The Journey Out
Rin sat on a ship in the Underworld. The ship was traveling east from the center of the underworld towards what Rin had learned was one of the shadowlands closest to the Blessed Isle. It was called the Bayou of Endless Regret.
From there she would obtain passage to the blessed isle and head to Shirou's aid. It was a simple plan really.
The underworld had been interesting but not enough to make her research it right now.
This sea for example. It had the blackest waters she had ever seen and she could feel it pulling at her essence. After staying in the underworld she didn't have much left. Was it alive? No, that would be wrong in the underworld. The better question would be "Can it think?"
She gazed down into the water and thought about the question as it pulled at her. Everything in the Underworld was hungry in some way, it seemed to be a part of this place's nature.
She sighed and retired back to "her cabin". It wasn't hers, technically she was a stowaway and she hadn't paid any cost to board. She was being allowed to sleep in the cargo hold below decks. That close to the sea meant that she always felt the tug at her soul as she rested. She did have a bed though, A pile of cloth atop a box. She had slept in worse ways in the Underworld.
Rubinrot came and went during the trip. When it was with the ship, it would rest in the cargo hold with Rin. Rin wished she could have just ridden them over the sea but they wouldn't have been able to make it in a single trip.
In the end this cruise only took a few days. The ship landed at night so she would have to wait for daybreak to head out into creation.
Rin booked herself into an inn and ordered Rubinrot to stay hidden.
She woke before daybreak so the shadowland was still part of the underworld. Regardless she got ready for the day.
Rin watched the sunrise from the docks as the land around her transitioned from the underworld to creation.
She talked to the harbor master and asked about any ship that might take her across to the blessed isle.
"There's not one coming for at least a few days now. You'd best try waiting or heading north while the sun's up to reach another port in creation."
Rin sighed and decided to wait.
A good thing too as it let her see a mysterious sight. Around midday she was looking out into the small section of the sea that was shadowland when suddenly a very small patch of fog appeared. She looked carefully and saw a ship emerge from the fog.
The ship was made of a black metal that Rin recognised as Soulsteel. It must be a craft made for important people from the Underworld, maybe even some of the Abyssal Exalted she had heard about.
The ship had likely cut through the shadowland from the underworld side and emerged in creation.
As soon as the ship was fully out of the fog, it turned north-west. It seemed to be heading for the blessed isle.
End of chapter.
A short chapter but I had a hard time writing anything at all.
For reference this chapter occurs before both Sakura's and Shirou's most recent chapters, I am really messing up the order of events.
