When Ren awakens, it’s to the sound of song. A melodious voice floats in through his window, one that he’s heard before. A woman’s voice, and it’s certainly not Penny’s. (She can’t sing to save her life.)

Ren drags himself off the bed and smacks his lips, punching the air and yawning. That was the best sleep he’s had in ages, and by “ages”, he means three days. Ren wanders over to the door and pushes it open, emerging into the corridor, where Vane stands guard outside.

The poor man looks like he’s about to fall asleep on his feet. His head is lowered so much that his chin is against his chest, his arms folded; he is the very picture of an overworked businessman in their modern society, apart from the fact that he carries a sword instead of a briefcase.

“Uh…Vane?” Ren taps his shoulder. Vane jolts awake, seconds before he has Ren in a chokehold, Ren’s forehead smashing into the wall. Ren winces as his skull explodes with a pulsing throb. Lesson learnt—never, ever wake Vane up ever again in that manner. He’ll just end up in a world of hurt.

“Your Reverence!” Vane springs back, releasing Ren. “I apologize for my insolence. I did not imagine…”

“It’s…it’s fine.” Ren rubs at where Vane’s arm had been wrapped around his neck, massaging his forehead with the other hand. He turns to look at Vane, who stands with his hands behind his back, head bowed as if awaiting punishment. “You should…really go get some sleep. And you have to stop calling me ‘Your Reverence’. Seriously, it’s getting creepy.”

“It is my sworn duty to protect the Luminary while he sleeps,” Vane says, not once lifting his head. “And…I regret that I am not used to calling you by name, Your Re—I mean, Ren.”

It’s comical how Vane pronounces his name with his entire face. The single syllable that causes him so much grief.

“Gridel’s getting the hang of it. In time, I guess you can too,” Ren says. “Oh, and, you can lift your head now.”

Vane obeys, fixing Ren with an expression as stern as ever. How does he do that? How does he remain so stoic through it all?

“Do you hear that, by the way?” Ren asks, jabbing a finger at the ceiling.

“Indeed. That is Gridel’s voice.”

“She sings?”

“Sometimes,” Vane says. “Usually while she’s in the baths. It’s not a song anyone’s uttered besides her, so I regret not knowing the name.”

“That’s alright. Have you seen Penny around?” Ren asks.

“Her Reverence…” Vane trails off, frowning. “The Luminary Penny has gone down to Gravelle with Her Majesty to begin the process of moving the people aboveground.” He glances away. “I think. I’m not entirely sure.”

“So, you guys are leaving this place behind?”

“Not entirely. We are still testing the waters. We are unsure if we will fall victim to any of the remaining Horsemen.”

“But after we collapse the citadel, you guys will be able to live on the surface, right?”

“That is the plan.”

“Ren! Vane!”

Walking from the other corridor, where the baths are, are Penny and Gridel. Penny has a towel wrapped around her head, while Gridel’s hangs down in damp locks. Both women dress ever so immaculately in her white Gravelle robes. Penny runs over, still sopping wet and dripping water to the ground.

“You’re finally up, sleepyhead,” Penny says.

“Yeah. It was a good night’s sleep.” Especially after having just killed a Horseman the previous day. It feels as wonderful as it does when he defeats a boss in his videogames.

“Well, now that Master Ren is—” Vane starts, only for Penny to interrupt and shush him.

“Whoa, wait a minute. ‘Master’? I thought we’re giving up on the honorifics and stuff?”

Vane makes a face, like a petulant child forced to eat his broccolis. “It just isn’t right to call the Luminary by name alone!”

“Cut him some slack, Penny,” Ren says, placing a hand on her shoulder. “He’s already calling me ‘Ren’, at least.”

“You just like to be called Master, don’t you?” Penny smirks. “Wow. I didn’t think you’d—”

“Shut up!”

Gridel coughs. “In any case, I will have to prepare our supplies for tomorrow. Would you like to come with me to the market, Penny and Ren?”

“Yeah, sure,” Penny says. “I want to see what Gravelle’s really like, you know? I mean, these are the people who revere us.”

“I’ll come too,” Ren says. “If you’d have me.”

“Of course. You’re welcome to join.” Gridel smiles. Penny winds her arms around Ren’s and gives a cheer. Vane clears his throat, declaring that he has somewhere else to be—namely, in search of a suitable captain for their vessel.

The four of them part ways, Vane heading for what Ren assumes to be where the ship is housed and Gridel, Penny and Ren to Gravelle’s marketplace.

*

The marketplace bustles with activity, though less so than when Ren first stepped into the colony. A couple shops are closed, including the stonemason’s, the garments shop, among others. However, the blacksmith’s and the sundries shop are still open, so that’s something.

