Hey, all! Time for another chapter! This one brings the fifth arc to a close, and is something I've been building up to for a while all throughout the story. I'm glad I could finally reach this point. I had a lot of fun writing this. It's a really important chapter for Lana. I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter Twenty-Three
Lana's Worst Nightmare Comes True
x x x
“It’s true! I heard it from a visiting sailor myself!” Renny boasted to the neighborhood kids.
“No way that’s true. I bet he was just pulling your leg.” one of the boys said.
“I dunno, I’m pretty sure it was in the monster books.” another said.
“What? Really?”
Curiosity got the best of little Lana, who was listening in from the other side of the street. She took a chance and walked up to them.
“Ugh, it’s the icicle. What do you want?” Renny said rudely.
“I’ve read the monster encyclopedia front to back, and I remember everything in it. Maybe I can help?” she said nervously.
“Hah, what a loser! Must have a lot of time on your hands with no friends!” one of the boys laughed.
Lana squirmed in place, but she held her ground. “Well? Are you gonna tell me what you’re talking about or not?”
“We don’t need your help, fish guts girl! Go away!” another boy said.
Renny was quiet for a moment. “... Actually, maybe I will tell you.” he said, a devious smile on his face.
Lana lit up, thinking she would finally be included. “Really? Great!”
“You ever hear of a big octo?” he said, still grinning.
“Yeah. It’s in the monster encyclopedia, all right.” Lana nodded.
“Whoa, for real?” one of the boys gasped.
“It’s a giant squid monster with super long tentacles and a bunch of eyes. They’re really powerful. Ships that sail in their territories get sunk. I read that seagulls flock over open water when one’s nearby, ‘cause they’re trying to pick at leftover fish pieces in its mouth or something.” she explained.
“Man, you really are a dork. But you’re right. That’s what that sailor guy said.” Renny confirmed.
“No way... It really is real?” one of the boys said.
“That’s scary...” said another.
“You think that’s scary? You haven’t heard anything yet.” Renny said, the smile on his face growing more fiendish. “Lemme tell you what the old sailor told me.”
All of the boys, as well as Lana, found themselves gulping anxiously. “What... What did he tell you?” one of them asked.
“He said he survived a big octo attack. The way he told it, they didn’t see it coming until it was too late. They didn’t even notice they were in its territory until they saw how many seagulls were squawking above their heads. Then, all of a sudden, the water turned into a whirlpool, pulling their ship in. That’s when the beast showed itself.”
His audience shuddered, Lana more than the others. Renny began moving his fingers around creepily for dramatic effect, encouraged by the fear.
“It rose out of the middle of the whirlpool, its seven beady eyes staring right at the ship. The crew was about to run to the cannons, but then their ship started shaking. The big octo had already grabbed the ship with its long tentacle arms, and it began tangling them around the deck and the masts. And then... RIP! TEAR! BOOM!”
Lana let out a yelp, but the other boys were too preoccupied listening to his story to notice. Renny absolutely noticed, though, and his grin grew wider.
“The big octo ripped the ship in half! The whole thing split apart so easily. The crew began falling into the water, and so the big octo let go of the ship and started scooping them up with its tentacles. The crew couldn’t swim away because of the whirlpool, so they were helpless. One by one, they all got EATEN! BONES CRUNCHED, BLOOD FLEW EVERYWHERE! THEY SCREAMED IN PAIN! THE SEA WAS FULL OF DEATH! MUAHAHAHAHA!”
“Noooo!” Lana screamed.
She could take no more of the story, and ran away down the street to dive into her mother’s arms for comfort. The whole time, Renny pointed after her and cackled with delight. The other boys finally caught on to what he had been doing, and joined in laughing at the poor girl. That would surely become a tale that haunted Lana’s dreams from then on.
x x x
Lana’s face went white as a sheet when she saw the gathering of seagulls over the sea ahead of her. Bad memories from her childhood came flooding into her head, pumping her body full of so much fear she could barely hold onto the steering gear without shaking like a leaf. She turned it sharply, as hard as she could, hoping it wasn’t too late.
