The environment is dim and gloomy, as if a heavy rain is about to fall from the cloud-like mass of black smoke.
Below a wide sea, strong waves dance between a small island and a larger one, crashing against the gigantic logs lined up in the middle of the water, stacked from the edge of a high rocky shore to the other side of that small island.
On the other side of the rough part of the large rocks is a flat area of a small beach with white sands. The large array of wood seems like logs buried in the middle of the sea, with only the tips remaining above the surface. It is old and covered with barnacles all over its body, which, if estimated, is not just years old; the arrangement is contradictory.
In the middle, there is a circular stack of posts, one more inside, and another piece of wood at the very center. The distance between them could be about 20 meters, enough for a large ferry to pass between each one.
Under the deep sea, a figure can be seen, naked. It seems to be swimming, but it is not just a large one, as the movements it exhibits are not merely flailing but playing underneath with an unusual speed that surpasses the high comprehension of imagination.
Many pieces of shells burst in an instant, floating on the other side of the wood in just a few seconds. One by one, it poked them using only its two fingers in a very quick manner. Not yet finished, it followed up with those behind it in the same position. In less than a minute, it was done without any sign of fatigue in its body, even while under the dark water. At this moment, it paused while facing a gigantic tree, watching the pieces that slowly fell like powder to the bottom of the water.
However, a presence immediately alerted it, coming from behind. A quick turn and twist revealed the truth behind it: a gigantic shark was quietly watching it, lunging and biting at it. Its sharp and large teeth were bigger than its hands; it managed to hold it off, but it was not easy.
A strong force was unleashed, straining and stretching the flesh and veins in its arms, the row of teeth like a piranha above and below. With the strength and force of that gigantic shark, it backed away against the side of a large piece of wood, like a monoblock being pushed. One after another, it collided. Unexpectedly, its hand that was gripping the shark's lower jaw slipped away.
To avoid being completely bitten in the end, it used its unusual speed. In an instant, it vanished like smoke before it could be pierced alive. The shark's face collided with the rough wood that seemed impervious to the salt of the sea after being soaked for so long. Its entire mouthful of teeth sank in effortlessly, but it was not easy to free itself from that tough wood.
"A gigantic shark," said the man, his eyes wide as he saw it for the first time, unable to believe it. "He's so big," he added while watching from above the gigantic shark that was struggling to free itself. "I've never seen a shark this large before," the bottom fell silent for a moment. "Wait…," he suddenly sighed underwater, a cluster of bubbles escaping from his mouth, rising up. "This is a… Megondagua. But.....,that's impossible; this creature has been extinct for over three million years."
However, a second before he could look away, a creature quickly rushed and attacked him from behind, resulting in an injury. Another shark, but much larger compared to the first one, a white-tiger shark that managed to bite him on the arm and the side of the chest. And then it carried him like a victimized fish, its fangs sank simultaneously into his chest and arm and shook him as if it were starving, but it didn't last long.
While in the midst of suffering, without hesitation, he placed his right arm on the shark's hard snout, a white substance enveloped his body and boiled the water surrounding him. He held his breath intensely, a small bolt of white electricity appeared in his hand, and then a strong force followed that tore apart the entire body of the shark. Its blood and flesh mixed underwater.
A shark immediately veered away from the back a second after the incident. That other white lion shark was mercilessly swallowed whole by an even larger shark in just a moment. But it seemed that the shark was not yet satisfied after eating its own kind. The man will be next for his extra lunch. He quickly charged towards him, but it didn't happen.
He immediately unleashed an ability, a sonic fission wave emanating from his eyes that covered the entire underwater area. Before long, the massive shark in front of him swam away as if nothing had happened. He didn't stay long underwater, holding the wound on his stomach, he quickly swam upwards. That speed was enough for him to reach the top of that giant tree.
The sea is calm now, but its small waves still slap against the trunk of the tree. It remained dark even though the light of the sun was slowly beginning to peek through the dark clouds. The pain from the wounds he sustained from the shark was evident, a fang he had carefully removed from his thick chest, but it wasn't a big deal for him even though, in reality, ten puncture wounds were stacked on his skin. Meanwhile, the man didn't do anything; his wounds on his body just healed gradually. He's fine now, he continued his training on top of those trees. He released a burst of speed again as he moved from top to top of each log stacked in a circular formation.
