“Do you know her?” he asked, his voice laced with admiration.

“Um… no. Why would a human know about such a Supreme being?” I replied, laughing awkwardly.

“True. Especially with rumors about how she treats humans,” he said.

“Like feeding on them…” I murmured.

He glanced at me but pretended not to have heard what I’ve said.

“Ah, if it isn’t our little Aelith!” he exclaimed. “I know, I know—you got here before me, so I’ll grant you a wish, little one. Any wish.”

“Pouf! Paf!” Fena chimed.

“What’s that? Too noble to accept a favor from me?” he teased. “Alright, I get it!”

“Pouuuuff! Piaaaf!!” Fena shrieked, her voice echoing like a startled bird.

“Hahaha… Thalor, you’re taking advantage of her…Ahem…” I hesitated.

“Taking advantage of her what, kind Lady?” he asked with a mischievous grin.

“Is that your majesty?” a soft voice called out.

We all turned at once. A beautiful mermaid emerged from the water. Her hair was darker than Thalor’s. His was the color of the ocean’s darkest abyss, while hers resembled the shadowed velvet of a moonless night.

“Beautiful…” I whispered without thinking.

She laughed. “Hahaha, thank you human. But it goes without saying—our kind is far more attractive than yours.”

Was she teasing me just now?

“Nyelira! Long time no see,” Thalor said warmly. “Haven’t you grown paler than the last time I saw you?”

“It’s been more than fifteen years, Your Majesty. Do you still recall what I looked like back then?” she asked, her voice sweet but sharp.

“How cruel of you. How could I ever forget my favorite and loyal subject?”

“Anyway,” she said, brushing a strand of wet hair behind her ear. “How are you feeling? I can’t sense any energy from you. Are you alright?”

“Make way—I am coming!” Thalor called out before diving into the sea.

In an instant, he transformed into a majestic merman. His scales shimmered under the bloody moonlight, and his silk hair drifted like ink in the water.

“The state of the oceans has changed, isn’t?” he asked, concern flickering in his eyes.

“Yes, with you gone, we tried our best to protect the Abyssith stone,” Nyelira replied bitterly. “But many of us lost their lives defending it. We were targeted by Velathars. Those same Velathars that attacked the legendary Guardian.”

“Those Narcis bastards…” Thalor growled. “I’ll kill them, one by one. Just let them wait.”

A wave of guilt surged through me.

Not only did I have a Narcis inside me… but even their legendary Guardian was asleep within me too.

Sensing my discomfort, Nyelira turned to me with a sly smile. “Say, human, why are you following him around? Hmmm, let me guess. Unless you plan to offer yourself as his livestock, I can’t imagine any other use for you.”

She glanced at Thalor, clearly seeking his approval for the insult.

He glared at her, and she immediately lowered her gaze.

“It seems my absence has made you insolent!” he said coldly. “This human’s name is Mia. And it’s thanks to her that I am finally back in the ocean. Anyone who dares insult her in my presence will pay a heavy price!”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” she murmured.

“Thalor, don’t be too hard on her,” I said gently. “She was probably just teasing me.”

Even as I spoke, I noticed Fena eyeing the mermaid with suspicion, her usually playful face now serious. She looked at Nyelira as if sensing something dark beneath her pretty surface.

“Are you done regaining your strength?” I asked, turning back to Thalor. “We should head to the village as soon as we can, before Lucius tracks us.”

He closed his eyes. The water around him began to glow, swirling gently for a few seconds before settling back into stillness.

“Weird… It feels like the energy in these waters is…sealed,” Thalor said, frowning. “Nyelira, what does that mean?”

Her expression darkened unexpectedly, like a storm rolling in.

“Did you really think that your title as king would still hold after more than a decade, Your Majesty?” she said with scorn. “Seriously, there is no end to your foolishness.”

“What did you just say?” Thalor said angrily.

“I may have been once a loyal subject, but tell me—what do I gain by serving a lost king? Should I help you reclaim a shattered throne? Rule over a ruined kingdom?”

“…”

Thalor said nothing. His face—cold and distant, like the deepest part of the ocean.

“You should be ashamed of yourself!” I shouted, stepping forward. “Thalor was imprisoned and tortured, and you’re blaming him for not being there when you needed him? If anyone is being foolish, it’s you!”

Her eyes narrowed. “I’ve always despised humans, and hearing my food insult me is very annoying,” she sneered.

“Maybe you can’t handle the weight of your guilt,” I snapped. “Maybe you can’t face your own failures, so you pin everything on Thalor!”

“Enough!” she hissed.

“Thalor, don’t listen to her nonsense. I may not have been there when everything collapsed, but I know you always did your best!”

In an instant, dark tendrils shot from the water and coiled around me, their slick, sticky surface clinging to my skin like wet tar.

