After their tour in the Red Tower, Arthur and Diana decided to leave for the night and return to the ship. Because of their tour inside his sea of consciousness, Arthur seed fatigued and they decided to sleep. Diana opened her eyes to once again see the wooden ceiling of the pirate ship. Her body swayed and moved with the ocean, gently easing her into the world of unconsciousness. However, she did not sleep a wink.
What that man said about Arthur and his journey made her uneasy. She asked Arthur about his new na, Netherborne, and he told her about his ancestor that once led the world against the gods.
The story of how a man stood against the world for a vision that no one could agree with, not even his friends, made her fear that Arthur would stand in that sa position one day. And if he did, she was scared of losing him.
Diana turned her eyes from the ceiling to the man sleeping next to her. His breathing was steady and strong, his chest heaving in sync with the ship. For so reason, he had a smile even when he was asleep.
The Arthur that she rembers from Alka did not have this smile all the ti. Instead, that was a burdened man whose life could not be any worse than it was: shunned into a foreign world, enslaved, and mutilated.
Then, she looked at the golden scars shimring on his eyes, a sight that twisted her heart with such pain she felt nauseous. The price of their reunion was not cheap on him, but he did not seem to mind his blindness one bit.
Her eyes welled with tears again, and she stifled a sob and rose from the bed. She made her way out of the room into the darkness of the ship, wanting to find a spot away from everyone.
Outside, she found Rain gazing at the moon.
Diana did not want Rain to see her tears, so she wiped them away before the Sin of Lust turned toward her. The moon seed to amplify the silver in Rain's hair, making her look like a ghost.
"Does the ocean trouble you, princess?" Rain asked, but her tone was not ridiculing. "Many abandon the pirating life because their bodies do not adjust."
"Other things trouble ," said Diana before she turned to return to her room.
"Do you hate , my lady?" asked Rain to stop her. Diana paused and glanced back at the sin, whose expression seed apologetic and sincere. "I'm really sorry for the things I have done."
Diana stared at her for a minute or so, making the silver woman get increasingly uneasy. Then, she sighed and walked to the railing next to her. "In my world, powerful n take multiple wives to ensure their bloodline is diversified and intermixed with others. That makes the notion of love to us demihumans to be absurd."
"That sounds like a harsh life," said Rain with raised brows as Diana sat on the railing, gazing at the glistening ocean full of mirrored stars. "When did you realize that you loved him?"
"I did not understand what I felt for him at the beginning too," Diana said, a small smile playing on her lips. "But it was not his strength that drew , but his vulnerability."
"Is this what everyone calls girl talk?" asked Rain with sparkling eyes, like a puppy waiving its tail. "I've never had a girl-friend before."
"Girl talk?" asked Diana in confusion.
"Girl gathering to talk about juicy topics like love and gossip," said Rain as she strode toward Diana, sitting beside her on the railing with her back to the ocean. "Tell more!"
Diana did not feel comfortable anymore, but the Sin of Lust seed persistent in knowing how she and Arthur fell for each other. And for so strange reason, Diana enjoyed telling her.
After hearing their story, Rain was stunned speechless. The hardships that they had to endure, the separation and sacrifices, made the Sin of Lust tear up as well.
Diana did not understand why she would cry for their sake, but she found herself feeling better after talking to soone. Sunlight broke from beyond the horizon. The golden rays illuminated the sea for them
"I will never forgive myself for harassing Arthur without knowing his story," said Rain with red eyes. "But can you forgive ?"
"I never had anything against you to forgive," said Diana with confusion. "As I was saying, Alka values strength of their bloodline, and no one is stronger than Arthur. I can understand why you wanted to birth his offspring."
"Does that an...?" asked Rain with surprise, looking at Diana's belly as if she can see through it.
"We never discussed that," said Diana with a frown. "At the mont, we just want to be together."
Diana unconsciously touched her belly. She has never imagined herself becoming a mother, nor Arthur becoming a father. Those figures brought so much hardships to their lives that she did not see herself becoming one.
"It takes ti to decide, and the two of you are still too young," said Rain with a smile. "But I wonder how your child would turn out?"
Diana was silent, but she knew that she can never have a child. Her powers threatened to kill her, and it would do the sa to her child. She did not wish to curse her children with this life.
As she was entertaining such thoughts, Rain turned in a certain direction. After a mont, she jumped on the railing, placing a hand to shield her eyes.
"I can see Hikma!" shouted Rain with overjoy. Diana turned to look as well, seeing a small line appear over the horizon. And at so point, there other ships beside their and Alaric.
"You are awake already?" a sleepy voice asked from behind them as Arthur erged from the cabin. "What's going on?"
"We arrived to our destination," said Dia with heartbreak, wishing that he would see the scene that she was seeing.
"Hikma?" asked Arthur with surprise. "That did not take long. Where is Alaric?"
"Over there," answered Rain while pointing at a ship in the distance. "He was true to his words."
Arthur nodded as they cut through the last stretch. Hikma slowly ford before them, and it was breathtaking. Diana ensured that Arthur had all the descriptive input needed to visualize it too.
As the ship approached Hikma, the city's unique architecture beca clear. Tall towers made of glass and coral, painted in bright colors, rose from the coastline. Each tower was decorated with strange symbols.
Sandy beaches, houses, and streets filled the gaps left by the glass towers of wisdom. The entire city seed intertwined, stacked like cubes upon each other until no more could be filled.
Their ship approached the ports, filled with pirates and rchants trying to rest from a long journey. A giant gate separated the ocean from the ports, with giant iron-bars on each side to prevent unwanted visitors and enemies.
Alaric approached them with his ship before swinging to jump to their ship, landing on the railing in a precise manner. Arthur and the rest turned toward him.
"Welco, everyone, to the city of wisdom, freedom, and wine! You will find here the finest establishnts from across the world, from the most exquisite food to the most beautiful won, and the biggest libraries containing wisdom gathered from distant lands!"
"How are you going to get us inside, showman?" asked one of the pirates that has erged from their cabins. "It looks like you dragged us here to locked shores!"
"Worry not, dear audience! Hikma does not turn away anyone that brings them wisdom, riches, or fa," said Alaric with a hand behind his back, like a true showman. "As we have it, we have a man who has wealth, fa, and power!"
"They will not let inside, not in a million years," said Arthur with a smile. "Or do you suggest we bribe them?"
"We can just take down the pirate's flag, put up a white one, and say that we were rchants posing as pirates."
"...does that even work?" asked Diana with a frown.
"It does, young miss! The rchants of these seas are as cunning as pirates. They do not give away their identity to lurking predators. Thus, all we need to be rchants is rchandise!"
"I can handle that," said Arthur with a smile, raising a hand. Countless items materialized out of thin air, falling to the ground in a clamor. They were swords, spears, and shields with shimring runes. "My stock of these is infinite."
"Artifacts?" muttered Alaric with surprise as he jumped down, picking one of the swords with awe. "Are these genuine artifacts?"
"No, artificial. Only one man can create genuine artifacts, and I cannot reveal my identity before entering Hikma," said Arthur as he picked up a spear. "Thus, I will turn these into artificial artifacts."
Under the shocked eyes of the crowd, Arthur waved his hand and the runes on the items rewrote themselves. Such a power left them utterly stunned, because it proved that Arthur indeed attained everything this world has to offer:
Wealth, Fa, and Power.
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