Boosted Continuation

Vivi learned about Sophia's new powers and began questioning her about them. The puma already had the suspicion that she was secretly an overseer herself, and now, finding even more proof of it actually being the case, she couldn’t hold back any longer. While the blonde denied being one, she still confessed to having some of their skills and was planning to gain their powers, just without the responsibilities.

“Okay, enough getting sidetracked, let’s do some distance!” A few days had passed since they went to the castle, and also told Vivi more. Sophia wanted to get closer to the demon country and looked at everyone on the boat with a motivated expression.

“Let’s go!” Steph energetically raised her arm high in the air. “I can’t wait to get sidetracked by something else now!” She already had a hunch about the direction this was going.

“Couldn’t have said it better myself.” Ari and Maya agreed with her.

“Nuh-uh!” The blonde vigorously shook her head. “Let’s, for a change, try a more direct approach while heading for the demon continent. I want to get there as soon as possible!”

“So, you don’t want to visit the archipelago I mentioned the other day?” Kel, who was swimming around next to the boat, joined the conversation. “I was actually creating quite a bit of a current to propel the boat the last couple of days, so we might be able to reach it today with a bit of a detour.”

“…” Sophia paused for a moment while scratching her cheek. “Okay, time to get sidetracked!”

“Let’s go!” The dog-girl got even more excited.

“I think that’s a new record, isn’t it?” Maya tilted her head while glancing at Ari.

“It’s definitely up there.” The jaguar nodded a few times.

“Okay, lead the way, big guy.” Sophia gave the dragon a hearty thumbs-up.

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“By the way, before I speed up and get close, there’s something about the archipelago that might interest you.” Kel got his head close to the boat again and addressed Sophia. “The place is sort of shrouded in mystery, and many magical events are going on there."

“Ohh!” The blonde energetically clapped her hands. “I’m looking forward to it even more now!”

“That’s what I figured you’d say.” He reacted with a small nod. “The thing is, the place completely loses its mystery if you can sense magic over a long distance. I know that you and most of your friends like to be surprised and figure out things on your own before getting help, so I’d recommend not using your detection magic to avoid spoiling the surprise.”

“That totally sounds like a trap!” Ari didn’t like the sound of that.

"Thank you very much for that information!” The blonde ignored her. “I’ll definitely be doing that! Fen, Aura, please don't do it either, or at least don't tell me anything you detect. Steph, no training for you today, too.”

“Sounds fun, so I’m in.” The female wolf nodded a few times, and Fen did the same.

“I love myself a good mystery!” Steph’s eyes were sparkling.

"I thought you hated them?" Maya looked confused.

“I hate secrets.” She shook her head while eyeing Sophia specifically. “Mysteries that can be explored and solved are great fun.”

“Fair enough.”

“That being said, I also hate missing things, so please tell us in case we overlook something important if we don’t use our detection magic.”

“Don’t worry, you won't." The dragon reacted with a rumbly chuckle. “It is extremely obvious once you’re close enough. The getting there bit is the mysterious part.”

“Is it obvious for idiots, too?” The dog-girl cutely pointed at herself.

“Even for blind idiots.”

“Perfect!” Steph also clapped her hands. “Let’s go!”

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With the help of the current Kel was creating for them, they spent the next couple of hours speeding over the ocean until things finally started to slowly change. It was subtle at first, but more and more clouds slowly began to appear on the previously crystal-clear sky.

“Oh, I think that's the first time I've seen clouds since we’ve been at sea.” Chloe also noticed the change.

“Phew, it was the right direction after all.” Kel sounded relieved for some reason. "I wasn't entirely sure anymore where it was because it had been a little while, but it seems like my memory didn’t fail me.”

“You wanted to show us… clouds?” Sophia wasn’t sure she understood his motivation to bring them here.

“No, but clouds are a central theme of the archipelago I want to show you.” The dragon lightly shook his head again. “It merely means we’re getting close, as I remember those clouds."

“Ahh, okay, that makes more sense.” The blonde looked at the clouds for a little longer but eventually shrugged. “So far, I see nothing out of the ordinary, so let's keep going for a little longer."

