The sea is never truly silent.
Even on days when the wind doesn't blow, the waves are not high, and the sky stands still as if time has stopped, there is always something lingering—something like the breathing of the world itself.
Kael knew that well.
He had once sat by the shore long enough to remember that the sea was never the same from day to day. Some days it spoke like it was laughing. On others, it was silent, as if it were thinking deeply about something.
No one in the village cared much about such things.
They simply called it "the sea."
But for Kael… it had never been just the sea.
It felt like something alive, waiting for someone to understand it.
On one morning when the sky was unusually wide open, the horizon seemed farther than ever.
Kael stood at the pier. The old wooden planks beneath his feet creaked softly with the constant pressure of the waves.
He was not alone.
Beside him, a voice broke into laughter.
"You still look at the sea the same way, Kael," Miro said, smiling broadly as if everything in the world was simple.
"It's the same," Kael replied shortly, without taking his eyes off the water.
"No," Miro shook his head. "The sea is calling us. I heard it clearly today."
Kael did not answer immediately.
He looked at the horizon again.
There—so far away it was almost just a thin line between water and sky.
Sometimes he felt it wasn't just a "line."
But a "passage."
The wind passed gently again.
And this time, Kael felt like he heard something from the sea—not the sound of waves.
But a feeling.
Like a call.
"If we really go this time," a voice came from behind.
Liora stood holding a map. Her expression looked like she had already calculated every possibility.
"We definitely won't come back the same," Liora said in a calm tone.
Miro laughed softly.
"That's fine."
He turned to look at them both.
"Because we're going to the edge of the world."
Miro looked slightly excited.
Kael closed his eyes for a moment.
The sea in front of them seemed to go quiet, as if listening to their words.
Then he opened his eyes again.
His gaze remained as calm as ever.
But something inside it had already changed.
"Then let's go."
And in that moment,
the sea seemed to move slightly—
as if it was… responding.
The sound of wood striking the ground came in short, steady rhythms, matching the steps of the three of them through the harbor market.
It was never quiet here.
The calls of merchants, the creaking of ropes rubbing against wooden poles, the smell of saltwater mixed with fresh fish, and the waves crashing against the shore formed a constant backdrop to life in this place.
Kael walked in front, his eyes scanning every ship lined up along the pier.
Large ships, small boats, vessels that looked like they had survived countless storms.
But none of them "called" to him.
"Which one should we take?" Miro asked, spinning around as if he were choosing a toy rather than something meant to cross the sea.
"We only have this much money," Liora said flatly, lifting a pouch of coins. "We don't have many choices."
Miro chuckled softly. "Then let's pick one like the legends. Something that can sail to the edge of the world."
"No ship can sail to the edge of the world," Liora replied immediately.
Kael said nothing.
He stopped in front of a wooden ship.
It wasn't large. It wasn't new. It looked like it had been forgotten for quite some time. The wood was faded, some of the ropes were frayed—but something about it felt… different.
As if it was still waiting.
"This one," Kael said briefly.
Miro tilted his head. "Huh? This one? It looks like it might fall apart before it even reaches open sea."
"But it's light," Kael replied. "It can be repaired."
Liora stepped closer and carefully examined the structure. She didn't speak right away.
After a moment, she let out a quiet sigh.
"…It's still usable," she admitted. "But it needs a lot of repairs."
Miro immediately grinned. "Then this is the one!"
The owner of the ship was an old man sitting beneath a canvas shade. He looked at the three of them as if watching a familiar kind of joke.
"That ship hasn't been taken in years," he said. "Where are you kids planning to go?"
"To the edge of the world!" Miro answered instantly.
The old man let out a low laugh. "Everyone says that."
Kael stepped forward slightly.
"How much is it?"
His voice wasn't loud, but it made everything around them fall quiet for a moment.
The old man paused, glancing at the ship, then back at them.
"…Take it," he said. "If you're really going, I won't charge you."
Miro blinked. "Huh?"
Liora frowned. "That doesn't make sense—"
"There is a reason," the old man interrupted. "Sometimes a ship isn't made to be sold. It's made to move on."
A wind passed through at that moment.
As if the sea outside was agreeing.
Soon after, the three of them began repairing the ship.
Miro carried wood around excitedly, running back and forth.Liora carefully listed every repair needed.Kael checked each part one by one.
The sound of hammers, wood, and laughter mixed together across the harbor.
And in that moment…
The ship began to change.
It was no longer a piece of forgotten wreckage.
It was becoming theirs.
By evening, the sky turned into shades of orange and gold.
Kael stood on the ship, looking out toward the horizon.
Miro sat on the edge, swinging his legs excitedly. "We're really setting sail tomorrow!"
Liora leaned against a mast, silent for a moment before speaking softly.
"…There are still so many things we don't know."
Kael didn't turn around.
"Then we go and find out."
A brief silence followed.
Then Miro laughed again.
"Then tomorrow—we sail!"
The waves gently struck the shore, like a final answer.
And this… was their beginning.