“Hm? Lana, why are we turning?” King asked.
“No no no no no... Please, no. Please let me be wrong.”
“What’s the matter? You sound terrified.”
Lana couldn’t bring herself to answer. Her entire body shook with terror. Her breathing was labored and unsteady, and a cold sweat stuck to her goosebump-covered skin. She wanted desperately to be wrong, that the seagull gathering was just a coincidence. She prayed to anything she could think of, begging for this reality to be mistaken.
As if to spit in the face of all Lana’s prayers, the seas beneath the King of Red Lions began to roil and froth, eventually forming a whirlpool. A sudden thud caused Lana to faceplant on the deck, and King looked around in a hurry. He was able to sense the danger they were in, albeit too late.
Lana unstuck her face from the boards. “No...! No no no no no!” she cried out.
She leapt to her feet and followed the spin of the whirlpool with her eyes, until she found the center. To her horror, the maw began bubbling and sloshing violently. Frantically, Lana tried steering King out of the vortex, but the current was too strong and the wind in the deku leaf sail was too weak. They were trapped.
At last, it began to rise. The first thing to breach the surface was the large, crested fin, evoking the tip of a halberd. Next came the tall mantle, covered in seven beady eyes trained on the tiny boat caught in its watery web. Last, a massive beak snapped up and down through the spinning vortex as it came to rest in the whirlpool’s maw. Two gigantic tentacles sprouted from the waves, as well, reaching to at least twice its full body length.
With an ear-splitting shriek, the big octo made its presence known to the surrounding seas. It was a cry that told anything nearby that they were about to be its meal, and that there was no escape. A cry that snuffed out hope in the hearts of any who could hear it.
Lana couldn’t even bring herself to scream anymore. She had gone to full-on hyperventilating. She collapsed on her rear on King’s deck, unable to tear her eyes away from the sight in front of her. In her mind, visions of all the nightmares she had about being eaten by big octos came to life more vividly than ever. The suffocating squeeze of the tentacles, the water rushing into her lungs and nose, the despairing pitch black of the sea floor; her nightmares were becoming her new reality.
“This is not good...” King said. “It caught us completely off-guard. We must find a way to fend it off and reach land. Lana... Lana?”
King’s words fell on deaf ears. Lana could hear nothing but that shriek echoing around in her skull. The sound of her breathing drowned out anything King tried to say to her. Her shaking limbs prevented her from standing up and manning the steering gear. She was completely paralyzed.
Lana had dealt with many things since starting her journey, but this was the one thing she could not deal with. Big octos terrified her down to the marrow of her bones. All because she heard that story as a child, she had been beset by explicit nightmares almost every night. Fear had been imprinted on every fiber of her being. In that moment, she was no longer a voyager. She was simply a terrified girl.
“I’m going to die... I’m going to die... I’m going to die...” was all she could manage to say.
“Lana! Get yourself together! I can do nothing on my own! Do you hear me?!” King shouted.
The big octo made its first move. One of its tentacle arms began whipping around through the air to and fro, before finally targeting Lana and King. The slimy tentacle slithered through the air like a serpent, ready to smash the boat to smithereens.
Lana screamed so loudly, her throat went hoarse faster than her voice could keep up. Her arms flailed around uselessly, trying in vain to protect herself. Her eyes stung with tears as she shut them tightly, still trying to deny her reality.
Thwack!
A loud cracking sound rang through her ears. The sound of wood splitting apart. Lana jolted still after hearing it, and slowly opened her eyes to see what had happened. Steadily, the sight of King missing his head came into view.
“Wha...”
Lana stopped breathing for an instant. She blinked a couple times, trying to make sure she was really seeing what she was seeing. Strangely, after rubbing her eyes, King’s head was back where it had always been.
