'Ah sweet Avisa, the mother of seas, here we go again!'
This is what Atlus would have thought if it were any other day. But today he took the deepest breath of his 15-year-old life while standing on the front deck of his rotting wooden ship. He had been stranded in the sea long enough for the sea breeze to feel more familiar than the little skin and muscles on his thin, skeleton-like body.
'The wind feels different,' he thought as a chilly feeling entered his nostrils, making his body shiver slightly.
The sun was high in the sky. So, the sea was sparkling brightly just like his eyes that reflected the boundless blue.
There was something at the end of the horizon that he had never seen but imagined a million times. He rubbed his eyes for the third time and looked through the brass telescope. It was a thin blurry strip on top of the limitless sea. What were the chances of it being an island?
"It's a big island! It's also fine if it's a humongous whale with the lost city inside its belly."
Atlus jumped in joy and ran towards the helm, which was at the opposite end of the ship. He highfived the biggest wooden mast and luckily, the old rotten friend stood tall to support the ship and him another day.
The mast was etched with thin lines, and the wooden floor around it was too. The pattern of the marks was four straight lines beneath a fifth diagonal line. Number of these tally marks was absurd that they looked like an initial wood carving design in a fancy ship.
Atlus stopped for a second to look at the mast. He was tempted to count all the lines to figure out the exact day of him being lost at sea. Just this morning, he had carved a new line on the floor with a knife.
'It was 3,443 plus 7 the last time I counted. Don't think about it, don't think about it. How can I think about the past when the future's right in front of my eyes? Just check the course, adjust the helm carefully. It's finally time to put the grand plan in action.'
It was clear after the encounter with the Thorn Pirates last night that an island was near. But despite knowing this, he felt a sting in his chest. A sudden sharp pain that made him suck cold air.
He imagined his family and crewmates crumbling to hunger like ice cubes in the sun. Next was a clear image of his mother's round shaped face and moon-like smile. He remembered her body visibly thinning until the day his father told him she was now a ghost watching over them.
He was 6 years old, when his family and a few others had set out on the ship. But by 10, only he remained as the sole survivor; bound to sail on the Endsea for overlong.
'Am I really going to live?'
Atlus's eyes warmed up but his body didn't have any fluids to spare for the tears. The past years had lashed him with harsh lessons, but he never stopped dreaming of this day.
The day when he would finally escape from the never ending sea. He was sick of the waters to the point that he got used to it. With his hand he felt his heart hitting his chest again and again, as if it wanted to get out. All this time he held on to the hunger to be anywhere but in the middle of the ocean going nowhere.
'Now it's time to feast. This island will be my starting point to explore every corner of this world.'
After adjusting the helm, he entered the captain's cabin. It was a small, low-ceiling room packed with a bookshelf, a wide table, and a chair. He reached out to the map, which was laid out all over the table.
He quickly folded it and put it inside a wooden box which was shaped like a mini treasure chest. Then he turned his attention to the bookshelf, which was full of leather covered books, small books, torn books or notebooks. The variety was abundant, but they shared one thing in common.
Every book was Atlus's friend. Except one. That one was more like a best friend. He pulled it out of the shelf, kissed it, and carefully placed it inside the box. It was a storybook titled, "Grand Evil Sea Explorer".
'Thank you for keeping my dreams alive!'
Then he pulled out another book from the shelf. It was a normal diary from the front side. But the words "Don't Panic" written on its back cover. While opening the book, a folded paper almost slipped between the pages. It was the map to Ruined Man's treasure.
He put the folded map inside and opened the last page of the diary which had a handwritten checklist, made by him with the help of his late mentor.
The first point said.
[Abandon ship: Do not let anyone spot you on the ship, especially the military. The once great Flint Kingdom will be devoured by the Keepers along with every neighboring land. A terrible fate, the shadow of death hovers over you if you make yourself known as the sole survivor of a ship that's meant to be lost for eternity.]
To keep his secret as the survivor, he had left the three Thron Pirates on their sinking ship.
In the present, he quickly finished the rest of the preparations. He had tied a rope around his waist and connected it with the treasure chest. Additionally, he was now dressed in the captain's long coat and was wearing a hat. Underneath, he had stuffed other clothes to disguise his body to look big and muscular.
'Jack said I should never let the military catch me on this ship. He wanted me to hide in a small village if I ever found land. But how can my mind live freely if I choose to avoid a predicament by fostering weakness? I will gather power while testing the military's strength.'