“It’s the Luminaries!” a boy shouts, and dashes over to them, abandoning the ball that he and his friends were playing with. Penny waves, wearing a delighted grin. The children run up to the duo and wrap their little arms around their legs. Ren almost stumbles as the children barrel into him full force.

“You saved the world!” a girl screams.

“Well, not yet,” Penny says, ruffling the girl’s hair. “But you can bet we’re going to save everyone.”

The children cheer, throwing their arms up into the air. It is then that their father shows up—a man with a towel tossed over his shoulders, saw in hand. He summons the children with a call, and they rush back to his side. From where Ren stands, he can hear them chatter. They’re pointing at the trio and telling their father about how they’ve met the Luminaries, and how they’re going to save the world.

Ren smiles, rocking back on his heels. He’s never gotten this much attention before. Not this much positive attention, anyway.

The father waves at the trio and thanks them with a deep bow, and the children follow suit. With that, leading the children like a mother duck with her ducklings, the father heads down a street, disappearing into the crowd.

“That felt nice, huh?” Penny says, hands on her hips. “Oh well, let’s get going. Time waits for no man!”

Ren has to admit. It did feel nice.

“Alright then,” Gridel says, and Ren jumps. He almost forgot that she is here with them. “Our first destination is Sylva’s Sundries.”

Gridel walks in front, while Penny and Ren entertain the crowd behind with waves and smiles. They turn down a couple of side streets, each narrower than the last. Eventually, they come to a small storefront tucked in a cosy nook, beside what looks to be an open-air diner. The trio steps into a sundries shop, shelves stacked to the brim with all sorts of things, from medicine to tools to toiletries. The shop is manned by a plump woman in a purple dress and a woolly boa around her neck, writing something upon a worn book. She must be Sylva, as the name suggests.

“Welcome,” she croons, looking up when they arrive. “Why, if it isn’t Gridel, and…”

Her jaw drops upon noticing Gridel’s companions. Sylva squeals, clasping her hands together, eyes bulging from her sockets. Ren has never seen anyone looking this excited to see him before. Well, not from their own world, that is.

“The Luminaries! I can’t believe it!” Sylva stands and plods over to them, looking from Penny to Ren. “Oh, my husband would be so jealous when I tell him about this!”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“How’s Rokrok doing?” Gridel asks.

“Oh, he’s fine, like he always is, Gridel dear,” Sylva says, batting her shoulder. She turns back to the Luminaries and grasps Ren’s hand between her two meaty ones. “Oh, you are a handsome one.”

“Right!” Penny exclaims. “That’s what I’ve been telling him all these years, but he wouldn’t believe me.”

Ren tries to quash down the heat rising in his cheeks, but he fails. Expertly.

“Even cuter when you blush!” Sylva giggles.

“If you’d like, Miss Sylva—” Penny starts, but Sylva cuts her off.

“Just Sylva to you, my dear Luminary. I cannot have our saviour addressing me with a ‘Miss’ now, can I?”

Penny smiles. “Well, if you insist. Would you like to hear embarrassing stories about Ren, Sylva?”

“I would love to.”

“I don’t want to be here for this,” Ren mutters, and Penny shoos him off.

“You can go and pick out the stuff we need, then.”

Ren sighs. Oh well, it’s time to shuffle over to where Gridel is standing at the shelves of medicine and packed provisions. In her arms is a wicker basket, nicked from the stack at the counter.

“Hi, Gridel.”

Gridel flashes a smile, reaching for a brown bottle on the topmost shelf on her tippy toes. “How was your chat with Ms Sylva?”

“She’s nice. Reminds me of my grandmother.”

“Really? Your grandmother must be a lovely lady.”

Ren wonders how his grandparents are doing now, back in Kyoto. They haven’t visited in a while, what with his father just so busy with his work. “She is. What about yours? How was your grandmother?”

“My…grandmother?” Gridel frowns, dropping a coil of bandages into the basket. Ren gulps. Did he touch a nerve? He opens his mouth to apologize, when Gridel answers him. “I…I don’t actually remember her.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“I don’t remember much of my life before I became an orphan, honestly,” Gridel says. “It must have been when the apocalypse started. I don’t have any parents, or grandparents, for that matter, as far as I’m concerned.”

Ren fidgets with the hem of his sleeve. The apocalypse takes more than lives, it seems.

“It was Her Majesty who found me. I can never forget her kindness in taking me in. Which is why I would lay down my life for her any day.”

