Chapter 1

Far from the human coast, a lone ship battled its way through towering waves, each one threatening to swallow it whole. The storm raged with relentless fury, rain lashing against the deck like a thousand tiny whips, while the wind howled like an enraged beast. Lightning split the sky, momentarily revealing the silhouette of an elven battleship in pursuit, no more than a hundred meters behind.

They were one of many human crews searching for the legendary Amulet of the Mad Emperor. With tensions rising between the human kingdom and the other races, the king had begun funding expeditions, offering generous support to anyone willing to build a ship. The catch? Every expedition was required to carry royal soldiers tasked with bringing the amulet directly to the king. He would not allow the power to command the world to fall into the hands of commoners.

The elves, of course, had no intention of letting the humans claim such a dangerous artifact. Their own ships had been sent out to intercept any expedition that came too close. Faster, more agile, and equipped with magic, the elven vessels had every advantage—except one.

The storm.
Where the elves hesitated, unwilling to risk their enchanted ships in the violent winds, the humans took the gamble. Their sails, fully unfurled, strained against the force of the storm as they rode the chaotic winds at reckless speed.

"Do you think this is a pleasure cruise?!" Rafael’s voice cut through the howling wind like a blade. "Move your asses and tie down everything loose—I don’t want to lose supplies to this storm!"

Salt spray stung his face, his soaked clothes clinging to his muscular frame as the cold bit into his skin. Yet he showed no sign of hesitation, his sharp eyes locked on the horizon. The scar running down his right arm throbbed with the chill, but he ignored it.

At twenty, Rafael was like many other young men who had set out to sea in search of the amulet—except he had no desire for power. While others dreamed of wielding the amulet’s magic for themselves, Rafael only wanted to prevent the war that loomed over their heads like an hankers axe.

Unlike most treasure hunters who wandered the seas aimlessly, he and his best friend Mike had a plan.
Mike possessed a rare, inborn ability: the power to communicate with animals. Over the years, he had spoken with countless fish, learning of lost islands and sunken ruins. At first, it had been nothing more than a game—until one fish described something extraordinary.

A submerged land, far beyond the usual trade routes. A lone mountain peak jutting out of the ocean, its base hidden beneath the waves. And deep below—fifty meters down—an ancient palace, still pulsing with active magic.

That was all the proof they needed.
Rafael, once a skilled thief, had spent months acquiring the knowledge they required. He had stolen a book detailing the mechanics of magical barriers, piecing together a theory: if the empire beneath the waves still had an active shield, then living beings should be able to pass through it. But that raised another question—how had such magic endured for so long under the crushing weight of the ocean?
The next challenge was breathing underwater. That, too, required theft. Using stolen runes, they had tattooed their own bodies with enchanted symbols. When activated, the runes would grant them the ability to breathe underwater—for exactly one hour.

It was a desperate, reckless plan. But it was their best shot.

"Mike! Are we still on course? We need to reach the site before the elves get within firing range!" Rafael shouted over the wind.

Mike, his long black hair plastered to his face by the rain, turned to him. He was slightly shorter than Rafael, leaner, with sharp features that always seemed deep in thought. His voice carried both excitement and unease.

"Yes! We should be close—just a few more hours!" he called back. "Once the storm dies down, I’ll be able to commune with the fish more easily."

A third voice cut through the storm.
"What are you two whispering about? We need to turn back and report to the crown!"

The speaker was not an ordinary soldier. He was part of a special unit—one of the king’s elite enforcers. Rafael had forgotten the exact name of their order, but he knew one thing: they weren’t here just to guard the amulet.

They were here to ensure it went straight into the king’s hands—by any means necessary.

"You’re welcome to turn around. I’m sure the elves would be thrilled to take you in." Rafael let out a sharp laugh, his voice barely audible over the howling wind. His amusement only grew when the inexperienced soldier attempted to respond—only to choke on a mouthful of saltwater as another wave crashed over the deck.

For a soldier, he looked surprisingly noble, Rafael noted. But there was no time to dwell on that. He turned his focus back to the treacherous sea. The waves crashed against the ship with relentless force, each impact threatening to rip the vessel apart. They had already lost four crew members—four men swallowed by the raging ocean, claimed by the storm without so much as a scream.

The elven warship, still in pursuit, moved through the storm with unnatural ease. The elves leaped through the rigging with the grace of dancers, as if the hurricane winds were nothing more than a light summer breeze.

"Why the hell are they taking such a risk just to catch us?" Rafael shouted over the roar of the storm. "There’s nothing valuable on board! And whatever we do find, they’d rather sink it than let us keep it!"
Mike, standing beside him, merely shrugged, rain dripping from his long black hair.

Rafael scowled. None of this made sense. Why were the elves so persistent? It almost felt like they had been waiting for them. Were they patrolling the area? Had they already known the amulet’s location? No, that couldn't be—if they had known its whereabouts, they would have claimed it long ago.

No… their movements suggested something else. They weren’t after the amulet. They were after them.
For now, the elves were falling behind, unwilling to risk their safety in the storm. As the hours passed, the gap between them grew wider. Against all odds, their ship held together—though they had lost two more men, swept overboard by monstrous waves.

Under normal circumstances, Rafael would have turned back for them. But with the elves at their heels, stopping meant certain death for everyone aboard. He had heard too many stories of what happened to humans captured by elves. Some were enslaved, others executed on sight—deemed unworthy of sharing the same world.

