Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Breakfast didn't seem the way it always was. It felt strange, observing a sudden change in reality. In fact, you could have a normal breakfast without acknowledging the oddity, however the atmosphere would still suffocate you with unease as it reminds you you share the same air with it.

A sunny morning requires the right match of a delicious meal to start the day. Pancakes and berries. They may be cliche but is nevertheless a proper energy-packed breakfast. The familiars were eager in awaiting it to arrive, the younger ones tapping their utensils on the table, but when it came, they became completely silent as their faces turned frozen like paintings.

"Breakfast is ready," said Wadanohara, carrying a platter and leaving the kitchen in an odd walk verging on tiptoeing. A stack of pancakes occupied the table's center, maple syrup overflowing, berries of various colors encircling the fluffy tower with some rolling off. However, none of the witch's familiars paid attention to the mouth-watering meal presented before them, but to their master. Even after she sat and began eating, they kept their gaze on her.
"What's the matter, why aren't you guys eating?" Wadanohara asked.

"Wadanohara," said Memoca, the first to break free from surprise paralysis, "what a big body you have!"

Wadanohara chuckled in embarrassment. "Well, the better to reach things, I guess."

"M-master," said Dolphi, lost in confusion, "w-what b-big hair you have!"

Wadanohara's hair was disheveled and looked like a place a child could get lose in. "The better to need more shampoo, or more brushes, I think."

Fukami remained quiet, his face reddish-pink, his sweat dripping on his plate.

"Anything to say, Fukami?" Wadanohara asked.
Fukami's soul nearly shattered when the witch mentioned his name. Remaining calm, he kept his gaze on his plate and said, "I think you need bigger clothes.”

Wadanohara indeed needed new nightgowns. The one she was wearing barely even reached her thighs. Tears run across its surface, slightly expanding as the fabric succumbed to tightness.

Wadanohara awkwardly acknowledged this. "You're right. I need to get myself bigger clothes. I can't go around looking like this and hoping nobody would look."

"I think people would still look at you, with that strange grown-up form of yours," said Dolphi.

"How the heck did that happen to you?" said Memoca.

"I'm not sure, I just woke up like this," said Wadanohara, as nonchalant as she could.

"This must be the work of some gross sicko!" said Dolphi angrily.
"Yeah, once we find him, let's show him no mercy!" said Memoca. "Isn't that right, Fukami?"

Fukami's face turned redder than before. "Yes, not even a single pinch of it," he managed to utter before stuffing his mouth with pancakes, preventing the truth from leaking out.

"Relax, everybody," said Wadanohara. We can get this sorted out eventually. But first, let's just have some peaceful breakfast.”

Breakfast persisted like it ordinarily did, or at least made the impression of. Memoca and Dolphi gnawed on their food, somewhat absentmindedly, as they were deep in confusion and speculation, wondering the possible ways their master had changed and how they could continue their adventures with her new state. But Fukami was going through a mental avalanche. He nibbled on a strawberry as slow as a snail, as he was putting all his energy into stressful thinking, at the same time hoping none of his companions would notice his not-so-stoic self.
He was the reason why Wadanohara had awaken in a body consistent with her physical age. He had wished to see his beloved in a form best suited for her. He had felt it would be right, but now saw it wrong from all sides. A quick ogle would seize the opportunity of a lifetime, but decency kept him locked in guilt. He shouldn’t have entertained perverse thoughts. It was unbecoming of a familiar. He knew this all began on the day when he developed feelings for the witch he has been serving. If only he had controlled himself in the start, then forbidden love wouldn’t even have the chance to degrade into forbidden lust. With this shift in the present, Fukami had no choice but to live with the consequences.

He continued having his breakfast now at a moderate phase, hiding secrets in the darkness but setting aside twisted fantasies for a certain time.

“Looks like I need a bigger plate!” Wadanohara said, chuckling as she took more pancakes and berries.

Chapter Text

It was a quiet afternoon, not too scorching, yet also not so cloudly. Inside his home, Fukami sat on his couch, the interior of the house was a mixture of navy blue and various other dark colours, his walls having a pattern of black stars on it, to his left was a kelp plant in a pot, alongside a cup to tea.

He leaned forwards, as he could not get that special someone out of his mind, the blue sea witch, Wadanohara. His crush, or love. After all, one would have already moved on from a simple crush, especially if they had seen their beloved with another man. His feelings were much deeper than a mere attraction that is surface deep, and yet, he also felt guilty about it. For the sea witch had lived for over a century, yet she had not looked to even be past puberty. 

Not only had his attraction felt wrong, but the situation itself. His mind circled the same thoughts, repeating it like an old music box stuck on replay. His eyes gazed at a painting, depicting the large beast, the Kraken, sinking down a ship with its large tentacles. One great legend. Yet in this world, the legends were true. Legends of great magicians, legends of eldritch beasts, the kraken had to have been out there, somewhere. 

Magic...perhaps, with magic, there was a way. A way that he could make Wadanohara appear as someone truly of her age, after all, she was the only exception in this world. He had thought to himself, that he knew someone who could make it happen...

He walked out the door, unto the sidewalks of Deepsea Town, outside the seaweed and the corals forming trees and bushes of their own, as he walked alongside a stone path made from the rocks of the ocean, the various houses of deep sea town were reminiscent of various suburan houses found across asia, their decorations were themed after the sea and sealife, for example, one which he passed by on a corner of a street had a dark red top, and was covered in lines of kelp, its exterior appeared to be made from old clam shells.

He continued to walk down the streets and cross the roads, as he walked the streets, near one of the parks of a major mall of deep sea town, he spotted an odd figure, a white wolf, wearing a grey scarf and a cloak, combined with an army jacket, he was staring into his own reflection from a silvery dagger, before putting it away and looking into a couple of pictures, he had a smirk on his face, letting out a chuckle at the occasion, as if he had found something uniquely entertaining.

"What's the matter?" Fukami had asked, curious as to what the wolf found so amusing.

"Just reminiscing" Replied Shirogane.  

"A long time ago, a man i barely knew, i honestly forgot his name but i still think back to that moment. Something changed in me and it was the greatest week of my life. I'm still waiting for something like that again. To feel the rush. To feel so alive. To see my old friends again."

Fukami nodded his head, as he had decided that the best course of action was to leave him to his thoughts, the person was most certainly a killer, he had thought, he should not stay around someone like that. 

Fukami continued to walk on the streets, as he went, he had passed by a bar, outside, there sat a group of 5 sea dwellers, it included many sea creatures, the loudest one seemed to be a jellyfish, wearing a dark brown shirt and trench coat, by him sat a dolphin who was wearing a grey shirt with long sleeves and a neckerchief on him. Alongside them sat a swordfish and two others. The jellyfish, Silas spoke with the others, parts of which Fukami could overhear as he passed by them.

"All the folks should be ready by the evening" Silas said. 

"That's great. Captain says it'll be no more than a few weeks at most." The dolphin replied.

"Soon we'll be heros! Cheers!"

Fukami turned to the left, as he walked down a street which was nearby the main street, he turned to the right, where many houses were decorated with bright corals and large seaweed brushes as their decorations, Fukami walked until he was in the middle of the street, he walked up to the door, on his way, he observed the garden, he knocked on the door.

The dark brown door swung open, and there stood the witch Chlomaki, she looked at Fukami, and he had glanced back at him.

"Hey there" She said. 

"Hello" Fukami had said to her. 

Chlomaki gestured to him to follow her inside and he had done so, inside her house were many potions and bookshelves, about various different types of magic, dark gothic paintings reminiscent of halloween nights and dark forests, the theme of the interior was one of black and dark colours, Fukami looked at her and spoke. 

"I need help for something."

He took a pause before he continued. 

"I've been wondering if there is a way to make someone or something age faster with magic. Perhaps make them go to a specific age? Any potions or spells or something like that." 
"What for?" She asked.

