The Leviathan loomed over The Aegeusson, its serpent-like head over half the size of the ship. Its red eyes shined brightly as the sun was blocked by the growing storm clouds. Its body was covered in sharp gray scales dotting down its neck. It swam slowly beneath the waters, keeping up with the speed of the ship as it looked it over. It was impossible to see how large it was beneath the sea, it went too far deep. Rep and Zalan stared in horrified awe. Judging by what little they could see above the water, it was easily the largest creature they had ever come across.

“Leviathan!” Captain Buttonwillow screamed.

“But there’s a storm! They fear storms!” Enzo said, terrified.

He fell down and scampered backward as the Leviathan took notice of him. It turned its entire head his way.

“Not just any storms! Thunderstorms!” the captain corrected. “Zalan, summon lightning at its face! It may be enough to deter it! Enzo, back on your feet, we need to move, now!”

Neither Zalan nor Enzo responded to the captain’s orders, petrified by the size of the creature looking down on them. Xavier redoubled his efforts to push wind into the sails, trying to outrun the Leviathan. The oncoming storm’s winds fought back, keeping them at a crawl. The Leviathan leaned in and nudged the ship, as it checked if its prey was alive. The crew shouted as they were all thrown off balance. The monster broke a hole at the top of the stern with its slight tap. The entire deck shook from the force of the blow.

“Rosemary! She is still in the lower decks!” Captain Buttonwillow said, sounding panicked as the Leviathan rose. He ran down the stairs to get her.

The Leviathan followed Captain Buttonwillow with its eyes. The storm brewed above them, turning the slight drizzle into a real rain. Rep was waving his hands in front of Zalan who was still staring in shock.

“Zalan!” Rep shook him to his senses. “Before it strikes again!”

“Are we jumping ship?” Zalan asked, scared for his life.

“Hit it with lightning!” Rep screamed as he shook him again.

Zalan blinked in recognition. The Leviathan leaned down once more, ready to poke another hole in the deck. Zalan screamed, releasing a bolt of lightning right at its massive nose. The Leviathan flinched and moved back several feet. It waited for a few seconds, stunned. It looked around above it, as if expecting something.

“Get us out of here, Enzo!” Magnolia was climbing down the crow’s nest. “Xavier can’t do it on his own.”

Enzo nodded and stood slowly, trying to keep his balance. The boat rocked powerfully, shifting mercilessly at the waves the storm had summoned. Magnolia tried to throw a blanket of sand at the Leviathan’s eyes to blind it, but the rain stopped her sand from making any distance. She began to build her dense pockets of sand to try and fire some shots. The Leviathan moved to nudge the ship more aggressively this time. The crow’s nest exploded as its head crashed through.

“More lightning!” Rep said. “It wasn’t enough to scare it!”

Zalan threw bolt after bolt at the Leviathan’s face. It flinched in pain at the lightning, but looked as though it watched the sky. It watched intently as it searched for something above it that wasn’t coming after the lightning. After a few seconds, it returns its gaze to the ship.

“There’s no thunder! It’s not afraid!” Zalan said with dread. “Only the lightning I summon from the sky also has thunder!”

“Then summon lightning from the sky!” Rep said desperately.

“I don’t know if I can!”

“There is no time for hesitation! I will cover you!”

“How are you gonna cover me from that?” Zalan pointed at the behemoth.

“Just summon the lightning!” Rep shouted.

Zalan grunted to himself in frustration and closed his eyes to concentrate. The din of screams from the crew made it to the forefront of his mind. As he tried to push that out, he was accosted by the rains and waters that jumped from the sea onto his face. The creak of the ship, the foreboding sense of the Leviathan above them, and the sloshing of waves all fought to take his focus.

He knelt down and placed his hands on the deck, keeping his balance. His physical balance did well to help him in concentrating. But he couldn’t ignore the situation. He tried to force every distraction away, but his anxieties made it difficult. There was so much happening, it felt like it was foolish to try and ignore any of it.