“Lana! I cannot defend you forever! I don’t have all the energy in the world! I don’t know what is filling you with so much fear, but still, you must act! If you don’t act, you won't survive!”
Lana tried to speak, but no words could come out. All she could manage to do was sit in fear, her lip quivering and tears rolling down her cheeks. However, King did not give up on her.
“Stand strong, Lana the voyager! You have overcome everything else put in your path before, and you will do it again, here and now! Fear hasn’t defeated you before, and it’s not going to defeat you now! You are strong! So show me your strength again, and rise to victory once more!”
At last, something he said got to her through the terror. Her fear-ridden body gradually took in the King of Red Lions’ rousing speech. He had already saved her life once before, when she was a child. And now, he had done it again. Somehow, he protected her from the big octo’s attack. She didn’t know what kind of price he’d paid for it, but something deep inside her wouldn’t allow it to happen again.
The fire in Lana’s heart had nearly been drowned by fear. The nightmare of being pulled under the ocean and feasted on by a terrible beast had frozen her limbs and sapped away her courage. The nightmares were still pounding in her head relentlessly. And yet, seeing King sacrifice himself for her was just the fuel her heart needed to reignite the spark.
- What in the world is wrong with me? I just let King take a hit for me... And what was I doing? Just sitting here shaking like a coward.
The tears dried from Lana’s eyes. Her body began shaking less violently, and her fists clenched together so tightly that her skin was turning white. She grinded her teeth in frustration, nearly biting her tongue in the process. Steadily, she rose to her feet at last.
- How many times am I going to have to tell myself the same thing? There’s no such thing as impossible anymore. I don’t have time to sit here crying. Not when I can still act.
The nightmares began losing their hold on Lana’s mind. What was once filled with darkness and despair began giving way for an anger directed at herself. It didn’t matter how anymore. She was going to fight her fears and the monster before her. She wasn’t going to let anyone get hurt for her again.
“I’m sorry about that, King. That was so pathetic... I hope you aren’t hurt too bad.” Lana said, still hints of fear lingering in her voice.
“Nothing I can’t repair. But I won’t be able to do that again for a while. Are you ready now?” he asked.
“I don’t know, but I don’t really have a choice. Let’s find a way to fight.” she said.
Lana hadn’t completely stopped shaking yet, but she tried to steel herself all the same. The big octo seemed confused that its attack was ineffective, and it was beginning to ready another swipe of its massive tentacle. As the ridiculously long limb whipped around in the air again, Lana wracked her brain, searching for a move she could make.
She and King were at its mercy as long as that whirlpool was spinning. She didn’t know how it worked, but they weren’t going to get away until it stopped. She needed to figure out if that necessitated slaying the beast or not. The problem was, how to go about slaying a creature of that magnitude. She was just one person, and the only weapons she had were a sword and a bow. Would that really be enough?
As the tentacle approached again, Lana did the only thing she could. She drew her bow and nocked an arrow, hoping the pain would be enough to make it back off for a moment. Her shaky hands made aiming difficult, but she trusted her strength and let loose.
The arrow took flight, missing poorly. It splashed uselessly in the ocean, leading Lana to curse under her breath. Her unsteady hands quickly reached back for another one before it was too late. Perhaps fueled by adrenaline and fear, her second attempt was lightning-fast, and this time, the arrow did hit its mark.
Unfortunately, it had the impact of pricking a finger with a threading needle. The beast quickly shrugged it off, but its aim was affected enough that its attack missed. Its tentacle smacked the water’s surface too close to the boat for comfort, soaking Lana through her clothes with a large splash. King rocked dangerously back and forth through the whirlpool.
Lana had bought herself a little more time to think. Shooting the tentacles wasn’t going to do anything. Maybe she could sever one with her sword, but she’d have to get dangerously close to pull that off. She wasn’t sure if she could do it. If the tentacles were no good, then perhaps attacking the eyes was her best bet. At the very least, she could blind it.
