The first monster burst from the water—a colossal ice shark with jagged, crystallized fins that glinted like shattered glass. Opposite it, a towering fire-drenched octopus roared, its tentacles glowing with searing heat that turned the rain around it to steam.
Without warning, the shark inhaled deeply and exhaled a freezing blast that struck the side of the ship. Ice spread instantly, coating half the vessel in solid frost. Chiyo and Kenji were caught in it—Chiyo frozen mid-step, and Kenji's torso and legs encased completely.
"KENJI!" Timmy shouted, running over with panic in his voice.
The octopus raised a molten limb and fired a stream of fire toward the ship.
Tony launched into the air with a spiraling jump. "Don't worry, I got this one!" he shouted gleefully. He struck the flaming tentacle with a flurry of precise Wing Chun-style palm strikes, each hit rhythmic, almost dance-like.
The octopus screeched and reeled back. In retaliation, it slammed Tony repeatedly against the hull.
WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!
Tony, while being flung around like a ragdoll, smirked. "This is oddly therapeutic!"
The shark bit down hard on the ship's hull, splintering more of the deck with a horrible crack. Amai darted toward the ice-covered section. "Chiyo!" she snapped, smashing her fists against the ice until it cracked with a loud CRACK.
Chiyo flopped out, shivering violently.
"Th-thank y-you A-Amai," Chiyo chattered, hugging herself.
Amai didn't answer—she was already beside Kenji. Timmy looked up at her, worried. "He's still not waking up..."
"I have an idea," Amai muttered. She grabbed Kenji's swords, dragged them to the rail, and dangled them over the edge.
Suddenly—FLASH—Kenji teleported, appearing mid-air with a hand on each sword.
Timmy beamed. "Kenji! You're awake!"
"Meep!" cheered Kawai, raising both tiny arms.
Kenji landed with a serious thud. "For some odd reason... I just knew I had to move," he said flatly.
Amai casually leaned on the rail, smirking. "Somehow, I knew that'd work."
Chiyo pointed to the shark now chewing through the side of the ship. "Kenji. Please slice that overgrown ice cube in half."
Kenji turned, saw the damage, and wordlessly walked toward the left rail. He took off his shirt, closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply.
Then—
"KEN-MULTISLASH!"
He blurred. Dozens of afterimages of his slashes shimmered through the air as he danced around the ship, every swing avoiding the crew but cleaving through ice and flesh. Then, in one final strike, his blade cleaved upward through the ice shark.
The monster exploded into chunks, its body collapsing into the sea with a violent hiss.
"Nice job, Kenji!" Timmy cheered.
"Way to go!" Chiyo shouted with a grin.
Suddenly—WHOOSH!—Eleo and Olorun shot from the ocean like rockets, screaming at the top of their lungs. Ten massive monsters erupted after them, leaping into the air with gaping, glowing mouths.
Eleo whipped around mid-flight, eyes wide. "INK BARRAGE!" His fists exploded in rapid punches as he fired black blasts at the monsters chasing them.
They fell fast, splashing back into the water.
Olorun grabbed Eleo midair. "Don't die now, kid!"
His foot touched the surface of the water for a fraction of a second—then BOOM! He launched them skyward with a super-jump.
They landed hard—SPLAT!—right on the flaming octopus's head.
"AAAAAAH HOT HOT HOT!!" Eleo screamed, scrambling.
"WHY IS IT SO SLIMY!" Olorun bellowed.
Tony, still entangled by the octopus's tentacles, waved casually. "Not that bad once you get used to it."
Eleo and Olorun yelled in unison, "BECAUSE YOU'RE A SKELETON!"
They leapt off the octopus and tumbled onto the ship's deck, rolling to a stop. Olorun looked around slowly, taking in the destruction. "Half the ship's gone..."
Amai stared at the damage, arms crossed. "That's gonna cost a lot."
Tony's muffled voice echoed from somewhere in the tentacle mass. "HEY! You guys gonna help me or what?!"
Eleo, Kenji, Olorun, Timmy, Chiyo, Amai—even Kawai—all slowly raised their hands in unison.
"Nah."
"MEEP!" added Kawai.
"HOW RUDE!" Tony barked. He twisted his bones and BIT hard into the octopus's tentacle.
The beast shrieked and blasted Tony with a concentrated jet of fire—BOOM!—hurling him into the air. Lightning cracked across the sky—ZAP!—and struck Tony mid-flight, surrounding him in crackling electricity.
The octopus reared up to strike again, but Tony, steaming and smoldering, regained his balance and slammed his foot down onto the creature's head with a thunderous BANG.
The monster twitched once, then collapsed unconscious into the water.
