Chapter 359: Chapter 352: Ten Thousand Forms Sanctuary
"Yeah, you’re one lucky kid! All the hardships your father and I went through... you won’t have to suffer them."
"You’ll go straight to the top!"
Another captain ruffled the boy’s fog-dampened hair, calming down slightly from his overwhelming elation. There were so many Fog Island Crystals. Even if they were split evenly among every ship and every person, it was a fortune they could never spend!
Once they returned from this voyage, they would all be set for life!
’One of the elites?’
Children of the sea were sharp-witted.
Born of the ocean and witness to countless tempests, eight-year-old Krotos gazed at the mist-wreathed crystals. He understood perfectly in that moment that the choice between becoming an elite or reaching the very top depended on a single whim.
’These old-timers... the strongest among them is only a D-class Awakened.’
’They keep each other in check, maintaining a balance.’
’But the skill I got from my dream, Oblivion’s Dust, is countless times stronger than my father’s D-class skill, judging by what it can do. Once, out of curiosity, I tried it on a live sea fish when no one was looking. A huge, plump fish instantly turned to dust and vanished.’
’In terms of power, it has to be at least B-class.’
’Maybe even stronger.’
’If I make a move, all these Fog Island Crystals will be mine. The other three wandering ships will end up just like that fish... ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Them and their crews, all scattered into the fog. There’d be no mistakes.’
His young mind raced as he stood at a crossroads in his life.
’Left...’
’...or right?’
The other captains had already started packing the Fog Island Crystals into their sturdiest chests, their faces beaming with the joy of their haul. Their hearts still pounded in their chests, and their eyes shone with infinite hope for the future. Once they got back, they would buy property on Fireseed, shedding their status as low-level captains. They could live a quiet, stable life or indulge in extravagant pleasures...
Little did they know their fates rested in the hands of an eight-year-old boy.
Krotos stood there, perfectly still.
He steeled his resolve and clenched his fist. A crystalline cube materialized in his palm. All he had to do was push it forward to activate Oblivion’s Dust. Every living being on the four ships—except for him and his father—would die.
He gritted his teeth.
But as a gust of wind swept by, he was suddenly reminded of the past.
He remembered how their ships had supported each other through storms, banding together to fend off enemies. They had driven off a Silver-level Wandering Ship that attacked them and had barely escaped with their lives from a C-class sea beast. He recalled the time they bought beer-brewing equipment from a trade vessel and threw a beer party, and how they sometimes kicked a ball around on deck—their "national sport," they called it...
The sea breeze didn’t disperse the fog, but it did cause the cube in his palm to fade slightly.
Krotos gripped his right arm tightly with his left hand.
His eyes were filled with conflict.
"What’s wrong, Krotos? Feeling sick from being in the fog for so long?"
"We’ll be heading back soon."
His father noticed something was wrong with his son and walked over, patting his shoulder with a large, rough hand. Krotos’s thoughts turned again to his father’s years of suffering, including this very venture into the Earth’s Lung. Every step had been a tightrope walk along the edge of an abyss, each one agonizingly difficult.
’An elite,’
’or one of the very top?’
’He felt caught in a giant net, struggling with every passing second. This was supposed to be a joyous occasion, so why was it so agonizing?’
His father knelt and cradled his head in his hands.
He ruffled his hair.
A voice called out from nearby.
"Ronando! 412 total! Get over here, or don’t blame us if you think we miscounted!"
"Coming!"
Ronando kissed Krotos on the forehead, then stood and walked toward the pile of Fog Island Crystals.
’412 crystals.’
’Split evenly, that’s 103 for each ship. Honestly, that’s not bad. That many Fog Island Crystals would be enough for Dad and me to put down roots on Fireseed and live as elites. It could even help Dad become a B-class Awakened.’
’It’s enough.’
The conflict in his eyes faded.
The cube in his hand dissolved into nothing.
...
The Ten Thousand Forms Kun found this dreadfully boring.
’Humans,’ it thought, ’what uninteresting, conflicted creatures.’
’Survival of the fittest is the law of nature. A human’s life spans a mere sixty years—like a mayfly that never sees winter, they are born and die in a single season. And yet, they agonize over such pointless emotions.’
’But then again, fate itself is merely my plaything.’
’Let alone a single human whelp?’
...
"Four hundred and twelve Fog Island Crystals! More than 400! I heard the captain of the Golden Globe killed an A-class sea beast not long ago and sold it for a full 400 Pure Dome Crystals. If you round up, you could say we killed an A-class sea beast ourselves!"
"Hahaha! Old Smokey, if we’d actually run into an A-class sea beast, you’d be nothing but a pile of ash by now!"
Krotos listened to their chatter.
’An A-class sea beast.’
’It can make someone an A-class Awakened.’
’Four hundred Pure Dome Crystals can buy the blood of an A-class sea beast.’
’The difference between A-class and B-class is like heaven and earth. Why would I pass up the chance to become an A-class Awakened just to be one of the elites?! An opportunity like this will never come again. Why should I let it slip through my fingers?’
His mind began to race again.
"A-class?"
Ronando sighed.
"My friends, we’re getting old. My only wish is to take Krotos to Fireseed and live a quiet life. I can’t stand another day of this wandering. This son-of-a-bitch life of an Awakened..."
"It’s just licking blood from the blade’s edge, on and on forever!"
"Anyone who fucking wants this life can have it!"
"Hey, I heard Fireseed still has a real athletic field!"
"We’ll organize a match! A match! Damn it, it’s been over thirty years since I’ve played a real game of soccer!"
"You’re on!"
But a cry from the Kun echoed in Krotos’s mind. The sound seemed to come from a place impossibly far away, yet as close as his own ear.
’I want to be above the elites...’
’I will be an A-class Awakened!’
Krotos suddenly thrust out his right hand. A gray cube materialized before his palm. A powerful pressure instantly drew everyone’s attention. Then, to their utter shock, the gray cube abruptly swelled, expanding to nearly a thousand cubic meters and easily enveloping every living thing on the four wandering ships.
The cube pulsed once, then contracted violently.
It shrank back into a gray cube the size of a Fog Island Crystal before vanishing without a trace.
S-class skill: Oblivion’s Dust.
This had been one of the Ten Thousand Forms Kun’s signature skills back when it was still an S-class sea beast.
The sole survivor tumbled out from where the cube had been. It was Ronando, his face a mask of shock. He stared in disbelief at his son, then at his old friends, who had been reduced to dust...
The countless Fog Island Crystals piled on the deck also dissolved, turning back into mist.
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
...
The Ten Thousand Forms Kun, satisfied with the conclusion of the drama it had directed, suddenly sensed a trace of an unfamiliar power in the surrounding waters—a Holy Hall Tier power. It was an irresistible lure, akin to what Fog Island Crystals were to humans.
’Could this be that ripple in fate I sensed earlier?’
HUUUMM—
It quickly detached itself from the amusing spectacle. With a soft chime, its body dissolved into a swarm of countless butterflies that swam through the depths of the Earth’s Lung, searching.
In the face of immense temptation, all creatures will flock to the source. Even the master of fate itself was no different from a mere human.
