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The Elysian drifted lazily toward the curved shoreline of Long Ring Long Land. Morning sunlight bathed the deck in warmth, the waves gentle enough that Kaya leaned on the railing with her eyes closed, enjoying the breeze.
"This island is… cheerful," she said with a smile, watching a herd of long-legged horses gallop across the shore. Their stretched bodies looked absurd, but oddly graceful too.
Vivi chuckled softly. "It's said the animals here are the result of nature adapting to the land. Everything stretches because the land stretches."
Robin closed her notebook with a quiet snap. "Or perhaps," she said with a small smile, "the land stretched because the animals did first. History has a sense of irony like that."
Kaya groaned. "Please don't start making me think the ground itself has feelings."
The three women laughed together. Rael, however, stood apart. He leaned against the mast, his arms crossed, his eyes fixed not on the island but on the horizon beyond it.
He could feel them.
That same pressure. Familiar, steady, like a shadow waiting at the edge of his senses. Cipher Pol. He had warned them already. Yet here they were — clinging like barnacles, too stubborn or too bound by their masters to back away.
"They're not giving up," Rael muttered under his breath.
Robin's sharp gaze caught his expression. She approached, lowering her voice. "Still watching us?"
"Yes."
She studied him for a long moment before nodding. "Then it's only a matter of time before you act."
Rael didn't respond. He didn't have to.
They anchored near a grassy ridge where the island stretched long and thin, almost like a ribbon tossed across the sea. From a distance, a cluster of locals could be seen — laughing, busy, clearly holding some kind of event.
"Looks like a festival," Vivi said, brightening as she adjusted her hat.
Kaya clapped her hands. "We should go! It's been forever since we joined anything fun. Last time we landed somewhere, there were Marines, bounties, Cipher Pol, or all three waiting."
"Which could still be the case," Rael said flatly.
Vivi tilted her head, smiling knowingly. "And yet you haven't told us no."
Rael gave her a long look, then sighed. "Fine. But no wandering."
Kaya grinned. "You're getting predictable, captain."
The closer they got, the clearer the scene became. Villagers were holding competitions — races with stretched horses, strange tug-of-war contests across long strips of land, even a group trying to balance on stilts that seemed absurdly tall.
Laughter echoed across the island, light and unthreatening.
Robin's eyes softened as she observed. "It's almost idyllic. The kind of place untouched by war or politics."
"Which makes it all the more suspicious," Rael said quietly, scanning the area.
Still, the villagers welcomed them warmly, offering food and a spot to rest. Vivi and Kaya joined in watching the contests, their laughter blending with the locals. Robin remained composed but curious, scribbling down notes about the strange customs.
Rael ate little. He sat on the edge of the festivities, gaze constantly drawn toward the sea.
Night came quickly. The villagers lit lanterns that glowed like fireflies along the ridges. Music drifted across the land, cheerful and oddly comforting.
Kaya twirled with a group of children, Vivi chatted with a pair of locals about the island's shifting tides, and Robin stood at the edge of the lanternlight, her gaze drifting back toward Rael.
"You're thinking again," she said softly as she approached him.
"I'm always thinking."
Robin tilted her head. "Not like this. You're waiting."
Rael's jaw tightened. He glanced past her, toward the darkened horizon. His senses were sharp, cutting through the laughter and music, past the glow of lanterns, straight to the shadow lingering beyond the shore.
Cipher Pol was there. Watching.
He let his eyes close for a moment, exhaling slowly.
"They'll move soon," he said at last. "And when they do… I won't let them circle back again."
Robin's expression shifted — not fear, but acceptance. "Then I'll be ready."
Rael turned to her. For the briefest moment, a faint smile ghosted across his lips.
"You don't need to be."
The night stretched on. Music and laughter filled the air, but beneath it all lay a quiet tension — Rael's silence, his watchful eyes, and the shadow that never left the edge of the horizon.
The Cipher Pol had not made their move yet.
But Rael knew.
Soon, the games would end.
And the hunt would begin.
---
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