Where after tormented by dreams and premonitions, Geno wakes up and is soon going to learn the trick for which he fell victim to.

Alter's POV:
-

I look at the little one I hold in my arms silent, many minutes now. I feel bad for what me and Michael did to him. But he is needed. And I couldn't think of any other way that would not be harmful to take him with us. Without him escaping.

After waking up, I'm pretty sure he ain't gonna trust me. But I have my ways. He will listen to what is going on. And hopefully he will cooperate. Nah, no, he's not gonna take anything chilly at all. I ran my hand to his skull and over his closed eyesocket.

The other is covered by that strange cloud of magic. Looks like some kind of disease, not any that I'm familiar with though. His expression as he's passed out gives me strange vibes. Something feels... familiar 'bout him.

"Are you alright priest Alter?" Michael asks me, interrupting me from my thoughts. I look at him.

"I am... thoughtful." I reply slowly as I stand up while still holding the little skeleton in my arms and walk around slowly.

"When do you think the others will come back?" He asks me as he looks to the direction our other crewmates and Reaper took.

"I'd say they will need something less than 10 minutes to finish inspecting the village and taking supplies." I calculate. Suddenly I feel the other skeleton pressing himself against me more and I flinch. I stop walking. He buries himself in my chest. Michael seems worried.

"Didn't you say the anesthesia would make him unable to move in his sleep?! Or is this normal???" He asks.

"No. There's something else. I think..." I start running my finger on the smaller's skull, starting from the top of his head and going down his cheek. I repeat 4 more times and well, goodness me, he's purring and snuggles even closer to me! I look at Michael unable to hide the surprise that struck me. "... he's kinda attached to me."

"Woah!" Michael does. Does that happen because of the Lady's gift? Does he sense something familiar?

"SUCH A WASTE OF TIME! AT LEAST THEY HAD FOOD!" Me and and Michael look at each other.

"David." We say at the same time. The crew is back. Us 3, me, Michael and the uncoscious skeleton wait while facing in front.

"Wait lads!" Reaper's voice is heard. I see him jumping on the deck and walks to our direction.

"How was the inspection?" I ask smiling. He immediately nails his eyes on the skeleton I'm holding and his eyesockets perk up in interest.

"Definitely not any more succesful than what you and Michael did on the time we left you alone." He says and approaches.

Michael hurries to take a step back, to not get close to Reaper. I don't budge and sit down criss-crossing my legs so Reaper can observe from above the newcomer. He looks at him silent with hand on his chin for many seconds.

"One eyesocket."

"And one slash on his chest." I comment, turning the little one a tiny bit so more of his chest can be seen and the stain on his clothes of what I assume is the slash the prophecy told to keep our 'sockets on.

"Looks small. Is he really a kid as you've worried about, or just very short?"

"Sounded adult to me."

"I see..." He says and pauses before shaking his head left and right lightly. "Not enough. He will need further inspection. But certainly not here." Reaper looks behind him, to the direction of the crewmates still waiting to hop on the ship. "I trust you will not gossip around Michael. Until I say so, you pretend the newcomer doesn't exist. Understood?" He asks with a serious expression in which you wouldn't wanna bring objections.

"Y-Yes Sir!" Michael agrees. Reaper turns to look at me.

"Priest, take the intruder to your hermitage. Check on him. Find more clues and report anything interesting that might be related to the prophecy. Until we know for certain he's the one, the others will not have to bother knowing about his existence." He commands with a stern look.

"Yes Captain." I say as I stand up. "I will check on him. Though even without a check, I am positive he is the one you really need. After all, he sang as the prophecy told he would. And he sang divine!" I comment.

"Hear his song..."

"In the ship it'll sound." I complete.

"Wait, you knew that he was going to-?!" Rude of me to walk away while leaving Michael clueless and wondering, but I was commanded something by Reaper and I better get going.

I look one more time at the little skeleton. The moment I stopped holding him in the way to show the slash stain on his clothes more clearly to Reaper, he immediately snuggled and buried his face on my chest again. And he has stayed like that ever since.

I try to see myself how am I gonna get him off of me to lay him down and check on him. I feel the guilt and pity covering me. Right now he is just even smaller as he's curled up like that. Serene. Calm, even if it is from anesthesia. Almost... fragile.

"Glande ilmão!"

I shake my head sharply.

"I'm coming to help!" I hear Michael coming towards me.

Gladly I'll need him to help, so he can distract me from the thoughts that suddenly won't leave me alone the moment we drugged the small one. I sigh and just keep walking for the ship's hermitage. My little special place given by Reaper...

No one's POV:
-

Reaper didn't really feel imprressed with Geno. Then again he knew very well that he couldn't judge only by a first look. Him himself knew well what it felt like proving someone wrong for thinking they have you figured out and by appearance judge your capabilties.

