The spirit and the hero stared at the mirror in front of them. The reflection of the vessel passively stared back.

The vessel looks... presentable, the spirit eventually said.

They were decidedly male. The spirit had insisted that they check, despite the hero's panicked verbal confirmations of the body's gender. While there was a gaunt look on the vessel's face, its black wavy hair had been styled into bangs that hid most of it. A short ponytail sat at the nape of their neck, tied in place by some string.

Thanks. I did it myself.

It wasn't a compliment, hero.

Don't call me that.

The spirit was surprised at his curt tone. And why is that?

I'm not a warrior who has been practicing my entire life for this. I had no idea that that gods existed until a few weeks ago. I'm just... a guy.

This was news to the spirit. It seemed that their initial preconceptions of the situation had been slightly wrong. But now was not the time to be poking into the other's backstory.

What should I call you instead?

...My name is Raine, if that's what you're asking. I'd like your name too.

The spirit paused as they considered the answer to Raine's question. Technically, I don't have a name. The parents of the vessel usually give me a name, but clearly this is a special case.

The vessel's mouth curled into a smug smile. I can give you a name. Since I'm basically your parent in this case.

I would rather not carry that for the rest of my life, the spirit snorted. Call me Nikolay. It was my original name.

Original name?

Sorry, that was my fault. I forgot that you were stupid.

Oh, wise one, please enlighten this half-witted peasant with your knowledge, Raine dryly said.

It's a long story, and I'm sure you would get bored before I even finished.

To his satisfaction, Nikolay felt Raine's annoyance radiating from their shared headspace.

You're playing hard to get now?! Go on, I promise that I'll listen.

It began with a deal several hundred years ago when I first faced death. The gods granted me seven vessels and seven chances to reincarnate. However, there was a condition to these vessels: one of the seven sins governed each life. To prevent me from attempting to violate the deal, my memories are wiped when I enter a new vessel. It appears that this is an exception. The vessel we are currently sharing is the last of the seven, and is ruled under the sin of Pride.

You're being so dramatic, Raine scoffed. And yet you managed to leave out the interesting parts. Why did you make the deal? How were you allowed to converse with the gods? Wait, are you even human?

...I'm not being dramatic.

Raine could swear that he sensed some embarrassment from Nikolay. Shit, now you're making me feel bad. Ignore what I said earlier.

For an average human, I'm surprised that you believe me. People are surprisingly stubborn.

After what's been happening recently, I'd probably believe anything. Even if it was something like... elves and dwarves being real.

Good, because they are.

Really?

No.

...Fuck you.

Nikolay couldn't help but snicker at Raine's obliviousness. But everything else that I told you is true.

Approximately twenty minutes had passed since Nikolay and Raine first met each other. They had wasted all of these precious minutes on meaningless bickering, which both were aware of, but unwilling to acknowledge.

Amidst all the arguing, Nikolay gleaned sparse details about their situation. They were currently on a ship — though Nikolay could tell from how they lurched every so often — headed towards an island called Kosira.

The name didn't come as a surprise to Nikolay. In Kosira, the concentration of magic in the air was much higher. Magic was a simple element of daily life for citizens. However, Kosira's unique nature meant that its existence was hidden from the rest of the world.

Nikolay himself wasn't too clear on the details, given that he had never been to Kosira — since he was always reincarnated without his memories, he never had the chance to go visit. Not that he was too keen on going sightseeing, anyway.

Raine's voice interrupted his musings about Kosira. Oh, I have an idea.

That sounds dangerous. You might hurt yourself if you think too hard.

Stolen story; please report.

Shut up, Raine internally rolled his eyes. I think that we should name our vessel.

You mean MY vessel. And that sounds like a horrible idea.

It'll be a good bonding exercise. Maybe you'll stop insulting me every two sentences.

It's not my fault that you're so prone to being insulted.

Raine sighed. Let's just get on with it before I try to strangle both of us. We should name the vessel after both of us, since we're sharing it.

Finally, a reasonable suggestion. What's your proposal?

Hmm... Raine and Nikolay... Rainiko?

That sounds like an exotic herb, Nikolay scoffed. On top of that, it's hard to say.

I'd like to see you try.

Nikorai makes more sense.

That's literally the same thing, but your name is first! Raine accused. Plus, it just sounds like your name if you say it fast.

It is my vessel, after all.

You're such a prick, Raine groaned. But Nikorai does sound better.

A knock on the door saved Raine from Nikolay's gloating that was certain to follow. A woman entered their room and was startled when she saw Nikorai glaring at themselves through the mirror.

"Uh, did I interrupt a self-loathing session?" she asked with an awkward laugh.

Raine quickly fixed the glare that was directed at Nikolay and turned to the sailor with a sheepish grin. "No, you're fine. Don't worry about it, Navi."

You're going to hide my existence? Nikolay sounded taken aback.

Navi doesn't deserve to suffer from the pain of knowing you. She might be my assigned bodyguard, but I-

She needs to know about me if she's your bodyguard, Nikolay sighed, who then took control of the body.

"Navi, was it? I need to tell you something. Close the door behind you," he said.

Confusion showed on the sailor's face at the sudden change in tone, but she obliged anyway. The door was pushed closed, and Navi squeezed herself into the small cabin.

