His body was sent flying by the impact, his long hair scattering wildly around his face. He was hurled several meters backward before crashing onto the ocean floor.
Now, only the two of them remained, standing face-to-face.
A short while earlier...
Dogi, the Guardian of Atlantis, had led a scientific expedition consisting of some of the most experienced scholars of the Kingdom of Atlantis. They carried advanced scientific equipment, accompanied by several powerful guards armed with sophisticated weapons.
They traveled to the first location the scientists had identified as the center of the strange phosphorescent energy detected by Atlantis's advanced instruments.
Everyone immediately began working.
The guards protected the scientific team.
Led by Atlantis's Guardian, Dogi, the scientists searched and investigated this important phenomenon.
Atlantis had always been fascinated by research and exploration. It was the reason their scientific knowledge had advanced far beyond that of the other kingdoms.
"My lord, we found a strong signal here."
Dogi looked at the luminous screen in one of the scientists' hands. A large glowing point appeared on it, gradually expanding and contracting, indicating the presence of something beneath that location.
"Let's dig here," the Guardian of Atlantis said with intense interest.
The scientists began digging using specialized tools that harnessed the power of water and air currents.
Moments later, a large, hedgehog-sized phosphorescent crystal was uncovered. Pure phosphorescent energy flowed gently inside it.
Dogi picked it up and examined it with great interest.
"What is this?"
The Guardian of Atlantis murmured as he turned the crystal between his palms.
Then he continued, speaking to himself absentmindedly.
"It seems to be pure energy. Nothing like it has ever been seen before."
"Let's dig deeper."
The scientists immediately began following his orders, while Dogi placed the crystal inside a stone chest decorated with emeralds and rubies so it could be studied back in the Kingdom of Atlantis.
But they were not alone in that part of the depths.
Other eyes were watching them.
It was Aqua Eileen.
The alien had been searching the very same location, following the directions of the map he had taken from the Shark Warriors' Kingdom.
And the moment he saw them place the crystal inside the chest, he attacked with tremendous speed and force, catching everyone by surprise.
He fired an electromagnetic blast from his device at the guards, taking them all down at once.
Then he began stabbing the scientists with a knife made of powerful steel, bringing them down one after another.
All of this happened within mere seconds.
Only one scientist remained—the one carrying the chest containing the crystal.
But at that moment, Dogi recovered from the shock and charged at him with his legendary sword, forged from the Energy of Light.
He struck the alien's metallic body.
It was a powerful blow from two immensely strong arms.
The alien staggered backward, but his body remained completely unharmed.
The two stared at each other.
A hero from space.
And a hero from the depths.
One of the rarest and most powerful confrontations in the history of the entire universe.
The two heroes charged at each other with incredible strength and ferocity, and...
The War of Water began.
*****
Inside the Kingdom of the Red Crocodile...
The king stood staring at a large map hanging on the wall before him, depicting the history of the Crocodile Kingdom.
It showed the kingdom's borders and territories.
He remembered the days when he had been the commander of the crocodile army, before eventually becoming king.
His son and heir to the throne, Kuban, entered the chamber, strutting with the pride of a peacock. His arrogance and superiority were evident in every step he took as the king's son.
He stopped before his father.
"Did you ask to see me, Father?"
"Yes, Kuban. The time has come, my son."
Kuban's eyes widened slightly with intense excitement.
"Am I going to become king?"
His father, the Red Crocodile, smiled faintly and answered calmly.
"Do not rush toward the throne, my son. Ruling kingdoms is not easy."
Disappointment appeared on Kuban's face as he slightly pursed his lips.
"Then why did you want to see me?"
"The tournament is coming, and you will participate this year. You will represent our kingdom before the other kingdoms."
Kuban shouted angrily.
"What?"
Then he continued in alarm.
"Do you want me to die?"
His father approached him and answered with paternal tenderness.
"Of course not, Kuban. No one dies in the Five Kingdoms Tournament. They are merely challenges to choose the First Champion of the Five Kingdoms each year."
Then he added:
"I have been waiting for the day when I would see you become a fierce warrior representing the Kingdom of the Red Crocodile in the Five Kingdoms Tournament. And that day has finally come."
"But Father, I'm not ready... I... I..."
"The army commander will teach you the art of combat. You are skilled at maneuvering, and you possess great intelligence. You are the best one to represent us now."
Kuban left the royal chamber carrying all the anger of the underwater world with him.
He entered his room with hurried steps and sat down, thinking furiously.
A tournament?!
He had never planned for this.
Only a few days remained.
He had a great goal.
And his view of things was completely different from that of his father, the former army commander.
His cowardly father, as far as he was concerned.
His vision of ruling...
was far more ambitious.
He stood and looked at a map on the wall.
A map made especially for him.
A map of the Five Kingdoms...
All of them.
*****
The alien possessed advanced power, so he relied on his weapons. He struck the Guardian of Atlantis with a powerful resonating blast from the device in his hand.
Dogi's body was sent flying by the impact, his long hair scattering wildly around his face. He was hurled several meters backward before crashing onto the ocean floor.
But the Guardian of Atlantis was a seasoned fighter himself.
He quickly rose, evading another attack from Aqua Eileen.
He struck the alien hard in the chest with his foot, using remarkable skill.
The alien staggered backward, his feet losing their balance before he fell onto the sands of the ocean floor.
Dogi was stunned by the alien's metallic body.
It was the first time he had ever seen anything like it.
Aqua Eileen rose and realized that his opponent was no ordinary fighter, especially after witnessing his skillful movements and formidable strength.
The two fought fiercely until the alien evaded a powerful punch from Dogi.
Then he struck him with the electric-discharge device, just as he had done to the guards of the Shark Kingdom.
The Guardian of Atlantis collapsed unconscious.
Aqua Eileen was about to finish him off.
But he stopped at the last moment.
He had not come here to destroy this world.
He had come to help his own planet survive.
He hated killing and destruction, and he would never allow his world to be rebuilt at the expense of another.
So Aqua Eileen took the phosphorescent crystal and left that part of the depths.
But what the alien did not know...
was that this would not be their final confrontation.
*****
A majestic throne.
In the heart of the Realm of the Regions, within a kingdom of great importance, several long tentacles moved peacefully through the water.
Their owner rested his arms against the sides of a royal throne, purple in color and shaped like the tentacles of an octopus.
His lower body consisted of thick, elongated tentacles powerful enough to crush an Orca whale.
He had remained seated like this for fifty nights of the seas.
Then he suddenly opened his eyes...
Sharp gazes that could spread terror through the hearts of every inhabitant of the Five Kingdoms.
He sensed a strange danger.
Or perhaps...
Something connected to the distant past.
He had awakened before his time.
And the news of his awakening would soon spread throughout all the kingdoms of the seas.
*****
If you’re enjoying the legendary world of War of Water, I’d be honored to have you follow me every Sunday and Wednesday for new chapters.
And remember:
Beneath the surface of the sea lie worlds that should never have awakened.
Ismail Alex