Legend has it that in Waterfront City, the famed cartographer and world-renowned explorer Adammus Irther would set sail on a monumental voyage around the World Mountains; he had theorised: "If it's impossible to cross over the mountains directly, why don't we go around instead?"

Although it may seem like a simple proposition, it must be known that at the time: boats and ships were heavily reliant on either wind or pure muscle. Furthermore, with the sea being the scary place it is, if a wayward sea monster happened to have a bad day or if the wind decided to be a jerk, you can consider all the sailors' lives forfeit.

So when his peers heard him, they laughed at the notion, mocking him all the while. When his Lord heard him, he was dismissed for insanity and was kicked out thereafter. However, when his crew caught word of it, when his crew had learnt of the humiliation he had to endure, Oh his loyal crew, they all walked up to him and said:

"Captain! As long as you're still willing, we'll follow you through hell and high water!" They clamoured and shouted, one by one walking towards his ship, ready to embark the moment he gave the word...

Seeing this, Addamus was touched, and in response to their faith, said:

"Men, I am honoured to have experienced your loyalty first-hand! And I am even happier to announce that tomorrow morning, we shall set sail post-haste! Who's with me!?"

""Us!!""

"Good men! We'll show them! We'll show them all! Isn't that right!?"

""Yaaaaaa!!""

That day marked the start of a legend, and in mere months, Adammus came back wearing... Murukhali clothes!! It was clear to all he had succeeded. So when the nobles of the empire caught wind of this, there was an uproar spanning the whole of Deusterra!

Only, unknown to the world, there was another, more hidden story that only Adammus himself experienced...

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"Are you sure this is the place?" Adammus peeped curiously at the mysterious figures standing beside him.

He remembered just a mere week ago, these three had come to him on the recommendation of his good friend Kenshin. They spoke of wanting to go to the Murukhali desert via ship— of wanting to ride along with him.

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He acquiesced. And of course, he would; three extra hands on deck is far more cost-effective than three more mouths to feed.

Now he was really regretting it. They wanted them to stop midway through the trip, give them some supplies, and wait for them!

"Yes, this is the correct one,"

He sighed, "Huu... Although we can wait, we'll only give you two days time. Any longer, and we'll be forced to go without you, understand?"

"We're aware, and you don't need to worry; we'll be in and out after a day at most!" Hearing this, he could only nod(He couldn't really abandon them, he owed Kenshin a huge favour.) before turning to head back...

When Adammus finally left earshot distance, the three looked at each other before walking into the cave while talking...

"So... Connor, Mariya, although we've been travelling together for a few weeks now, I don't really know much about any of you. Can you tell me why you're willing to undergo something as dangerous as this?"

Mariya answered after some thought, "At first, I was only tagging along to kill that bastard Al Makira. Now though, I'm more interested in keeping an eye on this guy!" She pointed at Connor.

Hearing this, the focus of this conversation snorted, "Hoh? When did you become my guardian angel?"

"Since I saw you use that 'Power distortion' of yours. The Book of Fate is far more dangerous than I gave it credit for. And I have no intention of allowing some power-hungry idiot to take it for himself,"

"..."

"How about you, Malkov? Why are you tagging along with us?"

"To be honest, I'm greatly fascinated by The Book of Fate too. It had done the impossible, and I want to study it best I can," As he explained, he couldn't help but take a peek at the purse on Connor's person, which held The Book of Fate.

'Tch! Keep dreaming! Even the best of the best couldn't dissect this thing, and you think your slightly above average brain has any chance?' A disgruntled voice rang out in Connor's head.

In response, he rolled his eyes, 'You come out at the strangest times, you know that?'

'Heh! Kid, if there's one thing that's consistent everywhere in the world, it's that Fate and anything associated with it is never consistent!'

'I see. But from experience, on the rare chance it is, there's always an important reason. So tell me, why are you here?'

There was a short silence after he spoke, 'I'll be straight with ya: there's something in here that isn't right, and you'd do to keep a lookout,'

'I realized; it's a bit too quiet, even if we're in a cave...' Saying this, he disconnected and began to focus on walking.

Soon, they arrived in front of a giant mural carved into the stone. Connor examined the mural: It depicted a man, a king, leading soldiers to fight... ghosts? Or maybe...

"We're here," Interrupting his thoughts, Malkov gestured to a conspicuous button at the corner of the mural before pressing it.

-Grind!!-

Like a particularly rusty portcullis, the whole thing began to move, creating a large cloud of dust in the process. Truly an asthmatic's worst nightmare...

Slowly, the dust started to settle, and in a minute or two, the trio was finally able to have a clear view of the new path ahead. Only, that wasn't the only thing they saw.

"...Holy hell,"

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"Oh my god..." Mariya felt like fainting when she saw it.

"This... This wasn't in my calculation,"

What they saw absolutely shocked them: It was a... a... ghost!!

But it wasn't just one ghost, nor was it ten. By the look of things... There. Were. Thousands!!