"Woah! Woah! Honey, are you trying to kill him?!"
The man Gadeon refers to as the old man speaks in a frenzy, his voice filled with shock as he stares at the display his wife has created. His son lies helpless on the ground, staring up at the sky.
"Calm down! I was just trying to scare him, that's all."
"Scare?!" Both Gadeon and his father say it simultaneously — though Gadeon only says it in his thoughts.
However, his mother wore a confused expression on her face as she put her hand on her chin, thinking about the attack she had just unleashed. Did I lose my balance? she wonders. I know I wasn't trying to aim directly at him, but still… I was more than slightly off.
"No. No, no, no — you were trying to do more than scare him."
"Oh, stop being a baby, honey! That's why he always takes the piss with you! You're rarely hard on him, and that's why he'll always act like that."
"Also, are you feeling a bit off today?" her husband asks.
His wife wears a confused expression. "Why do you ask?"
"Your aim was a bit off today, so I thought maybe the housework's getting to you."
"Ah! You noticed that as well?" she says in shock, thinking she must've been imagining it.
"Yeah, I did. Maybe you should rest a bit and leave everything to me."
"No, because if I leave everything to you, our son will just continue to disrespect you."
Then, turning back to his wife, he replies, "It'll be fine. Right now, he just struggles to open up his emotions."
"He's too young to struggle with his emotions. He's just a kid!"
"Every kid is different. That's why, on his tenth birthday, I made him a journal as a gift. That way, he can write down what he feels, and I'll just read it."
"You think that'll help?" his wife asks, wearing a sceptical look.
"It'll be our way of communicating," her husband replies with a grin.
If it wasn't for keeping my memories from my past life, I would've potentially been raised like a girl. Gaedric made me a stupid journal. If he spent all that time working on himself, maybe he would've been someone better — not a man freeloading off his wife. The amount of times I've thrown that journal away… and yet the next day I'll see it sitting right on my desk. I've burned it, ripped it into pieces — hell, I've even shat on it — but within three days, there's always a freshly made one waiting for me. So now it just sits there on my desk, unused.
He calls it a birthday gift? How can a journal made from trees be a birthday gift? In my old life, I've received… I've received…
Gadeon pauses.
Hmm. I'm sure I've received some things. Heck, I threw the wildest parties though. Man… I miss those days.
Suddenly, as he stares up at the sky, his mother's face appears in his view.
Ah. It's Gloria, he thinks.
"If you don't write anything in that journal by tonight," she says coldly, "expect another one of the attacks you just witnessed — coming straight at you."
"DON'T THREATEN HIM, HONEY!" Gaedric panics, pulling her back as sweat breaks out across his face.
Gadeon, however, continues to stare at the sky, completely unfazed.
I have nothing to write in that journal. A man doesn't show his emotions — that's what it means to be a man. Showing emotions is a sign of weakness, let alone writing them down in a journal or diary like I'm some maiden in love. This is so cringe.
The next day arrives.
Gadeon wears a sleeveless fighting gi, sky blue in colour, with a water emblem embroidered on the right side of his chest. A white sash is wrapped around his waist, and his shoes are woven from straw, while carrying a bag beside him.
He stands at the doorstep as his parents see him off.
"Alright, Giddie, make sure you're safe. If you see other people making their way to the dojo, join them so you're not left walking alone," Gloria says.
She does this all the time whenever I have to make my way to the city, Gadeon thinks.
"We'll see you at the dojo today, kiddo," Gaedric adds with a wink.
Gadeon rolls his eyes and walks away.
His parents watch as his small back disappears into the distance.
"You know you don't have to keep doing this, honey. You're always going to be late if you do," Gloria says.
"It's alright. He should at least have peace of mind as he makes his way to the city," Gaedric replies.
"Yeah, but ideally, it's for a father and son to make their way to school together."
"I know, I know. And that day will still come. Right now, my son doesn't want to go to school with me, and that's fine."
"No, honey, I don't think you're understanding. It's not just that he doesn't want to go to school with you — he doesn't even want to be near you. Be in the same proximity. I don't get why he's like that."
Gaedric continues watching his son walk away.
"But regardless, I still love him. He's a mini version of me — how can I not love him?"
Gaedric wears a warm smile as his wife looks at him, reciprocating, gently rubbing his back.
"Aww, I love you so much, honey," Gloria says.
"Me too. I love you too," Gaedric replies.
