In the far, far, ocean. In one of the purple twirls, used to live a jellyfish human and its family. The jellyfish often looked at the sky, wondering what are the shining objects above.

It had observed the sky every day and night, staring at the three purple suns, at the ring of asteroids around her planet, and at many of its hundred moons.

One day, the jellyfish noticed something unusual, a star that had a tail and was moving in the skies. Jellyfish followed it with its eyes, slowly swimming towards it. The star accelerated and its sparkling got bigger and bigger, and soon it crossed the horizon and fell somewhere in the ocean.

The jellyfish stopped pondering for a while, it followed in the direction where the stall fell.

At first, the jellyfish crossed the sea of coral columns, where many shoals of flying fishes, cosmic turtles, and feathery manta rays lived, but to fully cross the coral sea through the canyon at its end, it would have to ask for permission.

In front of the jellyfish was a girl made of pure white light. She floated peacefully, surrounded by a webbed sphere of coral, it was like she was asleep.

The jellyfish stopped and looked around, top of coral columns, that surrounded the girl, glowed with dim blue light. It was beautiful scenery, but the jellyfish couldn't stay here forever.

"I wish to find the light." - The jellyfish spoke in a melodic voice.

The girl slowly opened her eyes, they were like two black agates. Staring at them, was like staring in the void.

"It is deep in the 'Unknown'." - The girl's voice resounded like an echo. - "Is your desire still sincere?"

The jellyfish hesitated, but not for long. It was a brave jellyfish. - "Yes."

"Then, let me come with you." - The girl replied, and the coral that surrounded her turned into liquid silver. It started to whirl around the girl like a hoop, then split into six smaller rings, that surrounded her ankles, wrists, waist, and one hovered over her head like an aureole.

The jellyfish nodded and the light girl made of pure light joined, they both ventured into the canyon.

The canyon was made of lime and riddled with holes, where eels and sea serpents lived. The eels were living busy lives, they all dragged various rocks, algae, and pieces of coral to a vast cave at the end of the canyon.

In the cave, was a huge bed-throne, where the largest of sea serpents was taking a rest.

"There is a single shaft that leads outside, to the sea of everlasting rain." - The girl made of light pointed at top of the cave. - "You have to pay tribute to the serpent king first, though."

The jellyfish human checked its pockets, it only had a few pieces of coral coins and a comb.

Sensing intruders, the large serpent king awoke from its slumber. Its sharp head moved forward, to the two adventurers, and opened its mouth, revealing rows of dangerous teeth.

"I know where you are going. To find the light." - The serpent spoke. - "Pay the tribute."

The jellyfish presented what it had in its hand.

"Hahaha." - The serpent laughed. - "That's close to nothing." - It turned its head away and was back at rest. - "You may not pass."

The jellyfish was angry, but it couldn't vent out at the serpent. It was too big and too strong.

"Seems like our journey is over." - The girl made of light spoke.

"No!" - The jellyfish protested. - "We will find a proper gift."

One of the eels, wearing exquisite robes, approached the two. He was the great serpent's official advisors. - "If I may interject, I could suggest you a solution or two."

The jellyfish looked at the advisor, its eyes beamed with eagerness and hope.

"There are two places where you might find a suitable gift, the Den of the Lost and the Sea of Strings." - The advisor took out a map. - "No of the eels is brave enough to go there, but you may find a fine silk and ivory in those places."

"Thank you for help, advisor." - The girl of light spoke. - "The jellyfish will decide."

The jellyfish was filled with determination. - "I will go to the Den of the Lost! You can go to the sea of strings, If you wish." - He spoke to the advisor, then to the girl.

The girl made of light grabbed the bottom of her dress and bowed, then departed.

The jellyfish followed the advisor, who pointed him to a long tunnel that led to the Den of the Lost. As the jellyfish traveled deeper and deeper into the tunnel, it started to be filled with an orange mist and many bones of sea animals, but none of them was valuable ivory.