Boy had he been underestimated countless of times in the past for being short? Yes he had and whoever underestimated him regretted it soon. Such satisfaction was priceless. And so he smiled as he looked at the direction Alter took, carrying the small skeleton.

"Come up lads!" He allowed his crew to enter the ship as he kept looking at the same direction. "I'm waiting to be proved wrong, if you are the so called 'chosen' of the prophecy." He thought. Despite the first appearance however, despite not sure of how capable the newcomer was and if he was who he needed for his curse to be lifted, there was one thing that was certainly undeniable about him for Reaper. Even though he tried to brush off such thought the very next moment.

"He's cute."

~

Finally. You found a way to escape. Or maybe, the way found you first. But you're not leaving just to find a new land to live on. You left because

We need you Geno

You must save us

Your true powers are yet to be discovered. You must learn how to use them

Go, find the 'Tearful Cave'

Find the Queen of the mermaids

Save the depths of the sea and the lands

Illegitimate for being part of the land. Dive in the water to find your other roots

You are... our future

Don't give up Geno

Until the very end

Stay determined sweetheart!

YoU cAn SaVe EvErYoNe GeNo!

Go bro!

Geno woke up gasping abruptly. He placed hand on his ribcage and sat up trying to control his panic. He needed a whole minute to finally calm down. He closed eyesocket and exhaled. Now what was that dream about?

It wasn't bad, but these words, these messages. While he could feel their impact, he could not remember what was said exactly. Only the last 3 voices. First the woman's voice telling him to stay determined.

Again calling him sweetheart. Why was it so familiar but he couldn't remember to whom that voice belonged to? Definitely however Geno had recognised his brothers' voices encouraging him too.

Were they real, or he missed them so much he longed to hear their voices even in his dreams at least? He covered his face. His whole head was hurting from overthinking and groaning he fell back on the soft jumpy matress and the fluffy pillow beneath him.

Wait a minute.

Soft matress? Fluffy pillow?!

Geno sat up again fast and looked behind him and down. He was layed all this time on a long bed with white sheets. He looked around. He was in a room. The walls were wooden, giving to the room the shape of a square. On his right and almost to the far corner was close to the wall a wooden table.

Beneath it was an also wooden stool. Quite a tall one. On the table there were neatly arranged piles of books and some papers from what Geno's eyesocket could catch. Next to it almost touching, there was a small cubic drawer.

Basically that, the table and the bed Geno was on were the only furniture in the room. There was a strange smell prevailing in. It wasn't strong and it wasn't really unpleasant. Geno sniffed the air and for seconds he struggled to remember where had he smelled such thing before.

"Incense!" The realisation finally hit him. Yes incense. From the church of Hondarribia. It was a thing for the religious people to fill the air with its smell. The skeleton wasn't approaching the church much, but the smell of incense had been stuck to his memories. Once he was done inspecting the room, a new question started bothering him. "Where the heck am I?"

"You seem tired son. You need some rest first, then we can talk."

"What? No! I'm not tired, what do you-?"

It all came back to Geno.

He remembered his day. How it started, how it proceedeed and... and somebody shoving in his face a cloth that smelled funny and caused him to be uncoscious! Why again? Ah yes, he had gone to inspect... the ship that had come to the village.

He wanted to sail with it away from Hondarrbia. But then he met another skeleton, someone who claimed to be a monster priest and-... and he was supposed to give him answers about his past! Instead he got drugged and uncoscious for who knows how long!

"That scumbag!" Geno clenched his fists and teeth tightly. "That fake priest tricked me and now I'm held hostage of who knows who!" He growled lowly. Then facepalmed. "No. I've fooled myself. I trusted some voices, a bunch of random messages and here I am, not knowing what will happen with me!" Geno took the pillow and shoved his face on it screaming and flailing his legs on the matress. "I'm stupid! I can't believe I thought it was in any way a good idea to enter this ship! I regret everything!" He threw the pillow on the wall upon his nerves. Still, that didn't calm him down at all. "Oooh, where is that fake priest to have 'a talk' with?!"

He stopped. He could hear something like a hum, which by the second was growing louder. Someone was coming. The door of the room opened slowly and the hum became even more obvious. Geno froze and waited to see who would enter. The first thing he saw about the newcomer was... a tray. And hands holding it.

"Now careful not to bump our forehead on the door's frame." He heard the tray talking. Ah, no. The newcomer bended and soon when he entered the room completely, Geno could see him.

"Speak of the Godamn devil..." He thought and clenched his fists.

It was Alter the priest, IF he was after all a priest. He was walking and standing normally, unlike what he had shown last time Geno saw him. However, while angry at him, he couldn't help it but also feel threatened. The monster was MASSIVE. Extremely tall!

The smaller skeleton hadn't realised that because the other was laid down. Now, he could see more clearly the skeleton who had made a fool out of him. Alter stopped humming once realising Geno was awake. The 2 skeletons stayed motionless and looked at each other in silence.

2080 words.