Extra's POV: My Obsessive Villainous Fiancee Is The Game's Final Boss-Chapter 261: Dreaming Of Adventure

The sun hung low over the docks, its golden lines sweeping across the sea-warped planks like a particularly lazy worker.

The briny air clung to everything, and the rhythmic creak of ships settling in the water was like a soothing lullaby, creating quite the nice backdrop to the bustle of Seta's busy port.

Zuzu wiped sweat from her brow and adjusted the coils of rope looped over her shoulder.

Her brother, Tam, grunted as he wrestled with a half-loaded barrel of dried fish.

"Hey, rope girl." He called, his voice teasing. "You planning to work today or just stand around looking dramatic?"

Zuzu rolled her eyes. "I'm waiting for your fragile arms to stop trembling before I help."

Tam snorted, setting the barrel down. "You wish. I'm carved from coral, little sister." freeωebnovēl.c૦m

"More like driftwood." She muttered, grinning as she passed him.

They had been at it since dawn, loading and securing cargo for a small merchant ship headed toward one of the southern islands.

It was hard, honest work, and Zuzu could do it blindfolded by now. But her heart wasn't in it today. Not entirely.

She kept glancing out at the sea, to the place where the horizon rippled and trembled, as if it was hiding a secret from her.

Then, a loud voice filled the air, breaking her from her thoughts.

"Tam! Tam!"

A young man came sprinting down the dock. He was red-faced and panting, his dark braids flying behind him like a loose sail.

"Kai?" Tam straightened as his friend reached them. "You look like you saw a ghost."

"I saw better." Kai said breathlessly. "I saw vindication. Your stories were true!"

Tam blinked. "Oh, so now you believe us."

Kai nodded fervently. "I just came from the upper dock. One of the shipwrights. Her cousin was on Hook's crew. He came in this morning, half his face bandaged and both arms shaking."

Zuzu stepped closer. "What did he say?" The question slipped out of her mouth before she could do anything.

They didn't seem to mind.

Instead, Kai lowered his voice, speaking dramatically as if he was recounting one of the great legends.

"He said they sailed near the edge of the world itself and came back with salt in their mouths and a dragon in their wake."

Tam crossed his arms skeptically. "A dragon? That's definitely not what we s—"

"A sea dragon." Kai interrupted. "Biggest thing they've ever seen."

"And with it came a rift." His voice dropped lower, and his eyes wider. "A hole in the sea itself. A living thing. They called it… the Hungering Deep."

As Kai kept talking, Zuzu and Tam exchanged a glance.

The mouth.

The teeth.

That horrible, beautiful moment when the sea screamed and tried to swallow them whole.

So it had a name.

Tam whistled. "So we weren't just lucky, huh? We survived a catastrophe."

"You should be bragging." Kai said. "But that's not the best part. Hook docked with a group. Outsiders. Not from any of the isles."

"Get this. One of them used vines to steer a ship. A girl among them glowed like a blue flame. They say she fought the Deep's dragon and won."

Zuzu stepped closer. "And what do they want now?"

Kai turned to her. "They're looking for a Tidecaller. A guide. They want to go back."

"Back?" Tam echoed. "Why would anyone be dumb enough to go back?"

Kai shrugged. "Apparently they think it can be killed. Properly. Or maybe they just want to know what it is. But word is, they're asking around for someone to guide them inside the Deep."

Then he shook his head. "But they won't find anyone. Everyone's waiting on the Council. Word is that Command's forming a war host, and nobody wants to be the fool who jumped the tide early."

Kai grinned. "Yeah. They'll be lucky if they find some half-sane dockhand with a death wish."

Zuzu looked down, hiding her expression.

"Anyway," Kai said, already turning to go, "thought you two would want to know. History just caught up with us."

He jogged off, vanishing into the bustle.

Tam gave a low whistle. "Can you believe that? They gave it a name. Hungering Deep. Sounds like something out of the old stories."

Zuzu said nothing.

"You okay?" Tam asked, glancing at her.

"Yeah." She said. "Just thinking."

He ruffled her hair. "Don't think too hard. We've got crates to move."

They finished their shift in relative silence.

The sun climbed high and then dipped again, shadows stretching long across the dock. But Zuzu's mind was elsewhere the entire time.

She was no longer thinking about ropes or barrels or even the ache in her arms. Her thoughts kept returning to that word.

Adventure.

Someone was asking for a guide.

Someone wanted to return to the Deep.

Someone who needed a Tidecaller.

That evening, after they returned home and shared dinner, Zuzu made her excuse.

"I'm going to the old pier." She said. "Need to stretch my legs."

Tam raised an eyebrow. "Just don't fall asleep out there."

She nodded, slipping out into the dark.

The streets were quiet. Only the faint sound of music and laughter drifted from the tavern windows.

She walked fast, heart pounding. Her fingers tugged at the cuffs of her coat.

She wasn't even sure what she planned to say if she found them. Would they take her seriously? Would they laugh?

But still, her feet carried her.

It didn't take long to find out where they were staying. Apparently, it was common knowledge.

One mention of a girl with glowing eyes and the group who walked off Hook's ship like legends, and everyone had something to say.

The inn was tucked between a cooper's shop and a low stone warehouse. A squid hung above the doorway, painted in faded reds and blues.

Zuzu stood before the door, staring up at the darkened windows.

She shouldn't be here.

She should go home.

The Council would choose someone. She had a duty to her island, to her brother, to her people. She wasn't even a full Tidecaller yet. Still training. Still learning.

But then she thought of the scream.

The sea's voice.

The adventure that had stared her in the face and then slipped away.

She climbed the stairs.

At the top, she found the door she was looking for. Her fingers hovered before it, trembling.

Zuzu took a breath.

And then she knocked.