GODAN GEARLOCK: Godan & The Water Goddess Stone

In the dead of night, Godan woke up suddenly. Cold sweat dripped down his forehead, despite the biting chill that had seeped into their ramshackle hut.

He tried to close his eyes again, but his mind was restless. The old journal haunted his thoughts, as if trying to convey something he had yet to understand.

Careful not to wake Marta and Jomie, who were sleeping nearby, he got up and stepped outside.

The sky above Somara City was pitch black, as it had been for over a decade. No stars had appeared in all that time, as if the heavens had severed their connection with the world below.

There was no sound except for the soft whisper of the night wind, carrying the unmistakable smell of garbage, dust, and rusted metal. Godan crossed his arms over his chest, trying to warm himself, and began pacing in front of their hut.

"There has to be a way to live better than this," he murmured to himself.

He stopped for a moment and squatted on the hard—dusty ground, staring blankly at the towering mounds of trash in the distance.

Images of a better life—a clean city with abundant water—played in his mind. "If only I could figure out a way..."

Suddenly, he heard something. A faint sound, like the wind whispering, but different.

"Godan..."

He froze, standing quickly and looking around. There was no one there. The night wind blew softly, carrying floating specks of dust.

"Godan..."

The voice came again, clearer this time. It was soft, like a woman's voice, but distant, calling to him from the darkness. His heart pounded.

"Who's there?" he asked quietly, but there was no reply.

The whisper came again, calling his name for the third time.

"Godan..."

His gaze turned toward the direction of the voice, locking onto the ruins at the edge of the city, far beyond their usual scavenging grounds.

The place had been abandoned for years, and the people of Somara called it "the cursed site." No one dared go near it, especially at night. Yet now, something about it caught his attention.

He hesitated, calculating that if he went there now, he could return home before sunrise.

Far away, under the shadow of a crumbling tower, a faint blue light appeared. It was dim but bright enough to be seen in the darkness.

The light pulsed slowly, almost as if it were beckoning him. Godan stood still, unsure whether this was real or just a figment of his imagination.

"What... is this?" he murmured, trying to convince himself not to approach the place.

Yet his feet began to move, as if his body was being drawn by something beyond his control.

The wind grew colder as he neared the ruins. His heart raced, but curiosity drove him forward.

He stepped through heaps of trash and scattered debris, passing crumbling walls covered in thick layers of dust. The blue light pulsed steadily, growing brighter as he drew closer.

After walking for some time, he finally approached the source of the light, and the whispers grew louder, surrounding him.

"Godan... come closer... find the answer..."

Godan stopped at the entrance of a narrow, dark corridor, where the blue light seemed to originate. The corridor appeared to be part of an old structure, possibly a tower or a temple, now reduced to ruins and shadows.

"This light... could it be connected to the journal?" he thought.

He recalled the pages of the journal and the sketch of a gemstone. The blue light in the drawing bore an uncanny resemblance to what he was now seeing.

Fear and curiosity churned within him. Slowly, he stepped into the corridor, letting the blue light guide his way. The chill in the air grew sharper, and the whispers now seemed to echo from the very walls of the ruins.

"Find the stone... uncover the hidden power..."

Godan stopped in front of a small, dark chamber. The blue light vanished, startling him for a moment, but he felt no fear. Reaching out cautiously in the dimness, his fingers brushed against a hollow indentation in the wall, just large enough to fit the palm of his hand.

He guessed that this must have been where the Water Goddess Stone was once kept. Now, it was nothing more than an empty, dusty recess. He decided to return in the daylight for a closer look. Satisfied that his curiosity had been somewhat answered, he turned and made his way back home.

***

That Morning, Godan and his friends woke up later than usual. Dim sunlight filtered through the cracks in the walls of their shabby hut.

He sat for a moment, trying to steady his breath as memories of the previous night returned to him. The curiosity still weighed heavily on his mind, but he knew he couldn't keep this to himself. Marta and Jomie needed to know.

After a simple breakfast of dry bread and a bit of water, Godan pulled out the old journal he had found the day before. "I have something to tell you," he said in a serious tone.

Marta and Jomie, who were preparing for the day's scavenging, turned to him with curiosity. "What is it, Dan? You've been acting strange since yesterday," said Marta, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

"Last night, I couldn't sleep," Godan began, flipping through the journal's pages.

