Talia watched helplessly as the Boss prepared to unleash a devastating attack upon Lani.

The giant Abyssal Scuttler was about to complete its spell while Lani knelt by his feet, bleeding profusely. The woman clearly had no way of evading the attack now that she was injured – not with how fast the monster could launch the spell. A large gash crawled up from Lani’s right upper thigh to her shoulder, her arm hanging limp because of it.

She was going to die.

There was no other way to put it.

Talia, with the sword she had retrieved from the warehouse in her hand, shouted at the top of her lungs.

“No!”

But even if she had wielded the glaive, she wouldn’t have been able even to scratch the monster's carapace.

The difference between a Level 4 Class and a Level 21 Boss was like the difference between the sky and the earth. Blood Magic or not, it would all be useless. Only someone several levels above the Boss could have saved Lani.

But sadly, the two women were completely alone here while the villagers fled to the shipyard.

Or so Talia thought.

A low humming suddenly propagated through the air, making all of her hairs stand like spikes.

The horde of smaller Abyssal Scuttlers that had been swarming the area, hoping to devour Akua’s herbs, suddenly stilled and crouched to the ground.

The Boss’s attack fizzled out as if it had never existed.

The vibrations circulated through Talia’s bones, making her teeth chatter.

A strange, almost metallic smell mixed with the familiar scent of the ocean and fresh air.

Talia's skin tingled with an electric charge, goosebumps rising despite the sweltering heat.

A series of crashing sounds and splintering wood rose from the tree line, making both Talia and Lani turn abruptly.

The trees behind the Boss suddenly collapsed to the ground as if an invisible pressure had blown them into the terrain their roots were planted.

A man with a long scar across his left eye and messy, auburn hair walked through the opening.

What immediately stood out to Talia were his eyes.

The man’s eyes were identical to hers.

He approached the Boss, who started screeching in terror, trying to get away, but was held in position by an invisible force.

The mysterious man lightly tapped one of the monster's legs, and, in the next moment, the creature, just like the trees behind him, was flattened to the ground.

Killed in an instant.

The man looked at all the minor Abyssal Scuttlers and repeated the same process from a distance, killing them all in the same vicious manner.

What kind of magic is that? Talia thought.

She had never seen anything like that.

“Dark Water,” the man smiled, turning toward her.

“W—who are you?” Talia trembled, tightening her grip on the sword.

“Heal your friend here first,” the man said, pointing at the bleeding Lani.

“I’m fine,” Lani said feebly, trying to stand up and failing miserably, landing on her chest and losing her senses now that the adrenaline had drained away.

Talia gritted her teeth and ran to Lani’s side, pointing a hand at the Boss.

“You’re not strong enough to absorb his vitality,” the man sighed, taking her hand and redirecting it to one of the lesser Abyssal Scuttlers.

“How do you—”

“Your friend is bleeding out,” he pointed out.

This time, Talia activated [Blood Syphon], focusing all her energy on drawing the vitality out of the carcass of the closest Abyssal Scuttler.

But since Lani was much stronger than her, it took Talia several carcasses before she saw the woman's vitality replenish through [Eyes of the Abyss].

“Your control on the spell is incredible,” the man said, praising her as if he hadn’t just obliterated a swarm of monsters by simply looking at them.

“Thanks,” Talia said awkwardly, finishing the healing process and rising to her feet, staring at the man quizzically.

“Who am I?” He asked with a smile.

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“Yeah.”

“My name is Maui. I’m your father.”

***

Among the vast number of things Talia had expected to happen today, meeting her father had not been on the list.

Maui had stood there, garbed in simple linen clothes, his resplendent blue eyes making her squirm.

Talia's first instinct, as soon as she had heard the revelation, had been to deny the fact.

It didn’t make any sense that her father, who never showed up anywhere and was never mentioned by anyone, would just appear out of thin air the moment she was facing an Abyssal Creature too strong for her to deal with. At the same time, it strangely made sense. Especially since, by the way he had introduced himself, he seemed to have a propension for dramatic entrances and looks.

So, she didn’t start her questioning by asking about their blood relationship.

Instead, she chose a different angle.

“Why are you here now?”

“I have some knowledge regarding your Class and a connection to it,” he said cryptically, “this morning, you learned a skill that signaled to me that you were ready to meet me.”

Talia felt a chill run down her back.

She had learned [Crimson Wisdom] because she had had a vision of her mother suggesting her to do so.

Now she was questioning whether her mother suggesting that the skill would save the islanders actually referred to this – her meeting Maui, her father.

“You haven’t really answered my question,” Talia pressed the man. “You gave me a circumstantial answer.”

“Sharp,” he commented proudly, “your sister is more like your mother, you know? Impulsive. You clearly have more of my blood.”

As he said that, he extended a hand toward Talia’s face, but she backstepped with a frown.

“My bad,” he retracted his hand. “Our familiarity is…”

“None,” Talia completed his sentence. “I don’t know you. Thank you for saving Lani, but I don’t know you.”

