CHAPTER 01: The Ocean’s Call

The waves crashed restlessly against the shore as Xing stood barefoot in the sand, her fists clenched at her sides. Moonlight shimmered across the water, and the salty wind tugged at her hair. But instead of comfort, the ocean filled her with rage.

“Why did you take them?” she screamed, her voice breaking as it vanished into the roar of the tide. “Why my parents? Why me?”

The sea gave no answer. It never did.

Xing’s throat tightened as memories clawed their way back — memories of being the lonely girl at school, the one everyone whispered about. She’s the weird one who talks to the ocean. Her classmates’ laughter echoed in her mind, cruel and sharp. Even Irian, her only friend, couldn’t shield her from the constant sting of being different.

But deep down, it wasn’t the bullies that hurt the most. It was the emptiness left behind by her parents. The ones who vanished into these very waters when she was just a baby. Her grandmother always told her, “They went sailing and will come back soon.” Xing had believed it once. Not anymore.

The ocean had stolen them. And tonight, she wanted answers.

Her chest heaved as tears blurred her vision. She stumbled forward until the icy foam curled around her ankles. “Give them back!” she shouted. “If you’re alive—if you can hear me—please… answer me!”

Then, the air shifted.

Behind her, a faint glow flickered, spilling across the sand. She spun around, heart pounding. A swirling portal shimmered into existence, its edges rippling like water caught in moonlight. The glow pulsed with strange energy, and the night fell eerily silent as though the world itself was holding its breath.

Xing froze. Fear gripped her chest, but something deeper stirred beneath it—an instinct, a pull. And then, through the hum of the portal, she heard it.

A voice. Soft. Familiar.

“Xing…”

Her breath caught. It was impossible. Yet the sound was like an echo from the past, like a memory she had never lived but always longed for.

“Mom?” she whispered.

Her body trembled as she stepped closer. Logic screamed at her to run. But her heart—the same heart that had ached for twenty long years—urged her forward. If there was even the smallest chance that her parents were on the other side, she couldn’t walk away.

Taking one last breath of the salty night air, Xing crossed the threshold.

Through the Fog

Darkness swallowed her instantly. Thick, suffocating fog wrapped around her body, damp and cold. She couldn’t even see her own hands. Panic clawed at her chest, but she forced herself to keep moving.

Somewhere ahead, a faint thread of light shimmered. She fixed her gaze on it and walked, each step echoing in the silence. The light grew brighter, until it revealed the edge of a mountain cliff. Below stretched an endless sea of mist, and strange shapes shifted within it, just out of sight.

A flicker of silver caught her eye. A butterfly, glowing with ethereal light, fluttered through the fog and circled her head. It hovered just out of reach, as if guiding her. Entranced, she followed—until she stumbled upon something even stranger.

A creature stood in her path. Its body resembled a giant mushroom, its eyes glowing softly like twin stars. It tilted its head curiously, sniffing at the air before gazing directly at her.

Xing’s breath hitched. Fear prickled at her skin, but the creature’s eyes weren’t threatening—they were… gentle. Slowly, hesitantly, she stretched out her hand. The creature leaned forward and gave her fingers a soft lick. Warmth flooded through her chest, chasing away the fear.

For the first time since entering this strange world, Xing felt safe.

“I’m Xing,” she whispered, her voice trembling but steady.

The creature let out a chirp, almost like an introduction of its own. Then, turning, it began to walk into the fog, pausing to glance back at her.

An invitation.

Hope flared in Xing’s heart. Whatever lay ahead, she had taken her first step into a new world.

And her journey had only just begun…..