Water swallowed Kael whole, dragging him into darkness so absolute it pressed on his chest. The storm above was muffled, replaced by a silence that was both alien and threatening. When he surfaced, gasping, he was no longer in the open ocean. The kraken had delivered him to a place that should not exist—a vast underwater dungeon, walls etched with glowing runes, strange flora that shimmered in eerie colors, and corridors that twisted impossibly, like the labyrinth of some insane deity.
Kael spat seawater, blinking at the dim light. "Well… that's new," he muttered, shaking droplets from his hair. "You don't see this in any harbor charts." Already, his mind raced. Five years a sailor, and now… trapped in a dungeon? Perfect. Perfect. This was exactly the kind of challenge he lived for.
Before he could plan, the air shimmered ahead, and a figure stepped from the shadows: the first of the Red Horn Dajin. Towering, red-skinned, jagged horns curling from its skull, its eyes glowed with cruel amusement. "You're weak," it hissed, voice like grinding stones. "A deckhand. A morsel. You will be our meal."
Kael smirked, leaning on his cutlass. "Weak? Me? Oh, my horned friend, I think you'll find I'm… exactly as annoying as you imagined." He twirled his blade, tossing it casually from hand to hand. "Let's make a bet. You attack, I survive… and then I eat you for dessert. Deal?"
The Dajin snarled, affronted. Kael could see its pride flare, the tell of arrogance that would be its downfall. "You dare mock me?" it bellowed, claws slashing through the air.
Kael's grin widened. "Oh, I dare. Big horned freak, I dare. Come on, try me."
The trial began. Red Horn Dajin lunged, but Kael's movements were foxy, almost teasing. He baited the demon's rage, dodging just barely out of reach, letting the creature overcommit, striking at openings with surgical precision. Each swing, each slash, was punctuated by his taunts:
"You're slow! I've dodged faster kraken tentacles!"
"Careful, or you'll hurt that pretty horn of yours!"
"Oooh, is that all your strength? Pathetic!"
It worked. The Dajin's attacks became reckless, predictable. Kael laughed, rolling under its claws, feinting, striking, and baiting it further. This was not brute force—this was cunning, manipulation, intellect. A five-year deckhand who had studied tides, storms, and enemy minds was proving far deadlier than raw power alone.
The trial was merciless: waves of Red Horn Dajin appeared, each more grotesque and aggressive than the last. But Kael remained sharp, using the dungeon itself—walls, glowing runes, water channels, and stalagmites—as weapons, traps, and shields. Every taunt, every teasing insult drew the Dajin into mistakes. Every dodge, every trick, conserved his strength.
As the hour dragged on, Kael's mind sharpened further. If they killed him, he'd be food. If he survived… he'd eat them. The arrogance of the Dajin became their undoing. Each attack, each roar, fed his strategy. By the time the final horned demon lunged, Kael had crafted a perfect, lethal setup: he tricked the Dajin into signing a mock contract mid-battle, binding them magically by their own pride, calling himself "weak compared to a demi-god."
Then came the finishing move. Lightning crackled around Kael's fists as he struck the final blow, devouring the last Red Horn Dajin. Pain and power surged, fire and electricity lancing through his body. His Dragonic Thunderstorm Dragon power awakened.
Scales shimmered across his arms, his eyes glowed like lightning, and his body erupted into the Demidrake form—half-dragon, half-human, roaring with power he had only glimpsed in dreams.
Kael stood amid the wreckage, chest heaving, dripping with sweat and sea water, grinning. "Ha! Deckhand today… demi-god tomorrow. And don't you forget it," he muttered, tossing a casual glance at the vanquished Dajin remains.
The dungeon seemed to hum in recognition of his awakening, as if the walls themselves acknowledged a new player entering the game. And Kael Stormheart, cunning, foxy, and ever hungry for adventure, was ready to carve his legend into this world—one Dajin at a time.