GINKEN: Ember in the Storm

Stranded in the Middle of a Mysterious Ocean!

The "Holy Arches" are a heavenly structure where deity resides and keeps a careful eye on Earth. The celestial characters that defend the earth from evil are known to be mythological, but many people believe there are several Gods who can offer them luck, happiness, and fortune. The Goddess and the ruler of the other Gods were also born in the Christian world.

It exists, but many people are skeptical of its existence; they believe it is merely a mythology created to give people hope that they would survive and be protected from demonical monsters who have wandered across the landscape.

The great divine door opened to a massive room with a white tablecloth and various Gods seated in their rightful seats, with the "Holy Light" herself at the table's front describing the current situation involving the "Black Storm."

"The "Black Storm," which has been raging for some months, has intensified, and individuals below the Arches have begun spreading havoc across cities, causing a drop in the number of our Spiritual Duelists. Since the "Black Storm" incident, the Duelists have attempted to develop an antidote but have been unable. As a result, I urge that you gather our most powerful Duelists and assign them a specific task that they will fulfill."

"Zero, I understand that we need to do something about the ongoing disaster, but assigning the best Spiritual Duelists to a specific task would reduce their obedience, and there's no guarantee that they'll obey our commands if they don't listen to our proposals. The Spiritual Duelists are dispersed around the planet, finding the toughest ones will be a challenging endeavor."

"I'm well aware of their obedience, but it's our best option, and it should be implemented as soon as possible. Yes, finding them will be difficult, and even my eyes could deceive the reality of a Spiritual Duelist, and there have been sightings of multiple demons reborning up from the Underworld, so finding our enemy will help us find the Duelists, as they'll most likely be where the Demons appear. Furthermore, those Demons began to evolve into many forms, making them incredibly difficult to locate, as they could be any ordinary human with Demon Blood strength."

"What about your daughter, Ayuka? She is a Spiritual Duelist, a "Semi-Goddess" with the same bloodline as you, and she is an excellent supporter of the "Black Storm." She might, like you, employ her heavenly skills to give us unbelievable strength."

"Please understand that my daughter has nothing to do with this. Do not include her in our blunder; she has found an ideal location for her to stay. She gave birth to a kid before the "Black Storm," and her memories were completely destroyed. I don't want to put her life in jeopardy so that her daughter loses her mother, as she is critically needed for this world."

"Then there's the other Duelist from the "Fiendish" bloodline. With his team, he was able to protect the world from the most heinous villains? We've watched many recordings from them and have never been able to give him an award. If we don't want to endanger your daughter's life, why don't we make use of his skills?"

As the God's words rang out, Zero leapt to her feet, her uniform flapping in the glaring light. "Are you referring to Timoshi Miyazaki, the father of the same child who was born to my daughter? Is that what you're trying to express when you say we should use him to our advantage?"

"That's true, that youngster possesses some of the most enigmatic powers that even the Gods have battled to comprehend! He also freed your daughter from Kin's drug, so he may be of considerable assistance."

"I won't let you speak to him because, while I agree that he's an outstanding Duelist, he's also been infected by the "Black Storm." I will not seek his assistance unless his memories are recovered and he returns to my daughter's family. I've seen him cause many accidents as a result of his hatred and fury. My daughter and her companion will not appreciate the assistance, and it may exacerbate the storm's problems."

"That's all there is to it; please report to your designated locations and inform me of any positive news. I'll speak with Nana."

The hot sun risen above the clouds, warming the blue ocean, and the oceanic animals gliding over the fresh water noticed a gateway open, wide and shaky, as if something or someone was ready to descend through it.

It was a miracle that the animals' gazes were locked on it, and surprisingly, numerous bodies began to fall from inside the hole to the bottom of the deep blue ocean, screaming and wreaking mayhem.

The distant shouts began to descend toward the ocean's surface, as a loud and forceful splash quickly stretched across the sea, enveloping the bubbles that floated among it.

Our long-awaited heroes arrived to an unfamiliar ocean that they didn't know existed, and Tim was one of the first to look around and notice that they were trapped in the middle of a mysterious ocean. As they approached the ocean's top, the others gradually began to circle him.

"Um, guys, I don't think we were supposed to wind up here." They looked about, silently trying to remember if anyone knew about the ocean they were in.

"Absolutely, we did wind ourselves in the most deplorable of straits. I was pretty sure we were going to go back to the Academy, so what brought us here?" everyone tried to explain the scenario, but none of them were believed to be correct, despite the fact that their position was peculiar.

