The walls of the banquet hall were adorned with luminescent crystals, emphasizing the opulence and grandeur of the castle. The robust chandeliers above bore lit candles, and although the flames paled in comparison to the light from the crystals, it added a warm touch to the scenery.

  Soft murmurs filled the hall as merchants, nobles and other people of status engaged in diverse topics, immersing themselves in the royal ambience. They sometimes moved around, grabbing mouth-watering food from the tables, or pausing to enjoy the soft melody played by the ensemble in the corner of the hall.

  On the first day of the month of Florae, every year, a banquet was held to mark the end of the relentless snow. This banquet could only be attended by certain figures, however, the commoners also celebrated with a festival of their own.

  Esau stood at the top of the spiralling staircase, watching the lively scene with a somewhat detached look. His blue pupils rapidly assumed a shade of black as the scene below him transformed into something resembling a surreal painting.

  The red was redder, the black was blacker, and the scenes flashed by in a slow, fragmented manner.

  The boy could hear his heartbeat very clearly, alongside that of everyone present in the hall. He gasped, waved his hands in front of his eyes and watched as the air ebbed gently, spilling a myriad of colours in the process.

  “Young prince–”

  It was unknown when one of the maids stopped next to him. She tapped his shoulder lightly, pulling him out of his trance-like state.

  Esau blinked twice, then glanced at the lady in a black kirtle and white apron. She presented a tray filled with cake and urged him to pick one.

  “Thank you,” Esau nodded and casually grabbed a slice.

  He scrunched his nose when the lady patted his hair dotingly.

  Just now, he had attempted to pull himself into a dream, however failing terribly. He sighed, tossed the matter aside and asked the maid, “Tilly, Where's Imogen?”

  “In her chamber, with the other kids.” The maid responded. “Why don't you join them?”

  Esau shrugged, but didn't give a response.

  If there was one thing that depressed him more than being confined behind the castle walls, it was the stupidity of kids his age.

  Play with those pea-for-brain children? I would rather jump into a pond filled with violent ducks!

  Instead, Esau posed another question, “Where's Heather?”

  “In the north balcony with the king, queen and a few other nobles. Would you like me to take you to her?”

  “No, it's fine.” The boy took a bite from the cake slice, proceeded to eat half, then returned the other half to the golden tray. He spun around and said as he inched towards the double doors that led to the inner chambers, “If anyone requests my presence, do tell them that I have retired for the night.”

  The maid bowed slightly. “As you wish, young prince.”

  Esau disappeared behind the doors. He walked down the lengthy passage which hosted rooms on both sides as the path went on. On the walls were portraits of the Royal family, painted by only the best of artists.

  The boy stopped by a room, observing the wide-open door. He could hear soft giggles and hushed voices coming from within.

  Out of curiosity, he stood by the entrance and peeked.

  Esau saw Imogen, his older sister, having a chat with the other kids of nobility. They huddled together on the wide bed, under the canopy that glowed with faint ethereal lights, and spoke in excited whispers.

  Esau could barely make out a few sentences.

  “I heard in passing that calamity befell one of the Dwarven cities in the Eastern Continent.”

  “Really?” One of the girls asked in surprise.

  Imogen nodded. She puffed her chest, sucked in cold air and lowered her voice even further, “I heard it was caused by the Ghost Knight!”

  “Ghost Knight?” Most of the kids expressed their puzzlement, while a few echoed Imogen’s words with fear.

  Esau was equally confused. The name ‘Ghost Knight’ sounded quite heavy and dramatic, and it made him wonder who was bestowed with such a title.

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  “Imogen, are you certain you heard this in passing, or were you actually eavesdropping?”

  “Alright, alright. I was listening in on the Grandmasters conversation last night!” The girl giggled with her usual excitement.

  …

  Listening to them, Esau felt that the conversation was something he would love to be a part of. However, his pride wouldn't let him take a step further. He struggled internally for a while, before eventually turning around and entering the room diagonally opposite.