"Wadanohara" Fukami had replied. "She...it looks like she never truly aged beyond a certain point. It feels wrong, she deserves to be true to her age, true to her nature, not trapped in a child's body"
"And does she know about this idea of yours?"

"It'll be... a surprise."

Chlomaki raised an eyebrow as she looked at him.

"So what you're saying to me, is that you want me to give a potion to change her, which you'll give to her, likely without her knowledge, likely spiking her drink with it or something?"
Fukami just looked, not knowing what words to use, as Chlomaki spoke to him once more. 

"...You know what, sure."
As she agreed to his request, a liberating feeling had came inside of him, after all these years, after such long nights, after all the shame he gave himself, he could finally see his beloved in her truest of forms. He had a small, but true smile on his face. Chlomaki would give him the potion of his request, which later, he would use to indeed spike her drink before the morning breakfast. 

Chapter Text

After breakfast, the familiars changed from their pajamas to their everyday clothing. They left Wadanohara’s house and began warming up as the sea-encrusted rays of the Sun uplifted their spirits for the promised adventure awaiting them today.

“I wonder what Wada’s gonna wear today,” Memoca said mid-stretch. “Does she have any clothes that are right for her huge size?”

“I’m not sure,” Dolphi said, almost tripping from doing lunges. “Looks like our next trip is to the tailor.”

Fukami said nothing. He appeared worn out despite barely partaking in the familiars’ synchronized warm-ups. He was still in agitated thoughts about his master’s new look. He wondered what Wadanohara would wear at the moment, if not the rest of her life. He shook his head and focused on the exercises, giving the impression that he’d been working out twice as hard as his fellow familiars.

The door opened. The familiars turned around.

“Wada!” Memoca said. “I didn’t know you have clothes that big!”

The witch was wearing a blue sailor uniform twice the size of her original one.

“Well,” began Wadanohara, closing and locking the door, “I laid my sailor uniform on my bed next to some of my casual attires and with magic, I transferred some of the fabric of the casuals into my uniform, making it big enough for me to wear.”

“Great thinking!” Dolphi said. “But is our trip still gonna continue?”

“Of course. We don’t wanna postpone something important, do we?”

Wadanohara began walking the path towards the gates on the sea’s surface, her familiars trailing behind.

It was still early in the morning, so little to no people were outside, much to Wadanohara’s relief. She wished for no awkward scenario where somebody would look at her confused and question her new look. She sought to find a way to bring herself back to normal as soon as possible.

Midway, they crossed a stingray who was minding his own business until he noticed the witch. Wadanohara ignored the stingray and continued walking, hoping he wouldn’t mind. The stingray kept his eyes on the plump aspects of the witch’s new look, his mouth watering as he began stinging himself. Fukami saw this and decided to take action. He stretched one of his tentacles and shoved it down the stingray’s throat. He pulled out his ribcage and crushed it like eggs. The stingray coughed blood and started using his tail on himself, not for pleasure anymore but for life support. However, the makeshift defibrillator failed to keep him alive as the stingray coughed his last breath. Realizing his companions were way ahead of him, Fukami rushed towards them as silently as he could.

Fukami was relieved they were oblivious to the murder he had just committed. Although he believed he did it to protect Wadanohara, Fukami felt little justice was served. It was hypocritical. The octopus’ views on the witch were no different from the stingray’s. Killing him was also selfish, done out of jealousy instead of justice. He shook his head, not wanting his morals to corrupt.

Upon reaching the gates, the crew climbed onto Wadanohara’s boat that was parked nearby. Inhaling the fresh air and appreciating the sea’s tranquility, the witch went to the wheel, where she faced a slight inconvenience. The wheel was too low for her, or more accurately, she was too tall for the wheel. It was leveled with her hips and not her head.

“Looks like you need a new wheel, Wadanohara,” said Dolphi.

“Are you still able to drive us to our destination?” said Memoca.

“Of course I still can, I’ve driven boats with different wheel heights back in driving school,” Wadanohara said.

And with a swing of her staff - now shorter than her but had no inconvenience since she was now able to handle it more freely with no problem with its weight - and a mumble of a certain spell, the boat started vibrating and moved forward, as magic was what propelled it.

On waters so calm they seem solid, the boat cruised for what felt like an hour. Another hour passed, but the surroundings remained the same. From time to time a school of fish leaped above the water and a typical island came to view, but they were unable to pull the familiars out of boredom. They had seen too many of them in their past adventures.

“Wada, how long is this trip gonna take?” Memoca complained, playing UNO with Dolphi, which was becoming tedious. “I’m fricking bored!”

“I’m sorry, Memoca, but we won’t reach Antarctica for the next hour or so,” replied Wadanohara.

The seagull dropped her cards surprised, letting the dolphin cheat. “A-antarctica?!”

“We’re going to Antarctica?” said Dolphi.

The witch meant to reveal their destination before even reaching it. She didn’t want her familiars to suffer from boredom in the trip she didn’t expect to be this long, so she decided to “spoil” today’s activity to keep them excited. Antarctica was a winter wonderland in their imaginations.

“Oh I can’t wait to meet the penguins!” said Memoca.

“And make snowcastles!” said Dolphi. “How about you, Fukami?”

Fukami, who had been wrestling with perverse thoughts about the witch while passing the dull time, and was surprised to know where they were heading too and rather grateful since he could anticipate with his fellow familiars to clear his mind off his own issue, replied, “Been a while since I stepped foot on an iceberg. Except this one might actually be interesting.”

Glad her familiars’ moods have been lifted, Wadanohara continued on piloting.

A massive slab of land filled up the seascape, transforming hours of monotonously staring at water and clouds into an hour of confusingly staring at the long strip of elevated edges poking out of the sea. They were before the coastlines of the Great Australian Bight. They comprised most of the underside of Australia, a continent known for being 99% empty. Aside from the landform’s unique formation, it didn’t have any vegetation nor creatures on its surface to make it feel alive.

This raised a lot of questions for the young familiars, and Wadanohara began to explain the history of the place to satisfy their curiosities. In her new look, the witch appeared like a preschool teacher storytelling.

The coastlines of the Great Australian Bight had once been filled with lush greenery and all sorts of exotic plants, resembling a giant hedge. It was a grandeur garden where kangaroos and aboriginals lived in harmony. However, after centuries of coexistence, the relationship between the two species took a different turn. Friendship became romance, which soon became lust. This led to the emergence of hideous kangaroo-aboriginal hybrids, which eventually outnumbered the two species, who continued on inbreeding. The Creator saw how corrupt the once beautiful land had become and decided to destroy it. Fire and sulfur rained, killing the hybrids, the plants, and most of the kangaroos and aboriginals. And this was what made the dry and deserted coastlines of the Great Australian Bright, and presumably the rest of Australia, what it was today.

After the story, the familiars looked at each other, still puzzled.

“Well, why is the Great Australian Bright called Great then?” asked Dolphi.

“Oh,” said Wadanohara, “that’s because of its big size and diverse marine life. Meaning there’s a huge city below us.”

“That’s so cool!” says Memoca. “How about we stop there for lunch? I’m sure there’s a lot of restaurants!”

“I’m sorry to say but that’s unfortunately a bad idea. The city’s far from perfect. It’s very corrupt and not safe to live in.”

“And every of its district’s a red-light district,” added Fukami.

“Not in front of Memoca and Dolphi!” said Wadanohara. “But yes, it’s a city you don’t want to live in.”

The familiars carefully peered over the boat’s railing. Lights from the sea’s bottom can be made out, but the view of many of them was blocked by floating beer bottles, heroin needles, and lingerie. They pulled themselves and gulped.

“Looks like the degeneracy didn’t end with the kangaroos,” said Fukami, feeling hypocrisy crawl through him.

“I don’t get why it’s still called the Great Australian Bight,” said Dolphi.

