SKYBOUND ODYSSEY

Skybound Odyssey – Chapter 11: Haven Below the Clouds

The Stormchaser dove through thick cloudbanks, flames licking at its wings as Lyra fought the controls.

"We're losing altitude!" she shouted over the roaring wind. "The stabilizers are barely holding!"

Ryo gritted his teeth, gripping the edge of the console. His clothes were singed, his knuckles bleeding, but his eyes still burned with fire.

"We can't go back up. We need to disappear—now."

Below them, the clouds parted—revealing a hidden island nestled in the sky's shadow, obscured from view by thick mist and swirling currents.

It was a floating mass of dark green jungles, scattered towers of old stone, and flickering lights from a distant settlement.

Lyra blinked. "That's…"

Ryo leaned forward, his expression darkening. "Skygrave."

A long-forgotten outlaw haven. A place where pirates, smugglers, and renegades disappeared—and sometimes never came back.

Lyra hesitated. "We can't land there. It's chaos. No laws. No rules. If people recognize you—"

"They won't," Ryo said. "We just need to lay low and fix the ship. Then we move."

Lyra sighed. "Famous last words."

---

Hours later...

The Stormchaser groaned as it touched down on a rusted landing dock nestled in the cliffs of Skygrave. Steam hissed from its sides, and a few startled scavengers scattered from the shadows.

Ryo stepped out first, bandaged and bruised.

The city before them was a maze of ramshackle towers, airships half-embedded in buildings, glowing signs, and an overwhelming buzz of life.

Skygrave pulsed with danger.

As they walked through the streets, Ryo kept his hood low. Whispers followed them. Armed eyes watched from alleyways.

Lyra whispered, "Let's get what we need and go."

But just as they turned a corner, a familiar voice called out—gruff, amused, and loud:

"Well I'll be damned. If it isn't the Lightning Brat."

Ryo froze.

A massive man with a metal jaw stepped from the shadows, flanked by thugs. His arms were mechanical, his body scarred, and his grin wide.

"Razor," Ryo muttered.

Lyra's eyes widened. "You know him?"

"He used to be my teacher," Ryo replied. "Until I beat him in a fight and stole his lunch."

Razor laughed. "You stole my airship, brat."

He cracked his metal knuckles. "Now you're worth 100,000 crowns." He stepped forward. "And I'm very hungry."