Finally, they had reached Isulon.

From a distance, Kawao could see the island’s port city nestled along the coast.

Never in his life had he seen so many buildings.

Once they docked at the harbor, he wanted to explore the city as quickly as possible, but John held him back.

"Hold your horses, young man!" he said.

"I know you want to explore the city right away, but I need you to promise me something first!"

"Depends on what you want me to promise," Kawao replied.

The tension was palpable.

"I want you to promise me not to mess with the pirates! Their base is on the other side of the island, and I know how much you hate them, but even with your Nyd... if you go there alone, you'll only get yourself killed. You seem like a good guy, and I’d hate to see you rush to your death if I could prevent it. So please... promise me!"

Kawao paused for a moment before answering.

"I promise! I won’t mess with the pirates!"

,Besides, they weren’t the ones who attacked my village. I’ve seen them sail past our island before. They never showed any interest in us.´

John sighed in relief.

"Good. That's a load off my mind. It’s been bothering me the entire journey."

"Not just you, Captain," called one of the crew.

He smiled at his crew.

"Now that that's settled. Do you even know where you'll be staying tonight?"

,Ugh! I haven’t thought about that!´

"No, I don’t know yet!"

"I thought so! Here, take this."

He handed him a small pouch with some coins in it.

"There’s a good inn here, very popular on the island. It’s called ‘The Great Crab.’ We’ll be staying there tonight too. This should cover one or two nights."

"I can’t accept this."

"Yes, you can! You’ve earned it! I don’t know what your plans are, but if you want to get to the mainland, you need to find out when the next ship leaves. Of course, you can also sail with us if you want. You’ve earned a place in our crew!"

Kawao didn’t know what to say. He had never expected to meet people outside his island who were as kind as John and his crew.

"Thank you!" he managed to say hesitantly before heading towards the city.

He didn’t know how he could ever repay them for their kindness, but he knew he would find a way.

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He walked through the streets with eager anticipation, hoping to see things he had never dreamed of.

But soon, he noticed that something was wrong.

The streets looked grim and decayed. There were hardly any people outside, and those who were seemed sick and intimidated.

Was he scaring them?

Sure, his appearance set him apart from the people here, but he didn’t expect it to be this extreme.

Suddenly, he bumped into a man.

"Oh, sorry!" he said quickly.

The man looked at him, and Kawao was startled.

The man's face was swollen and disfigured as if his fear had manifested physically.

The man chose to ignore him and quickly ran away.

Now he saw it!

All the people outside had disfigured faces.

What was going on here? Was this a disease?

Gradually, the people fled into their homes. They were obviously afraid of him.

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,What is going on?´ he wondered.

,Why are they all afraid of me, and why do they all look like that? I don't think that's normal!´

He continued cautiously through the streets.

Now no one was outside. It was deathly silent.

Suddenly, something caught his eye.

In a side alley, there was something lying there, but he couldn't quite make it out.

He walked closer, slowly.

Just before he could get a better look at the object, someone placed a hand with long, bony fingers on his shoulder. It felt ice-cold, and a shiver ran down his spine.

He turned around. Standing before him was an old nun, her face so heavily veiled that he couldn't see it.

"Can I help you, my child?" she asked in a fragile, brittle tone.

"I... I'm just looking around," he replied.

"Oh, that might not be such a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Well, the pirates have been attacking more frequently lately, and now the people here are quite afraid of... ahem... new faces."

"Oh, I see. But what's with their faces?"

"Well, a new, unknown disease has been spreading here recently. I hope you can understand why the people are, well, a bit more cautious."

"I think I understand."

"It's not safe out here. Come with me. There's a place where people seek refuge, and where it is, well, safe from the disease."

He hesitated for a moment.

"Can I trust her? Maybe. Her story does sound somewhat plausible. I can ask the people there where the inn is."

"Alright! I'll come with you!" he agreed.

"Good!" she replied and shuffled away.

He followed her.

The further they ventured into the city, the more desolate it looked. A fog was also beginning to rise.

After a while, they arrived at an old, decrepit church.

She opened the door and gestured for him to enter.

"Are you also infected with this disease?" he asked before stepping inside.