“Me neither, but let’s get out of here before this place gets striked again!” joked Wadanohara, swinging her staff to make the boat go faster. “Hold tight!”
⁰
After another long stream through still waters, the boat came across another landform. It was a small island. On it was a new ghost town. The reason it was new was not because the houses still had paint on them, but because most of the inhabitants still had flesh on them. The remains of children baked under the Sun and inside their own material homes as tiny vermin slowly devoured them to bones.

From afar, the familiars thought it was an ordinary island with a population. But after looking at it through their binoculars, they felt sick and scared.

“That island’s full of dead children!” said Memoca, dry heaving.

“Who could do such a thing?!” said Dolphi, trying to mentally erase the images of hermit crabs feasting on a girl’s entrails and a skeleton of what could be a boy she believed was grinning at her.

“I’m not sure,” said Wadanohara, who was also observing the island. She kept a straight face even after she put down her binoculars, as if she had seen worse. “Must be an outbreak or a curse.”

“Go faster please!” pleaded Dolphi. “I want the island out of sight!”

Fukami watched the island shrink and shrink as the boat speeded away. What he had seen didn’t appall him, in fact he was fascinated by it. For him, such a morbid sight was the highlight of a day of the usual family-friendly adventures. The rotting bodies of the children, especially the toddler with a mask of maggots, helped keep his mind off Wadanohara.

In the last afternoon hours that followed, the waters’ placidity was replaced with agitation, which then worsened into hysteria. The boat struggled through rough waves that were slamming on its sides and the strong cold wind blowing it to a different direction. The familiars hurriedly went inside the boat’s room, avoiding the risks of going overboard and freezing to death.

“Wada!” cried Memoca through the window.

“Don’t worry, just stay inside,” yelled Wadanohara through crashing waves. “Somebody needs to take the wheel in these harsh waters.”

“But isn’t it too cold out there?” cried Dolphi.

“It doesn’t bother me. After all, I’m a witch. Our physiology helps us withstand certain temperatures.”

“Well, hold tight, Wada!” cried Memoca.

She gripped tightly on the wheel, directing the boat to the huge mounds of ice in the distance. The witch’s new form gave her an advantage, as she now had the strength to properly maneuver the boat through erratic waves, through obnoxious wind, through a hungry sea. Most importantly, whether she had the body of a child or an adult, she always had faith, believing they’d make it to their destination like the plight’s nothing.

The waves slowly receded, the wind humbling into a breeze. Wadanohara caught her breath as the boat made it into a calm region of the Antarctic seas, where she found a suitable parking space. She aligned the boat along the icy borders as it came to a halt, carefully went onto land with a mooring line around her shoulder, and fastened the line to a pillar of ice, keeping the boat fixed.

She went back on the boat and inside it, where she met her rejoiced familiars.

“See? We made it!” said Wadanohara.

“Yipee!” said Memoca. “We’re finally in Antarctica!”

“I didn’t know, I mean, I knew you could do it, Wadanohara,” said Dolphi, relieved they had survived.

“I don’t mean to underestimate you, but I was so worried back there,” said Fukami, grateful Wadanohara was alright, albeit for a different reason than Memoca and Dolphi. “I’m really glad we made it.”

“So do I,” said Wadanohara. “Now put on the parkas from that closet and let’s go.”

And so the familiars wore their navy blue coats and followed the witch onto the icy snowscape. Wadanohara didn’t need one as her body can naturally withstand very low temperatures. Witches were indeed a fascinating race. Two of the questions people often ask witches were “Can you do that trick again?” and “Where are the males of your race?”

Walking through a snowy path, the stars serving as their source of light, they recognize how empty the surroundings were. There were no penguins nor seals present on the mountains or lowlands. There wasn’t the sudden movement of snow to signify an animal underneath There were no whales breaching and getting beached. Not even krills were present on the freezing waters.

“Where is everybody?” asked Memoca.

“I think everybody’s asleep and we’re just too late,” said Dolphi.

“There are still people here in Antarctica, except they’re somewhere else within the iceland,” explained Wadanohara. “You see, this area we’re walking on is considered very sacred by many, so they don’t see themselves worthy enough to even lay a foot here.”

“But why are we treading here then? Wouldn’t it just be disrespectful?”

“Not when the place calls for a witch’s help. And behold, what we’ve specifically travelled for.”

They stand before and stare in awe and horror at an ancient temple. Its shades of black and brown contrasted greatly with the pale environment. Carvings of grotesque figures and creatures jutted from its walls towards every direction, as if they were struggling to break free from their prison of masonry. Its very architecture disobeyed natural geometric laws, making its overall structure different for every observer. It was horizontal. It was vertical. It was an ash-coated monument of a Hecatoncheires orgy. It was evil. However, the scarlet stained glasses filling every gap of the sculptural chaos reminded to all that the temple itself was nevertheless a building.

Memoca and Dolphi held on each other, trembling in fear. Even Fukami was feeling anxious.

“Are you sure this is what we came for?” asked Fukami. “I don’t like the vibe of this place.”

“Relax, you all,” said Wadanohara, as confident as she could be. “I’m sure nothing bad’s gonna happen, since this temple’s been long deserted. Just enjoy the mysteries this day shall give us!”

The witch pushed open the door of an indeterminate shape with surprising ease. It opened with a blasphemous creak. She went inside as her familiars followed with tense hesitations, hoping nothing bad would happen.

Chapter Text

"For there was good, there was bad, there was The Other" - Those were the words written on the interior of the deepest and darkest chambers of the temple, that Wadanohara and her familiars have found themselves in. It was a strange coincidence, that the language found on the temple that had preceded their universe would be even remotely understandable, although for they had not known that the temple itself was mimicking their language, trying to make them understand something.

In the middle of the room, surrounded by strange monolith like structures, was a block of ice, and inside it, something half frozen, yet aware. Memoca looked at it, seeing a collective of worms entangled unto each other, with strange black spikes coming out of their sides, and parts of what appeared to be broken wings and opened up bones.

Dolpi saw what appeared to be a tentacled being with a lizard shaped head, and a series of eyes which were on its body, as if she had seen the ugly lovechild of a kraken and a hydra, Fukami saw a face of a feline, perhaps a panther or a lion, on it was what appeared to resemble a turtle shell and a squid like head.

Among the different visual appearances of the Other stood one thing in common, its pitch black and eldritch like material which it seemed to be made of. Wadanohara was the one who had seen it in a form the closest to her and her seakind, a black, tall humanoid shape, which had reached its arm and hand out to her. The sea witch held her hand out, and stepped closer to the Other, her familiars had looked with a hint of worry, wondering if that thing was safe to interact with, as the sea witch had put her hand close to the Other, opening her palm, as the Other had mimicked her action and gesture perfectly, it was almost as if she had been looking into a mirror. As the Other had touched her, it started to transform. 

Its body had changed its shape, its limbs rearraging and shifting, as everyone had now seen it the same, changing into what appeared to almost be a shadowy reflection of Wadanohara. The Other had then broke itself out of the ice, quickly, climbing off on one of the walls of the temple before disappearing into a small crevice of darkness. 

"What the heck was that!?" Memoca yelled in shock.

"Are you okay??" Fukami asked as he rushed to Wadanohara.

"I'm fine, don't worry" She replied to them, easing their concerns. "I don't think it did anything to me" She had added.

"Do you know what that thing was?" Dolpi asked her master. "Some kind of...cosmic entity. I'm not too sure, i heard some legends about this place, but nothing gave a proper description of it. That's why i wanted to visit it, see if we can solve the mystery ourselves, i thought it'd be a fun adventure for us all". 

"It wasn't too bad, though, i'd much prefer if you told us of the unknown eldritch god before we get into a room with it."  Fukami told her. 

"I'll take note." She jokingly replied to him, and eventually, they could come to leave the temple and make their way back across the great blue sea. 

36 hours afterwars, a lonely pair of eyes would find himself in a way. He illuminated the room to see more clearly, two blue eyes now turned to a male with pale skin, he wore a pair of blue pants, with a matching shirt and suit, on his head stood a wizard hat with stripes, and his hair brown. He had looked almost exactly like the Witch of the Blue Sea, yet not completely. He was a male, and he was alone. He looked around the room, not seeing any of the familiars which were with Wadanohara. Where were the others? He had to find them. 

