NOVEL WEB Chapter 308: Sea In The Sky
In the aftermath of the disaster that razed Patino to the ground, the surviving Tidecallers focused their energy on taking care of those who, while grievously injured, still had their lives.
Those who'd lost grieved and those who still had, took care of their possessions, but there was a question on the minds of all who were present on the island.
Was this the end of the Tidecaller civilization? Would the nations band together and attack them in the only moment of weakness they'd ever had as a people?
Ren could see the fear hover above the people, prominent among the sadness, anxiety and despair clinging to them.
Then, a shout rose up to the air, followed by a few more. All eyes snapped to the Mare Dulce as it shimmered like a giant light bulb.
"What the…"
They all watched as the light dimmed, and rain began to fall upward.
One drop at a time, the sea began to rise, like a reverse monsoon unraveling the natural order of the world.
Slowly, then in a torrent, the water rushed upwards, pooling in the sky and obscuring the sun, the island below darkening from the giant shadow.
The waves of the Mare Dulce calmed only to churn in the sky, where a second sea formed above.
It defied the laws of the world, stretching from horizon to horizon. The Mare Dulce should've dipped from the volume of water taken, but the water levels stayed the same.
The inverted sea refracted the light of the sun, sending the dim light downwards as it hung overhead like a crown of doom over the world.
And swimming within the sea were numerous sea dragons, their bodies winding through the new gravity like snakes through a celestial river.
Each beast shimmered like pearls beneath the inverted waves, their form indistinct.
The people of Patino watched in awe and fear. Children wept, and the elderly clutched their hands in prayers.
The Tidecallers, who had long believed they understood the sea, stared wordlessly.
The sea no longer obeyed them or the known laws of the world. It was never truly under their control, but now, it mocked them from the sky.
In the distance, ships sailed towards the ruined city. Their sails were mostly identical, identifying them as the other Tidecallers from the neighboring islands.
Hope began to bloom in the hearts of some of the survivors. They were not alone. Help was coming.
Ren stood atop one of the ruins near the central rock, watching the twin oceans, one above, one below.
Thorn sat beside him, blood dried on his shirt, his new bone-arm clutching a water flask he hadn't touched. His gaze was vacant, unmoving.
After minutes, Thorn finally broke the silence. "How do we kill him?" His voice was hoarse, stripped of everything but rage.
Ren didn't answer immediately. He was watching a sea dragon ripple past the clouds overhead. It swam with elegance. Unbothered.
"We don't." Ren said. "Not yet. Not like this."
"That's not what I asked."
Ren turned. His eyes were tired, darker than usual. "Thorn. That thing out there, it isn't just Shing."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean," Ren said, voice low, "whatever came back isn't him alone. He's been taken. Corrupted."
"Maybe…" he trailed off.
"Maybe what?" Thorn growled.
"Maybe there's something deep inside the Mare Dulce that we haven't heard of yet. The Shing I know doesn't have the ability to vaporize things with golden light."
"This has to be something else. Something that has the power to infect Shing and make him go mad. Something I don't know about."
"Like the Three?" Thorn asked.
"Something like them." Ren nodded. "And it's not wise to go after something we don't know much about."
For a long moment, no one said a word. The wind from the rising ocean howled above them.
"Right now, we let the Tidecallers deal with it." Ren said finally. "We have other places to be and other calamities to fight. Let them deal with their god."
Lilith's voice filled the air, sounding like ice breaking beneath fire.
"No."
They both turned.
"We're not leaving." Her voice trembled with rage barely held in check. "That thing came for me. He looked at me like I was prey. And you think I'm walking away?"
Ren opened his mouth, but Lilith stepped forward, eyes glowing.
"He's in there." She pointed to the sea above. "I can feel him. I can hear his soul whispering to me like a scream under water."
Thorn rose to his feet. "Then I'm going too. I have to."
Ren looked between them. He sighed. "I won't be able to dissuade you two, would I?"
"No." Thorn said, looking down at the clenched fist of his bone arm. "And she's right. We can't let him live. Not after what he did."
Ren looked up at the sea that floated in the sky. The ocean glowed faintly from the light of the sun above it, casting dancing patterns on the ruins of Patino.
Finally, he nodded.
"Alright. Let's go kill a god."
Lilith stepped forward, lifting a hand. A platform of soul energy flared beneath them.
They stepped onto it.
It lifted them smoothly into the sky, the wind whistling past as they ascended. Below them, Patino shrank into a wound of rubble.
The sea above shimmered like a dome of liquid glass. As they neared, they could see a hole at the bottom, looking like a circular maw in the water.
The platform slipped through.
Inside, it was a world apart.
The sea was thick, but hollow.
They floated into a large hallway with glimmering halls of flowing water. It was large enough to fit ten adults standing shoulder to shoulder.
The hallway had columns and arches formed from pressured currents. The floor beneath them was water, but solid, shimmering like polished stone. The walls rippled and flickered like mirages.
It was like a palace had been shoved into the middle of the water. They could see the sea dragons in the distance, swimming among the thick walls of water.
Massive barnacles clung to corners, frozen in motion, and fish darted behind glassy walls.
"I… think this is a palace." Thorn whispered.
"It's a prison." Lilith said.
"Or a temple." Ren murmured. "One built to house a god. Or chain a monster."
They looked down the long corridor ahead of them.
Shing was waiting.
And they had entered his domain.