Chapter 68: Splintered
As part of the southern far seas, the Abyss of Anos was not vast. If not for the violent storms and turbulent currents, an ordinary three-masted sailing ship could cross it in less than half a month. But due to the terrible weather, even a magical vessel like the *Time Vessel* had to endure countless dangers to reach its center.
In the dark storm, rain fell like a gray curtain, obscuring everything. Yet a massive ark, shimmering with warm white light, broke through the towering waves, advancing along a straight beam of light. As he spoke, he casually patted the other's shoulder.
To one side, a black dragon slowly approached the ship's railing. When only a dozen meters separated them, a gigantic, nearly five-meter-tall round seal emerged from nowhere, leaping onto the black dragon's back.
This massive seal, almost perfectly spherical, lay quietly on the dragon's shell. Black totemic patterns covered its plump body. As the black dragon drew closer to the ark, it slapped its tail, leaped straight up, transformed into human form mid-air, and landed steadily on the deck of the *Time Vessel*.
It was a slender elven youth. He had delicate features, with long black hair tied in a high ponytail that trailed behind him. Perhaps due to the intense exertion, the youth's wheat-colored skin was slightly flushed, and his expression looked somewhat tired.
It had to be said, aside from the faint totemic magical patterns on his body, there was no connection whatsoever between him and that round seal.
"What's the matter, Joshua? Not going to accompany your dragon for a swim in the sea?"
After catching his breath, Hill slowly walked over to the warrior's side. He waved at the blue dragon on the other side, while the head... well, life force was never a bad thing.
Ever since the day he first boarded the ark and obtained much information about Order and Chaos from the Azure Orb, Joshua had gradually come to understand many methods of controlling this legacy of the Sage. Mobilizing the life force stored within was just one of them. Previously, the warrior could only passively accept the Azure Orb's healing of his body, but now he could actively control that life force to prioritize healing more critical areas.
In the Azure Orb, the life force gained from burning countless Chaos entities was as vast as an ocean. Granting this pure life force to others was a technique Joshua had recently figured out. Since Captain Derrick had been chatting with him pleasantly, the warrior decided to try helping this newly acquainted friend.
"Leaving that aside, why aren't you with Lady Anna? Instead, you climbed onto my dragon?"
The black dragon had fully submerged into the sea, beginning another dive. Joshua stared at the pitch-black tides under the torrential rain and casually asked Hill, "Not worried Anna will be jealous?"
"The water next to Black is warmer. You know, the seawater in the Abyss of Anos is as cold as ice water." The elven youth replied just as casually. "I used to dive with Anna too, but the electric current around her is too strong. I have to stay far away, or I'll end up as a crispy seal."
Clearly, the warrior was not a talkative person. Without someone to initiate a conversation, the atmosphere by the railing grew cold. Amid the clamor of the storm, Hill couldn't help but sigh and remark with some emotion, "You really aren't a Dragon Knight."
To become a Dragon Knight, one first needed martial prowess to subdue their mount. But second, one needed high charisma and excellent communication skills to make the dragons willingly cooperate.
"I'm indeed not a Dragon Knight. It's just that my mount happens to be a dragon." Joshua, whose charisma was a mere two hundred plus, nodded and patiently replied, "Actually, riding a dragon isn't convenient either. I haven't ridden Black into battle for a long time."
"Even as a warrior, you're not normal." Carefully examining Joshua's body, Hill raised an eyebrow slightly. "Generally, a normal warrior would cultivate many special techniques and specialties. Otherwise, their strength can't keep up with other professions of the same level. But you..."
He examined again seriously and concluded, "You've only cultivated one breathing technique, nothing else."
If not for the warrior's achievements spreading beyond the Empire, and his clean kill of a Deep Sea Abyssal Dragon, Hill might have doubted Joshua's strength. A warrior who hadn't cultivated special techniques and specialties, relying only on skills and secret arts to fight, was undoubtedly incomplete, with combat power far weaker than others of the same profession.
"There are many reasons." Gazing at the sea, Joshua understood Hill's confusion. He crossed his arms and replied calmly, "The most important one is that it's not yet time."
The warrior knew why the elven youth said this. In fact, Loranda had asked the same question a few days ago. He had assumed it was because Joshua's father had died too early, causing a loss of family heritage. The paladin had even offered to teach the warrior some publicly available church manuals.
Joshua naturally declined this kindness.
So-called special techniques and specialties were like breathing techniques—[Permanent Enhancement States] that couldn't be summarized by Ultimate Essence. Due to the body's limits, the number of enhancement states a human could bear was finite. Thus, every warrior seeking strength would confirm their future needed specialties early on and strive to fill them.
Joshua, of course, had his own goals. As a former Legendary warrior, his standards were so high that he completely disdained learning ordinary specialties and techniques. What the warrior wanted were extraordinary specialties like [Omniscient Eye], [Primordial Body], [Perfect Reaction], which were at least Ultimate-rank at the foundation.
