Flames coiled around Verusha as she dried herself off. Tirto just watched with his arms folded, but Ursel couldn’t help but speak up. “Why are you here?” she asked.

It wasn’t as combative as Verusha had expected, and she was slightly thrown off. “Well you see I… I came here because I needed to see. What was uh, happening.”

“Okay,” Ursel said. “But why are you over here instead of on a boat.”

“Because she didn’t want her parents to find her,” Tirto said confidently. “So she almost got herself killed swimming through monster infested waters.”

“I didn’t! I had everything… under control…” Verusha claimed as she shifted her body so she didn’t have to look directly at anyone.

Nik and Melanthina remained silent, just watching.

Ursel added her own opinion. “You might have survived that,” Ursel said. “But you wouldn’t have gotten away unscathed. You have to know when you’re going into danger. And why. Curiosity isn’t good enough.”

Verusha kept her head down. What could she say?

“We’ll escort you back to your clan,” Tirto said, holding out his hand.

“Wait! Uh… isn’t swimming now dangerous?” Verusha looked at the water.

Tirto shook his head. “Not as dangerous as staying here.” He continued to extend his hand.

“I can swim on my own,” Verusha huffed.

“Emilia wouldn’t be happy with me if I let you come to harm,” Tirto said, taking her by the wrist. “Come on.”

Verusha didn’t see much point in resisting. She was weaker, and there was clearly no chance of convincing anyone not to bring her back to her parents. Her only chance had been to get out here undetected, which in hindsight seemed pretty much impossible.

The swim back was much faster, as would be expected when one was with a water cultivator. Tirto’s energy paved a smooth path for them, where the water helped them along rather than resisting their motion. The others followed along, but they were unnecessary. Tirto tossed his short spear at the only beast to get close, the waters carrying it back to him after it made a hole through the creature.

As the group was by no means subtle about approaching the Milanovic ships, Verusha wasn’t surprised when her mother showed up on the closest one. She leaned over the edge, looking down at the group. “What do we have here?”

“Seems like you had a stowaway,” Tirto explained.

He raised the group up on pillars of water so they could simply step onto the ship. He only let go of her wrist at the end, at which point it was far too late to escape her mother.

“... Hi,” Verusha grinned as innocently as possible. “I, uh. Accidentally ended up on one of the ships and-”

“If you’re going to lie, you have to make it more believable,” Yustina shook her head. “Now we have to have someone watch you. Honestly, young lady, it’s almost as if you never thought this through.” She gestured, “Come along then, there are sea creatures I need to defeat.”

“Wait!” Verusha looked around. “Uh, I don’t want to hold you back. So maybe some less important people could watch over me. Like this group,” she gestured.

“Less important…?” Yustina raised a green eyebrow. “Two of them are due to be clan heads within the next few years. We couldn’t burden them with watching over you. Unless… you agreed to act only in a support role.”

A drawn out grumble that was certainly far from acknowledgement was the only sound Verusha made.

“Perhaps I could pick out targets for her to boil,” Tirto suggested. “She could stay as long as she maintained sufficient combat effectiveness and teamwork.”

“Well, I don’t know…” Yustina frowned. “Are you strong enough to protect Verusha?”

“Of course he is!” Verusha exclaimed. “Err. You know. Emilia’s always talking about how strong he is. And they’re all in mid Soul Expansion.”

“In that case, do you accept the terms to stay with them?” Yustina asked. “Decide quickly, because I am needed to likewise boil some creatures.”

“Between you and them? Definitely them,” Verusha said.

“Then make sure to listen to Tirto,” Yustina said, keeping the grin off her face until she turned around.

-----

It was risky for Deidre to approach Sitora when they were on the surface. Terrifying as well. Not only would she be interacting with her full power, but she had to do it alone. She couldn’t bring an army along with her, and she wasn’t willing to compromise John. Steve was… not a reasonable option either. Any other individual she might have to back her up would be unnecessary or die with her.

She had to consult with the others first, however. “I wish I could not go,” Deirdre said.

“Then don’t,” Matayal said.

“I am afraid that she will take us as enemies if we don’t go. And either of them are a danger to our alliance. At best, it would put Gesine and the Molten Sea at a significant advantage.”

“And if you do go, Gesine will take us as enemies,” Matayal shrugged. “So if there is to be anything, I would prefer the option where you do not die before anything else. That said, do you trust her?”

Deirdre shook her head, “How should I know? But I think… enough to say that she likely wouldn’t kill me during a talk. Otherwise, she could have just as easily come after us herself in the depths. Perhaps even her earthen replica would have been sufficient.”

Renato frowned, “I believe we could have defeated it.”

“Certainly,” Deidre admitted. “But if she only wished to kill one of us. Or me, specifically, then it was likely she could accomplish it. Especially considering her opening move.” Deirdre had been pulled into a compromised position- her defenses weren’t breached, but that might have been more due to Sitora’s caution and curiosity. Though that was another point in her favor- she chose to warn them away rather than simply attack. That had to mean something. Though perhaps just that she thought it was less work.

“The choice is yours,” Matayal said. “The situation is what it is. We will support you regardless.”

