Legends grew, reshaped by retelling. To fishermen, he was the man who slipped into myth and returned. To sailors, a warning wrapped in awe. To Nathaniel, it remained simpler: one moment of improbable compassion when a creature of the deep chose to hold him from the enemy.
Standing once more by the reef, waves lapping against his ankles, Nathaniel whispered into the wind. “It saved me. I will now work to save them.” The sea shimmered with silence, as though acknowledging his words. He turned away, forever changed, and forever carried.