It had been a month since Sona came to the surface, with most of that time spent traveling north with Ulpianus. While she was saddened that her first day on the surface wasn't a dream, her resolve had hardened during those passing days. Her family was in danger, and she wouldn't let any harm come to them for as long as she lived.

The two Abyssal Hunters had traveled through city after city, searching for any clues that would indicate where their comrades were being held. But their searches bore no fruit, every hideout they found was filled with brainwashed people that acted like drones, mindlessly following orders and throwing themselves at her and Ulpianus. It didn't matter where the city was located, whether it was near the sea or further inland, the Church of the Deep always had some form of presence.

The sound of a sword cutting through the air caught Sona's attention. She turned her body to the side as the sword crashed against the wooden floor. Her shortsword cleaved upwards through the man's arm, severing his hold on the sword before ending his life with a stab through the chest. The man gave a brief scream of pain before she pulled the weapon out of him. Evading another attack, Sona stepped out of the way of an arrow that grazed her cheek. Her tired eyes met the cultist's figure and she rushed forward, there was no second shot as Sona swiftly ended the man's life with another stab, eliciting another scream.

"Sona." Turning her head, she saw Ulpianus had already ended his fight. The older Abyssal Hunter was rummaging through the corpses looking for something. "These surface dwellers had more autonomy compared to the others we've fought this month." Sona quickly caught on to what he wanted, doing a quick clean of her weapons before searching the two she had killed for anything noteworthy.

She found nothing on the crossbowman, only bits of whatever currency Iberia used and a few pieces of blue paper that also seemed to be currency. She wasn't taught about economy, nor did she have to worry about money after joining the Abyssal Hunters so she left it on the dead man's corpse. Turning around to check the swordsman, Sona found a notebook in the man's cloak.

"Captain, I found something." Sona tossed the notebook over to Ulpianus who silently caught it and began reading through it. The young Ægir stood up and found a nearby wall to lean against as she waited for Ulpianus to give their next course of action. Gazing down at her gloveless hand, Sona clenched her fist. At first it didn't bother her, but now she was beginning to feel incomplete without it, like she was missing a piece of herself.

With a silent groan, Sona scanned the room the two hunters found themselves in. It was a small hideout that seemed to be used often. To most it would seem like a normal storage room. But to her, the room reeked of the sea terror's stench. How she managed to smell it she didn't know, but she guessed it had something to do with the surface and the Church of the Deep's fanatical worship of the Seaborn.

"We have a lead. It seems Thadius isn't dead like we originally thought." His voice was filled with concern but Sona couldn't hear it. She was ecstatic, for a month their searches were always dead ends with no signs of any Abyssal Hunters being captive or even mentioned. But now there was someone she knew being mentioned.

"Sona," he interrupted, "let's go. He's being held further east." Nodding her head, Sona quickly followed behind Ulpianus as the two left the hideout and mobile city, speeding across an open plateau towards their destination.

Their travel quickly led them to another mobile city, this one next to Iberia's coast. It was almost refreshing to have the scent of the sea back, but Sona had little time to appreciate the view – a comrade was in need of saving.

The two discreetly entered the city, waiting until nightfall to enter. The midnight streets were silent, only the occasional flicker of lamp posts creating noise. Making their way through the dark alleys and streets they find themselves in front of an open square where a lone man sits on a fountain, seemingly lost in thought. The man wore a large cloth over his body, hiding his features from the two hunters. But something seemed to be moving within the cloth, either that or he was shifting around in discomfort.

Ulpianus turned and motioned for her to get to the opposite side of the square. Nodding her head she silently walked into an alley and began to traverse the maze of streets. After a minute of walking Sona felt a sense of trepidation crawl up her back. Doing a quick search around her she found nothing out of the ordinary, that was until she turned a corner and saw blue eyes staring at her from down the street. The nearby lamp posts flickered, short circuiting and ceasing to create light throughout the street, leaving only the ominous glow of blue eyes staring at her.

