The Seventh Voyage

Chapter 3 Mystery

Beyond the bustle of the wet market, the setting sun beats down heavily on the crashing waters and its golden-blessed sand.

Waves came; at times receding into the deep, vast ocean, and at times, growing onto the golden shore.

Each time they rolled in, the crests of white would take home the shore's offerings; from seashells to seaweed, to earth's golden treasure.

Yet, the seemingly peaceful beach was currently a refuge to a soul in much distress.

Having lost the fight with the assassins, Gap Soo, Captain Jeongjo's second mate, had been saved by a pile of sand that made him invisible to the untrained eyes.

A pile of sand shifted ever so slightly, for the man it had saved was finally coming to.

Somewhere, the lulling waves continued to crash against the ocean's seabeds, creating a clashing symphony of harmonic peace against the squawking seagulls and sweeping sand.

It would have been easy to get lost in those sounds, had a hacking cough not disrupted the order of nature.

Bit by bit, Gap Soo dug himself out of the sand, gradually regaining the senses that had become dormant in his unconsciousness.

There was an almost unpleasant burning in his throat, as though he was breathing fire when the human body wasn't made for it. His nose felt dry too, although what truly nagged at his consciousness wasn't his physical discomfort. Rather, Gap Soo had questions.

How long has he been out?

Has it been days, weeks, or dare he say, months?

Shaking his head, Gap Soo reasoned that that wasn't possible. He must have lost a week at most, judging by the growth of his facial hair. Even so, that wasn't what mattered.

Where was Captain Jeongjo?

The last he remembered, the Captain had been next to him. They had been fighting...

They had been fighting...him.

Mental images infiltrated Gap Soo's mind then, forcing him to shut his eyes as he stumbled from the gravity of his thoughts.

The shadow assassins...

Blood...blood of his mates splattering around him.

Clashes of metal against metal; swords designed to kill.

Their Captain grunting as he slammed into a tree...

A flash of silver...the numbness in his heart, his panic-fuelled mind as he stumbled, his desperate shout for salvation.

The gruesomely raised skin concentrated around an all too familiar symbol.

That symbol.

It was him. He was sure it was him.

Eul Soo.

"How can this be?" Gap Soo gasped before he spluttered as another cough tore at his throat.

Pounding his chest, Gap Soo bent over the waves that were brushing against his knees, soaking the cloth that had been ripped at its threads. Summoning the rest of his strength, Gap Soo fought to contain the urge to cough again as he wiped his lips harshly.

And then he stood, propping himself up using a stick beside him. Stable now, Gap Soo walked into the sea, until he was knee-deep in the rising waters. Not once did his gaze fall towards the waters, rather, determination was set upon his brows as he gazed upon the open horizons where only pirates exist.