Reincarnated As Poseidon

The cavern's walls pulsed faintly with the rhythm of the sea outside, a strange heartbeat echoing in the stillness. Poseidon stood in the center, the trident in his grip gleaming with the faint blue fire of Thalorin's essence. Every droplet of seawater that clung to the stone seemed to be watching him, vibrating under an unseen tension.

"You've awakened," a deep, rumbling voice filled the space—not spoken in sound, but resonating in the marrow of his bones.

It wasn't Thalorin speaking this time. This voice was colder, older, like a glacier grinding over stone.

"I've been awake for a long time," Poseidon replied, his tone steady despite the pressure pressing down on him. "You just didn't notice."

A shadow stirred in the far end of the cavern, coiling like black smoke underwater. From it emerged a towering figure—Aegirion, the new god who had risen to challenge the seas themselves. His frame shimmered with liquid silver armor, but his eyes burned with molten gold, betraying a hunger not for conquest, but for complete erasure.

"You are not what you were, Dominic," Aegirion said, stepping forward. "You carry something in you that does not belong to this world."

Poseidon tightened his grip on the trident. "And yet here I stand."

The god's gaze flickered to the weapon. "Thalorin's mark. You know it will consume you, don't you? The more you wield it, the less you remain yourself. That entity… it does not share."

For a moment, the air between them seemed to thicken. Poseidon could feel the slow curl of Thalorin's amusement in the back of his mind. Let him talk, the ancient being whispered. Let him believe he can sway you. Then break him.

"I didn't come here to debate philosophy," Poseidon said, stepping closer. "I came here to warn you—if you move against the oceans, you move against me."

Aegirion's lips curved into a humorless smile. "You think the oceans are yours?" His voice hardened. "They were mine before your mortal soul crawled into that shell of power. And I will take them back—by force, if necessary."

The next heartbeat came with a burst of violent motion. Aegirion thrust his hand forward, and the water around them roared into life, forming jagged spears of pressurized current. Poseidon spun the trident, the weapon's blue fire slicing through the attack with a sharp hiss, boiling the water into mist.

The cavern became a storm in seconds. Waves crashed against the ceiling, shattering stone and sending shards tumbling into the chaos. The force of the battle tore the water into a thousand swirling vortices, each one capable of crushing bone.

Poseidon's muscles burned, his mortal instincts screaming under the weight of godlike combat. But Thalorin's power surged through him like an unending tide. Each strike of his trident carried more than just his will—it carried an echo of something older than the seas themselves.

Aegirion pressed the attack, his blows relentless. With every clash, Poseidon could feel the cavern groaning under the strain, the very bedrock threatening to split.

"You can't win," Aegirion growled, driving him back against the far wall. "You're fighting me and it at the same time. You'll break before I do."

But Poseidon wasn't listening to the words anymore. He was listening to the rhythm of the sea beyond the cavern, the pull and push of the tides—the heartbeat of his domain. And beneath it, the whisper of Thalorin, coaxing him toward something darker.

Release me fully, Thalorin hissed. Let me drown him in the abyss.

Poseidon's jaw tightened. He knew the risk—every time he gave Thalorin more room, it became harder to pull back. But the alternative was losing here, and if Aegirion took control of the oceans… there would be no pulling back from that either.

"Fine," Poseidon breathed.

The change was instant. The blue glow of the trident deepened to a black-blue abyssal fire, and the water around Poseidon thickened, heavy with crushing pressure. His eyes shifted, the human color swallowed by the cold, endless black of the deep sea.

Aegirion hesitated for the briefest moment—then Poseidon struck.

The trident shot forward in a blur, each thrust sending shockwaves through the cavern. Aegirion blocked two, dodged one, but the fourth pierced his shoulder. The god roared in pain, the sound vibrating through the water like thunder.

The wound bled not red, but silver, and the liquid twisted away into the water like living metal.

"You—" Aegirion spat, but Poseidon didn't let him finish. He swung the trident in a vicious arc, releasing a tidal burst that hurled Aegirion into the far wall hard enough to fracture the stone.

The cavern shook violently. Cracks spiderwebbed along the ceiling. Aegirion recovered quickly, but Poseidon was already there, pressing the advantage, forcing the god back with relentless precision.

"You want the oceans?" Poseidon growled, driving the trident's haft into Aegirion's ribs. "Come and take them."

The battle raged on, each strike heavier than the last, until finally the cavern could bear no more. The ceiling gave way with a deafening roar, and the sea poured in, dragging both combatants into the open water.

Out here, there was no floor, no walls—only the infinite expanse of the deep. And here, Poseidon was at home.

He moved faster, striking from impossible angles, bending currents to his will. Aegirion countered with raw force, creating whirlpools and shockwaves that would have torn a mortal apart instantly.

But it wasn't enough.

With one final surge, Poseidon drove the trident through the god's defenses, the abyssal fire searing through his armor. Aegirion cried out, the sound twisting into something more primal—more desperate—before he dissolved into a cloud of silver mist that fled into the depths.

Poseidon floated there, breathing hard, the trident still glowing with Thalorin's power.

You could have finished him, Thalorin whispered in his mind, almost reproachfully.

"I'm not your weapon," Poseidon muttered, forcing the abyssal fire to fade. His eyes slowly shifted back to their human form.

But even as the water calmed, he knew this wasn't over. Aegirion would return, stronger, and Thalorin's hunger would only grow.

The war for the seas had just begun.