The Den of the lost was a vast place with large mushrooms growing at its bottom. More bones of large animals and orange mist filled the place, as the jellyfish proceeded to the bed of the undersea lake.

Surrounding the lake, was a ring of the abyss, the mist struggled down the cliffs like a waterfall. If the ivory could be found, it had to be there.

The jellyfish ignored clouds of white water flies and other insect-like living beings, then climbed down to the abyss. Under the bed of the lake, there was a second, larger cave with a red lake. Protruding from it, were sharp thorns and roots and they all were located around a skeleton of a colossal sea dragon.

The jellyfish knew that it was the ivory that the advisor was speaking of, all it had to do was take one of the dragon's teeth. It quickly swam between high columns made of white ribs, then plucked one of teeth out of the ground.

All it had to do, was to return now, but it couldn't. It heard an ominous rumble. There it was, another of sea dragons, alive and circling over jellyfish's head. The jellyfish was trapped.

The sea dragon was big and red, it had four large fins that were like wings and it breathed fire, scorching the tips of white ribs black.

The jellyfish looked around and noticed a large dragon scale. It grabbed it and quickly shielded itself from incoming flames. The jellyfish knew there was no time to waste and started swimming towards the exit, while the dragon pursued.

The jellyfish was too slow and the dragon started catching up, almost devouring the jellyfish with its large jaw. The jellyfish looked upon the roots and headed there. It agilely avoided thorns and sharp tips, while the dragon crashed into the dead coral.

The jellyfish kept swimming like its life depended on it, because in fact – it did. Although sharp thorns lacerated the dragon's skin, it kept shattering its way through.

However, as it did, it would slow down due to the wounds and that's what jellyfish was waiting for. As soon as it sensed that its faster than the dragon, the jellyfish propelled up, towards the waterfalls and hid behind the curtain of orange mist.

The dragon followed, but it couldn't spot jellyfish anywhere now. It roamed very close and sniffed with its snout, but the odor of fumes blocked its ability to sense the jellyfish. After a few hours of searching passed, the dragon gave up and the Jellyfish was allowed to safely return.

In the meantime, the girl made of light was at the Sea of Strings.

It was a very dark place, nearly pitch black. The only objects one could spot in the dark were white, glowing strings that reached from the infinite abyss to the sky, and white petals that floated up the columns of water from the geyser below.

The girl of the light extended her left hand and a ring of silver, that surrounded it, turned into an orb of light. The girl sent the orb in front of her, to illuminate the path. Below her, were grey water plants in the shape of rugged spheres.

The girl leaped between them, venturing deeper into the blackness until she overheard a hissing sound.

"What...ssss... are you doing....ssss.... here...ssss.." - The mysterious voice inquired.

"I'm looking for silk." - The girl made of light replied.

"It's...ssss... mine, leave...ssss..." - The voice responded.

"I understand and apologize for intruding." - The girl grabbed her skirt and bowed, but the hissing voice became agitated. The girl made of a light felt how strings wrap around her arms, legs, and neck.

"Who has....ssss... send... you...ssss?"

"Nobody." - She replied, she has remained calm.

"Lies...ssss... who is...ssss...that...ssss...silk for...ssss?"

"The serpent king."

"Irredeemable! SSSSSSS!!!" - The voice grew angry and strings tightened their grip around the girl. Slowly, a silhouette appeared from the shadows. First, her face, like that of a spider, then torso, like that of a porcupine, with six elongated human arms extending from it and at last, a very long tail with layers upon layers of frills, ending with twin spikes, dripping with venom.

The girl made of light wriggled a bit, checking If she can free herself, but that wasn't possible. - "Please, let me go." - She requested.

"No! SSSS!!!" - The monstrous creature yelled. - "I... ssss... shall... ssss... send your corpse back...ssss..."

"I wouldn't do that." - The girl warned.

"Why... ssss... why would I be... ssss... scared... ssss?"

"I'm not trying to scare you, but without me, the light won't reach the depths."

"LIES...SSSS!"

