When I opened my eyes, the dim light of the hut greeted me, flickering faintly against the rough wooden walls. My body felt foreign, as though it didn't belong to me anymore. Pain shot through every limb when I tried to move, a searing reminder of the hellish depths I had barely escaped.
"You're awake," a gravelly voice cut through the silence, drawing my attention to the figure sitting by the door.
He was a lizardman, his scaly green skin shimmering faintly in the firelight. A pair of sharp amber eyes locked onto mine, scrutinizing me as if weighing whether I was worth saving or not.
"Where…" I tried to speak, but my throat was dry, my voice a raspy whisper.
He handed me a crude cup filled with water, his clawed hand steady despite his rough exterior. I gulped it down greedily, the cool liquid soothing the dryness in my throat.
"Where am I?" I croaked out again.
"You're in the settlement of the Marked," he said simply, leaning back against the wall with a sigh. "The place where those cursed by the Sea of the Forbidden Poles end up. Consider yourself lucky—or unlucky, depending on how you see it."
"The Marked?" The term made my stomach churn.
He nodded slowly, his expression grim. "Those who enter the sea's domain and live are branded. The deep doesn't forget, and it doesn't forgive. From now on, you'll be hunted by its creatures until either they kill you or you're too strong for them to dare."
I clenched my fists, his words igniting a spark of frustration within me. I hadn't asked to be branded or cursed. All I'd wanted was to escape the gods and their wrath. Instead, I had traded one nightmare for another.
"Why?" I asked through gritted teeth. "What is the sea protecting?"
The lizardman tilted his head, his gaze distant. "No one knows for sure. Some say it's guarding an artifact of immense power, something the gods fear. Others think it's a cursed realm, a prison for something far worse than anything on the surface. Whatever the reason, trespassers are not welcome."
His answer left me with more questions than it resolved, but it was clear this wasn't a mystery that could be solved easily. For now, I needed to focus on surviving.
The lizardman stood, his long tail swaying as he made his way to the door. "Rest for now. You'll need your strength if you want to live. This place doesn't tolerate weakness."
He left me alone in the small hut, the weight of his words settling over me like a suffocating blanket. My body screamed for rest, but my mind raced, replaying everything I had endured. The deep, the beasts, the shadow of that massive shark-like creature that had loomed over me before I blacked out.
And now, I was here, stranded in a place I didn't understand, surrounded by people I didn't know if I could trust.
A few days passed before I was strong enough to leave the hut. The settlement was a grim sight, cobbled together from wreckage and driftwood, with little organization or structure. The people here were as varied as the debris—humans, lizardmen, and a few other races I couldn't even name.
The lizardman, who I learned was called Ka'ruk, stayed by my side as I explored. "This settlement is a sanctuary for the damned," he explained as we walked. "Most who end up here were treasure hunters or thrill-seekers who thought they could outsmart the sea. They found out the hard way that no one escapes its wrath."
We passed a group of ragged individuals dragging the carcass of some aquatic beast into the center of the settlement. Its body was massive, with razor-sharp fins and glowing blue eyes that still seemed to flicker faintly even in death.
"That's how we survive here," Ka'ruk said, nodding toward the group. "The creatures of the deep are both our greatest threat and our only resource. Their bones, scales, and organs are valuable to certain buyers. We hunt them, harvest what we can, and trade with those brave—or foolish—enough to approach the edges of the Forbidden Poles."
My stomach churned at the sight of the beast's blood staining the ground. "What about leaving? Surely someone has escaped?"
Ka'ruk's face darkened. "The sea doesn't just let you walk away. The Marked are cursed to be hunted until the deep claims them. Even if you made it to the mainland, the beasts would follow you. They would destroy everything in their path just to get to you."
His words sent a shiver down my spine. I had hoped to find a way to the mainland, to regain my strength and eventually challenge the gods. But if what Ka'ruk said was true, I might never see the larger world.
As we continued walking, a new figure caught my eye—a human standing by a makeshift forge, hammering away at a piece of metal. My breath hitched.
It was the first human I had seen since arriving in this world.
I quickened my pace, ignoring the pain still lingering in my limbs. "Who is that?"
Ka'ruk glanced at the human and shrugged. "One of the scavengers. He's been here longer than most. Quiet, keeps to himself. Not many humans last long here."
I approached cautiously, my heart racing. The human looked older, his face lined with scars and weariness. There was a hardness in his eyes that spoke of countless battles fought and lost.
"Excuse me," I said hesitantly.
He glanced at me, his expression unreadable. "What do you want?"
"Where are you from?" I asked, hope flickering in my chest. "Are you... from another world?"
The man frowned, his grip tightening on the hammer. "Another world? No. I'm from the mainland, same as most of the fools who end up here. What does it matter?"
My heart sank. I had hoped—desperately—that he might be someone from my homeworld, someone who could offer answers or guidance. But his response dashed that hope.
"Don't bother clinging to hope," the man said, his tone bitter. "This place doesn't care about your past or your dreams. You're here now, and that's all that matters. If you're smart, you'll focus on surviving instead of chasing fantasies."
He turned back to his work, dismissing me with a wave of his hand.
I stood there for a moment, the weight of his words pressing down on me. I had clung to the idea that someone from my world might be here, that I wasn't truly alone. But now, it seemed that hope was nothing more than a cruel illusion.
Ka'ruk placed a clawed hand on my shoulder, his gaze serious. "Don't let it break you. This place has a way of crushing those who cling too tightly to the past. If you want to survive, you need to let go and focus on what's in front of you."
I nodded slowly, though the ache in my chest remained.
Over the next few weeks, I began to adapt to life in the settlement. I trained alongside the others, learning how to fight the creatures of the deep and harvest their resources. It was brutal work, but it kept me alive.
The human, despite his initial coldness, eventually warmed up to me. His name was Dren, and though he wasn't from my world, he became an unlikely mentor. He taught me how to craft weapons from the bones of the beasts we hunted and how to navigate the treacherous waters around the settlement.
But even as I grew stronger, the question of the sea's secrets lingered in my mind. What was it protecting? The home of the Ixorym? Or something else entirely? And what had marked me?
The answers wouldn't come easily, but one thing was clear: I wasn't ready to give up. The gods had taken everything from me, but I would find a way to rise again.
Even if it meant fighting the deep itself.