  Once inside his room, he took off only his robe and slumped into bed. The sweet scent of vanilla essence flowers filled his nostrils, slowing his thoughts.

  However, before he was able to truly fall asleep, he heard a knock on the door.

  Esau frowned.

  “Who is it?”

  “It's me.”

  Hearing the familiar voice, Esau’s expression eased and a smile unknowingly crept up his face. He straightened the collar of the silk tunic he still had on and said, “Come in.”

  The door parted and a beautiful lady with bright golden hair walked in. She had quite the height, and her confident smile was infectious. Heather's emerald eyes scrutinised Esau for a moment. She asked, “You were bored and retreated to bed so early?”

  The boy slowly nodded.

  Heather sighed and walked to the bed, taking a seat by the edge. She patted his hair and shook her head helplessly, “I was bored too. The conceited laughter, excessive compliments and fancy dressing aren't for me.”

  Esau didn't mind Heather patting his head. In fact, he liked it. She was one of the very, very few people he enjoyed being around. Heather was the commander of the Royal knights, and something of an older sister to him.

  He had always admired powerful figures, but not power brought by inherited status. Rather, an unparalleled innate strength that made everyone marvel from the depths of their hearts.

  Esau yearned for such power.

  He looked at the jade dress she wore and laughed.

  “True, a knight's armor does fit you better.”

  “Right?” The lady vigorously nodded. She played with the boy's gray hair for a while, thinking of ways to make his night better. After a moment, she smirked and stood up, “Come on, I'll take you to a place.”

  Esau whipped up so fast, he felt a little dizzy. After collecting himself, he asked, “Where to?”

  Heather stood by the window, a reminiscent smile on her face as she gazed at the moon.

  She said softly, “The sea.”

  …

  Western Continent, somewhere on the Silvermist Sea.

  “Keep her steady!” The captain bellowed from the bow of the three-masted ship. “We’re taking her into heart of storm!”

  The sailors dashed about amidst the heavy splashing of seawater and rain, heeding the captain’s commands. They had seen their fair share of heavy storms, yet they couldn't shake the oppressive feeling that loomed over them.

  Before them were tumultuous mountain-like waves that made even a ship like the Knuckleback tremble with fright. The ship swayed furiously, tossing a few sailors away from their position.

  The creeping mist ebbed and parted before the violent winds.

  “We’ve seen worse, do not falter!”

  Like spilled painting on a canvas, lightning dabbed the sky in a fierce blue hue, immediately succeeded by thunderous roars. The slithering streaks of lightning struck fear in the hearts of the sailors.

  Should a single bolt descend, not a lot of them had the durability to withstand such damage.

  The third-mate, four-eyed Iago, landed on the deck with a loud thud and called to the captain.

  “Captain! ‘Tis no ordinary storm!”

  The captain turned around and flashed a grin. His heavy, brownish beard swayed slightly as he said, “You can feel it, no?”

  He turned around once more, standing at the very edge of the bow. With a somewhat fanatical smile, he stretched his arms wide and bellowed,

  “Will be the mightiest of battles! My brave sailors, the Leviathan is upon us!”

  Now, his right arm pointed towards a direction where the sea met the sky. “Enter, the Obnimi.”

  As though waiting for the call of its name, a gargantuan sea creature emerged from the depths of the sea, tearing through waves and almost capsizing the ship. Like a divine status, its presence was overbearing. The Obnimi was the largest of sea serpents—able to dwarf multiple stacked ships—and it could cause storms that lasted for entire seasons.

  Many deemed it the god of the sea; and there were some parts of the world where it was worshipped by Islanders.

  The captain’s heart stirred at the sight of the creature that could swallow the Knuckleback whole. Its mouth, which was filled with jagged teeth, seemed like a bottomless chasm and it struck nothing but terror in the hearts of everyone on the ship.

