Princess Qamari opened her eyes when the bright light faded away, her heart thumping rapidly in her chest as she cautiously surveyed her surroundings. She was still standing on the rafter and the trees, groves, and lotus umbrellas were stationed protectively around her. However, she was in the middle of a boundless black ocean with dark clouds and black thunder that rumbled dangerously as they obstructed the sun.
The ocean churned violently, pushing the rafter along as it aimlessly drifted in the sea. Shocked and frightened, Princess Qamari held tightly onto the golden sword as her eyes scanned her surroundings, silently screaming in her mind for this to be another memory fragment. Because if it was not, she was doomed.
Right at this moment, the thunder stopped and the clouds faded, the sunshine finally getting the opportunity to shine its radiance onto the dark world. And with the light, the bones appeared. Endless amounts of white bones blindingly glared out from the bed of the black ocean, their scattered sickening amount sending shivers down Princess Qamari's spine.
Her face turning bloodless, she covered her mouth to force back the scream rushing out her throat, horrified.
"Bones and darkness. Will the mangled flesh appear next?" She was terrified.
Without warning, a blast of power spread through her body, sending her along with the rafter, trees, groves, and lotus umbrellas into the depth of the sea of bones. Princess Qamari closed her eyes, numb and frozen with shock.
As her shock wore off, pain gripped her with stabbing, thorny hands. White agony crowded her vision, and violent tremors shook her body. The tremendous pressure of the ocean strained her senses, relentless and intensifying beyond her body's capacity to bear. She screamed, a ripping shriek of anguish, fear, and fury that reverberated with wild force through the sea. Surprisingly, the choking never came. She screamed underwater but did not choke, breathing as effortlessly in the sea as she did on land.
Before she could rejoice at the new discovery, the black lighting and dark clouds returned, covering the glow of the snow-white bones. A raging tempest marbled with blue, white, red, green, and violet lines of power took shape, forming a black hole in the midst of the skeletal bones. The black hole, as if awaiting Princess Qamari's appearance, stretched its jaws open to the limit, swallowing her with her small island whole.
A while later, the turbulent ocean restored its calm façade, the clouds and thunder dispersing.
Inside the black hole, Princess Qamari was unconscious inside a protective bubble on her little island. It floated along silently in the dark tunnel until a small light appeared in front, floating towards the light, it entered and got carried away by a powerful pulling force.
Princess Qamari woke with a start and nervously looked around. She found herself on the bottom of the sea inside a dome covering a sea island. The island was flourishing with verdant foliage and vegetation, tiny aquatic creatures like starfish, jellyfish, and seahorses swam around cheerfully, blowing iridescent bubbles out of their snouts. Plants in vibrant shades of purple, green, blue, red, and yellow swayed back and forth. Coral in neon hues of pink, orange and blue stretched like crooked fingers, reaching for the fish swimming around them. Shells of various shapes and sizes colored the white sand.
There was a primitive forest covering about 95 percent of the protected land, the ancient trees stretching into the surface of the sea as they blocked the sun and prevented sunlight from passing through the sea water. Roars and howls of many vicious beasts hiding within the sea forest resounded.
There were about a thousand other individuals in the clearing spread out in groups, each wearing strange clothing. The group themselves got to the island in various strange ways, getting swallowed by Shark Fin, School's of various magic fishes encircling, and or getting dragged through portals and holes by magician relatives. So on seeing Princess Qamari's peculiar entrance on a small island, they were curious for a short period, before losing interest and ignoring her completely as they excitedly whispered to their friends. The transport vehicle could not be used in the competition, so there was no need for them to concern themselves with a nameless individual.
After all, no matter the mode of transportation, everyone that arrived at this place were competitors that needed to be guarded against.
"Did you hear? The one of the great magicians' of the Seven Order will be accepting the winner of this year's competition as apprentice Marikeen." A young girl in pink animal fur coat remarked with shinning eyes.
"Seriously? Than does that not mean we will have to give our very best to come up top?" Another in glittering dress asked.
"Unfortunately, yes. This will be the first time that a Marikeen selection competition will take place in the Black Southern Seas of the Iris realm. To ensure victory, everyone will be fighting with teeth and nails. Moreover, there would also be the addition of wild beasts."
"Wild beasts too? Does that not mean that there will be deaths? Why is it so tough?" The girl asked with worried eyes.
"Of course it will be tough. Did you think it would be that easy to become the apprentice of a great magician of the Seven Order?" The animal fur coat girl replied with disdain.
"The Black Southern Seas? In the Iris realm? Does this mean that I am currently in the Southern Seas of the Zenom continent?" Princess Qamari's eyes widened with disbelief. Before today, she had only ever heard of and read about the Black Southern Sea in books. It was most widely known as the ocean of magic, because it was the source of magic in the Iris realm.
"They also said something about a magician selecting an apprentice. If I win this competition somehow, I will be able to become an apprentice to a great magician." Delight shimmering through her purple orbs.
Recalling the things she recently experienced, Princess Qamari's desire to become strong strengthened further. If she was strong, she did not need to fear anything. Besides, fear was equal to admitting defeat and she did not accept defeat in anyone's hand, even if the owner of that hand was fear itself.
At this moment, the crowd stirred restlessly as a middle-aged man in gray shirt and pants swept his gaze across the crowd until there was complete silence.
"As everyone here is aware, this competition was suggested by a great magician of the Seven Order in search for a prospect disciple. Everyone here should already know that the only rule of the competition is that there is no rule. You need to not only protect yourselves from your fellow humans, but also defend against wild beasts and insects. The last one standing will be the final champion. There is no specific time limit. Any questions?" The middle-aged man spoke as he walked back and forth in front of the kids.
Finding no questions, he gestured towards his helpers and the guards to make way for the group.
"The wild beasts in this forest are the most savage, vengeful, and dangerous of all the wild beasts you might have encountered so far in your lives. Remember to crush your emerald slips the moment you are no longer able to hold on. You can only succeed if you remain alive. Otherwise, good luck!" The middle-aged man gave one final warning, fling his hand showering bright dots of light onto the thousand individuals who immediately started disappearing one by one and departed without looking back.
And in less than 10 breaths of time, the clearing was emptied, signifying the start of the Marikeen selection competition.