Yun dreamt of the cold.
No, Yun felt the cold.
[… Welcome to the Forsaken Realm].
His hair danced wildly as it played with the wind. The air carried a salty scent, accompanied by the roar of crashing waves. The sky — which was a fragmenting mosaic of dark and light — rumbled and crackled as a torrent of pulsating starlight assaulted the waters.
Besides the storm surrounding him, Yun was unable to move. He looked down to see a rope tying him to the main mast of a ship and both his wrists and ankles bound.
Meanwhile, his captors were apparently having a party.
A crew of drunk men, seemingly unbothered by the tumultuous waters, were singing and dancing to the melodies of a visibly shaken band. Either the band was here against their will, or whatever caused this storm had shaken them to their core.
What in Severin's name is going on?
A gruff-looking man stepped forward, raising a comically large beer mug. He stood so tall that his mates seemed to orbit him like little drunk moons. All eyes immediately fell on him. Even the storm subsided as if making way for his voice to thunder in its place.
"Men, I call upon you all to witness! After generations of failure, I will be the one to honour my ancestors and see to it that their souls find solace within the halls of the Heavenly Court!"
He stomped his boot on the wooden deck, prompting his crew to follow suit. The percussive stomps syncopated well with the shaken band's tunes.
"Worry not that a mere flap of its wings trapped us within this storm. Instead, rejoice, for we are the first mortals to gaze upon an Itheon and live to celebrate its divinity. Now, I will transcribe the Maliki name in legend by bringing back its head."
"Hail Maliki! Legend Maker!"
"Hail Maliki! The Last Son!"
Quite the ambitious bastards.
I smell trouble.
Just then, Yun's head crackled. Memories that felt both familiar and alien flooded Yun's mind. His body stiffened as his pupils turned into a milky fog:
He saw a nation secluded in the mountains. Despite being surrounded by enemy nations more powerful than it was, it was peaceful. Their enemies were dissuaded from attacking by an Itheon — beasts from the mortal realm that gained divinity and acknowledgement from the Heavenly Court— that had made its home within the nation's mountainous valleys.
Yun, or rather, this body was part of a small tribe of mortals that previously served the Itheon generations ago, and inherited part of its Lineage. That was until the Itheon disappeared without a trace, leaving the nation to be wiped off the map by its enemies.
Being one of the last descendants of this tribe, this body was tracked down and captured by the Maliki clan, a clan from the same fallen nation as his tribe that was hell-bent on reclaiming its lost valor by hunting down the Itheon.
Trouble indeed. To pass the First Vision, must I…
The voice of Severin's Curse—his own voice—boomed, disturbing Yun's trance:
[Brace for your celestial core].
Wait, what? Argh!
An intense heat exploded in Yun's chest. Back in the outskirts of the Hollows, he'd once witnessed a public execution. Two watchmen blew a man's chest out with long-range firearms through his back. He'd always imagined what that felt like.
Now he knew, and something told him this feeling was much, much worse.
The Maliki crew's merry-making faded to the background as something seemed to grow within Yun. The excruciating pain burned hot, then solidified into something anchored to an object elsewhere. The object's weight pulled on Yun's consciousness, threatening to silence it completely.
Could he just… let go? It was quite tempting, but before he could make the choice, the pain subsided, flooding his body with some much-needed relief.
What was that?! I need answers.
But where would he get answers? In the middle of the sea, no less. And he hadn't noticed when the storm had condensed into a barrier. Meaning he was stuck.
Calm down.
As Yun took deep breaths, he heard his voice once more.
[A new Path has opened up in the weave of your Fate].
[You have acquired a new Trait].
[You have acquired a new Trait].
Virtue Dion's words echoed in his mind: "When you wake up, check your Traits and your Lineage Path."
Focusing his intent inwards, Yun manifested his Traits. His vision went dark, leaving his awareness of the surroundings intact. He focused on the darkness plaguing his vision, and the darkness quaked. It then shattered into a myriad of fragments that immediately attempted to reunite into one image. The fragments did not quite merge into one. They looked like a kaleidoscope of silver and golden light. Almost like the sky itself.
And what he saw…
Are you kidding me?!
***
Name: Yun Morrigan.
Celestial Fragments: [1/7].
Authority: [0/1000].
Rank: —
Vestiges: —
Traits: [Court of Divinity], [Incubant], [Eyes of Acuity].
Lineage Path: [Cloud Servant].
Path Description: [Servants of divine beings are often blessed with a sliver of their master's power, but only in their presence. Otherwise, servants are weaker away from their masters than if they didn't have one at all. The same applies to the Cloud Servants.]
Bewildered, Yun just stared at the fragments, especially the description of his Lineage Path.
That's what he came here for? The so-called ancient Lineage?
