CHAPTER 249: SHIP BEYOND THE OCEANS

[You are in the presence of a sealed Artifact.]

A message flickered in front of him.

[Would you like to use "memories"?]

[Yes/no]

Akamir drew in a deep breath as he pressed ’yes’ in his mind.

Immediately his world turned upside down as his consciousness moved away.

Akamir blinked his eyes to get accustomed to the new environment.

’...Where am I?’

He couldn’t help but wonder as he looked around him.

Because right now, he stood in the middle of nowhere.

His gaze moved around until he found it.

A man walking alone within the endless sand.

Akamir began to rush until he reached the man.

"Huff...Huff..."

The man’s ragged breath was clear for him to listen.

He could feel that the man was barely holding himself as he walked.

Akamir slowed his pace as he approached, studying the man carefully.

The man’s clothes were tattered, caked with dust and sand, and his skin was sunburned, cracked.

Each step he took seemed heavier than the last, as if the weight of the world pressed him into the endless desert.

"I will find it." The man mumbled, his voice grim. "I will find the best material for my ship."

Akamir slowly looked away as he came to a conclusion. "...This might be the memory of the man who built the ship."

He has seen things like this before, especially when he saw Nayomi’s past.

The man kept on walking and before Akamir knew it, the sun was already setting.

The man who was wandering in the night finally found a place to stay.

It was a tribe of humans that were living in the middle of nowhere.

They welcomed the man as their own, feeding him and telling stories.

The fire crackled, casting flickering shadows across the circle of humans gathered around it.

Akamir observed silently, feeling the weight of the memory pressing against him.

The warmth of the fire contrasted sharply with the harsh cold of the night, a small comfort in the barren world of sand.

The tribe spoke in low murmurs, their voices rough but filled with hospitality.

They offered food, coarse bread and dried meat, which the man accepted with quiet gratitude.

His hands trembled slightly as he ate, not from hunger alone, but from exhaustion that had been building for days.

One of the tribe elders, a woman with silver-streaked hair and eyes that had seen too much, leaned forward.

"Traveler, where do you come from? What brings you to this forsaken place?"

The man, his face still shadowed by fatigue, looked up at her.

"...I seek materials," he said hoarsely. "Materials... to build something that can cross the endless sea."

The elder’s eyes narrowed, intrigued. "A ship? You wish to sail where no one dares?"

The man nodded, his voice barely more than a whisper. "Not to sail... to conquer the waters."

Akamir felt a chill run through him.

He could see the beginnings of obsession forming in this man’s eyes.

A hunger for power, for control, that stretched far beyond simple ambition.

The night deepened, and the tribe shared stories of survival, of storms that devoured whole villages, of beasts that prowled the sands.

Akamir soon turned bored from the stories.

He couldn’t help but wonder. ’...Why am I seeing all this?’

In the deep night of the world, when everyone was sleeping, something stirred.

Akamir felt an odd sense of danger even though it was just a memory.

Slowly his eyes turned towards the huge boulder they were hiding under from the cold winds.

Akamir’s eyes widened as he recognised it.

The boulder-like thing moved slowly in the night.

It toppled over the people sleeping under it, crushing them under its weight.

....The boulder then began eating them.

Akamir remained silent as he kept on staring at the scene.

His eyes moved towards the man who had now woken up.

A big hungry smile bloomed on his face.

"I found it!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. "I HAVE FINALLY FOUND YOU!!"

The memory ended at that moment as Akamir found himself back at the port.

His hand gently moved away from the ship as he stared at it.

Whatever that boulder was made of...the ship was made from it.

[The Ship Beyond the Oceans has chosen you as its host.]

[Would you like to accept it?]

[Yes/no]

Akamir mentally clicked on ’yes.’

He drew in a deep breath as he felt a connection with the ship now.

Now he was sure he could control the entire ship with just a single thought of his mind.

’...But there is something really weird about this ship.’

Akamir thought as he looked back at the mimicker.