The big octo had seven large eyes across the surface of its mantle. That was a lot of targets to hit. If she left even one of them untouched, it would still be able to chase her. She had to hit them all. However, her stock of arrows wouldn’t last forever. The Fairy Queen had given her five of each fire and ice arrows, as well as thirty regular arrows. If she kept missing like she did earlier, she’d be out in no time. She needed a better plan.
Of course, the beast wasn’t going to give her much time to come up with one. It was already gunning for her again, this time using both tentacles. Lana wasn’t sure if her arrows would be enough to fend them both off this time. She nervously rested her hand on her sword, ready to draw and attack when the tentacles closed in.
“Lana! Your deku leaf!” King yelled.
“Ah! Right!” she gasped.
How could she forget? The deku leaf wasn’t doing any good as a sail with that whirlpool trapping them in the monster’s range. She quickly snatched it off the mast and wrapped it back around herself. Just as the tentacles were about to strike again, Lana lifted off into the air.
The sudden movement pulled the big octo’s eyes away from King. The tentacles froze in place as the beast watched her, puzzling out its next move. Lana did the same in the air. She couldn’t let go of the leaf’s edges without it collapsing in on itself. Her arms were absolutely necessary to remain in flight. That meant she couldn’t attack from the air. But perhaps there was something else she could do.
Lana flapped her arms, and the tentacles began moving again. They writhed and stretched to chase her in the air. She tried her best to stay ahead of them, angling her body to gain speed as she closed in on the big octo’s body. She thought that maybe she could drop in from above, stab one of the eyes, and take off again. Whether she could keep doing that without getting caught was another question.
Swallowing her fears as best she could, Lana let go of the deku leaf when she was above its head. In the middle of her fall, she grabbed the hilt of her sword, ready to draw and slash when her feet touched down on the beast's skin.
One of the tentacles streaked through the air and slammed across Lana’s chest before she could even touch down. The breath was knocked right out of her, and she nearly dropped her sword from its sheath. Stunned, she was unable to defend herself as she toppled through the air into the vortex below.
Water rushed into her ears and nose, and before she could move again, a tentacle wormed its way around her body. It squeezed like a vice, choking the air out of her even further. She struggled and squirmed with all the might she could muster, but it was no use. She couldn’t break free. She could feel herself being pulled in toward the beast.
Her hazy eyes glanced over, and that fearsome beak was snapping with anticipation. In moments, it would tear into her flesh, perhaps piercing through her stomach first. It would hungrily guzzle down the blood and intestines that spilled out into the water, before finally shoving the remaining pieces of her body down its throat. And then it would be all over.
Such was the sight that played out in Lana’s sleep almost every night, down to the last gory detail. Those horrid nightmares were finally about to become true. She wondered if they had been some kind of prophetic vision of her death all along.
- If I had known this was how I’d die, I think I’d have rather burned up in Fire Mountain...
Thinking as much, Lana shut her eyes. There was nothing more she could do. She had no strength, no courage, no bravado, and no ideas. This was truly the end of the road. Her story was going to end permanently in the stomach of a big octo.
“...na!”
A fuzzy voice worked its way into Lana’s ears. She opened her eyes and looked up toward the surface.
“... Lana!” it said again.
The blues of the water rippled away and formed a bright red. In less than a second, Lana realized she was looking up at the King of Red Lions; specifically, the underside of his hull. A memory of the time she almost drowned as a child flashed through her mind. She had seen the same sight back then, too.
“Lana! Don’t give up! Lana!” King shouted as loud as he could. “Nothing is impossible! Don’t you dare stop fighting! You’re going to find your motherland, aren’t you?! So fight!”
Lana’s eyes widened when she heard those words, distorted through the water. Her teeth clenched even tighter and she began fighting tooth and nail to breath free. The tentacle did not give way for her, and even began constricting tighter. Yet, she did not let up for a moment this time.
