The sun shows no mercy.

  This was the truth I learned in the past days... though it wasn't my biggest problem.

  Fortunately, the harbor master had left us some salted meat and tofu on the ship. I didn't know he'd done that, but I've thanked him ever since, because I wouldn't have to eat fish throughout the voyage.

  The Assistant asked on the first day, raising a piece toward me: "You don't like fish?"

  I replied: "No."

  "Never?"

  I repeated: "Never. The smell, the taste, the appearance... everything."

  Baldur laughed: "A fisherman who doesn't eat fish. That's the worst cover we could've provided."

  I said, taking a piece of tofu instead: "Good thing I'm not a real fisherman then."

  We ate in silence for a few minutes, sitting on the deck, the sea stretching endlessly before us.

  The Assistant asked suddenly: "Where will you sleep?"

  I looked around. The cabin was small, visible at the front of the ship.

  Baldur said: "The cabin is for Rona. She already decided that."

  I looked at the two long wooden benches on either side of the cabin entrance: "Then we're here."

  Baldur said, patting the solid wood: "Seems so. Comfortable... like stone."

  The Assistant laughed: "The floor is worse. Trust me."

  During the day, we'd sit on those benches, watching, resting. At night, we would spread whatever blankets we had over them and try to sleep. It wasn't comfortable, but it was acceptable.

  He looked at Baldur and me: "You two know how to steer a boat?"

  I nodded: "Yes, I've steered boats before."

  Baldur said: "Me too."

  They turned toward Rona, who had just emerged from the cabin.

  She shook her head in refusal: "Don't look at me like that... I've never steered a boat in my life and I don't intend to learn now... You three rotate however you wish. I'll stay inside."

  The Assistant looked at her for a moment, then shrugged: "As you wish. The three of us are enough."

  He turned to us: "So, I'll start now. I'll steer from noon until around midnight, then one of you will come down to relieve me. Who wants to take the second shift?"

  Baldur said: "I will. I'll take from midnight until dawn."

  I said: "Dawn until noon. Then the cycle repeats."

  After things settled between us, we sat for a moment on the deck before each of us began our turn. The wind was gentle, the sea relatively calm...

  There was a question in my mind I hadn't found time to ask since we left port.

  I began, looking at the Assistant who was checking the sail: "That city beneath Valerian's capital... How many actually live there?"

  He turned toward me: "Hard to determine. People aren't counted there. But if you want a guess... more than eighty thousand, perhaps."

  Baldur said: "Eighty thousand? Underground?"

  The Assistant answered simply, then returned to his work: "Yes, it's a large city."

  I thought for a moment before asking: "Is there a system there? Leadership, laws, something?"

  He said, sitting on the edge of the wooden bench: "Sort of. Each area has an unofficial leader. Someone stronger or smarter than others, who resolves disputes, distributes work. But there's no real law. Might is the law."

  I asked: "And the sick? If someone gets ill, where do they go?"

  He was silent for a moment, then said: "They die, mostly. Or heal on their own."

  I looked at him: "When did you first see the outside world?"

  He answered with complete calm: "When the Cobra took me. I didn't know my age then, but when I try to remember, I was probably twelve years old."

  I realized then that I knew nothing real about this man leading us. Since we met him, he'd been just a means, a connection to the Cobra, a human map. But there was an actual person sitting before us.

  I asked him: "What did they call you? Underground, none of you have names, right?"

  He looked at me as if the question didn't surprise him, but as if no one had ever asked him before.

  He said: "The black-haired pipes boy. From the northern district. That's how people knew me. I had no name beyond that."

  Baldur repeated: "Pipes boy?"

  He replied to Baldur: "Because I knew the underground pipe network better than anyone else. I'd sneak through them and sell information. Where this pipe goes, which passage leads to which area, where one could hide from a district leader." He smiled slightly: "It was profitable work by that place's standards, and in that place, a person is known by what they're best at."

  I asked him: "And after the Cobra?"

  He answered: "A17."

  Then continued: "The Cobra doesn't give names." He said in a completely neutral tone, but with something sad in it: "Not to his followers, nor to himself. He says names create identity, and identity creates weakness."

  I looked at him directly: "Do you want a real name?"

  He stopped. It wasn't the pause of someone thinking about the answer, but the pause of someone who'd never heard this question in his life before. He looked at the ground for a while: "Perhaps, but..."

  Baldur interrupted him: "Ray."

  We both turned to him.

  He was standing, arms crossed, looking at the Assistant: "From today, your name is Ray."

  The Assistant repeated the name slowly, as if trying it in his mouth for the first time: "Ray. I can't get a name this easily. No one would allow that."

  Baldur added, his eyes on him: "This will stay between us. No one needs to know about this. Not even the Cobra."

  He nodded slowly: "Ray." He said it again. This time he wasn't trying it. He was accepting it.

  Then he stood: "Do as you wish... I can't object anyway." He returned to the helm as if nothing had happened.

  But I could see the smile rising on his face despite his attempts to suppress it.

