The Redflower Pirate ship sailed on through the ocean, cutting through a main patrol line during the nighttime.

As they drifted along the sea, the crew took their shifts to sleep, eat, and keep watch. During this time, they used some supplies to patch their injuries up to the best of their abilities, which wasn’t great.

Luckily, due to the captain’s ship management skill, Efficient Metabolism, they required much less food to get by, which in turn left their storage plentiful.

By the time morning came and Roseus stood on the helm of his ship, scanning out the vast blue seas that were cast with a slight orange glow from the sun, he noticed no dangers in front of, or behind, them.

His brother’s ship had disappeared over his eyesight. It seemed that dumping their coal supply had done a significant amount of damage to their speed.

Roseus wanted to smile, but he knew that they were far from safety yet. Not only were there dangers that they were well aware of, but there were also those that no one knew about.

As he stood on the helm, feeling the warm breeze across his skin, Dawn made her way over and stood beside him. She had a small block of cheese in her hand.

"It’s strange. Back on land, something like this would never be able to fill me up. Now, with just a small bite like this..."

Dawn plopped the cheese into her mouth and smiled.

Roseus thought she looked beautiful at that moment. He had always thought it, even if he didn’t say it.

Her blonde hair was long, with luscious curls running through it. The scar that had claimed her left eye was something she had always hated, but Rose always thought it made her look unique.

He must have been admiring her for a little too long, as Dawn tilted her head sideways slightly.

"Stop stressing, captain. We are still allowed to laugh, you know? Even if it does feel like the end of the world."

It’s not that... Rose thought to himself.

Then, he changed the subject. His eyes turned towards the seas again. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"What do you think our bounties are right now?"

Dawn rubbed her chin, considering the question for a few moments.

"You? Probably 5000 Halo’s. I would guess mine is something like 2500."

"5000?" Captain Roseus spat.

"Yes, 5000, maybe even more. Are you forgetting who our parents are? Who cares though. They aren’t catching us, Rose."

Roseus thought back on the events that had happened so far. Some would call them crazy for thinking they had a chance at surviving.

The threats of bounty hunters and the navy were not the only things to fear at sea after all.

"Where do you think our parents are now?" Dawn eventually asked.

It was a question Roseus had thought about before even setting out to sea.

It had been 6 years since any of them had heard from their parents. At that time, they were at the third ocean, preparing to travel into the fourth.

Even that wasn’t halfway to the centre.

"With the dangers of the first ocean, it’s hard to even predict what state they would be in right now," Roseus answered truthfully.

Dawn nodded. "Yeah, you’re probably right."

What neither of them wanted to mention was the possibility that they were no longer alive.

News of the oceans past the third rarely ever made it back to the Halo Continent, and if it did, it was hard to distinguish what was truth and what was myth.

Roseus had once read a newspaper article claiming that one of the Oceans was covered in complete and permanent darkness, where you could not even see the members of your crew.

He had also heard once that one of the oceans had no creatures in the sea, but rather giant winged lizards that flew through the skies, breathing fire from their nostrils.

He had even heard once that there were oceans that existed in realms completely separate from the real world.

These were just a few of thousands of rumours and legends spread about the Eight Oceans. The only people who knew the truth were the incredibly powerful pirates who had actually made it close to the Eighth Ocean, also known as the Final Ocean, the centre of the world, and also the Emperor of the Seas, Ruler of the Halo Empire, who personally sailed into the seas himself.

---

Roseus continued looking out into the ocean. So far there had been no signs of danger, as they had now avoided the location that the Needle of Ruin was pointing towards.

With the captain directing them towards the location that his father’s hat had pointed him towards, they continued sailing across the mysterious, yet surprisingly gentle seas.

They passed the navy patrol route without issue during the night, during which they caught no sight of any navy ships.

The crew members wondered whether this was a good sign or a bad omen.

Regardless, they continued sailing for another half day, and by the time the sun had started to set, Roseus finally noticed something on the horizon.

It was an island.

It wasn’t anything significant. There didn’t seem to be many signs of civilisation. However, it was clear that the place was occupied, or once occupied, by humans.

On the sandy beach was a wooden pier built for docking boats. However, around this dockyard, there were no signs of ships. Only crates and barrels.

Further into the distance of the island, Roseus could see nothing but forest, although his eyesight was hindered by the darkness.

There could be something he wasn’t seeing.

A few of the crew members stood on the deck, looking out sceptically towards the approaching island. No one had anything to say.

Pirates were superstitious. If they expressed their worries, they might come true.

Roseus decided to speak instead before anyone else could.

"We don’t stay any longer than necessary. We get in, look for a healer, then get out. This wound on my back is fucking killing me."