Introduction
Vespia Sea, 2008
Blackness. Total darkness that arrived suddenly. When everything froze and all the sounds began to recede, the light also began to fade. Higher and higher, flashes, flames, and a purple sky were visible, but he couldn't even turn his head to look. He was now at the bottom of the most dangerous ocean, his skin as hard as stone, his mind fractured, and his pain growing duller and duller. In that unprecedented darkness, some of his senses were still active, but was that a good thing? No, it was actually much worse that way. There was no sense of time at all—whether days, months, or years had passed, no one could tell. Yet there was no peace in this underwater tomb, and there was certainly no quiet. Something dark dominated the uncharted depths of the sea, and as if the darkness had eyes of its own, it pierced through stone, skin, and soul.
Night and day had become one. Through a stone mask, his eyes scanned the darkness, which was now thicker than ever—a black cloak like a veil that nothing could penetrate. But there were voices in the distance. He could hear them clearly now, or perhaps his mind had finally snapped. Screams, thousands of them, seemed to express something unknown—sometimes crying, sometimes boiling with rage. Where were all these thousands of people? Or were they souls lost in the ocean? And what was it that had stood out in the early days or nights at the bottom? A violin melody? How could such a thing be possible? Whatever it was, it was no longer there. It had fallen silent, just as the voices had fallen silent, but the place now seemed even more ominous. Perhaps this was the worst decision he had ever made. Perhaps death in the air was preferable a thousand times over—glorious, in battle, among arrows, swords, and spells. But that was no longer an option, and now, he had to live in the endless darkness of the Vespia Sea. Everyone knew him as a legend of the sea, a warrior in whose path everyone bent—Darmakaya, the Stone Kraken. But now Darmakaya dared not return from the stone. He was afraid, and it was the only clear thought in this dark space. Perhaps he was not as brave as they thought, just ruthless. Even so, he was now hesitating. The darkness embraced him, and time passed.