Ajina remained on his knees, staring at the ship approaching from the sea. 🌊
In a deep, exhausted voice, he muttered,
"It seems I have no strength left... all my power has vanished."
"The enemy is getting closer..."
He tried to stand up.
But the moment he pushed himself forward, his foot slipped on a loose stone.
THUD. 💥
Ajina fell face-first into the mud.
For a few moments, he remained motionless.
His face was covered in wet dirt, and his exhausted body refused to obey him. 🌧️
Yet the ship continued moving toward the shore. 🌊
Inside the ship, a man was looking through a telescope while laughing softly. 🚢🌊
"Is this really the island?" he wondered.
Just then, a girl's voice came from behind him.
"Uncle, is this the island we've been searching for?"
The man lowered the telescope from his face and turned around.
Standing there was Hiruma—the same girl who had appeared in Mara's dream, Atura's younger sister. ✨
She looked at him curiously.
"Is this the place?" she asked again.
The man nodded.
"Yes, Hiruma."
Without wasting a second, Hiruma took the telescope from his hands and looked toward the shore.
A moment later, her eyes widened slightly. 😨
There, lying in the mud near the water's edge...
was a man in a miserable condition.
It was Ajina.
Covered in dirt and barely able to move, he looked more like a dying wanderer than a warrior.
Hiruma continued staring at him in silence.
👁️
Hiruma lowered the telescope and looked at her uncle. 🌊
"Who is that person lying in the water?" she asked.
Her uncle looked toward the shore and replied,
"It seems that man is in trouble."
Hiruma's expression softened.
"I think we should help him."
Her uncle immediately shook his head.
"No."
"Helping strangers is foolish."
"Remember this, Hiruma... never trust everyone. In this world, most people seek only their own benefit."
As he spoke, concern appeared on his face. 😔
But Hiruma did not look convinced.
"I still want to help him."
Without hesitation, she quickly joined her thumb and first finger together. 👁️✨
She was about to speak the words—
But suddenly her uncle stopped her.
"Wait."
"Be patient."
"I know you want to help him."
He looked toward the distant island and continued in a serious tone,
"But don't forget where we're about to arrive."
"The people of this land are poor..."
"And many of them are dangerous." 🌑⚔️
For a moment, Hiruma remained silent.
Meanwhile, far away on the shore, Ajina still lay motionless in the mud as the ship slowly drew closer. 🌊🚢
Hiruma's face fell with disappointment. 😔
For a moment, she remained silent.
Then her uncle sighed and said,
"Fine. Go and bring the medicine from your room."
Hiruma's eyes lit up instantly. ✨
"Really?"
Before he could answer, she was already running toward her cabin with a bright smile. 🏃♀️🚢
At that very moment, dark clouds began gathering above the ship. ☁️⚡
They swirled across the sky as though the opening move of a great war had already been made.
Meanwhile, Ajina lay motionless near the shore. 🌊
His head rested against a stone.
The water around him was stained with his blood. 🩸
Suddenly, a thought echoed inside his mind.
Am I... lying in the water?
The next instant, darkness consumed him.
Ajina lost consciousness.
Then he found himself inside a dream. 👁️🌕
A young boy was lying in the middle of a quiet pond.
The water around him was perfectly still.
Without warning, a crocodile emerged from the depths and began approaching the boy. 🐊
Yet strangely...
The creature suddenly stopped.
Then it slowly backed away.
The boy noticed the movement and turned around.
Only then did he realize that the crocodile had been right behind him. 😨
He quickly climbed out of the pond and looked into the distance.
Far away, atop a mountain, stood a mysterious figure.
No...
The figure wasn't standing.
It was floating in the air. 🌑
Darkness concealed its face.
And behind it, a cape drifted through the wind like a shadow given life. 👁️⚔️
The boy stared at the figure.
The figure stared back.
And for some reason...
The entire dream suddenly felt wrong. 🔥
The figure suddenly spoke in a loud, deep voice that echoed across the mountains. 🌑
"I did not come here to save you."
"Remember this..."
"Your value is no greater than the dirt beneath our shoes."
For a moment, the boy remained silent.
Then, unexpectedly, a smile appeared on his face. 🙂
For the first time in my life...
My father spoke to me.
The floating figure continued,
"Never forget who you are."
"You are arrogant."
The words struck the boy harder than any weapon. ⚔️
Suddenly—
Ajina opened his eyes. 👁️
The dream vanished.
The sound of waves returned to his ears. 🌊
His vision was blurry, and his body felt heavier than stone.
Why... can't I move?
I can't even lift my hand...
He tried to force his fingers to move.
Nothing happened. 😨
His muscles refused to respond.
Only his eyes could move.
As panic slowly crept into his mind, Ajina stared at the sky above him.
The dark clouds continued to gather overhead. ☁️⚡
And somewhere nearby...
He could hear footsteps approaching. 👣🌊
A beam of light suddenly pierced through the dark clouds and descended from the sky. ☁️✨
It crashed down upon Ajina's body.
Within that radiant light danced countless shining particles, drifting around him like stars. 🌟
Then, without warning, Ajina's head slowly began to rise, pulled upward by an unseen force.
His body followed.
A moment later, he was standing in midair. 🌕
His head remained lowered.
His arms hung motionless by his sides.
The glowing particles continued to circle around him as the waves below crashed against the shore. 🌊
For several seconds, silence ruled the world.
Then Ajina slowly opened his mouth.
And in that same deep voice from the dream, he spoke,
"A broken body does not seek salvation..."
"It seeks a reason to stand again."
The air trembled. ⚡
The light around him grew brighter.
And for the first time since arriving on the island...
Ajina's presence felt less like that of a wounded man—
and more like the awakening of something far older. 👁️🌑✨
The voice echoed once again through the storm. 🌑⚡
"Your worth lies beneath our shoes."
Ajina slowly raised one hand forward.
Then he placed his other hand upon it.
A faint glow began spreading across his palms. ✨
The air around him trembled.
In a cold voice, he declared,
"Ekani: Eagle Cannon." 🦅⚔️
The moment those words were spoken, the heavens responded.
A colossal mass of dark clouds descended from the sky at terrifying speed. ☁️⚡🌪️
It looked less like a storm...
and more like a falling mountain of darkness.
Nearby, a man watched the scene while pressed against a stone wall. 😨
His eyes widened in disbelief.
"What kind of disaster is this?!"
Yet instead of fleeing, a grin slowly appeared on his face. 😈
He reached behind his back and pulled out a long spear. ⚔️
Raising it toward the sky, he prepared to strike.
At that same moment—
Behind the ship, an enormous tidal wave surged forward. 🌊🚢
The wall of water towered above the vessel like a moving mountain.
Ahead, the descending storm clouds rushed toward the earth. ☁️⚡
Behind, the monstrous wave raced toward the sea. 🌊
It was as if the ocean and the heavens were about to collide. 🌑🌊⚡
And in the center of it all stood Ajina, suspended in the air, his head lowered as though he had become the eye of the coming catastrophe. 👁️🔥