Ocean met up with the guards who had been assigned to surveil Carlos before leaving the Barony.

The five men stood together near the outer courtyard, their postures straightening the moment they noticed him approaching. Even though they had expected his arrival, the sudden presence of the Master of Oasis made them instinctively tense.

Ocean stopped before them and glanced over each of their faces.

"Is everyone all right?" He asked.

"Yes, Master." The reply came in unison.

Ocean nodded slightly, satisfied that nothing had gone wrong during the night.

"As you must have noticed by now," he began calmly, "Prince Carlos isn’t what he appears to be. That is why I instructed you to maintain distance from him."

The guards exchanged brief glances, but none of them spoke.

"The instructions remain the same," Ocean continued. "Keep an eye on him and report to me every day."

"Yes, Master," Bolt, their leader, replied firmly.

Ocean shifted his gaze among the group before asking, "Besides, who was the one that saw the whole incident?"

One of the guards hesitated before stepping forward.

His dark shoulder-length hair was tied neatly at the back, though the way his shoulders were held stiffly suggested he was more nervous than he wished to show.

Ocean studied him for a moment.

"I heard you’re the fastest in the group," Ocean said. "What’s your name?"

The guard quickly lifted his head.

"Ye-Yes... I’m Quill."

Ocean’s expression softened slightly. He reached out and patted Quill on the shoulder, the simple gesture immediately easing some of the tension in the man’s rigid posture.

"Good work, Quill," Ocean said.

Then he glanced toward the others.

"And good work to the rest of you as well."

The guards straightened further, clearly pleased to receive even a small acknowledgment from him.

Ocean then looked briefly at Bolt.

"I’ll be dispatching someone here in case he tries something again," he added.

Bolt nodded immediately.

"We’ll remain vigilant, Master."

Ocean gave a final nod before turning and leaving.

The moment he disappeared from sight, the atmosphere among the guards shifted.

Quill instinctively touched the shoulder Ocean had patted, as if confirming the moment had actually happened.

His comrades immediately surrounded him. One of them slapped him on the back with a loud laugh.

"Way to go, brother! The Master acknowledged you!"

Another nudged him from the side.

"Did you see his face? You nearly looked like you were going to faint."

Quill chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Yet beneath his embarrassment, a strange, giddy feeling stirred inside him.

Being recognized by the Master of Oasis wasn’t something that happened every day.

The warmth of that brief praise lingered in his chest.

At the same time, the memory of the earlier incident replayed in his mind, reminding him just how quickly things could spiral out of control.

The excitement slowly settled into something steadier.

Resolve.

Quill straightened his posture again.

He would improve himself.

Next time, he wouldn’t hesitate or fall behind.

He wouldn’t fail again.

When Ocean returned home, the manor had already settled into the quiet of the night. The halls that were usually filled with movement and voices were now dim and still, the lamps along the corridors casting long shadows across the polished floors. The guards were in their stations and the barrier was in place.

Ocean got inside his room through the window and closed it behind him.

Once inside, he removed his coat and changed out of his clothes with slow, absent movements. The faint scent of travel and dust lingered on the fabric as he set it aside. From his pocket, he took out the small vials filled with Carlos’s blood and placed them carefully on the table beside the bed.

The glass clinked softly against the wooden surface.

Ocean stared at them for a moment before finally climbing into bed.

But sleep refused to come.

The moment he closed his eyes, his mind betrayed him.

A small face appeared in the darkness behind his eyelids- round and soft, framed by golden curls that always seemed slightly messy no matter how much they were combed.

He couldn’t brush away the image of the rare smiles that the child gave. Just until a day ago, the child who was under his wing. The child who had risked his life to protect him and the child whom he had vowed to protect. His face seemed like it was out to haunt him now.

Ocean tossed and turned in his bed, the silence was doing the opposite for his grating nerves and rising anxiety. If he had known Sol was leaving he would have at least given him more mana.

He lay in his bed for a long moment before he decided to do this one thing that he had been putting off.

"Hey," he called in the emptiness, "I know you all are still watching me. I need some answers."

There wasn’t any response.

"I’m talking to you all, Patrons. I have four of you, any one of you can answer to my question."

There was still no response which made Ocean’s jaw clench and he pushed himself up to a sitting position.

"He’s in that vulnerable state and yet, he’s pushing himself for others and you guys are sitting and enjoying the show as if it’s none of your business. Talk to me!" Ocean snapped.

[Giver of Gifts says that they cannot answer your questions.]

[Defender of Divine Glory reminds you that you and they are bound by the rules.]

"Rules, huh..." Ocean scoffed, "He broke the rules to save lives and is still risking it all over again. As Gods, do you have no shame?"

[Giver of Gifts says she understands your anguish but you need to calm down.]

"What do you understand?" Ocean asked, "You have seen and done nothing but sitting comfortably in your gardens watching others suffering with the problem that should have been solved by you."

[Goddess of Wisdom clarifies that it really wasn’t their problem.]

"Then the demons are the humans and other weak species’ problem?" Ocean asked, "You all have been going back and forth for 100 times but even once did you decide to actually come down here and do it for yourself?"