  That was a few days ago, and since then our agreement about shift division had gone better than expected. Now, as dawn began to wake, my turn had come. I rose from the wooden bench, my body slightly stiff, walked toward the helm where Baldur was still steering the boat.

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  I said as I approached him: "Good morning," but he didn't respond or even turn. As if he hadn't heard me.

  I repeated it louder: "Good morning, Baldur."

  Nothing. He remained standing as he was, his eyes fixed on something... I couldn't see at first.

  I moved closer, and then I noticed what had captured his attention. He was holding something in his hand, a small silver locket opened, hanging from his neck, and inside it was a small photograph of a girl, a child with brownish-red hair and wide brown eyes staring directly from the old photograph.

  I asked him: "Who is this?"

  Baldur jolted suddenly, as if I'd woken him from a dream. He turned toward me quickly, his eyes wide for a moment before he realized who I was. He closed the locket quickly.

  He said in a confused voice: "Isimud? You're awake... I didn't realize your shift had come."

  I repeated the question, ignoring his attempt to change the subject: "Who is this? You didn't marry in those years I didn't see you, right?"

  Baldur was silent for a moment, his hand still holding the locket. Then he sighed, as if he'd decided resistance was pointless. He said quietly: "No, I didn't marry. This picture belongs to my sister."

  I stopped. I hadn't expected that answer. I said in surprise: "Really? I didn't know you had a sister."

  Baldur was silent for another moment. Then he sighed a long sigh before saying: "I didn't tell you about her because..." He stopped, searching for the right words: "Our relationship wasn't excellent. We didn't get along well when we were young, there was always distance between us. But I... still love her. She's my sister in the end."

  He replaced the locket on his neck before continuing: "Some time ago, I heard that she was... sold. As one of the Axons to the Mutant Kingdom."

  I couldn't believe what I heard. Maybe I heard wrong. Maybe the sound of the waves distorted his words. He couldn't have said what I thought he said.

  My voice came out louder than I wanted, almost a shout: "Your sister... Your sister is one of the Axons?"

  Baldur whispered sharply, his hand rising quickly to calm me, his eyes looking quickly toward the cabin where the others slept: "Lower your voice! Do you want the others to wake up?"

  I closed my mouth forcefully, but the shock didn't disappear. I looked at him with wide eyes, waiting for him to say it was a joke, that he'd laugh and say I'd misunderstood. But he didn't. He remained standing there, his face serious, his eyes carrying great pain.

  Baldur continued in a slightly lower voice: "Yes. Since we were young, she was being trained to become an Axon for the Amazonian Empire... but a few years ago, I learned she was sold. Suddenly, without warning. She was no longer working for the Amazonian Empire... but became property of the Mutant Kingdom."

  I asked, still trying to comprehend what I'd heard: "Why? Why would they sell her? Since when are Axons sold?"

  Baldur looked at the horizon, was silent for a moment, then shook his head slowly: "I don't know. I never got a clear answer. All I heard were rumors, no one knows exactly why she was sold, or how an Axon is even sold." He stopped, his hands gripping the wooden helm more tightly: "I intended to investigate the matter at some point, to find a way to understand what happened. But..." He sighed heavily: "I didn't have the means. Not the money, nor the influence, not even enough information to start."

  He turned toward me, tears in his eyes: "But when the Cobra wanted us to enter the Mutant Kingdom... it was an opportunity. The only opportunity I might get. A chance to obtain the information I want, especially with you and Rona with me." He looked at me directly: "And perhaps... perhaps to see her again. To understand. To get answers to my many questions."

  I felt the weight of his words settle in my chest. I understood now. I understood why he agreed so quickly. Why he didn't hesitate even when the Cobra mentioned the dangers. It wasn't about how much he wanted to protect innocents—it was about her.

  But something else struck my mind suddenly, something Baldur hadn't thought of, or perhaps chose to ignore.

  I said slowly, trying to choose my words carefully: "Listen... There's a possibility, a real possibility, that we'll encounter your sister there. Maybe on the Kingdom's side." I looked at him seriously: "And we'll be with the rebels, Baldur. Do you realize what will happen if anyone there finds out you're the brother of an Axon working for the Kingdom?"

  I continued, my voice becoming more urgent: "Or what's worse... what if we clash with her later? In battle, in conflict? The rebels won't distinguish between her and any other Axon. She's an enemy to them... Things are complicated now, Baldur. Much more than they were before."

  Baldur finally looked at me, something of despair in his eyes: "I hope it doesn't reach that point..." He said in a tired voice, as if trying to convince himself more than me: "But you're absolutely right." He was silent for a moment, then added in a weaker tone: "I just... don't know what to do."

  I wasn't used to hearing Baldur say this. Baldur who was always confident, always knew the next step, always had a plan. But now, standing here in the dawn light... he seemed lost. An ordinary broken man.

  I moved closer to him, placed my hand firmly on his shoulder, and looked at him directly: "Listen to me carefully, Baldur... When we get there, we must understand the situation completely before any move. Any move at all. Do you understand me?"

