A sharp slash cut apart a thicket of impassible thorns. A green and purple mantis about a meter tall flew through the opening. It was followed by a handsome youth with long black hair tied in a ponytail.

Zachary looked around and breathed deeply through his nose, smelling the warm salty air. They had finally reached the ocean. The journey from Roan Oak Village had taken almost a week. Thankfully, it had been uneventful and instead, quite fruitful.

“Great job, Timber.” He said as he patted the mantis’ head.

“Ka!” The mantis replied happily and proceeded to clean its bladed forelimbs with its sharp mandibles.

Behind him; Heather, Nellie, Shuhua, and Carlos pushed through the brush and joined him in the small clearing. They had left the thickest part of the jungle. Sunlight shined through the gaps in the tall trees. They couldn’t see the ocean yet. But they could almost hear the sound of waves crashing against the rocky shore.

It didn’t take long for them to meet other survivors. The other group only had three people but they were impossible to miss. That was because one of them was riding a massive forest elephant.

“Aaron White,” Zachary muttered softly.

The giant beast approached slowly. Its limbs were as thick as tree trunks. Each step made the ground around them tremble. It was the biggest creature residing in this jungle. There was no equal.

“Hold!” Aaron called from atop his Ensouled.

He stood up and examined the new arrivals.

“Heather, I didn’t think you would show up,” He said.

“Just here to support my people,” Heather replied evenly.

“Mmhm, I hope they perform better than last time…” He gazed drifted to Zachary and his eyes widened, “You!”

“Me,” Zachary said.

Aaron frowned, “You survived? How?”

Zachary shrugged, “Luck.”

Aaron studied him like he was trying to uncover an important mystery. After receiving no response, he smiled without a trace of kindness, “I’ll be watching you.”

He then patted his elephant, directing it in another direction. Behind him, his two followers, a middle-aged man and a youthful, attractive woman gave Zachary and his group curious stares before walking away.

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“What was that about?” Carlos asked.

"Just meeting the competition," Nellie answered.

Heather turned to Zachary with a questioning look, “You two met before?”

“We did,” Zachary replied, “I met Aaron in the ruins when he was trying to fight the gray wolf pack for the pinecitta tree. It didn’t work. And because of the gray wolf king, almost everybody died.”

“Ah, I see. You should be careful. He is a dangerous person and his background is unfathomable.” Heather said.

“I know. He’s a member of the White Clan.”

“Fine, whatever. Just be careful.”

He smiled, “Glad to know you still care about me.”

During their days traveling, Heather’s attitude toward him had shifted greatly. She no longer treated him like a lover. There were no more tender nights spent together. She hardly paid attention to him aside from what was needed in terms of teamwork and fighting off wild Ensouled.

He understood why and didn’t press her. He was intent on going back. She was staying. Their paths had already started to diverge. There was no ill will between them. But they were no longer as close as before.

“Of course, I still care. I just can’t afford to care as much as before.” She scoffed in annoyance and turned away from him.

Smiling, Zachary continued toward the ocean. After a short walk, they finally reached the edge of the forest and the cliff that overlooked the beach. Below, waves crashed ceaselessly against the jagged black rocks.

They were finally back where they started. A whole year had passed. So many things had changed. Yet some things stayed the same.

A familiar steel ship lay in anchor in the clear blue ocean, a short swim from the shore. It looked like a dark gray sword floating on the calm waters. It was the Republic. They were back; the source of all his pain and suffering. He wanted answers. He wanted to understand why Minah did those things to him. Finally, he had to find Yaoyao.

“Wah! Is that a ship?” Wander barked excitedly.

“Yeah, one this size can be considered an ocean cruiser. It's large enough to cross the five oceans of the Old World and visit all three continents.” Zachary said.

“Wow… something that big is not an Ensouled but something humans built?”

“Mmhm, humans have a few more talents besides just summoning. Many of these creations come from various ancient ruins and are relics of past human civilizations. For example, this ocean cruiser doesn’t use water attribute Ensouled to push or pull it. It also doesn’t have sails that can employ sky attribute Ensouled with wind abilities. Instead, it has a steam engine, a fantastic machine which can turn the flames from fire attribute Ensouled into tremendous power that moves a such a huge ship through the ocean.”

“Wow, I want one!”

“Wander, you can just swim.”

“Big bro, how else would Doro be able to see the ocean? If he tried to swim, he would just turn into sand and sink to the bottom. Don’t forget about Elmont, Boba, and Timber too. I want a ship and I want to cruise the oceans!”

Zachary rolls his eyes at Wander’s unreasonable request. How would he get the money to buy such a huge vessel? Where would he find the sailors to crew it?

For solitary summoners, they didn't need such a ship to cross the world’s oceans. They just needed a large water attribute Ensouled that could carry them. If Wander grew a little bigger, he could do it, carry Zachary on his shell for short swims atop the surf. He looked forward to that day.

“Zach, we have company,” Heather said softly but with urgency.

Zachary turned away from the ocean and was greeted by a larger group of eight survivors. Among them, there were five men and three women of various ages. The one standing in front was a stocky man with a reddish-brown beard.

“He’s Thomas Harrington, the leader of Riverside Village,” Heather whispered to him.

However, he was hardly listening. Instead, his attention fell on a petite young woman with long brown hair that framed a familiar pair of bright green eyes.