There was no response. Ocean was getting angrier by every second that ticked by without hearing back from them.

[Giver of Gifts apologises.]

[Defender of Divine Glory and Goddess of Wisdom gasp.]

"I’m not the one you should be apologising to. That person brought down his army- no, his people to protect the world that was created by your heaven’s will. And in exchange what did he get? He lost a lot of his brethren and is reduced to the state where he cannot even proudly introduce himself." Ocean growled feeling the anguish tighten in his chest making it hard for him to calm down.

"Now he’s doing it again, even in his weakened state, he’s gone who knows where and why? To support me! And what are you all doing? Just gossiping in your gardens sipping tea and watching me and my people do your work." Ocean sneered.

The silence followed and Ocean felt like a vein in his brain would snap.

"Say something!"

[The Preserver agrees with you.]

"Oh, so you finally enter the chat."

[Goddess of Wisdom, Defender of Divine Glory and Giver of Gifts watch The Preserver in shock.]

[The Preserver says he will answer whatever questions you have.]

[Goddess of Wisdom reminds The Preserver of the restrictions.]

[The Preserver says he will deal with that.]

"You will answer all my questions?" Ocean asked.

[The Preserver says as many as he can.]

Ocean narrowed his eyes, unable to trust as he stared at the reply panels before him.

"Then tell me, why is Sol like that? In that weakened state?"

[The Preserver explains that Solcarion- the Dragon God had suffered from the curse of the Demon King when he had sealed him and after that when he was in Mordino protecting you, he had to fight a Dominus.]

Ocean’s eyebrows twitched, "To protect me?"

[The Preserver nods.]

"Where is he now?"

[The Preserver says he is heading to the Far East.]

"Why east?"

[The Preserver explains he is going to *** *** and then *** ***.]

Ocean sighed, he had expected this. The system had a damn censor to keep the information contained.

"Fine, you can’t tell me that, then tell me this..." Ocean licked his lips, "Is... he all right in this moment? Is he safe?"

[The Preserver says he’s safe and doing well.]

Ocean breathed a sigh of relief, almost slumping in his bed.

[The Preserver asks if you have any more questions.]

"He’s safe..." Ocean said, "that’s all I wanted to know."

[The Preserver smiles.]

"If I make a request, can you do that?" Ocean asked.

[The Preserver says it depends on what your request is.]

Ocean sat up straight and spoke, "Allow me to make the Life connection with him."

There was a moment of silence and the messages bombarded.

[Goddess of Wisdom rejects.]

[Defender of Divine Glory refuses.]

[Giver of Gifts asks you to not even think about it.]

Ocean didn’t say anything to the three and waited for the Preserver to respond.

[The Preserver says its possible.]

Ocean’s eyes widened and he asked, "How?"

[The Preserver explains that you cannot do it now since there is a dual-layered curse on Solcarion.]

"Then when?" Ocean asked.

[Defender of Divine Glory asks The Preserver to not tell you anymore.]

[Goddess of Wisdom requests The Preserver to not share any more information.]

"Hey, stay out of it like you always have." Ocean snapped.

[The Preserver explains to Goddess of Wisdom, Defender of Divine Glory and Giver of Gifts that unless they answer you, you will not trust them and it will defeat the whole purpose.]

[The Preserver reminds you that Solcarion is the Dragon God so, it is possible for him to handle the dual curses but it’s impossible for you.]

Ocean frowned a little and waited for more.

[The Preserver asks you to first lift the curse placed by the Dominus so that Solcarion could retrieve some of his strength.]

"Then can I use the Life connection with him?"

[The Preserver says if you think you can handle the Demon King’s curse then you can try.]

"Where is this Dominus?" Ocean asked already getting out of bed.

[The Preserver asks you to hold your horses.]

"Sure," Ocean said stopping momentarily to grab his coat, "Tell me, I’m just getting ready."

[The Preserver asks you if you are going to ruin your own plan by being impatient.]

"I can improvise, Sol’s problem solving comes first." Ocean spoke.

[Goddess of Wisdom chides you for being so impatient.]

[Giver of Gifts advises you to first listen to what The Preserver has to say.]

[Defender of Divine Glory warns you to not ruin your own plans.]

Ocean released an exasperated sigh and then removed his coat placing it on the hangers before he sat on the edge of his bed.

"Fine, tell me." Ocean said, it was obvious that he was sulking.

[The Preserver says that soon you will face the Dominus and it is a part of the quest already assigned to you.]

Ocean straightened up as soon as he mentioned of the quest.

Ocean frowned a little and wondered aloud, "Is he the one that the demon in Carlos told me about today?"

There was no response so, Ocean took that as a yes.

Ocean tapped on the screen and opened the two quests which were still unfinished.

One was to save Oasis and second was to save Elvenland. Watching the two quests now, with the newly acquired information, Ocean was now clear about what he was going to do.

"Just wait for a little while, Sol. I’ll get rid of this Dominus and make sure you will be free of his curse at least." Ocean spoke before he got off of the bed and went over to the vanity where his communication brooch was.

"But first, I think we need a meeting." Ocean mumbled as he grabbed the brooch.