- He’s right. I am not gonna let these nightmares come true! I am not dying today! Not without a fight! Because NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE!
She managed to bite down on the tentacle as hard as she could, causing it to jolt to a brief stop. Her mouth tasted disgusting, but that momentary pause was worth it. She was able to get her bearings at last, and she realized one of her arms could reach her quiver. Before she could even think it through, she had a fire arrow clutched in her fist, and she stabbed it into the tentacle and ripped through the beast’s flesh.
Upon doing so, the arrow exploded. A burst of flames was quickly snuffed out by the surrounding water, but not before it seared through the beast’s limbs. The pain caused it to let go of Lana entirely as it sloshed around in the water, trying to soothe its burns.
Free at last, Lana began madly swimming back to the surface. She needed air desperately. On her way back up, she glanced back at the big octo, and finally discovered the source of the whirlpool. All along, it came from the beast spinning its legs underwater. That movement created a vortex on the surface, sucking in anything close by. If she could stop those legs from spinning, they’d have a chance.
Lana breached the surface and took in large gulps of air, panting heavily. She was still being swept around by the current, dragged further away from King. She needed to get back to him so she could rest, but the pull of the water was too strong.
“Take to the skies, Lana!” King called out to her. “Your deku leaf can still generate wind when it’s wet!”
Able to hear him over the roaring water, she took his advice and managed to grab the edges of her shawl, staying afloat by vigorously kicking her feet. She started swinging her arms up and down as best she could, and blasts of wind pushed the water away from her. She was steadily lifted up out of the water before finally springing into the air with a great force of wind.
Quickly, she looked back down at the big octo. It had already recovered from the fire arrow’s damage, and was swinging its unhurt tentacle at her with haste. It came at her far more quickly this time, closing in through the air almost faster than she could blink.
However, in that moment, Lana moved on pure instinct. Her fight or flight response took over her limbs, desperate to get her body out of mortal peril. Her hands let go of the deku leaf, reached back and drew her bow along with an arrow, nocked it, aimed, and fired. In that same instant, her bow was back in place and her hands caught the edges of her deku leaf before they collapsed in.
To Lana’s eyes, the big octo appeared to be moving in slow motion. Her chest tightened up painfully, and she was barely able to breathe, but nevertheless, she moved with such speed and precision, the action was completed before she was even aware of what she had done. The arrow traveled along its path, sliding through an opening in the tentacle’s twisting movements. It met its mark in the big octo’s uppermost eye.
The beast squealed in pain as a purple fluid spewed from its wound. Its body writhed around in agony, causing the whirlpool to lose strength. Lana didn’t understand what had happened, but she didn’t waste this chance to return to King for a breather. She quickly dove down and landed roughly on his deck, falling to her hands and knees.
“... Finally... I hit it...” she said between deep breaths.
“Lana, that was amazing. Did my eyes deceive me, or did you just perform a temporal rush up there?” King asked.
“... A what? I have... no idea what that is...” Lana said, finally calming herself down.
“It’s, uh... difficult to explain.” he said.
“No time, then. It’s already coming back!” she said, readying her deku leaf again.
The big octo was enraged now, thrashing its limbs violently. It shrieked again, the noise beating against Lana’s eardrums. The remaining six eyes all locked onto her, hungry for blood and payback. Lana felt its bloodlust wash over her like a chill. But, her body had finally stopped shaking.
“Oh yeah? Come try it, then.” she rasped.
On cue, the big octo slung its tentacles at her, swinging wildly with reckless abandon. That very moment, Lana took off into the air once again. The tentacles tangled into each other as they raced to follow after her.
Her head was already spinning on her next move. Judging by what King had said, whatever she did to shoot the big octo’s eye in midair was probably a technique of some kind. Wondering if she could do it again, she tried hard to grab onto that sensation once more.
