The rumble of the spaceship's thrusters deepened.
A violent vibration tore through the hull as the vessel began its steep descent. Passengers stumbled into one another, desperately gripping overhead rails and bulkhead straps.
Then the intercom crackled.
"Hold on tight, everyone. We have arrived at the location."
Nazu pressed his face against the viewing window.
The sight outside stole the breath from his lungs.
An impossible landscape stretched beneath them—a fusion of nature and architecture so enormous that Nazu could barely comprehend what he was seeing. Colossal structures rose like mountains, their peaks disappearing beneath a thick blanket of blinding white snow.
He stared in silence.
"The Mountains of Eko."
The voice came from directly behind him.
"This is the staging ground for our expedition. Beautiful, isn't it?"
Nazu turned.
The man who had recruited them stood there.
There was something unsettling about him. His expression was calm, almost courteous, yet the atmosphere around him carried a subtle sense of danger.
"Though I should warn you," the man continued, "many deadly challenges await before you even set foot on the sea."
Nazu studied him carefully.
The man smiled.
"Ah. Forgive my late introduction. You may call me Eez. It is a pleasure to finally meet you."
"Nazu Khah. The pleasure is mine."
Nazu kept his voice steady.
The ship suddenly groaned.
Metal shrieked against metal as the vessel touched down, sending another violent tremor through the cabin.
The intercom chimed.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived at our destination."
The passengers began gathering near the exit.
Then Nazu noticed her.
A woman stood among the crowd, completely unlike everyone else aboard the ship. She possessed an almost magnetic beauty, drawing the attention of nearly every man within sight.
Within seconds, several men had surrounded her.
They laughed. Complimented her. Tried to flirt with her.
Eez glanced toward them.
"Temptation is everywhere."
Nazu frowned.
"What can a man truly gain from momentary pleasure when it means breaking an unbreakable will?" he said. "Real focus and consistency can't be shattered by something so meaningless."
Eez tilted his head.
A cold amusement flickered in his eyes.
"Temptation?"
He gave a faint smile.
"I am afraid you misunderstand me, Nazu."
Before Nazu could respond, Enzo stepped beside him.
His hand clamped firmly onto Nazu's shoulder.
"The test has already begun," Enzo whispered.
Nazu froze.
His friend's voice was deadly serious.
"Don't say another word. And don't look confused."
It was the first time Nazu had ever seen Enzo look genuinely afraid.
Eez began walking toward the exit.
Then—
The cabin lights went out.
Darkness swallowed the ship.
A collective murmur spread through the passengers.
The massive exit doors hissed open.
Freezing wind swept into the cabin.
Eez stepped across the threshold.
He stopped.
Then slowly turned toward the crowd.
"Only a select few will leave this ship alive."
Silence.
"Don't move, Nazu," Enzo whispered. "Something is deeply wrong here."
But the warning came too late.
"Let's go, boys!"
One of the men surrounding the woman laughed.
"There's money waiting for us out there!"
The group surged toward the exit.
Nazu's eyes widened.
"Wait—"
BANG!
The sound was deafening.
For a moment, nobody understood what had happened.
Then the bodies collapsed.
The men's heads had been cleanly severed from their shoulders.
Blood exploded across the floor, splattering the pristine snow beyond the doorway.
The cabin fell silent.
No one screamed.
No one moved.
Everyone simply stared.
Then a cheerful robotic voice chimed through the speakers.
"Welcome to the Northern District of Eko."
Eez calmly stepped back across the blood-splattered threshold.
He reached into his coat and produced a strange pen.
It resembled a telegram pen, but Nazu had never seen anything like it.
Eez crouched.
He pressed its tip against the floor and began writing.
The moment the ink touched the metal, something impossible happened.
The blood began to disappear.
Then the bodies.
Flesh dissolved into dust.
Bones vanished.
Even the stains on the floor faded until nothing remained.
Nazu's breathing stopped.