She was well built for the rough life at sea and almost a whole head taller than Nikorai. Despite this, Navi managed to look semi-comfortable as she stood, slightly hunched, in the corner of the room.

"Yes, Raine?" she prompted.

Nikolay brushed aside the misnaming and bluntly asked, "How much do you know about the prophecy?"

"Besides the quoted paragraph? Virtually nothing," Navi chuckled. "I'm just a sailor who's been hired to protect someone."

"Then, this may come as a shock to you," Nikolay exhaled. "The person you're talking to right now is not Raine. I am the true owner of this body, and Raine is merely... borrowing this vessel to carry out the prophecy."

"Huh," Navi said, seemingly unfazed. "I suppose this is also part of the prophecy."

That's also what Dhyros said, Nikolay mused. Does everyone just blindly believe in the prophecy?

Who's Dhyros?

Nevermind.

"Anyway, I'll be mindful of your situation," Navi continued. "Could I get your name?"

"It's Nikolay."

Navi held out her hand for him to shake. In response, Nikolay hesitantly raised his hand halfway and eyed her outstretched hand. His hand was much lither and more fragile than her rough, weathered hands. If Navi squeezed his hand by just a fraction, he was sure that something would break. Despite this, Nikolay reached out and shook Navi's hand anyway. It wouldn't leave a good first impression if he was too scared to shake her hand.

"Is there anything else you wanted to tell me, Nikolay?" Navi asked. "If not, I would like to speak to Raine."

She got bored with your cool guy act, Raine joked.

Navi obviously hadn't meant it in that way, but Raine was eager for ways to rile up Nikolay in retaliation for his unnecessarily rude behaviour. His efforts didn't go to waste, as he vicariously experienced the familiar feeling of heat rushing to their cheeks.

"That is all," Nikolay said haughtily to cover up his embarrassment. "Raine has been listening to us this entire time, but you may speak to him."

He withdrew from control, feeling Raine's presence brush up against his mind when they passed each other. It felt illegally invasive, being this close to somebody else's mind. There wasn't a jolt of electricity or anything equally abrupt, but Nikolay still had a strong urge to recoil from the touch. Whether Raine felt the same was questionable, because he seemed to have no problem immediately replying to Navi once the vessel was under his control again.

Naturally, this irked Nikolay. Why should he be the only one to suffer from this unfortunate situation?

"Hi Navi, it's Raine here. What did you want to talk about?" Raine asked politely.

"Oh, don't worry about announcing yourself," Navi laughed. "It's glaringly obvious who's speaking."

What the hell does that mean?

It means that you're a rude prick, and it shows.

Yet you're the one who's insulting me.

Huh?! You were the one who was unnecessarily rude first!

"And it's also obvious when you two are fighting," Navi continued with a grin. "Going back to what I was saying before, it's mostly your accents that give away who's speaking. Personality-wise, only people who are familiar with you two could tell the difference."

"Yeah, Nikolay has a pretty annoying British accent," Raine comically rolled his eyes, as if they were partaking in an inside joke. "He sounds like he'd call over a maid to ask for tea and crumpets. I bet he's a Tory."

I don't see how my accent correlates to my political standing, Nikolay said stiffly. And for the record, your blatant American accent isn't much better.

My accent is barely noticeable.

It is extremely noticeable.

"Do you think my accent is stronger than Nikolay's?" Raine blurted out, determined to prove Nikolay wrong. "Please say no."

Navi pondered for a second. "I think Nikolay's accent seems more pronounced because it's not as common. Both of you are on equal standing."

"Lukewarm answer," Raine pouted.

Contrastingly, Nikolay hummed in agreement. Navi is correct. Accents were different many decades ago.

Were you one of those poor orphan children begging in the streets? What did Oliver Twist say again? 'Please sir, I want some more'? Raine cackled.

Quiet, Nikolay groaned. I wasn't born in Britain, so that wouldn't be possible.

Childish argument aside, Raine focused his attention outwards again.

"Oops. I've wasted too much time talking about accents," Navi said, glancing at her watch worriedly. "I just wanted to let you know that we'll be arriving very soon. ETA is in two days, as long as we don't hit any more turbulence."

"Thank you, Navi," Raine bowed his head. "But why did you want to tell me specifically?"

"Oh," Navi facepalmed herself. "Gull wants you to go see him. Anyway, I've gotta go. Navigator duties and all. See you!"

Raine waved awkwardly at Navi's back as she left the room.

The room was once again empty. Somehow, it felt more spacious than before, most likely chalked up to Navi squeezing herself into the small room. The heavy silence that blanketed the room only served to accentuate its emptiness.

After some seconds of stillness from Nikorai, somebody finally spoke.

The navigator is called Navi? Tacky.

Would it kill you to say ONE nice thing about someone? Raine sighed. I find the nicknames endearing.

Then, who is Gull supposed to be?

Gull is the guy in the crow's nest.

But why wouldn't they just call him C-

If I had answers to every one of your damn questions, you wouldn't be calling me an idiot all the time! Raine huffed. Let's go and see what he wants from me.

You're still in control of the vessel, genius. I was waiting for you to leave.

Raine didn't bother to vindicate Nikolay with a response. Nikorai stiffly walked out of the room with their fists clenched.