The sea around Lokai shimmered beneath the morning sun, quiet and endless. A small cargo ship drifted smoothly across the calm waters, its worn sails flapping lazily with the breeze. Aboard were traders, deckhands, a tired captain, and a few bored passengers heading for the southern isles.
Most of them were lounging under shade cloths, chatting about weather, trade taxes, and the rising cost of spiritual talismans. One man bragged about seeing a sky whale near the Grand Reef. Another was arguing that the celestial calendar was off by two days, blaming it for his failed marriage proposal.
It was peaceful. Normal. Predictable.
Until—
"MONSTER!!"
A scream cut through the ship like a sword. Everyone snapped to attention. The captain dropped his mug. Deckhands scrambled to the rails.
"Where?! Where?!"
"Starboard side! I saw it move!"
Sailors rushed to the edge, squinting at the water. Someone grabbed a spyglass. Another picked up a harpoon.
"Was it huge?"
"Scaly?"
"Did it have wings?!"
A nervous hush fell over the ship. Everyone stared, breath held.
Then, slowly, something broke the surface of the water—a silhouette, bobbing and swaying.
"It's a... person?"
"Wait... is he... singing?"
From the waves emerged a soaked boy with wild hair, arms waving in dramatic circles, spinning slowly as he half-danced, half-drifted.
"HELP HELP I NEED HELP! HELP HELP I NEED HELP!"
He was clearly not drowning. In fact, he was making big swirls with his arms like he was conducting an invisible orchestra.
One sailor frowned. "Is he... dancing?"
The captain stared, jaw slack. "Is that... a kid?"
Rai twirled again, sending a splash toward a nearby jellyfish. "THANK YOU, SEA SPIRITS! I SURVIVED! I'M NOT DEAD YET!"
A rope was tossed overboard. Two sailors pulled him up, soaking wet and grinning from ear to ear.
He collapsed on the deck, breathing heavily, coughing up a little seawater. His arms flopped to his sides, chest heaving. "That... was... awesome. And also terrifying. Mostly terrifying."
He stared up at the sky, laughing between breaths. "I really thought I was done for ."
The sailors around him gave each other puzzled looks.
Rai sat up slowly, wiping salt from his face.
He looked out at the endless ocean, mind slipping back to just an hour earlier...
The small wooden boat rocked gently as Rai paddled it forward, eyes locked on a distant speck of land beyond the mist. The sky was calm, the sun soft, and for once, he wasn't screaming or laughing.
"Almost there," he muttered, grinning. "Told you, Gorran. Nothing's gonna stop me."
Then a faint creak. A bubble. A wet gurgle beneath him.
Rai looked down.
A thin crack had formed in the boat's floor. "No big deal," he said quickly, pressing his hand over it. The crack widened. Water started seeping through.
"No, no, no—"
He yanked off his shirt and stuffed it into the hole. It helped for all of three seconds. Then another leak sprang from the side.
"Oh come on!" Rai shouted, grabbing his shoe and frantically scooping water out. The boat bobbed violently. More water spilled in. The cracks grew like spiderwebs.
"Dear gods, sea spirits, giant turtles—whoever's listening, not like this!"
The boat tilted. Rai screamed as it gave way under him with a loud CRACK. He plunged into the cold, salty water.
Gasping, flailing, half-sobbing, Rai clung to a floating plank.
"I haven't even started yet!" he yelled at the sky. "You can't kill me before I become legendary!"
Then he saw the ship in the distance.
Rai blinked, then grinned.
He threw his arms in the air, kicking wildly. "HELP HELP I NEED HELP! HELP HELP I NEED HELP!"
He snapped back to the present, soaked and alive.
"Seriously... if you guys hadn't shown up, my journey would've ended before it even began. So thanks, ocean gods... and also you weird ship people."
Then he smiled wide again. "Okay, now I really need food.""
The crew surrounded him, speechless.
Rai gave a thumbs up. "Hi. I'm Rai. Please don't throw me back."
The captain blinked. "Kid, where the hell did you come from?"
"Lokai."
One crewman muttered, "You don't seem like one of them though."
"Yeah," Rai coughed. "I'm built different."
Another sailor asked, "Were you running from something?"
"Nope. Running to something," Rai said, eyes full of fire. "Adventure. Power. Destiny. Probably death. But mostly the first three."
The crew exchanged looks.
The captain sighed. "Get him a towel. And maybe a docter."
Rai grinned. "Also, food. Please. Lots."
As they handed him a piece of dry cloth and a confused apple, Rai snatched the apple and devoured it in two bites.
"More?" he asked, looking around with wide puppy eyes.
A sailor handed him a loaf of bread. Rai ate it like it was the first food he'd ever seen.
Then came a bowl of stew, two boiled eggs, a plate of rice, a fried fish, and some old dried fruit someone found near the spice sacks. He polished it all off in minutes.
The crew stared.
"How much can this kid eat?"
"Is his stomach a portal?"
"He's like a food black hole!"
Rai leaned back, belly full, eyes half-closed in bliss. "Best. Ship. Ever."
One sailor whispered, "Should we be worried? What if he starts eating the cargo next?"
Another replied, "Just don't hand him a map or he'll probably eat the ocean."
Rai belched quietly and gave them a sheepish thumbs-up.
Just then, a deckhand stepped forward. "Captain wants to see you in his cabin," he said.
Rai blinked. "Am I in trouble already?"
The man shrugged. "Dunno."
Rai stood up and stretched, wobbling slightly from the full belly and the rocking of the ship. "Lead the way!"
He followed the sailor toward the captain's cabin, heart thudding slightly now that the food high was wearing off.
The door creaked open.
Inside, the cabin was lit dimly by a hanging lantern, the scent of sea salt and ink heavy in the air. Charts were rolled out across the desk, pins and faded markings scattered across them.
At the desk sat the captain—grizzled, gray-haired, and sharp-eyed—tapping his fingers rhythmically on the wood, eyes fixed on Rai the moment he stepped in.
The silence stretched.
Rai felt a drop of sweat form on his forehead. "Uh... hi again."
The captain didn't smile. "Where are you going, boy?"
Rai hesitated for a moment. Then, standing up a little straighter, he said with a fire in his eyes, "I wish to walk the path of cultivation. To rise above this mortal shell. To become strong enough to shatter fate itself—no matter what it takes."
The captain raised an eyebrow, but said nothing—yet.