, another island silhouette appeared ahead.
"I wonder how this Sky Island will be different from the Cloud Mist Capital."
Robin stood at the bow, resting her chin on her hand.
The younger girls excitedly began discussing it among themselves.
Black, however, raised an eyebrow.
He looked somewhat surprised.
As the sanctuary slowly approached, the chatter on deck gradually faded.
Because this island did not look like a pleasant place.
Strictly speaking, it was not a single island.
It was an archipelago made of many Sky Islands.
Dozens of floating island fragments hung tens of thousands of meters above the clouds, held in place by some invisible force.
Chains and stone pillars forcibly connected them together.
At the center, a towering palace spire pierced through the clouds.
Around it floated volcanic islands spewing lava, frozen islands covered in ice, and strange landmasses wrapped in purple mist.
Together they formed a three-dimensional fortress that seemed to defy the natural laws of the sky.
From the deck of the sanctuary, the floating islands appeared faintly through a raging thunderstorm.
Ash from the volcanic island darkened the sky while icy winds from the frozen islands collided with it, creating a massive swirling storm cloud thousands of meters wide.
Occasional lightning flashes revealed the silhouettes of inverted islands hanging upside down.
Black chuckled softly.
"Ah… now this is interesting."
"I wonder if this means I'm unlucky… or if you are."
He paused briefly before smiling.
"Maybe this is what they call… mutual misfortune."