"Azarus!!!"
"Don't come any closer!"
"No… please!"
Her fragile voice echoed through the water as panic consumed her, yet nothing she said stopped the Almighty Emperor from approaching.
Azarus moved toward her slowly, his shimmering blue tail slicing through the ocean like a living flame. Power surrounded him, calm yet terrifying.
Marimar was trapped inside a glowing crystal sphere, suspended in the depths like a fragile treasure.
He stopped before it,his large hand rested gently against the crystal surface, his gaze locking onto hers.
Pain flickered behind his eyes."I'm sorry, Marimar… but I have to do this," his deep voice resonated around her. "It's the only way to keep you safe."
Her heart clenched,his voice…It was one of the things she loved most about him deep, enchanting, powerful, capable of commanding armies or whispering comfort into her soul.
Was she really going to lose that voice?
No,she couldn't accept that.
Fear tightened around her chest as realization struck her. Azarus had already made up his mind.
Taking a shaky breath, Marimar lifted her hand and placed it against the crystal, aligning it with his palm.
So close…Yet impossibly far.
"Azarus…" she whispered.
Before she could say more, he lowered his head briefly. When he looked up again, his silver eyes had transformed, burning with blue flames that mirrored the glow of his tail.
Marimar's eyes widened.So this was it.
The end of everything they had fought for.
The end of their love.
"I'm sorry," Azarus murmured again.
Before she could understand what he meant, he pulled away. With a powerful flick of his tail, he created distance between them.
Then—He snapped his fingers.
Magic surged through the ocean.
The crystal sphere surrounding Marimar rose instantly, carried upward by an invisible force, accelerating faster and faster as it shot away from him… toward an unknown fate.
And Azarus remained behind,all alone.
LONG TIME AGO_
EARTH_SEOUL KOREA-
With my body light or let me say empty, like a living corpse I walked slowly… like a living corpse.
I wasn't living again… I didn't deserve this life. This world didn't need me. They hated me. They despised me… starting from the day I was born, that was when my sufferings began.
With my mind absent, thinking about how I lost my only source of income, I walked toward the breezy ocean… Yes, I wanted to fall into it and die. There was no reason for me to live. At least if I died, my pains and sufferings would be over.
Using the back of my hand to wipe my rolling tears, I realized they were all dried up. They weren't coming out again. Even my own tears were tired of this wicked world.
With these thoughts in my head, I jumped into the ocean without thinking twice… Why would I think twice? I had already made up my mind before coming here.
The moment I jumped into the water, I lost myself… not knowing what would happen again. Would I find myself in heaven or hell?
SEVERAL HOURS LATER_
I felt my eyes heavy… didn't I die or what? I knew I died… but why was I breathing again? Well, maybe I was in heaven or hell? Anyone, it didn't matter… I was ready to face it. It was better than being on Earth.
Slowly, I opened my eyes, widening them at what I saw. What was going on? I was very deep inside the ocean… I knew because I was surrounded by this blue ocean.
Wait… was I breathing underwater?
What's going on? To confirm, I opened my mouth wide, but no water came in.
"Ahhhhh!!!!!" I shouted. Aigoo… I was actually talking underwater. In the midst of my confusion, I noticed I was inside a white, rounded something… actually it wasn't white. It was transparent. I could see through it.
What is this? Touching it, I felt the texture smooth, glassy.
Wait… was I in heaven or Earth? I thought heaven and Earth were above… why was I deep inside the ocean? Was this the way I was being punished for trying to kill myself? What if I was dreaming?
"Maybe I'm dreaming?" Saying these words, I pinched my cheek, letting out a light whimper… I felt pain. I wasn't dreaming!
Still in my own dilemma, I noticed a presence. Slowly, I looked beside me.
"Oh my goodness!! I'm doomed," I gasped with widened eyes, seeing two fish tails… they were large, showing they were sharks. Were these two sharks going to eat me? Was this how I was going to die a second time?
"Goodness!!!" I gasped again, louder this time, because of what I saw. Seeing the full figure of the sharks, I froze, paralyzed, my eyes wide as if they were about to pop out of their sockets.
I watched as the two sharks, with human-like upper bodies, moved and spoke. What was going on? How could a shark have a human body?
"What's that, Triton?" Moana asked as they stared at the weird creature inside the crystal ball.
"I don't know, Moana. It has our upper bodies, but the lower parts… I don't understand," Triton responded, confusion filling their minds.
They moved closer to the creature in the crystal ball to me — who was looking at them in pure fear.
"No… No!!!!" A loud scream escaped my throat as I passed out immediately, unable to stand facing the human-like sharks