Chapter 2 : The Ring Breathes
The rocking of waves was the first thing I noticed.
Then the sting of salt in my mouth. My shirt, cold and stiff. My body, sore all over. I blinked, light stabbing into my eyes. A blue sky stretched overhead, cloudless, too bright. I winced and groaned.
Wooden boards creaked beneath me.
"You're up," a gruff voice said.
I turned my head. An old man sat at the other end of a small fishing boat, back bent, hands working a tangled net. His skin was sun-worn, eyes sharp under bushy brows. He looked like the sea carved him out of stone and just let him walk around.
"Thought you were dead when I scooped you up."
I pushed myself upright slowly, every joint complaining. My ribs ached like they'd been stomped on—which, yeah, they had. My fingers found the soaked fabric of my shirt and the chain underneath. The ring was still there.
Thank god.
It rested cold against my chest, heavier than it used to be. I pulled it out and stared at it. The surface shimmered—a deep, inky blue that shifted when it caught the light. The ocean symbol carved into it was faintly glowing.
"You… saw it?" I asked, voice hoarse.
The fisherman glanced up. "The ring? Yeah. Glowed like a flare before you woke. Looked like it was breathing."
I stared at the damn thing. It was breathing. Faintly, like it had a pulse of its own. It was darker now, like the deep parts of the sea. Alive and ancient and... watching.
"What the hell is this…?" I whispered.
"You tell me," the man said. "Ain't every day the tide throws a glowing boy into my net."
He tossed the rope aside and stood. The boat rocked gently.
"What's your name, kid?"
"…Dev," I muttered. "Dev Noctis."
That got a reaction.
"From Ocean Blue?" he asked. "Sam and Clestia's boy?"
I nodded.
He scratched his chin. "Good people. Smart. Your mother once helped me identify a deepwater eel that melted half my rig."
I tried to laugh, but my chest hurt too much.
"You got beat up bad," he added, nodding to my arms. "Who did it?"
I didn't answer.
Didn't need to.
The name was already on fire in my head.
Dian Len.
Rich, cruel bastard with that perfect smile and perfect hair and the kind of bloodline that people bowed to. One of the Ten Families. One of the gods of Ocean Blue.
And me? I was a broken nobody thrown in a river because my genes didn't show up on time.
Until last night.
"I need to go back," I said, trying to stand. My legs wobbled under me. "I have to—"
"Stop." The old man raised a hand. "You go limping back into that city, looking like you fought a storm whale and lost? You'll get swallowed again. Let me at least drop you off near the South Gate. It's quiet there. No enforcers."
I hesitated. Then nodded.
He stepped toward the console at the front of the boat, started the silent engine. The boat turned gently, slicing through the waves. The city came into view like a dream wrapped in chrome and shadow.
Ocean Blue City.
Towers shaped like spiraling seashells rose into the sky. Bio-glass skyscrapers pulsed with neural circuits, their surfaces etched in glowing aqua runes. A massive circular ring hovered over the central district, spinning slowly—part satellite, part energy distributor. AI drones zipped through the air like birds. Bridges arched like coral arms between buildings. From this angle, it looked beautiful.
But I knew better.
That city loved strength. Worshipped it. And it had thrown me away the second it thought I had none.
But now?
I could feel something inside me. Still buried. Still growing. Not just water. Something else. Something darker. Heavier.
I looked down at the ring again.
It wasn't done waking up.
And neither was I.
As I stepped off onto the rusted dock, I paused and turned back.
"Hey," I called to him. "I never asked… your name."
The old man gave a crooked smile.
"Call me Brune," he said, then tapped the side of his nose. "Stay alive, Dev Noctis. The sea already gave you back once. She
doesn't usually do that."
Then he turned the boat around and disappeared into the mist.
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