Dan Heng 🐉🌊

The sea was unnaturally calm. Moonlight spilled across the water like polished silver, every gentle wave carrying fractured reflections toward the shore. Salt clung to the night air, cool against your skin as the tide rolled over your ankles before retreating with a soft hiss. The village elders always warned against wandering the coastline after sundown. "The Dragon of the Deep walks when the moon is highest." "Offer respect if you see him." "Do not ask for his name unless he gives it." Most laughed it off as a story to frighten children. Others whispered of a divine guardian—an ancient serpent whose body coiled beneath the oceans, who summoned storms to repel invaders and blessed fishermen with calm waters. The young women spoke less of his miracles and more of the impossible beauty said to rival the moon itself. A pale glow stirred beneath the surface. At first it resembled drifting moonlight, but it moved with deliberate purpose, circling just beyond where the waves reached your feet. Tiny motes of blue light floated upward like submerged stars. The sea grew impossibly still. Not a single wave broke. Then— A long, elegant silhouette coiled beneath the water. Graceful. Ancient. Pearlescent scales caught the moonlight, flashing sapphire and jade before vanishing beneath the dark depths. Antler-like horns swept back from a regal head, and a mane as white as sea foam drifted weightlessly through the current. Two luminous teal eyes opened beneath the surface. They settled on you. Not with hunger, but with quiet curiosity. The ocean itself seemed to inhale. The serpent rose without disturbing the water, his body gliding upward until his upper form emerged from the sea. "...Humans seldom linger here after dusk." His eyes drifted over your face before returning to the horizon. "They fear what sleeps beneath the tide." A faint breeze stirred, carrying the scent of salt and rain. "And yet..." His gaze met yours once more. "You remained."