"Ayuka, how are we expected to know that? All I know is that Elliott's ridiculous garment ball slammed into us and sent us flying; I'm sure he was behind it all, the nerves of that moron." Each of them was drenched and their hair was tangled, especially Ayuka, who had the longest.

"You know how long it took me to thoroughly prepare my hair for the course, and now that all of my hard work has been for nothing, the instant I get my hands on that imbecile, I'm going to make sure he pays me with respect." her glittering blue eyes were fixed on her disheveled hair, as if she wanted to straighten it.

"Talking about Elliott, where is he? Shouldn't he be with us if he was the one who slammed into us?" they widened their view in the hopes of spotting one of their close buddies, but no trace of his scent was detected.

Then, beneath their floating bodies, a shadow began to widen and shake the waves, as if a monster was ready to appear and smash them with its teeth.

They geared themselves for fight, terrified on the spot, but after their tense gazes, a great pile of clothing began to float and even lift them over the water. "Whoa!" they exclaimed, attempting to maintain a decent balance so as not to tumble back into the ocean, and as the pile began to float, they silently looked to the front, where they discovered Elliott's soaking body asleep.

They were unimpressed and mortified when they heard Elliott snoring loudly while a bubble drifted in front of his nose. "How can that fool sleep after such a bumpy ride?" however, the warmth of the sun popped the bubble and appeared to have been enough to rouse him awake; slowly, he peered around half-asleep, and in an instant, he sprang up onto the pile of garments. "Man, I had a dream that I was flying through the air?"

Elliott's attention turned behind his back, and he noticed his companions' disapproval. "Good morning, gentlemen! Have you all have a good night's sleep? I know I did!" As a greeting, he raised his hand and waved it.

"Will you stop waving now that we're two meters apart? How many clothes do you need to leave, you fool?!" He glanced at Ayuka with his eyes sparkling in beauty as he scratched the back of his head in a perplexing manner. "Oh, dear miss Ayuka, you're so sexy when you're wet, and your hair is simply perfect in the light of such sun, you'd make an ideal model!" Elliott's eyes clearly reflected pink hearts as others remained silent and annoyed.

The others kept their arms crossed and convinced Elliott to have a peek around. "How about you take a look around before you bless Ayuka's beauty; maybe that'll help you see things differently in the circumstance we're in because of you." The others agreed with Tim's assertion and awaited Elliott's perplexing response. As he surveyed the surroundings, his eyes shifted squiggly and he screamed in fear. "Guys, what are we doing in the middle of an ocean!?!"

"You *just* realized "that" now?!?" As the red wrath on their foreheads became visible, their jaws expanded down toward their feet, their eyes displaying whiteness.

>Couple of minutes laterCouple of seconds later<

Others hung around waiting for Codey to catch a fish, but since they didn't have a fishing rod, he chose to make a century-defining discovery, with the others standing behind him.

"Have you caught any fish yet?" Codey shook his head and held something in his hands, smiling. "Don't worry, this fish rod is a little awkward when it comes to catching fish, see?" Others witnessed Elliott's legs hanging up from the water, grabbed by Codey's palms, while his torso and face continued to plummet down into the water, almost drowning.

"Come on, you stupid, if you want to live, catch some fish for us to eat!"

While his face was submerged, Elliott encountered a difficulty when he noticed a grey fin approaching him at a high rate, which startled him. While the others conversed, Codey raised Elliott's body from the water and listened for a word. "Guys, there's something-" However, he was dunked underwater once more before being lifted. "Shark! Please get me out of the water!" as soon as they heard it, Codey groaned and let go of his legs, his body slowly submerging.

Elliott's eyes bulged with amazement as the shark's roar resonated across the ocean, and he began to swim around the garments like a jet chased by the shark, splashing water all over others.

He proceeded to circle the others, screaming in terror and depression as they watched him. "Guys, please help me, I'm going to die!" They were able to arrange a spot for them to put something down, and Codey stretched his arm and summoned his Boomerang, but Elliott continued to swim about at a high rate.

"Now watch and learn how to catch a shark!" When both the shark and Elliott came into view, Codey took a straight step forward and swung his torso forward, tossing the boomerang and producing a strong whirlwind that lifted the waves.

Everyone smiled with enthusiasm and pleased smiles after the boomerang sliced into the shark's neck, decapitating it. "Alright, we've got some meat! But wait, how are we supposed to cook it?" Elliott's eyes swirled around as his body was stuck in the waves and heard others shout. "I'm seasick already..."

To be continued...