Long ago, a boy lived by the sea in a fishing village just like any other. He would spend his days swimming in the crystal blue water and staring off idly into the distance waiting for a catch to come in. In those days, that was the best life that you could hope for. A peaceful, quiet coexistence with the sea.

The sea was all he and his family ever knew, and ever needed to know. The boy couldn't remember the last time he had a meal that didn't come from the sea in some way or another. To some within the village, the sea was even regarded as sacred for this very reason. The boy remembered, once, when he was young, sitting by the beachside and letting a little boat with a mirror atop float off into the distance. He knew it had something to do with this "sacredness", but it had never really made sense to him.

That day had always been peculiar for the boy. Even though he was barely old enough to speak for himself, he remembered it in perfect clarity. He remembered that his father hadn't taken his brothers out to fish that morning, and they had all opted to stay home. Instead, he had brought the whole family out to the shore, and given each of them that strange little boat. His father had told him not to look up at the sky. He knew, even at that age, that looking at the sun hurt his eyes very much, but his father made sure to remind him multiple times today for some reason.

Even still, the boy snuck a glance or two. The sun looked strange, but he still didn't understand what could cause all this commotion. Then, he heard the crowd gathered around the beach mumbling, and the sky went dark. It was almost as if it had become night in an instant. He felt his father tapping his shoulder, and he urged him and his brother to put their boats into the water. He watched what must've been a hundred boats drift out into the sudden darkness, and as suddenly as the darkness began, it ended. The day had returned in full force, and the boy felt a little disoriented.

All of the boats reflected the sudden radiance, and the boy watched as a hundred flimsy stars drifted across the shifting sea. The crowd fell silent, and despite the entire village being there, the only thing he could hear was the gentle lapping of the waves across the sand, and the faint whistle of the wind through the trees. He stood there for what felt like hours, until he felt his mother tug on his hand, leading him back up the path to the village. He begged her to stay, but she told him they had to be back before dark for dinner.

The boy had always struggled to forget that day. To dismiss it and let it blur between the lazy days at sea he had become so accustomed to as he grew older. He did his best to ask around, to find out anything more, but no one his age seemed to know any more than he did, and his parents were of no use. They just told him it was a special day, and it would come around again eventually. As the boy matured, their responses became more and more disinterested. Eventually, the boy had enough. After all, he wasn't too far from being a man. Just a good four or five years shy. So he began to question anyone he thought might know something about that day.

After being told off more than a few times, he found an elderly woman who was willing to at least humor him. She told him that what he remembered was called The Flicker. It was an event held very rarely. In fact, for as long as she had lived, it had only been celebrated five times. Perking up at this, the boy eagerly asked her the next time it would be held. The woman frowned, and told him that though the sun would darken once more in a few weeks, not a single little boat would float across the water.

She explained mournfully that The Flicker was not just a local tradition. The last time The Flicker was held, in a village just South of where the boy stood, it had ended horrifically. The boats had attracted the attention of a beast, and the village fell to ruin. Friends of many years drew blades against each other on a whim. Women walked into the sea haphazardly, as if the water wasn't even there, claiming they had heard something. Men set their own families home ablaze, or hacked it apart altogether. It seemed as if, in an instant, many had lost their mind.

Worse still, those that hadn't lost their mind and took up arms against the beast had only ended up worse. None returned in a recognizable state. Less than men, resembling more the beast they had aimed to slay than anything else. As the woman continued on, the boy only got more and more horrified, but even more, he felt a sense of injustice. A terrible pit in his stomach had begun to form. While he witnessed the most beautiful sight of his life, an entire village died at the hand of this beast.

The woman told him it would be best if he just forgot about The Flicker altogether. His parents were just trying to protect him from the truth, but now that he was old enough to know, he shouldn't go messing with it. But the boy was determined. He would go out and fashion a boat to the best of his ability for the next Flicker, and lure out the monster once and for all. Then, he would kill it, just the same way his father had shown him to kill any other sea creature. No matter how big the creature might be, a well placed spear would do the trick.

So when the sky began to darken, the boy came to the water with a metal spear his father kept by the bedside, as well as his own little boat with a mirror atop. While it was a far cry craftsmanship wise from any that he had seen that fateful day, he hoped it would do the trick. This time, his experience was profoundly more... disappointing. He sat patiently, watching as the light once again reflected off the boat, but it had none of the impact it had on him before. Of course, he still glared at as if transfixed, waiting for his imagined monster to emerge from the sea. Eventually, eyes watering from staring at the light, he sat down to rub his eyes. He was remarkably disappointed to say the least, and began to feel dumb for even beginning to think any of this made any sense. The old woman had probably just been messing with him, or perhaps she had simply lost her mind.

