To Fly the Soaring Tides

As if the shadows had never existed, the lowest chamber of Archaeum was bathed in light of every color while most of the crew was incapacitated on the ground. Whether it was their mana drained into the void or their existence crushed beneath indomitable fate was hard to say, but the summoned sprite wasn’t entirely under Cira’s control. It had its own fate, apparently.

Luckily, the effusive light died down and Cira was able to stop shielding her eyes. As fate once flowed through her fingers, the feeling slowly dulled. Like the water in her palm had become air, she became numb to the sensation.

“I reckon this being’s fate was to never exist in the first place.” Cira watched her dwindling doppelganger gradually blink out of existence. “It is only natural it should disappear after serving its purpose.”

Good thing too, because dismissing it was another matter entirely. Turns out her own predetermination was not so simple to quell.

___

The brightest star in my life, the exalted Saintess of course, plummeted helplessly into the river. As if fate were unfolding before mine eyes, I was left with only the option to dive in after her. The pirates down below always made fun of me for never learning how to swim, but when the greatest crisis these skies have ever known happens and I’m the only one who can stop it… well, Ol’ Reverand Shores is gonna let the Lord of Skies Afar take the wheel.

Swimming came naturally to me. Like a glorious seabird on the hunt, my perfect dive parted the waves, and I effortlessly navigated the tumbling river. My arms were like wings and the waters were like the open sky. My Lady lay daintily curled up with her brilliant golden hair swaying gently in the current. A herd of carnivorous jellyfish threatened to devour her with their endless tentacles but turned to dust before my fist.

As I kicked off the rocky riverbed with the Saint securely in my arms, Undina appeared and tried to steal her away. As if I haven’t had enough tentacles today. Naturally, I traded my soul for the begotten one’s safe passage. Weeping in dissatisfaction at the uneven trade, the goddess of the sea receded forevermore.

As if I had stolen her blessing, I rose above the water’s surface and set her eminence, Lady Cira of the Unseen Sky, gently upon the shore. If I couldn’t do that much, I couldn’t call myself Captain Shores.

“Exalted one, please!” I placed my hand on her shoulder as her face turned blue. Her hand weakly grasped my sleeve before falling to the ground. “Please, you have to wake up!”

As if by my own will, water flowed freely from her lungs and trickled back down to the river before her chest heaved. The Saint gasped, desperately drawing air, clinging to dear life. Her eyes went wide, and she turned to me.

The frail arm which failed to hold on slowly rose now into an open palm, as if she were about to channel the incomprehensible wisdom of the far lords.

As my breath bated in anticipation as immense as my awe, she swung her arm. I felt a burn deeper than any pain I’ve ever felt upon my cheek.

“W-why, My Lady?” Tears flowed like a spring from mine eyes.

Slap!

“Because you’ve disappointed me.”

“FORGIVE MEEEEE—” A thousand slaps to the face all culminated in a single overwhelming instance of pain, a burn far deeper than and I’ve ever felt upon mine eyes.

“And you call yourself a captain?” I had apparently only just opened them to see Jimbo’s infuriated gaze. I couldn’t hold them open for long as the smell of cheap liquor burned my nose.

“Gyahh!!” I kicked back across the ground and grasped at the floor around me, “B-brothers, help me! Paladins!”

Cool water washed over my face as the odor dissipated, but my eyes were hot irons until I felt holy light envelop my head.

“Wh… what?” Peeling my eyelids open through the pain, I blinked in confusion. Jimbo took a drink from his flask and screwed the cap back on. “Did… did I save her?”

Slap!

“Shut up. Captain’s sleepin’.” I followed his eyes and saw Lady Cira curled up as peaceful as ever. Her body formed an indent in the soft ground and there was a sprinkling of dirt across her face. Her chest heaved steadily in her deep, comfortable slumber. “And these guys saved the both of you, ya useless oaf.”

“You don’t even know how to swim, Captain.” Eros’ words cut deep. “But don’t worry. Everything’s fine.”

He wore a relaxed smile and turned away from me again. Now that I’ve noticed, half of my crew was asleep while the other half wore the same expression and also looked toward the sleepy saint.

“Did… did I miss something?” Such a vista could and should be a painting, but the look in my men’s eyes was like they had just seen a prophecy fulfill.

“The prophecy…” Marko spoke softly, “It’s true.”

That could mean so many things it’s not even funny, but as fate would have it, my fellow captain enlightened me.

“You missed a lot. Eros and Leros saved your dumb asses, and a necromancer stole the soul forge. He tried to destroy the island then Cira summoned some crazy bullshit and went to bed because everyone else was asleep. Can’t believe you slept through all that.”

“Very uncharacteristic of you, Shores.” Cira opened her eyes. Wait, is this still a dream? The Saint moved a hand in front of her mouth to hide a yawn before brushing the dirt off her face. “But everyone else passed out, so you’re off the hook. Thanks for trying, anyway… why is everyone looking at me? It’s making me uncomfortable. How long have you been doing that…?”

Lady Cira even looked elegant in her dark bundle of ribbons as pushed herself off the ground and turned away from the group. She approached a sleeping Tawny and gingerly slipped a ring off her finger before tossing it to Gil.

“There should be some meat in here. Can you grill it?”

___

Even after enjoying such a hearty meal, Cira’s head still pounded while the knot in her chest refused to subside.

“What even was that thing?” Tawny asked, evidently humbled for at least the time being.

