"For different universes, the mass of each universe is different..."
—A learned scholar
Today was an ordinary day, but the sky was eerily gloomy. The sea was shrouded in black fog, but a small boat was slowly sailing on it, a man paddling diligently.
"What the hell is this foggy weather..." The person speaking was Taga. Taga was paddling. Ever since receiving the guidance and leaving the Forest of All Things, he had been rowing for days. He had always felt that the weather at sea was strange...constantly shrouded in black fog. He couldn't understand why the sky had been sunny just a few days before, only to be shrouded in black fog a few days later.
"Don't overthink it...I should be figuring out where the Ice Continent is...I'm lost!!!!" Taga cried out involuntarily from the boat. He only had a map with him! But he'd forgotten his compass... Taga pondered helplessly... He was trying to figure out how to reach the Frozen Continent, shrouded in black fog, pitch-black darkness...
"What should I do... I'll just row..." Then Taga picked up his oar and began to row. The sea was utterly silent... only the sound of the waves and the thud of Taga's oar hitting the surface, an eerie silence... no animal sounds... not even a few fish were visible... Taga paddled like a headless fly.
Halfway through rowing, Taga felt a vague sense of danger... A pair of enormous, glowing yellow eyes appeared beneath his boat, gradually approaching... Taga, sensing the powerful threat, kicked hard against the decking. The moment he leaped free, a massive sea beast swallowed his boat whole!
"Damn it! You little bug! You still want to sneak attack me? Dream on!" Taga used the power of lightning to temporarily float in mid-air, taunting the sea monster from mid-air. After swallowing Taga's boat, the sea monster slowly sank into the depths... There was no sign of the sea monster on the surface, and Taga's eyes kept searching for it. Just then, beneath Taga's feet, a massive figure rushed towards him at breakneck speed! A bloody mouth suddenly appeared beneath him! Taga looked down and saw the huge mouth appearing right below him. With a powerful flash of his own, he dodged and instantly moved to the side of the sea monster.
The sea monster, after missing its bite, sank back down to the bottom of the sea! "You stinking bug! I haven't offended you, yet you still come to trouble me!" Then, unleashing his power, Taga charged into the depths of the ocean, his body accompanied by bursts of lightning. Once deep beneath the sea, Taga felt as if many eyes were watching him. Then, those glowing yellow eyes reappeared! Just as Taga was about to gather the lightning power in his hands and attack the enemy... suddenly, not just one pair of glowing yellow eyes appeared, but five pairs of eyes appeared before him...
"WT*!!!" Taga stared in shock at not just one sea beast, but five! He immediately assumed a fighting stance, ready to go all out, when the owners of the five pairs of eyes suddenly appeared one after another. Their entire bodies were revealed, revealing a sea beast with five heads sharing a single body! Taga stared in shock, but even in shock, he remained vigilant.
At this moment, the five sea beasts charged towards him! He teleported in front of them at breakneck speed, his fists brimming with lightning power! He struck the five beasts with one punch. The powerful lightning force, combined with the conductivity of water, made the lightning even more powerful! A moment later, Taga's fist struck the sea creature... He thought it would inflict damage... But when he looked up, he saw only a scorch mark! A closer look revealed he had only struck the scales.
"Is it that strong?! It's not even afraid of lightning!" Just as Taga was thinking this in shock, the sea creature swung its massive tail at him. Before he could react, he was struck by the tail! He was immediately sent flying onto a reef! Smoke filled the air... A faint haze of shattered rocks formed... But when the smoke dissipated, Taga slowly raised his head, only to see his arms shielding his chest, with only a faint black smoke emanating from them...
"Tsk... This bug is incredibly strong... But it's okay... I can't defeat it... Can't I still escape?" Taga turned and fled! Taga felt that continuing to fight the sea beast would only result in a mutually destructive outcome. Even if he won, he wouldn't gain any advantage. It was better to retreat! He would challenge the beast again in the future, developing new moves before battling it.
The sea beast saw Taga turn and flee, and immediately gave chase! Taga was drifting through the sea at breakneck speed, while the sea beast pursued her relentlessly!
"That's why you're chasing me so closely!" Taga shouted, turning back to the sea beast. Having awakened a new power, Taga no longer feared being unable to breathe underwater; he could even speak. The sea beast continued to pursue Taga, as if it wasn't going to stop until it had him for dinner!
