chapter 3
Spear
Drip"…drops?"
Drip"My headache… is it gone?"
Drip"Great! Now the question is—why can't I see anything?"
Drip«Who are you?»
Drip"What?"
—So… so beautiful—muttered the young man as he opened his eyes.
The place looked like a crystal-clear lake beneath a starry sky, overflowing with countless stars, a deep midnight blue shimmering between them.
"Where could I be?" he murmured.
< Don't get distracted by what doesn't matter. You're going to see things you won't understand at first. Some you'll never understand. Don't try to give them shape. Just keep moving forward. And if something happens… keep a cool head. It's the only thing you've got out there. >
The young man exhaled with a faint smile."Thanks, Pa. Your words really help." —He rested one hand on his hip while lifting his head to take in the sky.
"I guess this is normal…" he murmured, feeling a tremor run through his hand.
He raised both hands, comparing them, turning them over."Pa… I'm shaking. And I haven't even reached wherever I'm supposed to go."
He lowered his hands into his pants pockets."Now I'm alone," he murmured.
«I was.»
He spun around quickly, hopping on one foot to face the direction of the voice.And froze.
Far away—so far he could barely tell—it looked like… a figure.He squinted, trying to make it out, but the beautiful night sky now seemed more of a hindrance than a help.
Then he noticed something moving… approaching.Not from the sky—from the ground. No… not ground. From the surface.It looked like a swell, a strange ripple.He could just make it out at this distance.
And then—he realized.The swell was starting to swallow the figure. Rising… no, growing.
It was getting closer.It was growing taller.A wall of water.
His gaze snapped downward.His mouth opened in shock. Before, he hadn't noticed because of the sky… then because of the figure.But the ground—was water. Meters and meters deep. Maybe kilometers. Which meant… that wall would be enormous.
He bolted to run—but at the last second, swerved sharply, nearly toppling from the sudden change of direction.Stumbling, he caught his balance and broke into another sprint—this time toward the growing swell.
"If it keeps growing, I won't escape—if it gets taller, it's even worse!" he repeated desperately, pushing his legs faster.
As he ran, he tilted his head back, mouth open, watching it rise. His mouth opened wider and wider—until it couldn't anymore. Then only his head kept lifting… until his neck could go no further.
He dropped his head again, mouth shut, eyes fixed on the water beneath his feet—his only reference for its size—until the wave's shadow fell over him. After that, he had no idea how big it was.
He swallowed hard, fear twisting his expression.Still, he kept running toward the base of the wall.
"Ha-ha…" a nervous—very nervous—laugh escaped him."Will I survive? Sure… right?""In the first place, I don't even know where I am!"
< But when you get to land, go see a doctor. It's not normal to faint just from dizziness. >
The color drained from his face."What if I'm already dead?!"
"An unknown place… a mysterious figure… an impossible wave…" —he inhaled— "It can't be… I'm dead!"
"It can't be! It's only been a day since I left that makeshift port!"
The wave—no, the wall—was closing in.He clenched his teeth, screamed at the top of his lungs, shut his eyes, jaw locked, and… dove headfirst.Hands together like a spear tip above his head, arms extended.
Pof…
The next thing he felt was… calm?
The water was still. Strangely still.Neither cold nor warm—but dense, almost heavy against his skin.
He raised his hands, checking his body for wounds—nothing.Confused.Relieved, yet disappointed.He exhaled through his nose. In the end… just a terrible scare.
"That figure… nowhere to be seen?" he thought, twisting in all directions."Was that swell its doing, or…?"
Suddenly, he grabbed his throat with one hand, clamping his mouth shut with the other.He couldn't breathe.
"Is this water… actually water?" The thought hit him—maybe it wasn't normal water at all.
Holding his mouth tight, trying not to breathe through his nose, he swam upward—but the lack of air was draining his strength.
He was drowning.
Consciousness began to slip."This feeling again…"His eyes half-closed… once, twice… again.Then shut.His arms gave out.His legs too.
…
His eyes shot open—he clutched his stomach, a sharp pain stabbing deep inside.He forced himself to endure the little air left in his lungs…
But he couldn't.The mix of suffocation and sudden pain made him… scream.
Not a single bubble left his mouth.
—
He woke with a gasp, bolting upright in bed.Air tore in and out in broken bursts, mixing with stabbing pain in his stomach… and a chilling cold.
Above him, a wooden ceiling with beams and metal plates wedged between them.Curious, he turned his head to the left—And froze, eyes wide, breath halted.
In the center of the room stood what looked like an improvised spear—made of coral—stuck into the floor at an angle, pointing toward the bed.
He tried to sit up fully, not quite believing it—But a cold gust from behind interrupted him.
He turned—and another shock.The room's only round window was shattered, as if something had smashed straight through.
Turning completely, he swung his legs over the bed and set his feet on the floor.Sitting there, he stared at the broken window, the wind brushing his face, with the occasional droplet of water slipping in.
He swallowed hard.His left hand went to his aching stomach.His gaze returned to the tilted spear.
"Could that thing have broken through the window… and hit me when it came in? Impossible… right?"