Cypher nodded in agreement. "Zoya, plot us a course. Careful navigation, I don't want to clip our wings on floating debris."
As Zoya adjusted our heading, Tor turned to me. "We have two skiffs in the cargo hold. Once we dock the ship, we'll use them to travel between islands. They're faster and moremaneuverable than trying to sail The Night-Piercer through this mess."
"I've never seen anything like this," I murmured, watching as we glided past a fragment of what might have been someone's home. A partial wall with a window frame still intact, curtains frozen in an eternal billow. "It's like everything just... stopped."
"That's exactly what happened," Cypher said quietly. "One moment, life. The next, nothing."
We approached the larger island cautiously. It was mostly intact, just a sprawling section of what must have been a city district. Buildings of white stone stood in varying states of decay, some nearly whole, others crumbled to their foundations. Strange, luminescent vines had grown over much of the architecture, pulsing with the same purple-green energy that sparked between the islands.
"Careful now," Cypher called as Zoya guided us toward what appeared to be an old docking platform. "Steady... steady..."
The Night-Piercer settled against the platform with a gentle shudder. Anchor lines were secured, and Cypher turned to address the crew.
"Omri, you'll stay with the ship. Keep the engines hot and be ready for a quick escape if needed." Omri nodded, his ruddy face serious. "The rest of us will take the skiffs to the Reliquarium. Scavenger, Vic, Zoya, you're with me. Knives, Jask, Kora, and Tor in the second skiff."
I felt Click stir in my pocket, poking his small head out to observe our surroundings. I scratched under his chin. "Don't worry, you're coming with me."
The skiffs were smaller than I'd expected, sleek vessels designed for speed rather than comfort or hurried getaways, much nicer than my patched up skiff back home. Each had a narrow deck, controls at the front, and small crystal enginesat the back. They looked fast and maneuverable—perfect for navigating the treacherous spaces between islands.
We loaded our gear quickly. I made sure my daggers were secure at my hip, and that Click was safely nestled in my pocket. Kora caught my eye from the second skiff and gave me a tight smile. I returned it, hoping I looked more confident than I felt.
"Stay close," Cypher instructed as he took the controls of our skiff. "Follow my lead and don't deviate from the course. The currents here are unpredictable, and there's debris everywhere."
With a low hum, the skiffs detached from The Night-Piercer and glided out into the shattered realm. The sensation was immediate, a weightlessness that made my stomach lurch, followed by the eerie feeling of currents tugging at us from all directions. Cypher handled our vessel with ease, his hands steady on the controls as we navigated between floating chunks of stone and twisted metal.
I couldn't help but stare at our surroundings. Despite its ruined state, there was a haunting beauty to Nytheris. Fragments of its former glory were everywhere—elegant spires reaching toward nothing, delicate bridges that now connected only to the void, intricate carvings on stone that had survived whatever cataclysm had befallen this place.
"It must have been magnificent," I said softly.
Zoya nodded. "The greatest realm of its age. Their architecture was unmatched."
I tried to imagine what life had been like here. Families in those now-empty homes. Children playing in what were now broken courtyards. Scholars studying in libraries that had been reduced to scattered pages drifting in the void. A wave of grief washed over me, not just for the people who had died, but for the knowledge and beauty that had been lost with them.
"There," Cypher pointed ahead. "The Reliquarium."
Rising from the center of the largest island was a structure that defied the destruction around it. A massive tower of pale blue stone shot through with veins of golden crystal. Even in ruins, it was breathtaking, easily twenty stories tall, with multiple smaller spires surrounding a central column. The upper levels seemed relatively intact compared to the lower sections.
"The archive is at the very top," Cypher explained. "It was designed to be the most protected part of the Reliquarium. Layers of magical wards surround it, meant to preserve the knowledge inside no matter what happened to the realm."
"And the codex is there?" I asked.
"If it survived at all, that's where it would be."
We were passing between two medium-sized islands when Vic suddenly stiffened. "Captain?—"
A shriek cut through the eerie silence, so loud and piercing that I clapped my hands over my ears. Click darted deeper into my pocket, trembling.
"Krell!" Cypher shouted, yanking our skiff into a hard turn.
I glimpsed the creature as it dove toward us, a massive winged beast that looked like a nightmarish cross between a reptile and a bird. Its body was covered in dark feathers that shimmered with an oily iridescence, and instead of a snout, it had a cruel, hooked beak. Its wingspan was easily twice the length of our skiff.
"Hold on!" Cypher yelled as he pushed our vessel into a steep dive.
The krell shrieked again, and I realized with horror that it wasn't alone. Two more of the creatures had appeared, circling above us.
"What are they?" I gasped, clinging to the side of the skiff as Cypher executed another sharp turn.
"Predators," Zoya hissed, drawing a long knife from her belt. "They evolved after the collapse. They hunt in the void between islands. Not many species survived the collapse, but the krell, and some others were able to adapt."
