Watching the pulsating flashes of light emitted by the Ghostship, Aaron couldn't help but wonder what was going to change.
He witnessed the deck boards getting peeled apart by brilliant sparks of purple and blue, with fresh, clean boards replacing them, expanding the size of the vessel.
The long, firm mast that held the illusionary sails began to melt into the ground, splitting into two as it created a secondary mast that produced the same flaming turquoise canvas as the previous one.
Sleek sapphire-crested cannons lined the sides of the ship, aiming into the distance as a purple glow emanated from deep within their barrels.
With a loud thud, the flashing light disappeared, revealing the previously small Ghostship that now looked more like a brigantine than a sloop.
"Amazing."
Aaron muttered in surprise at the incredible changes that a single sea terror heart brought to the vessel.
Eleanor, who had watched the scene while sitting, gasped in amazement at what had occurred before her eyes.
The surprise of what had happened to Aaron's hair had passed, with her curiosity for the Ghostship overpowering it.
A breathless sigh escaped her lips.
"Incredible… It's like a miracle of god."
Aaron, who was checking around the deck for the new changes, had found a small hatch near the cabin entrance.
As he reached down to open it, Mr. Crab appeared beside him, holding a small key in his claw.
However, as he observed Mr. Crab further, he noticed some definite changes in his form.
The once small crab with three tiny peg legs had grown slightly, with one of his peg legs having healed into a normal leg.
Looks like he benefited from this too…
Aaron sighed and watched as Mr. Crab scurried over and unlocked the hatch.
With that done, he bent down and grabbed the handle on the trapdoor.
He tried to lift it, but the hatch wouldn't budge.
Hmm, there's no way I can't open this because I'm too weak, so he mustn't have unlocked it right.
Looking over at Mr. Crab, he gestured for him to unlock it fully.
The crab simply snapped its claws at Aaron before vanishing into thin air.
Huh? He used to always vanish into something… now he can just disappear into thin air?
Aaron looked down at the unmoving hatch, wondering why Mr. Crab didn't open it for him.
Behind him, Eleanor walked over and, without a word, reached down to push the trapdoor.
Oh… It was a push door…
Aaron, deeply embarrassed, watched as Eleanor examined the hatch's interior..
"It seems to lead somewhere within the ship. There is a ladder here that looks safe to climb down. Since this is your ship, do you wish to go first?"
She asked out of politeness, but mostly out of pity for the strange, idiotic boy who somehow acquired a Ghostship.
Aaron looked at her, with his cheeks dyed a bright red, as he stubbornly walked over to the hole and began to climb down, not acknowledging the unspoken emotion on her face.
The ladder only had three steel rungs, with a small hallway at the bottom leading throughout the underside of the ship.
Aaron turned towards the hatch, calling out to Eleanor.
"You should come down here too."
With her curiosity piqued, she climbed down the ladder quickly, crouching behind Aaron to avoid hitting her head on the ceiling.
Aaron, who was quite a bit taller than her, was already heavily leaning down with his head almost scraping the roof as he walked through the tunnel.
The two teenagers passed by various doors; however, they decided to come back and look through them only after reaching the end of the tunnel.
As they walked, Eleanor suddenly felt a strong urge to fall to her knees and cry.
She had no idea where this urge came from, but as she walked deeper and deeper through the hallway, the feeling began to overwhelm her.
"A-Aaron, I don't feel so good. I think this tunnel is doing something to me…"
Her complexion had paled dramatically, her eyes pooling with tears.
Aaron noticed that she was trembling faintly, her face looking like she would faint at any moment.
That's strange… Why don't I feel anything?
With a groan, Eleanor slumped to the floor, her head heavy with fatigue.
Aaron decided to go ahead, but first, he let Eleanor know in case she needed anything.
"You stay here, I'll go a little deeper to try to find what's causing this."
She nodded, resting her head against her knees, trying to fight off the urge to fall asleep.
Aaron began his trek deeper into the hull of the ship, observing the slight decline of the floor as the ceiling slowly rose higher, allowing him to stand at his full height.
That's odd… There shouldn't be this much room under the ship. How can this exist down here?
Still doubting what he saw, he reached a reinforced door that glowed with a teal blue hue.
"So you're causing the problems, eh?"
As he reached to pull the door open, he saw deep runes engraved onto the valve-shaped doorknob.
The engraving lit up in dark purple before shifting to a solid turquoise that radiated energy.
Without even applying pressure to the door, it swung open, revealing a brilliantly designed room with a sapphire-plated podium at its center.
Atop the podium lay a small blue sphere that was spinning at a speed that Aaron couldn't comprehend.
Tendrils of blue smoke spewed from inside the sphere, surging toward him with alarming speed.
Lost in awe at the magnificent room, Aaron didn't see the smoke until it was almost on top of him.
He reacted quickly, jumping backwards outside the room and attempting to shut the reinforced door as fast as he could.
Right as the tendrils were about to ram directly into his skull, the door slammed closed, and a loud banging resounded as they hit against the door, trying to break through.
W-What was that? Why is the Ghostship trying to kill me?
Aaron tried to think back to the conversation he had with the mysterious old man, recalling a throwaway detail that he had mentioned about the ship growing in strength.
So that was the core of the ship… It must still be trying to grasp control over the sea terror's heart…
With a rough guess at what was happening, he returned to the hallway, where Eleanor lay exhausted and barely awake.
As he approached her, he noticed that she had her head buried deep in her legs with tears dripping down her face.
He crouched down beside her and whispered.
"Are you alright?"
She removed her head from her legs, looking up at Aaron with a weak smile plastered across her face.
"Yes, it seems that the effects of whatever is down here made me rather emotional, though it doesn't affect my actions like it does my mind."
He stood up too fast and banged his head on the roof.
Eleanor burst out laughing as Aaron's cheeks flushed for the second time that day.
Her expression slowly softened, curiosity flickering in her eyes as she spoke.
"Aaron, what was down that hallway?"
He took a second, debating whether to tell her about the strange tendrils that nearly killed him. In the end, he decided to at least give her a warning.
"Don't go down that hallway. Whatever's in there, only I can deal with it."
She gave a quiet nod, sensing that he wasn't telling her the full story.
Aaron rubbed his head and spoke to Eleanor in a calm voice.
"Let's go check out the rooms we passed on the way here, they might have food– I mean supplies that we can use on our journey to Sea Fallen."
She looked at him in confusion, wondering why his conversations always ended up about food, before standing up and following behind him.
They walked to the nearest door and noticed a small symbol engraved on its surface.
"Isn't that Ancient Nordic?"
Eleanor spoke aloud, making Aaron flinch.
Watching his reaction, Eleanor simply sighed as she continued speaking.
"This symbol in Ancient Nordic stands for rest or slumber."
As she finished her translation, she reached for the handle, pushing the door open.
Inside the room lay a large bed with teal blankets and blue pillows that matched the turquoise walls.
Whoever designed this whole ship must've loved the color blue to an unhealthy degree…
Eleanor, who was having similar thoughts, noticed a small door attached to the bedroom with the symbol for toilet written on it.
"This seems to be a simple bathroom with a small latrine inside it."
Aaron, still examining the intensely blue room, turned to Eleanor with a dazed, almost desperate expression..
"W-Wait…"
She tensed up and looked at him nervously, waiting for whatever he had noticed.
"W-Where is the food?"
Eleanor looked Aaron dead in the eyes, then stormed over and struck him in the chest as hard as she could, disgust written all over her face.
As she walked away, she muttered to herself, slamming the door to the bedroom behind her.
"Idiot."