Everyone on the deck of the ship turned quiet, and even the sound of the howling storm seemingly silenced as if time had stopped. Neither the sailors nor the knights realized they had stopped moving—their eyes wide with fear, their bodies like a frozen statue—as the overwhelming might of the enraged sea about to kill all those on the ship.

It was only natural for them to feel fear; afterall, humankind were but pitiful creatures in front of nature.

Only Seren, Slayer and Yorian did not feel desperation at this life-threatening moment. Slayer and Seren were familiar with how Drayce’s power works, while Yorian knew what a fully grown Dragon was capable of, and thus, wore a hat of a spectator enjoying a show.

A dark glow was being emitted from Drayce’s body, tendrils of smoke-like black aura surrounding him, the strange sight growing with each passing second. From his body at the frontmost part of the ship, the strong pulsing magic rushed out with him in the center, embracing the people and the entirety of the ship, and along with the movements of his hands raising towards the sky, the body of the ship shook, only for it to be raised upwards, the sea vessel slowly leaving the surface of the water.

‘T-The ship is flying!’

Seren could not believe what was happening, and she would have fallen on the floor had it not been for Slayer’s arms keeping her steady. Her eyes wide with disbelief were fixed on the wave that failed to drag them down to the bottom of the sea.

As the ship flew higher and higher, the threatening  wave missed its chance to destroy the ship, barely touching the keel of the vessel before splashing back into the sea. It roared as if in grievance before returning back to the dangerous sea waters, one wave after another, but none of them could ever reach the large ship flying in the air.

Drayce opened his eyes, his red eyes flashing in the same darkness that his body had emitted. As deep as the abyss, as dark as the night, those eyes stared at the storm continuing to rampage on the sea, yet his profound gaze held a certain firmness to keep the extremely large vessel afloat.

His eyes flashed continuously between red and black, and in those orbs surfaced a kind of darkness which showed the existence of endless powers inside him. Though he was straining himself to use this much power in this manner,  the determination to carry out this task remained unchanging in his gaze.

And as she witnessed these all, Seren trembled, partially due to the cold but mostly due to shock.

A day before, he had told her he could take this entire ship with him on the rare chance any danger would befall them. At that time, she found it a little funny, though she was somewhat doubtful if she would ever get to witness what sounded like her husband’s bragging. Not even in her wildest dreams would she imagine that she would get to see it so soon. She still found it hard to believe despite seeing his miraculous feat with her own two eyes.

‘How powerful!’

Once the flying ship finally gained enough momentum, its body stopped shaking, and it was kept so steady anyone would think they were traveling on flat land on a stormy night.

“…Your Majesty?

“…Your Majesty!”

Someone seemed to be calling out to her.

“Huh?”

Seren blinked, realizing belatedly that she had forgotten the existence of the knight holding onto her.

“Your Majesty, let me escort you inside,” Slayer offered, trying his best to use his sturdy frame to shield her shivering body from the fierce winds.

“N-No, I am fine,” she rejected despite her teeth chattering from the cold.  “Let me be here.”

As the ship was no longer shaking, she could manage to be steady on her own two feet. She let go of Slayer, her eyes returning to the impressive sight of her husband at the bow of the ship.

Though she could only see his back, she could feel that something was different about Drayce’s powers.

‘The same, but there is something else. Something more. As if…as if its quality has changed?’

Drayce was powerful; there was no doubt about this. However, if she was to compare the strength of his powers she had felt before, the usual Drayce’s power was pitifully weak compared to what she was feeling from him at this moment.

Darkness.

The absence of light.

If Drayce’s usual darkness was the comfort of the night, then the darkness coming out of his body now was the absolute darkness that could engulf all creatures of the world in fear. Seren was not even the target of his power, but she could not help but shiver due to its caress.

More powerful than anything she had ever felt.

Danger. Terror. Destruction unrivaled in the world but…but she somehow felt a strange connection to it. It didn’t make sense, but intuition was urging her that that threatening darkness belonged to her, and she only had to reach out and embrace it…

‘This kind of darkness is…Erebus?’ Though Seren was surprised, she was not shocked. ‘Yes, I can feel his presence, but I can… feel Dray as well?  How can they both be present at the same time?’

Light and darkness.

Light drives away darkness, and darkness extinguishes light. Each of them gives meaning to the other, but they should not be able to exist together.

‘Yet Dray and Erebus…?’

It was the first time she could feel this bizarre situation. It did not make sense, yet it also made perfect sense. She could feel the essence of their powers which contradicted each other but still coexisted with harmony. Drayce’s powers held a pure, peaceful and bright essence while Erebus’ was deep, destructive and infinite. If put together, Erebus’ powers should have been more dominant over Drayce’s. Light should not be able to survive in absolute darkness.

‘Yet they are in perfect balance right now? Does this mean both of their consciousness can exist at the same time?’ she wondered.

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