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“Then why are you bothering with all of this?” Emiliana asked. “Only because I have mutation? There must be thousands more like me.”

“I am not an Elroy,” Gohvis repeated, “but I did share a bond with House Elroy, once.”

Emiliana blinked. “What do you mean?”

“A man named Agam Elroy. He and I were linked. Our mutations tied us together in an anomalous way--a way which, to my knowledge, has never occurred again, either before or since.”

She wasn’t sure she understood.

“But it would seem that you have inherited his power,” said Gohvis.

Her head reared back. She was beginning to get the picture.

The Monster crouched down to look at her more closely, but he was still taller than her by a good meter or so. His red eyes seemed like they might burn holes into her. “I have been awaiting his successor for a very long time.”

“...Why?” was all Emiliana could think to ask.

Gohvis took his time with that one. “I must study our link. It possesses untold potential.”

That brought up other questions for her. “How much do you know about this link?”

And perhaps that was too far, because Gohvis stopped answering her.

Emiliana waited, but a long period of silence was all that followed.

Before it could get too long, however, Ibai chimed in.

“So where are you taking us?” the aberration asked. “Is it somewhere fun? Perhaps I’m being presumptuous, but I thought it might be somewhere very far east. Given your name and all. Will we get to see the Luthic Ocean? I have always wanted to go there. I heard there was a big resurgence in piracy there a few years ago. I would love to meet some real life pirates. Do you think we could do that? Oh! Or maybe you’ll take us all the way to Ardora! Maybe we could--!”

“Please be quiet,” Emiliana said, having grown increasingly worried that the Monster would snap the man’s neck if for no other reason than annoyance.