Magic was one of the mystics that pirates had outlawed amongst themselves. There was no honor in calling upon the world for help. The rules were clear. If you wanted to get something done, do it with your own strength and capabilities.
Fin had spent nearly ten years of his life training in magic. This was his forte. Now that he wasn’t a pirate captain anymore, he had no reason to hold back his greatest treasure. He would finally be able to fulfill the promise he made to himself.
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes, visualizing the magical energy within him activating. Like pulling a string, the magical gears within him started to wind up, grinding away at the rust built over the years. He had used an ice spell in his battle against Maria, but what he was about to channel was something entirely different.
It was the arcane.
Taboo amongst taboos. If he were to be caught using this kind of magic, his bounty, and the danger put on Maria’s head, would surely increase tenfold. However, if he didn’t act now, then they would both get captured and thrown into a cell to rot.
“Magical Gears primed.”
Elemental magic was strong, but the targets were still too far away for him to effectively shoot a long-range shot.
The pistol he picked up from the ground was all he had. He could use his hand to cast the spell, but if it were to act like the barrel of a gun, there would be a chance it could get blown off from the sheer amount of recoil. If he instead directed all the magical energy into the gun’s contraption, then it would be a worthy substitute.
Snapping his eyes open, he declared…
“Recall. Execute!”
Blue lightning surged from his body as he extended his right elbow. The primeval power under the bed of water that was the ocean answered him. A low-frequency hum vibrated through the soles of his shoes. The air grew heavy, static prickling his skin as the energy coiled, waiting for his command.
From zero to a hundred, his magical gears kicked into full motion, letting out loud whirls from within his body. The ship shook violently, the waters getting more and more unstable by the second. Maria gripped onto the wheel tightly, turning the ship as best as she could.
The lightning shot upwards, clearing the skies of its clouds. In the distance, five battleships’ worth of navymen watched in awe at the strange light show. They primed their cannons, ready to take down any opponent that stood in their way.
As the ship turned, so did Fin, adjusting his body to have the barrel of his weapon pointed towards the incoming ships. Every sense in his body was nullified, with only the electrifying current of magical energy taking over his very nervous system.
“Is that… arcane?” Maria gasped, seeing the type of magic that only a few mages possessed in the world. This made her question what, no, who Fin was training under for the past ten years. She had only heard him call her teacher, but never by her name.
“—GHHH….!”
“—AAGGHHHKKKK!!!!”
It was too much for him at once. His body was not meant to handle such a strain so fast. In an ideal situation, he would have had to warm up his magical circuits for at least a day before performing a spell as powerful as this.
As the magical gears within his body started to reach critical stages, they started clashing against his skin, blood, and bones. Seeping through every crevice of his body, blood started to spray out uncontrollably before stopping as the magical energy quickly healed him to full.
A cycle that repeated itself countless times.
The gun still held together. However, he knew that the moment he transferred the energy, it would explode into a hundred pieces. It had to work. He had only one shot to make this right.
Two dozen cannonballs were fired at rapid speeds in the distance. The navy had grown tired of waiting and planned on eliminating their target once and for all. As Fin’s eyes gazed upon the incoming projectiles, a voice resonated within his head.
“This spell is special to me. It gave me a much needed reality check, it helped me realize my purpose in life. But most importantly, it helped me save a friend.”
“People won’t forgive you for using this technique, not even mages. So if you’re going to use it, make sure it isn’t wasted.”
“But I know you’ll make good use of it.”
Those were the words of his teacher.
“I… am…” he grunted, as his arm convulsed violently. With every ounce of strength left in his body, he tried his best to steady his aim. But no matter how hard he tried, none of his internal organs would listen to him.
It wasn’t until he turned his eyes slightly behind him that he felt a new wave of determination. He saw Maria’s worried expression. She saw the possibility of the love of her life, her best friend, dying.
(“DIDN’T I SAY…”)
(“THAT I WASN’T GOING TO LEAVE HER BEHIND?!?!?!?!?!?!”)
His aim suddenly steadied. He made Maria a promise, and he had every intention of keeping it.
Accepting his resolve, the arcane energy surrounding him suddenly shot inward toward the pistol he was holding. The contraption shook violently, its gears slowly falling apart in rust.
Blood streamed out of his nose and eyes as the functionality of his brain slowly began to come to a halt. Sounds of splintering bones mimicked the breaking of chains, one by one subjecting not only his arm to extreme pain, but his entire mind and soul.