He took out the diary from under his clothes and added.
[Mislead The Military Scums: The best way to avoid getting caught is to mislead the investigation. Hop in a disguise and allow some fool (preferably multiple fools) to spot you before escaping right under their horrid noses.]
The ship was lost in the sea for too long. It wouldn't be possible for it to keep sailing if Atlus didn't do minor repairs. He was 9 years too late to hide all the evidence of his presence on the ship. But with his plan, he could make the military think the survivor was a big and bulky adult.
The land was getting bigger and bigger as the ship approached it. He was holding a knife in one hand and a fish in another.
'Goodbye to fish eating days.' He had developed an aversion even though the fish he held on his hand was a slim slick tuna unlike the ugly deep-water fish he caught by diving.
He tossed the fish in the air. His disguise of a hefty man put some burden on his movements. But it didn't stop his knife from moving crazy like a rattlesnake as it sliced the fish's skin in midair.
The red meat of the fish was about to hit the floor when Atlus's mouth moved like a dog to catch it. He chewed it with the teeth that he had sharpened himself by scrubbing them with a knife.
"I will be the strongest, you will shiver on the sound of my name, the seas will bow, the tides will turn, the string pulled, it's quivering, I am an arrow, you wish to not be my target." Atlus recited a dialogue from his favorite novel. His sharp teeth shined brightly when he smiled.
His body heated from the excitement and the heavy clothing. He paced around the deck, and it looked like he was bouncing. The landmass was stretching more and more in his eyes. He pulled up the telescope to look at the island.
. . .
The island wasn't a plain piece of land. It was elevated and uneven. Some part of it was filled with green trees that were the playing ground of squirrels, wild bushes growing berries, and slanting fields that children used to roll down. The adults were going about their daily lives in elegant brick buildings and carefully planned roads.
Today was a bright, clear blue-sky Sunday. Perfect for a lazy retreat, but Arden Finch was dressed in his military uniform, a black and blue suit with embroidered sleeves and shoulders. He was nearing his 40s, but his face shined as if it had a lot of youth left.
Despite the skin soothing weather, he wasn't in his best mood. He scolded her daughter for being childish this morning and couldn't make up for it by spending the day with her. His accountability and responsibility were too much for him to take a break during weekends.
He got out of the horse carriage and headed inside the building in front of him. It was a military station that was built on top of a cliff. The roof served as a mini outpost on this side of the island.
"Captain," a guard named Terry greeted Arden. He offered a worn poster made of a parchment that had a painting of a ship.
"Any movements on the ship?" Arden accepted the poster and inspected it thoroughly. Brightmoon, one of the 20 identical ships that were made 9 years ago. It was among the torches of the kingdom that failed to shine any light. Even he only knew bits and pieces because the Frey empire heavily suppressed the news about them.
"The ship is still far away." Terry said while looking through the telescope. He adjusted the lens, but still the ship was too small in his vision to make out finer details.
Arden raised his head to look in the ship's direction. It was as small as a dot in the sea. He frowned; slowly his pupils widened. In his vision, the ship's size dramatically increased from a dot to a miniature model as his eyes changed color from brown to yellow.
With naked eyes, he could see a figure standing on the deck of the ship. The person's face wasn't clear, but they seemed to be wearing a hat. Suddenly, a light flashed for a second on that person's face.
"Prepare a boat to secure the ship." Arden jumped over the balcony. His clothes flapped as he tore through the wind like a bird.
. . .
In the ship, Atlus was holding the metal telescope and scanning the island's tiny buildings. He was trying to locate the person, anyone who could be looking at him. Suddenly, something shined for a second like a mirror in the sun. He immediately focused on that direction.
"Someone is looking at me with a telescope. Hehe. But I am still far away. If I could get a little closer that would be perfect."
He kept looking in the direction. Soon, he saw a little dot that was getting bigger. It appeared to be a head full of hair. Eventually, he could see a fully sized man dressed in a military uniform.
The uniform looked somewhat familiar. He had read about the exact dress in various history books. It was the Flint Kingdom's, his homeland's navy uniform. But as far as he knew, heard, or read, humans couldn't fly! And now this monster of a man was gliding towards him when his new life depended on not getting caught.
"Ah sweet Avisa, the mother of seas, what the hell happened to the world while I was gone!"