He Who Cradles The Sea

The sound of crashing waves and the thunder reverberating in Adnan's chest played a dreadful symphony. Like the drumming of war, the sea condemned the existence of the wreckage blocking its path, and he could feel every vibration of its contact against the shell of the ship.

But his focus was stolen by the dark tentacles that were reaching to the heavens. Lighting illuminated the razor sharp suction cups that ran along the appendages.

Five. Adnan counted five tentacles as they all climbed high in the air. They could catch airplanes from the sky and sweep the tumultuous clouds in another direction if they so wished.

"Son, what the hell are you doing?!"

The man next to him smacked his shoulder then grabbed the collar of his shirt. Before he came down from his stupor, Adnan was hoisted back by shocking strength, whisked away from the broken opening of the ship.

His rear was dragged along the floor before he at least was able to scramble to his senses and, thankfully, to his feet.

His bare feet sought very little purchase on the smooth floor. Adnan only realized how drenched he was as he kept on slipping, and if it weren't for the man tightly gripping his shirt, he would've tumbled down the inclined surface.

He didn't know what the hell he was doing but right now, he needed to get the hell away from that thing.

Their steps were quick as they both ran through the remaining half of the corridor. The metallic walls carried the hollow noise of wind echoing through the halls.

Dents blemished the surfaces but they provided Adnan's hands something to latch onto should he slip or trip over himself.

"This way!" The man shouted over his shoulder.

His voice was drowned out by the ship suddenly groaning and creaking.

The floor became unsteady. The corridor shook and shuddered enough to knock Adnan against a wall and down. He hissed at the dull pain and forced himself back up against the wall for balance.

"A wave?" Adnan thought aloud.

He must've paused to stabilize himself for a second too long, since the man just hauled him back into moving.

"Not this time! It's—"

Creak! Bang!

Adnan's eyes widened.

Everything became unstable. The man grabbed the doorframe and swapped to holding Adnan's arm tightly. Miscellaneous items like boxes and the like brushed past him and the man at high speeds, raining down from the end of the corridor and into the water below.

The scenery of the world beyond was replaced with waves rattling and attacking everything they could touch.

"Blasted creature's liftin' the ship!" Adnan could hear the exasperation in the man's tone.

The shift in gravity caused Adnan to twist his arm in the man's grasp and latch his hand around his bicep. His heart caught in his throat and subsequently, any words that were about to come out of his mouth.

The waves grew smaller. Adnan felt like he was taking an exceptionally quick elevator up and he could only pray for something as normal as that.

As the ship was lifted high in the air, he could see just how grossly he underestimated the height the tentacles reached.

The nausea was the only thing keeping him from screaming at the top of his lungs.

That, and how his eyes were drawn to the portion of the tentacle that came into view below. Black like ink, yet there were faint green glimmers among the sleek surface that resembled those glass murals inside of large cathedrals.

Except these radiated a sinister light when illuminated by the lightning.

"Thunder sings its praise; the sea dances in its honor." The man above murmured, just as awed as Adnan, but certainly not as fearful.

His wide blue eyes raked over the tentacle as if he were appreciating the majesty of a creature so beyond humanity and its inferior anatomy.

"Ain't it a beaut, son?"

His laughter drew Adnan's gaze up, making the man raise his brow and grin.

"Eh? Whatcha lookin' at me like that for?" He laughed a boisterous laugh.

Adnan had to wonder if this man was mentally ill. He didn't have the time to appreciate or entertain anything since he was too busy dangling over certain death.

It seemed like the man quickly picked up on the look he was being cast.

"Ah, don't worry. We'll get down once the Varlet throws us." He chuckled.

"Uhm?! Hold up—"

"Which should be right now, haha!"

With no preparation whatsoever, Adnan felt his heart sinking to his stomach. His eyes went wide as the sound of metal being crushed and bent around them only grew louder, a sign of the tentacle tightening its grip around the broken half of the ship in preparation of launching it.

Adnan's fingers dug into the man's bicep with a death grip and the man only let out a slight 'woah' while the ship swayed in the air.

It was dizzying as they felt the gravity shift once again before it felt like it just… disappeared. Weightlessness freed their muscles from strain, and the wind howled as it rushed up the only opening.

