The morning sun hung low, soft and golden.The fireflies were gone, but Kael could still feel their warmth lingering in his chest.Beside him, Lira stirred and smiled faintly.
"Did we really dream that?" she whispered.
Kael smiled back. "Maybe the dream dreamed us."
They both laughed quietly, but there was a weight in the air — a silence that hummed like the calm before rain.
The river before them shimmered strangely. The water was still, yet beneath its surface, something glowed faintly — blue and silver lights swirling in slow motion, forming patterns like whispers.
Kael leaned closer. "It looks alive."
Lira touched the surface gently, and ripples spread out like gentle wings.Then suddenly — the water answered.
A soft voice, low and echoing, rose from the depths:
"Come to where memory sleeps. Beneath the waves, your past still breathes."
Lira's hand trembled. "Kael… it's calling you."
He looked at her — the glow reflected in his eyes. "Then maybe it's time I listened."
He stepped into the river. The water was cold at first, biting his skin, but then it turned warm — almost like hands guiding him downward.
Lira called out, "Kael! Wait—"
He looked back and smiled. "Don't worry. I'll come back."
Then, without another word, he sank beneath the surface.
The world turned to liquid light.The deeper he went, the brighter it became — until he was no longer swimming through water, but through air filled with soft blue fire.
At last, he landed gently on a stone floor.Before him stretched a vast kingdom — built entirely from crystal and coral, glowing softly with the color of moonlight.
Fish with translucent wings drifted through the halls.Golden kelp swayed like curtains, and strange lights pulsed inside glass towers.
It was silent, yet alive.
Kael took a cautious step forward.He felt no weight, no need to breathe. His footsteps echoed faintly, like walking through a dream.
Then he saw her.
A tall woman stood by a fountain of glowing water. Her hair floated around her like silver threads, her skin faintly blue, and her eyes — calm and endless, like the sea itself.
She turned to him and smiled."You finally returned."
Kael froze. "Do I… know you?"
She stepped closer. "You did. Once, long ago, when the stars first learned to fall."
Kael frowned slightly. "You speak like Lira."
The woman smiled sadly. "Lira carries my echo. I am what she dreams of when she forgets who she is."
Kael stared at her — something about her presence stirred a deep ache in his heart.
She led him through the glowing streets.All around them, the sea moved like slow music.Statues of light floated mid-water — faces peaceful, asleep, as if time itself had paused for them.
Kael asked, "Who are they?"
"They are the ones who remembered too much," she said softly. "They tried to carry the pain of every world they touched. So they sleep now, dreaming of gentler days."
Kael stopped walking. "Is that what I'm supposed to do? Sleep and forget?"
She turned to him. "No. You came to remember."
Her words echoed through the water like bells.
At the end of the path, they reached a grand gate made of crystal waves.Beyond it lay a massive sphere of light, pulsing like a heart.
Kael felt his chest tighten. "What is this place?"
The woman's voice softened. "The heart of all oceans. Every tear, every promise, every goodbye that was ever spoken… ends up here."
Kael reached out toward the light.Inside it, he saw fragments of his past — not as a hero, but as a child, lost and small, reaching for someone who always slipped away.
He whispered, "Why does it hurt?"
She placed a hand over his. "Because even stars forget what it means to fall."
Then the light burst open.
Kael was pulled inside — surrounded by waves of memory.He saw himself standing at a cliff's edge, the same dream over and over — reaching for someone whose name he couldn't remember.
Then he heard a voice — soft and trembling.
"Kael… promise me you'll come back."
The voice belonged to a girl — younger Lira, holding a shell glowing faintly in the dark.
Kael's throat ached. "I broke that promise, didn't I?"
The sea answered gently, "You didn't break it. You just forgot how to keep it."
When the light faded, Kael stood once more before the woman.She looked at him with eyes full of both sorrow and pride.
"You've carried so much," she said. "But the tide doesn't punish the shore for being broken. It returns again and again… to make it whole."
Kael felt warmth fill his chest — calm and steady, like the ocean itself.He whispered, "Then maybe I can return too."
The woman nodded. "Yes. But when you wake, tell her this —
'The sea remembers even the smallest spark.'"
Before he could reply, the water around him began to glow brighter and brighter until everything vanished into light.
Kael gasped and opened his eyes.He was back on the riverbank. Lira was kneeling beside him, eyes wide with worry.
"Kael! You stopped breathing!"
He coughed softly, sitting up, water dripping from his hair. "I'm fine. I just… saw something."
She looked at him anxiously. "What did you see?"
Kael smiled gently and whispered,
"The sea remembers even the smallest spark."
Lira froze — her eyes widening in shock.Then, slowly, she smiled too, tears shining in her lashes.
The river flowed quietly beside them.The world was calm again.But deep beneath the waves, a faint light pulsed — steady and endless — as if the ocean itself had learned his name.