The sun peeks shyly over the horizon, casting a soft, orange hue across the coast. The waves brush the sand ever so softly, carried by a gentle breeze. The seagulls chirp as if they are singing to welcome the new day. It is a peaceful morning, but it won’t last long; it never does. Peace is an interlude between chaos, from one turmoil to another. Fifteen years ago, when the war started. Five, when Lucius drafted himself into the meatgrinder. The war has ended, supposedly. But the news, as always, carries bad news; nations overseas had formed a coalition against them, against the Imperium. And so, the war continues when it was supposed to end.

Lucius stands there, watching over the coast. His blue eyes are looking over the horizon, as if he could see far beyond the vast ocean. The gentle breeze blows his blonde hair behind, refreshing and peaceful. He had never paid much attention to this … peacefulness before, he realizes. Next to him is Marius, his childhood friend. They grew up together like a sibling in that small town, Lacustira, before it was ravaged during the war. His blue eyes are looking over the horizon as well, but his mind is somewhere else.

“You know, my father doesn’t believe that there were other nations overseas,” Marius says, breaking the silence between them. A half-smile on his face as he glances at Lucius. “Said it was just another lie made by the Senate Council.”

Lucius glances at him, a chuckle comes out of his mouth. “Can’t blame him, can’t we?” He asks back. “None of us has ever seen what it is like beyond the sea.”

The sea is vast and endless from the coast. Maybe the navy would have seen something else but saltwater out there. Though he doubts it, neither of them ever receives a report of anything from beyond the sea, only last week when the news announces that the war had not ended yet.

A beat of silence, then “If they were real, what do you think they would look like?” Marius asks again, crossing his hands on his chest. A faint smile crosses his face as he glances at Lucius again.

“Who?”

“Them, from beyond the sea, will they have gills? Or maybe pointy ears?”

Lucius falls silent for a moment; he had never seen ‘them’ either. “Maybe,” replies. A small laugh escapes his lips before he adds, “Maybe they can fly and would fly across the ocean.”

Marius laughs at his response. He looks at the massive coastal guns beside them. It is so big that it would require three or four adult men stacked on top of each other to match its height. It is painted in a greenish olive color, with a large “021” painted on its side, a serial number or some sort. It is their home; they have spent the last 3 years of the war manning it. They have scored several kills with it, including a destroyer and a battleship.

Silence ensues between them again, but then. “Do you miss our home?” Lucius asks, changing the topic suddenly.

They grew up next to each other, they share the same hometown, the same treehouse, and the same lake to swim in. But that ‘home’ had been reduced to ruin, and their families had been evacuated to a different city long ago.

It takes a second too long for Marius to respond. “Of course, Luci,” he replies. “That home may be nothing but ruins now, but it remains in our heart.”

Lucius laughs for a bit after the somewhat poetic response. “How poetic,” He replies sarcastically, hitting Marius on his shoulder before he turns around and walks toward the ladder of the coastal gun.

“I do want to become a poet! But the war calls for brave men.”

“A poet? Ha! your poem sucks, Marci, you fit here better”

“Better than yours,” Marius replies with a chuckle before climbing the ladder as well.

The sun rises higher, its light glinting off the vast sea, endless, twice the width of any ocean either of them could imagine. The war was meant to end this year, after fifteen long years of bloodshed. But if the whispers of a new enemy beyond the waves are true, this is no ending, just a breath before the next storm.

A short snippet of story I made!
I plan to write longer stories based on this fictional universe. This is like a first small step for me since I never wrote much stories before lol

Idea came after editing the image, probably the best image I have taken/edited.
Link to the creation in the image: Colossus of Rhea