Extra's POV: My Obsessive Villainous Fiancee Is The Game's Final Boss-Chapter 255: Who Wants To Be A Legend?

He felt a bit of his power drain away as his body tried to chase that feeling of being on top of the world.

He'd feel weak for at least ten minutes.

This was the price he had to pay for being alive.

"Wait a minute." Thorn spoke up as he finished his food, drawing everyone's attention. "What if we can't convince any Tidecaller to follow us?"

"What do you mean?" Ren asked.

"Think about it." Thorn answered. "None of them showed any sign of disagreeing with what their captain said. They all looked… loyal to her."

Ren nodded. "You're right. But that doesn't mean we don't have to try. There might just be one Tidecaller who's craving adventure. And we'll be the one to give it to him."

"And what if there's none? What do we do?"

Ren opened his mouth to answer and that was when the sound of footsteps echoed down the corridor.

They watched through the bars of their cell as the Two Tidecallers returned. The men fiddled with the lock of the door and opened it.

They stepped in, their arms crossed and faces flat with boredom.

"Hope you enjoyed the food?" One of them said, grinning maliciously as he stepped forward to collect the bowls. "It was from the bottom of the barrel."

Ren smiled easily. "Actually, yeah. Surprisingly decent for prison food. If you don't mind, can I have the recipe?"

The Tidecaller blinked in surprise, before his expression changed to one of wariness. He said nothing.

"Dude, I'm not even trying to joke right now." Ren smiled. "I'd really like to have the recipe. With a little sprucing up, I'm sure I can make it into something people would actually pay for."

"Shut up." The second Tidecaller hissed and they stepped forward to begin gathering the empty bowls. freewёbnoνel.com

Ren stood and stretched, the friendly smile still on his face. "You know," he said, his voice light, "I have a proposition for you."

That made them pause.

"We're not interested." The older one said flatly.

"You haven't even heard it yet." Ren chuckled. "How do you feel about the ballad of Shing?"

Their brows rose as they wondered just how Ren knew about the greatest ballad among the Tidecallers. The song that every Tidecaller knew by heart. The one that told them the story of their greatest ancestor, Shing.

"It's… alright, I guess." One of them answered warily.

"What if I told you that you had the chance to join a real adventure? The same kind that Shing went on? The kind of thing people write ballads about. How would you like to have your very own ballad?"

They exchanged a glance. The younger one raised an eyebrow. "Ballads, huh?"

"You heard me up at the deck. We're going after something old. Powerful. The Hungering Deep." Ren said, watching their reactions. "The kind of monster that makes sure your name is immortalized forever."

"You all call the sea 'Shing' because his story has been immortalized in the Mare Dulce. How would you like that for yourself?"

They stared at him for a beat, then burst out laughing.

"You mean to drag us to join you in death? We'll be immortalized in those scary fish stories they tell kids to keep them from swimming too far out." The older one said between snorts.

"Captain Hook was right." The younger one added, scooping up Thorn's bowl. "This is not something we can do on our own. It'll take a Tidecaller army. Not four Albion nobles eager to die."

"Are you sure you can afford to wait for the army to be raised?" Ren asked, his tone calm. "The elders have to all be convinced. It has to be unanimous. Are you sure every elder will agree with a war against something they haven't seen with their own eyes?"

He paused.

"The Deep is growing. If left unchecked, it'll reach your islands. And then, there'll be little you can do to stop it."

The older Tidecaller leaned closer to Ren, eyes narrowed. "And let's say we believe you. Why the hell would we join you? You're prisoners. And you're outsiders."

"Because the alternative is doing nothing and watching the sea eat everything you love." Ren said quietly.

The Tidecallers laughed again, less amused this time, more dismissive.

"Enjoy your stay." The younger one said as they left with the bowls. "But don't hold your breath. No one on this ship's dumb enough to join your hunt."

The door slammed shut behind them, and the sound of their footsteps faded down the corridor.

Ren sat back down, exhaling through his nose.

"Well," Thorn said, wiping his hands on his soaked pants. "That went well."

"Maybe, just maybe, I judged wrong." Ren admitted.

"Why not just bribe them?" Elias asked from where he sat, his back against the wall. "Gold might do more than words."

Ren rubbed the back of his neck. "Someone who can be bribed is my second choice. The stakes at hand are nowhere near small.

"I want someone who needs the thrill. Someone who hears the words 'impossible quest' and starts packing. Then, I can try bribing."

Lilith nodded slightly from her spot beside him. "We'll find them."

Thorn stretched his legs out in front of him. "Still seems like you'd have better luck if you just led us in yourself. Or have you forgotten the route like with the holy cathedral?"

Ren's smile faded slightly. "I can't lead the way this time, because the Deep isn't like anything we've faced before. It doesn't have a fixed path."

Thorn looked confused. "What does that mean?"

Ren leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "It means the inside of the Hungering Deep changes constantly. It's not just a massive rift in the sea. It's in a way, alive. A sentient space that rearranges itself."

Elias frowned. "Like a maze?"

"Worse." Ren said. "A constantly shifting maze."

"Imagine you're sailing on an ocean today. Then you wake up tomorrow, and it's a narrow stream. The next day, it's a frozen sea with floating islands."

Thorn blinked. "That's ridiculous."

"That's the Deep." Ren replied. "It doesn't follow logic or geography."

"The only constant is the water and the pull toward the heart. But without someone who can feel the current of the Deep, we'll be stuck wandering inside for a long time, hoping to stumble to the heart by chance."

"So the Tidecallers can feel it." Elias said.

Ren nodded. "They don't just move water. They listen to it. Understand it. And that's why we need them."

Silence fell again as they all considered just what they needed to do.

"Then we wait." Lilith said calmly. "Someone will bite."