The Erratum

As the screams fainted from behind them, Cetas and the others continued to walk.

Once the noises were gone, they stopped and immediately set to rest.

Around them, layers upon layers of lush trees covered the entire surroundings. Vines were lengthened down from the trees, stones covered in moss filled the ground, and insects as well as animals alike appeared occasionally.

However, as Cetas looked around, he would notice that not everything seemed normal.

For example, the leaves of the trees weren’t swaying by the winds — they simply stood still, as if they were painted there.

Although there were many insects and animals permeating the area, Cetas couldn’t hear any sound coming from them.

In other words, it was perfectly silent.

The other crewmembers noticed this too, the first one to speak up was Elishia.

"Isn’t it a little eerie in here? I mean, there’s no sound at all other than us."

"She’s right.. Actually, we noticed some things back at that Mirage Storm." Reid opened up.

He recalled the peculiar properties of the rain and how it acted towards various elements that they tested upon.

Then, he shared his observations and theories.

"Meaning to say, this mirage island is a mere imitation, yes. However, it is not a perfect one, it simply imitates what it perceives as a reaction. For example, the rain drop pierced through the flame perfectly, however, it doesn’t work like that in reality. It simply won’t penetrate the flame, it will land, yes, however the flames will evaporate the raindrop."

The crew listened attentively.

"To add to this, basing on Cetas’ water, the raindrop simply entered his element, making no reactions like a ripple or anything.."

"So, what are you saying?" Galkan asked.

"I’m saying that not everything is perfect on this island. So, whatever mirage is conjured to trick us, even if it feels real, we would know that there is a flaw somewhere in it."

Skadi then agreed with Reid.

"That’s a great observation, Reid. Everyone, keep this in your mind."

"Aye!"

Once they agreed, silence ensued for a second. Afterwards, Cetas let out his voice,

"Those people back there, were they also mirages?"

Reid nodded his head, "Most probably."

"But their screams were real. It was like they actually needed help."

Jones joined their conversation, "Perhaps, it is only a trick. They sought for Life and as Mirages it is potentially their desire to live."

"That.. makes sense." Cetas accepted Jones’ answer. But then, he opened his mouth and let out his voice again.

"But what if they’re real? What if it wasn’t Life that they were seeking for but peace?"

"Peace?"

Cetas nodded his head.

"I can’t comprehend human emotions that well but those people looked like they were in.. pain."

"I understand, Cetas.." Skadi kneeled in front of him, "But we don’t know what we’re dealing with just yet.. So until then, we have to learn first, just like what I told you.. If we can save them then we’ll do our best."

"Okay."

Cetas looked disturbed but tried to understand what Skadi and the others were saying.

The last words that he heard from the people of Mirage Island was for him to give them Water. Back then, Skadi told him that water was the essence of all life and the reason that it was forbidden was because the control of Water meant the control of Leviathans.

Could it be?

Life. Peace. Or Control.

If one were to think too hard then they may consider that the Mirages are tricking cetas into gaining control of the Leviathans.

But the looks on the people of Mirage Island convinced Cetas otherwise.

He needed more answers.

No one knew what the Mirage Island contained and staying at the shore would not be of help to the crew.

So, they needed to head deeper.

The story that the merchant told didn’t contain enough details to describe the nature of the Mirage Island.

They had to know for themselves.

After resting for a while, Skadi stood up and urged the crew members to continue deeper.

The crew walked in pairs — Skadi and Cetas were at front, Reid and Jones at the middle, and Elishia and Galkan behind.

Skadi cleared out the surroundings around them, using the winds to sense if there was any danger lurking.

Reid’s job in the middle is to stay versatile and provide support whenever he can. Additionally, Jones was also there to aid both groups.

Meanwhile, Galkan at the rear served as the tank that could block any upcoming danger from behind. That is if they bypass Skadi’s range.

However, as they continued to head deeper in the jungle, nothing was unusual.

That is until 15 minutes later when Cetas felt a distinct sensation in his Zeal.

As if his senses were triggered, Cetas became perplexed. Skadi, too, had a look of confusion written in her face.

Just then, the sound of waves crashing down on the shore resounded. The crew emerged back at the shore where people once begged Cetas to give them life.

How can this be? We headed in a straight direction! Cetas inwardly complained.

Once they got out from the jungle, the Mirage People immediately looked at Cetas.

"Hey, why do I hear wave-" Elishia asked as she was about to get out of the jungle.

Skadi narrowed her eyes.

Soon, the people got on their knees and begged once more.

Cetas could feel something inside him switch.

"We’ve returned, hmm?" Jones uttered.

"How is that possible? With Skadi’s winds we couldn’t have gotten lost." Elishia blurted out, her mouth turning into a frown.

"It seems that the island has a way to divert people away from its core.." Skadi stated.

Then, she sighed.

