Chapter 35 — golden heart
Kai stepped forward, his boots echoing faintly against the wooden floor as he approached the massive desk. He tilted his head upward, forcing himself to meet Vorg's gaze.
"I assume you are the one who takes care of this place," he said, his voice steady but cautious.
The enormous creature behind the desk slowly lifted his head. The movement alone made the wooden boards beneath him groan in protest. His small, deep-set eyes shifted toward the three visitors, studying them with unsettling patience.
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then, with a slow, rolling motion of his thick neck, he gave a heavy nod.
"Yes," he rumbled.
His voice was deep and wet, as though forced through layers of flesh. It carried a strange vibration that seemed to crawl along the walls.
"I am the keeper… the watcher… the one who remembers what others forget."
Without another glance, he lowered his head again and returned to writing. In his enormous hand, a thick feather quill looked absurdly small, yet he moved it with surprising precision. The parchment beneath his hand filled with tight, careful symbols — records of ships, cargo, and losses.
Beside him, resting on a wide iron platter, lay something alive.
An octopus-like creature. Its slick limbs twitched weakly, curling and uncurling as if still trying to escape. Its skin glistened under the dim light, shifting colors in desperate pulses.
Without even looking, Vorg reached out. His thick fingers wrapped around the struggling thing, squeezing it until its movements slowed into faint tremors. Then, with horrifying casualness, he lifted it and shoved the writhing mass into his mouth.
A wet, crushing sound followed. He chewed slowly, loudly. Thick fluids dripped from the corners of his mouth and splattered across the parchment, yet he did not seem to care. He swallowed with a deep, hollow gulp that echoed through the room.
Trinity stiffened slightly behind Kai but said nothing. Drakara remained motionless, though the faint rattling of her armor betrayed her tension.
Kai forced himself to stay focused.
"We were sent here by Grimwald," he said. "The old hunter from the cabin. He told us to find you. He said you would listen if we spoke his name."
At that, Vorg paused mid-chew.
His eyes shifted upward again, narrowing.
"The cabin hunter," he muttered slowly, licking thick residue from his fingers. "Yes… I remember that stubborn old bone."
He leaned back slightly, the movement causing papers to slide and scatter across the desk.
"He still breathes, does he?" Vorg asked, his voice thick with mild amusement. "Hah… that one refuses death like a rusted nail refuses to leave wood."
Kai pressed forward.
"We've come looking for Yuki's pendant. The old fisherman from the village lost it. We were told you might know something."
Vorg's expression shifted. Recognition flickered across his face.
"Ahhh," he rumbled slowly, dragging the sound out like grinding stone. "That man… yes. I remember him."
He tapped one thick finger against the desk, the impact sounding like a hammer striking wood.
"He worked here… not so long ago. Strong hands. Sharp eyes. Good worker." He gave a slow nod. "And yes… the pendant. I remember it well."
Another tentacle from the platter twitched weakly beside him. Without breaking eye contact, he reached down and tore it free, chewing thoughtfully.
"He spoke of it often," Vorg continued between heavy bites. "A family man. Always touching that little trinket… always looking at it when the waters turned black and restless."
His voice grew slightly lower.
"Said it gave him strength… said it reminded him why he must return alive."
Kai took another step forward.
"That pendant is lost now," he said. "We need to find out where it was last seen… and if there's any way to recover it."
Vorg watched him silently for several seconds. Then, slowly, he nodded.
"You can find it," he said.
His voice dropped into a deeper tone, heavier than before.
"But here is the problem."
He leaned forward, his massive bulk pressing against the desk. Papers slid to the floor as his shadow stretched across the three visitors.
"The place where it lies," he continued slowly, "is not a place I would recommend for fragile creatures like yourselves."
Kai narrowed his eyes.
"Why is that?"
Vorg shook his enormous head slowly, as if amused by their determination.
"Kids… kids… kids," he muttered. His thick fingers drummed against the desk, leaving faint grease marks across the scattered papers.
"This place," he continued, his deep voice rolling like distant thunder, "is filled with things that do not belong to ordinary waters. Strange creatures. Twisted anomalies. Things that should never have existed, yet do."
He leaned back heavily, the wooden chair beneath him groaning under his weight.
"One of those things," he went on, lowering his voice, "is a creature whose name no one dares to speak with certainty. I do not know what it truly is. No one does. But I know this much — it is dangerous."
His thick hand reached for another writhing piece of sea‑creature flesh, which he absentmindedly crushed between his fingers before tossing into his mouth.
"It lives far from this harbor," he said between slow, deliberate bites. "At the farthest edge of the island… where the scattered chains of smaller islands end. That is where the black waters give way to the deep waters. Between those two realms… beneath jagged rock spires that rise from the sea like broken fangs… that is where it dwells."