He stared at the empty walls, before the walls had broke down and turned to dust, providing an enterance for Wadanohara into the temple, he walked up on the tower of rubble and had entered the chambers, in the very same place where he laid resting and frozen, where his savour had freed him from the grave, now was no one but himself and the echo of his footsteps. 

He left the main chambers, tracing back the steps of the sea witch and her familiars, however, as soon as he had left the place, he could not trace their path further, as the falling snow has already covered all of their footsteps. He knew that the continent was empty, that he must leave, and thus, he set off on his long journey. 

Walking through the cold and unforgiving landscapes of antarctica, he could appriciate the beauty of the snow covered continent, he was not vulnerable to its freezing cold temperatues, and instead could gaze at its vast white landscapes. He walked through the snow and its icey glaciers, as he reached the edge of antarctica and was met with the sight of the ice melting away into the southern ocean, he had nothing but an endless blue void in front of him, and a mission to find his lost friends. His lost friends, that the Sea Warlock did not know who they are.

He looked down, and jump into the cold blue abyss, he stayed afloat, swimming through the vast and endless ocean, until the snowy lands of antarctica had vanished behind him, leaving him in the unforgiving waters of the southern ocean. 

As he swam, for hours and for days, where once was once a quiet waters, were now large waves, reaching up to the height of hills, the cold and stormy ocean splashed against him over and over, alone, where once he heard the quiet rustling of the winds, he now heard the the endless blowing of the wind and the ocean waves, Wadahohara made her journey with a ship and group of friends, and his doppelgänger had swam through it all alone, another large wave came to hit him, standing nearly over 50 meters in height, the wave knocked him off balance, and he sunk down into the depths of the ocean, sinking down as he observed a large apartment block, a coral reef, he continued to sink, until he hit the bottom. 
Wadanohara turned his head, looking around. He saw miles of green fields, full of ribbon seaweed and saw a road, a series of sanil rocks and on them, magical pearls which illuminated the dark streets, how ironic, that kilometers below the raging ocean was a quiet, yet still lonely road for him to walk. And where roads are, people shall be. 

Wadanohara took off and continued his journey stoically, not bothered by his fall, not shocked, just focused on walking towards a destination, by his left side was a series of orange cup corals, standing as large bushes, he walked and to his right was a large algae plantation, farmland, he saw many plankton workers harvesting the fruits. 

And not only farm land, but construction, miles and miles of coral apartment being built, alongside a series of billboards, they depict an important sea creature, who appears to be middle aged, with stylish hair, the anglerfish is wearing a suit with a red tie, and behind him are photos of the completed coral reef apartments. 

"Antony Anglerfish will build millions of homes for the residents of the Great Barrier Reef and the city of Brightsbane". What a generous man, Wadanohara thought before his endless journey continued, and soon enough, took him to the city of Brightsbane. 

At the heart of the Great Barrier Reef, the city was a majestic construction of all Australia's sea life, giant forests of Seagrass and miles of coral skyscrapers, or rather oceanscrapers made out of every colour of coral, many of them were a mix of sand stone or limestone and corals, some of them had seaweed ran on it or integrated into it. The city was busy and was home to just about every known dweller from blue whales and sharks to turles, sea anemones, and of course, many sea witches much like what Wadanohara and the Other were. His friends must be from this city, all he needs to do is look around. He observed the city and it's inhabitants, and followed them to a popular location, "The Red Emperor" a famous bar in downtown, ran by Wang the Plesiosaurs, pre-historic life was supposed to go extinct, was it not? Or perhaps, only according to the ignorance of some people. The Other was old enough to have remembered dinosaurs, even if only from the most vague bits of his memories.

Wadanohara swung the door open, entering a bar with a neon red, modernist aesthetic, the place which had served the finest sea grape alcohol in the entire southern ocean, it was packed with many fishes, Wadanohara didn't order anything, simply sitting down and looking around to see if anyone had known was there. 

From the other side of the bar, his glance met its match. A giant phantom jellyfish, wearing a brown suit with a dark grey-brownish vest, the two looked at each other, until Silas made the first move, he stood up from his place, downing his drink and setting the glass down unto the table as he walked up to Wadanohara. Wadanohara saw the jellyfish approach, he had tendrils, his hair was of a grey-ish colour. It wasn't exactly like his friend, but perhaps, his memory was incomplete, his throughts were quickly interrupted by the jellyfish.

"Eyeing me up?" Silas asked in a joking tone. "Or perhaps you were looking for me?".

"I was looking, not exacly for you...but i was looking." The sea warlock replied, in an almost robotic and unusual tone. 

"Just drifting in the ocean?". 

"You hit that one right on the head." Wadanohara replied. 

"Then let's say, you were looking for me after all. The names Silas, how bout you, bluey?"

"Wadanohara. Warlock of the Seven Seas." 

Those simple words sparked interest in Silas, a warlock? A warlock would be perfect for what he has in mind, his face formed a grin. 
"Say, Wady, i'll call you that, would you be interested in comin' with me? I've got lots of friends. And those friends, sure would be happy to see a warlock. You're looking for people, no? I've got people, you've got powers, sounds like a deal for me." 

Wadanohara thought of the jellyfish's words, yes, people. His friends, a the end of his journey of loneliness. 

"Sure."

"Great! Follow me!" 

Silas told Wadanohara, as the two left the bar, walking through the night of the city, they walked east, leaving behind downtown and it's many attractions, out to the suburbs, and eventually almost entirely out of the city, the two of them walked down a path which was near a back road, where not even the street lights had reached, Silas was about to take out his light, when Wadanohara used his powers to illuminate the way, creaitng a blue glow around the two of them, they walked, until they reached a sandbed with a large patch of mangroves surrounding them. 

Silas lead Wadanohara into the patch of mangroves, where a camp was appeared to have been set up, guarded from every side by sharks and swordfish, who wielded various weapons, the people in the camp were armed to the teeth, carrying knives, daggers, swords, harpoons, guns and rifles, among others, among the resident was a dolphin with neckerchief, a tall swordfish and sea anemone with a limp left leg and an old jewfish. Silas lead Wadanohara into a black tent, which was the largest, next to it were multiple canons and a gattling gun, amongst other supplies, inside it was an cozy amosphere, with an orange light, a series of books set on a table, among trophies of previous hunts, the scalp of a blue ringed octopus, a head of a helicoprion, and a carpet made from the fur of a polar bear. 

"Captain, i've found one. A warlock. A real one!"

Silas proclaimed to the figure who was on his desk, writing inside a journal or a book with an ink pen, he turned around, the figure was a large and imposing orca, he wore a grey suit and a black yukata, coupled with black pants, he looked at Silas, before looking at Wadanohara. 

"A warlock, huh?"

"Yes, the Warlock of the Seven Seas!" Wadanohara proudly proclaimed his title at the orca, who turned around and stood up from his chair. 

"What's your name, kid?" 

"My name is..."
"Wadanoahra"

"Wadanohara" He repeated "The name's Takama. Tell me, son, do you wish to be a hero? To show the world that you truly are the warlock of the seven seas?" 

"Of course." 

"Good. Here, we're all here to be heros. Me, you, Silas" He pointed at each of them in order. "But you better live up to your words once we get into battle. This is a professional mission, we've got no room for stage magicians." 

"What exactly is the mission, if i may ask?" 

"To be heros. To get rid of the trash and filth, who poision our waters, to reach the Sea of Death and teach them a firm lesson, that they'll never forget. Tell me, have you ever heard of them?"

"No."

