Mira pointed to the hillside to the west, only to see a group approaching. They were dressed in black robes and were led by a priest with a wooden staff in his hand and a piece of obsidian wrapped around it with a rope around it.

"Stay still." Mira said. Without saying a word, Lucian followed her a few paces away.

A young man with a cane walked towards the comer. Some of the villagers followed him and stopped the group.

"You have crossed the river and come to the east." Said the young man.

"We are here to light the way for the dead." The priest said.

"That's not our way." Mira joins the crowd.

The priest laughed. "When they get up, who will be able to stop them? You? ”

The young man clenched his cane and gritted his teeth and said, "Ash Eater, do you think I'll let you burn my wife?" ”

The priest glared at him fiercely, then at the crowd behind him. Lucian noticed the priest's fingers sweep slightly over the heavy scepter, a knee-jerk movement. This man wants to do it.

Lu Xi arranged for the crowd to come out and said, "The dead will not get up. As long as it's done right. ”

The priest's eyes snapped at him, and he looked at him carefully.

In response, Lucian bowed slightly. Then, with a single movement, the center of gravity shifted to one side, and at the same time the placket of the coat was pulled open, and the hand was resting on the handle of the gun.

The priest glanced at the two spears before staring back into Lucian's eyes.

Lucian stared at him calmly, waiting for his movements. One could even say in anticipation.

Mira stood between the two men, her hands apart, and stopped them.

"Stop, enough of today's tragedy."

She confronted the Natu priest and his men, and said, "An island." Two groups of people. Well water does not interfere with river water. We just want to bury the dead on our own terms. ”

Everyone looked at the priest in unison, but his eyes remained fixed on Lucian as he considered Mila's words. Everyone was waiting for his answer.

"You can bury the dead," he said. "To the east of the river."

The crowd calmed down and dispersed—except for Lucian and the priest. They still stand opposite each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.

"People should be buried according to their own customs." Lucian said.

"Then we have to find their bodies first, if we start fighting, we won't have that time." Mira said.

Lucian didn't speak. His fingertips slid over the brass casing of the pistol.

Mira placed her hand gently on his shoulder. "Please, you're just an outsider."

Lucian nodded: "Okay, it's your people who die, you have the final say." His hand removed from the handle of the gun: "To the docks, to the west?" ”

"Yes." Mira sighed deeply. She seemed to want to say something, but she just lowered her head.

"I hope you can find your father." With that, he turned around and left.

The marina is located in a sheltered bay. A small group of sailboats rocked gently in the water. Lucian's ship was moored at the far end, mingling with several cargo ships laden with cargo and stinky fish.

As he walked along the causeway, he heard the squirting of countless beetles—busy devouring the rotten catch from the fishing boat next door. This is already his third boat, and the previous two have paid tuition due to lack of experience. Sailing is hard to master, but it's easy compared to convincing the captain to chase the black fog.

He boarded the ship and went down deck to inspect supplies. A star-shaped logo fell from the shelf to the floor, and everything else seemed to be intact. He put the weapon back on the shelf and sat down on his bed.

From the ceiling to the four panels, there are maps and charts from all corners of the world. Drawings are marked with bathymetry, tides, and seabed features.

He's been tracking Soul Eclipse Night for months. The most recent was from Laiken and headed south via Sudara. He crossed the ocean in that chase, only to lose sight of the Black Mist off the coast of the cursed archipelago. The east wind took him to the area of the Anaconda Delta, where he was last caught in the storm.

He clicked a pin on the map and marked one of the many islands in the delta. He then tied a thin thread to the nail and tied it to the pushpin in the location of Shadow Isle. There are more thin lines on this nail that run northward, connecting Sudara in Ionia. There are more than a dozen similar markings on the map, all added over the past few years, and now connected into a tapestry.

Lucian stared at the charts, trying to find some patterns, but all he could see was his own failures throughout Valoran. He thought of so many attempts he had made to save Xena, but all of them had come to naught. He also thought of the hammerstone, remembered his anger that had fallen for no reason, and felt a tightness in his throat.

Senna's screams echoed in his head.

Lucian closed his eyes, trying to suppress the surging despair until all he could hear was his own heartbeat. After calming down for a while, he threw himself back on the map and got to work.

By the time he had planned a new route and was ready to sail, there was still a handful of sand left in the hourglass. His efficiency has been improving, but the accuracy of his measurements is still difficult to guarantee because the black fog does not move with the wind.

He got up from the bed and straightened the bandages on his ribs. The previous sharp pain has now been blunted. Satisfied, he stepped onto the deck and proceeded to untie the halyard of the mainsail. At this moment, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed movement on the shore.

Mira was scourmaging on the beach.

He watched as she picked up a large gourd, shook it a few times, and threw it back into the sand. She turned around and saw him as well. Lucian only nodded slightly, and continued with his work. After a while, she began to walk towards the boat, picking up another thing along the way.

"It's Karasago," she said, tossing the thing to Lucian.

He caught it and shook it, and heard the sound of water inside.

"My father would often bring back a boatload of kalasa fruit from Venaru. The fruit is freshly picked and does not exceed a day at most. ”

"What about the others?"

"Most of them went home to get ready for burial, and some of them went to muddy caves and lagoons, but my father should have been back here when the storm came."

"Has his ship come into port?" He handed the fruit back to her.

She shook her head and looked to the sea. There were several capsized boats in the water, and the exposed masts marked the shallow locations of the bay.

"Maybe your father didn't come ashore at all."

Mira looked at the Karasa fruit in her hand. "We found the captain of another boat and she was washed up on the beach. Her boat was completely nowhere to be found. ”

Lucian looked at the shoreline, and the tide would not reach its peak for a few hours. He quickly looped the halyard a few times and re-fastened it.

"Take me there." He said.

Mira led him along the coastline. They followed the shore of the winding bay, past a shallow reef, and stopped near a coral reef.

"That's where we found her."

Lucian searched the sand and found only a few shells and corals. He also looked closely at the water, hoping to find the wreckage of the ship. The calm sea stretches all the way to the sky.