Despite it being a literal curse that forces Descendants into the Forsaken Realm, Yun still assumed that Severin's Curse was meant to assist Descendants. Dion never said it would actively work against him.
From what Maliki had said, the Itheon that was supposedly his master just took off, leaving them stranded in a storm with a mere flap of its wings. And from what that description told him, Yun was screwed front and back.
Can't I just be swallowed by some big-ass fish? Why embarrass me on top of it?
Yun slammed the back of his head on the ship's mast until it hurt a bit too much. He then shifted his focus to his Authority counter.
What was that about?
He knew that Divines wore bodysuits that utilized something called "Authority" to enhance their bodies.
Or maybe it's all just science fiction—
"Psst!"
A smoky voice came from below.
"Psst! Young man, over here."
Yun quickly dismissed the fragments. He was sure that no one else could see them, as these things tended to go, but you never know. Looking down, he saw a pair of eyes glued to him from below a metal grating. And for whatever reason, he could tell just how many people were in his field of vision. There were four people. Judging from how closely packed they were, there were more of them in the lower deck.
Were they prisoners? How long had these guys been watching him?
"Are you well, son?" asked the smoky voice. Another voice followed, this one scruffy-sounding. "Fool! Why are you conversing with it?"
Who was he calling son? Wait, did the other guy just call him an 'it'?
Ignoring the scruffy one, the smoky voice continued:
"Ever since you came to, you've been grunting and groaning without end. Scared me shitless. I thought these Maliki savages had brought the Plagued one on board."
Scruffy, meanwhile, sounded like he was at his wits' end. He mumbled something under his breath.
"Sure, ignore me. First, a storm raged so much that I thought the War of Aeons had left the Heavenly Court and made its way down to us. And now this idiot is about to get us killed for conversing with this creature."
"It's bad luck to mention the Aeons in vain, philistine. And that creature is a divine servant; it's in your best interest to show some respect to the boy."
"Wow, you don't say? These Maliki bastards plan to feed us to the beasts of the sea as soon as they attack. We're all bait to them, dammit. What's so special about this boy?"
Smoky's and Scruffy's argument started heating up, and just when it threatened to attract the merry crew's attention…
A tall girl about Yun's age planted her boot loudly on the grating. She had a crimson head wrap, matching the rest of the crew. On her waist was a lengthy blade. She unsheathed it and pointed the tip directly at the prisoners. They fell silent immediately.
Her voice sounded concerned rather than harsh as she addressed them.
"You want lashes or what? Keep it down, please."
Having done its job, the blade returned to its sheath.
Yun watched as the girl approached him, noting the scar to the left of her lips. Despite her crew being as drunk as… well, sailors, she appeared to be sober. Her eyes maintained their lucidity. She stopped in front of Yun, not looking him in the eye, and loosened the ropes around his arms. Afterwards, she looked down into Yun's eyes.
"There, is that better?"
"It'd be better if they were off," said Yun.
"Can't do. Unless your master descends once more and demands it of us. But then, brother would just proceed to cut its head off. You're going to have to settle for this, for now."
Just as she was about to walk away, Yun noticed a flask dangling next to the blade and realized just how thirsty he was; at least his hunger had subsided somewhat.
"I need water."
The girl doubled back and tried to hand him the flask. Yun simply stared at her. That was enough for her to blush after realizing her mistake. Twisting the cap open, she raised it to Yun's mouth, and he drank. Seconds into the process, a crewmate's mocking voice made the girl flinch, causing some water to enter through Yun's nose. He coughed. Meanwhile, the drunkard trudged over to the girl and threw his arms around her, shooting Yun a venomous glare.
Not good. The entire crew's attention was on Yun now. Thank you, Smoky!
"Captain's sister has found herself a suitor, huh? Were none of us good enough for you, little Miri?"
The music came to an abrupt stop. Laughs and slurred jeers followed his barely intelligible questioning. Yun stole a glance at Maliki, her brother, who was laughing along. Thankfully.
The girl—Miri—gripped the hilt of her blade. "I like my suitors with both their arms intact; move yours if you still want to be in the running."
"Whoa, there!" he chuckled nervously as he stumbled away from her. Miri walked off while the drunk's fellow crewmates laughed at and mocked him. His face turned bright red, even more than he already was.
"Something funny, fucker?" He snapped at Yun, who was just a bystander—a bound one at that—and slapped him across the face. The wooden floor of the deck creaked as he stomped off somewhere. The brief period of silence passed, and in its place came the rhythmic strumming of the band's tunes.
Now, Yun was losing his cool. Which he had done a superb job keeping, all things considered. First, that farce of a Lineage, choking on water and being someone else's stress release. All because of some mouthy prisoners he couldn't care less about.
This ship is sinking and taking all these idiots with it. Every single last one. I'm gonna make sure of it.