"Then let me tell you about them. These savages want nothing but to feast on our kind, to kill our men, women and children and to conquer and ravage our lands, to rip our plants out of the ground. They cannot be reasoned with, nor can they be merely left imprisoned or "defeated" in any "merciful" way, no. For these people know nothing but sadism and cruelty, and would revel in any harm that they'll cause to the blue sea and their people. I have met them, and they have only reveled in the pain that they have caused to me, the horrible and barbaric things that they have done to those that i love, and not a single one of them stepped out of line to stop it, i've seen viper pits with more empathy and compassion in them, my friend, the only way to deal with them, is to strike at the heart of darkness. Reach the sea of death, breach into it, and show them who is boss, the cruelty that they have shown towards us and our loved us, we'll show twice the cruelty. For every innocent life that they took and violated, we shall take two guilty lives, we'll go in with our brave hearts and we shall come out with Syakesan's head on a spike, we'll slaughter every one of them like cattle."

"Slaughter them. Like cattle. Got it." 

Chapter Text

The red dusk of the evening sunlight reflected upon the sands of the ocean floor, as a group of familiar faces were sitting down on the outside of a motel in the long trenches of the Great Reef, the motel was a multi-coloured platform reef in a place somewhat deserted, at least compared to the much more colourful display of Brightsbane and the southern areas of the Great Barrier Reef. A glass of sea grape liquor hit the middle of the table, as the familair dolphin figure known by the name of Wrobel had downed a part of the drink, the rest of the mercenary crew were waiting nearby, many of them had occupied all the tables nearby, including their leader Takama, who was smoking a pipe as he had looked over the scenery of the roads outside of the motel, a large line of seaweed bushes painted along the sides as the sunlight shined on the group. 

"So like, you're a warlock yes? That makes us your familiars, right? I mean, i gotta be your first proper familiar." Silas then snapped his fingers. 

"Alright folks, listen up, me and the boss, but of course mostly me are his new familiars, we gotta be on our upfront behaviour!" Silas would jokingly say. 
"Best behaviour? So you got him to get hookers with you?" Wrobel turned to Wadanohara "Did he?"

"Just leave the kid alone" Silas told to Wrobel and gave him a slight smack, Takama would still be piping, before exhaling a cloud of smoke as it flew up towards the end of the great ocean, becoming a series of bubbles on it's journey like a caterpiller which had reached it's cocoon stage.

"Two to three days. It should take us two three days for us to be in the deadzone. The seal to the Sea of Death there is extremely weak, and with a magic user on our side, it should be no problem to break though. We'll dig in, charge, and kill everyone on sight." 

Silas looked at Takama, admiring his dedication to their mission, Wrobel personally found it amusing how serious and focused the orca was, meanwhile Shiro, the old jewfish was playing chess with a few other mercenaries, meanwhile Wadanohara was sitting silently, his dark blue eyes looking empty inside as he took in every word said by the mercenaries. Takama would exhale from his pipe before turning his attention to the warlock and the others. 

"Listen up folks, by 6 we are out of here and on our way. No slacking." 

"Hey, you hear that? Gotta finish that chess game sometime, heh" Silas told the old jewfish. 

"It's a sophisticated game. Takes time." Shiro replied as he gazed over the pieces on the table. 

"I think it's a boring game. You know that isn't? A good round of poker I like the thrill, i like trusting fate a little. Hmm, what you say Waddy? Wanna play a few rounds while this fool stares at his his board?"

"Sure, why not?" He replied. The two of them took a table, Silas would take out the cards as he would shuffle them around, dealing a deck to both of them, he would take a look at Wadanohara across the table, and would place a large sum of chips. 

"All out." Wadanohara said with a smirk on his face, imitating that of the Jellyfish perfectly. He pushed the chips unto the table. 

"Bold move." 

The game commenced, as both of them caredfully observed their cards before playing each one of them. Three cards were dealt and another round of betting followed, before the fourth and last community card was dealt, they both showed their cards. Silas laid his cards out, revealing a 6 of diamonds, 7 of hearts, 8 of spades, 9 of diamonds and 10 of hearts, giving him a flush, he looked at Wadanohara, who then promptly placed down his cards, a 7 of diamonds, a 8 and 9 of spades and a 10 of hearts. Silas watched as Wadanohara was about to place down his final card, the tension in the air high, Wadanohara laid down his final card. 

On the card was a figure of pale skin with red lines of make up near his scarlet eyes, wearing a crown of darkness as he held a blood dagger above his head and had a devilish smirk showing sharp teeth.

A King of Hearts. 

"Fuck!" Silas punched he air as he saw Wadanohara lay down the final card on the table. "Alright, alright, that was good. You got me there." 

"He's still staring at the board." Wadanohara commented as he glanced at Shiro. 

"Pff-" 

"Bet we can do at least 10 more rounds before he will even finish!" Silas smugly commented. 

"We can, but for now, you owe me." 

Wadanohara told to him, as they would keep playing many rounds of poker, right until the evening sun would case a purple cloud on the surfaces of the great ocean, the mercenaries would pack up their belongings and form a convoy of various transport vechiles, meanwhile Takama, Wadanohara and Silas would travel at the front by riding on top of seahorses. They rode on, their convoys hitting the floors of the sea and stirring up the sands into the air, leaving marks in their path to the darkest part of the ocean. They left the remaining parts of civilisation, now on a lone path through the wilderness where no forms of sealife were to be seen except for the fields of seaweed acting as tumbleweed among the depths of the Coral Sea. 

"You know, not many would even have the courage to take upon such expedition." Takama would say, starting up conversation with Wadanohara and Silas.

"Many belive we cannot even harm them, but i know otherwise. They are just like us. They bleed the same, and they die the same. If anything, they are weak, pathetic cowards who rely on intimidation. All bark. Let me tell you both a story, especially you kid, you'll enjoy this one." 

"Once, many many years ago, the Sea of Death attacked as their seal had been broken. They came through to my town and destroyed all their way. While my useless excuse of a brother was off fucking his friends left and right, i had to watch. A red wave of evil which engufled the town itself, their monsters, their people, just like us, but twisted, decayed, only half alive, i saw it with my own eyes, as they people ran, for cover, as i had to tell my own daughter and wife to run. But i? I was to stay behind. And orca, a brave orca, who will face these savage invades, who shall not falter and fail, who shall stop them. I saw it through the windows, as they would break through the homes of others, i saw it as they would pin a man down unto the ground, kicking, wearing at him, blood, skin, torn pieces of his bloody cloth everywhere. And then, the group i saw, made up a few corrupted sea anemones and their little nemos." 

"They approached the home, and i had taken out a dagger, as they reached for the door, i rushed. He had no time to reach, i had the dagger inside of his heart in a matter of seconds and i would feel his heartbeat fade from the grasp i had on the knife itself. I threw a punch directly at his face, followed by a kick, as i pulled the knife out again and went for a series of lethal stabs at vital areas. From my experience as a medic from the military of Great Brydland, i knew exactly every area to hit. What followed, was the most heartbreaking moment of my life." 

"I heard the screams of my own wife, inside my house, right as i stabbed that son of a bitch, i heard it. She was crying for help, begging for mercy, for the monster to stop and show her mercy and compassion. I stopped dead in my tracks, yanking the knife out of the body of the clownfish as i would run upstairs, as fast as i could. I came to bear witness to the most disgusting thing, something so rotten that my mind had not even imagined it. I saw her, my love, my wife, laying dead on the floor, her blood was staining the carpet red, her eyes ripped out, and i saw the abomination who had taken her life force itself on her dead body. The wrath that filled my brain could not be done justice by words, i grabbed a nearby lamp, i pushed it through his chest, and pulled back, ripping out whatever thing it had that we can compare to a heart. With my own hands, i crush it's neck, and i bashed it into there was nothing that i could recognise of it." 

"Yet no matter how violent, brutal, agonising i could have made it's death, none of it would be justice. For HER. Whom i had known since high school. My greatest friend. My love. To see her in such a state, to hear her cries, to know what cruelty these creatures were capable of. I would not forgive them. They could die, and they must die. Their invasion had failed, and they were sealed back, but such is not enough justice. We must finish the job, and subjegate them, we must show them a display to make sure that they will never dare to even think of harming any of us. To display a victory eternal, to slaughter the evil out of them."

