The roar pierced every barrier and swept across the nearby districts of Bayam, plunging the City of Generosity, just beginning its busy day, into a brief panic.
Far enough away to escape the worst of it, ordinary people looked in bewilderment toward the outskirts, where the sky had abruptly darkened as though night might return at any moment. For an instant, they had felt their hearts stop, but they could not say why.
Behind the Wave Church in Bayam, Sea King Yarn Courtman had just finished his morning prayers in an elegant little building and was about to enjoy a hearty breakfast. He stopped and looked toward the sky beyond the city.
The next moment, lightning flowed through his eyes. His gaze crossed the vast distance and locked onto the source of the disturbance: a cliff engulfed in chaos.
"..."
Two fair-skinned arms reached out of the Spirit World. The four blond, red-eyed heads they held opened their mouths in unison, releasing a soundless cry that drowned out the terrible wailing.
The black, wrinkled infant that was the Rose School demigod's incarnation closed the only organ on its head—its mouth full of sharp teeth—then slipped into the Spirit World to clash with Reinette Tinekerr once more. Leaves, weeds, and animals that had dropped dead from the wailing all became footholds in their battle.
Below the cliff, the sailors aboard the Red Haired Woman gradually recovered once the dreadful cries stopped.
They were already some distance from the fighting and lacked the spirituality to be strongly affected by a strange cry carried so far through the Spirit World. Sailor Chief Lucky William had fallen into a deep coma because of his unusual nature, but the others kept working the sails under Helene's direction. With the powerful winds Angel and Klein