*******
"I told you, there are a lot of salmon in this spot", said a man wearing a colorful polo shirt with floral prints. His hair was messy even though it was tied in a ponytail at the back of his head. A pair of glasses hung above his thick eyebrows. "I'm sure we'll have a great feast today", he added while waiting for the bite on his fishing rod.
A woman was talking to him at that moment, wearing nothing but a pink bra and a wrap over her bikini bottom even though there was no sunlight pouring down. They were having a great time while fishing a bit far from the wide shore and a few nearby islands. They continued on, unfazed by the strong waves crashing against their fancy yacht, which seemed to have a luxurious feel, surely one of them was the owner and wealthy there.
"You're right, Saedan, there really are a lot", replied the beautiful woman, gripping her fishing rod. A joyful smile dominated her face as splashes of saltwater hit her face and healthy chest.
"Guys, that's enough, you've caught plenty already", a woman spoke while enjoying herself with another man who had a somewhat handsome face. She was also wearing a bra and a wrap, lying on a peculiar chair, holding a bottle tightly in her small hand, and with every wave that hit the yacht, she would giggle. "That's more than enough for a meal and snacks".
"This isn't enough, you know this one is greedy for snacks", an older man spoke, also gripping his fishing rod. "We're just getting started", he grinned firmly. "Go ahead, just enjoy yourselves there, we'll add to your snacks", he burst out laughing.
"This old man is really craving for fish", she said in her somewhat high-pitched voice, her eyes closed. "That's just because he's a sea person", she thought nothing more of it. "Be careful there, old man, you might be the next catch of the fish you're trying to catch", the woman shouted, stretching a bit and lowering the bottle slightly. She said that with a grin.
The big man laughed and said, "It doesn't seem like it, who's greedier between us, isn't it you, uncle?" he continued his laughter.
"Just a bit," the old man laughed again at his nephew's remark. After a moment, the nylon of his fishing line suddenly tightened, but he wasn't surprised. That handsome catch gave him the confidence to exert force. That extraordinary strength seemed to challenge him at his age, and for a second, he was speechless.
"Here it comes, here it comes, there it is," the old man said, joy shining on his lips as he quickly turned the reel of that fishing line. It was pulling in different directions, and if it hadn't gotten snagged on a pipe, he would probably be swimming right now. "This one is big, for sure, probably around ten kilos," he estimated. The fish seemed tireless, fiercely battling the large bait he had set until he found himself deeply submerged in the water, but that wasn't enough; he briefly underestimated the strength of the catch, almost falling into the water unexpectedly if his nephew hadn't been there to support him.
"Uncle," the young man shouted, luckily he managed to grab him by the leg.
"Good job, nephew," despite being upside down, he seemed genuinely happy, determined not to let go of that fish no matter what.
"You really are something, uncle," he said with a grin, but there was no trace of struggle despite the weight his uncle was carrying. After a while, a huge salmon finally emerged, possibly weighing ten or more kilos. Everyone celebrated their catch, especially the old man, who had never caught such a large salmon in all his years of fishing. They measured and weighed it, even boasting about it to people watching on social media. They couldn't resist taking pictures with that gigantic fish.
After a while, something large jolted their big vehicle. "What was that?" Lisa said, but soon a strong force pulled on a fishing line.
"Lisa, your fishing line has a catch, go check it," a man shouted. Without hesitation, the woman quickly turned on her feet when she saw that indeed something was pulling on her fishing line that was secured in its holder. She held it tightly and gently, reeling in the nylon as best as she could. With a strong and erratic pull from whatever creature it was, she followed it, removing the fishing line from its holder without hesitation.
"Lisa, don't take it off," a shout burst from the muscular man's mouth, calling her name with a somewhat worried expression. Unexpectedly, she almost got caught in the struggle of that catch if not for the man who embraced her from behind and lifted her. Her chest was pinned, but it seemed like nothing to her.
She was overjoyed. "This is huge," she said with a grin, taking a deep breath.
"Go ahead, keep it up, it must be big," the man said with a grin, but he was serious while carrying the girl.
After a moment, the woman exclaimed, "Strong," she began to struggle. "I can't do it anymore," she said seriously.
