[ATTENTION!

THIS IS A SECTION OF THE PROLOGUE. EVENTS THAT OCCUR IN THIS CHAPTER GIVE CONTEXT TO SOME FUTURE EVENTS IN THE STORY, BUT IT IS NOT IMPORTANT TO START READING WITH THIS CHAPTER. ALL THE EVENTS THAT UNFOLD IN THIS CHAPTER ARE LEGENDS IN THE MAIN STORY.]

A breath, resonant and thunderous like the bellow of a titan, emanated from the giant dragon's maw as it confronted the puny human figure. Struggling on all fours, Ea weakly raised his gaze to meet the piercing stare of his colossal visitor. The immense carnelian orbs, marked with dark reptilian slits, locked onto the castaway's astonished eyes, which now glowed with a mysterious power. In that intense moment, a silent communion unfolded between the feeble man and the guardian of the deep. To the discerning eye, the imposing dragon exhibited a slight shudder, a fleeting tremor likely attributed to the frigid temperature of the sea—certainly not stemming from fear or apprehension. Any mention of this shudder would be expunged from official accounts of this encounter in the future.

"Jun'er, is that you?" Ea croaked. "Damn brat! What in the world are you trying to do—finish the job? Drown the drowning? Get your ass down here, you little hoodlum, or I'll strangle you with your whiskers!"

The colossal serpent dragon's form bowed its head as it dissolved into an ethereal phantasm. From the space where the head once loomed, a young boy descended like a swift arrow. His glacial white hair, surpassing the length of his body, flowed behind him like a majestic cape caught in the wind, partially shrouding the golden dragon insignia on the back of his soggy white robes and blood-red hanfu. The wet thud of damp clothes hitting the raft echoed into the distance, dispelling any lingering notions the man had about the scene being a mere hallucination. With a sigh of relief, Ea slumped onto the raft, and the celestial shell above silently crumbled, enveloping the two in darkness once again.

Jun surveyed Ea's wretched state, his eyes reflecting a blend of empathy and appreciation. Taking a slight calming breath, a rather punchable smirk crept onto his face, though it held more hints of mischief than malice. "You look about as good as a beaten dog!" he declared with a touch of playful exuberance, extending his drenched albino arm in greeting. Then, with very deliberate intent, he vigorously shook his long hair dry, drenching the man in even more ichor.

Ea wiped his face dry with his dirty sleeve, a wide grin spreading across his weather-beaten features. Not even all the ichor in that wretched sea could dampen his spirits at this moment. "I've had better days," he agreed with a heavy chuckle, "but you're still ten thousand years too young to call me a dog. Have your scales even grown in yet?"

"My adult scales sprouted a hundred years ago!" Jun shouted defensively, his shoulders drooping as his confidence wavered under the weight of Ea's ridiculing remark.

Ea nodded in understanding, "as I thought, barely a hatchling."

Jun sighed in defeat as he slumped down next to Ea. For a time, they sat together in silence, two solitary travelers on a mournful vessel adrift in the sea of despair. Then, breaking the silence, Ea spoke up.

"Tell me, where are the others? How many survived this disaster? Is there a place the flood hasn't reached?" Ea's urgency was palpable, his hope shining brightly in his gaze as he leaned forward, seeking some light in the endless darkness.

"You're seeking answers, and I don't have them, Ea'ge. My father sent me over here while he and the dukes cleaned up the mess in Arcadia. I'm just here to monitor the flood's movements and search for survivors. You're the first living thing I've found out here." Jun admitted with a heavy-hearted shrug.

"The flood has even reached the beast realm in the western wilds?" Ea asked with a desolate and heavy tone, his gaze shifting towards the west as if he sought the answer within its depths.

Jun looked sullenly at the sea and responded to the question with one of his own: "How can something unleash such destruction even in death? What kind of being harbors such toxic blood?" he said gloomily. His gaze lingered on the crimson-tinged waves, searching for answers in the bloody fluid.

As if summoned by the lament, the darkened sky above crackled with distant echoes of thunder. Sensing a shift in the air, Jun craned his head skyward, his eyes tracing an approaching disturbance. "I think your answers may have actually arrived, Ea'ge." Ea's eyes followed the direction of Jun's gaze, a surge of relief intertwining with a budding sense of hope and anticipation.

Thunder boomed, and the dark cloud layer glowed a bright violet. An explosion rocked the world, and a streak of purple lightning tore a hole in the clouds, allowing a stream of amethyst light to streak across the heavens. The light from the blue sky above revealed a minuscule glowing figure rapidly expanding as it hurtled towards the raft. A sonic boom echoed as the enigmatic silhouette tore through the air, gracefully landing in a kneeling posture on the raft. His ebony braids clashed with his black outer robes, billowing in the wind with an air of mystique. The world was thrown into upheaval by the elegant man's entrance; a tempest of wind, saturated with the amethyst energy he radiated, trailed for miles in his wake. However, while the world quaked, the raft remained a placid island, the collective strength of the trio aboard shaping and calming their immediate surroundings. The wind's newfound hue cast an ethereal glow on the scene as the elegant figure sat down heavily, still maintaining perfect posture but visibly drained.

"Told you," the boy said, shaking his head in helpless amusement, a wry smile playing on his lips as he appraised the elegant man's dramatic entrance.