"Go to hell!" Taga cursed, then continued to charge forward! The sea beast continued to pursue him! "Get out of the way!" A deep male voice rang out, and Taga immediately dodged to the side! Suddenly, countless tridents, each attached to a myriad of chains, pierced the sea monster. While chasing Taga, the creature wasn't paying attention and was struck by some of the tridents. Though the damage was minimal, it still managed to inflict some damage. The creature, in pain, immediately turned and swam away, swiftly slithering into the depths of the sea.
Taga watched the retreating sea monster, then turned to look at his helpers. At that moment, humanoid creatures with fish tails swam over from a short distance. Taga looked at them in confusion. "Hello!" a bearded murloc greeted Taga. He seemed to be the group's leader.
"Hello... Thank you for your help." Taga eyed them warily, perplexed by the sudden help from these murlocs, yet wary. "No need to thank me! Where are you from? You don't look like one of the sea tribes! Let me think about which continent this person would belong to..." The leading murloc frowned, as if wondering where this outsider, Taga, had come from...
"I'm a former soldier from the Alkaros Empire," Taga said coldly, his eyes still wary. "Indeed! You look like a soldier of the Alkaros Empire! I almost forgot to introduce myself! My name is Aluka!" The leading murloc introduced himself and extended his hand.
Taga looked at the other person's hand, sensing no ill intentions, and took it. "Where are you going?" Aluka looked at Taga in confusion, curious about where this outsider was going.
"I'm going to the Ice Continent, but I seem to have lost my way..." Taga reluctantly stated his destination, clutching his forehead helplessly. "The Ice Continent... it's still a long journey. Why don't you stay with us for a few days? I'll report to the king and have him arrange a special ship for you."
"He doesn't seem to have any ill intentions... but I need to hurry..." Taga was thinking to himself when a whisper suddenly came to his mind, "Follow him..." Puzzled, he thought to himself, "Why did the directions suddenly change... so strange... never mind, just follow him." Taga looked at Aluka and nodded, agreeing to his request.
"Then follow us!" Aluka turned and waved, signaling his small group to head toward the deep sea. Taga watched them and followed... Five minutes later, a magnificent city appeared in their sight.
"We're here! Welcome to my home! Atlantis!" "Aruka spoke enthusiastically in his rich, male voice. Taga looked at this magnificent kingdom under the sea, and couldn't help but feel a little surprised. It had been a long time since he had seen a city as grand and bustling as the main city of the Alkaros Empire.
They swam to the city gates. The soldiers guarding the city saluted Aruka, and Aruka returned the salute. Taga looked at them with a hint of nostalgia, remembering that he himself was once a guard, constantly saluting his superiors every day. Taga looked at them and smiled as Aruka and Taga walked through the town.
"It's getting dark. I'll take you to a nearby inn for the night. Tomorrow I'll take you to see the king!" Aluka turned to look at Taga, trident in hand, tail slapping vigorously. Taga nodded, then followed Aluka to an inn.
The innkeeper warmly welcomed Aluka and his friends. After paying, Taga easily obtained his room key and found his room number. He opened and closed the door, then went to the bathroom to shower... Afterwards... he lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking...
"Why... why has so much happened lately..." Taga muttered to himself with a mixture of helplessness and sadness, but soon closed his eyes...
After a while... Taga slowly opened his eyes... he was back in that dark space. "Back here again..." Taga continued walking... A moment later, a blue figure appeared before him, and he slowly approached.
"Hello, sir?" Taga spoke politely, glancing at the blue figure's face. The blue figure's face seemed invisible, but the power he emanated was identical to Taga's own. Taga looked at him with some confusion.
The blue figure simply glanced at Taga, then grabbed him by the neck and angrily demanded, "How do you possess my power? Return to me!" The figure gripped Taga's neck tightly and slowly lifted him up. Taga suddenly felt breathless. He tried to use his power, but found it impossible. He felt insignificant in front of the other person... Just as Taga was about to gasp... a sudden burst of energy struck the figure's hand. The figure, in pain, loosened his grip on Taga's neck. The moment Taga was released, he fell to the ground, gasping for air.
"It seems you are the chosen one..." the figure muttered silently before turning and disappearing into space... "Fuck... what is this... psychopath..." Taga slowly climbed to his feet, muttering a few words before waking up from the bed... Taga slowly sat up on the bed... He squeezed his palms... he could still use his power... Taga didn't understand why he couldn't use his power in front of the figure... Taga sighed slowly, turned and walked out of the room... ready to walk out to the street...