They rode on, as Takama would tell his tale as he finished, the Sea Warlock spoke. 

"I...i am deeply sorry for your loss. Such terrible things. You're right, they musn't be forgiven or shown peace or mercy." 

Takama looked back at him, his ears seemed teary from the story and the memory of his loss. He turned back unto the road, as the place grew more and more rocky, the seaweed had turned into even more sparse turf algae, and the white sand now turned to dark grey rock. The group came across a large mountain, made out of the shattered remains of a once grand trench, now collapsed down. 

"And we'll need a fucking turn too..." Silas commented. 

Wadanohara stared at the destroyed trench, he thought to himself, to impress his new familiars, his new friends, his new commander, or superior.

"There's no need for such." 

He jumped down from his sea horse, walking closer to the collapsed trench as he looked onwards, he raised his hands up, closed his eyes. He focused. The rocks rumbled, jumped, moved, as if they were a dice being shaken by the hands of fate itself. Wadanohara started to slowly but surely spread his hands, as the giant rock mountain was moving towards either side, the ground shaking, as parts of the rock well down below, by the time that he had fully spread his arms, the mountain was split in half, creation a grand path for the group to move on their original trail. 

"Now ain't that a wonder..." Said Silas.

"How'd you even do that?" Said Wrobel. 

"...Even i don't know, to be honest" Wadanohara would reply. 

"You did a great job, kid. Seems you truly are the Warlock of the Seven Seas." Said Takama to Wadanohara, the Sea Warlock looked back at him and then at the others, he had impressed his friends. He helped his friends. And they were going to be heros, heros who will defeat very bad people. He thought to himself, he has found a place where he would belong. The familiars which he was bound to, and out of all of them, the strongest connections he felt to Takama and Silas. 

They rode on, passing through the reopened trench, where some rocks from the fall laid as the group would move through, Wadanohara looked at Silas, he spoke softly, asking him a question. 
"You know..you never truly told me. What brings you here? Revenge? A quest to be a hero? Is it something else? I am sorry if i am instrusive i..well, i am curious." 

"Don't sweat it pal." Silas replied to the Sea Warlock. 

"A bit of all, i suppose. Although, most of it is for money."

"Money?" 

"Yes. It ain't easy. Ever guessed a dude with this tuxedo and vest could be struggling to pay the bills? Betcha didn't. But that's life for ya. I thought i might do something with my life. Go off. Hey, not like i regret it. It looks like i've found the right lot." 

"...I think i've found it too." 

"You're sweet." 

They talked, as they would leave the tunnel, now once again back on the regular seafloor, this one would be much more sparse and empty than the previous one, practically being an underwater desert that was miles and miles of white shiny sand, as if they had found the path of salvation itself and were to walk the clouds of the heavens. They rode up a hill." 
The old jewfish would look through a series of binoculars to clear the area. 

"All good?" Takama asked. 

"Don't see anyone." He replied. 

Takama would gesture for the group to continue unwards towards the great abyss of the empty sandbeds, as the group rolled onwards and reached the other side of the hill, suddenly parts of the convoy came to a halt. 

"Stuck. Fuck me in the-" 

He could not even finish his sentence, as an arrow plunged through the head of the mercenary. Thousand marauders came through, Bobbit worms who had borrowed themselves unto the sand and hidden, waiting for the perfect opportunity had now revealed themselves, alongside a rockfish who was leading the violent raiders. The worms immidietly rushed towards the seahorses, as they would use sharp cleaver like blades which they used to cut off the legs of the seahorses, as the blood would come rushing out, the horses were sent into panic and dispair, whining and crying out of pain as they fell and dropped their passengers, Silas, Takama and Wadanohara would jump down from their respective horses before the attackers got to them. Wrobel picked up his harpoon gun, using it to shoot one of the bobbit worms in the head, causing a massive harpoon to impale his head and create a massive crack in his head, they fell to ground, deceased, however several more came for him, from left and right, slashing his sides with their blades as he would be hit, bleeding from wounds on his arms and sides, a third bobbit worm would attack him from behind using a massive rock, splitting his back open as he kept bashing him, sending the dolphin down unto the ground, as the worms ripped him open, one of them crushing his head with his leg and another one tearing off his dorsal fin. 

The old jewfish aimed to run, however was cornered, throw down unto the ground, as one of the bobbit worms jumped on his chest, crushing his lungs and bones, as blood would come gushing out of his mouth, the bobbit worms had picked him up and pulled him in both directions, tearing him apart as his body split in two halves, his organs came flying down unto the ground as his insides bled out. Silas used multiple guns to get them, however they kept coming at him. The fighting of the two armies as so large that the sand was stirred up, leaving the place almost foggy, blood would paint the sandbed red, organs, missing eyeballs and missing, torn off limbs would lay everywhere, Silas took down two with gunshots, shooting them through the chest, a third had sneaked up on him from behind, for which he used his pocket knife, stabbing the worm in the eye socket before he continued to hack away at his head. 
However, more bobbit worms continued to surround Silas, biting unto his flesh and tearing chuncks of him, the Rockfish came, he put his hands into the mouth of Silas, and pushed, tearing his jaw clean off as Silas let out horrifying screeching sounds before his death. 

Wadanohara watched, as a Bobbit worm came for him, he grabbed it by it's mouth, the bobbit worm tried to close its mouth, but was unable to, Wadanohara continued to hold it, reaching into its throat and forcing his hand down unto its lungs, tearing it out as the bobbit worm let out a wheezing sound. More came, but Wadanohara was prepared, for one of them he grabbed the worm, impaling on the nearby rock, for another, he used his magic to rip its skin off, leaving a skinless flesh monster that screamed in agony in its final moments, for another one, he had punched its head off. He witnessed the deaths of his friends, grabbing a bobbit worm and tearing it in half. As they begun to focus on him out of the remaining survivors, he used his magic once more, to draw away at their life force and decay them into nothing but weak husks that withered away to dust. He tore off a bobbit worm's limbs and tore off the limb's skin and flesh, leaving an exposed bone, which he promptly use to slit one's throat and impale another in the heart, as a stream of blood hit him right in the face, sticking to his skin, he would continue onwards with his killing spree, ripping out the intenstines of a bobbit worm, before using it to strangle another one, tearing off a skull which he used to "bite" away at one's neck, as eventually it was left to just Wadanohara and the Rockfish, the Sea Warlock would stare at him. 
Wadanohara approached the Rockfish, the killer of his friends, although taller than him, he was promply pushed down unto the ground. Repeating what he had observed, he grabbed the old Rockfish, gouging out his eyes before stuffing his fingers unto his eye sockets, and using the other to grab him by his mouth. 

In one swift move, he tore off the Rockfish's face, killing him through the very same violence which he witnessed being used on his dear friend whom he was close with, the very same violence which came into his life without a second thought and changed his actions, he killed the Rockfish and took his motiff. 

The Rockfish well face first unto the ground, the final body in the bloodly pile of unburried cemetary that came from the battle. Wadanohara took off his blue coat, wrapping it around his waist, as he was now in a white suit like attire which was stained with blood as he looked over the rest of the road. 

"Slaughter them all. Like cattle."

He spoke to himself, as he walked off to continue his journey. 

Chapter Text

Wadanohara continued on his trail away from the field of blood, bone, and disappointment, his footsteps deeply lodged in the gravel like fossils. It was a letdown. The mercenaries he had accompanied in their journey turned out to not be as experienced and fierce as they seemed. They weren’t within Sea of Death territory, and they had allowed themselves to be mutilated already. They were weaklings. Sheep in wolves’ clothing. He had overestimated them, completely forgetting they weren’t like the immortal he was. In the end, they were frail creatures who were simply full of themselves. 

Nevertheless, the warlock still believed in the Sea of Death the mercenaries had been declaring their vengeance upon. But with them gone and no map to carry, Wadanohara had no knowledge of its whereabouts. All he could do was find somebody else who might know or at least heard of the dreaded region of the seas or hope his path would take him there. 