Then—
A scream.
The beautiful woman lunged at Eez.
She moved far too quickly.
One instant she was among the survivors.
The next, she was standing directly in front of him.
Eez didn't even look up.
He simply raised the pen.
With one effortless movement, he drew an X through the air.
The woman froze.
Her mouth opened.
A horrifying shriek escaped her throat.
Her eyes suddenly dropped from their sockets.
Then her entire body erupted into a violent, flameless combustion.
Within seconds, she was nothing more than ash.
Nazu stared in disbelief.
"Enzo…"
His voice trembled.
"Are you seeing this?"
"Yeah."
Enzo's eyes were wide.
"I knew the government was hiding things from the public…"
He swallowed.
"But I never imagined something like this."
Eez slipped the pen back into his coat.
His gaze traveled across the survivors.
Indifference.
That was all Nazu saw in his eyes.
"You are all seeing this, correct?"
Nobody answered.
"This is merely the first of many trials you will face."
Eez's voice remained calm.
"Those who falter will fail. This journey is not a matter of physical strength."
He paused.
"It is a matter of internal conquest."
His eyes hardened.
"If you are not prepared…"
He gestured toward the ship behind them.
"Leave now."
"I'M OUT OF HERE!"
A man turned and sprinted toward the cabin.
That broke the spell.
Panic erupted.
One person ran.
Then another.
Then another.
Within moments, the majority of the contenders were fleeing back into the ship, their survival instincts overwhelming whatever greed had brought them here.
Nazu felt the same instinct clawing at him.
Run.
Leave.
Survive.
His boots almost moved.
Then he closed his eyes.
"My Suze…"
The name escaped his lips like a prayer.
He opened his eyes.
He wasn't leaving.
Eez watched the cowards disappear into the ship until only a small group remained.
He counted them.
"One…"
His eyes moved across the survivors.
"Two…"
He continued.
When he finished, he smiled faintly.
"It seems only nine of you are truly willing to continue."
He turned toward them.
"Good."
His expression darkened.
"We have no time to waste."
Nazu stepped forward.
"You said something earlier."
Eez looked at him.
"Configurations."
Nazu's fists tightened.
"What the hell does that mean?"
Eez stared at him for several seconds.
Then his expression became completely serious.
"What I am about to tell you is classified information."
The wind howled outside.
"Once you hear it, your lives will be placed at permanent risk."
The survivors exchanged uneasy glances.
"More importantly…"
Eez's eyes narrowed.
"Once you learn the truth, you can never leave this expedition."
Silence.
"You will be bound to it until the end."
He looked directly at Nazu.
"Do you still wish to know?"
Nobody spoke.
Then—
"I'm in!"
Enzo stepped forward.
There wasn't even a hint of hesitation in his voice.
Nazu's eyes widened.
"Are you out of your mind?"
He grabbed Enzo's arm.
"There is no going back from this, you fool!"
Enzo gently pulled his arm free.
"It's a decision I made for myself, Nazu."
His expression darkened.
"I'm doing this for my own reasons."
He looked toward the snow-covered mountains.
"I am, after all…"
A faint smile appeared.
"A sinner."
Nazu stared at him.
His jaw tightened.
Then he sighed.
Long.
Heavy.
He understood.
Enzo wasn't the only one without a safety net.
"I have no home to return to either."
Nazu stepped forward.
"I abandoned my past a long time ago."
He lifted his hand.
For a moment, he stared at his palm.
Then he slowly closed it into a fist.
"There is no room for comfort in what I left behind."
His eyes hardened.
"The future is a path I'll carve for myself."
He stepped beside Enzo.
"And I'll carve it alone."
Enzo smirked.
The two exchanged a silent nod.
"Well…"
A confident voice came from behind them.
"As long as the paycheck still stands, count me in."
A young woman stepped forward.
She looked to be in her early twenties, with vibrant blue hair and piercing green eyes. At roughly five feet eight inches, she wasn't particularly imposing.
