The weather outside of the Crack was unreliable at the best of times. Even bizarre. Like now. Burning sun on one side and heavy rain on the other, with lightning streaking from one end to the other. Edward had never seen something before. The ship moved with the wind and waves, trying to stay steady, making it very hard to remain on deck. But he withstood the storm outside and inside, unwilling to miss the scene before him. He marveled at the wonders of nature, feeling once again torn between joy and sadness. Joy to be able to experience the wonders and sadness at seeing those wonders destroyed. Why couldn’t they leave this piece of the world as it was? The question bothered him because he knew the answer to it. The world needs to be reshaped for the Divine Lord to be able to fulfill his self-entrusted goal. It also bothered him because his feelings didn’t matter in this whole. Funny, isn’t it? So far, he had learned that all the sides of this war believed they were fighting for what would be the best version of the world after the upcoming destruction. Yet, no side, not a single one as far as he could tell, had bothered with the creatures living in this world. Their life and death didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, even though everyone proclaimed they were doing it for them. "Is there something wrong?" A warm hand slipped into his cold hand, uplifting his mood even before he became aware of it. He turned with a start. Ericka stood at his side. She was clad in thick leather robes, hugging her body tightly. "Why are you here...Your Majesty. You should..." "I should be doing exactly what I am doing right now." Ericka interrupted him with a look in her eyes, daring him to contradict her. After a pause, he chuckled dryly. He didn’t mind her being bossy. He didn’t show it but he felt overjoyed at her changed behavior. She was finally regaining a resemblance to her old self. Her confidence was returning and with that, her will to live. He didn’t care about anything else. Heck, he didn’t mind if the world was destroyed, as long as she smiled. Suddenly, the ship stood still. The waves struck it but nothing moved. They both looked up. Two people stood in the air. Edward retracted his hand from Ericka’s, lest the Divine Lord notice it. If he hadn’t already. Neither of the two in the sky was paying any attention to them. Their gazes were toward the Crack. "Why can’t we just attack it? If that old bastard used its roots and we used our abilities, I am sure we can speed things up." The female with the black butterfly wings whined. It somehow made her already dark wings appear even more ominous. Well, she spoke, but from Edward’s perspective, she whined. Like always. As an average man, he didn’t dare to even think badly about Taboo-stage powerhouses but toward her, he felt resentful. She was always looking for ways to cause storms. Even after weeks, the people of the Southern Isles hadn’t managed to recover from the destruction she had caused. It wasn’t just a port. It was the lifeblood of the entire region. Now, they were starving as their produce couldn’t be sold, nor could fresh products be bought. It had taken Edward quite some time to help them set up basic farms and teach them to fish in shallow waters. But before his methods could work, he was summoned to sail toward the Crack. And for what? Just to stand on the deck for days without any purpose. "We will wait." The Divine Lord said. The butterfly lady looked displeased. As much as Edward hated Her, he agreed with Her reaction. The Divine Lord had been saying those three words ever since he arrived here. He could have waited at the Southern Isles. But no, the Divine Lord liked to pose with a large fleet of followers. But what could he do? Aside from waiting. Nothing. So, he waited. "Clean these dishes quickly. The matches have ended. We can expect many guests to arrive tonight." Medina stood at the windowsill, looking into the distance. Despite the darkness of the early night hour, she still looked. "Girl, I said clean..." The restaurant’s chief swallowed the rest of her sentence. The pile of dirty dishes stood at the side of the sink, all clean and dried off. "How? Whatever. Help the others out..." Again. She swallowed as every other task was completed. But how? She didn’t ask. She didn’t dare to. Ever since this girl was sent here to work, strange things have occurred. The dishes were cleaned in impossible time, the halls gleamed, the lights never flickered, the food tasted divine...the list went on and on. All good things, but strange. Whenever things went out of the norm, it filled people with dread. This was also the case. Some whispered about her being a witch. None said it out loud, of course. Never test a witch. You could end up as part of the soup. Or so they said. "R-Rest. The night is young and will turn rowdy." She spoke with an even voice. How? She was trembling so much she felt her stomach acid turn into waves inside her. When she turned to leave, she saw the table with condiments beside Medina. The bottles were arranged strangely. Despite her fear, she still walked up to the table. "Everything has its own place. Please arrange this properly." With that, she hurried out of the kitchen. The rest of the staff did so too. She hadn’t told them to rest but she couldn’t stop them either. No one wished to remain with her. Not alone, at least. Medina didn’t mind the people around her. Centuries of prejudice against her made her immune to it. She continued to stare out of the window. Through the darkness, over Time and Space, she saw the bright spot of light hovering. The Divine Lord, a master she had served once, waited there. They would meet. It wouldn’t take long anymore. Her eyes fell on the table with the condiments. Everything had its place. Indeed. And as long as nothing changed, they would remain in their place. Oh, how much she wished to flip the table but she couldn’t. Not yet. A time would come when she would do so. But not now. Now, she just waited.