Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Note: Pre-emptive apology for skipping some stuff, things were dragging on a bit too much, sorry-I really mean it.

El Emina Adre' De Quo–to be free yet bound by promise, were the words etched along the circumference of the Djinn's ring. Left on the island on the only seat–a throne which was left behind by now shattered illusion, it had laid in wait until Raven had come to collect his reward for freeing the Djinn from its chains.

"She's gone but her spirit can be called by that ring's bearer for that one last wish," reading the note left behind by her sister, Riyanzah's gaze turned to the shiny yet dark violet gem of said ring. Staring at it, her eyes squinted and her mind raced with questions about potential betrayal by her sister, she wished to call her right there, however, Raven was already wearing it.

"If she's lying, we're gonna have a lot of trouble when we really need her help," standing at the ship's helm with his eyes gazing into the sea, Raven wasn't sure if Elana had bailed or if she was true to her promise.

Already being on the sea after yet another week of transporting people from one island to the other, the mage wanted just a moment of quiet and even then, he couldn't rest his head without making Riyanzah read that letter that he'd found once the island had turned vacant.

"Where are we headed now anyways?" Asked the pearl-eyed demi, and that Raven had no response at all.

Blinder than a bat with a loss of hearing, he and the ship had been strolling the waters for three days and not even Reina was sure where they were heading. The only thing certain was that once again, Linkle's plan to visit the hells had been put to a stop–thanks to the witch's paranoia that had her preparing for everything, perhaps even the apocalypse.

'Yet another setback, seems like every other day is the same. Nothing but problems stacked on top of each other, and not to mention…'

Reminding himself of the rest of the crew travelling with him, he couldn't help but worry even more.

'Too many people to manage for my liking.'

From the original party to Regalia and a handful from Athenia–at first, the crowd didn't bother him much, but the more he had to manage them on the ship and in general, the more drained he began to feel. Paired with chest pain ever since he defeated Aran, Raven was far from in his best mood and even a bit jumpy.

"Do Djinns get tired, Riya?" Glancing sideways at the Djinn, he noticed a curious look taking over her eyes.

Humming at the question, Riyanzah leaned her head to the side. Her eyes rolled upward, she pondered the question for a brief moment.

"I guess it depends on how much flesh they're made of as possessed to pure spirit and soul," drawing her hands to the chest, she lowered her gaze and looked at Raven again. "Take me for example, I'm nearly half flesh so I do get tired but such wasn't the case for Elana as she's nearly all spirit."

"I wish I was nearly all spirit sometimes," Raven responded with a stretch of his arms.

Yawning at the mundane routine, he helped Riyanzah back into the bracelet before descending into the rooms just below the deck. There, tired of sailing already, everyone was either laying in bed or sick from traveling. Some were even suffering from scurvy even though there was plenty of citrus to go around the ship.

The hell's ocean was far from a pleasant place but never had the party expected the biggest hurdle to be boredom and disease instead of horrors or the devils of hell. The sorry state of the group reminded Raven of them camping in the dark forest at the start of their journey. It was much easier to entertain themselves back then, all they needed was some good food and a bit of glamour and sex.

'It's almost like something has sucked the life out of us all.'

Walking along the corridor and looking at everyone through the open door, Raven knew that he had to do something to raise morale or else the party would grow degenerate and unbecoming of battles.

'But where do I even start?'

From being upset over the new-found information about their parents to being bored or slightly depressed, there was not one thing he could focus on as everyone had their own troubles with travel. Perhaps it was the lack of people around them or maybe the fact that they grew up in a bustling city and couldn't adapt to sailing on a small vessel, whatever it was, the leader had a responsibility to spruce them up before some tragedy strikes.

"What am I even supposed to do though?" Burdened with a responsibility he never asked for, Raven came to realize that sometimes there's just nothing you can do to improve upon whatever life throws at you.

'Are you okay?'

Concerned for the mage's health, even the goddess decided to check up on him, but before he could even respond, his body flopped to the ground as he was walking towards his room.

The thud from his fall alerted those who were still awake, and rushing out of their doors, their boredom was cured in an instant.

"What happened?!" Yelled Erika, but nobody had an answer.

Getting closer to the mage, even helping the others to get his body up from the ground, they took him to his room completely unaware of just what had done this to him. What should've been a night of boredom and inactivity would soon turn into something far greater, the ones awake didn't know that just yet but the moment their eyes began to flicker, Athenia had made up her mind to put some much-needed secrets to a rest.

'I can't have him fainting all the time and the others distracted!'

Even though that was the reasoning she gave herself, in reality, she was afraid that the mage and the rest of the party were slowly dying–or at least such was the case for their faith, but as of now, even the goddess wasn't sure yet.

'I need to have a talk with them, all of them.'

And with that, it was time for a between her and her chosen, a meeting that would put a rest to every secret, especially their parentage.