I opened my eyes, finding myself in such a strange place. My body felt cold, even in such a humid area that it reeks of sweat. I stood up, my rough hair brushing on the underbelly of the wooden bed frame on the upper bunk. I quietly urged myself up. Someone is sleeping on the bed above me.

I felt like I woke up from a dream. I tried to recall it, but it was fruitless.

The door near the walls creaked open. Vonn emerged from the doorway. The sunlight from the few small slits on the walls made his armor gleam; his red hair made even redder from the light.

"Oh, you woke up." He remarked. "Come with me."

Willing to cooperate, I followed him. He led me downstairs. The floor is empty, except for the two people guarding the exit.

Pulleys lifted the tower's portcullis, and the bridge descended. We walked out of there, our feet stepping on the wooden bridge. The sudden brightness made me blind for a moment. In front of me is not an abandoned ghost town but a bustling metropolis in the center of a vast ocean. People of every shape, size, and color were walking on the stone streets. Many of them chatted with each other, not noticing how strange they look.

What took me by surprise is how clear the water is under the bridge. Below the shimmering clear surface, life is thriving, as chaotic as the city.

Fishes were swimming over each other, some of them crossing paths. Dozens of larger fishes ate the smaller ones; small sharks were feasting on every fish they catch. Crocodiles swam beneath them, their claws scratching the sand below. Sea snakes and eels slithered within the currents of the canals, hiding within rocks and crevices. Other fish swam above the sea bed, mingling together as the boats above sailed.

I never thought that canals could be so clear, so pristine, and so colorful. I step back, the sudden change of atmosphere surprising me. A few hours ago, this place was barren.

Something slapped me in the back.

Vonn chuckled. "You amazed?"

"Yeah." I weakly uttered, still in awe.

"Can't blame you." He smiled. "Let's eat first."

We walked on the cobblestone streets. The salty smell of the sea breezed throughout the road. Strange-looking people were in the crowd, with visibly animalistic features: horns, animal ears, scales, fur, and even animal heads, aside from the normal-looking people.

"Are they sick?" I asked, pointing towards them.

He covered my mouth, taking a deep breath.

"Boy, it is offensive to point out their looks." He scolded, looking around.

"Sorry." I apologized; my voice slightly altered by his hand on my mouth.

He removed his hand.

"They are called Beastkin and Seafolk." He explained, lowering his voice. "They look like animals, but they are people like us, understand?"

"Yes," I answered.

"Also, don't call them animals; it's very offensive towards them."

"Aye, aye." I followed.

We continue to walk. My nose began to pick up the scent of fish, almost tasting them too with how strong the smell is. I didn't realize how many stores are there. Most of them sell fresh fish, the larger ones hanging on hooks connected to the ceiling, glistening like jewels; instead of smelling fishy, they smelled like the new ocean. Some of them sell clothes, seashells, assortments of knives, jewelry, weapons, armor, and many more. A few of the stores have glass windows, while others stood behind iron bars. The colorful houses stood beside the stone roads, their protruding roofs covering the sidewalks from the sun's increasingly warm glow. The people's clothes are colorful too; multicolored tunics and dresses decorated with seashells and glimmering accessories.

Each step on the road, each word one utters, contributed to the din of the city.

We stopped in front of a store. Its storefront is sheltered by a protruding roof made out of red fabric. The sign attached to one of the wooden poles on the material reads: "Rez's Soups and Dishes."

It looks normal, but I realized something. It is in a different language. How do I know that? In a foreign language, no less. We walked in, the people eating on the tables paid us no mind as steam billowed from the kitchen at the far end of the establishment. At the wooden counter is a thin man with absurdly long, pointy ears. The brown tunic he wore seemingly melded into the wooden background.

"Welcome, Vonn. What can I serve you today?" They firmly shake their hands.

"One spicy tuna soup and one regular tuna soup," Vonn ordered.

"Why are your ears long?" I asked.

"Who is this kid?" He pointed at me, surprised.

"A kid I found." He bluntly answered.

"Fair enough." He rushed towards the door where the kitchen is.

We pulled the wooden chairs under the smooth wooden table. The window beside us let the wind through.

"Why are we here?" I asked, curious.

"To eat breakfast." He answered.

"Right," I uttered succinctly.

"What do you remember?" He asked, staring at me.

"Nothing." I honestly answered.

"Are you alright?" He asked, concerned.

"Yeah."

"Sure?"

"I guess so." I stared outside. A lizard-man-thing dropped a basket after bumping into a chunky pig-man. They argued loudly. Even from here, I could hear them.

I don't know what exactly I feel right now, to be honest. I decided to ignore it.

