Arin had been paddling the skiff for a long time and had chosen to take some rest as mind-numbing exhaustion flooded him.
The sky was quite clear, and the sea gleamed in the sunlight. As he glanced at the sea water, he noticed a swarm of fish swarming his boat when he peered out into the water, so he took advantage of the situation and snagged quite a few fish with his bare hands.
"It's praiseworthy that you caught a whole lot of fish with just your hand, but the question is, can you eat them raw?" asked Raiju casually.
After hearing Raiju, Arin figured that he had no other choice but to eat all the fish raw after catching them, which he had never done before in his entire life. So, he nabbed his nose to stave off the burgeoning nause and began swallowing down the smaller raw fish one by one, and after eating, he stared at the blue sky for a while with admiration.
"Did the raw fish meat taste good?" asked Raiju, trying to hold back his laughter.
"I was so hungry and grossed out that I gulped it down without chewing, let alone tasting. Why don't you give it a shot, Raiju? Come out of the bijou and taste it."
"Nah! I'm Alright ", Raiju answered, his voice hesitant.
"Well, I guess I'll eat the whole lot of raw fish all by myself then."
"Wishing you the best of luck, buddy!"
A few hours later, Arin plopped down on the boat with a qualmish stomach after he finished eating the rest of the smaller raw fish and began to squirm.
"Raiju, the sweltering weather is making me thirsty, and despite the glut of water surrounding me, I can't drink the seawater because it's salty," Arin murmured, massaging his upset tummy to ease the discomfort.
"Arin, I know that it's frightfully hot to make you crave water to drink, but try to hold on a little longer."
"I'm trying, but God, I miss him and my mother. Mr. Derek was such an altruistic, genial guy. He, my beloved mother, and the others didn't deserve to die like that. I wonder what Mr. Derek would have said if he had known that I had begun sailing, as it was one of his cherished dreams," said Arin in a doleful tone as he stared at the unruffled sky, feeling a sense of desiderium for the deceased.
"Arin, you've gotta stop brooding over the dead and move on, because, for crying out loud, if things continue as they are, I seriously doubt you'll survive."
"I get you, bud. I'm exerting my utmost to avoid thinking about them, but more significantly, I'm cognizant that if I remain in my current state for long, I won't be able to stay alive. However, now that I think about it, what about you? You yourself haven't eaten anything in umpteen days."
"Unlike you humans, I don't need to eat food on a daily basis because I only feast on thunder during thunderstorms."
"Wow, that's so convenient. I wish my body functioned like yours."
"I know right, it would have been amazing if God had created your kind, the humans, that way, but they chose not to, which is why I don't understand what the gods are thinking and what their next move will be."
"You said it, pal. Wait, does it mean you ate during the recent storms, buddy?," asked Arin awkwardly.
"No, I skipped a meal."
"Oh! You shouldn't have buddy because you never know when you'll see a storm forming in this sea again."
"Trust me, storms in the ocean are more frequent than me being hungry, so forget about my feast, and more importantly, did you manage to solve the riddle?" questioned Raiju.
"I'm pushing my brain to the limit, but fingers crossed, nothing seems to be crossing my mind."
"It would be incredible if you could figure it out quickly."
"Yeah, I also hope to get my ass out of this vast ocean as soon as possible by cracking the riddle," said Arin, his gaze drifting to the cavernous seawater, curious about what lurked within.
As Arin continued to stare, he noticed that a phantom-like inconspicuous figure was rapidly approaching his boat. Arin, perplexed, paused for a moment before looking again to ensure that what he saw was correct. Arin heard a swirling sound from behind him as the shadowy form faded from view.
"Don't move an inch, and definitely don't glance behind you, Arin. Just stay put," warned Raiju.
Arin's body reflected and swiveled before hearing Raiju's admonition.
When Arin peered behind him, he felt his jaw drop and his mouth gape, since the thing that was behind him was an enormous turtle with the head of a creature he had never seen before. Arin was so afraid that he soiled himself by peeing on his pants when he saw the monster's piercing, slit-pupiled eyes throwing daggers at him, making him feel minuscule.
"Don't yell or breathe heavily; simply be calm, and no matter what, avoid looking it directly in the eyes," advised Raiju.
Arin was on the verge of losing his sh*t, but after hearing Raiju's advice, he somehow maintained his composure, avoided staring it in the eyes, and remained still, hoping those humongous, keen, sharp eyes would leave him alone soon.