After hours of trudging, the road became lined with large mangrove roots stretching past a calm and very low sea surface. Wadanohara spotted fishes, crustaceans, and other marine creatures among them, along with houses and shops constructed from mangrove, which showed the trees doubling as a foundation of a community. Feeling a decrease in salinity, the warlock knew he was close to land. 

An alley on his right directed him to the seashell staircase leading out of the brackish waters. As he emerged at the top, drying himself with an evaporation spell, he stepped into one of many intersecting streets lined with buildings bigger and brighter than the ones below and were also made of mangrove. It was a busy district, with people passing by and bumping into Wadanohara from every direction. This was a borough by the river Adelaide, a long jungle like area of Northern Australia which bore some of the continent’s extremely rare signs of life. 

The warlock squeezed his way into a sidewalk for space, where he irritatedly plucked out a seaweed scarf and a herion junkie clinging onto his clothing. Leaning on a mangrove post covered in many wanted and missing posters (which were doubtlessly made from mangrove pulp), he smelt liquor and heard muffled music. They were radiating from the pub he was standing before. Above dark mangrove doors flashed the establishment’s name, The Pink Lake, in rightfully colored neon lights. 

Believing he had found the best place for inquiry, and a refreshment, he entered. The pub wasn’t a place mainly for drinking. On oval tables were cash, cards, and chips. Cards not meant for paying, but for playing. Chips not made for eating, but for deciding one’s financial fate. The stoic dealers facilitated the rounds while the players stayed fixed on the cards, their faces collectively a salty melting pot of emotions.

It was a boisterous place, but fortunately the noises didn’t drown out the background music providing the pub an upbeat atmosphere. The music was of a strange genre called mangrove metal, known for its erratic riffs and themes involving coastal intertidal trees.

Wadanohara went to the bar front, where he took a seat and said, “A glass of the best drink you’ve got.” 

The bartender filled up a glass and slid it to the warlock. Wadanohara glanced at its golden color and took a sip. It tasted like wooden berries and had an aftertaste like fizzy fibrous roots crawling up the throat. Nevertheless, Wadanohara enjoyed its exotic flavor and persisted into a swig. 

“What have you just poured here?” he asked the bartender, tapping his glass. 

“Mangrove rum,” said the bartender.

“Mangrove? Does everything here revolve around mangroves?” 

“You betcha mate. It’s part of the culture here. That stool you’re on’s made from mangrove and was blessed with holy mangrove water by my old man back when this pub was his. He was a devoted believer of the Mangrove Pantheon.”

Wadanohara was slightly amused. “Even your gods are made of mangrove?”

“Depends on your sect,” said the mudskipper seated beside him. “Mine believes that through rigorous meditations on the Messianic Mangrove Messages, one might be able to ascend into heaven without the need to experience death.”

“Sounds amusing,” said Wadanohara, sarcastically. “Speaking of death, has any of you heard about the place known as the Sea of Death?”

“Ain't got a clue mate.” said the bartender,

“Me neither,” said the mudskipper. “Is it a mythical kingdom like Atlantis?”

“No,” said Wadanohara, ‘it’s-”

“A real place you wouldn’t dare visit if you value your life and sanity.” finished a voice.

The warlock and his stoolmates all turned to a suave figure occupying one of the pub’s few dining tables, which was under a painting of the notorious King of Hearts in his attire of red and his face of pale, on his head his scarlet eyes were gazing almost directly unto those who looked at it, the painting bore the words “Those who don't play fair shall not win.”. Donning a black and white suit and top hat that complimented his raceless skin and dark eyes, he was monochrome incarnate. His features caught the attention of Wadanohara, who began wondering if he was a fellow warlock.

“You know of the Sea of Death?” Wadanohara said as he approached and sat opposite to him. “And who may you be?” 

“The name’s Madhata, and I’m a magician,” replied the figure, who had finished downing a glass of mangrove whiskey. “And as one who specializes in the forbidden arts, I often find myself in scenarios jeopardous enough to drive me, well, mad. Lost in haunted forests, surrounded by demon scavengers, and chased by angry mobs. I managed to survive all these with nothing more than a bruise. It wasn’t because of luck, but skill. Using the right spells at the right time and confusing your adversaries with illusions as you strike them from behind with power five times theirs. Magic is one of the most complex things to learn, and I have mastered it through years of rigorous training, physical and spiritual. You must be wondering if I landed in the Sea of Death with the way fate plays with me, but I am yet to become an unwilling visitor when she shall declare that it’s time. Though I have listened to the experiences of folks who miraculously survived the terrors of that Sea. Their descriptions have been deeply embedded into my mind, filling me with dread and fascination. And I’m sure you don’t need me to explain what it’s like since you probably are familiar with it, but hopefully not from it.”

Wadanohara had been nodding throughout. Interesting, a magic wielder like him. How common are they in these regions? A magician, huh? How do they differ from warlocks like him? Wadanohara still had some doubts about Madhata's tale, remembering his former mercenary companions, especially Takama, who had made the impression to be a vengeful cutthroat but had turned out to be a chick in a crocodile pit. Wadanohara seeked to make sure he wasn’t like them and if he could be a reliable member of his party. 

“Looks like those who dabble with magic are made to suffer, and I don’t mean this as an insult for I myself am a warlock. You must be here to drink to forget yet another traumatic day, right?”

“Surprisingly not. I’m used to all that crap. I’m here to look for a friend who aided me in my assault on the King of Heart’s army but ran away. Her name’s Alice, and she wears a blue dress and a black bow on her custard-colored hair. Or was it an ivory dress? Hah, who knows! Have you come across her? Or do you want to first know who the King of Hearts is? He’s the scruffy guy in that painting if you recognize him.” 

“That tale can wait another day. ” He said in an almost playful manner, reminiscent of his late friend Silas the Phantom Jellyfish. "Haven't seen or anyone going by that description or name either, not here, not back there."

“Oh, she must be in a different pub then.” Madhata inspected Wadanohara’s attire with intrigue. “You must be a magician like me. You have quite a good taste in fashion.”

“Thank you, but I am not a magician. I am a warlock, but not any ordinary one, for I am the Warlock. The Warlock of the Seven Seas. And I’m on a mission to go to the Sea of Death and slaughter its nasty denizens, from soldiers to civilians.”

Madhata nearly spilled his bowl of Satan’s bolete soup in surprise. “Damn, I’ve never met a warlock before, only alchemists. I do know them as ranking    very high in the magical hierarchy, just behind sorcerers. How come I never heard about you in all my exploits, with your title of Warlock of the Seven Seas?” 

Wadanohara forced a smirk. “I’m a rather enigmatic individual. Nobody ever talks about me because they’re afraid to do so. The mere mention of my title or anything I’ve committed is enough to make one sleepless. That’s just how I interpret my public perception, if they could even perceive me.” 

The warlock stood and offered a hand with static nails to Madhata. “My journey to a malefic kingdom won’t be easy should I go solo, therefore I hereby invite you to go with me, as I believe you have the capability to take down foes who look like nightmares' excretions and instantly reduce them to broken atoms. Who knows? Perhaps this "Alice" of yours will join be found on our long walk.” 

Madhata was amazed. He had always wanted a fellow magic user to accompany him wherever fate shall take him, but people seemed to be too anxious to consider it. Now he had the chance to join a party and make battles more fun. In a way, Wadanohara had reminded him of his old friends, his Alice. Perhaps this was fate coming to him once more to set him on the right path. "His long walk, yes, folks. His longest walk so far." as the grinning Chershire Cat would remark, if he had been here. “I’d be very delighted and grateful to be your ally, but only under one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“You gotta play poker with me first.”

Wadanohara was confused. “Play poker? Why head into leisure already?”

