The ocean in front of me was all I could see.
Endless.
"Blue… just blue," I murmured under my breath.
The wind came in steady, salted and cold, brushing through my hair like it had a right to know me. The ship creaked beneath my feet with every slow rise and fall of the waves, as if it too was breathing-
When I finally looked around, I noticed them properly.
The deck was full.
People everywhere- yet not a single one looked unfamiliar to each other. Same coats, same rough boots, same worn hats pulled low like they were part of a uniform rather than clothing. And on nearly every back… a sword. Small, practical, sharpened by habit more than pride.
Pirates, the one's Jun warned me about.
Before I could fully process it, the air shifted.
I felt it before I saw it.
Heads turning.
One by one.
Until the entire deck was looking at me.
Silence didn't fall- it tightened.
Like a rope being pulled slowly, deliberately, around my throat.
"Never seen you around," someone muttered first.
A second voice followed. "Kid… how did you get on this ship?"
Then another, lower. Sharper. "That hair color…"
A hand reached for me.
Instinct moved faster than thought.
I caught his wrist mid-air and pushed it away- not violently, not enough to break anything, just enough to make a point.
A warning.
His expression darkened immediately.
"Oh?" he scoffed.
"Feisty, aren't you?"
The next second, his grip was on me.
Strong. Certain. Like he was used to people not resisting.
"Hey- " I started.
But the words didn't matter.
He dragged me forward across the deck, boots scraping wood, wind cutting past my ears as the ship rocked beneath us. Others fell into step behind him like it was rehearsed.
Like this wasn't the first time.
A door below deck groaned open.
The smell changed immediately- salt replaced by damp wood, tar, and something older… something like iron that had been there too long.
I didn't struggle anymore.
Not because I couldn't.
Because I didn't see the point.
"Captain," someone called out as we entered the dim corridor. "We found an intruder on board."
I simply let the world move.
The chamber ahead was wider, darker, lit only by a swinging lantern that painted everything in uneven gold and shadow. At the center stood a man.
The captain.
He didn't move at first.
Didn't speak.
Just looked.
There was something about him that didn't match the rest of the crew. Not just authority- something deeper. Something like pressure in the air before a storm breaks. His presence made the room feel smaller without him taking a single step.
I hated that feeling.
It reminded me of-
No.
Not now.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"An intruder?" he repeated at last.
The man holding me shoved me forward.
"Found him wandering the deck. Doesn't look like any port rat I've ever seen."
Another crew member added, almost eager, "No mark, no crew insignia. And that hair- never seen anything like it."
The captain's gaze stayed on me.
Longer than comfortable.
Like he was reading something I hadn't agreed to show.
Then- his eyes twitched.
Just once.
"Tie him up," he said calmly.
That was worse than shouting.
Two men stepped forward immediately. Rough hands grabbed my arms, pulling them behind my back. Rope bit into skin, tight and practiced.
I didn't resist.
Not anymore.
They dragged me down another corridor, deeper into the ship, where the air grew colder and the light almost disappeared completely.
Bars of iron came into view.
A holding cell.
For people.
Inside were silhouettes- some sitting, some lying down, some standing too still to be comfortable. Eyes followed me as I was brought closer, their faces half-hidden in darkness.
Some looked bored.
Some looked broken.
Some looked like they were already planning escape.
A few… smiled.
Not kindly.
The door clanged open.
I was shoved inside.
Wood hit my shoulder as I stumbled slightly, catching myself before I fell completely. The door slammed shut behind me, and the lock clicked with final certainty.
The footsteps faded.
Then only the ship remained.
Creaking. Groaning. Alive.
I exhaled slowly and looked around.
Too dark.
Even the daylight from above felt like a rumor down here.
That's when I felt it.
Movement behind me.
Before I could react, something- or someone- was right there.
Close.
Too close.
My body moved on instinct again-
But a voice cut through the dark first.
"Whoa, easy."
A kid.
A boy, maybe my age.
He stepped back just enough for me to see his shadow reflecting in the dark.
Not afraid.
Not broken.
Worse.
Excited.
"Wow," he whispered, like he had just discovered something interesting washed up on shore.
"Now I have a companion. And a boy my age too."
I narrowed my eyes. "What is this place?"
He tilted his head. "Are you new to the ocean?"
My silence answered for me.
He laughed softly, but it cracked halfway through, like his voice wasn't used to holding happiness for too long.
"This is the lower hold," he said casually, as if it was obvious. "Prison deck. Depends what mood the captain is in."
Something shone in that darkness.
And that was when I noticed it.
Thin metal wires- almost like fishing lines, but not quite- coiled loosely around his fingers.
Not normal.
He followed my gaze and smiled wider.
"We could explore, if you want."
He then proceeded to bend one of the wires wrapped around his fingers into something I couldn't name.
Seemed familiar to the one they used to lock is up.
I didn't answer immediately. Instead, I lowered myself to the wooden floor, leaning back against the cold bars.
Too tired for games.
Too alert for trust.
"I'm good," I said simply.
A beat of silence passed.
Then he sat down too.
Right beside me.
Close enough that I could feel his presence clearly... almost like he is on me.
"You're no fun," he muttered, leaning his head back against the wall, staring into the dark like it was familiar.
Outside, somewhere above us, the ship groaned again.
And far away- barely audible through the wood and waves-
someone shouted an order.
The ocean answered with another rise of the tide.
And I had an unsettling feeling…
Time passed. Days, maybe weeks- I couldn't tell in the endless darkness below deck.
Every now and then, a sailor would appear, tossing pieces of soft wheat bread through the bars before leaving without a word. It was enough to survive on.
Slowly, everything began to lose meaning. The darkness, the silence, the endless creaking of the ship- I started to lose it too...
Maybe I should just kill them all.
Before the thought fully manifest, the ship suddenly started to shake..
A deafening crash echoed from above, followed by shouting and the sound of wood splintering. The noise was so loud that I instinctively covered my ears.
The boy beside me immediately grabbed my hand.
"At least now you should be curious," he said with an excited grin.
Before I could answer, he pulled several thin iron wires from his sleeve and knelt by the cell door.
*Click.*
The lock opened as if he'd done it a hundred times before.
"Let's go!"
He dragged me out of the darkness and up toward the deck. As sunlight finally hit my face, I saw him clearly for the first time- golden hair dancing wildly in the sea breeze.