"Give it to me, I'll take care of it," the man took over her task. He gently lowered her and carefully handed the fishing line back to her.
"Strong indeed," the man couldn't believe it until he started to wonder. "Wait, what is this? The strength of this fish is unusual," he said. "Nevertheless," a sudden grin appeared on his lips, he exerted a strong force, refusing to be defeated by a mere fish, confident in his strength. Despite the relentless tug-of-war, neither prevailed. A loud snap occurred underwater, the nylon broke, and only the fishing line remained. He couldn't catch the fish, nor even see it, but one thought crossed his mind at that moment.
"Ahh, it got away," a man exclaimed, unable to believe it. "That would have been a huge fish, what a waste," he added, clearly disappointed.
The old man approached. "That one is big, what do you think that thing is," the old man said seriously to his nephew.
He closed his eyes. "I can't quite determine, but I have a hunch about this one, it resembles a shark but something seems off," he explained in a serious tone while looking straight ahead, only his eyes were restless.
"What do you mean," the old man suddenly said with deep curiosity, unable to pinpoint what his nephew was saying.
"It's too big," he assumed. Everyone fell silent at his words.
In the chaotic and noisy swirl of the waves, a massive bulge of something emerged from beneath the water, unmistakably the dorsal fin of a shark.
"You finally showed up," the large man said calmly, a charming smile quickly blossoming on his lips.
"It is indeed a shark," the old man suddenly exclaimed, surprised when he spotted its gigantic fin approaching them with swift movement, his nephew's prediction was correct. "And it's enormous. Brace yourselves, it's coming towards us. Calvin, start the engine...., now", the old man shouted, starting to feel anxious. "Hurry". The others were panicking.
But his nephew only said one word, "No..., it was a calm voice of Saedan. "Don't". The old man quickly swallowed his words.
The man halted. Calvin- who is the captain of the boat. He did not continue with what he was about to do.
"I'll take care of this," Saedan said with a grin. "I can handle this one," he was confident in his words.
The fin gradually submerged, suddenly disappearing into the turbulent surface of the sea, the surroundings fell silent.
Everyone was alert for a moment.
A minute passed, a huge mouth suddenly snapped at the rear of the yacht, even though it was thickly built, the gigantic opening of its mouth was enough to engulf the back part. Its thick and sharp teeth sank into the metal part, damaging a propeller. With the force and aggressive bite, the weight further pressed down on the yacht, almost overpowering its size. The front part of the luxurious boat rose, as if it were being crushed by an extraordinary force, unable
"Or maybe it's not the only one," he was not quite sure.
"We don't have enough information on how many of those Megondagua there might be. Or...,where they came from, but I'm sure it's not the only one," said the muscular man, a slight smile creasing the corners of his lips. There seemed to be no worry in his eyes.
"The government needs to know about that creature," said the old man, glancing at his cameraman and asking, "Hey kid you get a video of it?. But, a quick answer made him frown.
"I'm sorry, but I wasn't able to, my camera fell, unfortunately," he explained calmly, but his longing for excitement was evident.
"What," the woman next to him commented in a low tone.
"Unfortunately, you say," the old man shouted. "My God," he couldn't believe it, he scolded the young man. "That was our chance, wasted. You didn't take care of it; you're really just a kid."
They seemed calm now, thinking the show was over, but that was a big mistake.
The creature returned, charging at them from behind with its thick trunk, bumping into them as if they were toys. A loud thud echoed beneath the boat, shaking everything they were on and causing their unease to return. However, in an unexpected turn of events, Lisa fell into the water unexpectedly after being startled by the loud impact from the collision. She screamed.
"Lisa," a woman shouted, and so did the others. But Saedan's concern for that woman was more intense, even though there was no connection between them, except for one thing.
Saedan made a quick move, without hesitation, diving into the water just to save that woman, but it took a minute before he could rescue her, for reasons unknown. "Saedan, where are you, don't scare me like that," the woman said, the traces of fear and anxiety on her face were still evident.
Moments later, he suddenly appeared at the woman's location without any warning.
"Why are you doing this to me?" the woman said, terrified.
"What do you mean?" he replied.
However, the cycle of the propeller was not yet complete, an event stopped Calvin's hand from lowering the staff. The whole boat shook and the front of it rose again. A gigantic fish, almost as big as the boat, leaped into it. Another large Megondagua appeared, but it was even bigger than the first and much heavier, heavier than the one it had just landed on.