A moment later, the owner of this eatery brought us our order. Chunks of tuna and green vegetables floated on a clear soup. Bubbles of oil floated on the mixture as the sunlight reflected on it. The soup smells pleasant, with the mellow scent of broth. Vonn's bowl is redder than mine. I can smell the spice from here, tickling my nose.

"Eat up." Vonn gestured.

"Thanks." I smiled. My tummy grumbled. It feels like I haven't eaten in years.

I grabbed the wooden spoon beside the bowl, and I scooped up the murky broth with bits of fish and greens. I took a sip. It tastes...comfy. My throat feels mellow after tasting it, like taking a bath in a hot tub. In other words, it was delicious.

He seems to be enjoying it. He exhaled as he ate.

"Let's get down to business." He spoke as his bowl turned barren.

"Business?" I lowered my spoon into the shallow pond of soup on the wooden bowl.

"You will find an apprenticeship to stay alive." He informed. "After that, I will handle your credentials so that you could be a full-fledged citizen of Aquinox."

"Where could I find apprenticeships?" I asked.

"Follow me." He stood up, leaving a pile of copper coins on the table.

I gulped the remaining bowl of soup as I stood up. This soup is delicious. I ran after the person.

Our feet were on the wet cobblestone streets again.

Some fish-looking men were wading on shallow canals at the sides of the road. They showered themselves with the water in the canals with wooden spoons. A tanned man accidentally dropped a basket of fish and promptly picked it up. I realized that there are few human-looking people here. We swerved from wagons pulled by horses and giant reptilian things on the road. A dozen of them were dragging a gigantic blue carcass that resembled a snake with wide fins and glassy scales.

The crowd packed themselves on the sides of the road. Many people from their windows gawked at the spectacle. My mouth dropped wide at the size of that thing.

"What was that?" I asked Vonn. Its scales made a heavy screeching sound as the wagons dragged it on the cobblestone.

"A Lesser Leviathan." He answered, staring at that thing. "Looks like that they got lucky."

"Leviathan?" I repeated.

"Umm... They are like the Dragons of the ocean." He clarified.

"Cool." I mouthed. His eyebrows raised.

We stopped in front of a wooden board standing on the side of the road. The papers danced as the breeze urged them too.

"You can choose a job." He pointed towards the papers. "The ones with red marks are already taken."

I walked up to it. I skimmed many entries on the list. Mostly, the jobs listed consist of apprenticeships and labor jobs. I can't decide on a job that will suit me; well, because I popped out of existence yesterday. Or at least I think so.

He slapped himself on the face. "Of course, he cannot decide; he is still a kid. Anyways, want a recommendation?" He asked after minutes of silence. I stopped scratching my chin.

"Sure, I guess?" I answered uncertainly. I don't even know how I got here.

"Let's visit an old friend." He smiled, looking on the horizon.

As we walked, the chatter of the city grew louder. The streets are crowded. We squeezed ourselves through the crowd. I felt the slimy skins and the rough scales of some of the people there. The roads were wetter here. As the group lessened, we were able to move freely within the wet market. Stalls full of fresh fish dominated the scene. The larger ones hung on hooks nailed on the ceiling, while the fishmongers laid the smaller fish together in rows.

"Hey, Vonn!" A man that looked like a crocodile waved. Vonn waved back. "Catch ya' later."

We stopped as a dozen of those big lizard things pulled a massive carcass of some kind of fish. I looked at a towering tent that boasted a gigantic brilliant blue fish hanging on a hook hanging on a metal bit on the tip of the tent. Even within the fantastic seafood market, it stood above the rest; the stalls around it seemingly already gave it a wide berth. People in fancy clothes sat on wooden benches. They seem to be waiting for something. A furry man walked up to the wooden stage, wearing a clean white apron.

"Thank you for coming here today." I faintly heard him talk from his snout." For today's feast, I will be carving up an Azure Sunfish!"

The crowd clapped. With a single slice, the humanoid dog sliced a large portion of the Azure Sunfish's skin. He carved the flesh of the corpse's right knife with another three consecutive cuts, as smooth as butter. The performer of sorts summoned his assistants, who'd quickly grabbed the slab of fatty flesh. The blue sheen of its skin and the bouncy chunk of glistening fatty meat glimmered under the sun. They placed it in a wooden tray full of water, rinsing it.

"Everything here is amazing," I uttered, turning away from the spectacle.

"Heh." He chuckled. "Foreigners always say that."

