The sea welcomed me, as it always did, with its cool embrace, but tonight, there was a sharper edge to its touch. The saltwater stung my skin as I dove into the waves, the sounds of the world above growing distant, replaced by the muffled rhythm of the ocean. The Glow within me pulsed with an energy that seemed to dance with the currents, a silent companion that I both feared and cherished.
I had left the Nero. Nera's words still echoed in my mind, but the weight of them had already begun to lift. I was free, in a way that felt more profound than I had imagined. Yet, as the sea swallowed me whole, I could not escape the gnawing sensation that freedom was not as simple as I had hoped. There was something out there waiting for me, something hidden beneath the surface of my own fears and the quiet depths of the world around me.
The underwater world was both beautiful and eerie. Pale coral formations drifted past like ghostly statues, and strange, luminescent fish glowed faintly in the dark waters. I let the currents guide me, my senses sharpened by the Glow, my body moving with an ease that came naturally now. The farther I drifted from the Nero, the more I felt a strange mixture of peace and isolation. The shore was becoming a memory, the city I had left behind slipping further into the past.
I had no destination, no map—just the sea, endless and vast. But I knew, deep down, that I had to go somewhere, anywhere, just to break free of the life that had been set before me.
After hours of swimming, I noticed a dark shape looming ahead. It was hidden beneath the folds of a large cliffside, the shadow cast by jagged rocks and dense kelp. As I approached, the currents thickened, and an unnatural chill ran through the water. The Glow within me flared in response, a warning, though I couldn't tell if it was my power or my instincts speaking.
Curiosity pulled me forward.
The shadow resolved itself into a cave entrance, half-hidden by a screen of seaweed. The mouth of the cave beckoned like an open wound in the heart of the ocean. Something ancient stirred there, something that wasn't part of the natural world. As I swam inside, the air grew dense, and the quiet, oppressive darkness swallowed me whole. I had grown used to the silence of the sea, but this was different. This was a silence filled with secrets, an unease that crawled beneath my skin.
I anchored myself to a large stone in the center of the cave, my glowing veins casting a soft light around the space. As my eyes adjusted, I saw something that took me by surprise—wreckage, scattered across the floor of the cave. Broken pieces of a ship, old but not forgotten, lay strewn like the remnants of some ancient battle. The timbers were cracked and weathered, but the design was unmistakable: a pirate ship, once proud and menacing, now reduced to a forgotten wreck.
I approached cautiously, my breath shallow, my every sense alert. The closer I got, the more I could feel the history of this place, the weight of violence that lingered in the air. The ship's remnants were scattered with strange symbols—runic markings etched into the wood in long, looping curves that were unfamiliar to me, yet they carried a kind of chilling familiarity.
Then, I saw it: scraps of parchment, torn and yellowed with age, but still legible in the dim light of my Glow. They were scattered among the wreckage, as though discarded in haste. I reached down, carefully picking one up, my fingers tracing over the strange markings as I deciphered the text.
The words were foreign, but there was something about the language that stirred the air around me. The writing spoke of raids, of bloodshed, and of conquest. The crew had not simply plundered ships—they had taken more than that. They had taken lives, entire families, from races unknown to me. The violence described in these texts wasn't just brutal—it was systematic, deliberate. They spoke of annihilation, of entire civilizations wiped out for sport, for profit, for reasons I could not yet fathom.
As I read further, the horrors detailed in these accounts made my stomach twist. They didn't just kill—they savored it. The pirates, it seemed, had been engaged in a much darker mission than simple piracy. These were acts of cruelty that reached beyond any moral boundary I could comprehend.
The cave seemed to grow colder as I read on. My skin prickled, and the Glow within me flickered erratically, as if reacting to the darkness embedded in the words. My heart hammered in my chest. The world I thought I knew—the small, contained world of the Nero—suddenly felt much larger, much darker, than I had ever imagined. The Neros were peaceful people, and we had always kept to ourselves, believing that the sea would protect us from the outside world. But now, I realized how naïve that belief had been.
The world beyond was not just unknown—it was filled with predators.
I dropped the page, my fingers trembling as I pushed myself away from the wreckage. The cave felt suffocating now, its silence louder than the roar of the sea above. What had I stumbled upon? What was this place, and who were these pirates, these monsters who had left their mark on the ocean?
I knew then that I couldn't ignore the questions any longer. The Glow had always set me apart, but it wasn't just my power that separated me from the rest of the Neros—it was the pull of something greater, something darker that had been simmering beneath the surface of the world for longer than I had realized.
The pirates' journals spoke of alliances, of other races, of forces that stretched across the oceans, hidden in plain sight. I wasn't just a child of the sea. The sea was only a small part of something much bigger, something that I had no comprehension of, and yet it seemed to have been drawing me toward it all along.
