Prologue

The sea appeared calm on the surface, but it churned violently beneath. A man stood on an old, rusty railway, too decrepit for any train. This railway, the sole structure amid the turbulent sea, stretched to the horizons in both directions.

The man, dressed in a thick black coat, looked down at the boiling sea.

"No fish rising," he said. "How can I retrieve it?"

"Retrieve what?" a voice asked.

The man looked beside him to find a woman standing a few meters away. It was strange; he was supposed to be the only one here.

"Who are you, and how did you get here?" the man asked.

"I don't know... I just woke up there." The woman pointed to the rails behind her. "I don't remember anything. Can you help me?"

"What's your name?" he asked.

"I don't remember..." the woman said, fidgeting with her fingers.

"Then there's nothing I can do for you," the man replied. "Do whatever you want—go that way or the other. But whatever you do, don't jump into the sea. You will die."

"You know what, I'll seek help elsewhere," the woman said, walking away.

"Stupid man," she muttered under her breath as she left.

"Good—" the man began to say, but suddenly the structure holding the railway shook violently. The man remained calm, but the woman fell, hitting her head on a rail.

"What was that?" the woman screamed, trying to compose herself.

"It's waking up," the man said with a soft giggle. "The stone, it's waking up."

"What stone?" the woman asked, slowly limping towards the man.

"The dark elixir stone," he replied.