Chapter Two: The Call of the Depths and the Summoning
The slap of reality was stronger than any wave that had crashed over them. This wasn't a dream—it was a harsh awakening in an endless blue world.
The one hundred people split into frightened human clusters.
While Yusr tried to get their attention, and Dalia the nurse and Khalid the engineer began taking stock of the supplies, Naif, arrogant as ever, was already surrounding himself with a circle of panicked followers.
Suddenly, a low humming rose from the center of the platform. Pale blue flashes shimmered outward, forming a floating, glowing holographic mass. It looked like a suspended screen filled with shifting symbols and rapidly changing numbers.
"What kind of sorcery is this now?" someone yelled.
The calm mechanical voice they had heard upon awakening returned, speaking to everyone in a language they somehow understood instinctively:
"Archipelago of Beginnings. Founding Core: One Hundred. Base Unit Credit: Granted. Summoning System: Active."
A simple holographic display appeared:
Current Unit Balance: 1000 units
Approximate Summoning Costs:
Ordinary person (general skills): 50–100 units
Craftsman / Specialist: 100–300 units
Scientist / Exceptional Expert: 500+ units
Country Modifier (for core members only):
Morocco: 0.9 (best rate)
Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt: 1.0
Other countries: 1.2 – 1.5
Naif shouted, stunned, "A currency! We can bring people here! They've given us the key to salvation!"
But Yusr was more grounded. He looked at the group and said,
"Look at the number—only a thousand units. That means we can summon maybe ten to twenty people at most in the beginning. Who do we choose? And how do we decide? This isn't a game."
The mechanical voice returned with another rule—its words echoing sharply in everyone's minds:
"The Oath of Non-Betrayal is active. Anyone summoned to the archipelago is, by foundational force, incapable of conspiring to destroy the core or deliver it to hostile powers. Your safety from newcomers is guaranteed."
This message was the spark that ignited the real conflict.
"This changes everything!" Khalid the engineer said.
"We need farmers, builders, more doctors than just Dalia."
"Wrong!" Naif snapped.
"We need guards and soldiers! Who knows what the ocean hides? Security comes first!"
"And what good are guards if we starve to death?!" Dalia shot back.
Chaos erupted. Everyone demanded someone from their own country—or a famous figure they knew.
At the height of the argument, the little boy screamed again, pointing at the water:
"Look! It's glowing!"
The cry froze everyone. At the edge of the platform, the creature was floating—
a giant jellyfish-like being shimmering with blue and violet light, emitting a sad, magnetic call.
Everyone felt its strange pull, inviting them closer.
Naif stepped forward as if hypnotized.
"It's… treasure… we should take it…"
"It's a trap!" Yusr warned, grabbing his arm.
And in an instant, they watched a fish brush against the glowing tendrils—only to turn into a lump of charcoal.
A chilling silence fell.
Beauty… lethal.
And in the horizon, dozens of similar lights began to glow.
Yusr looked at the terrified faces, then at the still-glowing summoning screen, then at the deadly lights drifting in the waters.
He shouted, slicing through the night:
"The danger isn't just in the water! The danger is in our choices! If we summon the wrong people first, we all die.
If we spend everything on guards, we starve.
If we summon only scientists, who will defend us?"
This was the true birth of their nation—not on land, but at a crossroads of fate:
a mysterious ocean threat, a powerful and dangerous summoning system, and an internal struggle over the first decision that would shape the destiny of the Archipelago of Strangers.
End of Chapter Two
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What the new elements added to this chapter:
Raised the stakes:
The conflict is no longer just about food and water—it's about how to spend the most valuable resource: units.
Strategic depth:
Characters must now think like a government—balancing defense, survival, and progress.
Character reinforcement:
Yusr emerges as a strategic leader.
Naif shows selfishness and short-sightedness.
Khalid and Dalia represent practicality and humanity.
Future sus
pense:
The reader now wonders:
Who will they summon first? And what consequences will that choice bring?
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