The sheer enormity of the monster completely dwarfed Arin's mind, as he perceived himself as an insignificant speck in front of the colossal beast.
The beast roared, opening its jawbone, and spittle splattered all over Arin's face, yet he didn't quiver the slightest bit. It then moved its head closer to Arin's body and started sniffing him while the viscous saliva covering his face dribbled below like little beads of water.
Sniff! Sniff!
Arin shut his tremulous eyes right away to divert the monster's attention elsewhere by making it presume that he was inanimate while attempting to take slow, near-silently rhythmic normal breaths, but each one weighed heavily on his lungs. The tremors that periodically ran through his body betrayed the fact that he was alive. He could feel the monster's steamy breath fanning over his body, sending goosebumps down his spine as if the world around him were imploding.
When Arin no longer felt the creature's warm breath, he tardily opened his eyes, feeling a belated sense of relief upon realizing that the monster had vanished from his sight, granting him a moment of blissful respite.
In a trice, Arin dropped to his knees and stayed silent for a few moments, barely breathing and trembling in overwhelming terror.
"Did the encounter frighten you that much, buddy?" Raiju questioned Arin, who was still trembling violently even after the monster had disappeared.
Arin could scarcely talk, but in a quavering voice, he replied, "Of course it did. Each second felt like an unceasing hellish eternity, and it scared the bejesus out of me. Plus, it was freakishly humongous in size. What the heck was that creature?"
"It is a mythical creature known as the Dragon turtle. It has a turtle's body and a dragon's head," Raiju replied, sounding knowledgeable.
"I know that its carapace looks like a turtle because I saw one long ago for the first time on the ocean shore of the Thunder realm when I was eleven. According to you, its head resembles the monster known as the dragon, which I haven't seen before, but that's not my concern right now. Therefore, can you kindly fill me in on why it freaking bobbed up in front of me in the middle of nowhere in this boundless sea?" Arin questioned, letting out a heaving sigh of relief as all of his instincts erupted in a wave of reassurance that he was finally safe from any life-threatening predicament.
"Well, it's a sea monster by nature, so encountering it roaming the ocean in search of food within its natural habitat isn't surprising. However, there are many more monsters like it lurking in the sea and land of many realms. This was just a teeny-weeny sample of what's truly out there in the whole world, and trust me when I say that there are creatures far more monstrous than what you just witnessed; I mean it for real," Raiju explained in a serious tone of voice.
"I'm chuffed that nothing bad..."
Arin's skiff capsized and sank into the ocean due to sagging, plunging him deep into the uncharted ocean before he could complete what he was trying to convey.
Arin's garments grew so soaked that his body's drenching sweats melded in with the seawater.
Raiju's vessel, the bijou in Arin's pocket, began to shine, and a force field enclosing Arin appeared out of thin air, free of water, and filled with air to breathe. Arin was attempting to regain his breath panting heavily sitting bolt upright inside the force field.
When the Dragon turtle noticed the luminescent circular force field, it surged forward towards the shimmering curtain of light in which Arin was residing in an attempt to break it off with pure bite force, but it ended up failing to do so. However, the Dragon turtle didn't relent and followed up with repeated hefty, thunderous crashes of its jaws against the force field that seemed to emit a vibrant, pulsating glow of unwaning resilience in response to the Dragon turtle's bite.
"At first glance, the barrier appears to be pretty powerful, but to imagine that it can endure the Dragon Turtle's crushing bite pressure is just too incredible."
"Stop praising the goddamn barrier and, for God's sake, do something to keep it away," yelled Arin in a begging voice.
"Since my attribute is thunder and we're currently in the water, it'll affect you as well because you're not impervious to the shock," warned Raiju.
"I don't care; as long as you save my butt from that monster, I'll be okay," said Arin, sniveling.
"All right, here goes nothing; don't blame me if your hair ends up being as straight as a betel tree."
Arin promptly closed his eyes, dreading the sensation of the sock, but nothing happened.
While the Dragon turtle bit the force field once again, Arin shouted, "What's wrong? Does your power not work while being inside a force field?."
"Yeah, technically it doesn't, but that's not the case; as far as I can grasp, the stone of the bijou is probably shutting off my power because it senses you'll be in danger. Therefore, it's cutting me off to protect you."
"Why didn't you say that beforehand? Are you certain that the stone of the bijou is impeding your attack?"