He would rather drown than become a slave.
The storm eventually began to wane. The wind softened into a steady breeze, perfect for their sails. The ship cut through the waves with increasing speed, and for a brief moment, it almost seemed as if they had a chance.

Mike knelt at the ship’s edge, speaking softly to the fish swimming beneath the surface. His ability to commune with animals was their only way of navigating these uncharted waters. After a few tense minutes, he returned, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Rafael… we’re close. We should be able to dive in the next ten minutes."

Rafael clenched his jaw. "And what about the crew?" he whispered back, careful that no one else overheard them. "The elves will slaughter them. Or worse."

Mike hesitated, his face clouded with uncertainty. "I don’t like it either, but if we’re fast enough, we can use the amulet to save them. If the stories are true."

"If." The word weighed heavily in Rafael’s mind.

"You know this is our only chance," Mike pressed. "If we don’t go now, we’ll be captured either way. And have you seen their ship? That’s no ordinary elven vessel. There has to be a noble aboard—maybe even royalty."

Rafael’s stomach twisted.

Elven nobles were the worst.

There were countless rumors about what they did to humans—none of them pleasant. Rafael had never seen an elf before today, but even now, watching them from a distance, he could tell they were different from anything he had ever encountered.

Their long, golden hair barely stirred in the wind, as if the storm itself dared not touch them. Every movement was unnervingly fluid, too precise, too elegant. They wore pristine white uniforms, likely worth more than Rafael’s entire ship—a ship he had spent years building, even with the crown’s financial support.

He had expected pirates. He had not expected this.

There was no land in sight. No islands, no reefs—only the endless, abyssal depths beneath them. But Rafael trusted Mike’s abilities. He doubted the fish had lied.

"Captain! What do we do?" One of the crewmen, working the ropes of the mainmast, called out. "The elves are catching up fast!"

Rafael inhaled sharply. He needed to be careful. Too many had heard the question. Too many were watching, waiting for him to have a way out.

He almost laughed at the irony. He did have a way out—tattooed onto his own skin. The stolen rune would let him breathe underwater for an hour.

But it wouldn’t help the crew.

And he wasn’t sure how much of the special ink Mike had left.

He had to decide.

Now.

"We hold our course and pick up speed if possible. There's no other choice—and I refuse to be captured by the elves."

Rafael spoke loudly enough for most of the crew to hear, his voice carrying over the wind and waves. The situation was dire, but there was nothing more he could do for them. It wasn’t his fault the elves had been waiting for them.

The hours passed in tense silence, broken only by the creaking of the ship and the crash of waves against the hull. Rafael kept glancing over his shoulder, his unease growing with each glance. The elves were closing in—far faster than they should have been. Magic. It had to be magic.

Then his stomach dropped.

One of the elves leaped from their ship, soaring through the air before landing on the ocean’s surface as if it were solid ground. Without hesitation, the elf sprinted across the water, moving with terrifying speed toward them.

"Mike!" Rafael shouted, panic creeping into his voice. "How much longer until we can dive?"

"It’s hard to say, but we definitely need more time!" Mike yelled back, his own fear evident as he, too, spotted the elf approaching.

"Everyone—ready for battle! They’re coming!" Rafael roared.

The crew scrambled, hands reaching for weapons, bodies bracing against the howling wind. The ship groaned as Rafael adjusted their course, trying to squeeze every bit of speed from the sails.
It wouldn’t be enough.

More elves leaped from their ship, landing effortlessly on the water. They advanced in perfect unison, their long white cloaks billowing behind them, unbothered by the storm.

The crew knew they were doomed. Elves were faster, stronger, and centuries more experienced. And then there was their magic. Rafael had hoped—prayed—that the soldier the crown had placed on board might be a mage. But even if he was, it wouldn’t be enough.

Their only weapons were swords, bows, and a single ballista Rafael had built himself. It didn’t work. He had installed it more as a bluff than anything, hoping it would deter pirates. It wouldn’t help them now.
"Rafael, are you insane? We have to run!" Mike hissed from his side. "If we fight, it’s over—we’ll never make it to the ruins!"

"And where do you suggest we run?" Rafael shot back, his grip tightening on the wheel. "We’re in the middle of the ocean. You said we still need time to reach the dive site!"

Mike clenched his jaw. "We’re minutes away! Just don’t get into close combat—keep them at a distance. Use arrows. If they board us, that’s when we disappear."

Before Rafael could respond, a crewman let out a strangled cry.

A second later, he was thrown backward, an invisible force slamming him against the deck.

Rafael’s head snapped toward the elves. They were weaving symbols in the air with their fingers, their lips moving in silent incantations. Another crewman was launched skyward. His body hit the mast with a sickening crack before collapsing into the mainsail. He didn’t move.

"That’s it—we’re leaving!" Mike screeched, already darting toward the ship’s edge.
Rafael wasn’t ready to retreat just yet. He yanked his bow from his back, nocking an arrow in one smooth motion. He loosed it, then another, both aimed at the elf who had just cast a spell.

The elf barely reacted. With unnatural speed, he twisted out of the way, the arrows slicing past harmlessly.
We’re not going to make it.

Rafael cursed, flinging the bow aside and sprinting after Mike. Together, they vaulted over the railing, plunging into the freezing depths below.