"Oh, God!" Adnan cried out.

Broken bits and pieces fell from the ship as it flew through the skies. Like a little stone tossed by a child towards a lily pad, it was appalling how easily the tentacle handled what might've been thousands of tons of metal.

The crew on the ships below just peered up at the wreckage spearing towards them.

"Move!" A voice shouted.

The many men immediately got to work. A verdant glow emanated from the keel of the ships, discoloring the surrounding waters a deep viridian.

The quick reaction afforded the ships to pull in opposite directions. Hindered by not even the raging sea, the armor broke through the waves and quelled the waters that beat against their flanks. The flood dragons were forcefully tamed in favor of the more urgent opposition… the tentacles.

The situation within the wreckage being tossed wasn't as fortunate though.

When the half ship reached its zenith, the man let go of the door frame with a crazed grin, and Adnan had no choice but to remain in his grasp as they were about to be exposed to nothing but air.

Suddenly, the man's hand lit up with a ghostly gray aura. Like smoke, it quickly diffused into the air before condensing into the shape of a large curved triangle that was half his size. Adnan watched with bulging eyes and a gaping mouth as the rest of the smoke attached itself to the triangle, and soon, the shape of a large shark manifested at the man's hand.

The shark dove down at speeds quicker than their fall, sharp teeth snapping at the salty air.

The wind battered against Adnan and whipped the cost of the man, who was laughing wildly at the ever accelerating speed of their descent.

He pulled Adnan down with enough strength to combat the force of the fall and held him against the side of the shark.

"Hold onto this, son!" The man gleefully commanded.

He released Adnan too soon and that frightened him into immediately grasping the shark fin as tight as he could. His body clung to the upper side of the smoky construct.

The wind made Adnan's eyes water and forced his eyelids to shut. He grit his teeth and begged to be woken up from this dream any moment now.

A rough pat on his shoulder made him crack open his eyes just a little to look at the lunatic next to him just to see what nonsense he was about to bring up.

The man just had a wide, toothy grin on his face. Adnan could just barely see the gold and silver teeth glinting through the rain and wind, but the thumbs up threw him off the most.

Wait, scratch that. The man suddenly letting go of the shark and being left behind to free fall startled a gasp from Adnan.

"Oh, fuck!" Adnan ran his gaze up before quickly turning back down.

He didn't know if should let go or continue to hold on, but he knew the impact would kill him either way. That or leave him crippled and give him a ticket to drowning in the depths.

Or maybe neither.

The smoke within the shark began to spread out. Tendrils of fog wrapped around Adnan's wrists and encroached around his torso, pulling him into the body of the shark until he was fully surrounded by smoke. The opening closed behind him, sealing him from the outside world a mere few seconds before he descended into the sea.

The shark swam a graceful arc before its powerful tail whipped within the water, propelling it forward beneath the waves. The animosity of undercurrents caused Adnan to rattle around within, yet his shouts were muffled by the smoke and sea.

He spread out his limbs to steady himself the best he could and that afforded him more time to breathe somehow.

Adnan panted from the adrenaline. So long as he was leaving those tendrils behind, he was happy, but he had no idea where the shark was taking him.

That man at least saved him but why the hell did he let go of the shark? This thing looked like it could fit at least four people…

Adnan didn't know nor did he care. He assumed that lunatic was probably kissing up that sea monster.

…Sea monster

"Ah… Varlet…"

It was sinking in.

'The tentacles. Varlet. Something about… thunder singing its praise.'

Adnan's desperate mind latched onto anything that could give him an explanation of what was happening.

He whipped his head back to look past the smoky walls and into the darkness of the sea.

[Varlet of the Chanteuse].

The devout follower of a siren that had been sealed at the depths of the Boundless Sea.

The creature that terrorized any and all that sailed over its territory.

"The squid bitch from Beyond the Sanctum!"

Adnan devoted so much time to the game that he could recall every single monster, their moveset, and their drops that came after they were slain.

Within the game, every creature had a story, a plot surrounding their existence to solidify their importance and belonging in the world.

Some creatures were hurdles specific to certain classes, and as such, the Varlet and the Chanteuse both played large roles in the [Pirate] class.