"Yes, I'm absolutely sure. I believe this stone is a Bloodstone, a splendid curio!" Raiju remarked, his voice taut with anticipation.
"So, why is it aubergine instead of red?" Arin wondered as he held the Bloodstone steadfastly inside the force field.
"I don't have a clue myself," Raiju responded, his voice heavy with thought on what to do.
"If the Dragon turtle keeps on biting like that, the barrier won't last long, and we're sinking fathomless into the ocean by the second," Arin said in a terrified voice.
"Pray to God for someone to come to your rescue."
"I've been praying to God the whole time, what the heck will I do without praying in a situation like this?"
"Then we'll just have to wait for God's divine judgment on whether you'll live or die."
"How long will I wait? Because I'm at my limit in terms of not freaking out due to having a plethora of unruly thoughts pirouetting through my mind."
As time passed, a small crack in the force field appeared as a result of the dragon turtle's non-stop bites, and water began to seep inside, causing Arin to drop his bundle.
"Raiju, what are we going to do? The force field is going to snap soon. Quickly, give me an idea on how to stay alive or save me from this plight, for which I'll be eternally grateful to you," Arin screamed in soul-crushing fright.
What had hitherto been nervousness turned into real panic!
"I'm of no use in water as long as this barrier exists, all I can say is don't give up hope; I believe God will provide assistance," said Raiju with a voice full of hope.
"God's of the world, I'm in desperate need of aid right now, so please help me!" shrieked Arin, breaking down in tears.
Arin clutched the jewel as tightly as he could as the dragon turtle's attacks became more rapid, hurling him farther down into the opaque sea with each hit. He felt dizzy from all the rocking and whirling inside the force field.
After all the lurching, he was striving to keep motionless when he noticed a dark figure approaching him, holding the force field and swimming away from the dragon turtle as rapidly as feasible.
Arin could tell that the unknown shadowy creature was headed towards a big shipwreck and envisioned it was going to enter it through a fracture in the hull's body, carrying Arin's force field in its hand.
Arin exclaimed, rubbing his eyes to see the dark figure clearly, "I don't know if you're a friend or an enemy, but thanks for saving me from this big ass turtle!"
"Yesh...Resh...yas," muttered the strange beast, whose voice seemed almost feminine.
"Pardon me, but I'm not getting what you're saying!" exclaimed Arin, feeling slightly ashamed for not getting what his savior was trying to convey.
With a proud tone, Raiju responded, "Don't worry, I got it; she's saying—I don't understand."
"How can you be sure it's a she, and more importantly, how can you communicate with her at all?"
Raiju then revealed that she is a Millalobo, a mythological monster created by the romanticism of a male seal and a female human, and that she is speaking an ancient sacred language that he understands since he is also a mythical monster.
"But how do you know for sure that it's a female of that species of mythical creature?" Arin inquired, sounding puzzled.
"Can't you feel those large bouncy balls that only a female would have?" questioned Raiju.
Balls that bounce! After hearing this, Arin took a closer look and observed the monster's large buxom, then turned away, blushing with a beet-red face, and exclaimed, "Raiju, you jerk!"
"Thank you for the jerk moniker," Raiju smiled and added, "I reckon it's an honor as a man."
The monster then again said, "Hal..ra...tik...tu..?..aan..Maan..waq..shilick..deru."
"I appreciate your sense of humor, but jokes aside, what's she saying now?" Arin inquired.
"She asks if everything is okay and introduces herself as Shilick,"Raiju explained.
"Ooh! Tell her I'm not quite okay, which she can easily perceive; regardless, tell her that my name is Arin, and it's a pleasure to meet her."
"All right, I'll tell her."
"mik...ta..tu,maan..waq..Arin...deru...aan...lik..shukh...rik," Raiju said aloud.
The stone flashed brightly, and Raiju's voice was heard loud and clear as he spoke, despite Arin's belief that the force field would make Raiju's voice inaudible.
"Siu..tik..fu..ra..mij...suk?..aan...ta..til..gu," Shilick responded, confused.
"What's she saying now Raiju?" Arin wondered.
"She questions why the voice is coming from a stone rather than your mouth and what you're doing alone in this ocean."
"Now's not a good time so tell her that it's a long story and ask her if she can assist me to escape from the hands of that monster because I can't keep the water from flowing inside through the crack only by closing it with my hands for as long as I want cause my hands would soon feel numb."
