A small jellyfish bounced softly through the water nearby in a series of gentle jumps.
The Red Crocodile glanced at it with his red eyes before turning his attention back to the large tracks scattered across the sandy floor of the deep sea.
The tracks belonged to a massive creature, leaving long trails behind it.
The Red Crocodile ran his claws over the marks and followed them with his eyes. They stretched toward a distant underwater cave.
He swam toward it, leaving the small jellyfish behind.
But the moment he did, a hungry jaw snapped down and devoured the creature despite the electric pain from its sting, before disappearing back into its burrow.
The Red Crocodile approached the underwater cave, following the tracks of a strange creature unlike anything he had ever seen before.
Cloco had always been an expert tracker of sea monsters.
Giant lizards.
Long-mouthed sea bream.
And mackerel serpents, whose taste he had always loved, as a single one could provide enough food for an entire family in the Red Crocodile Kingdom for several days.
Cloco followed the tracks into the cave and swam deeper until they finally ended inside a stone chamber.
There, he found the remains of bones and skeletons.
The tracks ended at the chamber filled with remains, which meant the creature had left after finishing its meal.
But the sheer number of bones and skeletons confirmed Cloco's suspicion.
This was the creature's favorite place to eat its prey after hunting them.
Then he would watch this cave from now on.
Cloco had been a skilled tracker since childhood, ever since that tragic incident that had taken away his chance to inherit the throne of the Red Crocodile Kingdom.
He returned to the kingdom through its entrance, a long underwater cave that opened into the kingdom's waters, surrounded by vast underwater forests.
He moved with his usual calm, confident steps, looking at the burrows and nests the females had built to lay their eggs, while the males guarded them.
Cloco had a good reputation throughout the Red Crocodile Kingdom.
He had inherited his intelligence and dignity from his father before the tragic incident.
As he made his way toward his burrow beside the underwater current, which some in the kingdom called the Crocodile's Tongue, he encountered the current king's son.
He was younger than Cloco, but he was the rightful heir to the throne.
The young prince spoke sarcastically.
"Hello, Cloco. Were you exploring outside the kingdom again, as usual?"
The mockery in his voice was obvious, and his expression made it even clearer.
But Cloco answered calmly and firmly.
"Yes. I was investigating a danger that could threaten the kingdom instead of wandering around and showing off in front of everyone."
The response was unexpected, especially coming from the kingdom's prince.
Anger immediately appeared on the young prince's face.
He turned away and continued on his way with his companions.
Cloco kept walking until he returned to his large burrow.
He entered and sat beside a window overlooking the underwater current that flowed from an opening on the sea's surface into the kingdom hidden within the underwater forests.
His memories returned to a time not long ago.
To the incident involving his father, the former king.
His father had once left the kingdom with three of his guards to explore the waters outside the kingdom, as he often did.
But a massive beast suddenly attacked them and devoured all of them without mercy.
At that moment, the current king, who had been the former king's chief guard—and his father—stepped forward and declared that, according to the laws of the Red Crocodile Kingdom, the king's son would inherit the throne if the king died, through a grand ceremony attended by the people of the kingdom.
If there was no living heir, the ceremony would pass to the high priest or the chief guard—or the two would fight for the right to rule the kingdom.
Ever since that day, Cloco had been searching for the creature that had taken his kingdom away from him.
*****
"Hey! It's me. I'm back! Hahahaha!"
Nano, the warrior shark, said it as he confidently walked through the gates of the Shark Warriors Kingdom.
Eight massive shark statues stood proudly beside one another at the entrance, their heads tilted slightly toward each other.
Nano patted one of the guards standing at the kingdom's gate on the chest.
The guard glared at him.
"Your father has been looking for you, Nano."
Nano laughed cheerfully.
"As usual. My father is angry and looking for me. But tell me, how are your little ones? Tell them Uncle Nano sends his regards."
The Shark Warriors Kingdom was bursting with life.
Here, young sharks trained in hunting under the watchful eyes of their instructors.
There, an entrance led to the royal halls of kings who had ruled long ago, which had now become a popular tourist destination for families throughout the kingdom.
At the center stood a circular plaza connecting all the roads of the kingdom, guarded by powerful warriors.
Nano swam toward the magnificent stone royal palace.
Three enormous shark heads with huge fangs towered above it.
The guards opened the palace gates for him.
He was the king's son and heir to the throne.
Nano adjusted his leather clothes and belt, then used a finger to clean the remains of the seal meat stuck between his teeth from the hunt outside the kingdom.
Then he opened the doors to the royal hall.
Inside, he found his father, the king, surrounded by his advisers.
The moment the king saw him, he shouted:
"Nano! Where have you been? I've been looking for you for a long time!"
The cheerful shark tried to calm his father's usual anger.