  The captain was the same, but he couldn’t show cowardice in the presence of his crew. Rather, it was his confidence that prevented everyone from going insane. He half-turned and gave a few commands;

  “Man the cannons! Wind elementals, hoist the fighters! We’re taking on the beast of beasts.”

  Upon speaking, his body underwent a significant change. His height increased exponentially, giving him a size and bulk that rivaled that of the giants. His leather clothing tore apart, and his naked form bore witness to the moonlight.

  Rapidly, yellowish scales appeared on his skin, making him bear striking resemblance to a reptilian creature. Second-mate Odirov appeared beside him and handed over two large axes.

  He bowed and said, “We shall follow you into battle, and may the heavens bear witness to our victory.”

  The captain nodded without a word. Immediately after, his legs released an outburst of condensed power, propelling him high into the air. He cleaved forward with the axes, unconcerned that he was still quite a distance from the colossal serpent.

  Adhering to the direction of his cleave, razor-like flames burst forward and collided with the gargantuan creature. However, the Obnimi’s hardened scales bore no indicator of damage whatsoever.

  “Bastardi!” The captain grinned and met the Leviathan’s fiery gaze as he plummeted.

  On the ship, the Second-mate gave orders. All Graced with wind affinity stood by the starboard and began tossing the combatants into the air. Their ability was especially helpful against towering creatures.

  The captain found his footing on the sky, immediately launching himself forward once more. Similarly, the crewmates hurled various attacks as cannons fired one after the other.

  It was a bombardment.

  The Obnimi, which remained unharmed despite the barrage of attacks, let out a deafening roar and thrashed its tail in the direction of the ship.

  Unwilling to back down, the captain held his breath and struck his fist against the incoming attack.

  There was a thunderous clap as the resulting shockwave pushed back the ship, smacking the air elementals against the sturdy deck. Some were knocked unconscious instantly, failing to maintain their abilities. Not that it mattered— the sheer aftershock had knocked most of the sailors out of the sky.

  Regaining his balance, Iago wiped the water from his face and watched as Odirov condensed numerous flaming spears in his hands. The spears burned with a fierce orange colour as he hurled them towards the sea creature, but it merely felt like a speck of dust compared to the size of this beast.

  “Its scales are mighty thick, darn it! Our attacks aren't enough!”

  Iago looked around with gritted teeth. “Where’s the First-mate?!”

  There was no one to answer him, as everyone was struggling to recover from the attack.

  Crack!

  Lightning shot down unannounced and blasted the mast to bits.

  “Dastardly!” Iago cursed and leapt to the side, barely evading the slithering currents of electricity. He scampered towards the starboard and leapt into the sea in search of the captain.

  ..

  In one of the cabins on the ship,

  A young man abruptly rose from the bed and blinked rapidly. His face contorted with disgust when a strong stench bombarded his senses. He looked around in a daze and realised it was his own fart that woke him up.

  As he leaned back once more, preparing to sleep, a deafening roar resounded throughout the sea, jerking him awake completely.

  “Fuc— What’s all the damn noise about?”

  He jumped out of bed and quickly wore loose pantaloons. With low grumbles, he stormed out of his chambers, planning to reprimand the crewmates who were having too much of a blast and disturbing his sleep.

  However, the sight that greeted him when he got to the lower deck was utter chaos.

  Boom!

  Cannons fired in rapid succession and blasted the gargantuan creature that loomed over the ship.

  “Eh?” First-mate Odin was bewildered. “This was going on and I was asleep?”

  “Odin!” The boatswain cried out in glee. “Finally. Yer sleep like a corpse, dammit!”

  Odin waved his hand dismissively, implying they would talk about that later. His brows creased into a frown as he raised his head to look at the leviathan.

  As if sensing his gaze, the serpent tilted its head and gazed at the human on the deck of the ship.

  Rain poured heavily, and the vast background of darkness was strung with undisguised tension.

  It was a standoff.

  Suddenly, the giant serpent roared and descended with its entire might.

  The dreadful situation took a turn for the worse.