Everyone panicked, left with an indescribable expression.
The boat slowly began to sink.
"Calvin, get out of there," the old man shouted, as if he were being overwhelmed by the saltwater surrounding him. He was also starting to be swept away.
"It's so big," the old man said, unable to believe it.
"What are we going to do? We need to leave here, or it will swallow us alive," the woman said, terrified. "It has already destroyed our boat, Saedan, what now?" She cast a trembling glance at Saedan's silent eyes. "You are to blame for this; we should have left this place earlier," she accused him.
"Saedan," she turned to her quiet nephew.
"Why does it seem like it has grown bigger now?" Caroline wondered, droplets of liquid streaming down her cheeks from her shiny hair.
"Damn, there are two of them," Saedan suddenly shouted in the midst of the silence.
"What?" a chill gripped their chests as they floated, all eyes turned to him.
The old man looked underneath. He said, "Underneath," sending shivers down the others' spines. "Everyone.., in the hull of the boat," he shouted. They immediately began to swim, but one of them was caught, Calvin, who was somewhat far from them. In an unexpected turn of events, a large mouth lunged from beneath him, swallowing him whole upwards and dragging him down like a whale. It was a powerful and high leap of a large shark. They were not mistaken; it was the original one that had targeted them, in addition to a larger shark that had capsized their boat earlier.
Caroline was close to the edge of the wide hull of the boat. She looked back and stopped, realizing Calvin was missing, so she shouted his name.
Saedan's eyes widened suddenly.
Another larger shark was lurking around them.
However, in the end, they were also swallowed by their assumptions; they were wrong.
A man emerged from the hull of the boat, falling. It was Calvin, his wet clothes in disarray. A man immediately left after dropping him off, plunging into the water.
Saedan was silent, a word whispered from his lips, "Arcee."
"What happened?" he seemed dazed but did not blink. A man had plunged into the water. "How," he coughed.
Everyone turned; they heard a voice from behind, it was Calvin's voice.
"Calvin," everyone shouted, except for Saedan.
Calvin could not believe what had happened, especially his companions.
"How?" a deep curiosity was forming within Lisa. She could not fathom how that man ended up on top of the capsized boat. "He was just there, whatever happened to him, then."
"Calvin, how did you get there?" Caroline shouted, still in the water. She seemed unconcerned about any danger except for her friend Calvin. "We thought the shark had eaten you," Lisa said, managing to climb onto the boat that was already covered with thick barnacles, due to the long time it had not been used by its owner, Saedan.
"Get on the boat, uncle. Hurry," Saedan urged. He plunged into the water, causing concern for his uncle and his other companions.
The old man managed to climb aboard, to the lower part of the wide hull of the boat.
He was turned away, not expecting what his nephew would do by diving into the water.
"Saedan," he shouted his name while sitting and leaning against its curved body, standing on the flat metal, near the propeller that was as big as a basin.
"What madness is he doing, why did he suddenly dive in?" Lisa said, unable to believe it. "He knows it's dangerous."
Everyone fell silent.
"Saedan," Lisa shouted again, worried. The sea remained quiet for a minute.
After the count, those above saw it. It was Saedan, he was swimming with a gigantic shark from below to the surface. He was at the end of its snout, gripping tightly. They couldn't be mistaken; it was the first time they had seen up close how big that Megondagua was. It was enormous, possibly 60 feet long and weighing thousands of tons.
Lisa was startled. "Saedan," she softly uttered his name, for the second time. She couldn't be mistaken about what her two eyes saw.
Two minutes passed. Saedan returned to the surface, gasping, he coughed after climbing up.
"Saedan, are you okay?" Lisa asked deeply concerned, which was evident on her seemingly gentle face.
"I'm fine," he said, his wet hands holding Lisa's worried hand while facing the ground.
"Why did you do that?" she was really worried for Saedan. "Are you crazy?" she suddenly followed up with a strong slap, getting angry on her own. "Didn't you think that someone would worry about you?" she pouted. Truly, she was already in tears.
"Oh, why do you seem to be crying there?"
"What?. No," she secretly rubbed her sensitive eyes. She returned to her cheerful self.
