Shrouded Seascape

The glass of water on the table in front of Margaret suddenly started bubbling violently. A few seconds later, an octopus eye with a horizontal pupil appeared in the water.

"How did you fail?! Everything was perfectly prepared!"

Furrowing her elegant brows, Margaret endured the pain coursing through her body and slowly rose from the ground.

"Someone had notified the nearby exploration ships. They rallied and came to save Charles. There's a spy among your people," Margaret stated plainly.

"Stop making excuses! My people are fanatically devoted to God Fhtagn! They'll never betray Him! Do you know how many of my undercover agents had been compromised for this ambush?! More than half of them! But Charles is still alive!" A voice boomed from the water.

"Charles is no fool. What was I supposed to do in those circumstances? Stay and wait for all his reinforcements to arrive? I would have died if I had done so!" Margaret clenched her teeth with palpable frustration.

"I'm telling you, you have no way out! If you want to survive, you must obey my commands! Otherwise, on the Final Day, you and your people will drown in the rising sea!"

Reluctantly, Margaret nodded in defeat. "Alright."

Seeing that Margaret had relented, the voice coming from the octopus eye softened slightly. "Don't return to the Colossal Hole Fortress yet. Charles' men will be on guard. I will arrange for my people to deliver supplies to you. Stay hidden and wait for the next opportunity.

"A key player is beginning to waver. Once he joins our alliance, Charles is as good as dead. No one can stop the Great One from awakening!" the octopus eye declared.

"Yes," Margaret responded, bowing her head deeply in acknowledgment.

The eye in the glass of water slowly faded away. Margaret silently approached it and lifted the cup to her lips, draining the water in one long gulp.

Turning to the dresser beside her, she pulled open a drawer and took out a slender, silver needle. She then stood before the mirror and started to sew the gash across her forehead.

"Excellent. Your act is very convincing; he didn't suspect a thing," Julio's voice echoed from the palm of her right hand.

Margaret paused to roll up her sleeve, revealing her slender and fair arm.

A grotesquely swollen mouth was embedded in it.

"Must it be this real?" Margaret questioned.

"Yes! Those Fhtagnists will only trust you if you play the part this well. Don't worry, Charles is no ordinary man. You won't be able to kill him with your own strength."

"This isn't just about him! This is for the Cavendish's sovereignty over the Isle of Whereto! I must protect my island with my own hands!" Margaret was quick to react, but she swiftly reined in her emotions.

"Alright, but this isn't over. Continue to keep the Fhtagnists in check. I will make moves from below to pressure them to strike again. If confrontation is inevitable, then we must control the narrative," Julio's voice sounded again.

"Just now, he mentioned a key figure wavering. Keep a sharp eye below," Margaret reminded.

"I know; more and more people are wavering," Julio commented with a snort. "Some of the islands, including their governors, are even leaning toward the Fhtagnists. Cowards who choose to become monsters to stay alive!

"But the next time, once we've completely eradicated the last of the Fhtagnists' forces and display our might, those cowards will come crawling back."

Margaret pondered over Julio's words as she continued stitching the wound on her head.

"I have a concern, though," Margaret voiced out.

"I told you you can't tell Charles about this. There's a Fhtagn spy around him. Even he himself bears the mark of Fhtagn! Telling him is as good as informing those Fhtagnists," Julio said in a stern and unwavering tone of voice.

"It's not about that. I'm talking about the monster, Anna. I'm afraid that she knows of our plans now. She could have killed me back then, but she held back."

The swollen mouth on Margaret's arm went silent for a moment before it spoke again. "Leave her to me. That woman harbors many secrets. I suspect that she's not entirely on Charles' side. But for now, she doesn't seem to be one of the Fhtagnists' spies."

Margaret's eyes narrowed slightly. "Did you uncover something?"

"Just focus on your task. As long as you complete your mission, I assure you that Whereto will reclaim dominance over the Northern Seas."

Margaret secured the final stitch and examined the centipede-like, terrifying scar. She then smoothed a lock of hair over the freshly sewn wound to cover both the scar and her right eye.

"Saving the Subterranean Sea takes priority. Everything else can wait," Margaret responded.

"One has to think of countermeasures for everything in advance. If things are left until the last minute, it'll be too late."

***

Sunlight bathed Hope Island in a warm embrace. Nene clung to her mother, Donna, who was getting ready to leave for work.

"Mommy, is the factory fun? What's the factory like?"

Donna lifted her daughter into her arms and planted a kiss on the latter's cheek. Her eyes crinkled with a smile as she answered, "The factory is a great place. As long as you work, you get free meals. And the money I make in a month is way more than what we'd earn from a year of farming.

"Also, I'm stronger than many of them. Things they can't move with two hands, I can lift with one. I'm not sure what's wrong with those young girls. They're always eating but they are weak without an ounce of strength. If they were sent to grow ryegrass at the World's Crown, they'd starve."

Nene nodded in admiration. "Yes! Mommy, you are amazing at farming!"

After chatting with her daughter for a few more moments, Donna set Nene down and headed out to work. Compared to when she first arrived on Hope Island, she was more at ease now. She now knew how safe it was on Hope Island and was no longer as anxious as before.

As soon as Donna left, Nene rushed toward the kitchen, grabbed some food, and dashed out of the house. She ran along the street for about five minutes before slipping into an alley.

In the alley, a boy with a bed of green hair seemed to have been waiting for a long while. Upon seeing Nene, he eagerly took the food from her hands and devoured it hungrily.

"I'm sorry, Mommy brought me out yesterday, so I couldn't bring any food for you. Sorry for making you go hungry for a day," Nene said in an apologetic tone.

"I feel like you're feeding a kitten or something." A voice sounded from behind Nene.

Nene turned around, and a radiant smile lit up her face. She approached the new presence and greeted, "Sparkle! You're here too!"

Sparkle took Nene's hand and approached the boy with green hair. "I found information about you. Your name is Bart, right?"

Bart gave no response and continued to chow on his food voraciously.

"Feeding him like this isn't a solution. To truly help someone, we shouldn't just give them fish; we should teach them how to fish. We need to solve the problem from the root."

"What should we do then? Give him a net and teach him how to catch his own fish in the sea?"

Sparkle rolled her eyes at Nene before tugging Bart toward the exit of the alley.

Nene eyed her best friend, her gaze filled with curiosity. "Sparkle, some of the things you said just now sounded so profound; I don't understand."

Sparkle let out a soft sigh and replied, "You'll understand when you grow up."

With Sparkle leading the way, the trio made their way to the bustling heart of the island and eventually stopped in front of a clean, two-story villa. The owner's name was written on the sign beside the door.

Claude Feuerbach

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