"Let’s stay here for a little longer. Let’s learn what we can, even if it seems impossible to gather anything from the people."

She looked at Cetas.

"Stay with me at all times."

Cetas inclined his head.

Skadi waved her hand and covered Cetas with a wind veil.

"Let’s go.."

*

Making it to where the people of the Mirage Island kneeled and begged, Skadi and the others couldn’t quite gather the information that they needed.

For one, they tried to ask numerous times about how to get into the core of the jungle but none of them reacted.

They simply continued to beg for Life, some even bowing down as if revering Cetas as a deity.

Still, the crew didn’t do anything reckless.

In these shores, the people donned a simple white rag that covered the parts of their bodies. Their faces were clean despite lounging at the sand below. A few meters away, the shores were bringing several fish for them to cook and eat. Meanwhile, everything around them was empty — no tents nor sleeping areas for the people to rest in.

Cetas then removed his black hood and revealed his face to the shore. His onyx scales glistened in the sunlight beyond.

Hiding his face served to be useless here as they sensed him even if he was under the shadow.

A few minutes passed and the people remained relentlessly begging.

"PLEASE."

"PLEASE."

"LIFE."

Perhaps I can grant them water?

But before Cetas could do anything, Skadi immediately stopped him.

She shook her head and urged them to continue forward.

Seeing as gathering information from the people was useless, Skadi thought of another plan.

Once they moved past the people in the shore, Skadi gathered the crew and discussed:

"It’s useless to do anything.. For now, let’s see what other things this island entails."

The crew agreed.

They walked along the shore, hoping to circle the entire island to see if there are other ways to reach the core.

As they walked, Elishia let out her voice, "I really don’t get it.. This entire island feels so eerie. Is it really made from a Zeal Essence?"

"Areas made from Zeal Essence don’t hold a sense of reality to them. Whatever the user’s will was, the world covered by their essence will naturally shape that." Skadi answered.

"So they wished for a fake paradise that created this island?"

Skadi nodded.

"Perhaps. But there’s a chance that it’s completely something else. Maybe they wanted to escape from reality.."

"Could a Dreadspawn do that?" Elishia looked forward, staring right at Skadi’s back.

"Zeal Essences aren’t only limited to Dreadspawns, Zealots have them too.." Skadi said with a flat tone.

"Right.." Elishia looked down at the sand, focusing on her steps, "If they wanted to build a paradise or escape from reality, then they’ve caused more harm than good."

After that the crew turned silent, only their movement in the sand and the waves making sound.

Cetas stayed quiet as he listened to Elishia and Skadi, learning more about the world of Zeal.

Whilst listening, he looked at the jungle, scouting every tree and vine that he could see.

There was a tree 15 meters high, 8 vines lengthened down, and several bushes covered it. Then on its side were boulders, rocks, mossy ground, coconut trees, and much more.

But then, every few meters that they walked, the pattern would repeat itself.

Cetas found it odd, but the nature of the island suited this type of anomaly.

Everything seemed perfect on the outside but once one looked deeper, they would see all sorts of flaws.

The crew walked for a few minutes — close to an hour — only reaching past the opposite side of the island.

Alas, every pattern repeated itself.

Cetas couldn’t quite explain what he felt but in simpler terms, he was.. bored.

Come to think of it, have I used Sands of History on this island?

Not yet! He only used it once back at the ship.

I might as well..

Tapping into his Zeal and activating Sands of History, Cetas began to see grains of sand becoming formless and spreading out in the surroundings.

He looked at the waves, finding nothing in particular. At the shore, but the sands remained scattered. And then in the jungle..

Nothing out of the ordinary.. huh?

In the thick lush jungle, specifically behind that particular tree that repeated itself, a figure was made out of his sands.

It resembled a bipedal humanoid creature that stood completely still, merely following the crew with its gaze.

Once Cetas locked his eyes with it, the humanoid creature immediately shuddered.

A whisper made its way to Cetas’ ears.

"You see me."

Immediately, the sand around the figure vanished. No longer shaped by Sands of History.

When Cetas blinked once, several grains were slowly forming in front of Cetas. It took him a second to realize that the sands had already moved and once he did, a complete figure showed up once more, just a few meters away from him.

It raised its hand and made a pointing gesture.

Then, it let out a bloodcurdling scream.

"YOU SEE ME!!"

Without a sound, the birds and the insects in the jungle were startled, flying away from their nests and home due to the immense noise caused by the humanoid figure.

Cetas looked at Skadi and the others but they had no reaction to the loud noise. Instead, their focused was diverted to the birds suddenly panicking in the jungle.

Just as Cetas looked back at the figure, he noticed that vanished once more, and slowly.. the waves of sand formed a new figure, few inches away from Cetas’ front.

It tilted its head to the right, the sands recording the trembling movement as it did.