“Not quite, I just tend to incorporate fun in anything I do, no matter how life-threatening it may be. And I also came here for a round or two. So if you have time, let’s play a game once the table over there’s free. It’s been a while since the last time I played poker with fellow magic wielders, and as usual it became pretty intense, to the point we started gambling for our lives too. So, you’re in?”

“Well, why not? My call to the Sea of Death isn’t a hurried one, so I guess I still have time. But don’t expect me to be a professional.” 

“Okay! And would you look at that? Those idiots finally left their table after hours.”  

Wadanohara, Madhata, and a couple of other guests filled the chairs that had been occupied earlier by a gang of delinquents who had made themselves poorer than they already were. The players were a magician, a warlock, a skink, a fanged koala, a mussel, and a yellow slime mold with a mustache made of tiny red mushrooms. The dugong dealer shuffled the cards under the table as the skink and the koala respectively gave their small and big blinds.

After two cards were dealt to every player, the pre-flop round began, with the current bet of 3 gold coins being called to twelve of gold.

At the flop round, 3 community cards were dealt to the table’s center, and these are the 2 of spades, the queen of spades, and the 3 of clubs. The koala raised the bet to 8 of gold, making every other player call that amount, ending the round with a pot of 60 of gold. 

“Your provisions are all mine!” taunted the skink as the turn round began with the dealer dealing the 4th community card, which was the 8 of hearts.

“We’ll see about that, senator,” said Madhata, as everybody before Wadanohara checked. The warlock raised the bet to 10 of gold, which made the round end with a pot of 120 gold coins Nobody folded yet as tenacity ruled the table. 

At the river round, the last community card was dealt, an 8 of spades. Everybody checked, ending the round.

At the showdown, all the players revealed their cards. Wadanohara’s cards were an 8 of diamonds and a queen of clubs, giving him a 3 of a kind. Madhata’s were a 4 of clubs and a 4 of spades, giving him a 2 pair hand. However, they were both no match to the koala’s cards, which were a 9 of spades and ace of spades, which gives him a straight flush and the pot.

“In your disgustingly diverse faces!” snickered the koala. As he greedily pulled all the gold coins towards himself.

“Damn, that guy must be really good,” said Wadanohara.

“Good’s an underestimation,” said the mussel. “He won 4 consecutive games before this!”

“And you’ve been playing since he started?”

“Yeah.”

“So how come you’re still at the same table as him if you know he’s winning all the games?”

“I can’t just quit! I owe my boss more than I had before I came here!”

“Well, why can’t you just find another tabl-”

“Again!” said the koala, who never got exhausted from playing as it became his purpose. “With the same fucks! Y’all better not pussy out like those kids earlier!”

The other players kept their temper to themselves as they played another game, aiming to outdo the koala once and for all. However, when it was showdown time, the koala won again, this time with a royal flush.

As the koala received the pot of 66 gold coins (which was the lucky number of Silas, the Phatom Jellyfish), Wadanohara whispered to Madhata, “I’m feeling a little suspicious.”

“What do you mean?” asked Madhata.

“That some foul play is going on, specifically with that koala. He’s been winning the past 5 games, don’t you find anything odd?”

“I don’t. There’s nothing wrong with winning 5 times in a row. I’ve known someone who won 13 times in a row, and they were a newcomer to that casino.

“You weren’t paying attention to the small and unusual things. Like the dealer ‘shuffling’ the cards under the table. And how all the koala’s poker hands were five card combos, just like what that mussel told me.”

“Another one, but certainly not the last!” said the koala.

At the start of the third game when the small and big blinds were being decided, Wadanohara slid a hand under the table and pointed a finger towards the dealer, who was shuffling the cards with surplus secrecy. The tip of his finger morphed into an eyeball that made him see what was actually happening underneath. Upon discovering the dealer’s abuse of the game mechanics, his finger-eye morphed back into a fingertip as he magically froze the dealer’s hands and the cards and brought them up for everybody to see.

“Aha!” said Wadanohara. “Look what we have here. The reason why you’re all losing!” 

The dealer dropped his mask of apathy as every player turned to the cards floating above his hands. 

“You all were so focused on playing that you didn’t take notice of the way this fella shuffled and handed out the cards. What’s the need to do them under the table when the cards are already facing down? As for the cards, they aren’t as randomly arranged as they should be.” With a snap of his fingers, Wadanohara divided the stack of cards into four groups, each turning out to be of a different suit as they rotated around the dealer’s hands. “This fella’s making sure the game would end with either of the three flushes by making most of the community cards of the same suit, while ‘subtly’ putting two cards of a different suit to make things less suspicious, but what makes this more suspicious ironically is how he does it for every game. What about the random cards of each player? Well here they are.” With a sway of the warlock’s hand, an assorted series of cards slither out from under the dealer’s sleeve and drop to the table.” These are the only cards that are properly shuffled, for the most part, and are the ones handed by pair to every player, with the exception of that unfair and unrighteous koala, who’s been getting all his cards from the orderly stack and winning all the time. You’ve all been deceived! You’ve been blinded by your pursuit of cash to overlook it! These two are undermining the games and your time!” 

The dealer and the koala tremble before irate faces. Even the yellow mold had a look that would tell you suicide would be better than what was to come. 

“You fucking cheater!” said the mussel.

“You two are working together to scam us?” said the skink. “What are you, a gay couple? Hey magic guy, I think you forgot to pull out photocards from that fool’s sleeve to verify it!” 

“I hate cheaters,” said Madhata. “You won’t like the result when you put a magician and a cheater in the same room.” 

The dealer and the koala anxiously looked at each other as they slowly became the pub’s center of attention, players pausing their game to spectate drama, the bartender ready to fire somebody. 

The koala looked at Wadanohara with bloodshot eyes, unable to accept his exposure for the good of all. He grinded his sharp teeth and jumped towards him. In a rare non-magical offense position, the warlock performed an uppercut that sent the koala to the rapidly-spinning ceiling fan, reducing him to ground meat and splattering everybody with blood. This sent the whole pub into madness where rage filled the place rather than panic, provoked from disrupted determination. Tables were turned and punches were thrown, alongside kicks, elbows, fractures, stabs, slashes, and disembowelments.

Wadanohara was instantly pulled into the bloody brawl, where he would take down folks like it’s buttoning a shirt. And so was Madhata, who started reminiscing on public brutalities like the one he was in. The warlock muttered an aging spell before a gang of men twice his size, shrivelling them to humble but embarrassing bodies. The magician sunk his fist into the yellow mold’s chest and with the stretching of his fingers, transformed the slimy figure’s being into a cluster of flowers, and his screams into pollen.

Madhata saw the dealer attempting to escape through a window, so he yelled two spells at once. The first made the window’s glass explode, lodging the dealer in shards. The second made the shards come to life and burrow into his flesh, sending him in internal agony. As the dealer started coughing blood, glass shards, and his last breaths, Madhata said, “Anybody who messes with a magician won’t even live to warn their friends!”

“Your magic’s very impressive,” said Wadanohara mid-fight, “and how you utilize them in combat!” 

“Thanks, yours too - behind you!” 

Wadanohara turned to see the bartender with a shotgun aimed at him, angry at the brawl he believed the warlock had started. Wadanohara blew a fireball that zapped into the bartender before he could pull the trigger. This caught him on fire and pushed him into the alcohol shelf, causing a huge explosion. The fire quickly spread from the bar front to the rest of the pub since it was mainly composed of wood.

The two magic wielders realized this and ran towards the doors, fighting their way through the crowd who continued brawling despite the flames engulfing them. Outside, Wadanohara, Madhata, and the townspeople watched the flames spread to the other buildings like a virus in a crowded room. Chaos filled the streets like it did with the pub, but this time, panic ruled over. 

“Let's get the fuck out!” Wadanohara said to Madhata, the two of them outrunning the fire that was swallowing the city and digesting it to ashes. 

“If only they started using concrete rather than the same old mangrove,” said Madhata as they walked the seashell stairs into the waters. 

“I hope these waters won’t boil,” said Wadanohara. “Let’s keep going.” as the started their long walk up north.