The armored skeletons below began untying the ropes, and chains pulled by mechanical levers pulled away the ramps as the ironclad prepared for departure.

The echoes of groaning metal filled the cabins, followed by loud clunking and hollow booms. And a moment later, the giant ship was pulling away from the floating island.

“From here on out,” Viara said as she peered through the window. “Be on guard. You might be no weakling for a ghoul, but you’re still a baby. And for as little rule of law as there is in Lantern, out here, there’s none.”

“Thanks,” Abe said.

Viara’s eyes turned to him, face still pointed to the window, “No one is trustworthy. That includes me. You won’t get this warning again.”

He nodded and shuffled awkwardly, focusing on the window as they pulled into the space of the Vale.

The endless darkness of space was broken by swirling ribbons of purple, blue, and green as Lantern shunk behind them. From there, they could still see the tiny specs of other vessels traveling to and from the floating island.

Since shardworlds were part of the Vale, there was no need for tethering, and because of that, the cost of transport was far cheaper.

Still, through his energy vision, Abe could see the deathly energy radiating from the huge vehicle, and the bright purple heart at its center—which was no doubt the orb and its vast energy stores.

The Vale was an endless delight for sightseers. The colors, swirling patterns, stars, and optical illusions mirrored the sights of the cosmos but compacted all together.

In the distance, Abe spotted shapes and dots. He focused, and as he did, he could make out their faint details. These were shardworlds, he realized. And the more time he spent searching for them, the more he realized existed. Even within their immediate vicinity, there must have been hundreds, and this was meant to be a backwater.

His eyes glazed over in amazement as his mind traveled the possibilities. How vast was the Vale?

The Vale was closer to an ocean than it was space, he realized. Or perhaps, somewhere between the two concepts. Certainly, you could see far further here without the hindrance of weather or curvature. Any one of those rocks could likely see them, he reasoned—if not by eye, then with a device like a telescope. The thought heightened his senses further. This place was dangerous, even if the inhabitants were relatively weak in the grand scheme of things—since he was as well.

Had the slayers that followed the Man in White chased him through a scene like this? The ships might float, but Abe knew you couldn’t just swim through the Vale. There had to be something else, a means for them to follow him through the tether and reach Miss Nia’s domain.

Abe watched the ribbons of deathly energy that trailed the vessel, their power illuminated through the metal frame by his purple vision. It was the energy that the orb created to propel them through the Vale. But it wasn’t some kind of fumes like an exhaust might create. No, these ribbons of power were just that, concentrated deathly energy. Abe could feel the pulse of their power and the worms whispering to him. They couldn’t know what it was; they didn’t possess that level of consciousness, but they could feel it.

You can ride those waves of energy? Seriously… It’s possible to hitchhike on the back of one of these vessels through the Vale. Amazing.

He turned his gaze to Viara, who stared lazily through the window.

“Bored already?” she said, apparently sensing his gaze as she did not turn to him.

“Not at all. If anything, I’m interested in all this. You mentioned the Earth realm. Are we able to go there?”

Viara turned from the window, “I wouldn’t think about it if I were you. If you ever get the chance, you’ll have grown far stronger than me.”

“That doesn’t bother you?”

“No. Why should it?”

“I don’t know.”

“Does it bother you?”

“I’m not sure. Not really, to be honest.”

“Then why torture yourself with these thoughts?”

Abe sighed, “I don’t know. A search for answers, I guess.”

“There’s one answer to every question in this world, honey. Grow stronger.”

He smiled hard enough to threaten a chuckle, “Of course, that’s the answer. We’re just nobodies. Specks floating through the abyss, aren’t we?”

“Speak for yourself, child. The great Viara of the Amandi is no nobody. I’m an elder and leader of my people. Someone to look up to.”

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“Okay, okay, neither am I.”

“I have a feeling th-”

A thunderous blast shook the vessel, flicking the gas-lit lamps throughout the cabins.

“What was that?”

“No idea,” Viara replied, rising from the chair and listening with a slight tilt of her head.

Another bang shook the compartment, forcing Viara to widen her stance to remain standing.

“That doesn’t sound good,” Abe said, jumping to his feet.

“No, it doesn't.”

“Got any idea now?” He said, catching her eyes.

“We’re probably under attack.”

“Attack?”

“Remember what I said about keeping your guard up?”

“I hadn’t expected it so soon,” Abe grimaced.

“The Vale is filled with opportunists, and they generally don’t wait around until it's convenient for you.”

“Okay, I got it. What now?”

“We figure out what’s going on and counterattack, of course.”

“Aren’t there guards on this thing?”

“You mean the guild employees? You’re not going to last long out here if you think you can rely on the likes of those useless bones.”

“Great, so we got to do it?”

“We’re not the only ones onboard.”

Bells rang through the ship as another explosion shook the compartment and loosened debris from the timber-plank ceiling.

“Okay, that one was too fucking close,” Abe drew his sword and pistol.

