NarVos looked at the human named Aegaeon on the ground. He was curious how a human came by the ceremonial robes that only few within the Merfolk possessed. There was no way he came upon them by force seeing as he was too weak to even stand up now. This child had no combat abilities that were actually trained based on the brief skirmish he had witnessed between the Human and the Nymph, and even if he did, he couldn’t have bettered a holder of those robes.

Maybe the garb was passed down to him from an ancestor who rivaled the greatest of Merfolk? In any case, it seemed apparent that this child didn’t understand the power these robes possessed. The boosts they gave to water manipulation were off the charts, no other gear could rival them, not even water manipulation enchantments from the Enchanter’s Rule could match these. Only a brief flash of jealousy touched NarVos as he looked at Aegaeon. Stifling these feelings, he turned again to speaking with the child.

“How did you acquire our clothing?” NarVos asked putting up the front of anger instead of the wonder he felt. “It was from the System.” The answer left NarVos frozen for a moment considering the possibility. While the system did grant occasional gear as a reward for different achievements, it had never granted items such as these, or at least based on NarVos’s understanding. Was it possible?

Not wanting to question the system or jump down that rabbit hole, NarVos tried to rally his mind back to the conversation. “Where are you from?” He had to come from a powerful family to be blessed by the system or to have those clothes from an ancestor. Aegaeon responded after a pause, “I don’t know. I woke up on a different world and was introduced to this ‘system’ for only a little bit before being transported here.” So that answers it. This child is one of the few sent to claim a Throne by the system.

Now understanding the lack of ability and the randomly powerful gear the boy had NarVos felt the need to help this child. He had wanted to become a King and claim a Throne but was soon met with a cap on his abilities far from being able to surmount a Throne. “You need a Teacher.” ********

“You need a teacher.” The words from NarVos weren’t a question. The Merfolk gave Aegaeon a weird glance almost like he was trying to see something inside of him before he spoke again. “Wait at the back of our forces. When we are done here I will train you myself. If you are going to wear our clothes you will learn to fight in our style.” Shock from this experience gave Aegaeon only a brief moment of pause. He could deny this expectation and flee and try to stick it out himself but Aegaeon realized he had nowhere to go.

He was called to the water and the prospect of living in its environment excited him. At the same time, Aegaeon had no idea who this being was, he didn’t even know his name. More out of obedience from the shock than an actual answer, Aegaeon worked his way to the back of the Merfolk forces. Many of the Merfolk saw the exchange between the two and refused to reject the declaration of their General. If they did there were a few things the General could do and none seemed all that pleasant to the Merfolk Soldiers.

The battle lasted only moments more as the soldiers from the three sides were cast aside by the night of the commanders and generals. Aegaeon watched with awe as the Merfolk who saved him made quick work of those around. He twisted through the battlefield cleaving opponents left and right. If he had hesitations to obey this mans demand earlier, they were gone now. It would honestly be a great help to learn from such a being as this. His blade was a flash of silver that constantly twirled around him.

Nymphs and Humans falling with every swipe of his sword. The commanders of the opposing forces shortly came forward to meet this behemoth and stood against him only momentarily. What started as a 1v1v1 situation shortly turned to 2v1. And that was brief. The opposing forces compiled tried to combo attack with a hammer and sword combo designed to blow the opposing defense aside with the hammer followed by quick stabs. What the Human and Nymph commanders quickly learned was the strength and dexterity of this Merfolk fighting them.

With the hammer of the Human being deflected easily the following stab of the Nymph went parried and tossed aside as well. Neither gaining purchase until the Merfolk dispatched the Nymph on a failed stab attempt that left him open to attack. The slash of his sword went quicker than Aegaeon could follow as the Nymph separated into two with the sound of wood cracking. The Human tried to take advantage and swing his hammer at the head of the Merfolk but he quickly twisted around the strike and stabbed through the chest of the Human.

