THE SEA CURRENT still guided the old ship toward the western edge of the equator. Above it, a young man stretched his arm toward the setting sun. Like wheels and steering, the crashing waves followed Makka's hand as easily as parting water.

Makka widened his blue eyes, staring at the old ship while leaning against the front deck railing. Behind him, his male companion stood, watching Makka with crossed arms. Like a father watching his son dream, Taiga smiled proudly.

"I am a muscle MESS," Taiga said gently to the young man he had purchased just hours before. "I apologize for punching your stomach."

The young man, who had been looking at the sea ahead, suddenly turned his head. Remembering his father's words, Makka decided to say little to the A-Capital man behind him.

"Why did you say that?" Makka asked incredulously. "Aren't I just a dog?"

Hearing the young man's response, still full of distrust, Taiga was momentarily stunned. His eyes widened for a split second. But then, he smirked lightly, as though it was nothing.

"Isn't it fine to care for a dog?" Taiga asked rhetorically. "I'll assume you've forgiven me, Makka."

Makka ignored the man trying to act familiar. The young Arab was not about to waste his concentration on Taiga's chatter. The only thing on his mind was his mother—the one who had carried him with great effort and who he hadn't seen in a long time.

Refusing to give up on the response from the young man before him, Taiga walked up to Makka, who was directing the sea current with his muscular arm. The owner of the old ship leaned his back against the deck railing, right beside Makka.

"Makka, you're a MESS, right?" Taiga asked.

What's with this guy? Makka looked at Taiga cautiously. "None of your business."

Hearing Makka's curt response, Taiga suddenly laughed. The A-Capital man had to wipe his face, unable to contain the laughter that tickled his ribs.

"Only a fool wouldn't realize you're a MESS," Taiga laughed, facing Makka's blue eyes. "Look! You can even guide the sea currents with your hands."

Makka remained silent, even though Taiga was laughing at him. With a strong resolve, he didn't take his eyes off the goal he aimed to reach.

"If I'm a fool, then what?" the young man, who had been silent, asked Taiga.

Suddenly, Taiga's laughter stopped. The owner of the old ship became serious, his green eyes narrowing. He truly disliked Makka's answer.

"You're a dog, not a fool!" Taiga snapped, his tone flatter than Makka's. "You might not trust me, but I'd sacrifice my life to care for you!"

Makka's eyes widened. He was taken aback by the words of the A-Capital man, whom he still didn't fully trust. However, Makka refused to believe him just because of the man's empty words, having only spent a night together. Liar...

"I swear to God, Makka, Allah the Almighty," Taiga suddenly said, startling Makka.

With Taiga's oath and life pledge, Makka tried to trust him. Thoughts clashed inside his mind. His heart, taught since childhood to trust in Allah the Almighty, cried out at the idea of not trusting the man who had sworn on God's name for him.

Makka took a deep breath, closing his blue eyes. With the resolve strengthened by this gamble, Makka began to cast aside all doubts with his breath. He opened his eyes again and began to speak.

"I am a water MESS. One of the elemental MESS. My father used to say I was the hope for the MESS. He said that because he knew. His son is one of the strongest MESS on Earth.

"I had to hide my true identity. I didn't want the Emperors to know. If they found out, they would force me to join their damned group. If I refused, they would kill me. Just like they did to my late father.

"My father was Naru. The first child of MESS-01. He was a fire MESS. A fellow elemental MESS, like me. A year ago, the Emperors invited my father to join their damned group. He refused. As a result, they killed him on the spot.

"From my father's marriage to a southern MESS mermaid, the daughter of the Suria mermaid, I was born. I am a water MESS, an elemental MESS never before seen on Earth.

"Yes, it's true! I am a MESS. You don't need to push me anymore. Now, it's up to you. Throw me into the middle of the sea, or let me die while taking care of the dog the Emperors want."

Makka revealed his true identity to Taiga, the man he now fully trusted. Taiga laughed proudly at what he had decided. He had bought an invaluable dog. His pride was evident in the wide grin showing his molars.

"But, if you turn out to be a traitor, I won't hesitate to kill you right then and there," Makka warned Taiga, who had been smiling after gaining the young man's trust.

Silence fell. Taiga immediately stopped laughing. However, it wasn't because of Makka's threat, but because he saw something ahead.

The sea, which had been calm, suddenly began to churn without anyone moving it. The old ship carrying the two men full of hope slowed down. Meanwhile, the moonlight shining on the waves slowly fractured.