The girl closed her eyes, her body gradually became darker, and darker, until it lost all light and all of the luminous strings acted in a similar fashion.

The monster couldn't see in the dark anymore, it was scared, but the light slowly returned, and so died the silhouette of a girl, now freed from strings.

"Everybody in darkness receives my light, I expect nothing in return." - The girl said. - "Even If you threaten me, this gift is for all."

After the monster realized what power the person in front holds, it bowed with respect. - "My profound... ssss... apologizes... please wait." - The monster disappeared back in the darkness, then returned with the silk. - "Token of my... ssss... appreciation... ssss." - It was a beautiful, luminous fabric, made of the very same strings that used to tether the girl.

"Thank you." - The girl made of light smiled and bowed once again, while holding the folded fabric. The monster kept bowing with respect, in silence, so the girl spoke. - "I shall depart, but let the light always remind that someone cares for you. Goodbye."

"Wait!" - The monster asked one last time. - "Don't trust... ssss... the serpent..."

"My light shines for everyone." - The girl replied and swam back to the eels' domain.

Jellyfish was already waiting for the girl in the throne room. The great serpent inspected the ivory and silk with his keen eyes.

"You may pass." - He uttered those words and a dozen of eel servants appeared, then took away the items.

"To the sea of everlasting rain!" - The jellyfish exclaimed with excitation while smiling brightly at the girl made of light.

"To the sea of everlasting rain." - The girl calmly responded and the two swam upwards, right to the surface.

Albeit the weather was stormy, the waves on the grey water were tiny.

"I don't like rain." - The girl made of light uttered.

The Jellyfish was astounded. - "Why? I love it!"

"The world usually becomes cold, dull, and colorless. It makes me sad."

"I never looked at it this way." - The jellyfish pondered. - "To me, it's refreshing and I feel like every falling drop dances with me." - The jellyfish twirled merrily.

"You're a strange one." - The girl replied, while extending her hand and feeling the rain.

"I am not!"

The girl just looked at the jellyfish, smiled, and added. - "In a good way."

The jellyfish blushed and hid its embarrassed face under its umbrella-shaped bell.

The girl delicately grabbed the jellyfish's hand and spoke. - "We're close to the light, let's go."

"Mhm. Okay." - The jellyfish barely uttered.

After our two travelers crossed the sea of everlasting rain it was already a night. It was now the sea where bioluminescent algae and plankton illuminated the surface of waters, underneath jellyfish's feet was an entire sea of glowing wonders. Fluorescent corals of many colors were home to many strange creatures that jellyfish didn't see anywhere else, like the weirdest of sea slugs, some like rabbits, some like blue dragons, some with thousands of small feathers resembling butterfly wings.

"Let's dive." - The girl made of light spoke, while still holding jellyfish's hand.

"Mhm."

The water was pleasantly warm and the leaves of tall algae gently caressed jellyfish's gelatinous skin. The girl made of light led the jellyfish to the middle of a large flower, and she sat there.

The jellyfish looked at the girl, he was a bit lost. - "Are we stopping here?"

The girl made of light nodded, so the jellyfish sat next to her.

The petals of the flower started closing and the jellyfish stood up and reacted with caution, a bit nervously, but the girl made of light gently took his hand and replied. - "No need to be afraid, you're safe here."

The jellyfish trusted the girl and sat down again. After the flower closed, only the dim light of the girl illuminated the inside. It was a very silent place, the jellyfish could hear the hard beating of its own and girl's heart.

The jellyfish felt a little anxious, so it tried to speak – "It's nice to know that we're getting closer to the light."

The girl remained silent for a while, so jellyfish's anxiety rose, but the girl soon spoke. - "What do you plan to do, once you find the light?"

"I will return home." - The jellyfish replied.

"No, I mean, after. With the light."

"I... I don't know, I didn't think that far."

"If you could do anything with the light, what would you do?"

The jellyfish pondered for a while. - "It depends, I don't know what the light wants. It fell from the sky, so maybe I would help it to come back home, but only If it wants to go back. If the light wants to explore our world, I would gladly ask it to allow me to be its guide."

