Chapter Four: Collision (Aku)

I watched the infernal bird-men for as long as I could still see them over the horizon. They were heading northwest, I noted. I chased after them, but alas their wings harnessed the power of wind much more efficiently than my makeshift sail.

 
If only I knew what I was doing. Maybe then, I could formulate a better plan. I sighed, after trying hard for several minutes to angle the sail to harness the mild winds blowing from the south east. There was no use. 

I laid down on the raft and looked up at the sky, feeling very small. The stars were starting to fade away as the sky grew lighter and lighter. 

I loved looking at the stars. For the longest time, that feeling of being such a minuscule part of everything in the universe brought me a lot of comfort. That in the grand scheme of things, I didn’t matter very much. But now…

Now, I had power placed in my hand. Power enough that I could take a man’s life.

Now, I was a part of something much larger than myself. 

The sea rocked the raft gently in the breeze.  Mostly what I heard was the water splashing against the raft, but beneath that there was another noise. A rushing coming from a great distance away.  

I sat up quickly, looking due west. 

Hurtling directly towards me and my raft was something massive; it’s scaly back cutting through the water just above the waves. 

Shit!

I balanced up on the raft, fireball at the ready, waiting for the beast to get within striking distance. Maybe if I could just blast it with a bit if fire-

What I could only describe as a fish man launched up out of the water straight at me, a massive gaping mouth chasing right on his heels. 

Shit!!!

Panicked, I flinched, the fireball escaping my grasp right as the fish person crashed down onto the raft with such force that it rolled right out from under my feet. I heard a shriek come from the beast as I plunged into the cold water. 

Muted crashes sounded off around me. I opened my eyes, my stinging vision blurry in the salt water. The gigantic body of the sea serpent came down hard on top of the raft, destroying it. My lungs fought for breath, hard. I struggled my way towards the surface.

Suddenly, I was propelled through the water at impossible speed by some invisible force, a strong current that dragged me further from the surface. I watched on as the serpent chomped down onto where I just was- and just beyond that, I saw the fish-man staring right at me, his hand extended. Something on his chest was glowing bright blue.

I couldn’t fight it any longer; I had to breathe. All the air escaped my lungs as I desperately swam upwards. The light of morning was just out of reach above the waves. I wasn’t going to make it. I was drowning. 

The fish-man aimed his hand back at the serpent and unleashed an incredibly strong current against it. It screamed in agony as a great patch of scales were ripped straight off of its back with the force.

It slipped away at breakneck speed, it's cries filling the water the entire way. It seemed as if its snack wasn’t worth the effort anymore. 

My vision was finally starting to slip. The last thing I saw was the fish man swimming towards me as I slipped out of consciousness.