The ocean had become violent by midnight.
Waves slammed against the Sea Raven hard enough to shake the entire ship while black storm clouds swallowed the sky above East Cloud waters.
Rain poured endlessly.
Thunder cracked across the horizon like the heavens splitting apart.
And directly in the middle of all this chaos…
Deep stood on deck screaming proudly into the storm.
“SHE’S HOLDING TOGETHER!”
A loud metallic explosion echoed below deck.
Deep blinked.
“…MOSTLY.”
Deepika gripped the ship’s wheel aggressively.
“DEEP!”
“WORKING ON IT!”
“You said that TEN MINUTES AGO!”
Dhruv laughed while holding onto the railing as freezing rain soaked through his clothes.
Honestly?
This was incredible.
Dangerous.
Terrifying.
Beautiful.
The Sea Raven climbed another massive wave before crashing downward violently.
Deepika cursed under her breath.
“We’re entering the East Cloud storm belt too early.”
Dhruv looked toward her.
“How bad is that?”
Lightning illuminated the ocean.
For one horrifying second…
Dhruv saw something massive moving beneath the water.
Deepika answered calmly:
“Very.”
Dhruv slowly looked back toward the sea.
“…Good to know.”
Another wave exploded against the ship.
The mast groaned loudly.
Deep suddenly burst out from below deck covered entirely in soot.
“SMALL UPDATE.”
Deepika looked exhausted already.
“What exploded now?”
“The left engine.”
“You said there WASN’T a left engine.”
“There is now.”
Dhruv nearly choked laughing.
“How are we alive?”
“Excellent question.”
The ship tilted violently sideways.
Deepika immediately corrected the steering with terrifying precision.
Her eyes stayed sharp despite the storm.
Focused.
Calculating.
Dhruv noticed something important then.
When Deepika navigated… she became a completely different person.
Still cold.
Still sharp.
But confident.
Like the ocean itself made sense to her.
Lightning flashed again.
Rain hammered the deck harder.
Deepika suddenly shouted:
“Dhruv!”
“Hm?”
“Stop smiling during disasters!”
Dhruv blinked.
“I’m not.”
“You literally are.”
Deep looked upward dramatically.
“He’s adventure sick.”
“That’s not a thing.”
“It absolutely is.”
Dhruv grinned anyway.
Maybe she was right.
Because even with:
– deadly waves
– possible sea monsters
…he still felt alive.
The storm wind whipped against his red thread violently.
And somewhere deep inside… he felt like Grandpa would’ve loved this moment.
Hours passed slowly.
The storm only worsened.
Fog swallowed visibility almost completely.
The Sea Raven now moved through darkness broken only by lightning flashes.
Deepika studied maps and compass readings carefully beneath a lantern.
Then suddenly… her expression changed.
“…No way.”
Dhruv stepped closer.
“What happened?”
Deepika slowly pointed ahead.
At first Dhruv only saw fog.
Then lightning flashed.
And revealed dozens of shadows.
Ships.
Massive ones.
Half-hidden inside the storm.
Deep immediately lowered his voice.
“…Hunter fleet.”
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
Black sails moved silently through the fog like predators.
Several ships carried glowing symbols across their flags.
Different squads.
Different crews.
Different monsters wearing human faces.
One enormous vessel slowly passed near them carrying chained prisoners across its deck.
Dhruv’s expression hardened slightly.
Another ship displayed rows of stolen weapons and treasure crates openly.
Deepika quietly spoke:
“East Cloud attracts hunters from every continent.”
One ship suddenly fired a cannon somewhere far away.
BOOM.
Another answered.
The storm swallowed the sound afterward.
Dhruv stared silently.
This wasn’t East Verdan anymore.
This was hunter territory.
Pure and lawless.
A nearby ship slowly passed close enough for lantern light to reveal its crew.
Scarred hunters.
Ember users.
One man carried an axe larger than Deep.
Another casually cleaned blood from gloves.
Then… one woman near the railing noticed Dhruv staring.
Their eyes met briefly through rain and darkness.
She smiled.
Not kindly.
Predator smile.
Dhruv instinctively felt danger.
The ship drifted past afterward into the fog.
Deep exhaled slowly.
“East Cloud really is insane.”
Dhruv quietly nodded.
“…Yeah.”
And somehow… that made him want to explore it even more.
Near dawn, the storm finally weakened slightly.
Rain softened into mist.
The ocean calmed enough for breathing to feel legal again.
Deep collapsed dramatically across the deck.
“If I survive this journey…”
He pointed weakly upward.
“…I deserve free food forever.”
“You already eat everybody’s food,” Deepika replied instantly.
“Exactly.”
Then he noticed it.
Land.
Far away beneath morning fog.
Massive cliffs rising from the sea.
Towering cities built into mountainsides.
Floating bridges between enormous rock formations.
Ships everywhere.
Smoke rising into cloudy skies.
East Cloud.
Deepika noticed too.
“We made it.”
Deep slowly stood up.
“…That’s East Cloud?”
Even from this distance… the continent felt gigantic.
Alive.
Ancient.
Dangerous.
Messenger birds filled the skies above distant harbors while giant waterfalls poured from cliff cities into the ocean below.
Dhruv’s heartbeat quickened slightly.
Wonder.
Pure wonder.
The Sea Raven moved closer slowly while morning sunlight broke through storm clouds.
And for the first time… the full beauty of East Cloud revealed itself.
Massive hunter ports connected entire cities together through hanging bridges and towering mechanical lifts.
Ancient statues overlooked the ocean cliffs.
Hundreds of ships crowded the docks.
The continent looked like civilization built on the edge of chaos.
Deep whispered softly:
“…We’re actually here.”
Dhruv smiled.
“Yeah.”
Then Deep suddenly snapped his fingers dramatically.
“WAIT.”
Deepika looked suspicious already.
“What now?”
Deep pointed between all three of them proudly.
“We need a squad name.”
Silence.
Even the wind seemed to pause.
Dhruv blinked.
“…Now?”
“Yes now.”
“We’re entering the most dangerous continent in the world and THAT’S your priority?”
“Branding matters.”
Deepika rubbed her forehead.
“Unbelievable.”
Deep climbed onto a crate dramatically while storm wind blew his hoodie backward.
“Every legendary hunter squad has a name.”
He pointed toward Dhruv’s wrist.
“And ours already exists.”
Dhruv looked downward.
The red thread moved softly in the ocean wind.
Deep grinned.
“Red Threads.”
Silence followed.
Then surprisingly…
Deepika nodded slightly.
“…That’s actually decent.”
Deep looked deeply emotional.
“I HAVE BEEN RECOGNIZED.”
Dhruv laughed quietly.
Red Threads.
Simple.
But somehow… it fit perfectly.
Not just the thread itself.
But what it represented.
Connection.
People tied together across chaos.
The Sea Raven sailed toward East Cloud’s massive harbor while sunlight finally pierced through the storm clouds completely.
And somewhere within that enormous continent… their destiny quietly waited.
END OF CHAPTER 9