Ren can almost hear the conviction in her voice, feel the determined aura emanating from every fibre of her being. He’s never seen Gridel so fired up. Even in the heat of battle, she’s usually the calmest, firing bolts and arrows from a distance while patching the injured up with herbs and bandages.

“Well, it looks like we’re done,” Gridel says. “Come on. Let’s be getting back to the castle. We need to get new armour for you.”

“New armour? Why not wash the ones we used?”

“Armour breaks, just like everything else. To fight at our best, we need our gear to be in the best condition too.”

That makes sense. In videogames, the durability of a piece of armour never quite had an impact on its quality. But, well, real life definitely works differently. Gridel walks over to the counter and places their basket upon it, breaking up the hearty laughs from Penny and Sylva.

Sylva inspects the items in the basket and says a number. Gridel hands her the required cash—a sack of coins—and they step back out into the side street.

“Come on,” Gridel says. “You said you want to see Gravelle, right? Why not take a tour down to its mines? I don’t think we’ll be coming back here for a while.”

“Wait, really?” Penny grins. “That’s so cool. Mind showing us around, Gridel?”

“I’ll…arrange for a guide.” Gridel jerks her chin at the basket in her hands. “I have to be getting these back to the castle and pack up for tomorrow.”

“Alright! I’m sure you’ll pick out a good guide for us!” Penny smiles, clasping her fingers together. Ren can only imagine the poor guard, having to answer Penny’s unending squestions. Still, Ren would really like to see these mines for himself. He might be able to find some rare gems, or even crystals that don’t exist in their world. And even bring them back to Britain, perhaps?

Gridel leads the way, striding down the path, surprisingly fast despite all that she’s carrying and her shorter legs. Ren and Penny follow her, eager to see these mines for themselves.

*

“And that’s the illuminium.” Their guide, Masvor, gestures at the gems embedded in the rocks. “Handy little crystals. They light up the darker caves deeper in.”

The minecart in which they sit trundles along the winding track, making for said deeper caves. Around them, on various rocky platforms, are miners chipping away at the stone, retrieving ores of what looks like coal and malachite. There are just so many gems here in one cave, more so than what they’d be able to find back in their world. It’s a miner’s dream, it is.

Very soon, the minecart comes to a stop at the end of the tracks. Three tunnels branch off from the main one. Voices and song resound in the caves, mixing together and blending into a merry cacophony.

Of all three, the tunnel in the middle catches Ren’s attention. Visible from where they stand is a statue of bronze, which begins to reveal itself as they approach. The figure is tall, yet hunchbacked, with a shovel and an open book in his hands, the book raised to the ceiling.

“Here we are. The cavern of Sovac,” Masvor says.

Penny’s expression lights up. “Wait. Isn’t Sovac…”

“Yes. The most loyal follower of Gaia.”

“So, what is his statue doing here?”

“Before we miners go into the caves, we pray to Sovac,” Masvor says. “We pray to him for safety and a bountiful dig. The mines are really dangerous, and those who don’t pray to Sovac or to Gaia will meet with a terrible end.”

“Really?” Ren asks.

“Yes. When we are in the mines, we are in Gaia’s territory, and if we don’t have Gaia’s protection, great calamity will befall us.”

“Maybe you should get your equipment checked out, too,” Ren suggests.

Masvor frowns, and Ren fears that they have struck a nerve. “In any case, shall we pray to Sovac, then explore the Amethyst Cave?”

Penny smiles. “That would be lovely.”

*

By the time they return to the castle, it’s time for dinner. There are only six people at the table today: Elvira, Rayfel, Vane, Gridel, Ren and Penny. Ren nibbles at his food, savouring all that he eats. Come tomorrow, they will be in the middle of the sea, tossed about in the waves, in the middle of strife yet again.

Not to mention that this journey is going to be a lot harder than the one they just returned from. When journeying to Mount Hilbeck, they had the luxury of hiding in caves, keeping out of sight of the Horseman of Death while he patrols. But now, if they’re going to be on a lone boat in the churning ocean…

They’re practically sitting ducks, and if it comes down to a head-on confrontation, then they have got no option but to fight back. He’s seen the speed of resurrection of the Horsemen—the black fog congealed almost immediately after they killed it. If Vane didn’t destroy the heart then and there, they wouldn’t have survived the resultant combat.

“Something on your mind, Ren?” Penny asks around the fork in her mouth.

“Uh…not really. Just thinking about tomorrow.”

Elvira nods. “When you leave this land, Gaia can no longer extend Her protection to you. Instead, you will be at the mercy of the spirit of the waters, Aquarius.”

“And Aquarius is…merciful, right?” Ren asks.