In the midst of their chatter, a man emerged from the water, falling quietly onto the dry deck. He stretched slowly but didn't introduce himself, he just asked.
"Is there no one victimized among you?" was his first question. But the victims didn't want to share an answer, instead, they asked, "How and who."
"And who are you, man?" the elder interrupted.
"Who are you?" Lisa couldn't hold back either.
The man sighed lightly. He returned his face to its position, closed his eyes, and bowed his head. He said, "It seems there's no one, then."
"Wait! Please don't leave yet," Caroline stopped the man. "And where are you going? We're in the middle of the sea. How could someone like you manage to get here from the shore, several kilometers away?"
The surroundings fell silent, the man gave Caroline a penetrating gaze.
"You're having a good time fighting those Megondagua.., all by yourself, Arcee," Saedan suddenly interjected, a gentle smile appearing on his lips while standing at the lower part of the deck, one foot resting on a slightly higher part of the boat.
"Huh," Lisa quickly wondered, glancing at the two. "Do you know each other?"
"Where did you come from, man? That ability of yours is unusual," the elder said, a grin appearing on his wrinkled cheek. "What you did is quite impressive, to be honest."
"I came from the east, that's all," he finally said. "That island. Beyond that, you'll see a place called 'Wooden Gate Bridge,'" he pointed with his gaze. "That's where I came from."
"What?" Lisa exclaimed. "From that island that's covered in mist, you came from there?" she didn't believe the newcomer. "Impossible, you must be joking with us," disbelief was evident on Lisa's face. "Wait, where's your boat? It must be around here somewhere," Lisa scanned the surroundings but saw not a single boat, just pure water and islands.
"Why didn't you kill it?" Arcee asked, his eyes looking into the distance. Suddenly, his brow furrowed slightly, he spotted the remains of two gigantic sharks heading west.
"Oh that, actually I'm a bit allergic to sharks so I didn't pursue it," Saedan replied with a grin.
"You, what did you do to them?" Saedan remained silent, still standing there.
Arcee was descending, kneeling down and placing a finger in the water. He gave Saedan a proper answer.
"But we also don't know if there are others with them. If I killed those, there would be no evidence of their identity. The creature that was thought to have long been extinct is still alive," the
The unknown man was serious in his explanation. He closed his eyes again but did not stop speaking because it was part of his job to share the correct information. "Knowledge about that is important, especially about its life - The government and everyone needs to know about Megondagua."
Calvin interjected. "Yes, he's right," he said, moving a bit closer, his tone calm. It was undeniable that he favored what the unknown man said.
However, the minds of the others present still seemed blank. It was evident from the expressions on their faces.
"Thank you by the way, maybe if it weren't for you, I would have been lunch for that shark," Calvin said gratefully, but he wasn't done yet. "I have a question, how did you do that?" he was still curious. He didn't know how it happened, how this man saved him in the middle of a complicated situation.
"I honestly don't understand you," Lisa said to herself, being truthful.
"Sorry, I can't answer that," he suddenly said.
Calvin nodded, eventually letting it go. "It's okay, I understand," he said.
"Those two are currently running northwest."
"What, are you serious?" the old man was shocked. "How did you know?"
The man spoke directly. "People need to be told to leave the beaches. We don't know their numbers; we need to be careful," he explained. "Maybe those are running at five kilometers/hour".
"To the west, right?" Lisa said, she was also surprised.
"What do you think, Arcee, could that Megondagua come from the southern part?" Saedan said.
"Possible."
"If so, then my suspicion is quite right. That two giant beast emerged from the part of the Pacific Ocean," he climbed up to the higher ground.
"We will also find out the reason for its sudden appearance," Arcee added.
Caroline spoke, pushing aside her wet hair. "So, Arcee is your name, we are pleased to meet you," she sighed lightly. "My name is Caroline. We are just here to fish and now we were disturbed by a giant shark...,and a mysterious man," Caroline said, somewhat emphatically. She raised her right hand, she was just being honest but she wasn't done speaking. One word she said made the man turn to her. "I have a favor. Could you help us get back?" she also said.
