The corner of the man's mouth stretched, as he pressed in. "Oh, so you say that you were not aware of the restrictions… that's a blatant lie. Next. What circumstances?"
Aziel shifted uncomfortably, his plasma field flaring with heightened sensitivity, every faint fluctuation of energy around him sending irritating pulses through his senses. "Excuse me?"
The man blinked twice in surprise, his sharp gaze darting to the others as if seeking confirmation, before speaking again.
"What were the so-called circumstances that led you to violate the orders issued by the 'Upper Echelon'? I guess you would have a pretty nice reason for that, won't you?"
Aziel froze for a moment, his mind a storm of calculations and doubts, considering whether what he was thinking would even work. He did not dwell much, reasoning that nothing much could happen. Either he would be doomed, or no-doomed. As simple as that.
"The ship…"
He whispered under his breath, though in the oppressive silence that had settled around them, it no longer felt like a whisper at all.
Every sound seemed amplified, and every pair of eyes in the vicinity had turned toward him, ears keen, curiosity and suspicion coiling in the air like a living thing.
The captain's reaction, however, cut through the silence like a blade, sharp and unyielding, a diamond in a mountain of pebbles.
His face went beyond pale, drained of all color as his eyes widened in astonishment. Every line of his expression screamed disbelief, shock, and barely contained fury.
"Y-yeah, what about the ship… Don't tell me…"
The captain screamed at the top of his lungs, his strict, controlled demeanor shattering like fragile glass, as he gripped Aziel by the shoulders, shaking him violently.
The energy around them vibrated with tension, the hum of the surrounding plasma beings thickening into a tangible pressure that seemed to press against Aziel from all sides.
Faint murmurs and whispers rippled from every side.
Aziel scanned the captain's reaction with a detached, mild curiosity before he continued.
"I was one of the members sailing that ship, and it was also my first time sailing. From the beginning our journey had been nothing but smooth. We ev—"
"I don't want to hear all that bullshit. State plainly, were they sucked in by the 'will of the viscous sea' or not?" the captain snapped, cutting him off, voice raw with accusation as if shouting the answer into being would somehow change it.
A flash of the shadowy ring and the tearing suction he'd seen stabbed across Aziel's mind. The captain's question landed like a hammer.
He met the captain's glare and a stupid, dangerous thought flickered.
'He's got such a punchable face, if I hit him now, would it even matter?' He shoved the thought away as quickly as it came, clamping his hands on the captain's arms to steady himself.
"No!" he barked, throwing his hands in a tantrum. "Unfortunately—none of those petty, backstabbing fuckers died. In fact, they're probably enjoying themselves right now. It's a pity. Oh, how much I wish they'd been sucked in and just died."
The words came out bitter, half-vengeful, half-hollow, or that was what the crowd felt behind.
"The only thing i did was, raise my voice. lay out my opinion on the rules and regulations, and guess what they did to me. They threw me out of the ship!"
"Calm down. You know full well that no one would dare violate the law 'Freedom to Speech' set by the Upper Echelon. No matter whether the speech harms anyone's dignity or their own, no one would stand against it," the captain replied, trying to steady Aziel, who seemed on the verge of an outburst.
"Huh… the law?"
Aziel scoffed, voice low and bitter.
"Don't make me laugh. They said bluntly that they care about no law and do whatever they wish. None of them cared about it. I guess that's what happens when your masters aren't watching, chaotic, defying, fearless of the consequences. Wait… why would they even care about consequences? They must have thought I would die in the 'will of the viscous sea,' anyway, ain't i right, Captain?"
The captain's jaw clenched, the faint shimmer of aurora flickering around the edges, betraying what his rigid posture tried to hide.
"Watch your words," he muttered, though his tone lacked conviction. It wasn't a command, but a warning trembling under the weight of guilt.
"Did I hit the mark, Captain?" Aziel asked, tilting his head, his lips curling into a faint smirk. "You wouldn't be reacting like that if I was wrong, would you?"
"Don't speak bullshit." The captain cut him off sharply, voice trembling with restrained rage.
"There is no way in the world you managed to escape the Will, and that too, unscathed!"
He let out a dry breath, his expression hardening.
The captain is proving to be bothersome, too much to be honest. How was he supposed to take control of these creatures.
"Do you really believe I came out of that thing clean? That I just swam my way out of a force that eats through existence itself?"
The captain flinched but refused to look away.
"Then explain," he demanded, his voice tightening. "How are you standing here, alive? The Will doesn't let anything survive, nothing. You should've been gone the moment you came into its area of effect."
Aziel's eyes narrowed slightly, his mind racing through how flawlessly his plan had been following through.
"Yeah," he said, a bitter chuckle escaping his lips.
"I should've been. Guess it didn't want me dead."
He paused, staring straight into the captain's glowing eyes, his thoughts wandering off to those tailon-hands emerging from the rift.
"Or maybe," he continued softly, "it just decided to be generous and spit me back out."
As those words left his mouth, a sharp stillness rippled through the air, like never before.
Aziel could feel every gaze lock onto him, and for a brief, suffocating moment, it felt like if the entire world had gone still, listening.
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thanks for reading. The real fun is about to begin, buckle up.