Just as doubt had began to set in, the boy saw it. Emerging from the water, for a split second, a mass of tentacles erupted from beneath the previously calm waves. They were unlike anything the boy had ever seen, but just as he began to understand the creature, and ready his spear, he was left speechless. The tendrils continued to unfurl, almost like a titanic ball of yarn. This was certainly not like any squid he had seen before, but his dread would only continue to deepen. The hulking, impossible structure continued to rise above the water, until the point it became clear that it was only a part of a larger, serpent-like being. The boat was long gone, and the creature cast a shadow that almost mimicked that of the brief night brought on by the sun. The boy was no expert at hunting, but he knew against such a being, he stood no chance.

So, leaving the spear behind, he set off to run. To his horror, he found, though every last drop of his being compelled him to run, he couldn't even bring himself to lift his feet. He stood at the shore as he watched the beast contort itself in a circular motion, as if it was analyzing its surroundings. It made a few rounds in this manner, until, much to the boys' dismay, it stopped. The top of the creature was pointed almost directly at him. He watched, petrified, as the tentacles began to writhe. He felt his feet move, but he had no say in the matter. He tried to scream for help, but he was only met with a sharp pain in his head and a shut mouth.

He tried his hardest to resist, but he had become a spectator in his own body. He felt step after step march him towards the shore, until he began to be submerged. He wasn't even granted the privilege of holding his own breath as the depth steadily increased. He tried to look around desperately, for any way to escape, but he found that he had lost even the control of his own eyes. He couldn't even look down, the boy could only feel the water rise. First past his ankles, then his knees, then his waist. Then, all the way up to his chest. The boy felt like he couldn't even think anymore as he approached the beast, as if his very mind was suppressed.

Eventually, with the water dancing at the edge of his vision, he began to accept his fate with the last bit of thought he could muster. He felt like an idiot for even beginning to think he could take on such a creature, and felt terrified for his village. Hopefully, the beast's hunger and curiosity would be slaked after consuming him, and it would return to the sea. That is the very best he could hope for. As he felt his very mind begin to fail, he saw something bubbling up from the water. Not only that, the water changed from a clear blue to flickering between a yellowish and green hue.

At first, he thought it some kind of hallucination, brought on by the creature. However, he then felt the sea itself stiffen and change altogether. It almost felt more solid than liquid, and he noticed his body had stopped. He saw the colors spread out, closer and closer to the creature. He noticed he felt significantly less tense, and while still unable to run, he was able to turn his head to look around. The water was being changing at a rapid rate, and seemed to be headed directly for the beast. Just a hundred feet or so shy of the shifting colors reaching the creature, he watched the beast instantly submerge. The colossal mass crashed into the water, causing massive waves to rise. He watched the waves sluggishly coalesce into the changed water, before petering out shortly after. The creature, seemingly, was gone.

The boy was free to move, if somewhat uncomfortably, out of the bizarre slush-like water. His heart was racing, but he was just as confused as he was terrified. He had seen many impossibilities today, but he had only seen one miracle. Without the sudden transmutation of the water, not only would he have died, he could've taken the whole village with him. He would've been responsible for hundreds of deaths, all because he wanted to play hero. He decided the best thing he could do at this point was pretend none of this ever happened, and return to his family. Perhaps he would spear a few fish and head back. It would make a convincing enough story, he wasn't the best at spearfishing, so falling into the ocean wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility. It might even get a laugh or two.

So the boy looked around to reclaim his spear, and saw a robed figure not far from him on the shore. He noticed the figure seemed to be holding something, and was drawing nearer to the boy. The boy cried out to the figure, asking who he was, but was met with no response. Whoever it was simply advanced on, until they were within a few feet of the boy.

The man was clad in robes that entirely covered his face, as well as most of his body. The man walked up to the boy with a somewhat odd gait. It reminded him of how his grandfather walked when he first got his wooden leg a little, but much more graceful. The man held out the boy's spear before him, and the boy reluctantly took it. The boy thanked him for returning his spear, and the man nodded. The man seemed remarkably unbothered by the events that had just transpired. The boy asked him what his name was.

The man didn't answer, and began to creep towards the shore. The boy reluctantly followed, curious about what he could be doing. Despite the man's strange disposition and unfamiliar clothes, this was presumably the man who had saved his life. He wanted to ask him a few questions, and make sure he knew he was grateful. He watched awkwardly as the man reached into his robes, and took out a vial. The boy asked what he was doing, and received a single word response in a hushed voice that was just above a whisper: "Alchemy". Then, he poured the vial into the sea. It seemed to return to its original state, losing the colorful appearance and slowly returning to its wavy, fluid consistency. Before the boy could ask him a single other question, he saw the man put his hand into the robes, and the boy swore he could hear a faint click. Then, the man disappeared.

The boy was mesmerized, but decided that was more than enough for today. He ran back to the village with the spear, and returned to his family as if nothing had happened. He went on with his life, swimming in the crystal blue water and staring off idly into the distance waiting for a catch to come in. Nobody would believe him even if he dared to speak up. He felt reassured, however, that even if a creature like that exists out in the seas, someone would be around to protect him from it.