“That indeed seems like a plan.” Kel agreed with her. “However, from now on, I leave the navigating to you all. The challenge of how to actually reach the archipelago will soon start.”

“I like the sound of that!” Steph was getting more into it as well. “Sis, I feel like the clouds are getting a little denser further down the horizon! I think we should head in that direction!”

“I was thinking the same~.” Sophia reacted with a hearty nod. “If Kel says clouds are an integral part, more of them definitely means something!”

Following Steph’s suggestion, they steered the boat in the direction of the clouds for a while. The clouds were indeed getting more and more with each passing minute, but that wasn’t the most notable thing they saw. The clouds weren’t just in the sky anymore, but were also hovering right above the water's surface. Here and there, the boat even grazed one every now and then. After a while, it became nothing but clouds in front of them.

“H-Huh…?” The group got even more surprised when the boat sailed through a cloud right in front of them. Once they came out on the other side, the scenery changed completely. In front of them, a massive wall of solid white clouds stretched over the entire horizon, blocking their view completely.

“Where did that come from…?” Sophia tilted her head as she looked at the wall of dense cloud that appeared out of nowhere.

“Welcome to the Merid Fog~.” Kel’s voice turned a little playful. “You already accidentally solved the first part of the puzzle by accident, but there’s more to do.”

“First part of the puzzle…?” Steph looked incredibly confused.

“In order to reach the Merid Fog, you have to become one with the clouds first. Or, in other words, cross through one. Afterward, it will reveal itself to you.” The dragon then gestured at the cloud wall.

“How does that even work?” The blonde felt like she was missing something.

“The clouds around here are not regular clouds.” He paused for a moment. “That’s all I'll say for now. Oh, wait, one more thing, the archipelago is behind the wall.”

“That’s so interesting!” Sophia liked where this was going.

“Heading right into it worked perfectly the last time, so let’s do it again!” Steph raised her arm high in the air. “Full speed ahead!”

As no one had a better suggestion, the sisters did exactly that and steered the boat right into the wall of clouds to get through it.

“H-HUH?!” Everyone had the exact same reaction as the bow of their boat came into contact with the massive wall of white. Much to their surprise, it didn’t behave like a cloud or dense vapor at all. It acted more like soft rubber or a very viscous liquid, like jelly. Roughly one-third of their boat managed to penetrate the obstacle before it creakily stopped dead in its tracks. Once they came to a full stop, the wall pushed back and ejected them to their starting point.

"What just happened?!" Just like everyone else, Sophia was clinging to the railings so she wouldn't topple over from the sudden stop before she recovered enough to glare at the wolf.

“That was so cool!” Steph was having a great time.

“That was so scary!” Many of the other girls disagreed with her.

“Did I say that those clouds are not regular clouds or did I not?” Kel did not appreciate the blonde’s glare. “What do you think that means?”

“Them not being in the sky already was plenty not regular!” Sophia shook her head. “I also expected some sort of mirage shenanigans because the wall just appeared, but I was not expecting jelly clouds!”

“Exactly!” Steph nodded a couple of times. “Didn't you say the place you want to show us is on the other side? We can’t sail through solid clouds!”

“I also said that it’s a mystery involving a puzzle, right?” The dragon was disappointed with both sisters’ inability to listen.

“So, there is a way to get inside?” Sophia and Steph had the same reaction.

“Of course.” He simply nodded. “Also, no, the answer is not magic. There’s a way to solve it without using it at all.”

“Seriously?!” The blonde got loud. “That’s so cool! Alright, Anna, it’s your turn!”

“Why me?” The princess tilted her head while pointing at herself.

“Because you’re quite perceptive and always come up with some interesting takes! We need both right now.”

“So true!” The others agreed with Sophia’s assessment.

“Well, I’ll at least try!” Nodding once, the tall tiger then joined the sisters at the bow of their boat.

Afterward, the trio kept staring at the wall of white for quite some time, trying to figure out its secrets.