“I haven’t decided on a name yet,” Cira’s gaze grew distant, “I don’t think ‘sprite’ really does it justice though. Maybe I’ll call it the avatar of fate or something. That does sound incredibly pretentious though.”

The name felt half-appropriate as it seemed almost as if her body had become two. She could see through its eyes and control its power as if it were her own. The terrifying part to her was that she didn’t even make it do anything yet. It simply absorbed everything into its chromatic replica of her onyx.

“With that monster at your command, I’m surprised you let the necromancer escape.” Jimbo said.

“And I’m starting to feel we're more and more useless with every spell you pull out.” Cedric added with a self-deprecating laugh.

“I wasn’t joking when I said he’s as invincible as an undine down here. Worse even. Like an undine in the Lowest Sea. I had no choice but to let him go.” She shook her head, but the avatar of fate probably could have pursued his soul until it ceased to exist if she wanted. Part of her was scared to actually unleash its wrath without an aura with which to prevent any consequential disasters. Cira clenched her hand as if feeling around for the fleeting power, “I don’t think I can conjure that thing whenever I want though. Who knows if I can even do it twice?”

It innately made sense that such an absurd embodiment of destiny could not be summoned for no reason at all. It would go against the very concept of its existence in the first place. That meant pulling it out on Breeze Haven just to study it probably wouldn’t work. Even now, she could no longer feel fate’s current washing over her.

“So… we helped?” Marko asked with a tremble of uncertainty.

“Of course you did. We’d have been up shit’s spring without a boat if there wasn’t a holy light wisp ready for me. Not sure what I would have done…” And she meant it, too. That was a real sticky situation with very limited time to come up with a solution. She was of the opinion that her curses would have been futile, “We made it though.”

“Just one problem remains, Child…” Kuja’s worry-stricken face glanced around the dark beyond Cira’s barrier. “Did you not say there would be a powerful beast down here?”

“Nope… Turns out we already met him.” With a look of great dissatisfaction, Cira flicked her robes, “Get the hell out here. You have some explaining to do.”

“To what end?” Eight dishonest legs poked out from the ribbons and found themselves on Cira’s shoulder. She flicked him again for a short trip to the ground. “What the hell is your problem? I did my part.”

“You can’t be serious… Didn’t I say no humans? Am I just supposed to die now or what?”

“Even if you did say that, what you say and what you want differ greatly. Have you forgotten the terms of our contract?” Contract was a strong word, but he shoved Cira’s own words in her face all the same. “I have not defied your will. Have I?”

“You son of a bitch.” Grumbling and contemplating another flick, Cira glared holes through the spider’s crystalline body. “Harvesting human souls very much goes against my will—”

“Does it though?” He cut her off with a raucous snickering that put the crew on edge, “Have you not realized that the extent of my freedom merely extolls the extent of the darkness in your heart?”

Cira kicked him away and he bounced off the barrier before rolling to the ground. She was seething, but mostly because he was right.

“You dare?” Picking him up by one leg, Cira’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t you know how much I despise your kind? It should be your absolute honor to crawl around my robes all day, yet you still deign to trick me?”

She threw him to the ground, and he furiously snarled in everyone’s minds. “Bitch—I am your slave, yet I still assist you. Would you rather I told you, you were shit out of luck? If you die, I am free. You should be grateful I kept quiet, or you’d be scouring the skies with your head up your ass for another soul, and you would never have found a better fit! Not that it matters much anymore…”

Cira found a way to pressurize her glare even further and poised her one remaining to strike again, leaving the pitiful spider no choice but to continue. “Do you even need to ask? What to you think a greater spirit’s blessing is?”

“That… oh.” Of course. How did I not realize sooner? All those tentacles and theatrics had me dazzled. “I’ll have to thank her later.”

Mac did have a point though, and she even started to feel a little bad for being so unreasonable. It was her shame in subconsciously being fine stealing a human’s soul for herself which caused her to lash out at him as the mere messenger. Was that vile necromancer even worth getting so upset about? Who gives a damn if he were to abscond from the cycle? That doesn’t even sound like a bad thing when I think about it.

“Hold on, guys.” Ike held up a hand, “I’m lost. Did Undina just have a surplus of souls or something?”

“Where does she keep them?” Jimbo added.

“Fools. How many times do I have to explain what spirits are?” While Cira had no right to talk in this particular instance, “The aethereal form. Her blessing was a small piece of herself which, now that I think about it… if left unchecked could proliferate.” Hang on, is this how they traverse islands? Is she a no-good dirty body-snatcher like this spider here? “Ahem. I mean, the soul I needed has been substituted just fine by Undina’s gift.”

“You should be thanking me too!” The spider rose proudly, still on the ground. “I’ve already given up on freedom any time in the next century or two, so I was genuinely trying to help, and this is how you express your gratitude? I didn’t bother telling you to prey on the spirit the other day, nor did I remind you when the necromancer approached.”

Cira let out a deep sigh. Despite his many legs, she couldn’t stay mad at him, “Thank you ever so much, you little red piece o’ shit.” Cira picked him up and placed him back on her shoulder as confused grunts flooded her mind. “But following your own logic, you should have just eaten Mr. Bonelord and saved everyone the trouble.”

“You never would have agreed in the moment.” The spider somehow smacked his lips in their minds. “But I picked up some scraps at the end there.”

“Well, that’s good.”