Tony dusted off his shoulders and leapt gracefully onto the ship. "Thanks for the help, everyone," he said, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"YOU'RE WELCOME!" they all replied cheerfully, waving.
Even Kawai chimed in with a bright, "MEEP!"
---
The battlefield fell into eerie silence as the massive, defeated monsters floated lifelessly in the blood-streaked ocean. But just beyond them, dozens more began to rise—some wounded, others untouched, all converging slowly toward the half-destroyed ship.
Eleo stood at the ship's edge, blinking at the incoming horde. "That can't be good."
Timmy darted between the broken beams and splintered wood. "The ship can't take any more damage! It's already half broken!"
Olorun rubbed his sore shoulders. "Yeah, and I don't think I've got much fight left in me... I'm all punched out, man."
Kenji slid his robe back over his shoulders, his breathing steady but shallow. "And I'm already tired. My slashes won't be fast enough to cut them all before they get here."
Tony, leaning casually against the mast with his bones still smoldering slightly from the fire, narrowed his eyes at the approaching tide. "Yeah... I see no way of fighting them all together. Guess we had a good run."
Chiyo gritted her teeth. "Amai... is there any way we can stop them?"
Amai let out a sharp breath, her expression grim. "No... but I can."
Olorun snapped his head toward her. "WHAT?! THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU DO IT EARLIER?!"
Amai didn't flinch. "Because it's going to take half of my life energy."
Olorun's bravado vanished. He dropped to his knees dramatically. "I'M SORRY, AMAI. MY QUEEN, FORGIVE ME."
Eleo stepped forward, his ears drooping slightly. "Wait, Amai... are you sure? That sounds really, really bad."
Amai glanced back at them, a rare softness in her eyes. "If we're all going to World 2, then I have to make sure we survive this. Even if it means I might die."
Tiny footsteps approached her. Kawai, with stubby arms, wrapped herself around Amai's leg, trembling. "Meep."
Amai knelt down and patted her head gently. "I'll be fine."
She stepped to the front of the ship. The wind howled as the monsters began to charge up glowing beams of energy in their mouths. Amai's eyes shone with brilliant starlight as her Star Mark pulsed and changed—shifting from a faint star to a spiraling galaxy, spinning with cosmic energy.
Above the monsters, the clouds parted with a deep hum. A huge, radiant symbol appeared in the sky—a five-pointed paper star, glowing white-blue and shimmering like folded crystal. The moment it stabilized, it shot forth blinding beams of cosmic energy—silent, swift, and deadly.
Each beam pierced through a monster with surgical precision. The sky lit up with streaks of white fire as the star-paper rained divine judgment. One by one, the monsters were disintegrated in bursts of brilliant starry light, their beams never reaching the ship.
The attack ended in a gentle hum. The star above slowly folded inward, vanishing into nothingness like a paper crane carried by the wind.
The crew stood in stunned silence, mouths open.
"Holy crap," Olorun whispered. "That was... beautiful."
Amai collapsed onto the deck.
"AMAI!!" everyone yelled at once, scrambling to her side.
Her skin had turned pale, and her breathing was shallow, but she cracked a faint smile. "I'm fine, guys... I'm fine. Just... really, really tired."
Timmy burst into tears, falling face-first into her lap. "You're really okay?!"
Tony let out a long, uncharacteristic sigh of relief. "Damn, don't scare me like that, star girl."
Chiyo wiped her forehead. "Amai... you just saved our nuts."
Kenji nodded, his arms crossed. "Thank you, Amai. We'd all be dead without you."
Amai smiled weakly. "Well... I do owe you guys... so of course."
But then, Tony's eyes widened. He turned slowly and pointed toward the horizon. "Guys... look."
They all followed his gaze.
There, spiraling in the distance, was a titanic vortex of dark purple and silver clouds, swirling endlessly like a mouth ready to swallow the sea itself.
Timmy's voice trembled. "The Eternal Whirlpool... A deadly vortex that devours anyone unworthy."
Eleo tilted his head. "Well... maybe we are worthy."
The ship creaked and groaned. The broken boards bent inward as the whirlpool's pull intensified. The sails tore away with violent rips. Water churned violently as the ship began to spin in circles, descending faster and faster toward the maelstrom.
"Hold on to something!!" Chiyo screamed.
One by one, they reached for each other:
Tony wrapped one arm around Amai, who held tightly onto Timmy and Kawai. Eleo latched onto Tony's free arm, and Tony clung back, a rare look of panic in his sockets. Eleo gripped Kenji's shoulder, and Kenji grabbed Olorun. Olorun took Chiyo's hand, and the whole group formed a chain, clinging together with everything they had.