Because he possessed the Ultimate Essence of Force, his body could bear far more permanent enhancement states than ordinary people. But Joshua didn't intend to change his plans to learn common specialties. Plus, he had advanced to the Ultimate rank not long ago before coming to the Abyss of Anos, so the warrior was still in a state of having no specialties other than the Steel Armor Breathing Art.
—But it was time to prepare. Joshua nodded silently. Now he had Ultimate-rank strength, and with the massive amount of Battle Qi gained from killing Chaos entities, his combat power surpassed his level. This was already sufficient to meet the conditions for many extraordinary specialty cultivations.
"These past few days have been peaceful. No attacks from Erosion Sea Beasts, and the storm is just this level, not threatening the *Time Vessel*."
Nearby, Hill muttered to himself, "If we can approach the Central Maelstrom this smoothly, our mission this time will be much easier."
Peaceful?
"Peaceful?"
Hearing this word, Joshua couldn't help but laugh dryly. He shook his head and gave the elven youth a faint smile: "Mr. Hill, do you really think so?"
To Hill, this smile held no trace of amusement, but rather a chilling sensation. Rubbing his shoulders uncomfortably, he asked in confusion, "Isn't it peaceful? Since encountering that Deep Sea Abyssal Dragon, the *Time Vessel* hasn't encountered a single Erosion Sea Beast for several days. The storm is fierce, but it's just normal for the Abyss of Anos."
"Although it's hard to believe, my friend..."
At that moment, thunder suddenly rumbled across the sky, hidden by dark clouds. Then, lightning as dense and complex as a spiderweb crisscrossed the sky. Continuous rumbling shook the atmosphere and the sea. The originally heavy rain curtain, like a gray veil, grew even denser, as if the sea were pouring down.
Caught off guard by the sudden downpour, the elven youth nearly choked. But around the warrior, a thin black-red aura appeared, isolating all rain and seawater.
As if expecting this, Joshua looked up at the lightning-streaked sky and said calmly, "Wherever I am, peace is absolutely impossible."
The already turbulent waves grew even more terrifying under the suddenly violent wind. A towering wave over ten meters high surged toward the ark with unstoppable force, making the entire sea seem to boil.
"Damn it, I haven't seen waves like this in at least twenty years."
Back in the cabin, Captain Derrick stared in shock at the storm outside through the crystal barrier. He instinctively cursed and took a drag of his pipe. "Last time was the submarine volcanic eruption off Far View Cape. What the hell is causing it this time?"
Beside him, the first mate, though pale, forced himself to stay alert and said, "This is the Abyss of Anos, the hell of all seas. Captain, you're not scared, are you?"
"Nonsense!" Glaring at the similarly middle-aged first mate, the red-haired elder said solemnly, "If it were the old broken ship, maybe I'd be scared. But now we're driving a Temple Ark—I wouldn't be afraid even if we sailed through the River Styx, let alone this drizzle!"
That said, no one dared to slack off. Within seconds, most of the crew returned to their posts, responsible for controlling the majority of the divine arrays inside the ark to counter the raging waves outside.
On the deck of the *Time Vessel*, Joshua and Hill still hadn't returned to the cabin. The elven youth looked around, as if searching for something, while the warrior calmly watched the churning seawater.
Soon, two massive figures broke through the waves. A blue and a black dragon leaped up simultaneously, transformed back into human form, and landed on the deck. Faina and Black both looked bewildered. They had sensed a strange change in the deep-sea currents and surfaced immediately, only to find the shallow waters were turbulent with towering waves, and the storm had inexplicably intensified severalfold.
Just as they left the sea and boarded the ship, patches of ink-black water rose from the depths. Although the Abyss of Anos was called the Black Sea, it was only due to the constant storms and overcast skies; the water itself was colorless. But now, because a large amount of unknown black dust surged from the deep sea, the entire sea area had turned completely black.
Unlike the still-confused Black, the blue dragon girl's expression was grim. She knew the black tide was the strange current she and Black had detected. Instinctively, Faina felt this was the reason no Erosion Sea Beasts had appeared for days. She sensed a conspiracy.
"It's here."
Suddenly, Joshua muttered to himself.
With his whisper, the massive ark, which had been riding the waves, gradually came to a halt. Exclamations rang out from inside the cabin. The black seawater touching the ark's surface shimmered with iridescent colors.
"Mana is draining!" Hill and Faina noticed this sharply, their expressions turning ugly. Although the *Time Vessel* belonged to the Church of the Seven Gods, it still used mages' Mana Engines as power. Now, the black seawater mixed with unknown substances had drained all the mana from the entire sea area. All elements in the surroundings fell silent, leaving only the holy light runes around the ark flickering, resisting the onslaught of waves.
In the sky, black smoke and mist gradually spread through the dark clouds. It devoured the restless lightning, turning the falling rain equally black. Apart from the light from the Fusion Core Star at the top of the *Time Vessel* ark, no other light appeared in the entire sea area.
The sea had become a pitch-black cage.