“Agh!” I gasped as they yanked me down into the cold depths.

“Mia!” Thalor screamed, diving into the water.

Suddenly, as I was pulled deeper, a strange light surrounded me —a familiar green glow.

A fragment… It must be from the stone Ansel gave me.

Before I could process what was happening, Thalor pulled me out of the water and hauling me out onto the gritty sand. He turned to Nyelira, his eyes blazing with fierce wrath.

“You dare defy me, Nyelira? If so, you’ve just made a new enemy.”

“I wouldn’t dare, Your Majesty,” she said smoothly. “But this human with you… she is no ordinary being. How does she possess a fragment of the Abyssith stone? And she’s completely unaffected by the sea’s weakening effects.”

She paused, her gaze sharp as a blade. “Perhaps, Your Majesty, she is the one you should be watching —not me.”

Without another word, Nyelira slipped beneath the waves.

Thalor’s shimmering scales faded as he transformed into his human form. His sea-blue eyes softened with concern as he knelt beside me, the sand shifting slightly beneath him.

“Mia, are you alright?” Thalor asked gently.

I nodded slowly.

I was perfectly fine—unscathed and steady, despite the danger. It was exactly as that mermaid said. She had suspected something—but had held back from exposing me outright.

“Pay no mind to what she said,” Thalor said, trying to reassure me. “She was just jealous of you. Nothing more.”

He turned to Fena. “We need to reach your village and get help.”

“Fena, I need your help in tracing a teleportation array. The sea is overflowing with Syr Energy, it’s toxic to every living thing down there…Damn… I’ve failed my people” he muttered, cutting his wrist with his nails.

“Mia,” he continued, “I’ll use the fragment of the Abyssith stone you carry. Don’t worry—I don’t care how you got it or from where it came from. I just know it’s safer with you than it ever was with me.”

I wanted to comfort him, tell him that none of this was his fault. But, how could I?

I’ve been lying about myself all along…How could I face him once he discovers the bitter truth?

Thalor extended his hand toward me, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

“Hold on tight, Mia! You too Fena! Here we go!” Thalor exclaimed.

*****

We appeared in front of a beautiful village entrance —an arched gateway sculpted from glowing coral stones, their soft light pulsing with life. Bioluminescent vines draped over the structure like delicate ribbons, casting shifting patterns of turquoise and violet across the ground.

“So, this is Syltharyn?” Thalor asked.

Before we could take another step, Fena suddenly darted ahead in the opposite direction, chirping urgently and flapping her wings.

“She wants us to go the other way,” I said, watching her silhouette vanish.

“Hold on,” Thalor replied, tightening his grip around me as he adjusted his stance. “Something is not right.”

I wasn’t focused on whatever was going on around me. All I could notice was Thalor’s hair brushing softly against my skin, and the warmth of his chest pressed close. It made incredibly uncomfortable.

“You can put me down now. I feel better,” I insisted.

“We’ll move faster this way,” he said without slowing, his gaze locked on Fena.

We plunged deeper into the forest. The farther we went, the thicker the trees became —twisting into one another like they were guarding ancient secrets. Oddly, the sky above was clear, and the blueness intensified the deeper we advanced. It was the same sky as back home.

Then, we reached a clearing.

The air changed.

A strange, translucent miasma shimmered in the air around us, pulsing faintly with a colorless light.

Fena stopped mid-flight and hovered nervously at the edge of the haze.

“What is it, Fena? Is something wrong?” I asked.   

Without responding, Fena tried to enter the miasma—but the moment she breached the veil, her body stiffened. She froze mid-air, suspended, before suddenly plummeting to the ground like a stone.

“Fena!” I shouted, leaping from Thalor’s arms.

The forest floor was blanketed with crinkling leaves. As I landed, my feet sank deeper than I expected, throwing me off balance. I stumbled, caught myself, and dropped to my knees, frantically sweeping aside the foliage.

“She fell right here—I’m sure of it.” I pushed aside layers of leaves, my fingers brushing against something warm… and soft.

“Ah! I’ve got something —but…” I hesitated.

Cradled in my hands was a small, delicate figure, achingly familiar.

An elf.

Her hair spilled in soft waves of pale pink, cascading gently around her shoulders. Her features were fine and luminous, her skin pale with a faint shimmer. Her pointed ears twitched subtly with each quiet breath she took.

She was no longer that shapeless winged creature.

“Fena…? I whispered.

A sudden sting flared at the base of my neck, right where my insignia lay.

“Agh… my neck… it’s burning…” I winced, clutching the spot.

Heat pulsed beneath my skin, sharp and erratic, like something was trying to break through—or awaken.

“What’s going on?” I muttered painfully.