"Unfortunately, yes. Usually, I don't go in, but I need to explain to the dear people that you are not a threat to them," she explained.

He slowly entered the church.

,Does this still make sense?´ he wondered as the doors creaked shut behind him.

He looked around.

It was very dark, but he could still see that the church, both inside and out, had not been used for a long time. Many of the benches were broken, and some of the windows were cracked or shattered.

But one thing he noticed immediately.

No one was seeking refuge here!

Had he been lured into a trap?

"Are you sure there's someone here?" he asked as he turned around.

But the nun had disappeared.

He looked around.

It was quiet, too quiet.

He walked slowly between the pews, mentally preparing for an ambush.

When he was halfway through, he suddenly heard a faint crack from the ceiling.

He looked up, and the nun flew at him, attacking with a knife. He managed to grab her arm before the knife could reach him.

But she remained suspended in the air, motionless.

"Well, you're better than I thought."

"Thanks. But what the hell is going on here?"

"But only for a little longer!"

She pulled her arm back, and suddenly something cut into Kawao's hand.

He quickly released his grip. She landed behind him, near the entrance of the church.

He glanced at his hand. It was cut! He looked back at her.

"Did you really think I was unarmed?" she asked, pulling up her sleeves.

All over her arm were small blades.

"For your quick reaction, you are far too careless," she said.

"Time to end this before we attract too much attention."

She raised her right arm, which began to undergo an impressive metamorphosis before his eyes.

It started to swell and grow larger and bulkier until a large lump of flesh, almost like a hammer, was aimed at him.

"Too bad. This was really fun!"

She struck.

"WAIT!"

She stopped just short of him.

Suddenly, he heard slow footsteps behind him, echoing through the entire church.

A man in pitch-black robes and hair stepped forward. His dark circles were as deep as his hair. He seemed very bored.

"You do not have the right to judge him!" he spoke calmly.

Suddenly, the nun knelt down.

"My bishop!" she said, slightly fearful.

"The master wants to see him!" he explained to her.

A tremendous thunder filled the church, and suddenly the ground beneath Kawao gave way, and he fell into a deep black hole.

----------------------------------------

The man looked down at the nun.

"Do not fear, my child! For you have not acted wrongly. However, I will punish you for your shortsightedness in this matter."

"As you wish, my bishop!" she replied without looking up.

It felt like he was falling forever.

At some point, he no longer knew which way was up or down.

,I need to protect myself with energy, or the impact will kill me!´

He quickly gathered energy and held it together, hoping it would be enough to cushion his fall.

Shortly after, he landed on something.

It was soft and felt like it was stretching under his impact.

For a moment, he felt safe.

But then it tore, and he fell again.

This time, however, he came to a slow stop, even though he hadn't landed.

He was floating.

Stars appeared all around him.

It was as if he were floating in the void of space itself.

For a while, nothing happened.

Then he slowly but surely felt like he was being watched.

One of the stars slowly came closer.

He quickly realized it wasn't a star but a giant eye.

And not just that one.

All the other stars also approached him and revealed themselves to be eyes, staring at him with razor-sharp blood-red pupils.

Soon, he was surrounded by eyes on all sides.

"Hm. So you are the new one!" he heard a deep, dark voice coming from all directions.

"Who... Who or what are you?"

"That is not important. What is important is what is inside you!"

Kawao felt completely exposed.

"Hm. Interesting! That explains a lot. It seems I can't just ignore you, Kawao!"

"How do you know my name?"

"Oh, I know much more than just your name. But that's not why you're here!"

"Then why am I here?"

"I just wanted to get a look at you. Hahaha! Just kidding. Or maybe not. You have piqued my interest, and now I know why! You could be very useful to me. But for now, I'll leave you alone. I'll be watching your progress with great interest!"

Then the eyes closed, and he once again felt like he was falling.

But now he was falling faster and faster.

He lost all sense of space and time until he saw a small dot, which quickly revealed itself to be an approaching planet.

He tried to prevent his impact.

But instead of crashing into the planet like a fly on a car windshield, he suddenly found himself on the streets of Isulon again.

He was lying in the middle of the street.

Drenched in sweat, he got up and looked around.

People were out and about again.

And no one had lumps on their faces.

,What was that?´ he wondered.