"Great King, I was inspecting the kingdom's borders."
Of course, his father didn't believe him.
But he didn't want to embarrass him in front of the guards and advisers.
Nano was his heir and the future king.
So the king simply nodded.
"I want you to teach the new guard unit your fighting style."
Nano shouted with excitement.
"Yes! You finally like my fighting style?"
The king shot him a fiery glare.
Several advisers smiled.
Nano immediately realized his mistake.
"Nano," he muttered to himself.
Then he quickly corrected himself.
"Of course, Great King. As you command."
The king spoke impatiently.
"My adviser suggested that we must modernize the kingdom's fighting techniques in order to preserve our strength."
"Of course, Your Majesty. I'll go now."
"I didn't say now, Nano."
The cheerful shark grinned.
"I didn't mean go fight. I meant I'm going to get my lunch."
The king shouted angrily.
"Nano! You need to grow up a little. You are the king!"
Nano replied:
"Okay. But can I be king after lunch?"
He quickly turned and left the hall, heading toward his little sister's room.
The moment she saw him, she smiled.
"Nano! Where have you been all day? Were you hunting seals again?"
He raised a finger to his mouth.
"Shhhhh! Don't talk so loudly. Dad might hear you."
Then he said excitedly:
"I was a superstar today! A first-class warrior! I caught three today."
"Ooooh! Three at once?"
Nano replied:
"No, not at once. But I found a cave surrounded by seals."
He continued telling her about his adventure that day while...
Outside the kingdom, the alien Aqua Alien was hiding, watching the life within the Shark Warriors Kingdom.
"They're skilled builders, but they seem a little savage."
He said it to himself as he studied the royal halls and towering shark statues.
His mind continued analyzing every possibility until he became lost for a moment in old memories from his distant homeworld.
Memories that still hurt.
He pushed those memories out of his mechanical mind and looked toward the Shark Warriors Kingdom.
"I must search this kingdom for the source of the legendary energy. But I'll wait until nightfall so I can remain hidden."
On the eastern side of the Five Seas' depths...
*****
The Golden Tiger Temple stood proudly, its brilliant golden architecture shining through the darkness.
Carvings of tigers covered its gates, their bodies covered entirely in scales.
Inside, rows of glowing blue crystals formed a long path leading deeper into the temple and toward its grand hall.
Its walls were filled with enormous paintings of sea tigers.
At the center stood a massive golden tiger, nearly two meters tall.
His skin shimmered with a brilliant golden glow, while a chain of bones ran along his back from the top of his head all the way to the bottom of his tail.
He was Golden Tiger.
The last of the Seven.
Inside the golden temple, he worshipped the Almighty, the Magnificent Creator.
Golden Tiger stood in complete stillness, almost asleep.
Today was a special day for him.
He had completed his tenth year in the third millennium, and the power of the Seven Tigers was about to be passed on to him.
At that very moment, as the full moon appeared in the human sky, a golden power emerged from the tiger carvings covering the temple walls.
It formed a gentle vortex around the body of the golden sea tiger.
Then the energy touched his body.
Golden Tiger rose above the sandy floor of the golden temple.
He felt an immense power seeping into his body.
And he felt the eyes of all Seven Tigers upon him.
He screamed from the overwhelming force.
His body felt as though it were about to tear apart.
Until he finally collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath.
After a while, his spirit finally calmed.
Golden Tiger rose and looked toward the faces of the tigers carved into the walls.
He pressed his hands together and bowed to them, speaking in a deep voice.
"Thank you, my ancestors. I promise I will use your great power wisely."
But suddenly...
A cold shiver ran through his body for several seconds.
Then it vanished.
Golden Tiger looked around at the walls.
For the first time, he felt as though the faces of the sea tigers were looking at him in fear.
Fear of something.
Something that had been buried long ago.
Something that had suddenly awakened.
Something carrying a terrible danger with it.
The time had come to leave the temple and protect the seas of the Five Kingdoms.
The time had come to protect the peace that had lasted for countless centuries.
Not only once a year, when the Five Kingdoms Tournament was held in the King's Arena.
But permanently.
To prevent any danger from threatening the depths of the Five Kingdoms' seas.
But what Golden Tiger did not know was that what was coming was far more dangerous than he could imagine.
Especially when a faint pulse flashed inside his mind...
A phosphorescent flash.
And he saw images of a terrifying creature capable of destroying the depths of all five seas.
*****
An electronic voice suddenly erupted from the box.
"Be careful. It's extremely powerful, and none of my weapons had any effect on it."
The mechanical voice continued in the same rapid, trembling tone:
"None of my attempts did anything except leave a few scratches. Send an entire squad. No... send the entire army of the planet. It... it..."
*****
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