As the magical gears in his body started to fully break apart, Fin grit his teeth before letting out a loud war cry, as his greatest treasure came into fruition.
(All Promises Shine in Equal Light)
“ZERO CANON: GRAVEFIRE BLAST !!!!!!!!!!!”
The moment he pulled the trigger, every bit of magical energy that he had built up fired in a straight trajectory all at once. In a fraction of a second, the gun he was holding shattered into a thousand pieces.
His body flew backwards, slamming against the mast of the ship, nearly causing it to snap from the sheer force.
A loud buzz deafened not only the people in the incoming battleships, but the citizens of Flarenorice as well.
Splitting across the sea, the beam of arcane energy glowed brighter than the sun itself, encasing the surrounding area in a vibrance of pure white. To even call it a beam was an understatement, more akin to a pillar thrown from the heavens.
Every cannonball on its way toward Fin’s escape ship vaporized instantly, with not a single trace of its existence to be found. The navymen didn’t even have time to react, as the beam landed just in front of them on the water.
Fin was never aiming for the navy. One shot would never be enough to take out a scattered battalion. But if he altered the current of the water, then their entire trajectories would be spun out of control.
As the arcane magic impacted the target location, water gushed out, streaming like a reversed waterfall. The seas shook violently as the beam of pure energy pierced through the ground.
Leaving a large hole in the water, a whirlpool suddenly started to form, with the navy immediately scrambling to find ways to navigate around it.
As they sailed farther and farther away from the ships, Fin tried his absolute hardest to stay awake. The magical energy he had exuded was enough to put even the most experienced mages into a three-day coma. But he had to stay awake, or else she would get worried.
Seconds felt like hours, and minutes felt like days. His head pounded in pain, as the sensation in his body was all but gone. Drawing air into his lungs hurt, as if he was getting stabbed by a hundred blades.
Blood veiled his sight, and no matter how hard he blinked, it wasn’t wiped away in the slightest. As the ship started to steady, so did the tension in his body. No longer being able to keep himself awake, his body limped to the side, about to crash onto the ground headfirst.
But before he could, he felt his head land on something soft.
“You just have to keep scaring me, don’t you?”
Grunting, he slid his eyes as far back as possible. As the morning sun started to rise into the skies, he saw the gleaming smile of the person that he loved most. Her hands brushed against his hair, caressing it with careful precision, each stroke a love letter to his heart. Finally, he felt at ease.
He was afraid that Maria was going to panic, but she seemed to be just as at peace as he was. Maria placed her cold hands on Fin’s face, turning his head upward on her lap so they could face each other.
“Maria…” he whispered out with what little strength he had left.
“What is it?”
“I’m sorry for hurting you. I—” before he could continue, Maria shushed him by placing her pointer finger on his lips.
“I don’t want any more apologies.”
“Let’s just enjoy ourselves from now on, lead the lives we were always meant to live.”
“Let’s be happy, together.”
“Besides, I’m tired of being angry all the time.”
A single tear streamed out from the corner of his eye. Cracking a soft grin, Fin whispered his final words before succumbing to exhaustion.
“I love you.”
His eyes slid back down, entering a state of slumber. There was no telling how long it would be until he would fully recover, but Maria wasn’t worried in the slightest. Because he made a promise to her that he wouldn’t leave her ever again.
If it was one thing he could trust Fin with now, it was his promises.
Bending her upper body down, she softly kissed Fin. As she pulled away, she caressed his face gently.
“I love you way more, idiot.”
The waves had all but calmed down as the two pirates sailed away past the island of Flarenorice. Maria stared along the treeline, eventually setting her gaze upon the mountains where Yuna lived. This wasn’t the end of their friendship, and if anything, she felt grateful to have a friend who was willing to die to uphold a promise to someone else.
When she first washed ashore, she wanted nothing more than to simply spend some time with the boy she was in love with. But now, looking back, she realized that the island had provided her with something she never could have imagined.
Loving and supporting friends who would do anything to protect each other. It happened all too suddenly, but the pirate captain was glad to have had her ship destroyed and glad to have been stranded on the island.
But more importantly, she was glad that she was able to find her long-lost best friend. As the sound of crashing waves gave peace to her, Maria couldn’t help but chuckle at how they even came to recognize each other.
It wasn’t a dramatic confrontation or even through an investigation.
Sighing, she lifted her head, looking onward to the future that was yet to come. She was glad and thankful to have been reunited with Fin.
By making eye contact across the ship.