I turned back toward the cave's entrance, the world beyond calling to me, and as I swam into the deeper waters, a weight settled in my chest. The Glow thrummed within me, more urgently than before, as though it too sensed the looming darkness. The path ahead had just become far more dangerous than I had ever anticipated.
And now, I knew one thing for certain: my journey had only just begun.
The world was not small, and I was no longer sure if I was ready for it.
I swam deeper into the cave, the cold water tugging at me as I passed the wreckage of the pirate ship. My heart thudded in my chest, louder than the ocean's rhythmic crash against the shore. The Glow surged within me, amplifying the rising tension that thrummed through the cave like a warning bell. The walls, covered in strange markings, seemed to close in around me, pressing me further into the unknown.
I could still hear the crackling of the parchment in my hands, the weight of the words still hanging in the water. The sense of danger wasn't just in the pirate ship or the gruesome texts—it was in the very pulse of the sea around me. The sea that had once been my home, my sanctuary, felt foreign now, as if something had shifted within its depths.
I surfaced with a sharp breath, my chest heaving. The cave's ceiling was low, the air thick and damp. The glow of my veins illuminated the walls, casting long, eerie shadows that seemed to stretch into infinity. As I steadied myself, I noticed something else—other scraps of paper, smaller fragments floating in the water, drifting towards a dark alcove. With a feeling of dread settling in my gut, I reached for them.
Each piece I touched was marked with the same disturbing language, the same cruel and bloodstained accounts. But now, the writings were more specific. They spoke of a power—a force that could shape the very tides of war. The pirates weren't just scavengers. They had been part of something much larger, something even more dangerous than the violence they left behind. They spoke of a coming war between races, an ancient conflict that had been stoked by the discovery of a weapon—one that could control the Glow itself.
My hand trembled as I read further, the words scraping against my soul. I could feel the power they spoke of, the same power that thrummed through me, tied to the moon and the sea. It wasn't just my gift—it was a symbol, a key to something far older, far darker than I had imagined. Something the pirates had been searching for.
I dropped the parchment, letting it float away, as if releasing it would somehow ease the weight pressing against my chest. The air in the cave felt suffocating, the silence deafening in its intensity. I turned back toward the entrance, my thoughts racing.
I could feel the tension shifting again, like a predator closing in on its prey. A sound—soft, but unmistakable—broke the stillness. The rhythmic beat of a heart. But it wasn't mine. The pulse was slower, deeper, more deliberate.
I froze, my heart leaping into my throat.
A shape emerged from the darkness ahead. At first, it was only a blur, but as it approached, I made out the long, sinewy form of a figure cloaked in shadows. It was humanoid, but not entirely. Its skin shimmered faintly in the dim light, covered in scales that glinted with iridescent hues. I could feel its presence, sharp and unsettling. A creature of the deep, as ancient as the ocean itself.
I didn't move. I couldn't. I wasn't sure what this thing wanted, or if it had even noticed me. Its eyes—glowing faintly like the light of a distant star—seemed to pierce through the darkness, fixing on me with unnerving precision.
I took a breath, steadying my pulse. The Glow within me stirred again, more urgently now, responding to this new presence. I felt a strange, magnetic pull between us, a link between my power and whatever this being was. But unlike the calm currents of the sea, this force felt volatile, like it was teetering on the edge of something that could destroy me if I wasn't careful.
"You are far from home," a voice echoed through the cave, low and reverberating like the hum of the earth itself. It wasn't spoken with words—it was felt, deep in my bones, as if the sound were coming from within me.
I swallowed hard, trying to steady my breathing. "Who are you?"
The creature didn't answer directly. Instead, it circled me, moving with an unsettling grace. Its body twisted in and out of the shadows, and I realized it was inspecting me, studying me like a puzzle it couldn't quite solve.
"Rami," it said, its voice both a whisper and a roar. "The one who bears the Glow. The one who walks between worlds."
I stiffened, my mind spinning. How did it know my name? How did it know about the Glow?
"What do you want?" I asked, forcing my voice to stay steady, though it trembled in spite of me.
It stopped moving, its eyes narrowing. "You have awakened something that should have stayed buried. The sea has been disturbed, and now the currents will shift. War is coming, Rami, and you are at its center."
My blood ran cold. War? I wasn't prepared for that. I wasn't prepared for any of this. But the more I stood there, the more I understood that it was too late to turn back. Whatever I had uncovered—whatever the pirates had been chasing—it had already begun.
The creature's gaze softened, just for a moment. "You are not yet ready. But you will be. The world is not as small as you think."
Before I could respond, it turned and vanished into the darkness, leaving me standing in the cave, the water swirling gently around my feet.
The weight of its words pressed down on me like a heavy stone. I had set out seeking answers. Now I had more questions than ever.
The world wasn't small.
And I had only begun to understand how vast—and dangerous—it truly was.