He reached for the sky with the muscle in his mind, trying to find something to hold and wrench down upon the Leviathan. He knew the feeling, it was just out of his grasp. Every time he felt close, one of the several distractions tore him away. He lurched forward, the Leviathan having slammed into the ship hard enough to break a hole in the bottom. The Aegeusson was taking on water. Zalan opened his eyes.

“What is going on up here?” Nold stomped up stairs and stared with wide eyes as he reached the upper deck. His mouth gaped for a moment as he took in the size of the monster towering above the ship. “Did you not think to wake me for this!”

“It will be fine! Help me give Zalan some room to think!” Rep said.

Nold looked at his students and nodded, rushing over.

“Everything is fine, Zalan,” Rep said with total sincerity. He stood between Zalan and the Leviathan, wearing a pleasant smile over his drenched face. “Go back to focusing, do not be concerned about anything on deck.”

Zalan knew that Rep was overcompensating to try and help him concentrate easier, but it comforted him anyway. He smiled back at Rep and closed his eyes. The series of distractions seemed to wane now. He felt warm, and he knew Rep had opened a fire in his palm to make him feel at ease. Nold was redirecting the rainwater, keeping it from striking Zalan. Even the storm’s winds seemed to abate for a few seconds as Zalan focused. He reached for the sky.

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The sensation brushed against his mind. He grabbed on immediately. Instead of pulling the lightning down at that moment, he kept his mind’s grip over it, getting a solid feeling over the power. The sensation of lightning from above became a part of him. It flowed through him like his Elemental Lightning did. He knew what the sensation was. It was as much part of his mind as the Elemental Power was. He could grab the lightning from the sky.

Zalan opened his eyes and brought a massive column of lightning from the sky, sending an exploding shock through the Leviathan. The Leviathan roared in pain, and shrunk down when the sound of thunder exploded above it. Zalan grinned broadly, looking between Rep and Nold.

“I did it!” Zalan said.

“I saw,” Rep nodded.

“No, I mean I mastered it! Watch this!”

Zalan stood tall and pointed to the sky and then brought down a fist. Following his orders, the sky above unleashed another blast of lightning into the fearful Leviathan. It screeched and swung its tail at The Aeguesson, breaking off the mast that remained under the broken crow’s nest. Zalan responded with another crack of lightning from the sky. The Leviathan was in a pained daze.

“You mastered summoning lightning from the sky!” Nold roared in excitement. “Your power has reached its zenith! Your power is perfect! Kill it!”

Infused by Nold’s enthusiasm, Zalan summoned another blast from the sky. The Leviathan was retreating in fear.

“Yes! Brilliant! More!” Nold pointed at the creature.

Zalan obliged with a proud smile. He had to bring a series of lightning strikes from the sky, losing count of the number it took to take it down. The thunder was deafening, cracking dozens of times overhead. With a ship-rumbling roar, the Leviathan screeched as it was overwhelmed by Zalan’s power. It collapsed into the sea. As Zalan looked over his kill, he began to glow white.

“Another Level!” Rep said.

“Our guests have saved us once again!” Captain Buttonwillow said proudly. He and Rosemary were watching from the other side of the deck.

Zalan exploded as he went from Level Seven to Level Eight. The sea continued to toss the ship recklessly as the waves became bigger around them. The Island of Remains was growing close, less than an hour away if Xavier and Enzo could get their bearings in the storm.

“Well done, Zalan!” Captain Buttonwillow said. “If you had not taken down the Leviathan, we would have surely perished. And even when you mastered the ability, it took you a plethora of strikes. Be grateful we were not swarmed by multiple Leviathans!”

“Can we get a move on to the island?” Nold asked, wiping rainwater from his face.

“Indeed! Come help us repair the ship and we can be on our way. We are taking in too much water,” Captain Buttonwillow said, inviting everyone downstairs.

“Captain!” Magnolia screamed.

“Yes, I understand that you may need some rest. But you should come with us, too. We are in a storm and all hands would be—”

“Captain! Look!” Magnolia clarified.

The crew looked to Magnolia. She was on her back, pointing up in shock and fear as four more Leviathan’s reared their heads from the water.

“Zalan!” Captain Buttonwillow commanded without missing a beat.