Sona immediately armed herself, staring wide eyed in disbelief at what was in front of her. But just as quickly as light vanished from the street, the lights came back and the eyes vanished. Rushing towards the end of the street she found herself staring at a dead end.

"What…?" She wondered if her mind was playing tricks on her, questioning if whatever she saw was real. Shaking her head Sona continued on her way, finally making it to the opposite side of the strange man.

Now she was much closer to him, and was able to get a better view of the man. He seemed to be an Ægir, but something felt off about him. She couldn't describe it, but it felt like there was a Seaborn nearby. But that wouldn't make sense, would it? Then she saw it, the bright glow of ruby eyes staring right at her, strands of snow white hair dangling over his eyes, but most importantly of all, a pair of small rimmed glasses that sat at the edge of his nose. It was another Abyssal Hunter. It was–

"Sona…" Thadius spoke softly, almost unintelligibly as he stood up and began shambling over to her. "I'm sorry… It looks like I won't be getting you that guitar you wanted…" As he approached, Sona could smell the scent of the Seaborn all over him, adding even more to her confusion.

Without warning, his head blossomed into an ugly flower, his bones snapped and twisted, his skin ripped like fabric. Half of his face was now that of a Basin Sea Reaper's with a pair of mantis-like arms erupting through the cloth on his back while he charged at the young hunter.

But before he could reach Sonatina, Ulpianus intercepted Thadius. Swinging his anchor down on the disfigured commander of the Fifth Company. "So my suspicions were right…" The third commander was revolted, a surge of anger and disgust making its way to his words. "You really have gone insane, Thadius."

"Ulpianus?" Thadius seemed surprised as his four limbs caught the anchor and pushed against it. "I thought you had perished against Ishar'mla." The monstrous man chuckled, evolving into full blown laughter as Ulpianus pushed him away, the fifth commander mocked the third as he skidded across the stone pavement. "Perhaps we should catch up, old friend."

The two commanders began to clash, Thadius' newfound power somehow capable of matching Ulpianus' monstrous strength. Each of their blows created shockwaves that shook the square, knocking Sona off of her feet and throwing her to the ground.

Sona could do nothing but stare in shock. One of the commanders of the Abyssal Hunters, transformed into an amalgamation of flesh and fused with a sea terror. It both horrified and sickened her that someone she looked up to had now become one with the monsters they tried to fight off.

Gritting her teeth Sona stood up, raising both her swords and recklessly charging in. If she were in her right state of mind Sona would know that she was outmatched, but this new dance of hers was fueled by blind rage and betrayal.

Thadius smirked, retreating back from Ulpianus' anchor as it crashed into the stone. "Still got that fire in you, don't you Sona?" The fifth commander leaped back, landing on the rooftop of a nearby house before disappearing into the city.

"You bastard, get back here!" Sona rushed forward to follow but was stopped by Ulpianus. The taller man glared at her, forcing her to calm down. Taking a deep breath Sona steeled her features, glaring in the direction Thadius ran. Looking back at her comrade, Sona could only bitterly smile. "Sorry, Captain…"

"Save your apologies for after we kill the traitor." Ulpianus leaped after Thadius, running across the rooftops with Sona shortly behind him. The two chased after the abomination of man, being ten roofs behind him.

Jumping over a gap between the buildings, Sona threw one of her swords. It sailed through the air and neared Thadius' back, but was swatted away by one of the mantis claws. Luckily her sword clattered onto the rooftop, picking it up once they were closer. She grit her teeth and frowned but once again cooled her head, silently accompanying her superior.

Ulpianus noticed something unusual. Instead of attacking both him and Sona like a normal sea terror, Thadius had chosen to retreat, heading away from the center square and towards the outskirts. He guessed that Thadius wanted to bring them somewhere, but whether it would be an ambush or something worse was up for debate.

