Chapter 28:
Suimen: Volume 2
The large war room has been reset after the teen-fueled chaos. Screens flicker with sonar maps of the Deep Sea District, data logs, and a zoomed-in rotating model of the Sigil Fragment of the Waves—shimmering like liquid sapphire with white-gold fractal etchings. Around the table sit the main captains: Shizuku, Alto, Berwick, Asche Ace, Eris… and Astera, in a varsity hoodie and looking very much like he’d rather be anywhere else.
ASTERA (quietly):
...Why am I here. I didn’t even go. I had APs.
BERWICK (deadpan):
Because you’re a captain, and you dueled with Chrysanthemum indoors. Sit down and pretend to learn something.
ASTERA (under breath):
Could’ve just suspended me like a normal person.
ALTO (checking tablet):
Alright. Field team consisted of myself, Shizu, Berwick, Asche, and Eris. Mission was to meet with Primordial Eaura of the Waves in the Deep Sea District and retrieve her sigil fragment. Status: successful.
SHIZUKU (resting arms on the table):
Though it wasn’t simple.
Eaura doesn’t just give her fragment out. We had to prove two things: that we weren’t there to bind her will… and that we were still connected to the present, not just puppets of power.
ASCHE (crossing arms):
So naturally Shizuku offered to take the trial alone.
ERIS:
To be fair, he is the only one of us who can survive that deep in full dragon form.
ASTERA:
Wait, the whole Leviathan thing. That was real?
BERWICK (glancing up):
Its real name is the Shinkai Dragon Whale.
And yes, it was massive.
And yes, it recognized Shizu as kin.
ASTERA (leaning forward):
What—like family?
Shizuku (nodding):
Old blood. Deep blood. From before records.
It gave me the sigil fragment only after I helped it remember Eaura’s song.
ALTO:
The fragment wasn’t just a test. It’s alive. It resonates with memory, loyalty, and presence. If you try to take it by force, it forgets you—and so does Eaura.
ASTERA (rubbing his temples):
Okay. That's cool and terrifying.
Still not sure why you dragged me outta class to hear about god-songs and ancient whales.
ERIS (smirking):
Because when we’re gone, someone has to know how to finish the song.
ASCHE (stern):
This sigil fragment is just one piece. We’ll need them all. You’re a captain, Astera. Blooming Fire Guard or not, you’re going to fight alongside us when it counts.
BERWICK:
Besides, the others your age will be drawn into this whether they like it or not.
Better you hear it now… than when the sky starts breaking.
Astera slouches deeper into his chair, running a hand through his hair.
ASTERA:
…I was not made for cryptic world-ending destiny talks. I was made for 200-meter sprints and poorly written calculus questions.
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