Ch 2 Chapter 2: Awakening of the Battleship
The ocean stretched endlessly, sparkling under a sun that seemed almost unreal in its brilliance. Quinton—now the mighty IJN Yamato—rocked gently on the waves, trying to wrap his mind around the impossible reality.
"Okay… breathe. Or whatever counts as breathing for a battleship."
Every movement sent ripples across the sea. He flexed his massive steel plates experimentally, testing his balance. The sensation was strange—he could feel everything: the water beneath, the wind across his turrets, even the hum of energy in his engines.
Then came the first discovery: planes.
From the deck above his hull, he instinctively knew he could launch aircraft. The hangars opened automatically, and tiny silhouettes began rolling out—fighters, bombers, reconnaissance planes—all ready to obey him.
Quinton's eyes widened. "I can control them…? I don't even know how to fly a real plane!"
A mental push later, the planes lifted, hovered, and spread into formation. He giggled—or tried to, but it came out as the groan of metal. It didn't matter. The sense of control was intoxicating. He was power incarnate.
Suddenly, a shadow fell across the water. Not an illusion—an enemy fleet appeared on the horizon. Unlike in his games, these ships were alive. Mysterious. Aggressive. Sirens, perhaps, drawn to his presence like predators to prey.
Instinct took over. Cannons swiveled. Turrets loaded. The first shots thundered across the waves, and explosions bloomed like flowers of fire on the enemy ships. The Yamato moved with precision, dodging torpedoes and striking in calculated arcs.
"Whoa… I—this is amazing!" Quinton shouted, awe and thrill mingling in his mind. "I'm actually fighting… and winning!"
The battle raged on, but Quinton began to notice something subtle: the ocean itself seemed responsive to him. When he surged forward, waves rose in harmony; when he turned sharply, currents shifted to his advantage. He wasn't just a ship. He was a force of nature.
But power came with a warning. Damage indicators flashed across his mental HUD—minor scratches on the hull, but enough to remind him that he could be hurt, that he needed skill, not just strength, to survive.
After a final salvo obliterated the nearest enemy ship, the remaining fleet fled. Silence returned to the waves, but Quinton knew this was only the beginning.
He drifted on the ocean, adrenaline coursing through his metallic body. "Okay… so I'm a battleship now. I can fly planes, shoot huge guns, and probably crush fleets like paper. But… how do I survive in this world? Where do I go? Who else is out there?"
For the first time, the vastness of the ocean didn't feel freeing. It felt like a challenge. A battlefield. And Quinton Gounden—reborn as the IJN Yamato—was ready to face it.
One thing was certain: he wasn't human anymore. But he was alive. And in this new life, survival meant more than just power—it meant strategy, allies, and understanding the world he'd been thrust into.
With a roar of engines and a surge of courage, the Yamato sailed into the horizon, leaving ripples that would mark the beginning of a legend.