Beyond the wet market, another deep canal came into view. It winded throughout the city. Boats were cruising through it, carrying all manner of passengers and cargo. Fish swam in harmony with the currents as the water itself shimmer. We stroll on the wide stone bridge. Dozens of people were walking, doing their own business. Some people were sitting on the steps, and some leaned on the stone railings. A few sat down on carpets, selling something. One was measuring something on a tiny metal scale while talking to a customer. The green humanoid with scales and fins handed one of the silver coins piles to a snake-headed humanoid in a brown cotton robe. As soon as its reptilian eyes made brief contact with mine, I evaded its gaze in fear, staring at my bare feet. The crowd made way for people pulling strange compact carts with people riding comfortably in it. Their two wheels shook at each minuscule gap between the bricks on the bridge. The passengers under their wooden and cloth roofs didn't seem to mind.

If there are such things as horses, why are people pulling those things?

I found myself staring at the horizon. The city's layout lined the canals throughout the city with the same towers that I was in. The grand canal ended on the far end of the city limits. The canal waters mixed with the ocean or the water within the canals came from the sea's currents. Boats moored on the wharves within the city and the concrete stone piers that extended from them. They sailed away, and more took their place. The shadow of a lone lighthouse stood under the blazing sun, and the silhouettes of boats contrasted with the crystalline waters. The ocean shimmered as the sun spread its radiance throughout the constant waves and the city's roofs.

I accidentally bumped into somebody.

"Sorry." I yelped. The yellow lizard-person in a leather vest snarled as I soured the part of his day. He paced past us as if in a hurry. Before I knew it, we were on the other side of the bridge. Colorful buildings dominated the streets as crowds did their commute. Stores selling various products lined up the lower levels of the buildings. Customers flocked to many of them, and they lined themselves to the counter neatly. They purposely stayed at the roads' sides, under some of the buildings' arcades, to avoid clashing with the commute. We turned left, staying close to the edge of the canal. We walked under the arcade of a vast orange building. I found myself staring at the intricate colored tiles decorating the ceiling. The stone pillars cast shadows over us as the sun rose even higher. We were suddenly at a homely square; four trees were spread evenly throughout it, surrounding the benches arranged in a court. In front of us is a line of those weird carts within a wide peristyle. We entered the perimeter of the area. One of those men pulling those carts suddenly passes us by.

"To Balevizo District, please." He handed a handful of copper coins to a strange man with a horse's head.

"But this is too much." The man corrected him. "The fee is 28 coppers."

"Keep the change." Vonn smiled. "People like you deserve it." The horse-headed man ran towards one of the intricately decorated carts.

"Wish every customer is like that." I overheard someone talking from the line of people sitting on wooden benches under the peristyle's shade.

"It will happen when fish walk on land or if the bloody seas of the Warring Waters turned blue again." A skinny dog-man shrugged.

"Well, I got myself some extra coppers today." The fish-headed man corrected, pointing to himself jokingly.

"Well shit." A burly bald man guffawed.

I turned my ears away from that noise, and I joined Vonn on the cart. The velvet cushions are surprisingly comfortable, and the footrest too. The man pulled his rickshaw with a push of force, we suddenly accelerated. The ride shook as he ran within the cobblestone streets.

"Mister, what is this?" I pointed out the cart we are riding in.

"It's called a rickshaw," Vonn answered.

"Cool," I uttered as I watched as we passed by buildings and crowds. We slowed down by the traffic along the way.

We made a couple of turns before we arrived at another bridge. This time the wide stone bridge connected to an island packed with buildings. It seems the same as the other parts of this city, but different.

"Is that another city?" I pointed to the island in front of us.

"Nah." He corrected. "It's still part of the city, just slightly more elevated and distant than other districts."

I stared at the horizon. The sun had climbed higher; the skies were clear. It feels a bit hotter than the past hour.

We passed by the usual crowds of peculiar people. By now, I was slowly getting used to the sights. A dolphin just leaped out of the faraway depths of the shimmering waves. As soon as it touched the water, it got swallowed by something long and gigantic underneath. It was too fast for me to see the delightful leapers of the ocean. The splash didn't help either, with the shimmer of each drop. The dolphins were gone before I knew it. We stopped for a bit on the other side of the bridge. The man pulling the rickshaw sipped something from a flask of some sort. In no time, we continued our way. This section's layout is the same as the others in this large city, but the ground is more uneven. Aside from that, they were fewer canals than the places we came from—the buildings and streets adjusted to the rough landscape. Most of them were slanted or elevated somehow.

Before I noticed it, we stopped. Vonn ushered me to hop out of the vehicle.

I stepped on a wet cobblestone road. It feels rougher than the streets where we came from earlier.

We were in front of a two-story beige building. Its smooth clay-like walls seem to glimmer on this sunny day. The shutters on the second floor were wide open. We took a step on a storefront. The wooden sign above the entrance reads:

Lascze's General Store.

We opened the wooden door.

And a bell ring.