As she spoke, more emotions seemed to rise from her throat.

“If you are my father, why didn’t you come before today?” She said, feeling anger heating up her chest.

Could she have had a different childhood? Could she have had at least one family member who loved her, who could have raised her and nurtured her? Did he even know of the kind of treatment she had received on this island?

She realized, perhaps for the first time in her life, just how much she had craved a different life.

Talia wanted nothing more than to have two parents, but even just one would've been more than enough.

She had never desired anything else than not being looked at as a monster. She had never wanted anything other than to witness people looking at her with the look of pride her alleged father currently had in his eyes. She had never wanted anything else than to look into another person’s eyes and see the same resplendent blue that she had in hers, ensuring her that she wasn’t the Kraken’s daughter.

She had craved a different life so much that she didn’t even realize the tears streaming down her face.

Maui seemed to darken in his face as he observed his daughter cry.

He lowered his gaze, temporarily closing his eyes. His simple clothing stood at odds with the terrifying image he had projected upon his arrival, but it also gave him a strange sense of familiarity.

“Rules and plans don’t have to make sense as long as they work,” he said poignantly. “I had some boundaries to respect. Now, however, there are no more shackles to keep me from my daughter.”

Talia’s heart jumped into her throat, but the logical part of her brain went into overdrive, completely taking over.

“Did you say the same to Riala?”

Maui shook his head.

“I have met your sister – my other daughter – but she didn’t care for my presence in her life.”

That revelation made Talia frown and recompose herself, wiping away the tears.

“Why would I be interested in spending time with you?”

“For starters,” Maui said, “I can help you evolve your powers – I can provide guidance no one else can, Talia. Because I am the only one who knows why you carry and hide those marks on your wrists.”

Talia looked at the golden snap-on bracelets and nearly tucked her hands behind her back.

“Am I the Kraken’s spawn?”

Maui laughed and shook his head.

“No, Talia. I told you – you’re my daughter.”

“What’s the price for learning about the marks on my wrists and my powers?”

Talia asked the question because, from the way the man talked, there was clearly some condition to his help and guidance.

This might be her father, but she wasn’t born yesterday.

“In the spirit of honesty,” Maui said, his shiny eyes poring over her, “I am currently considered a criminal. If you follow me, you won’t be able to enter the Academy.”

Talia’s eyes widened.

“I know they will never talk about me and that they have removed my name from the history books – something that they would have tried to do with your mother as well if it wasn’t for her great notoriety.”

“What?” Talia repeated, stunned by her father's revelation. “What do you mean they tried to remove Mom from history? And why are you considered a criminal?”

Maui's expression darkened.

“It's a long and complicated story, Talia.”

He paused, seeming to weigh his words carefully. “Your mother and I... we discovered things about the nature of the Deep and the Kraken that the Water Riders would prefer to keep hidden. It's knowledge that could shake the very foundations of their authority.”

Talia felt her head spinning. Everything she thought she knew about her parents and the Water Riders suddenly seemed uncertain.

“Ok, just tell me! Why are you being so cryptic?!”

“Because if I told you the whole truth, from start to finish, you wouldn’t follow me,” Maui said candidly.

Talia gaped at the man, not understanding which angle he was trying to work her from.

“What kind of stupid thinking is that? If you have a good reason for being considered a criminal for doing whatever it is that you do, why wouldn't you just tell me?”

“Because you’re young,” Maui smiled. “You wouldn’t believe the things I want to show you. Instead, if you come with me, you’ll be labeled a criminal, a monster, but I promise you, you will understand why I do what I do.”

“Given what you've just said, you do understand why I can’t say yes, right?” Talia frowned, feeling her skin crawl at the mention of being considered an actual monster and a criminal.

She had been trying her entire life to prove she wasn’t a monster, and she wasn’t going to throw all that hard work away.

“I don’t have a problem with you not making your choice now,” Maui smiled, walking over to Lani’s unconscious body and gently taking the glaive into his hands.

He smiled as he passed his finger over the blade, drawing blood.

“You’ve already spilled your blood onto it, good. This should complete the bonding.”

“Wha—”

Before Talia could say anything, she heard a notification in her head.

[Bonding with Soul Weapon completed with success.]

[You acquire ‘Star Glaive.’]

[You can see Star Glaive’s Abilities from your Akashic Record.]

Talia looked flabbergasted at the weapon as her father handed it to her.

“I figured your mother didn’t leave you any instructions – this is a Soul Weapon. It wasn’t the one she used in her final battle, but… it’s the second strongest glaive she ever used. It lost all its power during the last sixteen years, so you will have to fill it with yours as it grows alongside you.”

“I—”

“Don’t worry,” Maui said, taking a step back. “I figured you might not accept my offer. When you get to the Academy, however, do remember one thing.”

Talia perked her ears up.

“Your mother wasn’t killed by the Kraken – it was one of the Elders who killed her.”