"She can, but it's a perilous move," said Raiju with a deep voice after pronouncing some unfamiliar phrases and waiting for her response.
"No need to bother. I'm all in; just tell her to go for it," replied Arin, who saw no other way to stay alive.
Raiju urged, "Don't you at least want to hear out her plan?"
"Okay, ask her, and whatever she excogitates to do with me must be completed quickly," replied Arin.
Raiju uttered some words, and Shilick replied,"Dik....fir...sor...mio...tak...jur...mar..ai..fij ,aan..wa..shuk..maan?".
"So, what's the plan?" Arin asked to know the details.
"She claims there's a portal ahead using which she came to your rescue and it leads to somewhere else that is safe, and she thinks if she throws you that way with her full strength, you'll make it, but she questions whether you'll risk your life believing in her or not," Raiju explained.
"A portal in this bottomless ocean is strange; not that I know what that is, but I've seen stranger things happen to me, so screw it, okay, then tell her to hurl me towards that thing called a portal with every ounce of strength she has left in her body, and I'll leave the rest to fate," stated Arin.
"For your knowledge a portal is something that enables you to travel through different realm dimensions; are you sure you're up for it because if she misses, you may be dragon food the next instant?" Raiju inquired, his tone worried.
"Oh! I understand now. If that's the case, I believe it would be wise of me to take this risk in order to survive; otherwise, I would first slowly drown to death due to the rise of water inside the force field before turning into dragon food, as the naked truth is, fingers crossed, I can't swim. Lastly, above all, I don't wish to die such a gruesome death," Arin responded with a resolve-filled voice.
"Okey dokey!... wait! If you can't swim, why did you begin traveling by sea knowing you couldn't swim?" Raiju, completely baffled, inquired.
"I promise to learn swimming later if I survive this, but for now, talk to her and tell her that I'm ready to take this life or death stake to live," Arin said with a determined voice being ready to take even a blow of face slapping reality.
"All right, since your safety is the most important thing right now, I'm telling her to continue with the plan but don't go back on your words," Raiju said and hoped that Arin would keep his words like a gentleman.
"Trust me! I won't retract what I said "With a serious expression on his face, Arin replied.
"OK, I have faith in you," Raiju said before he began to blabber some archaic words to speak with Shilick, which Arin, as usual, didn't quite understand and thus waited patiently to be saved.
Shilick soon adopted the position of flinging Arin's force field through the damaged vessel's hole towards the portal after her conversation with Raiju ended. She then spun and hurled Arin's force field through the hole in the hull after pronouncing tres..tos...toros, three words that sounded like counting.
The Dragon turtle instantly picked up on the force field, moving at a rapid speed towards the portal, and began to give chase to the throw. With one final lunge, it attempted to bite off the moving force field in hopes of masticating Arin's fragile body like a triscuit to satisfy its ravenous appetite, but it failed since the force field entered the portal safely only a mere moments away from its jaw.
As the spinning came to a halt, Arin found himself floating near the shore of a serene sea teeming with various fish, which he had never seen before after entering the portal.
Fortunately, after they entered through the portal, it got closed off for good.
"She genuinely has some monstrous energy; to believe we'd make it is somewhat incredible," Arin said as he began to rub his ears to unclog the water-filled within.
"Yeah, that's why I ween one should never underestimate a woman, regardless of species, but it's honestly amazing that we made it, buddy!" Raiju exclaimed joyfully.
"Well said, and I acknowledge that we were fortunate enough to be saved as a result of that life-or-death decision, but what about her? Will she be safe?" asked Arin, feeling concerned about Shilick.
"She sacrificed herself for us, I'm extremely sorry, but she told me not to tell you until we were safe and sound," Raiju said in a saddened voice.
"I can't seem to fathom why she risked her life to save someone weak like me, whom she had never known before. I mean, I didn't even exist in her mind until the moment I entered her life. Because of her sacrifice, I am overwhelmed with indescribable gratitude from the depths of my heart. I will even willingly lay my life on the line if it means honouring her sacrifice. That is why, no matter what unfolds, I refuse to let her sacrifice go unnoticed," Arin replied, struggling to hold back his tears.
"I know full well that you won't let it go unpunished, buddy, because as far as judging a person goes, I'm never wrong," Raiju said, his voice profoundly sorrowful for losing a selfless soul and a tenacious woman like Shilick who fought with all her might till the very end to protect Arin's life, expecting nothing in return.