Even at the deepest point of the ocean, I could hear the breeze.
It was impossible—sound should not reach me here—yet it whispered through the water as if the world above still remembered me.
I had long since lost count of time. Days, years… perhaps centuries drifted past like silt in the abyss. I thought I had been erased from existence, reduced to a forgotten thought suspended in darkness.
So why was I still here?
Why wouldn't death take me?
I could not open my eyes. I did not even know if I still had eyes. Yet I felt no pain. No hunger. No fear.
Only silence.
And peace.
I did not regret my choice. Even now, if fate were cruel enough to offer me the same moment again, I would make it without hesitation.
Then—
A sound.
Faint. Distant.
Human voices.
From above.
On the surface.
"Hey, Salah. Nice weather today," Tex said, leaning against the side of the boat. "Heard Mark hauled in a whole boatload yesterday. Rare stuff too. That why you're out here?"
Everyone in town knew Tex—Tex the Gossiper. His mouth moved faster than most people could think, spreading rumors like wildfire. But beneath that reputation was a dangerous truth: Tex commanded the wind.
Salah didn't answer right away. He stared at the horizon, fingers tightening around the edge of the boat.
Mark's catch was real. Golden crabs. Fat shrimp. Fish that shimmered like silver coins. Merchants from the capital paid more money in a single day than Salah made in months.
And Salah needed money.
His wife's breathing had grown shallow. The medicine was rare. Expensive. Without it, time was not on their side.
Luck had never favored him—but desperation made men believe in miracles.
Without a word, he cast the net into the sea.
It vanished beneath the waves.
Minutes stretched into hours.
When Salah hauled it back up, the net was empty—mockingly light.
His shoulders sagged. "Nothing," he muttered. Then, after a breath heavy with resolve, "Let's head east."
Tex's expression darkened. He squinted at the sky. Clouds twisted unnaturally, their edges curling like claws. "I don't like that direction."
"Just this once," Salah pleaded. "With your wind, we'll be fine. Five minutes. If there's nothing—we leave. Please."
Tex saw it then: the fear Salah tried to hide. The kind that kept a man awake at night.
He sighed and raised his hands. "Five minutes. If the wind changes, we're gone."
The breeze answered him.
The boat surged east.
An hour later, they cut the engine.
The darkness had thickened—too heavy, too sudden. Even the moon, half-hidden behind the clouds, seemed uneasy, its light weak and pale.
"That's not normal," Salah whispered.
Tex shivered. "The sea feels wrong."
Salah didn't respond. He threw the net once more.
It sank.
Far below.
Deeper than it should have gone.
_____________________________________________
The voices were clear now.
Humans.
Why are they here… in my ocean?
Something stirred within me.
Light bloomed through the darkness—golden and blue, swirling like stars trapped in water.
I could feel myself.
Move.
No—this wasn't movement.
It was awakening.
Wait—
Am I… being reborn?
Panic surged.
This wasn't flesh. Not spirit. Not even breath.
I was enclosed.
Rounded.
Encased.
An… egg?
_____________________________________________
The ocean trembled.
A low, ancient hum echoed from the seafloor as the shell around me glowed brighter. Currents twisted violently, dragging me upward.
Toward the surface.
"Salah!" Tex shouted. "The sea—something's coming up!"
The boat rocked hard. Bubbles burst through the black water as something massive rose beneath them.
Salah stumbled back. "That's not a fish—!"
The net exploded out of the ocean in a blinding flash of light.
No fish.
No crabs.
Caught in the tangled ropes was a single object.
An egg.
Larger than a man's chest. Smooth. Warm. Etched with faint, shifting symbols that pulsed like a heartbeat.
Alive.
Tex backed away, breath ragged. "What in the hell did we just pull up?"
Salah stared, unable to look away.
"…I think we found something far more valuable than fish."