The storm had passed, but the air still felt heavy. Rain trickled from the broken clouds, dripping down ropes, nets, and the tilted roofs of the floating village. The platforms groaned under the strain of their damage, creaking like wounded animals.
Kaizen sat slumped against a post, breathing hard. His arms trembled, his skin burned with the aftertaste of lightning. Every part of him ached.
Renji crouched beside him, holding out a flask. "Drink. You look like the leviathan chewed you up and spat you out."
Kaizen managed a weary grin. "Feels about right." He took the flask, the water cool against his dry throat.
Bang stood nearby, arms folded, gaze fixed on the horizon where the leviathan had sunk. He hadn't said a word since the battle ended.
Around them, the villagers emerged cautiously from their shelters. Their faces were pale, eyes wide, voices hushed. Some rushed to secure the damaged platforms. Others dragged the injured to safer ground. But most looked not at the destruction, nor the sea.
They looked at Kaizen.
Whispers floated like smoke through the damp air.
"He called the lightning down.""The beast burned from within…""Is he one of them? From the abyss?"
Kaizen's chest tightened. He wanted to shout that he wasn't their enemy, that he fought to protect them. But their eyes fearful, uncertain cut deeper than any blade.
Renji noticed too. He bristled, standing between Kaizen and the villagers. "Hey! You all saw it! He saved you. That thing would've swallowed half the village if not for him."
The crowd muttered uneasily. One elder shook his head. "A storm that fierce doesn't belong in human hands. Today it destroyed a monster. Tomorrow… what if it destroys us?"
Bang finally spoke, his voice calm but heavy. "Fear is natural. Power unsettles. But remember: the sea will not spare you because you doubt the one who shields you."
The elder glared at him. "And what if that shield turns into a spear against us?"
The tension rippled like another storm brewing. Kaizen felt the weight of their stares. His heart pounded not with anger, but with dread. Was this how it would always be? No matter what he did, no matter how many lives he saved, would they always see him as a threat?
Renji growled under his breath. "Ungrateful bastards…"
Kaizen put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. His voice was quiet, but steady. "It's fine."
Renji turned on him. "No, it's not fine. You nearly killed yourself out there for them, and they"
"It's fine," Kaizen repeated, eyes fixed on the villagers. "Fear doesn't vanish with one battle. I can't change how they see me… not yet."
The villagers eventually scattered, some glaring, some avoiding his eyes entirely. Only a few lingered with hesitant gratitude mostly children, peeking out from behind their parents.
Kaizen forced a small smile at them. But when they were gone, his shoulders sagged.
Bang approached, his cloak damp from rain. "You held the storm without losing yourself. That is no small feat."
Kaizen gave a bitter laugh. "And still they look at me like I'm the monster."
Bang studied him for a long moment. Then he said, "Better to be feared for your power than forgotten for your weakness."
Kaizen frowned. "That's not the life I want."
"Perhaps not," Bang admitted. "But it may be the life you must endure."
Later that night, the village gathered in the central hall, lanterns swaying with the sea's restless rocking. The elders spoke in hushed voices, their tones sharp with worry. Kaizen and Renji stood at the back, listening.
"We cannot ignore what we saw," one elder argued. "The boy summons lightning like a god. That is not human."
Another countered, "And without him, we'd be dead. Does that not count for something?"
The first snapped, "It counts for fear. If the abyss sent that leviathan because of him, then keeping him here invites more doom."
The hall murmured agreement.
Renji clenched his fists. "Unbelievable. They're blaming you for being alive."
Kaizen stayed silent, his eyes on the floor.
Finally, the village chief raised his hand. His face was lined with age and salt, his voice slow and measured. "The boy is dangerous. But danger is not always an enemy. For now, he stays. Watched. Tested. If his storm turns against us…" His eyes flicked toward Kaizen, sharp as a blade. "…then we cut the rope before the ship sinks."
The room fell into uneasy silence.
Kaizen's chest felt heavy. He understood the words for what they were: a warning, a promise, a sentence hanging over his head.
Back outside, Renji kicked a post in frustration. "Cut the rope before the ship sinks. Damn cowards. Without you, there is no ship!"
Kaizen leaned against the railing, watching the black waves lap against the platforms. His reflection shimmered in the water, broken by ripples. Lightning flickered faintly across his fingertips, as if answering his turmoil.
"Maybe they're right," he murmured.
Renji spun on him. "Don't you start with that. You're not some cursed monster, Kaizen. You're"
"I am dangerous," Kaizen interrupted. His voice was quiet, but firm. "You saw what I did today. That power… it barely listened to me. One wrong step and the whole village could've burned."
Renji's mouth opened, then closed. He didn't have an answer.
Kaizen clenched the railing. "I don't want to be feared. But I can't pretend I'm harmless either. If I lose control…"
Bang's voice came from the shadows. "Then control must never be lost."
They turned. Bang stepped forward, his eyes gleaming in the lantern light. "The abyss knows you now. It will send more. You cannot waste time mourning their whispers. Train. Master yourself. Or be devoured by them, or by yourself."
Kaizen swallowed hard. The choice felt heavier than the storm itself.
That night, sleep refused to come. Kaizen lay awake, staring at the cracked ceiling of their quarters. The village creaked with the sea's rhythm, each groan of the wood reminding him of the battle.
He thought of the leviathan's eyes empty, hungering. He thought of the villagers' stares frightened, suspicious.
And he thought of his own reflection, lightning crackling across his skin.
Monster. Weapon. Shield. Hero. Which am I?
No answer came. Only the restless murmur of the sea, whispering like the abyss itself.
Kaizen closed his eyes, fists clenched. "Then I'll make my own answer."
Outside, thunder rumbled faintly in the distance, as if the storm itself had heard him.