The Third Eye.

The Navigator had not expected such words to come out of my mouth, as the man stared at me for a moment until he burst out into a laugh.

As soon as he laughed, I felt a strange sensation creeping up my spine. His laughter was unique and unusual, like the creaking of an old oak tree in the wind. It had a deep, rumbling quality that seemed to reverberate through the air. I suddenly felt a chill, as if the very sound of his laughter had the power to fill me with a sense of unease. It was a sound that I knew I wouldn't forget anytime soon.

When he opened his eyes and stared at mine, I felt a pissed look gleaming into them as he said in a low but cold tone "Your words are preposterous brat, arrogance and unbridled lack of respect won't lead you anywhere. And it won't certainly make me want to teach you."

I didn't have to look behind me to see who was the one who had led her ki rise. As Seleri was the only one who always didn't take well when someone spoke to us this way.

I gestured with my hand for her to calm down while I gave a faint smile to the navigator "In a regular situation you'll be in the right. Though sadly for you, such is not the case."

Saying those words I stepped towards the navigator while he frowned and moved his staff on my path. "Halt there before I get angry, boy. I understand that cockiness is the demise of nobles but don't be hasty into meeting the ultimate doom." His rough voice and tone promise to deliver such a threat into reality.

Letting out a wide smile I said to the man "Humm, you see that seems to be the issue here. I can barely contain myself to see what you are capable of."

As soon as my words escaped my mouth, I saw a faint light shining from the man's forehead while his eyes took a light blue aura around them.

Slowly he raised one of his hands, which I briefly noticed had an eye carved into his skin as the navigator slowly said "I shall see your wish be done if that's the case."

As I watched him, the cloth on his forehead suddenly fell to the ground, as if it had been thrown off by some unseen force. And then, a blazing surge of energy seemed to erupt from within him, causing my vision to be engulfed in a swirling vortex of chaos. Reality seemed to bend and twist around me, and the once familiar surroundings were transformed into a hellish landscape of crimson and a myriad of other colors, all swirling around me in a maelstrom of chaos.

As I tried to take in my surroundings, I couldn't shake the feeling that hundreds of eyes were staring at me, watching my every move. It was an uncomfortable feeling, to say the least, and it only grew worse as I realized that an enormous amount of malicious intent seemed to be directed right at me. It was as if all of the negative energy in the world had suddenly been focused on me, and I couldn't help but feel as if I was in grave danger.

Yet I wasn't able to focus on my surroundings for long before I felt a powerful attack being directed at my ki. Glaring at the man who was now looking over me with a frown he seemed to be muttering something under his breath.

"AAAARGH!" I let out a groan as my ki exploded outward, erasing the painful feeling from my spirit. With a defiant look, I saw my ki aura overriding the hellscape as I said to the man "I don't need an illusion, I want to see the real thing."

I felt other ki's burst behind me as it was most likely that Seleri and the others fell into the attack.

The Navigator stayed silent for a moment while he stared at each one of us "It is the first time that I met someone able to withstand not only seeing my third eye but also able to resist the full bent of its power." I saw his knuckles getting even whiter as he grasped tight at his staff.

"We don't need your death, old man. You're more useful alive than being just a corpse." I told him warily. I was under the impression he was preparing himself to fight until death.

His third eye never stopped giving a faint hue as he looked over me, I had to focus on him to not fall into the same illusion once again. Stepping once again towards him I felt a pressure being placed upon my whole body.

With a stern look, I told him "Cut this foolishness, we just want to have you show us the warp and the beings that lurk there. We need to understand what are we dealing with. Are you going to cooperate, or do we need other means?"

I knew that my choice of words wasn't the ideal one to deal with the man, who probably had some ego. But the roles here were clear, we didn't come to entertain and fulfill the vanity of an old man. There was a more important matter at hand.

The Navigator stayed silent for a moment, seemingly assessing his situation. The room grew tense as seconds passed.

"What is it for me in exchange?" He asked after a few moments of pondering.

"Not having your skull servings as a chalice to drink honey wine, to begin with." Seleri instantly snapped while I held out a laugh.

I saw an enraged expression on the man's face as he was about to lash out, yet I spoke first "What's in for you is a favor from me. I know you probably don't know who I am or my teammates. But soon words will spread and you will undoubtedly hear from us."

When he heard my words he scoffed audibly, though he didn't say anything and just eyed me from head to toe. Remembering my looks.

"I cannot say thou aren't an impressive individual, just the feat of thou being able to talk with me while bearing the full brunt of my power, speak loud enough." He paused for a moment "I will take your words, but I need more, thou said you wanted to see the real thing, am I right?"

I nodded my head in answer as he continued "I will send thou and your friends here in the warp if that's what you want. But if you can come back unscathed, then I'll take you somewhere to retrieve something that belongs to me."

A smile was slowly forming on my face as I heard his words, yet he cut me short "Thou are lucky that is I who you're asking this, for if ever was someone else, thou would be fooled to die."

The faint hue on his eyes started to diminish, as he pointed his staff towards my forehead slowly "For the warp can kill everyone, powerful or not. You wouldn't be able to escape such fate if I sent you there." As the eye was about to touch my forehead, I heard him last saying "...But that doesn't mean there are no other ways to let you feel the warp..."

Then it happened.

As my eyes shut, I was engulfed in a swirling mass of crimson hues, reminiscent of a dense nebula. The aroma of charred embers mixed with the pungent stench of rotten eggs filled my nostrils. The lack of oxygen was suffocating, and I gasped for air, but to no avail. My body felt as though it was being crushed by an unknown force, and I writhed in agony as it attacked every fiber of my being. It was as though something was trying to obliterate me from existence, and I had an overwhelming urge to scream in pain.