Sure enough, once those tentacles began barreling toward her again, the sensation came back. Her heart felt like it was being squeezed and she had a massive headache. Yet, what her eyes could see was a world that moved at an incredibly slow pace. Every subtle movement those tentacles made was picked up by her sight. She didn’t miss a single beat.
Lana let go of her deku leaf again and reached for her bow. This time, she drew an ice arrow, quickly nocking it and aiming for the base of the big octo, sticking out from the whirlpool’s maw. She had a mind to stop that vortex once and for all. When she loosed the arrow, it screamed through the air on a trail of frost.
Her arms were back holding the deku leaf yet again, faster than her mind could process it. The arrow hadn’t even hit its mark yet. Lana’s eyes followed it on its path as the world returned to its regular speed and her heart rate returned to normal.
The ice arrow hit the water’s surface rather than the big octo itself, inches away from its beak. Right away, the sea erupted into a thick spire of ice. The freeze had penetrated below the surface, stopping the beast’s legs from spinning. The whirlpool quickly died off, the seas finally calming down.
Lana knew her chance to win when she saw it. The freezing ice stuck to the big octo’s flesh, and any attempts it made to free itself were rewarded with blood and peeling skin. Lana dove down toward it again, this time landing on the ice. The traction her boots provided kept her legs steady.
At last, she stood on even ground with the big octo. She drew her sword, and in that lucid moment before she attacked, she locked eyes with the beast. The source of all her nightmares and fears presented itself to her as yet another wild creature, struggling to survive just as she was.
- So all along, I was scared of just another flesh and blood monster. You are not unbeatable. I’ve won. I’ve won, and now I know that I have nothing to fear from you anymore.
Those thoughts passed through Lana’s mind in a blur, and in the next instant, her blade pierced through each of the big octo’s remaining eyes. Her wicked-fast jabs left no room for the beast to counterattack. It reeled back, screaming more loudly than ever. Lana leapt up higher, running along its mantle as it tilted back. She took up her sword one last time, aimed at the spot where she thought the brain might be, and stabbed down through its skin.
The creature let out one last blood-curdling scream as Lana sheathed her sword and took flight once more. She hovered over, watching its body twist and contort in pain. It splashed around in the seas dramatically, flailing its limbs in a last-ditch attempt to defend itself. However, its movements began slowing down, until finally, as its violet blood seeped from its wounds into the sea, it stopped moving altogether.
Lana watched it from the air for a few minutes, almost unable to believe what she had just done. Sure enough, the big octo did not move again. It was well and truly dead. She had succeeded. Lana had succeeded in slaying a big octo. She had just defeated her worst nightmare with her own hands.
Relief took over her body with such force that Lana no longer had the strength to stay in flight. The edges of her deku leaf slipped from her fingers, and she plummeted down toward the sea. Luckily for her, King had positioned himself directly under her, catching her with ease. Of course, landing on a wooden deck like that was immensely painful for Lana’s back.
“Yeow... That’s gonna leave a mark...” she whined.
“A mark is better than drowning, dear girl.” King laughed.
Lana smiled weakly and laughed a bit, too. “Man, I’m beat... I can’t believe I actually did that...”
“I never doubted you for a moment, Lana. You were a wonder out there. I find myself always in awe of you.” King said kindly.
Lana’s cheeks felt hot from all that praise. “Honestly, if it weren’t for you, I would’ve died. Your words really got through to me. Thanks for being there for me again, King.”
The pair shared a heartfelt smile as the tension from the battle faded away. Lana shut her eyes and remained sprawled on her boat companion’s deck for several minutes, allowing herself to regain some strength. The thudding in her chest finally calmed down, and the memories and nightmares that pounded in her head subsided at last. For the first time in years, she felt unshackled from the nightly terrors they’d brought her. She felt freed.
- Now that I’ve slain a big octo, I hope those awful dreams will become a thing of the past. Overcoming the real thing felt incredibly liberating.