The trio ran, reaching the edge of the city where Thadius abruptly halted, causing the two Abyssal Hunters to stop as well. Wordlessly, Thadius inclined his head, taking a deep breath before turning to meet the two glares that bore holes into his back, showcasing that more of his body had been taken over by the sea terrors. His skin was now pale white, his red eye was now a light blue, it looked like bits and pieces of his skin were solidifying into stone. Sona and Ulpianus raised their weapons at him, ready for an eventual attack that never came as Thadius spoke in a distorted voice.

"Sona, Ulpianus… We've come far enough." Clutching his face, the fifth commander made a pained expression. "Whatever you do, don't return to Ægir. The Church of the Deep, they've infiltrated Ægir's high council. Those bastards revealed to me something I never thought possible." Thadius' expression began to shift into a daze, more of his face transforming into a Seaborn's with the loud cracks of his bones breaking and the popping of a blood vessel in his remaining eye. Revealing the blue blood of the Seaborn that flooded into the rest of his eye.

All of a sudden he rushed forward, catching Sona off guard while Ulpianus rushed in, meeting the monster's attack with his anchor. Thadius' extra arms swung downwards, intending to cut off the man's arms. But they were unable to, the large anchor being swung upwards and slicing the appendages off. Thadius screamed in pain, taking a step backwards as Ulpianus stepped closer, throwing a haymaker punch with his left hand that knocked the Seaborn hybrid further back.

Jumping over to another roof, Sona circled around to Thadius' back and waited for an opportunity to strike. When she saw Thadius get pushed towards her she attacked, thrusting both of her swords towards the back of his chest. But he managed to evade it, rolling across the rooftop clumsily before standing and catching himself from nearly falling off the edge of the building. His eye seemed to glow bright while the remains of his face seemed to be permanently disfigured into a frown. Once again his hand clutches his face, Sona able to see it shift from blue to red briefly. It was like there was a war raging inside of Thadius. When he removed his hand, his eye was back to the familiar red she knew of.

"Sona, Ulpianus…" He repeated, as if pleading for help. "Our bodies, our blood, is that of the Seaborn's. That's how they made us into Abyssal Hunters." This caught both the Hunter's attention, noticing how his skin slowly began to solidify even more. "I saw them… Seraphina, Sirius… those traitors in the high council."

"How did you survive?" Ulpianus interrupted Thadius' repeating words. The solidifying man could only sigh, as his head bowed down to accept his fate.

"How else? A blood transfusion, by Seraphina. Not all of us were given thick skin and regenerative cells after all…" The Seaborn-Abyssal Hunter hybrid smiled bitterly, the stone on his skin beginning to rapidly climb up his body, now enveloping his neck. "It's a testament to my naivete that I never put two and two together… If only I had figured it out sooner…"

And just like that, Thadius' skin solidified into a pearlescent white stone, his eyes closing to never open again. The last vestiges of his humanity being the remnants of his face.

Looking up, Sona could see the night sky, the moon shining brightly into the ocean and Thadius' statue. Closing her eyes, tears began to flow down her face. Remembering the first time she met the man.

It hurts, doesn't it…?

The loss of our kin…

You will always be one of us…

We will always accept you…

Join us…

Sona's eyes opened as she gasped for air. She was somehow back in Ægir, surrounded by hundreds of her fellow Abyssal Hunters. She felt uneasy as they all stared at her. She couldn't even see their features, only able to make out who was who based on their clothing. Gladiia and Laurentina were in front of her, the two lending out their hands for her to take while Ulpianus and Skadi were a bit further behind them.

She hesitated, slightly raising her hand to accept before stopping halfway. The smell of Seaborn reeked, causing her to look at the Abyssal Hunters. It was then that she noticed how they all changed. Their bodies were mutilated by various pieces of Seaborn appendages that erupted from different parts of their body.

She took a step back, and they took a step forward. Another step back, followed by another step forward. Sona backed away in fear, bumping into something. Hastily turning around she saw Thadius, but just like the rest, he too transformed. Lunging at the frightened Sona who drew her sword to stop him from reaching her.

All of a sudden her surroundings change, and in front of her is an irritated Ulpianus with one of Sona's swords pointed at his throat.