Darkness.
The void consumed Aaron's vision as he lost consciousness.
His mind felt like it had shattered into thousands of shards with only a thin tether connecting each piece.
Before his eyes, the pieces began to form together into a large mirror that reflected his appearance.
However, the man in the reflection wasn't Aaron.
The man reflected in the mirror was an old man with a long, turquoise beard that seemed to resemble the ocean itself.
His face was wrinkled with his eyes glowing a strange green hue, while his hair looked unkept and ragged with the same look as his beard.
The clothing he wore was a silver colored armor that seemed to reflect the darkness, turning it into miniature waves that rippled on the surface of the chestplate.
The man looked at Aaron without any emotion or feeling; however, the presence that emanated from this old man felt more terrifying than any sea terror he had seen before.
The elderly man moved his hand towards the mirror, touching it as if he were testing to see if it was there.
After moving his hand away, he let out a condescending chuckle.
"Heh, so you are the one that 'he' chose this time."
The sound of his voice echoed through the space around them, with Aaron's perception of reality gradually fading.
Watching Aaron closely, the man narrowed his eyes and spoke with a probing tone.
"Do you know who I am, mortal?"
Aaron's pupils dilated in confusion.
M-Mortal? I-isn't he human too…?
He decided to respond to the elderly man's query honestly, not daring to tell a lie in front of this powerful existence.
"I-I do not know who you are, sir."
The man nodded as he laughed softly, the noise shaking the strange space that surrounded Aaron.
Small pieces of the mirror began to fall out, distorting the image of the man slightly.
The old man's eyes darted to the cracks with anxiety strewn across his wrinkled face.
Aaron watched as the man turned his attention back to him and spoke with more urgency, his jaw tightening.
"If you do not know me, then this will be easier for us. You shall address me as Lord, as you have not recovered your memory yet."
Aaron's brows furrowed in surprise, unsure of how to respond.
He's a Lord? And he knows that I lost my memory?
Pondering these thoughts, Aaron simply nodded in response.
The man spoke again, not allowing the blonde-haired boy too much time to think.
"You must've understood that you now wield one of the Ghostships, yes?"
Aaron nodded again, with questions sprouting in his mind, allowing the elder to continue speaking.
The man leaned close towards the mirror with a curious glint in his eyes as he spoke in a more serious tone.
"Therefore, you must be familiar with what is happening with your body in the real world. Correct?"
The man watched Aaron intently, a sense of hope behind his green eyes.
Thinking for a moment, Aaron spoke, carefully choosing his words to get the answers he desperately wished for.
"No, I do not know what's happening to me."
The bearded man sighed, lowering his eyes to the floor, and began to mumble quietly to himself.
"Hmm, he's much less deductive than 'him'; however, I have faith that he can do what I require…"
The man's face lifted into a shallow smile as he switched to a more playful and laid-back tone.
"Boy. What is your name?"
Aaron was surprised by his question, as he had assumed that the powerful presence before him was omnipresent and all-knowing, with all the answers in the world in its mind.
"M-My name is Aaron. Aaron Grimstall."
The man's brows raised in surprise for the first time, with a wide grin forming as he began to laugh.
His head tilted back as his booming laughter shook the space until the mirror began to crack with more and more pieces disappearing into the void, blurring the image of the man once more.
After calming down, the elderly man muttered under his breath just loud enough for Aaron to hear.
"So it was successful…"
The self-satisfied smile plastered across the old man's face revealed teeth as white as a freshly cleaned pearl.
He spoke again without even the slightest hesitation.
"You wish to know what is happening to your body? Well, if it's you, then of course I can let a little secret slip."
Aaron was confused by his sudden change in personality; however, he was happy to finally be able to learn a little about his situation.
The man began to speak quietly, watching the cracks in the mirror out of the corner of his eye as if he were afraid they would suddenly deepen.
"In the 'real world,' your body is bonded together with that Ghostship. Therefore, when that vessel began to absorb the core of that sea terror, you also received certain enhancements."
Enhancements? My body is being changed?
Aaron's mind was filled with the small amount of information that the man had given him; however, the old man hadn't finished speaking yet.
