Three days pass as Glyn and his group sail the seas. Mila stands on the deck keeping a lookout, with Glyn looking over his maps. Miller and Sam look over everyone’s gear, with Otso keeping guard over Xia. Pepper flies around the ship in her smaller size before returning to Glyn’s side and reporting on everything she’s spotted.

“There’s an island nearby. I believe that is our target.” Pepper says, returning to her regular size.

“Hey Xia what’s the island’s name?”

“Kozrin. It’s a simple island. Nothing special. It’s where I last saw Isaac before we were separated.”

Miller turns to her. “If your Lord is still alive, we’ll save him.”

“Again,” Sam says.

Xia looks up at Sam. “Still walking around as a woman?”

“It’s a useful form.” Sam smirks. “But forget about me. How’re your wounds?”

“Fine. I can fight. That’s all that matters.”

Glyn turns to her. “Ideally, you won’t be doing any fighting. You’re too weak in your current state. I’d rather not risk you dying.”

“Oh, suddenly care about me?”

“Somewhat. But isn’t it normal to not want to see people die if you can help it?” He asks, returning to his maps and papers.

Xia laughs. “You’re a stranger person than I thought Glyn Mattox.”

“It’s better to know someone than listen to others talk about them. But don’t ignore the words others say. It’s a tricky situation getting to know someone new.”

Mila turns away from her post and rushes over to the cabin where the others sit. “We’re close.”

“Alright, everyone. We have no idea what to expect here, so be on guard.” Glyn stands and grabs hold of his book. “We have to get in, learn what we can and get out to make a better plan. Understand?”

“Right.” Everyone says.

Xia nods, forcing herself to stand. “I’ll follow you for now. But if you put Isaac in danger, I’ll end you.”

“Well, I don’t intend to. But I wouldn’t get your hopes up.”

“I can still feel him through my Piece. On top of that, Morgan seems to want to keep the candidates alive.”

“What?”

“She’s keeping them alive for some reason. Hasn’t even removed their pieces.”

Glyn pauses.

“Isn’t this a good thing? It means that despite everything, they’re not powered up.” Otso.

“The power up from taking another King is based on the base level of the individual. For example, Miller could be said to be nearly twice as strong as he was before. While Mila could be considered twice as strong as Miller at a base level so her power up was vastly more.”

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“So?” Sam asks.

“It means she has naturally powerful forces. That she can strengthen at a moment's notice whenever she chooses.” Miller states.

Glyn nods. “I can’t think of a reason to hold back from harvesting the Pieces. But if it’s some way to hide how strong she is or obscure the numbers, I can understand somewhat. But either way, this just makes how much a threat she is more evident.”

“So, we should avoid active combat?” Mila asks.

“Right. Infiltration, that’s the way we’ll run this.” Glyn stands. “Everyone get ready. We’re going to land soon and we should prepare ourselves for whatever we find on the island. It might be horrible, but keep yourself calm and just try to blend in. We don’t want to cause a scene.”

The ship lands on the beach with Glyn and the others, disembarking their weapons sheathed and ready for anything they may encounter. They travel up a path leading towards a village that comes into view on the top of a large hill. As they draw in closer, they see smoke rising from the middle of the village as they draw closer and closer.

As they arrive in front of the village, they’re not met with sights of horror and burning. But instead met with an idyllic village with people going about their daily lives. The smoke rises from bakeries and forges across the village.

Glyn and the others stand dumbfounded, staring at the peaceful sight as they all turn their eyes to Xia.

“You told us this place was a burning hellscape,” Miller says.

“It was the last time I saw it. They must’ve rebuilt.”

“How long ago was that?”

“Three days.”

Glyn stares at the village. “Yeah, I doubt that. There doesn’t even appear to be any damage, and that doesn’t explain the people.”

“I already told you. The last time I saw it, the entire pace was a burning wreck.”

“Glyn, what do we do now?” Sam asks.

“I have no idea.” Glyn sighs. “For now, Mila, come with me and we’ll look around. Pepper, you and Otso look around the village and see what you can see. Miller, Sam, you two take Xia back to the ship and wait on standby.”

“Why me!?” Xia yells.

“Because we don’t know if someone who knows you will see you. We have to be cautious because we have no idea what’s happening now.”

“Fine. But if you find anything about Isaac….”

“I know. I’ll let you know. Trust me.”

She pauses. “I don’t know if I can trust a thing you say. You are still the enemy, after all.”

“We have a truce. And trust me, I don’t want to be king after all.”

“You are a strange one.”

“I get that a lot.”

The group splits up with Pepper shrinking and flying off and Otso moving across the village, staying in the shadows. Glyn and Mila walk around, looking cautiously as they try to blend into the village. Glyn watches the people as they go about their lives with no sign of distress. Mila looks on taking glances at Glyn as she walks behind him.

“What a lovely couple.” A woman stands behind the pair with an enormous grin on her face.

A large woman with long blond hair in a flowery dress approaches the pair. Her height towering over Glyn and Mila as she looks down at the pair.

“Good afternoon,” Glyn says.

“Good afternoon. You pair look so cute together.”

“Um... thank you,” Mila says.

“Oh sorry. Did I make you nervous? I just saw you two and couldn’t help myself. We don’t get too many travelers here, and I just wanted to approach you.”

“It’s no problem.” Glyn grabs Mila and pulls her in. “We’re a pair of merchants. We’re scooping out the area to see if there’s a potential market here.”

“Merchants. So ambitious.”

“Yes.”

Mila nods. “Um, what can you tell us about this village?”

“Nothing much. We’re simple folk here. Nothing ever really happens, and it’s always nice and peaceful.” She smiles as Glyn senses a sinister aura coming off of the woman.

He looks around and notices the people shaking, taking the occasional glance at her.

“I see. Do you know anything about the market here? What the people might want to buy.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I just work in the fields. I rarely have time to deal with other people or ask their opinion on things.”

“Alright. Well, thank you for your time, Maim.”

“Lois. My name is Lois. If you’re going to stay for a while, I recommend the bakery over there. The owner will give you a free sample if you drop my name and trust me, it’s delicious.”

“Thank you. We’ll take you up on that.”

Lois nods and walks away with the pair standing around as she leaves. “Glyn?”

“Yeah. I felt it too. Something strange is going on here.”

Mila nods. “I think Xia was right. This place might be a step into hell.”

“For our sakes. It better just be a step. I’d rather not go further inside if I can help it.”