-FUTURE-OCEANIA-
"Don't come any closer!"
"No… please don't !"
My voice shattered through the water, trembling violently as panic swallowed my chest.
I pressed myself harder against the glowing barrier around me, even though there was nowhere to go.
But he kept coming, the Emperor of Oceania kept moving towards me.
The man I should have feared more than anything… but couldn't.
He moved slowly through the water, his presence bending the ocean itself into submission. His shimmering blue tail cut through the depths like a streak of living flame, and every movement he made carried unbearable authority.
Like the sea obeyed him without question And I hated how my heart still reacted to him even now.
I was trapped inside a crystal sphere suspended deep beneath the ocean's surface. It shimmered with ancient light, holding me in place like something precious… like something that could not be allowed to escape.
But to me, it felt like a prison.
Azarus stopped directly in front of me,close enough that I could see him clearly,close enough that it hurt.
His large hand lifted slowly and rested against the crystal surface. Even through the barrier, I felt the warmth of him… or maybe it was just my imagination refusing to let go.
His gaze locked onto mine and I saw it immediately; Pain, it was deep and quiet, like something he had been carrying for far too long.
"I'm sorry, Marimar…" His voice came low, resonating through the water and through my very bones. "But I have to do this."
My breath hitched.
"It's the only way to keep you safe."
Safe?The word twisted inside me.Because nothing about this felt like safety.
My chest tightened painfully as I stared at him. That voice… I had come to recognize it as home in this strange world. Deep, powerful. unshakable. The same voice that had once commanded armies to kneel… and at other times, whispered my name like I was something precious.
Was I really going to lose that?No!I couldn't accept it.My fingers trembled as I pressed them against the crystal from my side. Instinctively, I matched his hand so close.Yet still separated by an entire world.
"Azarus…" I whispered.My voice cracked.
He lowered his head slightly, and for a brief moment, I thought he might stop.
That he might change his mind.That I mattered more than whatever decision he had made. But when he looked up again…
My heart stopped. His silver eyes had changed.
Blue flames burned within them now, fierce
and endless, mirroring the glow of his tail.
It wasn't just power,It was resolve and finality. And I understood it before he even spoke.
This was it,the end of everything we had been becoming. The end of whatever fragile thing had started between us.
The end of us.
"I'm sorry," he said again.
But this time, something inside me broke at the way he said it.
Because he meant it.And still… he was going to do it anyway.Before I could speak again, he pulled his hand away.
Coldness rushed into the space he left behind.Then everything changed.
With a sharp flick of his tail, Azarus created distance between us.
"Wait…Azarus!"My voice vanished as magic erupted through the ocean.
The crystal sphere around me shuddered violently.
"No…!"
I pressed my hands against it as light surged beneath me, lifting the entire sphere upward. The ocean twisted, currents spiraling as invisible force seized me completely.
I watched him to see if he would react but he didn't move toward me. He didn't stop it.
Instead, he snapped his fingers and the world obeyed him.
The sphere shot upward violently, accelerating through the depths faster and faster, dragging me away from him.
"AZARUS!!!"
My scream was swallowed by the ocean as the distance between us shattered everything I had left.
He became smaller, further away from me and still he stood there alone.Watching me disappear into the rising darkness above.
Until even his figure was gone from my sight.
...
-PRESENT DAY-EARTH-
With my body empty, like a living corpse I walked slowly… like one.
I wasn't living again… I didn't deserve this life. This world didn't need me. They hated me. They despised me… starting from the day I was born, that was when my sufferings began.
With my mind absent, thinking about how I lost my only source of income, I walked toward the breezy ocean… Yes, I wanted to fall into it and die. There was no reason for me to live. At least if I died, my pains and sufferings would be over.
Using the back of my hand to wipe my rolling tears, I realized they were all dried up. They weren't coming out again. Even my own tears were tired of this wicked world.
With these thoughts in my head, I jumped into the ocean without thinking twice… Why would I think twice? I had already made up my mind before coming here.
The moment I jumped into the water, I lost myself… not knowing what would happen again. Would I find myself in heaven or hell?
SEVERAL HOURS LATER_
I felt my eyes open… didn't I die or what? I knew I died… but why was I breathing again?
Well, maybe I was in heaven or hell?
Anyone, it didn't matter because I was ready to face it. It's better than being on Earth.
Slowly, I opened my eyes, widening them at what I saw.
What was going on?
I was very deep inside the ocean… I knew because I was surrounded by this blue ocean.
Wait… was I breathing underwater?
What's going on? To confirm, I opened my mouth wide, but no water came in.
"Ahhhhh!!!!!" I shouted… I was actually talking underwater. In the midst of my confusion, I noticed I was inside a white, rounded something… actually it wasn't white. It was transparent. I could see through it.
What is this? Touching it, I felt the texture smooth, glassy.
Wait… was I in heaven or Earth? I thought heaven and Earth were above… why was I deep inside the ocean? Was this the way I was being punished for trying to kill myself?
What if I was dreaming?
"Maybe I'm dreaming?" Saying these words, I pinched my cheek, letting out a light whimper… I felt pain. I wasn't dreaming!
Still in my own dilemma, I noticed a presence. Slowly, I looked beside me.
"Oh my goodness!! I'm doomed," I gasped with widened eyes, seeing two fish tails… they were large, showing they were sharks.
Is this how I was going to die a second time?
"Goodness!!!" I gasped again, louder this time, because of what I saw. Seeing the full figure of the sharks, I froze, paralyzed, my eyes wide as if they were about to pop out of their shells.
I watched as the two sharks, with human-like upper bodies, moved and spoke.
What is going on? How could a shark have a human body?
They moved closer to me making my heart to drop.
"No… No!!!!"
A loud scream escaped my throat as I passed out immediately, unable to stand them.