Deirdre nodded, “I believe I must go. It is unlikely we can resolve this situation with just our alliance. Not facing these groups individually, and certainly not if they worked together. Any chance to work against another we should take. And between the two, we have practically no chance of allying with the Molten Sea.”

-----

It wasn’t difficult to reach Sitora. The separations of the different fleets were obvious, the Sky Islands taking up the southeast. People were waiting for Deirdre to escort her boat, and she boarded Sitora’s ship and was brought to a private chamber with just the older woman.

Deirdre nearly flinched as the room was coated with stone, but if it was an attack it was already too late. She didn’t let her guard down, but she did her best to not seem nervous.

“Though we share a certain language in common,” Sitora spoke. “I do believe we have more linguistic similarities using the local one.”

“That’s probably true,” Deirdre admitted, taking a seat on an offered chair. It was so soft she sunk halfway into it. “It’s strange to think about. And that someone from your time would still be alive. It would not be possible without cultivation.”

“I doubt either of us could have anticipated this,” Sitora agreed. “Tell me, how did you come to be here?”

Deidre shook her head, “I don’t really know. I… died. And then I was here. In this body, the previous inhabitant having undergone an accident. A significant cultivation shock.”

“It was not much different with myself,” Sitora said. “How did you perish? Was it a violent death?”

“Yes, I… likely broke my neck. Or smashed in my head or something…” Deirdre shook her head. “I quickly lost consciousness, thankfully.”

“I was killed,” Sitora said. “Both bodies, in fact. Here, it was meant to appear as an accident. My cultivation was shattered, my body in shambles. But functional enough to continue living.”

“Only the core of my cultivation was destroyed,” Deidre admitted. “My body was mostly healthy otherwise.”

“What of the others?” Sitora asked. Deidre tensed. “The ones you read about?”

She hoped not to give something away. “The instances of transmigrators I found were similar. Destroyed cultivation, but otherwise healthy bodies. At least, enough to not immediately perish upon… whatever it is. A new soul entering the body, I suppose. It makes me wonder if the former inhabitants should have died.”

“I do not think there is any relevance of should. Merely what came to be,” Sitora declared. “Most likely they would have simply perished should our souls not have taken over their bodies.”

“... Or their souls might have returned, if the bodies were available.”

“Perhaps,” Sitora shrugged. “But that is no fault of our own. And they would simply return to the cycle of reincarnation. You know of this as well, correct?”

“Certainly,” Deidre said. “I’ve read of it, and heard rumors before.”

The topic seemed to suddenly change as Sitora grew serious. “I thought she was like me, you know?”

“Who?” Deidre asked.

“The old bag of bones. Gesine. We met each other in our relative youth, due to our rapid growth. We were both at the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase before we hit seventy years old.”

Deirdre nodded. “So she was not… like you?”

“Like us,” Sitora said. “That deception would not have mattered by itself. It was the other incidents that built up.”

“So if she is not like us… then she is a reincarnator?”

“That’s quite right,” Sitora said. “Would you like to guess how she died?”

Deidre frowned. “It wouldn’t be at your hand, would it? No, her body wouldn’t end up older that way…”

“It’s not so complicated as that. Think about why we’re here.”

“I don’t know that,” Deirdre said. “But if you’d like to tell me…”

“I think you have sufficient information. Obviously, we are interested in this leviathan.”

“... did she die here?” Deirdre asked.

“It killed her, yes.”

“So she’s here for… revenge?”

“Revenge, gaining power. Does it make a difference?” Sitora shrugged. “I am here to stop the latter.”

“In that case,” Deirdre said. “Perhaps we could work together?”

Sitora smiled, “As I already said, I don’t need you. But… perhaps your numbers might be of help. I still intend to claim whatever prize exists here.”

“You… shouldn’t,” Deidre said.

“Why not?”

“It belongs here,” she said.

“Why? Nobody here has obtained it in centuries. So they don’t deserve it.”

Deirdre didn’t really have a good reason. Or at least, she was realizing that Sitora likely wouldn’t understand. Merely speaking English didn’t mean she would have a similar basis for morals, plus centuries in the world of cultivators it wasn’t odd if she diverged further. “We must at least work together to prevent the Molten Sea from obtaining what they want.”

“Must we?” Sitora smiled. “But… there is no harm in such an agreement. However, your current efforts are liable to get you killed. No doubt Gesine will tire of being followed as well. Your alliance would do well to rethink how you search.”

“What of the prize?” Deidre said.

“What of it?”

“If we get it first…”

“Then you had better be able to hold onto it,” Sitora said. “If you can’t, it would be better with me.”

It didn’t seem Deirdre would be able to receive a promise to let them keep it. Not that she was certain there was a physical thing anyway. But admitting her uncertainty wouldn’t help. “We will consider our options when the time comes. We would both be happier without Gesine and the Molten Sea obtaining what they want. Until then, we should at least stay out of each other’s way. Can you commit to that?”

“Certainly. You don’t follow me around anymore, and we won’t have issues. And should you determine that Gesine has found it, you can contact us to intervene.”

That seemed to be as good as she was going to get. She hoped she could trust it, but at least if they weren’t close together it was harder for them to backstab the alliance.