Suta POV

The scent of the endless ocean filled his nostrils, and Suta felt incredibly at peace right now, strangely enough, despite the questioning thoughts that had plagued his mind for the past few hours. He had never boarded a boat before, having never needed to back on his old world, where airplanes and cars were the familiar ways of travel for most people.

'Unless you were super rich, then I guess boats would be common,' he thought to himself, propping his chin against his palm, which he had propped on the side of the wooden boat since their departure. His gaze lazily casting itself out into the clear, open emerald seas. Since leaving the Fairy tribes in a rush, he felt less anxious now and a little free to think and study all the things he had heard. But he understood why he was feeling more relaxed. Their boat was heading towards the other side of the map he was shown, towards the place where the blue castle stood. And where he would find her, the girl he couldn't stop thinking about since he left her.

'You better be doing alright,' he spoke inwardly from his heart, a childlike smile creased against his boyish features.

All the chatter about prophecies, Demi-Gods, and whatnot were things he chose to place at the back of his mind right now. For now, he just needed to make it back to Demoria first. He couldn't shake away this troubling feeling lingering in his chest. Something felt off, and there was no soothingly clear thought to tell him otherwise.

Very shortly afterward, his daydreams were dutifully disturbed by the soft fluttering sounds of tiny wings arriving beside his ears. He turned ever so slightly, where a tiny green-haired Elf was staring absentmindedly towards him whilst chewing on a large parsnip it carried with both of its hands.

"Mister... you not eating supper with us?" the little fellow asked with a mouthful of vegetables, not to mention the tiny pieces stuck to its little clothes. Although it was taking very subtle bites at a time, it was doing quite well with the adult-grown-sized vegetable it clutched in its two pudgy hands. Not to mention, Suta had discovered these little whimsical things had quite the appetite. What the little one was calling supper would actually be its fourth or so meal before lunchtime.

'Do they digest things super quickly?' Suta watched on with curious amusement.

Now that he was pulled free from his daydreams, he brushed some of the loose dreadlocks behind his ears, taking a deeper look into the vast spread of endless green waters surrounding them. The scene was truly a picturesque one, which spurred a sudden thought to trace his mind, wondering just how incredible it would be if his parents could see all of this right now.

'Mom would be fussing about us standing too close to the ledge. Dad would be wondering how deep it was, to see if he could dive in and have a swim. Whilst Ringo... ' A warm smile creased against his lips.

'Ringo would be filled with wanderlust. Out of everyone, she would be the one most captivated by the sheer beauty of this place. But then she would probably deny it and throw insults if I stared at her for too long.'

Suta couldn't hold in his childish laughter. His slightly loud chuckles drew the attention of the tiny fairy floating by his side.

"Hey Mister-nom-nom-crunch... er... What's so funny? Are you feeling a little happier now?" it asked him between bites. Suta was drawn to its innocence and truthfully formed a wide smile in return.

"I'm ok... th-thank you," he said, rubbing the top of the little guy's head with the tip of his finger. The little fairy didn't react, nodding its head softly before it too stared out into the vast ocean.

"Heeeeey Verdi! You gunna keep lazing away down there or help us out? Don't make me sell you out to the chief later!" A loud voice beckoned their attention towards the ship.

Suta traced up the ship's thick wooden mast, at the very top he could see two familiar-looking fairies, one with a red long braid and the other with purple short hair and rounder cheeks. They were both studying one of the many large glowing azure runes etched across the entire ship.

The little green-haired fairy perked up as though something had shocked it right through its core. It swallowed the piece of parsnip down harshly before it attempted to hide the large piece behind its back.

"Oh no, ple-please don't tell the chief... I'll-I'll be right over," it said in a panic.

"M-mister... We'll have to play later... g-g-goodbye now," the little fairy said, quickly fluttering up towards the duo above, not before taking a few subtle more bites out of the parsnip along its way.

Suta watched Verdi, quickly fluttered up towards its companions, the parsnip still clutched tightly in its tiny hands. He couldn't help but chuckle at their antics, finding a strange sense of comfort in their presence.

'At least I'm not alone on this journey,' he thought, his gaze drifting back out to the endless expanse of the emerald sea.

He casually made his way across the evenly layered wooden decking, the planks slightly creaking beneath his feet. Along the way, small chatter appeared in pockets across the deck. Everywhere he looked, he saw tiny groups of fairies discussing things or reinforcing the glowing runes etched against the boat. He found it fascinating to see how the fairies manned this specially-made vessel that didn't need any real active crew. Suta gathered there was something special about the boat, considering Anak's persistence in acquiring it. He wanted to quiz one of the little fellows about it when given the chance, having a feeling that arcane was at play with how these folk managed to steer and control the boat without actually needing to physically exert themselves.