Adnan could recall the week it took him to defeat the both of them. It was grueling, and he had to restart the path so many times that he nearly gave up.

If it weren't for the pirates…

"The pirates."

Adnan mumbled.

"I'm in the game."

He lowered his head.

He didn't know if he should feel grief or surprise. His heart was pounding at a speed of a million miles per second. Maybe he was too shocked to even be aware of his own shock… if that could happen.

The shark seemed a bit more stable as it zipped through the waters. He didn't know how fast it was going but he certainly was concerned about the direction they were heading.

'Perhaps the ships?' He thought.

If everything was true, then that fleet beyond must've belonged to one of the largest pirate organizations to rule the seas.

[Barasada].

Through the darkness, Adnan could make out green glows shaping the undersides of the ships.

Everything felt surreal. The Varlet, being thrown around, the ships… it was far from their pixelated counterpart in the game.

Adnan was starting to believe this wasn't a dream anymore.

'Just why... did that hand take me?'

…

The silence was deafening.

Broken up by the sudden erratic movements from the shark, Adnan was cut from his thoughts and forced to focus on the reality he was thrown into.

He glanced out the flank to watch debris sink past him. The ship.

The shark itself seemed to be programmed to dodge anything in its way as it raced through metal pipes and detached metal frames. Boxes and stray scrap scraped its side to create a dull 'shiiing' but it kept on moving to Adnan's fortune.

Adnan himself watched the water cave in on itself as the very half of the ship he was in earlier embraced the sea. It swallowed water through its opening, its broken buoyancy challenging the waves before it was ultimately engulfed.

The shark was quickly leaving behind the scenery.

It was depressing, yet frightening. How the seemingly endless depths greedily swallowed everything.

Adnan feared not the sea, but the unknown depths.

And in the game, creatures like the Varlet roamed freely.

He gulped, forcing himself to look up ahead.

The shark steadied itself as it neared one of the many boats. It went along with the flow of the tides.

Adnan didn't relax, which was a good idea on his end since the shark suddenly sped up, nearly knocking him back from the sudden force.

It swam straight up, breaching the side of the wave and drawing a perfect arc in the air.

Its destination: the spacious deck of the ship.

It felt far longer than a few seconds. The rumbling of thunder and the flash of a lightning bolt that hit far too close made Adnan once more feel the shock that he thought he got used to.

The shark landed with a bang on the deck. The smoke absorbed the impact but Adnan still rattled within like beans in a maraca.

The shark must've taken the delivery as a successful one and simply vanished, dispersing into the air and leaving Adnan exposed to the sharp winds and the rain that fell like needles onto his body.

With a hiss, he hustled to his feet, grabbing the rope wrapped around the mast of the ship and hoisting himself close.

He swore at least a thousand times under his breath as he glanced at the distance.

The tentacles stood tall, some curling into the water as if looking for more ships to hurl.

"Ready!"

The sudden voice beyond the foremast alerted Adnan. The ships all roared to life. He could feel hefty vibrations coursing up the pads of his feet and shaking his body.

Cannons glimmered under the downpour and lightning. Sleek and black, connected with a long and intricate design running from the opening down to the base like emblazoned vertebrae, Adnan watched as a green glow faded in through the crevices of the embellishments.

It was quick, the glow taking no more than a couple of seconds to reach the end. And when it did, a ring around the edge lit up, signaling a completion.

Adnan could tell it was ready.

Every other ship in the fleet has an eerie green glow like a verdant siren haunting the seas, displaying her wrath in animalistic barrages of waves.

"Aim!"

The cannons all locked in on the tentacles. A strange, low howl echoed through the seas and the skies. It was slow, but the appendages began to slowly draw back from the fleet. Adnan's eyes widened.

As the tentacles began to rush up to their peak and only moments before they reached their zenith, the command came.

"Fire!"

The voice boomed.

A cacophony of almost deafening explosions sounded out. The ship teetered from the sheer force of the launch and Adnan had to tighten his grip on the ropes to keep steady against the undulations.

Smoky haze was left in the cannonballs' wake.

A row of charged black dots lined the skies, challenging the five towering pillars swinging towards them.