Ball of Nothing

Chapter 602: Man of Sea (2)

Zero and Truen progressed at different speeds under Ottley's tutoring. The doctor struggled with floating while Truen found it hard to keep himself underwater for more than ten seconds, even after Zero taught him the underwater breathing skill.

Nobody felt the urgency more than Truen about his slow progress. The sea otter captain was kind enough to never pressurise them. In fact, the entire otter village was very supportive. The community often gave him small encouragement when they saw him, and some gave him pointers to help him overcome the fear of water.

"As a land dweller born and raised in the forest, seeing a huge body of water can be intimidating," Docky admitted over dinner.

The two of them decided to drink as Zero excused himself to check on Marissa's progress. The shipwright struggled with treating the undead wood after finding out how it was constantly making them feel lethargic. Truen left the investigation to Bob and Zero. He was far too depressed to manage anything more.

Truen chugged his ale and let the alcohol burn his oesophagus. It was strange how alcohol burned more than seawater running up his nose, but it didn't scare him. Truen couldn't understand why this was happening. By logic, it shouldn't be difficult to think of swimming as bathing in a huge lake. Truen actually knew how to swim a little. It wasn't difficult to move in water as it was similar to moving in the air or zero gravity.

"I cannot understand why the sea terrifies me so," Truen hiccuped. "It's not very different from diving into a huge lake or bathing in a river."

Docky chuckled. Logically, it wasn't all that different. However, the sea was a mysterious place with danger lurking infinitely. Nobody knew what fate the sea had for them. Even the most knowledgeable sailors will find themselves lost. Even the most skillfully built ship can become a shipwreck at the drop of a hat. Sea monsters who terrorise the waters can find themselves becoming hunted by a bigger sea terror. Dealing with this kind of unknown without a sense of security is not for everyone. Unlike his doctor pal, the archer looked like a very down-to-earth and meticulous person. It was odd to say that of the two, Zero gave off a slightly more reckless and chaotic vibe, unthinkable for someone of his occupation.

"You might see it that way," Docky agreed. "However, your heart disagrees. It doesn't see it in the same way your mind sees it. Our wise ancestors often said that the sea was a reflection of one's heart. For some, it was the representation of freedom. For some, it was an adventure full of untold stories waiting to be discovered. For others, it was a representation of their feelings. You need to understand how you view the sea before you can challenge it."

Hearing Docky's reply, Truen looked into his empty mug. What was the sea Zero that saw? Why was he able to dive into it so readily? What was it that Zero had, which Truen lacked?

Was it courage? Truen shook his head. They both had courage. It didn't matter what sort of danger they faced. They would never turn their backs and run.

Was it knowledge? Truen doubted it. There were many things that they didn't know about, but that never stopped them from wanting to learn or find out the truth for themselves. There will always be things to learn, even for Gods.

The wood elf sat there for a long time to think, even after Docky left for bed. The stars above gave him no answers as they continued to twinkle away. Frustrated by the obstacle he couldn't overcome, Truen decided to walk back to the sea after leaving Zero a message that he needed some alone time.

The sand beneath Truen's sandals sank when he stepped on it. Every step forward felt like he had to put in more effort than the last. In the end, the wood elf decided to remove his sandals and walk barefooted along the edge where the water met the sand. The tiny grains of sand got in between his toes, some even into his nails as he walked. The occasional sea debris washed up to the shore, and Truen wondered why Zero and Bob liked walking barefooted on the beach. He couldn't get used to this feeling of stepping on the bodies of things that were once alive in the ocean.

The sound of waves crashing onto the shore lazily during the low tide was relaxing. Compared to their training during the day when the waves appeared larger than them, trying to swallow the land where they convened, Truen found this side of the sea more likeable.

He stood at the edge of where the waves stopped. They didn't cover above his ankles, and Truen looked at the water receding into the distance under the blue moonlight. As the water retreated, it took some of the sand from beneath Truen's feet with it. The archer didn't move from his spot, waiting for the next wave to come along. He was curious to know if the sea would take all the sand from under his feet if he didn't move and bury him deep within the earth.

For almost fifteen minutes, Truen didn't move from his spot. The sea continued taking sand from beneath his heel. However, that wasn't everything. As the sea pulled and pushed, it also carried some other things onto the shore that Truen never realised before. While sand was getting pulled from under his heel, the sea pushed sand, shells and sometimes seaweed on top of his toes.

"What a curious system," Truen thought as he stood still. The water was cold initially, but it was starting to feel comfortable after standing in it for a while.

On impulse, Truen took one step towards the incoming wave. It was just one step, but already, Truen could feel the difference. Here, the pull of the water was stronger. It reached above his ankles, and Truen finally understood what he saw in the sea.

As an immortal, Truen thought that he wouldn't be afraid of death. It shouldn't be possible. After all, he was hanging out with the person born from the void. However, the sea made him remember the time when his soul was lost in the void. It was a horrible experience, and it took him so long to realise the unresolved trauma. Looking at this mass body of water full of the unknown, Truen remembered his uncertain future and helplessness.

"Truen!" a faint voice called from a distance, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Far in the distance, Truen saw Zero running towards him, with Bob following not far behind.

He waited for Zero to reach him as he stood unmoving. Having Zero come to him instead of him chasing after Zero was an odd feeling. For the longest time, Truen thought he needed to play the role of a protector. Now, he wondered who was truly protecting whom.

"Truen! How can you sneakily practise without me! I can't believe you snuck away to get a head start on me! How could you!"

Bob facepalmed. Leave it to Zero to come to such a conclusion. Yet, he expressed concern from behind his raging master. The wood elf had such a lost expression, and the dragon didn't know what would happen if they didn't meet with him. Was he suicidal?

"You know that you can tell us when you're struggling with something, right?" Bob said. "You don't have to keep everything to yourself."

When Zero heard how Bob snatched the chance from him, he gaped. He shouldn't have told the dragon about how glad he was that Truen wasn't the incredibly perfect creation with no flaws and how happy he was to be able to help Truen in something he wasn't good at! That sneaky credit-stealing dragon... Zero will add extra ingredients to his food tomorrow!

Nothing Zero or Bob said registered in Truen's head. The wood elf was surprised that the sinking feeling from earlier disappeared as soon as he heard Zero call out to him. He stared at them for a very long time, enjoying the lull of the waves without the dreadful feeling in the pit of his stomach for the first time.