Once again, I awoke on sand—though this time, I was fully submerged, settled onto a thick bed of kelp. My first instinct was to bolt, to gasp for air, but I steeled my nerves. There was no burning in my chest, no desperate demand from my lungs. Only the phantom paranoia of drowning remained. Even then, deep in my subconscious, a strange truth took hold: I could breathe here if I chose to.
Accepting the water—inviting it to flow into my lungs—was a monumental task of will. Lying on my back, I took a deep draw of the ocean's depths. A current of primal energy surged through my veins the moment the water hit. I lingered there, using the stillness to adjust to the rhythm of this new life, before finally forcing myself to stand.
My movements surprised me; there was none of the sluggish, flailing effort usually required to swim. Instead, I clung to the sandy floor like the crabs I'd often watched, the water refusing to impede me. In fact, it seemed to propel me forward, pushing me along until I was matching the Deadwood at her top speed. A sudden, experimental leap sent me soaring, as if gravity no longer had any claim on me.
It was while I was soaring through the water that a distant cave began to call to me. As if the ocean itself were acting as my navigator, I knew that was where I had to go. Altering my trajectory was surprisingly easy, but hitting the mark proved more difficult. I overshot the curve and slammed hard into the stone of the entrance, the world spinning as I drifted slowly to the sand in a daze.
As I drifted down, a familiar trace of essence brushed my senses, subtle but unmistakable, pulsing softly from the cave's depths as if in answer to me. I righted myself with a thought, touched down in the sand, and moved into the waiting darkness.
The darkness itself didn't slow me, but the bioluminescent torches lining the path ahead nearly did. They flickered to life the moment I crossed the cave's threshold. What they uncovered stopped me in my tracks.
Before me stretched the chronicle of Kaelyra's formation—the birth of the world itself, and the rise of the Elemental Court. My hands grazed the carved walls, marveling at the age-worn stone as I continued deeper.
I didn't pay too much attention to any single carving. One among them depicted the beginning of the world's corruption—or rather, its master. Orvakis, the God of Corruption, the Father of Monsters.
His landing shook the world, forever scarring the northern continent. Abnormal mutations in plant and wildlife spread in his wake, rampaging across Kaelyra as corruption took hold. From that blight came the birth of monsters—now known as the Orthkin.
While the sheer concentration of corrupted essence on display unsettled me, the history itself did not. It only reaffirmed my resolve to destroy any I encountered. I had always been proud of the stories my mother told—of her time defending the barricade around Arthak.
My history lesson came to an end as I emerged into a vast cavern. It was so wide I couldn't see its far edges, though that hardly mattered—the ground ahead sloped gently upward. Tracing the incline into the distance, I saw countless Essence Shards scattered across it like a crystal farm.
The pulsing, familiar essence beckoned me upward, urging me to climb the slope and reach it. So I did—bounding, leaping, running for only Chonis knows how long, until I pierced the veil of darkness that had enveloped me after leaving the Essence Shard Grove behind.
Above, I could make out the rippling glow of what I thought was the sun. The slope had leveled into a plateau the size of an arena, and from its center rose a pillar as massive as a large house, its surface carved with the ancient primal enforcers of Thessora—the Deep-Terrors.
Before me, a path of coral and shells spiraled around the pillar, guiding me ever closer to its base. The walk was surprisingly peaceful; the mundane wildlife around me barely noticed my presence, moving as if I were part of the landscape itself. Even those touched by Essence didn't react violently—they practically begged to be petted.
On the far side of the pillar, I found an opening: a large, two-door gate set into an otherwise solid stone wall. I followed the path to it and tried to push the doors open—but they wouldn't budge. Just as I was about to try again, a voice called out: "Isn't it rude to barge into someone's home?" Its tone carried no malice—more like an elder sibling gently correcting me.
I spun around so fast it felt like I'd stirred a whirlpool—but the spot where the voice had spoken was empty. My eyes and senses told me nothing was there, yet a new instinct slowly stirred within me. Something—someone—was standing directly in front of me.
For a brief moment, I thought I was under attack—but the ocean itself had shifted. The mundane wildlife began to circle the pillar slowly, while those touched by Essence congregated nearby, drawn as if by some unspoken summons.
I swore I saw the water shiver under my gaze, though the spot seemed empty. Then, a slow, sheepish chuckle broke the silence. Gradually, a figure emerged, as if uncloaking itself, stepping into view piece by piece. Before me floated a unique Mer—an individual regarded as royalty among the underwater tribes.
Before me, no more than half my size, floated a Mer with features reminiscent of their goddess. Its muscular, seahorse-like tail was prehensile and strong, covered in flexible, plate-like segments that rippled with subtle bioluminescence. Adorning its body were intricate pieces of religious scrimshaw, each carved symbol catching the faint glow of the underwater light.
The Mer, now quieting down, wore a nervous expression. "Welcome to our mother's birthplace, Brother," they said.
My face went blank, and they tensed. My words nearly made him recoil. "You're way too cute to be a boy."
The Mer stood in stunned silence for a moment, then laughter bubbled up. "Yes… I do resemble my mortal mother quite a bit," he said once he'd calmed down.
A grin spread across my face, and the wildlife around us returned to their usual routines as I stepped forward. "Name's Captain Nyth Waverider. Pleasure to meet you… Brother."
"Swift-Current, Captain," the Mer replied. "I am the Oracle of the Wave-Keeper. I hope you'll forgive me sneaking up on you—I couldn't resist studying you for a moment."
Swift-Current then, using the tip of his tail, directed my attention to the doors. "Our Mother left a gift for you. Come—let me hear your story while we retrieve it."
Turning back to the doors, I pushed—and they slowly creaked open before me. The inside of the pillar was hollow, a spiral staircase hugging its edges and winding upward into shadowed heights. At the very center of the room, a pedestal stood alone, cradling the object that had called to me.
Swift-Current's voice sounded distant as I stared, almost longingly, at the Essence Shard. "She knew you used the last one for Natasha. This one… it was formed from the essence of the Primordial's death energy, tempered by our Mother's purest waters."
In a trance, I reached for the Shard and drew it closer. I didn't need to look to know this was one of the most potent in all of Kaelyra. Astonishment washed over me as the Shard synced with my Core effortlessly—as if it had been waiting for me all along.
I quickly stowed it away, fearing I'd be tempted to stare at it for eternity—prompting another chuckle from Swift-Current. Ignoring him, I looked up and asked, "That's the way out?"
In between his chuckles, Swift-Current nodded and said, "Yes."
I just smirked, widened my stance, tensed my legs, and launched myself upward. Swift-Current's startled scream made me laugh as I rocketed up the hollow pillar. Kicking my legs behind me, I surged faster, the speed reaching disorienting heights. The light at the end of the tunnel I expected never came.