The girl smiled gently, albeit sadly, and kissed the jellyfish on the cheek.

The jellyfish blushed but didn't lose its composure. - "What was that?" - It asked.

The girl giggled. - "If you wish, you can think of it as a 'thank you'."

The jellyfish was confused, it thought it should be the one thanking the girl for leading it there.

The flower slowly opened, letting beams of daylight inside. The jellyfish couldn't believe what it saw.- "What... what happened!?"

"It's a phase flower, it moves through time and space. Your light... is here."

In front of the jellyfish was an enormous spaceship, covered in coral and rust.

"This is not the light!" - Jellyfish said. - "The light was bright... and... it had a tail."

"Shall we go inside?"

The jellyfish nodded, nothing would stop it now. They squeezed inside, through a dent in a broken gate, then passed through the engine room, a cafeteria, lounging chamber, residential quarters, but they found no trace of life all the way to the bridge.

The girl smiled sentimentally while touching the panels of the ship, it was like she knew them.

"There is no light." - The jellyfish realized.

"We are a bit late."

The jellyfish's mood turned gloomy. It sat down on the cold, metal floor of the ship, with crossed arms on its legs, and complained. - "All the hardships, the long journey we had, it was for nothing!"

"It wasn't for nothing."

"But we didn't find the light!"

"The phase flower, it can move through the time and space..."

The jellyfish brightened up and lifted its face. - "Do you think, we can use it to find the light!?"

"No, silly, your light is here."

The jellyfish opened its eyes wide and looked all around the room, but it couldn't find anything. - "Where? Where!?" - It repeated.

The girl giggled and pointed at herself. - "Here."

The Jellyfish finally understood. - "But... how!? You were living in the sea for the past few years!"

"Phase flower."

Jellyfish's eyes opened wide, it was unbelievable. - "You come from the sky!?"

"Yes."

"AMAZING!" - The jellyfish exclaimed. - "Tell me, what is the sky like!!?"

"It's... empty."

"Empty?"

"Empty...? But... but there are a lot of other lights there!"

"Yes... but they are far, far away, and too far to reach. Not only that, but most of them are actually gigantic balls of flames, they don't laugh, talk or explore. They behave no different than rocks."

"But how!? You're different! There must be others like you!"

"I'm afraid not. I'm the last of my kind."

"That's... sad. I'm sorry."

"Cheer up. It's in the past." - The girl smiled gently. - "I have many new friends here, I couldn't be happier!"

The Jellyfish responded with a wide grin. - "I'm glad."

The girl made of light swayed her left foot back and forth, with arms crossed behind her back, she asked. - "...so, is there anything more you want to know?"

"I don't know... I want to ask about EVERYTHING!"

The girl giggled again. - "Then, I guess it'll have to wait until we're back home. For now, I can show you around..."

The girl touched a panel behind her and all lights in the ship lit up.

"Whoa" – The Jellyfish was amazed. - "Does it... swim? Or... or even fly!?"

"It used to."

"Is it broken?"

"Mostly." - Girl's hands danced around the buttons. - "I want to show you something... put your hands on a panel, here." - She pointed at two cavities.

"Okay."

The room around jellyfish disappeared, replaced by an artificial image of a planet made entirely out of lava, black clouds covered the entire sky, and volcanoes erupted in the far. The Jellyfish could hear sounds of thunder and smell the ash.

"What... what is it?"

"One of the places I've visited during my travels."

"It's scary!" - The Jellyfish replied. - "I love it!"

The girl giggled. - "I'm glad you like it. Next..."

The image turned to a lifeless city hovering in the skies, built entirely in a clockwork architecture and powered by a large crystal at its bottom. The Jellyfish was on board of a small skyship, alone. It was so amazing, that the Jellyfish couldn't utter a word.

The girl kept slowly shifting the images, from a desert of tall sand spires to a lush jungle, and a planet made of sharp glass structures...