"What are we waiting for, we need to act right now," Lisa was overwhelmed with worry, not for herself but for others who were also important to her. "Wait, how are we going to get home?" She didn't immediately think that their boat was capsized and they were stepping on it now. "Our boat," she covered her face. "What are we going to do now, what will we do?" she was almost crying and going crazy from worry.
"Saedan, what now. It's your fault we ended up like this," she really blamed Saedan, Lisa seemed to have a point based on the faces of the others. "Your boat is capsized, so it's all your fault."
"Isn't it the shark's fault? You dragged me into this."
"Oh really," her voice suddenly rose. She glared at Saedan. For a moment, she saw a bottle of Red Horse floating nearby, she managed to grab it with just a little effort. She drank almost half of it in just a few moments.
"I will help you," Arcee said. "You should be grateful, only one propeller is damaged. I think it can still be fixed."
"Are you serious..., sir. Or are you just going crazy?" Lisa approached the man. "The boat is upside down, can't you see? This boat is capsized and we can't go home to our families, do you understand?" she shouted, she was getting angry. "And then you say that we should be grateful. Do you think we can still leave, and even if you fix that broken propeller, there's no way this boat can get back to normal," Lisa was angry, she was rambling on and on. "But it seems like you're okay with being left here, that's not a problem for you, and I don't care where you came from. Whether you have a vehicle or not, that's no longer our problem," she was drunk. "All we want is to live and get back to our families," she was serious, her small body was weakening. "You know! You, do you have a family?" she was pointing at him.
"Let go of me," she tapped Saedan's hand.
Lisa slipped.
Gratitude was not left out as Saedan quickly caught her. He embraced her, and the two went down together.
Everyone was silent.
Caroline let out a sigh at her own stance. "This child really," the old woman whispered to herself.
"Ahh, sorry sir. She gets drunk quickly when she's tired," Calvin explained politely.
Arcee remained silent.
In just a moment, Lisa was finally asleep.
*******
Many minutes passed. The surroundings returned to their usual state, the sea calmed, the wind and sky settled. The light of dawn slowly peeked through the edges of the breaking dark clouds. At last, they were in the middle of their journey, with Saedan aboard their yacht, which was filled with scratches and holes. Behind them, it was still moving quickly, and the relatively flat water added to its speed. That yacht could be running at 100 kilometers/hour, quite fast. For Calvin, it was just right for them to get home earlier.
"For you, is your chosen decision okay?" the old man said, resting both arms on the boat's railing. Next to him was his nephew, Saedan.
"I'm not sure, for now, I just want to enjoy myself while I'm still alive," Saedan said, serious, quiet, and gentle. "That's just right, follow my lead, when I want to have fun, I have fun, when I want to relax, I relax. That's part of our lives, so don't waste it," the old man explained, advising his older nephew. "Set aside your problems for now; there's time to deal with them. That's just how life is, sometimes you sink, sometimes you rise."
"You seem serious over there," a woman spoke, it was Caroline.
"Oh Caroline, how is Lisa?" a cheerful smile spread across her wrinkled cheeks.
"She's still sleeping, sir," Caroline replied politely, carrying a bottle of Red Horse beer. "She's even snoring," she added as she took a sip.
Saedan suddenly grinned. He said, "That woman," and took a sip as well. The old man followed suit.
Saedan took a deep breath afterward.
Caroline drank, and a light sigh followed. "Ahh," she smiled. "The air is so refreshing… the sky is so peaceful," she said gently.
Everyone looked at the peaceful sky that seemed newly born and blossoming. It was truly a beautiful sight.
Meanwhile, in a distant place—far, far away from where the fast yacht carrying Saedan was running—there was that man, none other than the figure named Arcee- according to Saedan. He was finally beside them, but he had not yet returned home, in fact. He was calm as he quietly moved forward. He might have finished his training, so he was now rising from the depths of the sea. There was a comfortable feeling, and he seemed to have a strong body and presence.
His footsteps moved straight ahead. His whole body was wet with saltwater, except for one thing that wrapped around him, penetrating as if it were burning. A strange thing enveloped his entire being. Although it was not clear, there was a seemingly smoky force of gasoline emanating from beneath his skin, which was covered in scales, like fire. It was a strong and calm force, almost causing the sand beneath his feet to scatter while a fine smoke wafted into the air from his soles.
Incredible, a small monitor lizard was stunned beside him.
At last, the sky was revived now.