"And?" Marta prompted.

"I heard something… whispers. They called my name and led me to the old ruins at the edge of the city."

"The old ruins?! Are you insane?" Jomie sat up straight, his expression turning skeptical. "Are you sure it wasn't a ghost or just a dream? Maybe you're just overtired."

"It wasn't a dream," Godan replied firmly. "I saw a blue light there, right in the middle of the ruins. It was… it was like something was calling me."

Marta frowned, clearly puzzled by his story. "Dan, you know that place is dangerous. Everyone knows the ruins could collapse at any moment. And now you're saying there was a light? Maybe it was just a reflection of something or—"

"It wasn't a reflection," Godan interrupted. "The light came from there, I'm sure of it. There's something there. That light… it felt important somehow. I can't explain it, but it's connected to this journal." He tapped the old book with his knuckles.

Marta and Jomie exchanged glances. Skeptical as they were, they knew Godan wasn't one to speak so seriously without reason.

"So, what's your plan now?" Jomie finally asked.

"We need to go there," Godan said with determination. "But after we finish work today."

Marta let out a long sigh. "You know this is crazy, right? But fine, I'll come. If it'll help put your mind at ease."

Jomie shrugged. "I'm in too. But don't expect me to stay quiet if this turns out to be a waste of time," he said with a chuckle.

That day, they spent their time as usual, scavenging for valuable items among the heaps of trash. But their focus wasn't entirely on their work.

The thought of the old ruins lingered in their minds, especially Godan's. He couldn't stop thinking about the blue light he had seen the night before. Over and over, they huddled together to discuss the ruins and the light—sometimes in whispers, other times aloud.

While they were sorting through piles of garbage, Mr. Warden, an older man who often watched over them from a distance, approached. He was also a scavenger.

"You three," he called out in a low but firm voice. "I heard you're planning to go to the old ruins at the edge of the city. Is that true?"

The three of them exchanged awkward glances before Godan answered, "Yes, sir. We just want to take a look. We won't stay long."

Mr. Warden shook his head, a deep worry etched on his face.

"Listen, kids! That place isn't a playground. It's cursed. The buildings there are on the brink of collapse. People who've gone there before never came back. I don't want to hear any bad news about you."

"Thanks for the warning, sir," Godan replied politely. "But we know what we're doing. We'll be careful." Though in truth, he had already entered the ruins last night and luckily came back unharmed.

Mr. Warden gave them a sharp look. "You're stubborn. If anything happens, don't say I didn't warn you."

The man continued to lecture them for another five minutes, seemingly tiring himself out when they didn't respond.

After he left, Jomie snorted. "He makes it sound like we're walking into a monster's den."

"He's just worried," Marta replied. "But I'll admit, that place does sound creepy."

Godan remained calm. "We'll be fine. This isn't the first time we've faced something difficult."

By the time the sun began to dip westward, they finished their scavenging earlier than usual. Their sacks were filled with items they hoped would be valuable enough to trade for food or water.

They dragged and carried the sacks toward Boss Rocko's processing factory. Along the way, they noticed posters for the mayoral candidates being plastered on walls and poles.

Mr. Karven Chroc and his rival, Mr. Haigan Mor, were both among the wealthiest people in the Waste City. In this place, anyone who could correctly pronounce their own name was allowed to vote—even young children.

***

After making sure everything was ready, they began their walk toward the old ruins.

The evening air felt colder than usual, and the sky had turned a dark shade of gray, as if foretelling something significant about to unfold.

Still, the three of them pressed forward with determination, even as the silhouette of the ruins grew larger ahead of them, bringing with it a sense of unease that was hard to ignore.

At last, the old ruins loomed before them, towering like a ghost from the past, shrouded in shadows and cracks. The blue light Godan had seen the night before was nowhere to be found, but the strange feeling remained—as though something was watching them from within the darkness.

"Are we really going in?" Jomie asked, his voice barely a whisper, betraying the fear in his heart.

Godan looked at the two of them before nodding. "We've come this far. Let's check it out. If there's nothing, we'll go back."

Carefully, they stepped closer to the entrance of the ruins, fully aware that whatever awaited them inside could either change their lives—or destroy them.