The patrol captain walked ahead, while Yasa followed leisurely behind, observing Angel Island's customs and scenery with keen interest.
"What's your name?" he asked casually.
"Huh?" Constance startled at the question. "I'm Constance, a squad leader of the Sky Island God's Guard..."
Constance spilled everything - family members, past deeds, all laid bare.
"You're a smart lad," Yasa said, patting him so hard it nearly knocked him over. "I like you. Stick with me and you'll eat well. When I leave Sky Island, the whole place will be yours!"
Constance could only offer a bitter smile. *I'm forty,* he thought, *and this kid who looks barely eighteen calls me 'lad'?*
If he knew Yasa was actually fourteen, his jaw might have dropped off.
Of course, he didn't dare voice this thought, choosing instead to ignore the latter part of Yasa's statement.
The pair quickened their pace, moving without pause under the astonished gazes of Angel Island's people as they headed toward God's Island Upper-Yard.
"Lord, the God of Upper-Yard... Gan Fall and his God's Guard are incredibly powerful. Might I ask what your plan was..." Constance trailed off, hesitating to remind Yasa.
The lightning strike had left him utterly dumbfounded, and even now he couldn't fully comprehend what had happened. In fact, he secretly believed this Lord could replace Gan Fall and become the new God of Sky Island!
Seeing Constance's cautious manner, Yasa found it somewhat amusing. "Don't worry about what I'm going to do. Just know that I have plans."
Upper-Yard was entirely made of gold, firmly controlled by Gan Fall. Yasa's obvious goal was to kill him and seize all the gold to build his Thunder God vessel.
"Yes, yes!" Constance nodded vigorously, bowing repeatedly and not daring to ask further questions.
They walked for two full hours, Yasa's patience wearing thin. He nearly considered lifting Constance into the air to fly, but remembered the man's true capabilities.
Despite being a minor leader of the God's Guard, Constance's actual strength was abysmal. High-speed flight would likely be fatal for him, forcing Yasa to endure the slow march on foot.
"We're here, Lord! That's Upper-Yard ahead!" Constance panted, pointing at the strikingly different landscape before them. A hint of intoxication flashed in his eyes as he spoke.
Land is Sky Island's most precious resource. Every Sky Islander dreams of living in this "God's dwelling" someday.
Upper-Yard, part of Jaya Island, was thrust upward by a massive Upward Current hundreds of years ago.
The moment it emerged, it astonished the native Sky Islanders, sparking centuries of conflict with the Jaya people until they finally secured the right to live there.
It still looks exactly as it did hundreds of years ago, with towering trees growing from yellow soil like a primeval forest.
Even Yasa couldn't help feeling excited. It had been over a year since he last set foot on solid ground, having been away from the Blue Sea for so long.
"Lord, isn't it beautiful? This is the very soil that drives everyone mad!" Constance marveled, noticing Yasa's excitement. He immediately assumed this noble had never seen soil before.
*The way he's acting, he'd probably eat dirt if you asked him to,* Yasa thought, exasperated.
He couldn't tell Constance that beneath Sky Island, soil was the most common thing in the world—cheaper than air and seawater.
But then again, the saying "the easier something is to get, the less people value it" really holds true.
Sky Island has no soil, so they treat it like priceless treasure!
The two men approaching Upper-Yard hadn't even set foot on the sacred land when they were spotted by a pair of armored guards.
"What insolence! Who dares approach God's Island? Have you grown tired of living?" The God's Guard bore the same fierce countenances as those Yasa had encountered on Angel Island, their movements swift and menacing.
"Captain Constance? The man behind you is..." A leader among the guards recognized the captain.
"Captain Kil'jaeden, this noble wishes to see the Lord God. I've come to notify you." Constance's expression wavered as he withheld news of Yasa's slaughter, clearly unwilling to offend either side.
"See the Lord God?" The leader's gaze raked over Yasa, pausing on his wingless back. His expression shifted abruptly. "You dare! A Blue Sea Islander without proper respect dares request an audience with the Lord God? Seize him—"
*Boom!*
Before the order could finish, a bolt of lightning descended from the heavens, striking the leader squarely. His body convulsed in the electrical storm, reduced to charred remains that collapsed to the ground in an instant—dead beyond resurrection.
"Cut the chatter!" Yasa said, picking his ear with indifference to the life just lost. "Humans only learn fear when they witness true power! But by then, they're already dead..."
The God's Guard soldiers stumbled back in unison, exchanging bewildered glances, utterly bewildered by what had just transpired.
Only Constance trembled violently, confronting once more the nightmare he could never forget—Thunder.
A frog at the bottom of a well might never understand how humans wield power meant for gods alone.
"It's him! He killed the Captain! Avenge him, now!" someone screamed.
Yasa flicked his finger, condensing the Thunder God's Spear at his fingertip. The spear pierced through the speaker's chest, sending him flying backward like a cannonball's impact. The lingering spear skewered a row of soldiers behind him like skewered candied haws.
Meeting the terrified gazes of the surviving guards, Yasa's voice carried icy detachment. "Those who value their lives will clear the path."
He strode up Upper-Yard's cloud-paved path—formed from Island Clouds—treading soil transformed by divine materials.
The spectacle left the guards trembling. They retreated to the trees, their eyes reflecting waves of fear and terror.
Constance's expression turned pained. Steeling himself, he followed Yasa. Only heaven knew how much courage it took to make this decision.
"We can't let this lowly Blue Sea Islander pollute God's Island! Kill him!" The soldiers, their minds warped by some twisted education, had managed to make loyalty conquer fear.
The Vent Shell-made military boots blasted powerful gusts of wind. The Knight's Lance aimed at the back of Yasa's head...
"No! Stop!" Constance roared in terror. He wasn't worried about Yasa—he just didn't want to watch another Sky Islander die before him without doing anything.
"What a miraculous thing. The sea truly holds wonders beyond measure!" Yasa marveled at the accelerated air currents from the boots and the shockwave from the Knight's Lance, which carried power comparable to his own before obtaining the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
Despite his admiration, he showed no mercy. Thunder bolts rained down, sweeping away all the soldiers.
***************************************************************************************************
TL Note:
lil conclusion from the og author
PS:
Yesterday I was in a bad mood and lost my temper. I apologize to all my brothers here. You have to understand the explosive temper of a man going through midlife crisis.
Thank you for not abandoning the book because of my rudeness.