"Cough! Cough!… haaaa…"James doubled over, blood splattering the deck like spilled paint.
"God damn it, mate—are you sure you're okay?" Cedric rushed over, helping him sit upright.
"Cough! Yeah… hu… hu… I'm fine now. It's just… that seal took too much out of me." James steadied his breathing, each inhale raspy and slow.
Though he didn't want to say it out write but that one seal had taken over five years of his life, there is no power that comes without a price.
"By the way," he said after a pause, eyes flicking toward Cedric, "who are you? Why did you help me?"
Cedric chuckled, turning away with exaggerated flair. "Knew you were going to ask that sooner or later."Grabbing a rope, he swung himself up then across the ship, snatching a sailor's hat midair and landing by the rails with a grin. "I," he declared, spreading his arms wide, "am Cedric—Son of the Sea!"
James blinked, unimpressed but oddly comforted. "Cough… did you have to do all that?"
Cedric laughed. "Of course I did. Gotta make an entrance—"
BANG!
The ship lurched violently to one side creaking loudly.
"We've been hit" One of the man declared.
Cedric lost his footing.
"Captain!" the sailors cried as he tumbled over the railing and vanished into the dark water below.
"Captain! Captain!" they shouted, rushing to the edge——but there was no trace of him. Only rain, wind, and waves.
"Damn it, that fool," James muttered, forcing himself up from where he sat."Ouch!" he winced, but pushed on, limping toward the railing.
Before he could reach it—
splash!Water exploded upward from the far side of the ship, and there came Cedric, dripping wet and sputtering, looking like a rooster left out in the rain.
"Hu…" James exhaled sharply, half in disbelief, half in relief.
"Ohh, I'm back, I guess," Cedric said, patting himself down and inspecting his drenched clothes.
He turned to the sea, shaking a fist at the waves. "You damn Sea! What have I ever done to you?"
As if in answer, a massive surge of water splashed over the railing, drenching him all over again.
"Why—you… huhhh… never mind," Cedric sighed, dripping from head to toe. He straightened, brushing himself off with a grin. "All hands on deck, boys! There are island turtles moving beneath us as we speak!"
"What? Island turtles? They exist?" James said, eyes widening as he hurried to the ship's edge.
The sea stretched vast and dark before him, the water an endless blue-black mirror. He squinted, straining his eyes against the rolling fog—Then he saw it.
A colossal shadow, shifting far below the surface.Slow. Illuminating slightly.
"Move away from there!" Cedric shouted, twisting the rudder sharply.The ship veered just in time—WHOOSH!—as a violent surge of water exploded where they'd been a second earlier.
From the churning sea, a massive rock began to rise…No, not a rock.
"Hohoho… it's a big one this time," Cedric muttered, eyes wide.
The "rock" shimmered with veins of blue and orange light that pulsed across its surface. Then, at the far end, a giant head emerged—its skin a deep grey-green, its eyes glowing sky-blue, bright enough to rival moonlight itself. Two vast nostrils flared—large enough for a grown man to crawl through.
"Wow…" James whispered, stepping back, completely mesmerized.
The creature was enormous—ten times the size of their ship. As it shifted, the sea rippled violently, tossing their vessel backward like a toy. Its fins rose and fell, stirring waves that roared like thunder.
And upon its shell…a forest.
No—an island. Trees swayed in the salty wind, faint lights twinkling between their branches like distant stars. The shell shimmered faintly, reflecting the night sky itself.
"Brilliant, ain't they?" Cedric said, grinning wide. "Ha! There's no better life than a sailor's. It's moments like these that remind you the world's still got a bit of magic left."
"Yeah…" James breathed, unable to look away. His voice was small, full of awe.
"Alright, boys!" Cedric called. "Let's move before the big fella gets curious."
The crew scrambled, adjusting the sails and turning the ship with urgent precision. The wind caught, propelling them forward faster, away from the towering creature.
"Oh, would somebody please sing me a shanty!" Cedric bellowed, his voice full of exhilaration.
"Grrrrrrrryyyyynnn—"
The creature's call rolled across the sea, deep and resonant. The sound carried vibrations that rang like a thousand bells, yet heavy—like a horn blown by some ancient god beneath the waves.
"Ha… ouch!" James flinched, feeling a sudden heat bloom against his chest. He reached into his inner pocket and pulled out the shell Ocean had given him.
It glowed—bright, shifting blue—and the patterns carved along its surface began to move, forming miniature mountains that mirrored the creature's shell.
Da… dadadum… da… dadadum…
James could hear his heartbeat—slow, powerful, drowning everything else out.The roar of the sea faded. The rain softened, disappearing into silence. Even the scent of salt began to dissolve from the air.
One by one, his senses vanished.And just before darkness claimed him, he saw the sigils on his hand ignite—shifting, glowing with the same blue light that shimmered along the turtle's back.
Bang!
He collapsed, striking the deck headfirst.
Then—white.
A vast, endless light surrounded him. It was neither warm nor cold—just… there.
"Son of the stars," a voice echoed through the emptiness, rich and familiar. "We meet again."
James turned toward the sound, heart pounding."Ocean… is that you?" he whispered.
"Hahaha, how did you know it was me?" Her voice was filled with a childlike wonder, playful and bright.
"Well, who else could it be? You're the one who gave me the shell," James said, standing up.
With each step he took, something stirred beneath him — stone pedestals rose from the void, their surfaces rough a spiraling carving of turtles where on them.
"Hahaha, I suppose that's true. Oh my… how much you've suffered," she said, her tone shifting — the laughter fading into pity, like the tide retreating into silence.
"Ha… I see," she murmured. "You're lost, aren't you?"
Ocean's voice echoed softly through the white emptiness. "And yet… aren't we all?"