The night seemed peaceful, and the waves calm, a stark contrast to reality. A fishing yacht cut through the waves, journeying through the vast seas.
Alas stood alone at the front deck of the boat, leaning against its rails. He seemed lost in thought as he held his father's parting gift to him.
Void-eater.
That was the name of his father's sword. Though one could say it was just a mere blade, to Atlas, it felt like more than that. His father had given him more than just a blade. What he was given almost felt like... a legacy?
Holding this blade made concrete the reality that from this point on, Atlas would have to be the one protecting Raya and Haki. It was his responsibility.
He turned his gaze to the boat's cabin. Inside were his siblings. Raya had cried herself to sleep while Haki sat curled up in a corner. Leaving had been hard on both of them, but Raya was the most devastated. It took Atlas a long time to convince her to leave the island. Normally, Haki would do that sort of thing, but he, too, was in bad shape. After all, leaving that island meant leaving everything.
"Our only hope is to reach that place."
Before they left, Atlas's father told them where to go. They would travel east until they reached one of humanity's great fortresses. A giant floating city housing more than a million people, known as the Great Pacific Fort.
It was protected by hunters who killed mermaids, and it was from amongst humanity's strongholds. If they reached that place, he and his siblings would be safe. However, reaching the Pacific Fort was not so simple.
His father had given him the coordinates, so using all of the knowledge he had been taught, Atlas could try and lead them in that direction. However, the seas were not safe. This was not human territory, after all.
"Mermaids."
The word came out with malice and hatred. It was these creatures that threatened the safety of his family after all.
However, Atlas had vowed. He would hunt down every mermaid that threatened his family's safety.
No matter what it costs.
~~~
The next month or so was strangely uneventful. Nothing disturbed the boat, and the journey was peaceful, minus the one or two storms. Atlas would catch fish using a net, and filtering seawater was their only source of food.
The siblings found comfort in each other, and Atlas found himself becoming the pillar of their group. Without their father around, he had automatically become a sort of leader amongst the three, and the other two seemed to turn to him for guidance and direction.
Despite that, Atlas still found a huge gap in the shoes he had to fill.
It was after that peaceful month when, finally, it seemed like their luck had run out.
It was a sunny afternoon when Atlas was busy trying to catch some fish for dinner. Raya sat on the deck behind him, playing with her doll, and Haki was inside the cabin, reading.
Atlas was having a tough time catching fish, and he was beginning to wonder if they would have dinner, when he saw something in the water near the boat. Something swam under the water, slowly nearing the boat.
"Raya," Atlas said, his voice low and serious. "Get in the cabin."
Raya immediately stood, her pretty little face already pale, and her eyes full of fear. Hesitant to leave her brother, she looked to him. She was scared.
"Don't worry," Atlas said, trying to sound as calm as he could. "I can handle this."
He threw a reassuring smile over his shoulder, "Trust me."
It seemed to work. Raya nodded and ran into the cabin.
Atlas pulled out the katana from his side and took a few steps back. He watched the water cautiously, waiting for the monster to jump out... it did.
A creature rose over the rails and onto the deck, shaking the boat as it did. The creature was massive, easily twice the size of a human man.
The bottom half of its body resembled that of a fish, the top almost humanoid. That was except it's scaly, grey skin and webbed fingers. Also, instead of ears, it seemed to have gills, with sharp and long fins lining its back.
Its body was slender, with defined muscles. It was clear that it was built to be an apex predator.
All this while, one word seemed to play in Atlas's brain, until he became a machine, programmed for that single aspect.
Protect. Protect. Protect.
Like a heartbeat, the word played again, and again, and again. Suddenly, the boy's mind felt... clear. Only a single thing remained in his mind.
Kill the mermaid.
The humming of the waves, the cries of the seagulls, they all disappeared.
It was just him and the mermaid.
Atlas watched the creature like a predator as he slowly walked around it. The mermaid, too, moved. Like 2 lions ready to duel, the two circled the deck, until...
The mermaid pounced.
Time seemed to slow. To Atlas, now the mermaid seemed ridiculously slow. Suddenly, he wondered. Why was he ever afraid? He could kill this creature.
For most of his life, Atlas had been training under his father. Every form of fighting imagined, he had done it. Not only that, he had perfected it. Until now, only one thing had been stopping him.
Fear.
"No more!" Atlas dived low, raising his katana as he did. The mermaid missed him, but his blade hit its mark. The katana carved a bloody line on the side of the sea creature, sending it into cries of pain.
The mermaid crashed behind him, leaving a trail of blood as it did.
Atlas had injured the mermaid, but he knew it was not over.
The creature spun around and crawled at Atlas. This time, it was faster, reaching him before he could react. Its maw opened, and it snapped at his throat. Atlas raised his sword, and the mermaid's jaw closed around it.
The momentum of its attack pushed Atlas back, and he was sent flying. He slid on the wet floor a few meters before he stopped himself. Atlas looked to his hand's and it was empty.
He had lost his sword in the collision.
The mermaid rose, like a cobra ready to attack. It snarled before crazily dashing toward Atlas.
Atlas waited for a moment as the mermaid grew closer before reacting.
He shot up, and in his hands was his fishing net.
Instead of dodging the mermaid, he ran towards it. The mermaid outstretched its hands in an attempt to grab him, but he was faster.
Atlas leaped in the air, above the mermaid, his body spinning through the air. The monster crashed into the net, entangling itself as it did. It crashed onto the ground, writhing as it dried to break free.
Atlas landed on the deck and felt a strong tug from the net. He felt himself slide through the deck as the monster struggled, but he wouldn't let this opportunity go to waste. His arm shot out, grabbing the rails of the boat. Mustering all of the strength in his body to resist the mermaid, he tied the net onto the rails as tightly as he could.
The mermaid's struggles became useless, with the net trapping it in place.
Then he stood up, searching for his katana. It was a few meters from him. He grabbed it before limping to the struggling mermaid. The creature raised its eyes, looking at him with malice and fury.
Atlas raised his katana.
"See, you're not the hunter."
The void eater dropped, and blood sprayed through the air. The creature stopped struggling, its body lifeless.
"I am."