“Agreed,” Viara said. “Well, good luck,” she added as her skin began to shimmer and she stepped backward, flickering translucently as she passed through the wall. Smiling at Abe from outside, her cloak transformed into wings and she flew out of sight.

“I didn’t see that coming,” Abe grunted and let himself out of the cabin. He looked both ways down the corridor, shrugged, and turned right.

He could hear the clashes of steel and roars of battle reverberating through the door at the corridor’s end. Standing still for a moment, he tried to focus his senses on the ship and everything happening across it—but the myriad sounds of battle were too loud and sent his mind’s eye into confusion.

I guess I’m defending this place now, Abe sighed as he made for the door. Inhaling, he pushed through into the next section of the ship.

Timber dividers running through the middle of the next corridor had been smashed through, and two men dressed in a combination of metal and leather armor pushed three of the guild skeletons back and through the shattered timbers.

The skeletons were mostly covered in the black plate armor he had seen when boarding, and they held black, round shields high and stood in defensive stances, occasionally taking opportunistic swings with their scimitars.

The men pushing against them wielded heavy, two-handed hammers. When one of the skeletons stepped out of position, the countering hammer came quickly, crushing through the bones with nearly no resistance and crumbling the skeleton into a pile of rubble remains.

I see what she meant, but I doubt they’ll last long.

The second man released a furious blow against one of the skeleton’s shields a second later, sending it chattering backward, and Abe charged into battle. The skeletons might not have been the strongest, but he figured keeping numbers on their side was still a good idea.

Battering one of the skeletons away with a hammer to its shield, the bulkier of the two men turned to Abe. “Looks like we got more ta play whiff,” he grinned and readied his hammer, veins rising across his muscular arms.

“Protect the guild assets,” one of the skeletons said, and the other skeleton continued to defend against the other man effectively. It seemed that while their offensive capabilities were lacking, they weren’t bad at defending themselves.

Abe swung as he charged into range, and his steel found the upper end of the hammer’s staff, just below the metal block at its top. The man pushed down before he had the chance to follow through, and Abe almost gasped when he felt the man’s strength. He was no normal man.

Through the corner of his eye, he spotted the skeletons pushed into retreat as rattling hammer blows shook their bones through their shields. The man pushed the two skeletons back, but they continued blocking or easily evading his attacks.

Watching Abe’s hesitation, the hammer-wielding man pressed on his attack, but while he might have been strong, he wasn’t overly fast, especially not compared to Abe when the worms infused their power with his.

Dancing back, he effortlessly avoided the strikes, figuring it better not to risk blunting or breaking his sword against the hammer. And he was slowing.

He felt like laughing at the man. Abe knew he could keep this up all day, and this man was already showing signs of fatigue. He let several more heavy strikes fly past him before he decided to jap forward, passing straight through the man’s guard and skewering his heart with his sword.

The man coughed, and a spray of blood dirtied his chest; then, the sword was withdrawn, and he collapsed limply.

The second man turned to Abe with a raised brow after swiping in a wide arc that sent the two skeletons bouncing back and out of range.

“Ye dog,” the man spat and charged toward Abe, ignoring the two skeletons he had been engaged with.

Before the battle began, he could tell the man was clumsy. It was his footing, the way he carried himself. He could hear the depths of his breaths and the race of his heart.

Abe barely bothered to raise his sword as the hammer raced toward him. He stepped aside as if he were a seasoned veteran. The man wasn’t finished, and he twirled around, moving with the momentum of his first strike. But it wasn’t enough.

Abe had already moved by the time the second strike followed through, and this time, the man couldn’t just redirect his momentum and crashed into a timber wall.

The man grunted as he rose and went to turn, halted by the sword that slid through his neck and released a trickle of blood down his chest.

Abe pulled the sword free with a satisfying flick, and the man fell to the ground—wide-eyed shock plastered on his stilled face.

“Looks like you two needed more training,” he shook his head.

He turned to the skeletons, but they barely paused for a second before repeating, “Protect the guild assets,” and ran off to the next door.

Abe tilted his head in amusement as they passed through it into the next corridor.

“Impatient bags of bones,” he mouthed.

He turned his gaze to the corpses. They smelt dead.

“Oh well, not evolving here, I guess.”

He wasn’t certain if dreamers followed the same rules, but he figured they were stronger than F-rank if they did. They were like E-rank but at the bottom rung of it. It wasn’t just how they fought; it was the strength of the energy he felt coming from them. The skeletons were like the burning head of a matchstick compared to a ball of fire the size of a palm. Both were weak but at an entirely different level. So then, how had the skeletons fought as well as they had? It was comparable to Abe and his early encounters with the blackcloaks; they certainly hadn’t been strong.

The thought would have to rest for now, but he wanted answers.

He almost followed after the skeletons but stopped himself and glanced down at the corpses.

I don’t need to make that mistake again.

Lowering himself to the corpses, Abe began to search through their pockets.