"Makka, we've arrived," Taiga said seriously. "In front of us is the Cycle Stream."

The expanse of the sea was no longer the calm ocean; it welcomed Makka and Taiga. The fierce waves roared, battling in the opposite direction of the old ship. Cycle Stream—the one part of the ocean that could never be conquered by anyone.

"Don't be afraid! I can handle this!" Makka shouted to Taiga, who was beginning to show concern.

Makka focused, his black brows almost meeting. The water MESS quickly adjusted his arm's position. The previously straightened limbs now moved downward, as if locking the violent energy of the Cycle Stream.

"Water, give me your calm!" Makka whispered.

In an instant, the raging sea, like an angered beast, fell into a deep, hibernating slumber. After that, the water MESS began to move the current again, guiding the old ship forward.

This man is terrifying! Taiga gaped in awe.

He was also stunned. Without realizing it, his pale red lips parted slightly in admiration. Taiga breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that the water MESS in front of him hadn't killed him—despite everything Taiga had done to Makka.

Taiga remained silent as he watched the old ship sail through the Cycle Stream. However, Taiga's silent awe didn't last much longer when he saw a glimmer of light in the distance of the Cycle Stream.

The man with golden-brown hair narrowed his eyes. When his green vision reached the light on the horizon, Taiga blinked in surprise.

"Makka, turn back immediately!" Taiga shouted to Makka.

Taiga's terror grew as he saw what lay behind the light ahead. Desperate, the muscle MESS used his strength to stop Makka.

"Why are you doing this?" Makka asked the man who was trying to stop him.

Having known Taiga's power, Makka easily broke his hold. He was annoyed. Now, the two men were locked in place, unable to move, while the old ship they were on continued toward the light, getting closer.

"Makka, turn back! We'll die if we go past that light!" Taiga shouted, his voice rising. "That light is a portal belonging to the president of the A-Capital continent!"

"We'll pass it!" Makka shouted, unafraid.

"He's the Emperor!" Taiga barked at the young man who had ignored his warnings.

The young man, who harbored a grudge against the Emperor, was startled when he heard Taiga's words. Behind that portal was an Emperor—another MESS who could manipulate space, just like the murderer of his father.

After contemplating, Makka became even more determined to ignore Taiga's restraint. His blue eyes burned with growing fury. From the deepest part of his heart, he turned Taiga's words back on him.

"Then he's the one who killed my father!" Makka shouted passionately, fueled by rising emotion. "You also promised to sacrifice your life for me. Why are you afraid to die now?"

Taiga's temper flared at Makka's words. Their situation had become dire.

"Listen, Dog! If we both die, it means I failed to protect you!" Taiga shouted without hesitation at Makka. "You're willing to waste your father's sacrifice, Makka!"

At that moment, Makka flinched. Despite that, he still didn't release his hold. He wouldn't let the golden opportunity before him slip away. He had been waiting for this moment for a year—the chance to meet his mother.

Unexpectedly, amidst Makka's stubbornness, a song began to echo from all directions of the Cycle Stream. Without waiting long, the young man who had been holding Taiga's movement collapsed unconscious. In the distance, a mermaid with the same blue eyes as Makka gazed at them.

It was Makka's mother! Taiga couldn't hold back the exclamation.

The mermaid smiled at Taiga, signaling him to leave the Cycle Stream. With her ocean-wet hand gesture, she instructed Taiga to move the ship to the other side of the Cycle Stream.

Stunned, Taiga realized he had to sail Makka around the world.

The man, still in shock, could only nod at the mermaid. Soon, the mermaid asked a whale to push the old ship carrying her son out of the Cycle Stream.

In the midst of an uncontrollable astonishment, the man who had bought Makka set both his and Makka's bodies into a corner of the old ship. Lost in thought, Taiga pondered deeply.

How can I do this? Taiga wondered in confusion.

His green eyes closed, the heavy worry surrounding him. But the turmoil soon dissipated when he saw a piece of paper hidden in Makka's violin case.

Filled with curiosity and hope, Taiga opened the brown piece of paper in his grasp. When he saw what was written, Taiga blinked in surprise. His red lips smiled as he looked at the content of the paper.

Taiga had found a piece of paper that would guide him and Makka as they sailed the world, transcending boundaries. For MESS. For freedom.

Taiga had found a map to the new Earth.

***