Arc 1 – The Fish and the Lost Scale
They say that in the depths where light never reaches, there lived a fish born missing one scale. For that reason, the others called him the Incomplete.
The fish swam alone, avoiding shoals, spurning coral and shadows. One day, he came upon a gleaming scale lying on the ocean floor like a fallen star. When he touched it, the sea whispered an ancient name—and the fish understood: this was not his own scale… but it could become so.
He embedded it in his chest.
From that moment on, he swam differently. Predators hesitated. Currents bent around him. Yet he was still just a fish… until he resolved to swim against the current, to ascend the forbidden waterfall where the oceans end.
They say that when he reached the summit, there was no sea left—and no fish. Only the first sea-dragon, with eyes as fathomless as the abyss and scales forged from all that he had lacked.
Since then, every fish feels something missing within.
-
He felt something being torn from him, yanked fiercely from inside his body, through his mouth, until it slipped free.
cough cough cough
He coughed a few times as he jolted awake, still spitting up water. Looking around in confusion, he searched for an explanation.
"Ah! Sir, please don't move—hold on," a nurse said, placing a tube on the table beside him.
She held a long tube that must have been down his throat; instinctively he placed a hand at his neck.
"Where am I?" he shouted, still gasping for air, startling the woman who braced herself against the table.
"You're in an emergency care center run by the CCHA, being treated for your injuries from the invasion," she said, her breath catching, then regained her composure.
'Oh, the invasion.' His head throbbed as memories flickered: 'There were explosions all over the city, then water flooded the shops and streets…' The recollection grew agonizing—no one benefits from remembering horrors.
He glanced to the side and saw some of his personal effects on the table: besides random medical supplies, there was his tablet—a gray slab tangled in wires and buttons, thick as a thumb, its matte black screen flanked by grips and a protrusion on the back.
Still in pain, he reached for it. Using his fingerprint, he powered it on. The home screen displayed several icons; with a few taps he found the dossier on that afternoon's attack—what had actually happened yesterday.
[INVASION IN OLD FACE, FIFTH CIRCLE CITY!]
[AQUATIC ASSAULT DEVASTATES SMALL FIFTH-CIRCLE TOWN!]
[DELAYED ACTION BY CCHA RANKS 3 AND 4 ALLOWED DESTRUCTION OF A CI–]
He scrolled through dozens of headlines—other assaults, casualty counts, names of the responders deployed.
'The CCHA can't handle everything, especially in a Fifth-Circle city. Aquatic attacks are even harder to contain—I'd be surprised if they arrived in time,' he muttered, knowing there was no way to recover his home or clothes, and probably no government restitution.
The Central Circle of Human Authority had formed almost forty years ago after the supernatural descended and governments worldwide collapsed. Survivors gathered on a stretch of land and created a unified human government—leaders of every region ruling together. It worked—briefly.
They devised the City Circles: Circle 1 the most secure (nobles, wealthy, powerful, true fortresses); Circle 5 ordinary towns, not unprepared but poor and weak, hardest hit and farthest from CCHA support. All who could flee migrated to larger circles—even onto the streets—better than death. Mobilizing aid there was a nightmare.
He exited the news app and opened another. The screen went reflective—like polished glass—and he saw his own body.
James was an unremarkable beauty: darker hair, slender yet common features, tired eyes. Bruises marred his skin but no grave wounds. He was an ideal weight for his height, neither muscular nor frail.
He tapped his notifications: two new messages from the government app—one about damage compensation, another about an inheritance.
The compensation notice said that if he were a an Awakened he could request immediate discharge to the government base and join one of the military academies for the Awakened. If valuables remained in his home, he could petition a recovery mission; otherwise, the government could do nothing. 'Typical'
The inheritance notice was more intriguing: his uncle, living in the same city, had died in the attack. Though he left no will, he had items that by law had to go to kin. Normally the state would seize them, but a benevolent Awakened had recovered the items and wished to buy them of James.
It didn't specify what they were, so James preferred to stay hands-off. He accepted the offer—2,200 credits. Converted, that was about twenty-two Rank-1 Primordial Stones. 'Whatever my uncle had, they paid well. Must have been something special.' For a moment he wondered if he should have kept the items, then dismissed the thought.
He didn't need help from his uncle—even posthumously.
'Great. With my savings I'm at 4,456 credits, nearly double my starting funds. I could apply to move to a Circle 4 city, or just relocate to a neighboring Circle 5.' He glanced down at his hospital gown, now, just trousers.
Suddenly reality seemed to snap back. He looked around: he wasn't alone. Other patients lay in worse states. The room was open, walls and floor fresh-poured concrete—some Awakened must have built this wing. His ears still rang with water.
Light streamed through ceiling insets; doctors and Awakened medics bustled about. It never failed to fascinate the public: Awakened powers, and they always looked more striking than ordinary folk.
'I can't afford a higher-grade cure,' he thought, eyeing his bruises. He recalled the attack: hurled by a tidal wave, his body flung and dragged like a ragdoll, pierced and slashed. No supernatural found him in time—it was a miracle he was as whole as he was.
He stood and searched for a restroom. Despite its recent construction, the complex layout felt like a genuine hospital. He found the bathroom—immense, nicer than any he'd seen. After he took care of himself, he approached the sink.
Staring into the mirror, he still looked rough—hair in disarray. He turned on the tap, ran cool water over his face, trying to clear his thoughts.
He froze in that position, water dripping from his face, as if hearing something inside his mind:
Something began to coalesce in the sink's basin—too clear to doubt, too murky to decipher.
He leaned forward, dipping his head into the basin, which was surprisingly deep.
He wasn't hallucinating—a quiet voice spoke to him. He decided to wait; he still had plenty of air.
He lifted his head. He felt… different—better, in fact. The headaches had vanished and his thinking felt sharper.
A pale blue glow appeared before his eyes, and a small screen materialized in his vision.
<—Supreme Depths System Activated—>
The voice continued, screens fluttering in and out, their hues easy on the eyes and the tone pleasant—one he could listen to endlessly.
"Ah—yes," he replied uncertainly. Moments later, the system's simplest functions were uploaded to his mind.
"So, I have Statistics, which shows my basic info; a Shop for purchases; Abilities; and Free Chat, where I can ask questions—though paid queries grant deeper answers. Fascinating." He knew infinite powers existed in this world, but to have one handed to him on a silver platter…
This was incredible luck, right?
'This must be tied to that city attack—I nearly drowned, and hours later I wake up with a water-based system. No coincidence.' Cautious yet curious, he wondered if he truly had awakened.
<
Name: James Zie
Level: 1
Race: Fish (1 day until dehydration)
Strength: 5
Agility: 6
Constitution: 6
Presence: 1
Wisdom: 2
Intelligence: 5
>
He read and felt his caution melt into joy. "How intriguing—a numeric representation of my body's power,however imperfect," he thought, then explored further functions.
'I see, I gain levels by defeating monsters… Wait, fish?'
He reopened Statistics and stared at his Race:
'I need to stay near large bodies of water or I'll dehydrate.' He looked at his human form—nothing like the fish he'd imagined.
"System, explain this." A message appeared:
'I must really be dead—mid-attack the system must've revived me as a water creature, a fish.' It sounded absurd, but he felt composed, even pleased. His mind was clear; he smiled at the display.
"How amazing!" he exclaimed. "I've finally awakened powers, and something this good—what immense luck!"