Ganendra slowly opened his eyes. His head felt incredibly heavy, throbbing with pain. He had just regained consciousness after fainting during his battle with the Kraken in the deep sea. Ganendra had no idea how long he had been unconscious, but one thing was certain: he was in an unfamiliar place.
Ganendra regulated his breathing slowly to ease the pain in his chest muscles. With what little strength he had left, he got up and sat on the edge of the bed. His trembling hand reached for a glass of water near where he had been lying. The moment a drop of water touched the base of his tongue, his neck muscles went into a sudden spasm. Ganendra coughed violently and clutched his own throat, tears streaming from the searing pain that reached all the way to his ears.
The door slid open slowly, letting out a creak that made his ears ache even more. Ulric entered, followed by Oba. The old man was carrying a small clay bowl.
The sharp scent of herbal medicine pierced Ganendra's nose. A mixture of wild mint leaves and bitter roots immediately overpowered the smell of blood in the room. Without saying much, Ulric held out the bowl he was carrying and gestured for Ganendra to drink it while it was still warm.
As the medicine touched his lips, its intense bitterness immediately dominated Ganendra's tongue. However, its warmth worked like a lubricant, slowly melting the stiffness in his throat.
“Don't rush,” Ulric said calmly. “You could injure your throat even more if you choke.”
Ganendra lowered the clay bowl from his lips. He coughed lightly, then instinctively held his chest as a sudden pain shot through it because of his carelessness. “Thank you, Grandpa.”
Ulric took the empty bowl from Ganendra's hands and let out a long sigh. “Why are you so careless, boy? Didn't I give you a Nerea leaf? Why didn't you use it?”
As if remembering, Ganendra reflexively pulled the Nerea leaf from inside his pants pocket. “I forgot. I'm sorry, Grandpa. I thought the leaf was only meant to be used when retrieving your relic. I wouldn't dare use it for a personal matter.”
“I didn't give it to you for that reason. If you're worried about running out of leaves, you can ask me for another one. It's no big deal to me.”
Ganendra nodded in understanding and tried to move his legs, but pain immediately spread up to his back. “How long—”
“Two days,” Ulric cut in quickly. “Luckily, Oba was with you, so he brought you back right away. Otherwise, you might have become food for the creatures of the sea.”
Ganendra's eyes scanned the room, searching for the things that had forced him to descend into the ocean trench. As if realizing what Ganendra was looking for, Ulric said, “The Kraken's heart core and eye are safely stored away. Once you're well enough, I'll give both of them to you.”
“Then where's my sword?” Ganendra asked.
Ulric's expression immediately turned sad. Seeing that made Ganendra uneasy. A terrible thought flashed through his mind. “Did my sword break?”
Ulric shook his head. “It isn't your sword that broke. It's this.” Ulric pulled the rose jian sui from inside his robe and held it out to Ganendra.
Ganendra froze, his gaze fixed on Ulric's hand, where his rose jian sui lay. His heartbeat suddenly quickened—not because of the lingering effects of the Kraken's poison, but because he had just realized that the jian sui that had always hung there had snapped.
To Ganendra, the jian sui was more than a simple ornament. It was a symbol of his identity and a good-luck charm from his mother. Wearing it made Ganendra feel as though his mother was traveling with him. He felt that he had failed to protect it by allowing the symbol to break.
“Don't dwell on your sadness. Besides, you can ask your mother to make you another one,” Ulric said, gently patting Ganendra's shoulder.
“Yes, Grandpa.” Ganendra slipped his jian sui into his pants pocket.
“But if I were you, I wouldn't worry about the jian sui just yet,” Oba cut in from behind Ulric.
Ganendra turned toward Oba. “Why?”
“Because judging by your condition, I'm more worried that you can't stand than that you've lost a piece of string.”
Ganendra furrowed his brow. “I can stand.”
Hearing Ganendra's reply, Oba chuckled. “You nearly fell just sitting down. Are you sure you can stand?”
“Besides, Grandpa said you need to rest. If your body hasn't recovered, how are you supposed to retrieve that relic?” Oba reminded him.
Ganendra fell silent. In his heart, he agreed with Oba.
“For now, don't think about the relic,” Ulric said.
“Why?”
“Because you just defeated the Kraken and nearly died on the ocean floor. Your body needs time to recover.”
“I can still walk.”
“Being able to walk doesn't mean you're healed.”
Oba nodded quickly. “Exactly! For once, I agree with Grandpa.”
Ganendra sighed. “How long do I have to rest?”
“At least until tomorrow.”
Ganendra nodded and agreed to Ulric's demand that he get complete rest.
After Ulric left, Oba pulled over the chair beside Ganendra and sat facing him. “How are you feeling?”
“Much better than before.”
“You know? I panicked when you suddenly passed out on the ship. Luckily, the waves were calm at the time, and no storm blocked us on the way back.”
“Thanks for bringing me here.”
“Yeah, you owe me big-time,” Oba said proudly, puffing out his chest.
Ganendra chuckled at Oba's antics, making the pain in his chest return. He reflexively touched the bandaged area and slowly exhaled. Then his eyes returned to Oba. “Are we leaving tomorrow?”
“Not tomorrow,” Oba replied.
One of Ganendra's eyebrows rose, as if asking why Oba had said that.
“We have to wait for the sea to calm down. The place where the relic is located isn't somewhere we can reach casually.”
“How far is it?”
Oba smiled. “Far enough that you won't be able to swim home.”
“I have no intention of swimming there.”
“Yeah, I figured. More importantly, get some rest now so your body can recover quickly. The faster you recover, the sooner we can leave.”
Oba rose from his seat and walked away, leaving Ganendra behind.
Ganendra spent his days at Ulric's house. Every morning and night before bed, he drank the medicinal brew Ulric prepared. Whenever his body felt lighter, Ganendra helped the villagers of Tidehaven repair fishing boats, watched some of the villagers mend their fishing nets, or occasionally played with the children of Tidehaven. Then the long-awaited day finally arrived.
That morning, their small boat finally left the shores of Tidehaven. Oba stood at the helm while Ganendra sat at the side of the boat, watching the sea slowly transform into an endless blue line.
The broken jian sui was still safely tucked inside his pocket. Ganendra touched it briefly before looking away.
“Ganendra!” Oba shouted from the front. “If you keep daydreaming, we could get lost!”
“Aren't you the one who knows the way?”
“That's exactly why you need to listen to me!”
Ganendra sighed. “You're annoying.”
Oba burst out laughing at Ganendra's curt reply.
The boat continued moving away from Tidehaven, carrying them toward a place Ganendra had never visited before—a place where an old secret had been waiting for years.