He swallowed heavily and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
"I do not know much about that creature," he admitted. "Nobody does. But many years ago, on the day that fisherman made his final voyage… he sailed toward that forbidden stretch of water."
His eyes narrowed slightly, as if replaying the memory.
"He wanted something greater than the ordinary catch. Something worthy of his last journey. So he steered his vessel toward the deep, hoping to bring back a prize worthy of remembrance."
Vorg paused.
"But fate was not kind that day."
His voice dropped into a darker tone.
"That thing attacked them."
The room grew silent.
"And yet… they survived," he added, his voice filled with faint disbelief. "Shockingly… impossibly… but they survived. Broken. Wounded. Nearly swallowed by the sea itself."
He tapped one thick finger against the desk again.
"That," he continued slowly, "is the moment I believe the pendant was lost. Because before that day… Yuki never removed it from his neck. Not once. Not even in sleep."
He leaned forward, staring directly at Kai.
"So if there is any chance — any chance at all — of finding that pendant… it will be there. In those cursed waters."
He gave a low, rumbling exhale.
"And believe me… that region is no joke."
Kai allowed a faint smile to cross his face.
"Well," he said calmly, "it seems you do not yet know how many monstrous creatures I have already defeated."
Vorg studied him for a moment, then gave a slow nod.
"Very well," he replied. "Then you shall go."
He shifted his massive body, reaching toward a large iron key hanging from the side of the desk.
"I will lend you a boat," he continued. "One strong enough to survive the journey. It will take you close to that place… but not directly above it. No vessel dares sail that far into those waters."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"After that… you will have to swim."
He tilted his head.
"Is that acceptable?"
Kai answered with a firm nod.
---
Soon after, they made their way back through the massive building and stepped once again into the harbor.
The air outside was thick with the scent of salt and rotting seaweed. Workers shouted to one another as ropes were tightened and cargo shifted across the docks. The crashing rhythm of waves against the wooden piers echoed constantly, blending with the groaning of ships swaying in the restless tide.
The borrowed vessel waited at the far edge of the dock.
It was a long, narrow fishing boat reinforced with iron bands along its sides. The wood was dark and scarred, bearing the marks of countless storms. Thick ropes were coiled neatly along the edges, and heavy nets lay stacked near the bow. A tall mast rose from the center, its sail tightly bound, ready to be released at a moment's notice.
Kai walked toward the vessel, his boots striking firmly against the damp planks of the dock. The wood shifted slightly beneath each step, creaking under his weight as waves struck from below.
When he reached the boat, he placed one hand against its edge, testing its stability. The vessel rocked gently but held firm.
He turned back to the two women standing behind him.
"You both stay here," he said quietly. "I will retrieve the pendant alone."
Before he could step forward again, Drakara moved.
The air itself seemed to shift with her motion.
She stood like a towering fortress beside the dock, her entire body concealed beneath layers of dark, scale‑like armor shaped into a flowing kimono of blackened plates. Not a single strand of skin was visible — not even the faintest glimpse. Her form was sealed completely from head to toe, as though she were less a woman and more a living citadel of iron and shadow.
When the wind passed, the armor trembled faintly, producing a deep, metallic resonance — like distant thunder rolling across mountains.
Her voice followed.
It was not merely loud — it was immense, carrying the weight of authority and ancient power.
"Your feet… your body… shall not enter those waters without us," she declared, her tone booming like the strike of a war drum. "Understand this well — when a dragon gives her word… that word becomes law."
She stepped closer.
"It does not matter what awaits us there," she continued. "It does not matter the cost. Where you go… we go."
Trinity stepped forward as well, her three heads each wearing an expression of iron resolve.
"This is not your mission alone," she added firmly. "It belongs to all of us now."
Kai studied them both for a moment… then slowly nodded.
Without another word, he climbed into the boat.
He turned back and reached out his hand toward Trinity first. With steady strength, he lifted her effortlessly and placed her carefully onto the deck.
For a brief moment, a faint warmth touched her expression.
Then he turned to Drakara.
Even with her heavy armor, he grasped her firmly and lifted her onto the vessel. The moment she landed, the wooden deck groaned beneath the sudden weight.
Though her face remained hidden behind layers of blackened steel, a subtle shift passed through her posture.
A faint, softer sound escaped her — barely audible.
Not the thunderous, commanding voice she had used before… but something quieter, gentler.
Almost shy.
The boat rocked gently beneath them as the dark waters stretched endlessly ahead.
Kai looked back at the two women.
"Ready?" he asked.
Trinity's three heads nodded in unison.
Drakara's armored form gave a single, deliberate nod.
"We are ready," they said together.