I felt a sudden surge of intense pressure, overwhelming my body. In response, I instinctively released my ki - a powerful torrent of energy was released from within me. A whitish aura enveloped me, and I could feel the pressure slowly decreasing, but not ceasing entirely.

My survival instinct kicked in as the aura grew stronger, it illuminated my surroundings in an otherworldly light. I surveyed the area with great care, my eyes fixed on the nebula in the distance. It was a sight to behold, but also eerie and unnerving. The nebula seemed to swirl and pulse with a life of its own, and it felt like I was standing at the edge of a great abyss. It was a place that could only be described as the purgatory from hell - a realm of chaos and uncertainty.

As I scanned my surroundings I saw the light gave way to the darkness, the shadows resembling the maw of beasts, while floating I couldn't but wonder if this was the nature of the warp, or something more tranquil.

I was aware that the warp was not uniform in its nature. In certain areas, there were violent storms that destroyed everything in their path, while other regions were teeming with daemons and other terrifying entities that inhabited the immaterium. Meanwhile, there were places like the one I was currently traversing, which were comparatively peaceful. However, beneath that seemingly peaceful, lay a region that was completely devoid of life and could easily crush any human in an instant.

As I kept floating I couldn't help but wonder, this was supposed to be the other side of the reality I was living in?

Eyeing once to the nebula I strained my eyes, trying to pick anything that could be useful. Yet before I was able to see more than a few sparks of light, I was taken aback.

The sight of the warp stretched into my eyes, while a passage to reality was made once again. With me now standing in front of the navigator who looked at me with surprise.

I looked around in search of my companions but it was then that I noticed I was alone with the navigator.

"Where are they?"I asked coldly.

"Thou are formidable, it didn't last one minute yet thou are here." He ignored my question "What had thou seen?" He instead asked me back.

Before he could even notice I was grasping him by his neck, yet I was inside taken aback by something I noticed. For a moment the navigator moved with such speed that almost made me miss him.

"Where are they? I'm not going to ask again." I decrease my grip as I let him answer. His eyes once again let out a hue of light. Yet there was now a trail that followed the aura, as he struggled in my grip.

I didn't know what he was doing, only that he was attacking me as a deep pain shrouded my mind. Yet I never once released the navigator.

'This won't do.' I thought to myself while I gathered an invisible amount of ki in my hand, it wasn't energy, but spiritual ki.

Letting my ki go, I saw the navigator trembling while a muffled groan escaped his mouth before he passed out. It was at that exact moment that Seleri, Rucule, and Ramela appeared back.

As they tapped the ground I couldn't help but notice how each of them was tensed and battle-ready. The one that shocked me the most was Seleri, who was visibly pale and frightened her eyes quickly scanned around the room as if looking for the reason behind such a reaction.

Only when her eyes landed on me, she seemed to relax while staring at me with a complicated gaze. She walked forward while her mouth moved slightly as if trying to say something. Yet only stayed silent while she opened her arms wide and hugged my waist.

"That was the warp, wasn't it?" She asked in a muffled voice.

Throwing the navigator to the side, I caressed her lavender hair while answering "That seemed to be, what happened? What have you seen?"

She simply shook her head while she applied more pressure to the hug, I heard a choke and I realized she was crying.

Though not surprised by her mood swings, as she was the one most prone to have them. It made me wonder what had she experienced to let out her proud facade and cry.

Nonetheless, I picked her by the waist and let her hug my neck while I caressed her head "Are you two okay? What's your first impression of the warp?" Wanting to divert the attention from Seleri, I asked.

Rucule let out a deep sigh while he answered first "There were foul creatures like that Acolyte spoke about. They didn't pose a problem, but were scary indeed."

Ramela nodded her head as she backed her brother's words "Yes! They were red, with spiky mouths, and were so ugly! I even puked at one of them since they were so smelly!" Her face contorted to an expression of disgust while saying that.

Though she quickly flexed her right bicep while she boasted "But after a blast, they were quickly gone! Heh! You should have seen the look on the faces of the other daemons."

"I'm glad you two are okay." I nodded at them. While carrying the crying Seleri in my arms, I asked Rucule to carry the navigator on his shoulder while I tried to locate Augusta.

The woman seemed to slip away while everything happened with the Navigator. Though she wasn't gone for long, as we find her on the bridge of the ship speaking with a woman with robes.

When she saw us, she looked as if caught red-handed. I didn't bother with her antics as I quickly told her to follow us. Augusta spoke with the woman in a hushed tone before following us.

She didn't say a word after seeing the knocked Navigator on Rucule's shoulder while we quickly made our way back to the station. Back in the Royal Chamber Rucule let the navigator lay on the floor while he sat on the couch, with his sister on his left side.

Meanwhile, I sat with Seleri on the right couch beside Rucule's while Augusta stayed standing.

"So that's the warp I guess. Although I didn't see any daemon or creature, it was a terrible place to be in." I spoke loudly after a few moments.

I saw the siblings nodding while Rucule said "I still cannot understand how this woman can use the warp to use attacks." He eyed with intrigue at Augusta.

I made a dismissing notion with my hand as I looked over the two with a serious look "That's not important, you should now be aware of the strange nature of this place. Don't get confident and always go all out, or else our duty will fall." I tried to make them understand the severity of our situation, and although I saw the two of them alongside Seleri humming an 'uhm' in response, I couldn't but shake the feeling I wasn't clear enough.

I let out a sigh while I moved my gaze toward the large window that overlooked Faradras. A world was now under our reign. One of many.

For that, It's what I hope.

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A.N: 7 chapters in advance (And more to stack up) in my p~atreon alongside the two first +18 scenes.