"As you know, each sea terror has different, unique abilities that set it apart from the others of their kind. When you absorb these cores, your body receives partial control over these abilities, with the Ghostship strengthening itself with the remaining energy."
Stunned, Aaron stared at the man with disbelief.
"A-Are you saying I'll gain the powers of a sea terror?"
The man laughed, clearly enjoying the boy's reaction.
However, his grin faded as he responded in a dismissive tone.
"Indeed. The beast you absorbed was a weak creature with its only ability being Poison Resistance, which will allow your body to gain a weak defense against toxins and venoms that you consume or interact with."
Aaron was shocked by the idea of his body gaining enhancements through the absorption of sea terror cores; however, he was intrigued by the still important ability that a weak terror gave him.
If this is the ability of a weak creature, what would an apex-level terror grant me…
Interrupting Aaron's thoughts, the old man spoke again with a sense of urgency.
"We don't have much time left before this place completely dissolves and you return to your body. I have a request for you that I deeply require."
Curious about the old man's plea, Aaron perked up, wondering what a man of his status could need.
"What is your request?"
The man smiled, reassured by Aaron's curiosity about the subject.
Then his expression grew dark, and his jaw stiffened, as if even a powerhouse like him was afraid to utter the words.
"I request that you aid my escape from my imprisonment."
I-Imprisonment? This man is a criminal!
Aaron looked at him with a wary gaze; however, the bearded man simply let out a bitter laugh as he put his hands up in a show of innocence.
"You might think that I am a mere criminal; however, the man who imprisoned me here is the true villain of this story. He chained me here for simply hunting the beasts that roamed the seas, harming the innocent creatures of the world."
Doubtful, Aaron studied the man, trying to discern if he was lying to him.
"In theory, if I wanted to free you from your entrapment, where would I find you?"
The smile across the man's face widened as he resisted the urge to laugh. However, as he was about to speak, the mirror began to rapidly deteriorate, indicating their time together was almost up.
The man frowned, clearly discontent with the brief exchange. As the mirror shattered before Aaron's eyes, he caught a faint murmur, barely audible.
"Come find me in the Abyss if you want the answers you've been looking for."
T-The Abyss? T-That man is imprisoned in the Abyss?
As Aaron's mind whirred, the dark world around him began to fade as light gradually broke through the walls that concealed him, bringing him back to his body at last.
…
"Aaron, wake up!"
Eleanor shouted at his nearly lifeless body, which was glowing with a thin turquoise light.
She was attempting to check for his pulse when the sparkles radiating from his body began to cease, with his breathing becoming steadier.
Aaron's eyes opened slowly as he regained consciousness aboard his vessel.
"You're awake!"
Eleanor shouted at Aaron, who was still groggy from his slumber, before her gaze stiffened.
Looking at her strange reaction to him, he spoke, probing for an answer.
"W-What's wrong?"
She looked at his head before responding to him.
"Y-Your hair!"
Aaron was confused; however, as he looked towards the silver bucket that was opposite to where he was sitting, he noticed the cause of her fright.
"W-Why is my hair blue?"
Observing his appearance with shock, he noticed that instead of his previous streaks of brown that streaked through his hair, there were now long strands of turquoise that weaved throughout his head.
Remembering the events from a few moments prior, Aaron began to think.
These look like that old man's… Is this what he meant by bonding to the Ghostship?
Eleanor stared at his newly colored hair in awe before asking Aaron a question.
"What happened to you?"
He looked at her with a sense of understanding before responding
"I… I don't know."
She looked at him in a daze before muttering something under her breath and relaxing.
As Aaron stood up, he noticed that Mr. Crab, who was sitting at the bow, was glowing a similar turquoise color to that of his hair.
The glow from Mr. Crab suddenly vanished as he jumped from his perch towards the helm, disappearing inside.
A flash of light suddenly pulsated from the hull of the ship as groans and creaks were heard from below deck.
Aaron's mind, already confused by the conversation he had with the man, couldn't handle any more, leading him to just accept whatever was going to happen.
"Well, how bad could it possibly be?"