  He looked at me, his eyes searching my face.

  I continued: "You can't act rashly. You can't search for her alone, or do anything that reveals your relationship with her."

  He said in a low voice, but there was something in his eyes, something stubborn, something that hadn't surrendered yet: "I know. But if I see her... if there's a chance..."

  I interrupted firmly: "No. There's no 'but' here. You can't ruin everything for this, Baldur. You know this... We all depend on you keeping your head clear."

  He sighed heavily and nodded slowly. He said in a barely broken voice: "Alright. I'll be careful. I'll understand the situation first." He looked at me directly: "But if there's a way... a safe way, will you promise to help me..."

  I didn't respond. I didn't know what to say. Because I knew that if I were in his place, if my daughter were somewhere out there, trapped in a hostile empire, I couldn't promise caution either.

  I finally said, my voice calmer now: "Just... Don't do anything foolish, okay? We need you. I need you."

  Baldur looked at me for a moment, then smiled a faint, sad smile: "I'll try."

  That was all I could get from him. And perhaps it was enough. Or perhaps it wasn't. I stepped back and pointed toward the wooden bench: "Go. Sleep a little. I'll take over from here."

  Baldur nodded slowly, his hand feeling his chest again where the locket was, then left... I stood alone on the deck, my hand on the helm. I didn't want to make Baldur worry, but if things reached a dangerous point, we needed to at least know how many wings his sister had. One wing we could probably handle, but if she had higher wings, this would be complicated to an annoying degree—then we might not be able to do much.

  Another week passed.

  Same routine, same unchanging waves. Waking, steering, sleeping, then waking again and so on... The days began to blend together, each one a faded copy of the one before. Even the scorching sun became something we'd gotten used to, just part of the background we no longer noticed.

  Then, one day, we saw something.

  It was nearly the start of Ray's shift. My body was tired and longing for rest even if it was on that wooden bench... When I handed the helm to Ray and stepped aside, Ray had seen something.

  Ray said loudly, his hand rising to block the sun from his eyes: "What is that?"

  I looked in the direction he was pointing. At first, I saw nothing but water. Then I noticed it, small dark masses floating on the water's surface, scattered strangely, far from each other.

  I said, my eyes still fixed on those distant masses: "I don't know. But there are many."

  We drew closer, the ship cutting its way through the calm waves. The masses began to clarify more and more, their details gradually appearing. Then, when we got close enough, I realized what they were.

  Birds.

  Thousands of dead birds floating on the water's surface, their bodies bloated and decomposed, their feathers green like the water. They extended over a very great distance, I could barely see the end. The smell reached us powerfully... a foul, putrid smell like rotting meat, sharp enough that I raised my hand to cover my nose and mouth.

  I heard Baldur's voice behind me: "What's happening...?" I turned and saw him climbing the stairs, having just woken up, his eyes still half-closed. But when he saw the scene before us, his eyes suddenly widened.

  Then Rona appeared behind him, placing her hand on the cabin doorframe. She looked ahead for one second, then quickly turned her face away, her hand pressed to her mouth. She said in a voice choked with nausea: "What is this smell...?"

  Ray opened his mouth to answer, but I beat him to it. Given my work, I had good experience knowing what the matter was.

  I said quickly, then looked at Ray: "This is most likely a site filled with high concentrations of Source Stones underwater. We must leave the place quickly before we get poisoned by it too."

  Baldur looked ahead, at the sea covered with bird corpses, then to the sides. He said slowly, his voice cautious: "If we want to continue the correct route... Our boat should cross over them. Going around will take too long."

  Ray looked at me, then shook his head: "No other choice. The only way is to pass through. But quickly."

  I gripped the helm more tightly: "Then let's move. As fast as possible."

  We pushed the boat forward, the sail billowing under the wind, and the ship began cutting its way through the corpses. Birds were everywhere, their bodies colliding with the boat's sides, some disintegrating under the impact, exploding into shreds of feathers and decomposed flesh. The boat left behind a clear watery trail, a wide wave of turbulent water, swirling currents twisting around each other, dirty white foam mixing with the cut and torn pieces of bird bodies and their blood. The water behind us turned to a light, murky reddish-brown color.

  Ray shouted: "Move faster!"

  I couldn't resist the nausea, so Baldur took the helm instead of me. I held my breath whenever I could, only breathing when I couldn't resist anymore, and even then each breath was torture.

  Then, finally, after what seemed like a full hour but was probably only ten minutes, the corpses began to decrease. The water before us began to clear, the dead birds becoming fewer and fewer until they disappeared completely. We emerged from that dead sea into clean water, blue and clear.

  Baldur asked, his voice hoarse: "Is... is everyone alright?"

  I nodded, still breathing with difficulty, tears falling from my eyes: "Yes. We survived, somehow."

  Ray looked back at that horrific scene we'd left behind, then shook his head: "I don't want to see something like that again."

  When we left that place, we had sailed over the corpses of birds and animals. As we got closer to the Kingdom, we still didn't know that some of the shadows beneath the water... weren't just animals...