Morning arrived without ceremony.
There was no sunrise Vale could admire from the lower deck, no gentle light spilling through windows. Instead, there was motion. Constant, unavoidable motion. The ship groaned as it cut through the waves, sails snapping sharply as the wind shifted.
Vale woke with a start, heart racing.
For a moment, he didn't know where he was.
Then the pressure in his chest reminded him.
He sat up slowly in the hammock. The sensation was different again—no longer oppressive, no longer confused. It felt alert. Focused. As if whatever lived inside him was watching the world carefully.
"Up already?"
Vale looked over. Alfred was seated nearby, calmly tightening a strap on his pack.
"I didn't really sleep," Vale admitted.
Alfred nodded. "The sea doesn't let you sleep until you respect it."
Vale wasn't sure what that meant, but he didn't argue.
A bell rang above deck.
Papaya's voice echoed down. "All hands up! Captain wants everyone present."
Vale climbed out of the hammock and followed Alfred up the narrow stairs.
The deck was busy.
Crew members moved with practiced ease, tightening ropes, adjusting sails, checking crates. No one wasted motion. No one shouted unnecessarily.
Captain DD stood near the helm, golden hook resting lightly against the rail.
"We're close to the islands," he said calmly. "Close enough that mistakes matter."
The crew grew quiet.
"There's a trading post ahead," Captain DD continued. "Unofficial. Unregulated. Useful."
Vale's ears pricked up.
"Some of you will stay on board," DD said. "Some of you will go ashore."
His gaze passed over the crew… and stopped briefly on Vale.
"You're coming."
Vale's stomach tightened.
Alfred met his eyes and gave a single nod.
The boat that took them to shore was sturdier than Anna's, but Vale still hated the way the water moved beneath him. He kept his eyes forward, jaw clenched, fingers digging into the wood.
The island rose ahead—rocky, narrow, dotted with low structures and weather-beaten docks. Smoke curled lazily into the sky.
"This isn't a city," Vale said quietly.
"No," Alfred replied. "It's a place people go when cities don't want them."
They stepped onto the dock.
Immediately, Vale felt it.
The pressure in his chest shifted—tightening slightly, as if testing boundaries. Not land. Not sea. Something in between.
"Pay attention," Alfred murmured. "Your ability will be confused here."
That didn't reassure him.
The trading post was chaos disguised as order.
Crates stacked unevenly. Voices shouting in multiple languages. Coins changing hands openly. No guards. No laws Vale could recognize.
Captain DD spoke briefly with a man wearing a long coat and a permanent scowl.
"We're exchanging supplies," DD said afterward. "Food, tools, information."
Vale nodded, trying to look useful.
Papaya handed him a crate. "Carry that. Don't open it."
Vale hesitated. "What's inside?"
Papaya's eyes flicked to him. "Doesn't matter."
Vale swallowed and nodded.
The moment his hands wrapped around the crate, the pressure in his chest reacted—sharp, immediate.
He nearly dropped it.
"Steady," Papaya said. "You alright?"
Vale forced himself to breathe. "Yeah."
The pressure didn't worsen. It didn't vanish either.
It hovered.
Uncertain.
As they moved deeper into the post, Vale noticed eyes following them. Calculating. Curious.
A man brushed past him deliberately.
Vale stiffened.
Nothing happened.
No surge. No pressure spike.
The man smirked and kept walking.
"Pickpocket," Alfred muttered. "You didn't react?"
Vale shook his head. "Nothing."
Alfred's expression darkened slightly. "That's bad."
Before Vale could ask why, shouting erupted nearby.
A trader was dragging a young boy by the arm, screaming accusations.
"He stole from me!"
The boy struggled, terrified.
Vale's chest tightened painfully.
The trader shoved the boy to the ground.
"Please," the boy cried. "I didn't—"
Vale stepped forward without thinking.
"Stop," he said.
The trader glared at him. "This doesn't concern you."
The pressure in Vale's chest exploded.
Not inward.
Outward.
For a brief, terrifying moment, Vale felt something reach.
The trader staggered.
"What the—" He froze.
The crate Vale carried slipped from his hands and hit the ground.
Everyone turned.
The boy stared at Vale, eyes wide.
Captain DD appeared instantly.
"Enough," DD said calmly.
The pressure snapped back into place, leaving Vale gasping.
The trader backed away slowly. "Fine. Keep the brat."
He vanished into the crowd.
The boy scrambled to his feet and ran.
Silence followed.
Captain DD's gaze bored into Vale.
"You acted without permission," he said.
Vale's mouth was dry. "He was hurting him."
"And?" DD asked quietly.
Vale clenched his fists. "That matters."
Captain DD studied him for a long moment.
"On land, systems decide," he said. "At sea, captains decide. Here…"
He gestured around them.
"…nothing decides."
Vale swallowed.
"You felt it, didn't you?" Alfred asked softly.
Vale nodded. "It… reached."
Captain DD's jaw tightened. "That's dangerous."
"Isn't that what you do?" Vale shot back. "Decide who owns what?"
A murmur rippled through the nearby crew.
Captain DD stepped closer until they were face to face.
"I decide for my ship," he said evenly. "You don't decide for the world."
Vale met his gaze, heart hammering.
"Not yet," DD added.
The words landed heavier than a threat.
They returned to the ship in silence.
Once aboard, Papaya clapped Vale on the shoulder. "You didn't get us killed. That's a good first day."
Vale didn't smile.
As the island faded behind them, the pressure in his chest finally eased—settling into something new.
Not hunger.
Not fear.
Intent.
Captain DD stood at the helm, eyes fixed on the horizon.
"We move deeper tomorrow," he said. "Where mistakes cost more than money."
Vale watched the sea stretch endlessly ahead.
For the first time, he understood something clearly.
His power wasn't meant to make him rich.
It was meant to force choices.
And soon, he'd have to choose what kind of man he was willing to be.