Chapter 1 – Out of the River
All he felt at that moment was the water around him. A lot of water. A huge amount. The youth's entire body was enveloped by water, crystal clear, pure, and sparkling in the rays of the daylight sun.
Outside, the weather was pleasant and calm. Not a single nasty cloud dared to obscure the beautiful sky of this day. But for him, everything was different. And no, he wasn't trying to escape from the increasingly deep immersion in such beautiful water.
He didn't feel anything at all. Looking at him, one might have thought he was sleeping or perhaps experiencing something pleasant. In the aquatic space, where the bright sun's rays penetrated, his silvery hair swayed softly and serenely. So clean and beautiful, as if it had been created just now, not a day earlier.
Not a single muscle in his body twitched beneath the mass of water. Any other person in his situation would be struggling with all their might, unwilling to drown.
But he was different. A different person? Or someone else entirely? Alas, there was no way to know.
"Ah?" – escaped him as he, still half-asleep, weakly opened his eyes.
«W-where am I?»
He slowly turned his head to the side, without moving any other part of his body. Even this simple action, the turning of his head, was difficult for him, causing his eyebrows to slightly, very slightly furrow.
It seemed he was not at all bothered by his current position. Although his mouth remained slightly open the entire time and clean water flowed into it continuously, he wasn't concerned...
"Khah!" – At least, not until this moment...
The youth immediately closed his mouth, pressing his hands to it. His body convulsed, and the water around him instantly churned!
"Hah... Ah... ha..." – His breathing became rapid and ragged. A wave of pain from the sudden movements, like after a long period of inactivity, shot through his body.
He continued to struggle in all that water until he looked up. A bright light, blinding him, hit his jade eyes there. Closing his eyes, he tried to swim to the surface.
But no matter how long he swam, he kept stopping and continued to spit out and swallow water. And so it went, again and again. Nothing changed.
No matter how many times he looked up, it always seemed to him that he wasn't getting closer! On the contrary. It seemed to him that the surface had moved farther away, and the surroundings had become darker.
To the side, in the distance, something stirred away from him. Something of a size that an ordinary inhabitant of the water could not possess. But what was next to him had it.
«W-where am I?» – he repeated his previous question, wanting an answer.
But nothing happened. There was a frightening, anxious, and oppressive silence all around. It was occasionally broken by the sounds of his futile attempts to escape the trap he was in.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a new movement. Again, something was nearby that he couldn't comprehend. Or perhaps he simply didn't want to, or didn't have the strength.
All that mattered to him now was to get out of the watery embrace of this unknown place as soon as possible.
«Huh? What's happening?» – he suddenly thought, realizing one thing.
Nothing was happening. And this didn't concern the unknown creature next to him. This was related to the youth's body.
«Why don't I hurt? Why am I not suffocating?» – He felt that he had asked these questions instinctively, without thinking.
But the truth was that he felt nothing but pain in his body from the sudden movements. The youth didn't feel what he had felt before.
At least, that's what he thought. He thought he had felt it once... a long time ago. His body was experiencing a reaction quite unusual for it. Indifference.
His body felt complete indifference to the situation. It wasn't at all worried about a lack of air or anything similar. All that concerned his body now was a huge wave of pain and the unknown guest nearby.
But even so, he continued to swim up. The only thing that changed was the speed. Now he swam faster, trying not to stop, to avoid the body's habitual urge to get rid of excess water inside.
And the one next to him seemed to have noticed it too. The movement was more active than the previous two.
At that moment, his eyes finally managed to behold the one who was next to him. And he wished he hadn't!
A huge... colossal snake was swimming around him. Its scales glittered with captivating azure under the sun's rays. On them, he saw lines that seemed to him to be shifting. They changed their location on its massive body constantly and chaotically.
Giant, surpassing the height of an adult man, bright blue eyes with a vertical pupil stared straight at him, wanting to devour him right now. It seemed to him that they were burning with a strong and merciless blue flame, which only intensified the fear in his soul.
Just the sight of this monster... or titan?... made the goal of reaching the surface even more alluring! He wanted to reach it as soon as possible, no matter what!
Once again, his speed increased. Now, trying to completely ignore the pain in his body that was telling him to take a break, the youth only swam! He swam upwards.
«What is this creature?! W-where the hell have I ended up?!» – sincerely shouting in his soul, the guy swam and swam.
Swam and swam! Swam and swam!
The dark blue apprentice knight's uniform was completely soaked, making it heavier. This only made it harder for him.
But even so, the surface hadn't come any closer. He felt more and more like giving up. Seeing no results, his mind wanted only one thing: to give up and find peace. A peace, eternal and blissful, in this beautiful, clean, and calm water.
Suddenly, he realized, his eyes wide open, that this feeling had appeared at some unknown point. And with every second of his efforts, it only grew stronger.
«Maybe I really should give up?» – he asked himself, momentarily glancing at the gigantic snake, which he thought was behind him.
«Ah?!»
But, to his surprise and misfortune, the snake was still staring right at him, its bright blue eyes unblinking.
«What should I do?! Give up! Give up and die?! Just take it and die like this?!?!» – His thoughts fell into great disarray.
The guy didn't know what to do. How could he save himself? What did he need to do?
He didn't know. He didn't know, and no one could advise or help. Nearby were only the snake and the water that constrained him.
For a second, he stopped. And at that moment, the snake moved, agitating the mass of water around it. It began to approach him, opening its maw.
His eyes were met with the sight of horrifyingly huge fangs that felt like they could crush a ship in one bite!
«Faster! Faster! Faster to the top!!»
Thoughts appeared and vanished faster than he could grasp them and focus on them! The guy knew only one thing: he wanted to live! More than anything in the world, he wished to continue living in this world!
«Someon... Brother... Brother...»
At the moment of his fiercest struggle on the brink of life and death, when the enormous fangs of the even more colossal snake were approaching him, a female voice full of anxiety and fear rang out in his consciousness.
A burning and unbearable pain gripped his head, slowing him down!
«Brother... Brother!.. Brother…» –the voice continued to echo in the youth's mind.
His eyes were still blinded by the bright and captivating light of the sun, hanging somewhere in the heavens. His hand unconsciously reached out to it... And then...
"Haa!.. Hah... Hah..." – He felt a cool, light spring breeze on his face.
He had broken free from the heavy chains of the water. Looking down, he didn't see the enormous water snake. And the depth was not what it had seemed to him.
Swimming out to the nearest bank, he sprawled out on the soft grass, breathing in the fresh air of the surface.
"I... I did it. I survived," – His gaze was directed towards the sky, towards the sun, and his eyes sparkled with excitement, triumph, and jubilation.
The mysterious female voice faded. He no longer heard it.
«Well, I guess that's fortunate. This is enough for me already.» – he thought, enjoying his well-deserved rest. His strength began to leave him.
But at that moment, before it finally left him, a new voice rang out. Triumphant, loud, and full of excitement:
[Congratulations! You have passed your first trial!]
Pale symbols appeared before him, which he didn't understand... But somehow, he did understand them.
[Your first trial was truly not easy! You deserve respect and recognition for the feat accomplished! Be born and survive: such was your first trial on the path to Supremacy!]
But the voice did not subside, and the symbols before his eyes would appear and disappear. Soon he heard it again:
[Do you wish to receive the reward, Ascendant Someon?]
But he could not hear it to the end. His strength completely abandoned his body, too exhausted for one day.
He fell into a calm and peaceful sleep in the middle of a world unknown to him.