Shrouded Seascape

Nene's innocent and adorable face reminded Sparkle of the time she spent at the World's Crown. Back then, she had boundless curiosity toward everything.

Lacking the ability to empathize, she couldn't feel any sadness or distress. Thanks to her mother and Nene, however, Sparkle learned a lot, and she eventually adopted the thought process of a normal human being.

However, Sparkle believed that it wasn't a good thing. She wished she could be like her father and discard certain things from her mind. There was a reason behind the saying, "Ignorance is bliss," after all.

Noticing Sparkle's peculiar expression, Nene leaned over and wrapped her arms around Sparkle's waist. "Sparkle, are you still not happy? Not even candy can cheer you up?"

Sparkle reached out and took Nene into her bosom, allowing the latter to lie in her arms as if she were a doll. Thinking of her father, who was losing his humanity, and her mother, whom she'd never see again, Sparkle sighed at length.

"I feel so much better after talking to you. Don't worry; I won't give in so easily. I'm Anna and Charles' daughter, after all," Sparkle said, and determination filled her eyes.

"Mmhm! You've always been the best, Sparkle. You can do it!" Nene exclaimed, sitting up excitedly. Clearly, she had more faith in Sparkle than Sparkle had in herself. In Nene's eyes, Sparkle was an omnipotent goddess.

Just then, a commotion echoed from above. A pair of eyes sprouted on top of Sparkle's head, allowing her to see what was hanging upside down from the awning.

Sparkle saw a green creature resembling a centipede; its wriggling limbs were moving frantically to shake off the pursuing police officers streaking across the air.

"He's one of Father's crew. His name is… Norton, right?" Sparkle stared at the green, centipede-like creature, curious about what was happening. They no longer had any reason to go out at sea, so they were supposed to be living peaceful lives at the moment. Had something gone wrong?

A bespectacled woman on the ground raised her hands, and the awning above her suddenly bulged and flexed, sending Norton hurtling toward the ground. Just as he was about to hit the ground, Norton's slender figure curled up into a ball, allowing him to absorb the impact.

He stood up in the blink of an eye and was about to run, but he stopped. The police officers of District 3 had already surrounded him. In the face of the encirclement, Norton opened his hideous maw and roared loudly.

His trembling figure looked agitated.

Just as Norton was about to attack, someone clad in a black glossy suit walked over and exclaimed, "Norton, calm down! Are you really going to turn on your own people?"

It was a feminine voice, and Sparkle instantly recognized that voice. It had come from Linda, the ship doctor of the Narwhale.

Norton went silent and sprawled out on the ground. He was breathing heavily as he stretched out a slender, dark green finger and wrote words on the ground. "I really can't take it anymore. I really can't stand this kind of life.

"Let me go… just let me leave this island.

"Your medicine is useless. This body of mine is eroding my will constantly, and I'm becoming more and more like a monster. Hurry up and take that baby away. I'm afraid of hurting her once I lose control."

Linda walked over to Norton and helped the green monster up the ground. "If the medicine that you've been taking hasn't been working, then we'll look for another way. Why are you even running away?!"

"No, no, no…" Norton shook his head frantically. "There's no other way now. You weren't lying when you told the captain that anything within a monster will eventually become that monster!

"The thoughts of such creature will change gradually and imperceptibly. In the end, it will no longer view humans as its own kind. And it's particularly annoying to hear those guys talking behind my back. Ꞧ�

"Damn it, don't they know that I have keen ears?! Why can't they keep their voices down?!" Norton's eight hands clenched into fists, and he pounded the ground in a frenzy.

Smack!

Linda fiercely slapped Norton across the face. The crisp noise generated by the slap as well as the impact stunned Norton in an instant, forcing him to stop.

"Are you not ashamed? You're actually having a mental breakdown just because someone is talking behind your back?! And you call yourself a crew of the Narwhale? You're my patient, and I will take responsibility for you until the end!"

Linda then dragged Norton away as if he were a dead dog.

Sparkle's gaze became pensive at the sight.

"Sparkle, what happened over there?" Nene asked. Her vision was not as keen as Sparkle's, so she had no idea what had transpired.

"It's nothing serious. By the way, do you need any help? I can assist you."

"No, I'm doing fine right now," Nene said, shaking her head. "But I'd like it if you could visit me more often."

Sparkle smiled faintly at that, but she made no promises. The two continued their chat, but Sparkle noticed that something had changed drastically compared to their previous encounters.

Sparkle could easily deduce what Nene was going to say even before the latter could open her mouth. Of course, it wasn't exactly strange, as Sparkle had already grown up, which meant her thought process was no longer as shallow as Nene's.

Sparkle realized just then that she had subconsciously sought out Nene to have a taste of what she was like in the past. Unfortunately, the past was in the past, and it was impossible to go back to those times.

Soon, the two had to part ways. Sparkle accompanied Nene to a corner not too far away from the latter's home.

Realizing that she could no longer keep Sparkle around her, Nene let go of Sparkle's fingers one by one with much reluctance on her visage. "Sparkle, don't forget me, okay? We're going to be best friends forever!"

Sparkle nodded slightly. Then, she watched as Nene walked into her home while looking back at Sparkle every three steps.

Donna opened the door and proceeded to scold her daughter for coming home so late.

The sight reassured Sparkle, and she then teleported back home. Upon arriving at her familiar home, Sparkle was reminded of Nene's reluctant face. She suddenly had the urge to give her good friend a gift to make up for her unfulfilled promise.

A flash of white light burst out of Sparkle, and she appeared in the living room down below.

Sparkle turned to the sofa and saw her father sitting motionless on the sofa. His appearance had not changed at all—he had just one arm; his face was covered in scars, and he was still wearing his captain's uniform.

His face still looked as fierce as ever as well, but his eyes had changed. The spider eye could no longer be seen, and two pitch-black voids were within Charles' eye sockets.

Sparkle instantly realized that Charles was not within the fleshly body before her and that he was busy with something else. Naturally, Sparkle knew how to attract her father's attention.

Sparkle walked over and hugged that empty shell gently before saying, "Daddy, I want to ask you for a favor."

The next moment, two eyeballs filled the fleshly body's eye sockets. "What is it?"

"Can you create a human being? I mean, can you create one directly?"

Charles looked at his daughter while pondering over the request. After a while, the wall beside them squirmed, and then it spat out everything that made up a human being.

The tentacles kneaded the ingredients, and they rapidly took on the shape of a middle-aged man. The middle-aged man had perfect hair, skin, and facial features, but the perfect human being instantly collapsed as soon as he took a step forward.