"Incredible!" - The Jellyfish uttered as it floated through a belt of asteroids, until it saw its own planet in a distance.

"Right?" - The recordings ended. - "...so what do you think?"

"The sky is amazing! I'm really jealous!"

The girl responded with a sad smile. - "It's great, but it's better when you can share those experiences with someone."

The Jellyfish lowered its head. - "If only the ship wasn't broken."

"If only..." - The girl saddened, but then quickly brightened up. - "...but it's not the end of the world! Your planet is an amazing place too! I would love it If you showed me around your favorite places."

The jellyfish restored its colors. - "I certainly will!"

"Then, would you like to stay here a bit longer or will we come home for today?"

"Let's come home!"

"Not so fast..." - There was a loud voice, not that of the girl and not that of Jellyfish. - "I wish to know more about this place... which now, belongs to me." - It was the serpent king. He held a large trident in one of his arms and was followed by an entourage of ten advisors in their aristocratic robes and by a hundred of eels, all dangerously charged with electricity.

"You can't!" - The Jellyfish shouted, but the king swept its trident and pushed the jellyfish into the panels. The Jellyfish was painfully bruised and its back hurt.

"I can and I will." - The serpent spoke. - "Look, children of light, you must show me how to control this place."

"I will not!" - The girl stood firm, unafraid.

"Then..." - The serpent king lowered his trident, aiming its sharp tips at the Jellyfish.

The girl gasped.

"Do you understand?" - The king demanded.

The girl clenched her fists but said no word. She approached the panels and started pushing buttons, while the king watched. The world turned to a purely white, leveled planet with cone robots living on it.

"Good. Now, I understand." - The king laughed. - "Move aside!" - He roared, then pushed the girl next to a Jellyfish.

The girl shook the jellyfish conscious and the jellyfish opened its eyes.

"Are you okay?" - The girl whispered.

"Yes... but my head hurts."

"We have to run." - The girl uttered.

"We can't! There's too many of them!" - The Jellyfish replied.

"I will create a diversion, you run."

"I won't run without you!"

"Just go! I'll catch up!"

"But..."

"Listen! Just do it! Close your eyes and wait until I shout to run." - The girl requested with resolve. - "Don't hesitate or it'll be all for nothing!"

The girl made of light stood up, not looking back at the Jellyfish, and approached the soldiers and advisors.

"Halt!" - One of the eel aristocracies shouted, but the girl kept marching closer. In a moment, the girl lightened up like a dozen suns, blinding everyone except the Jellyfish temporarily.

"Run!" - The girl shouted and the Jellyfish dashed across the room, finding the exit.

At the time, the girl made it to the main console and started executing commands. Unluckily, the serpent king regained sight in his left eye and grabbed her.

"Insolent!" - The king screamed. - "I will devour you!" - He opened his jaw and directed rows of teeth at the girl. He was about to tear his victim apart when a metal rod pierced his only seeing eye. The serpent roared in pain and dropped the girl, who was caught by the Jellyfish.

"I'm not leaving you!" - The Jellyfish declared.

"Thanks..." - The girl smiled, there were still tears in her eyes.

"You will never escape me! I'll find you, even at the edge of the ocean! YOU HEAR ME!" - The serpent king thrashed around with its tail, hitting all devices and aperture. - "There is no escape to my wrath!"

"Wait!" - The girl stopped the Jellyfish at one of the panels, she climbed down from his arms and entered the last order. - "Okay, we can go!"

The two ran with all their strength, holding their hands together. They made it out of the ship, and into the phase flower.

The Jellyfish was scared. - "Do you think that they'll go after us?" - He asked the girl.

"No chance, I made it sure." - As the girl spoke these words, a cocoon of purple light surrounded the ship and it vanished in a blink.

"What? What happened!?"

"I moved them far, far away. To a place outside of the world. They can't reach us anymore."

The Jellyfish sighed with relief. - "So... what now?"

"You still have to show me your favorite places!"

The Jellyfish smiled brightly. - "I will."