Wind howled like a beast. Wood splintered. Screws popped from the ship's bones with sharp pings.
Olorun grinned through gritted teeth. "If we die... I just want you all to know... I love you guys."
They all blinked, startled.
Chiyo smirked. "You big idiot."
"I love you too," Timmy sniffled.
"I love all of you," Eleo said, grinning wide.
"Same here," Tony sighed.
Kenji gave a small nod. "You're all idiots... but you're my idiots."
"I... guess I like you people," Amai mumbled, hiding her face in Tony's shoulder.
"Meep," Kawai whispered softly.
As they held each other tighter, their eyes closed—
And everything turned white.
---
After a few silent seconds...
Eleo slowly opened his eyes.
He was still holding on tightly to the others—his small arms wrapped around Tony's coat—but the raging storm, the whirlpool, the light... it was all gone.
He blinked in awe.
"Wh... Where are we...?" he whispered.
Before him stretched an ancient-looking structure—an endless corridor of colossal stone portals, each perfectly aligned and framed by glowing, arcane symbols. Every arch pulsed with radiant energy and opened into another behind it, vanishing into a blinding white light at the far horizon.
The path beneath their feet was fragile—like a bridge made of shattered glass and flickering circuits, suspended in the sky. Below them rolled a soft ocean of misty clouds.
The air was still. Sacred. Heavy.
Floating orbs of light shimmered around the portal arches, dancing like stars caught in a current, whispering secrets in a tongue too old to understand.
It was beautiful.
And terrifying.
"Guys... LOOK!" Eleo called out, tugging Tony's coat.
The others stirred.
Kenji's eyes fluttered open. He squinted. "Tch..."
Olorun stretched and yawned. "Man, that was weird..."
Chiyo slowly rose, rubbing her temples. "Where... are we?"
Timmy blinked rapidly. "This ain't World 1..."
Kawai floated upright, nervously looking around. "Meep???"
Tony scanned the area, eyes narrowing. Then his brows furrowed deeply.
"...Wait. Where's Amai?"
Suddenly, the atmosphere grew heavier.
Kawai's body jolted. "MEEEEEP???" She zipped around frantically, checking behind them. Nothing.
Kenji's voice came low. "Don't tell me she's..."
Olorun clenched his fists. "No way. She's not dead. I don't believe that. No way."
Chiyo, quieter now, said, "Maybe... she made it through first. Maybe she's up ahead."
Eleo looked left. Looked right. His little fists tightened.
"I don't know if I wanna go without her..."
Timmy stood beside him, quiet for once. "Yeah..."
Kenji walked up, placing a hand gently on Eleo's head. "Eleo. Listen. I don't think there's any way back to World 1. Not anymore. But we have to believe in Amai. Not that she died. She's strong in her own way. Even if she's not a fighter."
Eleo stared forward. A long pause. Then he sighed.
"Okay... Kenji. I hope you're right..."
There was a beat of silence.
Then—
"Yeah, I hope she's..." Olorun started to say—then suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
His eyes snapped to Kawai.
"...Wait a minute... how the hell is Kawai still here?"
Everyone turned.
Tony's eyes widened. "Yeah wait—so you mean this whole time, you could have left the ship???"
Kawai backed away, trembling. "Meep meep...?"
Olorun cracked his knuckles, a dangerous grin forming. "Ohhh no. I haven't forgotten about you laughing at us for having that trash room."
Tony adjusted his gloves. "Me either."
Kenji tilted his head, shadows hiding his eyes. A smirk slowly spread across his face.
"We're gonna have a real good time, Kawai..."
Eleo joined in, cracking his tiny knuckles, grinning wide. "Yup."
Chiyo raised her hands. "Come on, don't do Kawai like that."
Timmy shrugged. "Yeah, even if they're jealous of me 'cause Amai likes me more."
WHACK!
Kawai bonked Timmy on the head instantly. "Meep!!"
Olorun yelled, "Y'all wouldn't understand—Amai lets you sleep in her room!"
Chiyo started giggling. "He's got a point."
Kenji groaned. "Can we just go already?"
Tony calmly lifted Timmy up and set him on his shoulders. He grabbed Kawai with one hand and tucked her under his arm like a football.
"Come on, Kawai. Wouldn't want you to trip."
"Meeep..." Kawai gulped, defeated.
They all started walking—quiet at first.
The path beneath them hummed faintly, responding to their steps. Each portal they passed reflected fragments of memory, flickering like broken mirrors—images of World 1, of their journey, of faces they'd left behind. Echoes of the past, silently watching.
No one said much for a while. The weight of the moment had settled in.
They walked forward... and forward... toward the light in the distance.
And then—
The entire world flashed white.
Everything went still.
Everything went quiet.