“On it!” Zalan reached out to grasp the lightning.

The ship threw itself forward, out from under him. A Leviathan bashed its head into the ship. Zalan lost balance, and wasn’t getting any favors from the storm throwing wind and wild waves at him. He fell face first into the deck and slid several feet, all of the passengers tumbling around him. Zalan’s head was throbbing hard and he was barely able to see, much less try and summon more lightning.

“Captain Buttonwillow McKittrick!” Rosemary screamed as she was separated from the captain.

He was rolling mercilessly on deck, bouncing several times until he hit the side hard. He spun over, groaning in pain. All four Leviathans looked down upon him. One opened its mouth and began to descend, ready to consume the ship’s owner and captain.

“No!” Rosemary shrieked.

Xavier ran forward toward the monsters gathered together at breakneck speed. He put Elemental Wind at his back and rushed forward until he reached the starboard side with his captain. He braced himself and sent out a whirlwind at the oncoming Leviathan, stopping it just short of chomping Captain Buttonwillow. It raised its head, confused that it hadn’t just consumed a meal.

“Move!” Xavier screamed at his captain.

“Can not,” Captain Buttonwillow moaned. He was in too much pain.

Xavier looked between the captain and the monsters leering over them. Another Leviathan descended down, ready to eat both Xavier and the captain. Xavier shouted in frustration and threw his arms downward.

With all his might, Xavier used his Elemental Air to throw Captain Buttonwillow across the ship. He slid against the deck, wincing as his bruises bumped the floor. Then, the captain realized what happened and snapped his head up in horror. He looked up to see what happened to Xavier.

Xavier blasted himself off the deck at the last second, jumping with the assistance of his air.

“Consider us even,” Xavier said.

Captain Buttonwillow smiled, nodding. But the ship jostled turbulently as another Leviathan bore down. Yet another darted down right toward the crewmates. Xavier spun in place and blasted as much air as he could, adjusting the angle of the Leviathan just enough for it to hit wood. It shook its head in dazed frustration and locked eyes with Xavier. Xavier grinned.

“So much for remaining on the captain’s crew after paying my debts,” he said, teeth beaming.

Pushing a torrent of Elemental Air ahead of him, Xavier could do nothing to stop the Leviathan. It swallowed him whole. Buttonwillow watched with eyes wide.

“Xavier! No!” the captain exploded in grief.

Relentless in their attacks, another Leviathan struck the ship with its tail. The back portion of The Aegeusson separated from the front. The two halves of the ship began to drift away quickly in the violent waves of the storm.

“Captain!” Enzo reached his hand out. He was the only one on the stern half of the ship.

“Enzo! Jump! Hurry, before the ship sinks out from under you!” Captain Buttonwillow panicked.

“We do not have time for this!” Nold screamed at the Leviathans.

Rep pulled Zalan to his feet, neither of them able to keep their balance. The front half of the ship tilted forward toward the water. The Leviathans split into two groups to watch both halves of the ship as it sank. His lightning meant nothing in the face of a sinking ship. Even if he managed to get enough of a balance to strike all the creatures with lightning, they would still be stranded at sea in the middle of a storm.

“What do we do?” Zalan asked, gripping Rep’s forearm.

“I have no idea,” Rep looked forlorn. All his confidence was gone. He looked like he had failed at his quest. “I am sorry Zalan. I thought we could make it.”

“We can!” Zalan said, completely out of sorts. Rep stared at one side of the ship, looking confused.

“What is he doing?” Rep asked, sounding appalled.

Zalan was too distracted to see what his friend saw. The five leviathans took up all his faculties. He had just mastered lightning from the sky. He should be able to do anything. Why did he feel so helpless?

“If we just…” Zalan began.

A hurricane of wind bashed into the center of the deck. The ship shredded apart, and all the passengers were tossed high into the stormy sea. Zalan reached out instinctively, grabbing a piece of timber that had torn off of the obliterated ship. He spun in the air wildly, having no idea which way was up or down until he began descending. He might have been put in incredible pain when he slapped against the raging sea, but he blacked out on collision.