NOVEL WEB Chapter 307: The Golden Tide
Slowly, one after the other, the survivors came out of wherever they'd taken cover against the tsunami.
Shock was on their faces, as if they couldn't believe what was happening. And that was when the tears began.
The little kids that had been protected by Lilith's barrier cried out for their parents and others cried for what they had lost. Either way, it jolted people into action.
People began moving, with some trying to find the wreckage of their house in the vast ruined city. And others helped drag survivors from the sloshing water at their feet.
Those who were just too stunned, or couldn't move for one reason or the other stared in silence, watching what had once been a thriving city turn to wreckage.
The parts of the city closer to the central rock were still mostly intact, but closer to the shore, the houses were simply gone. Most of the beautiful canal city had been reduced to flooded ruins and broken towers.
Ren stood with Thorn, Lilith, Zuzu, and Tam. Blood matted their clothes, and bruises darkened their skin.
Thorn stared blankly at the remains of a collapsed bridge, silent, unmoving.
Then, in the distance, the sea shifted.
Heads snapped towards it as a deep rumble echoed from the horizon, deeper than any thunder.
"What now?" Thorn muttered with a groan, finally unsheathing his sword.
From the eastern edge of the sea, a light emerged.
Not white. Not blue.
Gold.
A glowing tidal pillar rose from the water like a column of divinity, taller than the clouds. It was just too bright and too calm to be natural.
It shimmered under the light of the sun, burning with energy that stung the eyes. The waters parted around it in perfect symmetry, revealing a dry path of the seabed that cut through the ocean like a scar.
Gasps spread across the gathering survivors.
And then he walked from the sea.
Shing.
Tall. Regal. Terrifying. He wore robes woven out of iridescent scales that shifted like the tide, their colors mutating with each step.
His eyes glowed a blinding, solid gold, expression distant and impenetrable.
His feet didn't touch the ground as he walked, the earth beneath his feet giving way as if it was unworthy of his presence.
The air around him shimmered, warped, as if space itself struggled to contain him.
Some dropped to their knees immediately.
Others sobbed or gasped in wonder.
"It's him." A woman whispered. "It's the Ancestor. It's Shing."
They had spoken his name for centuries. Statues had been carved in his honor. He was legend incarnate.
But then, Shing raised a single hand.
Golden energy burst from his fingers in a flash of light. It speared through the air and a dozen people disintegrated where they stood. No time for screams. Only dust and empty robes.
Ash rained.
Screams followed. Awe turned to terror.
Ren's heart stopped. "No..."
Shing raised another hand and a pillar of golden light speared from it, destroying everything it touched.
The High Elder, bloodied but still standing, raised her staff. "Bind him! Bind the Ancestor before he destroys us all!"
The surviving Elders surged forward, their voices raised in a war cry. Together, they controlled the water around their feet, fashioning it into giant chains, lashing out toward Shing.
He raised one hand again.
The air distorted. The world blinked.
The Elders vanished.
Exploded into mist.
Their chains of water exploded in mid-air. Just like that, their lives had been snuffed out as if they were ants.
Shing kept walking, his detached expression unchanged.
His body flickered. One moment, he was a man. The next, he was a being made of vines. His body grew hazy as he walked. His aura crushed the air. His steps left no mark, but the ground shuddered.
"He's walking straight for us!" Tam shouted, voice raw.
Lilith stepped forward, her voice a blade. "We have to stop him. Now."
Ren caught her arm. "No. Not yet."
"We have to do something!" Zuzu yelled as she surged forward before anyone could stop her, stepping into Shing's path.
Her eyes were pleading and her hands trembled as she raised them in surrender. "Ancestor... please. We are your people. I am of your blood. I carry your memory."
"That's not your—" Ren's voice died in his throat at what happened next.
Shing did not pause. He did not blink.
He pointed.
A golden line pierced the air.
Zuzu burst into light.
Not torn. Not broken. Gone.
Thorn screamed.
He charged, sword raised, but Ren was faster. He tackled him to the ground.
"No!" Ren bellowed. "You can't beat him!"
"He killed her! He killed her!" Thorn sobbed, flailing.
"I know!" Ren hissed, holding him tight.
Beside them, Tam stood frozen. Shock covered his face as he stared with wide eyes. His mouth moved but no words came.
Then, rage devoured him.
Tam turned, water forming jagged blades along his arms, and he sprinted at Shing.
Shing met him with a single touch to the forehead.
Tam fell to his knees.
His eyes turned gold.
Ren dragged Thorn and with a hand on Lilith's shoulder, they retreated.
But Shing kept coming.
And as he walked towards them, others fell. Each one touched. Each one glowed. Each one bent the knee.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
Ren could only watch, his mind a storm of disbelief. This wasn't supposed to happen. This wasn't the way that Shing was supposed to present himself to his people.
Shing opened his mouth and spoke, his voice echoing. It shook the stone around them, surging the water at their feet.
His words were not in the common tongue. Instead, it was an older language. But the meaning still reached their minds.
"Mine."
The sea roared as if in worship.
Before Ren could stop her, Lilith stepped forward.
Her eyes blazed pure white.
She said nothing.
She leapt.
In each hand, swords of soul energy roared into life, and her hair streamed behind her as she sailed through the air.
Shing leapt up to meet her and as they met each other, the sky ruptured. Lightning split the sky, and a loud crack filled the air.
All could only look on in awe.
Lilith was rage personified. Shing was the epitome of inevitability. They danced, collided, split the ground beneath their feet, and turned the shallows to boiling chaos.
She drove a sword through his side. A golden wound opened, and he responded with a fist to her chest.
She flew back, skidding through the broken plaza.
Shing did not pursue.
Instead, he turned.
He walked toward the sea.
Tam and the golden-eyed followers rose behind him.
They entered the ocean, and the waves closed over them. Then, they were gone.
Thorn collapsed to his knees.
His screams were dry. Empty.
Lilith clutched her ribs, trembling but standing.
Ren remained rooted. His fists were clenched so tight blood ran down his palms.
The Ancestor had returned.
And the world was no longer safe.