Caius and Yander moved in perfect coordination. Their elements formed around them, light and dark, merging, creating an amazing visual.

Yander, who was in front of Caius, fire gathering around her, said something he couldn’t hear.

Beside her, Caius nodded.

"They might actually..."

"They won’t," she cut him off mid-sentence.

Atheline didn’t respond this time, but continued watching.

The two advanced carefully, step by step, slower than the previous crew.

One step.... five steps... eight steps.... fifteen steps.

They managed to get closer than anyone else. Their ship was almost empty except for the captain.

’It seems they also noticed’

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"They’re keeping their output low," he noted, " minimising interference..."

For a moment, it looked like they had found the formula, then the storm shifted.

There was this pause in the wind for a moment then it snapped, harder.

The lightning didn’t strike them immediately but curved around into what looked like a web, cutting off their path forward while the sea surged behind them, boxing them in.

It was clearly trying to trap them.

Caius reacted instantly, light element flaring brightly just enough to break through the formation.

Yander grabbed his arm as they stumbled, the ship’s speed increasing as the waves pushed them back as they retreated.

The moment they pulled back, the storm fell quiet the sea rolling quietly like it hadn’t risen.

Atheline didn’t speak for a moment. Although Lilith had said they would fail, they were the darlings of the world. How in the light can they lose on the first try?

’This is going far worse than expected ’

Silence spread between them.

"So, even that doesn’t work," he said quietly.

"No."

He leaned slightly against the window frame, thinking about what they would do.

Atheline had hoped they would just follow behind the others through the storm.

From the sheer size of the storm, the island was clearly not small.

His gaze moved back to the storm.

"It let them get closer than the others," he said, trying to make sense of everything.

"Yes," she responded calmly, almost dismissively.

"... then push them out when they commit."

"Yes."

He fell into his thoughts for a moment he just couldn’t get the true essence of how the storm works.

"So the moment you decide to enter, it reacts."

"Yes."

He frowned to himself.

"Anyone can go near it but they shouldn’t have any desire to enter the domain?"

She didn’t answer, not like she needed to. The answer was pretty self-explanatory.

He let out a quiet breath, something between laughter and realisation.

"Thats messed up."

"Mmh."

He met Lilith’s gaze. It came to Atheline at that moment that she had probably already figured it out and was waiting for his response.

Outside, the pair had fully retreated and the crowd had gone back to normal each organising who was to go in first.

His gaze lingered on them for a second.

"Are you worried about them?" She asked.

Her voice was soft, too soft.

He shook his head immediately.

"No... I was just thinking. "

He was telling the truth. The two could take care of themselves.

There was a bout of silence before she spoke.

"I want to sit."

He blinks, turning to look at her properly now. She met his gaze.

He looked over her body then smiled.

"Sure, I’m also tired."

He said, half amused.

He took her hand and led her to the bed.

The moment they were seated, she spoke again seriously.

"We should go in first."

Atheline almost dropped the new glass of water. She held his gaze without any hesitation or doubt.

"That’s your solution?" He asked, half amused.

"Yes."

"You do realise that doesn’t solve anything, right?"

"It does."

She leaned closer, their forehead touching.

"If we enter, no one will be able to follow us."

’There goes our first plan’

She said it so simply, Atheline couldn’t find anything wrong with it.

He leaned back, stared at her for a second then huffed a quiet laughter, shaking his head.

"You’re unbelievable. "

"I know."

He turned back to the window. The storm churned, claiming more victims, each time more creative than the last.

He sighed softly, the ways he had thought coming into mind.

"We don’t force it," he said slowly, " we don’t push through. We don’t ’try’ to enter."

He made quotations on the try. After a small pause, he continued.

"The only way in is... we slip through."

She watched him now, fully attentive.

"How?"

He exhaled once. He raised three fingers.

"Timing. Distraction. And..." he said, the last finger folding, " control."

A faint curve touched her lips.

"Alright."

Her easy yes left him surprised. His plan was crude at best since she was hurrying him. He himself wasn’t as confident.

He straightened.

"We will wait for the next attempt. "

She nodded.

His gaze went outside the window. The crowd was also regrouping, preparing for the next entry.

The next attempt began louder than all the others. This was clearly a desperate act, to overwhelm the storm with power.

On different boats, manipulators and warriors spread out, forming a wide arc. Layers of elements came to life, layered with different weapons in an alignment.

The air thickened with power and aether visible from the window as the distortion rippled outwards. It was a mixture of all powers.

The attack was a cooperation of both official and non-official ships.

"They’re overdoing it," he muttered.

"Mmh."

Neither of them looked away because that was what they needed.

The moment the first barrage was launched, power so overwhelming spread everywhere. The hurled power tore into the outer layer of the storm.

For a split second, it worked.

The wind reduced, the surface of the storm buckled inwardly as though a translucent layer had been placed, a last line of defence.

As expected, the retaliation came swiftly and violently.

The lightening spread outwards in branched jagged lines that tore through the incoming elements, detonating mid-air.

The sea surged in response, waves crashing high enough to blot out entire ships from view.

Shouts erupted. The boats that hadn’t joined, looking on with horror. The whole place fell into chaos.

No one was looking away.

’Perfect ’

"Now," he quietly said, without hesitation.