The battlefield was left stagnant as the Merfolk General stood holding the Human Commander up by the sword in his chest with the Nymph Leader dispatched on the ground. Humans and Nymphs alike soon turned and ran away as they reached to leave this beast of an individual capable of destroying the strongest of both forces as easily as popping his knuckles. The Merfolks in the battle quickly turned as though this was expected and walked quietly into the water. Aegaeon was left standing in shock as the Merfolk General he still had no name for simply said “follow,” as he walked last into the waves behind his brethren. Not wanting to upset this man Aegaeon obeyed and followed him into the waves.

*****

Aegaeon didn’t even have time to reflect on the empowering water around him as he had to focus to keep up with the Merfolk ahead of him. The speed he thought he had was soon discovered to be lacking. Almost in humiliation, Aegaeon followed and tried to imagine the strengths he could develop here with these people. Aegaeon pushed himself to follow and not lose the Merfolk who seemed to easily move at these speeds.

This trip seemed to last forever and Aegaeon feared multiple times that he’d lose the group ahead of him as he felt his focus and power slipping. Only by continually pushing himself to keep up allowed him to follow their trace. He was pushed to his utmost abilities just trying to follow. How capable were these people? It was near the point that Aegaeon knew he couldn’t maintain these speeds any longer that the group finally stopped. Exhaustion overcoming him as they began to move deeper into the water.

The General turned back to him, “you kept up.... good, you’re not a waste of time as I feared.” His voice deep and resonating, lacking the rasp it had on the beach. Aegaeon wondered if it had to do with water and air and the different ways they carry sound. Trying to speak, all Aegaeon heard was mumbling and a dull ring around him as he tried to talk. The General laughed. “Boy, manipulate the water with your voice. Think of your voice moving through the water, and it should be easily done. I figured you’d already be able to do that.”

Applying what the General told him, Aegaeon focused on his voice and pictured it moving through the water, moving as well as sound does in air. Testing himself, Aegaeon hesitantly responded, “can you hear me?” His voice was audible but still slightly muffled, like it was blocked by a wall or a barrier. “You’ll eventually get the hang of it,” the General said with a laugh. He would have to teach Aegaeon like he was a child. Merfolk taught their children the manipulation of water by basing it off their ability to talk underwater.

Aegaeon noticed that the group was approaching a trench in the water. The ocean was a field of blues shifting with the currents and ripples of water. Light from the sun reached down and was slightly subdued by the depth. Streams of light rippling around the water. The chasm they were looking at seemed to be a pit of blackness that light couldn’t reach into, the sand of the sea floor constantly flowing into the chasm from being tossed from the currents.

With trepidation Aegaeon followed the group as the water rejuvenated his aching body from keeping up. The Merfolk Soldiers advanced with confidence that came from experience and leaning on that, Aegaeon advanced with them. The lead of the group slowly disappeared as they entered the trench, making Aegaeon fear again what was below. Trying to steel his nerves, he went over his battle with the Amemasu Shark in his head, recounting every move either made. It was to fill his mind with something other than the unknown depths of the ocean. And eventually it was time for him to take the step.

“Hey kid, the step is easy, it may seem hard the first time, but there’s nothing scary on the other end,” the General stayed matter of factly. The way the General spoke made Aegaeon feel like a child and indignation flared as he stepped forward. Approaching the edge of the pit, Aegaeon felt the sand beneath his feet. Busying his mind with the feeling of the course sand rubbing his heels. With another step he was over the edge, and with a thought he descended into the dark.

Descending through the dark proved to be a bit more than the General initially stated. It wasn’t simply a quick step and a fall through a barrier. Aegaeon felt like he was going down forever. Meter after meter passed and still he saw nothing but the ever present darkness around him. Thinking he was tricked and led here to die by the Merfolk Aegaeon began to descend faster. He would see to the bottom of this trench, orient himself, and come back up. He just continued to keep falling, further and further, nothing changing as he felt the water rush past him.

The only indication that he was truly going down was the temperature of the water vastly decreasing as he went ever downward. The darkness seemed to magnify the further he went, regardless of the lack of light when he first entered the pit. It was in a moment of panic and worry once again that made Aegaeon feel childish that he finally broke through the darkness and was amazed at the image before him.