Her grin, however, was sharp.
She looked between Nazu and Enzo.
"Seems like you two boys are in it for more than just the money."
"And what about you?" Nazu asked.
The woman extended her hand.
"Liana V. Ostend."
"Nazu Khah."
"Nice to meet you, Nazu."
She turned toward Enzo.
"Hey. You never told me your name, yellow-hair."
Enzo chuckled.
"You never asked."
He scratched the back of his head.
"Figured there was no reason to brag."
He grinned.
"The name's Enzo."
Eez looked over the remaining contenders.
Nine people.
Nine fools—or perhaps nine people desperate enough to step willingly into hell.
A dark satisfaction settled across his face.
"I am glad you have made your choices."
He turned toward the mountains.
"We need every hand we can get."
Nazu narrowed his eyes.
"For what?"
Eez's smile disappeared.
"To tame that thing."
Nazu's expression hardened.
"What thing?"
Eez looked toward the horizon.
"Not too long ago, I led an expedition ordered by His Majesty."
His voice became quieter.
"We were tasked with exploring the depths of the Stella Ocean."
Liana's expression changed instantly.
"The Stella Ocean?"
Eez nodded.
"As you may know, the Stella Ocean is notorious for one particular reason."
He paused.
"Its composition."
"The water itself instantly constricts human muscle fibers upon contact."
The survivors listened in silence.
"Anyone who touches it becomes paralyzed."
Eez looked toward the snow beyond the ship.
"For centuries, that made the ocean a death sentence."
He raised one finger.
"But modern technology has given us a way around that obstacle."
Liana's face had gone pale.
"You mean…"
Eez nodded.
"We can finally enter it."
He looked away.
For a moment, his expression changed.
He was remembering something.
A throne room.
A king.
A warning.
"Your Majesty," Eez had once said, kneeling before the throne, "this is a force that cannot be tamed."
The King's golden throne towered above him.
"The ocean itself seems to possess a violent will."
Eez lowered his head.
"The wisest course of action is to leave it alone."
The King laughed.
A deep, echoing laugh.
"Nothing is untamable, Eez."
His fingers tightened around the armrests.
"Every force in this universe has an equal and opposite reaction."
His eyes gleamed with ambition.
"How can I wear this crown…"
He leaned forward.
"…and sit upon this throne…"
His smile widened.
"…if there is a single terror within my territory that I cannot CONTROL?"
The memory faded.
Eez returned his attention to the expedition team.
Liana's lips parted.
"The Stella Ocean…"
Her voice was barely audible.
"I thought it was a conspiracy theory."
She shook her head.
"People said anyone who touched the water was swallowed whole."
"They weren't theories."
Eez's voice was cold.
"The Stella Ocean is one of the Eleven Wonders of this world."
Everyone fell silent.
"We know painfully little about it."
Eez continued.
"We know that its waters are more than five thousand years old."
He paused.
"And its tidal waves…"
His eyes narrowed.
"Generate enough force to equal a magnitude-fifteen earthquake."
Someone behind Nazu inhaled sharply.
"A magnitude…"
Eez continued.
"A single rogue wave could split this planet in half."
The bay erupted in stunned whispers.
Even the armored guards stationed near the inner doors shifted uneasily.
Nazu stared at Eez.
His mind struggled to process what he had just heard.
"How…"
His voice cracked.
"How is something like that even possible to conquer?"
Eez turned toward the open exit.
Freezing wind tore through his coat.
He stared into the endless white wilderness beyond the ship.
"We won't know…"
He stepped into the snow.
"…unless we find out."
Nazu watched him disappear into the storm.
Then Eez stopped.
Without turning around, he spoke one final sentence.
"But know this, Nazu."
A pause.
"That terrifying water…"
His voice carried through the frozen air.
"…is only the tip of the horrors waiting for us beneath the surface."