A dull thud echoed as the ship’s flattened hull trembled upon touching down on the wet grass, bouncing once more, hitting the ground again, then skidding and scraping until finally coming to a halt.

  “Nice crash landing,” Kiran remarked. He had mostly recovered and peered over the railing.

  “Had far rougher landings. This was child’s play,” said Van, emerging from the cockpit and wiping his hands on his trousers.

  “I thought the landing was charming,” Sori commented lightly. “Soft as a feather.”

  “You see? She knows what she’s talking about!” Van said to Kiran, jerking his thumb toward Sori. Salome, who had clung anxiously to the railing during their approach, now cautiously loosened her grip and relaxed her shoulders. Her stomach left no doubt about what it would prefer to do with her last meal. She was merely relieved the ship hadn't tilted sideways now that they'd landed. Anxiously, she glanced upward at the thin black plume of smoke rising from the rear of the vessel.

  Meanwhile, Kiran had pulled out a simple rope ladder and threw it smoothly over the railing.

  They had landed on a broad, grassy plain surrounded entirely by dense forests. The island was mostly flat, except for a wooded hilltop that rose above the treeline in the distance. Occasionally, thick clouds surged like waves across the woods, dissolving in the wind before they could cross the island completely.

  After everyone climbed down the ladder, Kiran slowly circled the ship, assessing the extent of the damage.

  “It doesn’t look good,” he reported after some time. “I think the Storm Eye took some damage. The balloon's issues are superficial and can be patched, but that won’t suffice in the long run.” He looked thoughtfully at the ground. “We might need a new ship.”

  They stood slightly apart from the ship next to a sharp, slanted rock jutting from the ground. Sori lay down in the grass beside it, leisurely stretching her limbs. She didn’t seem bothered by the moist morning dew sparkling on the tall blades of grass. Van’s vigilant gaze scanned the distant forest edge.

  “And what do we do now?” Salome asked.

  “For now, we should repair the smaller damages,” Kiran replied. “Then we'll figure out what’s next.” He walked back toward the ship, climbed the rope ladder, and disappeared behind the railing. Salome watched him briefly before moving to stand beside Van.

  “So, how did you like my crash landing? Top-notch, wasn’t it?” he grinned smugly.

  “Van… what was that?” Salome asked. “That… thing that attacked us?” Sori abruptly sat up, staring at him. “I'd love to know too! And why did everything feel so much like a terrible nightmare?”

  Van remained silent for a while, and when he finally spoke, his voice was unusually serious. “You know, beautiful as this world may be, Firmament isn't all good. Some creatures bring only death, and others cause the death of your very soul. The Dawnbird is one such being.” He paused briefly, looking into the distance. “This creature exists in a realm between light and shadow, in a place of instability and vagueness. Usually, you never see them, but at dawn, our worlds draw close enough for a Dawnbird to appear. That's why it’s wise to have a strong light source—a flare—when flying. Bright light is their weakness. It reminds them of the boundaries they normally don’t cross.”

  He turned back toward their ship, thoughtfully eyeing the marks left by the Dawnbird on the balloon. “Never heard of a ship being attacked so deliberately though. Wonder what made it so furious.”

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  “But that scream…” Salome murmured, shivering at the memory.

  “Unpleasant, isn't it?” Van said sympathetically. “Creates a contrast to the silence that follows, making the silence even more profound. Silence means the end, and you must never surrender to it.”

  “I still feel sick when I think about that scream,” Sori said, shuddering. “Suddenly the world felt empty—sad, hopeless, abandoned. I couldn’t move or even think clearly! Salome, how did you manage to break free from it so quickly?” She stood up, brushing grass and droplets from her pants.

  “It... wasn’t actually that difficult,” Salome answered truthfully.

  “Strange,” Van commented. “Wasn’t my first time resisting a Dawnbird’s cry, but this one was stronger than any I've endured before. You handled it remarkably well.”

  Salome glanced down, slightly embarrassed. She wasn't entirely sure what she had done, but in her paralysis, she had briefly thought of home. Maybe that was why she'd instinctively fought back.

  “Alright, let's help Kiran,” Van said. “We shouldn’t stay on this island for too long.”

  Together they returned to the ship, where Kiran was already rummaging beneath a trapdoor in the cockpit floor, pulling out various tools. He also dragged out one end of a heavy piece of fabric, which required their combined efforts to fully extract. It was the same deep-red material that covered the balloon.

  With considerable effort and the help of several ropes, they hauled the heavy cloth up a rope ladder onto the balloon's surface.

  As Salome reached the top, breathing heavily, and dropped the folded fabric onto the balloon, she noticed the breathtaking view from the highest point of the ship. The sun, hovering just above the horizon, once again bathed the world in vibrant colors, causing the endless cloud ocean to sparkle. While the sky to the east gradually adopted the colors of daytime, night still held sway in the west, though even there the stars were slowly fading into deep blue.

  Salome straightened for a moment, shielding her eyes with one hand and dreamily taking in Firmament's awakening. Quickly, however, she remembered where she was. She crouched down, gripping one of the countless ropes secured around the balloon for stability. Up here, one misstep could send her tumbling down the rounded slope. Another injured ankle was the last thing she needed.

  While Kiran and Van worked on the temporary repairs, Salome and Sori were tasked with fetching tools from below and passing them upward. It wasn't easy climbing up and down the narrow rope ladder repeatedly, especially with only one free hand. At least Salome quickly adjusted to the height and grew increasingly confident.

  Under the glaring sunlight, they soon began to sweat heavily, prompting the girls to loosen the collars of their shirts and roll up their sleeves. Sori even went so far as to knot her shirt, revealing her slender waist. Kiran seemed unaffected by the heat, but Van had removed his shirt altogether and labored in a sleeveless undershirt.

  When the sun had traveled a good distance across the sky, Kiran finally climbed down from the balloon and announced that the ship was airworthy again. Salome cast a doubtful glance upward, but she had no idea how the balloon actually worked, so she had no choice but to trust Kiran.

  The balloon’s soft hum, previously a barely audible whisper, intensified into a powerful drone as Kiran pulled levers and adjusted various controls. Just as before, the ship jolted slightly, and Salome felt it gradually lifting from the ground. It accelerated, rushing just above the lush meadow as though gaining momentum. Salome imagined the wind was blowing harder around the ship than before.

  Then, as the forest edge rapidly approached, Kiran pulled a lever sharply back, and the ship's bow tilted skyward. Standing in the cockpit and watching curiously, Salome suddenly felt twice as heavy, as though she were being pressed firmly into the floor.

  Once the ship had reached sufficient altitude, the balloon’s droning subsided, and they glided smoothly and steadily on the wind.

  Yet Kiran appeared dissatisfied. He kept adjusting one lever repeatedly, eyeing the instruments thoughtfully and shaking his head almost imperceptibly.

  “Is something wrong?” Salome asked.

  “I'm not sure,” Kiran admitted. “But the pressure and airflow controls are behaving erratically, not to mention the sympathy regulators, which—” He broke off when he saw Salome’s bewildered expression. “In short, the ship isn't suitable for our needs right now. We need proper repairs.” As if he'd made a decision, Kiran gave the wheel a firm spin and guided the ship upward.

  Salome was curious to discover where their new course would take them.