However, Gaedric's expression quickly changes into a serious one, which, his wife glanced over, caught off guard as the rubbing on her back paused, her eyes fixing on his expression.
"Why do you look like that, honey?" she adds.
"I don't get it. He should've awakened his Chi-Lungs by now," Gaedric says.
"True, but you know there are some kids whose lungs don't awaken until the age of thirteen."
"Yeah… but those are rare cases…"
Silence hangs in the air as Gaedric steps back into the house. Gloria follows him inside.
"Why? Do you think something has happened?"
"Do you think it could be…"
"Could be what?" Gloria responds, unsure. Suspense coils in her chest — then suddenly it clicks. Her face turns distraught as she realises what Gaedric is implying.
"God forbid! You've already taken him for medical checks and scans, and they couldn't find a single trace of it in him!"
"I know, I know… but he might've-"
"Don't say that!" Gloria snaps sternly. "Is that why you were harsh with his training today? That knee strike at the end was a bit aggressive, even for you."
"I wanted to check if it would force his lungs to awaken. I thought maybe putting them under stress might stimulate something."
"Don't worry. I'm sure it'll come through for him. Gadeon is very tough for his age — to the point where it makes me question if he's truly a ten-year-old."
"I hear that," Gaedric says quietly. "But honestly, the way life is nowadays, there are many ten-year-olds like him who make me wonder — are they truly that age, from the way they talk and act?"
"Yes, I remember you keep saying that after you finish work. Gadeon isn't the only one like that. I really feel for the young people and children — they've become way more stressed and have experienced mental health struggles far more than we did when we were young. And I feel like not having Chi-Lungs plays a big part in this."
"It will be hard, but remember, I was born without Chi-Lings, and I'm able to handle all the obstacles."
"Yeah, but you're strong, honey."
"You don't think our son is strong?"
"It's not that. But not having Chi-Lungs is something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. You're deemed disabled — without it, you can't really do much in this world."
"For now, at least…" Gaedric adds.
His wife looks at him — then a glimmer of hope cracks through her expression.
"Oh yeah… how's that been going?" she asks.
"Absolutely difficult. But there's been a little progress, so I can't complain."
"Aww, I can't wait for everyone else to see it. It's been extremely difficult to keep it a secret," Gloria says, acting like a little girl as she jumps into her husband's arms.
"No, you can't do that, honey. You'll get me in trouble — not until it works," Gaedric says.
As Gadeon makes his way forward, he complains to himself.
I think in this world, to start driving you have to be at least sixteen — which is fine, but waiting six years is still long!
As he walks, he notices creatures he's never seen before leaping out from the bushes. Fruits and berries with irregular, unnatural shapes hang from trees along the path. Bird-type creatures soar across the skies above him, while insects three times larger than anything from the Earth he once lived on crawl and buzz nearby.
Despite witnessing such a beautiful and strange sight, it does nothing to stop Gadeon from complaining.
I don't understand why Gaedric and Gloria have to live so far from the city! I know we can't live within the city because of who Gaedric married — which he was a fool for. If he'd just married someone from the same dojo, I'd be living an easy life in the city right now. Instead, I live miles away and have to make this stupid walk every morning!
Then Gadeon thinks to himself,
At least this will build stamina and strengthen me. As a man, I should do anything that improves my physique.
Thirty-five minutes later, Gadeon reaches the shore. There is no footpath ahead — only a vast ocean stretching out before him.
Yet he doesn't look lost, nor does he hesitate.
He keeps walking.
The sea rises to his ankles… then his knees… and finally he stops, standing there quietly, waiting.
Then, a vast bubble rose slowly from the depths, its surface shimmering like stretched glass. Gadeon stepped inside, and at once the world above was sealed away as the bubble began to sink.
At first, the descent was gentle. Schools of fish scattered past him, coral forests bloomed in impossible colours, and long strands of seaweed drifted like sleeping banners. Light still followed him down, fractured and wavering, painting the water in soft blues and golds.
But the deeper the bubble carried him, the quieter the ocean became.
The colours dulled. Pressure thickened the water. The last traces of sunlight thinned into pale threads before fading entirely—until, far below, a new glow emerged.
Not natural. Not random.
Lights arranged in patterns. Towers rising from the seabed. Roads of radiance threading between living structures of coral and stone. An entire city revealed itself in the dark—vast, deliberate, alive.
Thalassar.
A civilisation hidden beneath the sea.