I began to piece everything together—Typhis had died at the prow of the ship. Jason had died there too.
The prow.
That's it. There must be something there.
"Thank you… doctor," I said.
Asclepius looked at me, smiling with a slightly puzzled expression.
Now that I knew there was likely something wrong at the prow, I headed straight there to investigate what exactly was going on.
Every step I took, I moved with caution. I was afraid—afraid that I might end up just like Typhis and Jason.
Eventually, I reached the prow.
Everything seemed… normal.
There was no sign—none at all—of anything dangerous. Only the stiff corpse of a seabird lay motionless on the prow.
I stared at the dead bird.
It had once perched on the prow while alive... but how had it died?
Strangely enough, I had also stood near the prow before.
So why hadn't I been affected?
Why was I still alive?
Had I overlooked something?
I replayed the earlier tragedies in my head.
There was one thing both Typhis and Jason had done exactly the same:
Typhis gripped the prow to steady himself, so he wouldn't fall into the sea…
Jason clung to the prow, sobbing, as he begged the gods for mercy…
Could it be?
Yes—I knew it now.
They had both touched the prow.
But why would touching the prow alone cause death?
"All hands—return to your stations! We can't just sit around waiting to die. When the winds calm, we sail forward!" Achilles barked out a command.
The moment I heard that, I quickly covered my ears.
I couldn't let myself fall under the influence of Achilles' persuasive voice again. Not now—not when I was so close to the truth.
Everything—the answers to Typhis and Jason's deaths—they were all right here. At the prow of the Argo.
Yes… there is only one thing in this world that can twist the fate of mortals so violently—from life to death in a single moment.
And it was right here, at the prow.
I found it. The cause of all this chaos.
Lachesis's Threading Needle—was at the prow of the Argo.