Chapter 240 – Dark Waters

Chapter 240 – Dark Waters

 

“You took a swim in a sea full of monsters?” Ele hugged one of his pillows with a horrified expression.

“Well, I didn’t know that at the time. And the other options sounded worse.” Kai shrugged. He had skipped over the most gruesome and dangerous details in his retelling, but there was no way to make his first year on the island sound cheery. “We can stop here, you don’t have to listen to more.”

“No, you must finish the story.” Flynn leaned forward in his chair. “What did you see in the water? Did you find what you were looking for? How did you survive?”

Ele chewed her lip. “I’d feel better knowing how it ends. If you don’t mind continuing.”

“Of course, you don’t have to tell us if you’re not ready.” Flynn bobbed his head, watching with a pleading expression that said the exact opposite.

Kai fiddled with his silver ring, gaze lost in the grain of the floorboards. “It’s okay. It was a long time ago. I’m over it.”

His sister rested her hand on his back. “You made it out in one piece in the end, right?”

“Not exactly.”

~ ~ ~

 

The isle stood about two miles off the coast. Ivory structures covered in algae and vines rose from the dark frothing sea, staunchly buffering the waves.

Occasional ospreys and cormorants landed on the ruins. There were no flashes to indicate the presence of defensive wards—at least on the outside. Despite the millennia of abandonment, the other site Kai visited on his way here had incinerated a winged serpent. The ruins on the archipelago were only bare of enchantments because the mana density had fallen too low to sustain them.

“Waiting any longer won’t help.” He had observed the target for a full day-and-night cycle—three days on the outside. There were no low or high tides, the deep waters shifted between rough and rougher, though that made little difference. If he pushed his skills, he could cross the distance in minutes while sustaining a cloak of Shadow.

“Mrow.” Hobbes pushed his head against his leg, always keeping Kai between him and the water. The little guy had no problem finding him each night, though his blinking range didn’t reach that far.

Kai bent and scratched his ear. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back sooner than you know. Ow! What was that for?”

The kitten had pawed his hand and mistrustingly watched the turbulent waves. “Meew!”

“I have to go. It’s either this or crossing the island for a place that might be even more dangerous.” Kai licked the blood off his hand and applied a balm to close the scratch.

This was one of three sites that held an Astral Harmonizer, and it might be the only ruin not protected by active wards. Without the artifact, the gateway would shred him to pieces, Zervathi had been pretty clear on that.

I can’t wait for seven years, I need to leave this place.

“It’ll be alright,” Kai spoke in a soothing tone as he stroked Hobbes’ back, away from the claws.

Hallowed Intuition murmured of danger below the waves, but that was hardly news. Even on shore, in one of the lowest mana areas he had found, the skill never stayed silent. There were threats in the greenery to his left, threats circling the sky, and even threats buried underneath the sand. Of course, the sea would be no exception.

On a more positive note, the essence density didn’t increase as far as his senses could reach. He shouldn’t encounter anything higher than low-yellow. “C’mon, I can do this.”

Kai stripped off any clothes that would slow him down and strapped two knives to his legs. The sea serpent sword, ready to be drawn lay in his ring. His mana reserves were full with an abundance of Water and Shadow.

“I’ll be back in a jiffy.” He cheerfully booped Hobbes. The cat watched him from the cover of a palm with pale blue eyes.

In and out. I can be done in under an hour.

He checked the whispers for any looming danger and crept forward. His feet dug into the cold sand pointing toward the closest point to the isle. The deafening roar of the waves erased his memories of the crystal calm of the Shallow Sea.

Just a little swim.

When the next wave retreated, Kai leaped into the frigid waters and swam under the surface to escape the waves pulling him to shore. Blessed Swimmer told him how to slip through the currents, though the feeling of peace he expected didn’t come.

He had no time to dawdle, the faster he reached his target the sooner he could get to safety. The murky waters hardly contained any life, only the dark green kelp swaying in the currents and playful white fishes trying to take a bite out of him.

Hmm, that’s better than I imagined.

Kai limited Mana Observer’s range to half its maximum radius. Powerful beasts could be alerted to his skill, but from that distance, they would notice him anyway. He channeled his mana into Empower and Blessed Swimmer to skim through the sea with minimal resistance.

The seabed disappeared into an unnatural darkness with scattered fields of anemic kelps poking through. A whisper of warning prompted Kai to take a hard left.

Right.

Left.

Lay still.

Kai strengthened his cloak of Shadow and retracted his senses, floating just below the surface. He disregarded the instinct to run, trusting the skill that had kept him alive thus far.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

The kelp jerked away as some big fish headed toward him. A pale emaciated fin poked through the inky blackness below. Murky waters stirred as frenetic whispers filled his mind. Death was approaching, and moving would bring it faster.

Not—.

A ghastly presence washed over him, freezing his blood. Terror gripped his soul. Kai was about to run for his life when the swaying kelp trailed away. The beast having missed him or uninterested in such a stringy meal.

Damn fish. You made me lose a decade of my life.

Kai stole a breath of oxygen and raced toward the isle as soon as Hallowed Intuition allowed. The seafloor only grew more desolate, devoid of plant or animal life, just him above a dark abyss.

He leaped out of the sea onto a slick ivory slab. His body shivered uncontrollably, but not from the cold. The ruin loomed over him like a cluster of towers half sunk into the sea.

“I’ve done it.” He dried himself with a spell and took out a pelt to fend off the gust of winds.

 

~ ~ ~

 

“Most of the entrances had been sealed millennia ago. And a ward protected the only open passage I found that couldn’t be seen from the shore. It was just a force shield that rebuffed anything trying to cross, but I had no way to break through.”

Flynn furrowed his brows. “Couldn’t you cut through the rock with your echo skill?”

“I almost got fried trying.” Kai shook his head. “The enchantments protected the entire structure from magical tampering.”

“So you crossed the dead sea for nothing?” Ele grimaced, now squeezing a pillow in each arm. “Did you manage at least to safely go back and look for another ruin?”

Perhaps I should have.

“Not exactly.” Kai scowled. They couldn’t understand his level of desperation, he would have done anything to escape. “I had noticed the structure had sunk, so I thought there might be an entrance underwater. And I was right…”