At long last, Lana felt a semblance of peace about her fears. She smiled softly to herself as she finally sat up. Before anything else, she had a physical need that had to be met. She pulled out more rations from her satchel and dug into a bag of glazed granola. She took large swigs from her water canteen, as well, and started massaging the parts of her body that ached as best she could.
She felt around for signs of bleeding, and found that her stomach was bruised pretty badly, likely from when she had been swatted out of the air. There were also constriction marks all over, but those would fade soon enough. Other than that, she had come out of the encounter with a handful of scrapes. She was fortunate that her injuries weren’t worse.
“My stomach is killing me, but I think I’ll be fine with some rest and medicine. How about you, King? You okay?” Lana asked.
“Yes. I can’t exactly feel pain, you know.” he assured her.
“Yeah, but... It looked like your head got taken off... Or did I imagine that?” she said.
King got quiet for a few moments. “You didn’t imagine that. But it is alright. This wooden body is made of my own magic. I can repair it as long as it is not completely destroyed. It just requires a large amount of energy, is all.”
“I see... I kind of want to ask what that’s all about, but...” she began.
“... I’d prefer if you didn’t.” King said quietly.
“Yeah, I thought as much. Don’t worry, I won’t pry into anything you don’t want me to.” she said.
“Thank you, and... I’m sorry.”
“No need for apologies. We all have things going on like that, I guess...”
An awkward moment of silence grew between them. Lana didn’t want to let things end on such a note, so she endeavored to change the subject.
“Anyway, I wanted to ask you something else. Earlier, you mentioned a temporal rush... What is that?”
“Ah, yes. After watching you do it again, I’m absolutely certain that’s what it was. Would you say you felt as though time had slowed down at any point during the battle?” he asked.
“Yeah, a couple times. It was freaky, and it gave me a headache and chest pains.”
“Then it seems I was right. That sensation is referred to as a temporal rush. Let’s see, how to explain it... Do you know what fight or flight is? Or hysterical strength, perhaps?”
“Yeah, I do. Fight or flight is the body’s response to dangerous stimuli, and hysterical strength is like a boost of superhuman energy when you’re about to die. I read that in a book once.” she answered, recalling an afternoon spent with Sturgeon on Outset Island.
“Very good. A temporal rush is essentially a combination of those two phenomena, put to practical use. The fight or flight response is what gives you such precise control over your limbs, as well as the intuition to act accordingly. Meanwhile, the hysterical strength is what sharpens your senses to the degree that things appear to be moving in slow motion, as well as the strength to succeed with those precise actions. Put together, you get a temporal rush, allowing you to respond as if time has slowed down. At least, that was the best explanation anyone could come up with for it.” King explained.
“Wow... You sure seem to know a lot about it.” Lana said.
“Yes. A rare few warriors of old were capable of performing it. But it is not something just anyone can do. The fact that you pulled it off by accident is rather extraordinary, Lana.”
“Huh... There’s really a lot I didn’t know I was capable of... I never needed to do any of this stuff before, after all.”
- I wonder if I can figure out how to use that more effectively in battle... When I run into Jasper again, it could really come in handy.
“Indeed. You seem like quite a special girl, Lana. I suspect there is more to you yet that neither of us has seen...” King said.
“Haha, that sounds rather cryptic...” Lana said.
“Forgive me. At any rate, I suppose we should move on from this spot. I fear that the big octo’s remains could attract gyorgs to feed.” King advised.
“Oh, jeez, you’re right. We’d better get moving.”
On that note, Lana sprang to her feet. The mast rose up from King’s deck for her again, and she got her deku leaf hooked back up to it. The wind had changed direction already, so it would be slow going. Nevertheless, they were off to Dragon Roost Island next. Lana hoped to recover there and start getting back on track with her journey at long last.
And as she thought about that, she realized that meant having to say goodbye to the King of Red Lions.
Enjoy!