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It reminded him of the strange cool air inside the carriage he had first arrived in.

'Granny would be scolding me for not studying... sigh, but where do I have the time these days?'

Suta had a lot on his plate. Even right now, he felt most of his attention was drawn to matters outside of his study of Arcane. Before his impromptu departure from Granny's farm, he had been firmly locked in the idea of exploring more about the importance of these five Arcane languages.

From the little he did understand, one's fluency in a particular Language of Power directly influenced what type of incantations one could understand. Transmuters and Evocators would roughly have a range of similar folk who all understood one common Language of Power. What he hadn't started learning was the different types that grouped beneath each principle of Arcane.

'The quicker we leave this place, the quicker I can get back to studying, I still have so much I need to do,' he thought, swallowing harshly as he recalled the deathly oaths he had made to that fishbowl head. Suta understood time was of the essence right now, and there was no telling when another disaster might befall them all.

He eventually reached the end of the deck, where he met the slenderly tall frame of the white-haired Vampire leaning slightly over the boat's edge. Anak stood alone with his back turned towards him, the formless winds sweeping through his hair, the ends of his pale, long silk strands dancing behind him.

Around 50 steps away, Anak sensed Suta's approach and slightly twisted around, his scarlet glare still sending chills down Suta's spine. But he sucked in his worries and steadily continued his walk towards the vampire. Once he arrived by Anak's side, Suta saw a different view of the endless sea. Far away, he could faintly make out a mirage of pointed-tip white mountains, imagining an island of some sort settled there, perhaps where their giant ship would be heading.

"So... what's the plan then?" he asked the aloof Anak beside him.

"We're heading towards one of the nameless islands between us and Candy. There is... something important we need to obtain. After which, we'll head towards Candy and reclaim the castle."

Suta still felt a little uneasy hearing that. He didn't want to hurt anyone, especially those who were potentially guarding Demoria at this point. Was there really no other way? Maybe along this journey, he could delve deeper and discover what motivated Anak towards this goal.

"Also, what's the plan on sending me back to my world? N-not saying I don't trust you... b-b-ut I was just curious?"

Anak remained silent at first, Suta unable to see a trace of a single emotion on that cold mask of his. Eventually, the vampire began to open his thin lips, saying, "You'll find out soon enough, but first..."

* Whoosh *

"Huh?"

Before Suta could blink, Anak had completely vanished from his side.

He spun around in haste to find the Vampire slowly pacing across the empty space on the deck, tightening dark leather straps around his slender, pale fingers. Suta felt a terrible premonition forming. He narrowed his gaze and asked Anak with an ugly smile on his face,

"S-s-ay... Wh-what are you doing there?"

"We have a few days until we reach the island. We'll spend the bulk of it honing your fighting abilities."

'Damn it, not this again! Hasn't he realized our skill levels are far apart? At least teach me how to fight before forcing me to spar straight out the gate.'

Suta could feel a headache forming, as well as slight aches throughout his muscles as his body began to remember the pain it was put through while sparring with this monster. Realizing that he held no choice in the matter, he sighed defeatedly before begrudgingly dragging his soles across the wooden decking floors.

"Is this really necessary? I should tell you, I learn better when—"

Whoosh

Suta's eyes shot open as a swift wind rushed through his body. Before he was given a chance to even form a guard, he felt Anak's pressure envelop him, followed by a swift and firm palm striking him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him before sending him flying back. He rolled all the way back until he painfully slammed against the edge of the boat.

As he writhed on the ground in agony, he could only bitterly hope this would be over quickly. Anak approached him and loomed over his fallen form, his crimson eyes glinting with a mix of amusement and anticipation.

"You're easily distracted, human. If you hope to survive what lies ahead, you'll need to learn to focus and anticipate your opponent's moves before they make them."

Suta groaned, pushing himself using his shaky arms.

"Easy for you to say," he muttered, wincing as the pain in his stomach flared.

"You've had centuries to hone your skills. I've had... what, a few weeks?"

The vampire chuckled, which wasn't really a chuckle and more of a cold, mirthless sound that sent shivers running down Suta's spine.

"Time is a luxury you do not have, human." He simply said.

He extended a hand, pale fingers glinting in the false sunlight. Suta eyed it warily for a moment before grasping it, allowing Anak to pull him to his feet.

The moment he found his footing a cruel smile creased against the vampires pale mask.

"Again," he commanded