"What is the origin of this ship?" He asked him.

"There is none, my Lord." He replied, lowering his head. "No one knows how and where this ship came from."

Akamir nodded his head as he was more or less sure its past was something out of normal people’s reach.

He let out a sigh as he rubbed his temples. "This is my ship now." He said, firmly. "Make sure none touch it."

The mimicker bowed his head. "I will make sure of it, my lord."

Akamir nodded his head as he glanced at Nayomi.

"Do you know about this ship?"

She shook her head in response.

Akamir let out a sigh. He turned to look at Sylari who stood quietly.

"Let’s go." Akamir said, already walking. "We are going back to Krivos Kingdom."

The woman nodded her head in response, being utmost submissive.

---

When Akamir returned back to the Krivos Kingdom, he first moved to meet Inara.

The Royal Palace was just like last time, with the guards being as impotent as before.

He reached the main throne room without any problem.

Without knocking, he walked inside.

Inara looked up as she let out a sigh. "Can’t you knock—?"

"We are going to end the war after the first battle." Akamir said, cutting off her words. "I found something much more troubling."

Inara’s eyes narrowed as she leaned forward. "What could possibly be troubling you?"

Akamir let out a sigh as he walked closer. "Let’s start with Aure kingdom."

---

Akamir told Inara everything he got to know in his trip.

About the Advisor of Zagroth family.

He told her about the involvement of the duke, pope and otherworlder from the other side of the world.

When Akamir was done, Inara turned silent.

She sat on his lap while Akamir sat on the throne.

But unlike the position, their mood was utmost serious.

Inara’s hands rested lightly on Akamir’s shoulders as she leaned closer, her eyes sharp despite the unusual closeness of their position.

"You mean to tell me... this isn’t just a simple war between kingdoms," she said quietly.

"It’s... much bigger. Far beyond anything we could have imagined."

Akamir nodded slowly, his eyes on her. "Yes, it’s far more dangerous than any one of us thought."

Inara nodded as she could understand the severity of the situation.

The things that were happening within the kingdom were much smaller.

"So," she mumbled. "What is the plan?"

Akamir looked at her for a second, before he nodded.

"To remove their eyes from us." He spoke. "In any condition, I don’t want them to know we were involved in their matters."

Inara tilted her head. "And how are we going to do it?"

"But starting a rebellion in the Aure kingdom." He spoke with certainty. "To create a problem of their own so it never links to us."

Inara’s eyes widened slightly, her lips pressing into a thin line. "A rebellion...? You mean we’ll be manipulating them from the shadows?"

Akamir nodded, his expression unreadable. "Exactly. We can’t let them see our hand."

Inara leaned back slightly, letting his words sink in. "And you’re sure this will work? The Aure kingdom isn’t weak... their advisor, their duke... they are clever."

"They are," Akamir admitted, his voice calm but firm. "But cleverness can be turned against itself."

Akamir let out a sigh. "Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you."

Inara smiled as she moved and kissed his cheek.

She then turned serious as she asked. "But what if it has to do with winning the war in one battle?"

"We need an overwhelming victory." Akamir said, his voice firm. "Once we get the victory, I will start the rebellion in such a way that it happened because of their own incompetence."

Inara’s eyes softened, but the sharpness of her mind remained. "So, you plan to win first... then let them destroy themselves?"

Akamir nodded. "Yes. The battle will be decisive. Aure will face defeat on the field, but the real chaos will come after."

Inara leaned back slightly, studying him. "It sounds cruel... but effective. And no one will suspect Krivos."

"Exactly," Akamir replied. "The world will see Aure crumble, not because of us, but because of their own mistakes."

Inara nodded her head. "How long do we have?"

"Six months." Akamir replied softly. "It’s more than enough."

Inara nodded as she noticed the hesitation on his face. "....Is there something else?"

Akamir nodded his head.

"I plan to visit them." He spoke firmly. "I plan to visit the other side of the World soon."