The morning sun spilled over Tidecross Isle, casting golden streaks across the open water. Waves lapped against Luna Arashi's small skiff as she rowed out past the familiar reefs and jagged stones of her island's coast. Today was the day she'd finally return to the Elysium Wreck, an ancient vessel submerged in the deeper waters to the east. She'd spent weeks preparing for this dive—gathering maps, studying currents, and timing the tides perfectly.
Luna took a deep breath, her heartbeat already racing in anticipation. She had never ventured this far alone. The Elysium was rumored to hold treasures, strange artifacts, and mysteries even Tidecross's oldest storytellers couldn't unravel. But it was also rumored to be haunted. Many had tried to reach it before, but none had returned with more than old superstitions and shattered equipment.
As Luna secured her breathing gear—a handmade device pieced together from various scavenged parts—she thought about her father, the one person who would have shared her excitement. He'd been a scavenger too, until he vanished on a dive almost three years ago. Since then, it had been just her and her dreams of venturing into the deep like he once did.
"Time to find out if those stories are true," she whispered, securing her small satchel, where her tools and maps were carefully stored.
With a deep breath, she plunged into the water. Immediately, the world shifted to the quiet hum of the ocean, the sun's rays dancing around her like ribbons as she descended. Her eyes adjusted to the dim, green-blue light of the ocean depths. Seaweed brushed against her, and schools of fish darted past in flashes of silver and sapphire. She steeled herself, following the map in her head, feeling the pull of something ancient and powerful.
After a few minutes of navigating the rocky undersea terrain, she saw it—the Elysium Wreck. Its outline was shadowed and ghostly, partially swallowed by the sand. The ship seemed almost alive, its wooden hull covered in coral and sea creatures that glowed faintly in the dim light.
Luna swam forward, heart pounding. She took out her small knife and pried open a cracked window, slipping into the dark corridor within. Once inside, she noticed a faint light at the far end of the wreck.
"What…is that?" she murmured, her voice muffled by the water.
As she approached, the light grew brighter, casting ethereal shapes on the walls around her. The source was a small, jagged shard that glimmered with an otherworldly glow. It was embedded in the heart of the ship's wooden beams, surrounded by delicate coral. Luna felt a powerful urge to touch it.
The moment her fingers brushed the shard, a strange warmth surged through her veins. The darkness around her seemed to ripple, almost as if it was… alive. She gasped as the shard seemed to recognize her, pulsing with a faint light. Her vision blurred, and images flashed through her mind—stars, ancient ruins, an island she had never seen.
Then, just as quickly as it had started, the vision faded. Luna's hand trembled as she held the shard, pulling it from the beam. As she did, a deep groan echoed through the wreck. The ship shifted beneath her, dislodging sand and rocks.
"No… no, no, no!" she muttered, gripping the shard tightly. She spun around, kicking off the wall, trying to escape the collapsing wreck.
Just as she reached the exit, a figure loomed outside the shattered window—a Tidehold diver, clad in dark armor marked with the navy's insignia. The figure locked eyes with her, a predatory gleam flashing in their eyes. Luna's heart pounded. She recognized the look of a Vessel Guardian—a Tidehold warrior sent to retrieve valuable artifacts for the organization.
Without a second thought, she pushed off the wall, kicking past the diver with all her strength. The Tidehold soldier reached out, but she slipped through his grasp, swimming upward with everything she had. The wreck crumbled behind her, sending up clouds of sand and debris that obscured the diver from view.
Luna burst to the surface, gasping for air, the shard still clutched in her hand. She could hear splashes behind her as the Vessel Guardian broke through the waves, and the sound of another boat—a Tidehold patrol—closing in fast. Panic gripped her, but she forced herself to focus. She couldn't let them take the shard, not when she'd come this far.
Luna scrambled into her skiff, grabbing the oars and rowing with all her might. The patrol boat was closing in, its black sails catching the wind like ominous wings. Her arms burned, but she forced herself to keep rowing, glancing back to see the Tidehold diver clambering onto their boat.
Just as the patrol boat drew close enough that she could see the scowling faces of the soldiers, the shard in her hand pulsed again. She felt a surge of strength ripple through her, as if the stars themselves were guiding her.
She gritted her teeth, pushing forward. Just as the patrol boat was within striking range, a massive wave rose up from nowhere, crashing between her skiff and the Tidehold soldiers. They shouted, scrambling to stay upright, and Luna seized the moment, rowing with all her might until the Tidecross shores appeared in the distance.
Finally, she pulled up along the rocky shore, her whole body trembling from the effort. She slumped forward, clutching the shard to her chest, feeling its warmth radiating against her skin.
Breathless, she whispered to herself, "Whatever you are… you're worth it."
But Luna knew that this was only the beginning. The Tidehold wouldn't stop until they had the shard—and maybe her, too. If she wanted answers, if she wanted freedom, she had no choice but to find out what this shard meant and what other secrets lay hidden beneath the waves.
A spark of excitement lit up her tired eyes. She'd find the answers she sought. She would outwit the Tidehold, piece together the Celestial Compass, and carve her own path across the ocean. After all, she was Luna Arashi, and she had never been one to turn away from a challenge.
Gripping the shard, she took one last look at the ocean, already feeling the call of adventure stirring in her heart.