“Gaia never spoke of Him,” Rayfel says. “We can only hope that He is benevolent to outsiders, as was Gaia.”

Speaking of spirits…there is something else about them that Ren has to ask Vane…

*

The naval port of Gravelle is what appears to be an underground lake, water lapping at the jagged edges of the rocky outcrop. Wooden vessels bob up and down on the waters, most of them sailboats, but there are a couple of fishing boats and scavengers tied to the jetties.

The one person that Ren wanted to see stands at the end of the outcrop, speaking with a young boy who looks no older than Ren. The biggest ship of the lot floats beside them. Ren knows nothing about ships, or anything to do with the navy, for that matter.

Vane notices Ren’s presence, and turns to him. The boy peers over, tilting his head. He looks like just the sort of chap who should not be out at sea—he has a pretty small stature, lanky and is hardly what you’d call muscular, and a pair of spectacles would be right at home on his face; he seems like the kind of guy who belongs in a library. A bookworm, if you will.

“Master Ren,” Vane says. “How may I help you?”

“Oh, um, I just have some questions to ask.” Ren tries to focus his attention on Vane. He really does, but the boy drilling holes into his head with his curious gazes is not unnoticeable in the slightest.

“What are they about?”

“Um, about the Horseman. You know, when we fought on Hilbeck,” Ren says.

“The battle with the Horseman?” the boy pipes up, eyes sparkling and a wide grin stretched across his face. “Can I stay, Your Highness? I want to hear about your exploits, i-if that’s alright with you?”

“Well…” Vane casts a glance at Ren, as if to ask for permission.

“Yeah, sure. I’m okay with that.”

Vane makes a sweeping gesture at the boy. “His name is Clemon, and he will be the captain of our ship tomorrow.”

Clemon bows deeply. “It’s an honour to be in your presence, Your Reverence.”

“Just…just Ren is fine,” Ren says. He’s still not used to the whole “Your Reverence” thing the citizens of Gravelle have got going for him.

“Surely, I can’t…”

“Address him as Master Ren,” Vane says curtly. He turns to Ren. “Master Ren, what is it that you wish to discuss? The battle has long since concluded. What remaining doubt plagues your heart?”

“It’s about what the Horseman said,” Ren says. “He seemed to call out Mira a couple of times. Did you hear that?”

“I…most certainly did,” Vane says, folding his arms. “What of it?”

“I want to ask you about…souls. And weapons,” Ren says. “There are souls living in our weapons, right? And they’ve got names. Mira’s Penny’s dirk.”

“Indeed.”

“Could it be possible that Mira wasn’t always a weapon?” Ren asks. “Like, maybe Mira used to be an actual person who fought the Horseman before…”

Vane hums, cutting Ren off. “I did consider the possibility, and was intrigued by this as well,” Vane says. “As such, I’ve done some research myself on this warrior called Mira.”

“Did you find anything?”

Vane nods. “It appears that, as far as historical records go, Mira was one of four knights who led the Sunrise Rebellion.”

“The Sunrise Rebellion?”

“When the apocalypse first broke out, people didn’t sit quietly and wait for the Luminaries to arrive,” Vane explains. “No, the people who were the settlers of Gravelle organized their own expedition and attempted to slay the Horsemen.”

“So, this is before you tunnelled underground?” Ren asks.

“You could say that.” Vane takes a deep breath, then continues. “One warrior took on one Horseman, and Mira was to lead an army against the Horseman of Death.”

“Were there any other names mentioned?” Ren asks. “Like, say, Ifrit? Claymore?”

“Well…I only had the records in the Gravelle library,” Vane says. “Although, what you propose appears to be an interesting theory. Even so, what does it matter in the grand scheme of things?”

“I mean…” Ren mumbles. “It’s just an idea. A crazy idea, but…what if there are four Luminaries?”

Vane bites back a scoff. “That’s an absurd idea. There were only two of you who showed up, and Gaia did verify that the two of you were the Luminaries of lore.”

Fair enough, but Ren still can’t shake a nagging feeling at the back of his mind. These feelings have been tickling him a lot lately.

“Is there anything you would like to ask, Master Ren?”

Ren shakes his head. “Nah. I’m good. I think I’ll be turning in for the night.”

Vane bows, and Clemon does the same. “Do have a restful sleep, Master Ren.”

And with that, Ren takes his leave. Vane and Clemon continue their earlier discussion, fading conversation filled with nautical terms that it makes Ren’s head spin. And yet, it is a stark reminder of their voyage tomorrow, into the seas of Ilecthia.

Ren can only imagine what they would find there, and what they would encounter.