𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗶 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗯𝗮𝗱 to finish the battle by killing her to confirm her defeat, but she did not know this boy and how peculiar he was. She had yet to learn about his shocking surprises and tricks he had up his sleeve.
"An...
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❝ the ironic dread of travelling to a place they swore they'd never return to was a troublesome feeling ❞
° ☆・.* + °.
Many moons of sailing had passed when the crew finally sighted land among the open water, their location, Artemyra, resting exactly in the direction that the ship was steering. Sitting on the horizon, the land appeared small enough to fit within a single hand, but as they neared their destination, it evolved into a vast mountain of rock with an overwhelming height and width.
Amid the great rock tower was a narrow canyon where the ocean flowed into, creating a river which the crew navigated the ship through. As the map informed, the river would lead them to Artemyra, located deeper within the ravine.
The surrounding air quickly grew thick and warm, as they travelled deeper into the canyon. It clung to the their skin, enveloping their bodies in sweaty stickiness while they began to pant from the sudden heaviness of the air.
"We should be landing soon," Ja'far glanced at the map in his hands, wiping at the sheen of sweat on his face, "should we start preparing?" Only Masumi and Hinahoho were listening though. The other teenage boys had completely ignored him, too fascinated by the unfamiliarity environment.
"Check that out!" Sinbad excitedly nudged Mystras. The prince gazed at their surroundings in matching wonderment, "i've never seen a plant that big before!"
"Phew. It sure is humid," Hinahoho exhaled deeply, fanning himself with his hand while both the former assassins deadpanned at the boys oohing at every single thing.
"Hey guys, what's that?" Mystras pointed at the sky. Everyone glanced upwards and noticed a bird flying among the clouds. It appeared to be normal, but when the winged creature suddenly began to descend, Masumi realised that it was no ordinary bird and quickly flicked on her hood just as the bird lowered completely and revealed its true size. The whole crew gazed at the abnormally large animal, eyes bulging wondrously.
"HOLY— IT'S HUGE!" Ja'far gasped. He rubbed his eyes to check if his vision was playing tricks on him, but the bird was, in fact, ginormous. It was five times the size of Hinahoho and it's wings stretched further than the width of the ship. The crew were further surprised to find two women riding upon the bird's back, but before they could observe anymore, the bird flew further ahead until it glided just in front of the crew's ship.
"Were those people on the bird?" Sinbad asked aloud.
"Yes, those are the women of Artemyra. Large birds are common in their country and they often use them for transport," Masumi replied. The crew glanced at the Fanalis in confusion, wondering how she knew of the country's traditions, but before they could question her, the bird suddenly slowed down, lowering itself to float alongside their ship and revealing the female riders of the winged creature.
