Dawn crept across the horizon, its tender rays barely caressing the morning''s crystalline chill. The ocean—vast and infinite—stretched before Dheandita as she perched upon the jagged rocks at the shoreline, her gaze lost in the tranquil waterscape. A melody emerged from her lips, sorrowful and ancient. "Neernidhi Lament," the song her mother had taught her, seemed to weave itself into the very fabric of the wind.


    I should be grateful, she thought, bitterness etching each word. I should be thankful for this second chance. But it''s hard... so hard.


    Her mother''s voice—a tender lullaby whispered beneath moonlight''s gentle embrace—echoed within her. Her fingers traced the pearl pendant, her mother''s final creation. As she wore it, memories flooded back of her underwater home, Varunalaya.


    She remembered the village’s shell-like buildings, illuminated by sapphire lamps, and her mother’s gentle hands combing her hair, accompanied by that soft smile she had always loved.


    At the village’s public school, she had learned from teachers with graceful, squid-like forms about their isolated paradise, nestled at the edge of the Jaladri Ocean. Outside, adults tended the pearl gardens and food fields, while children her age played Treasure Hunt—a game of searching for pearls or helping their parents work.


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    She could still recall her friends'' smiles and laughter—the little one, Maris; Barees with the loudest laugh; and Kusa, the girl who dreamed of one day reaching Maranagara.


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    They''d never had visitors. Never needed them. Until that day—the day the horde came. Black-armored figures with hidden faces descended upon their peaceful village. No one fought back; they couldn''t. Dheandita''s throat tightened as she remembered watching them take her mother, the village chief, first. Then, one by one, everyone else. Including her.


    A footstep crunched against the gravel behind her, gentle yet deliberate.


    "Such a beautiful song... Dhea," Devita murmured.


    "You should rest," Alma added. "I don''t think you slept last night."


    Dheandita remained transfixed by the water, She turned slowly towards them. "Thank you."


    Alma and Devita exchanged uncertain glances. Alma''s unspoken words died in her throat. With a sigh, she followed Devita''s retreating form.


    The wind cut like a cold blade as Dheandita''s gaze returned seaward. Unbidden, she began her mother''s lullaby. Frozen Aria, her magic crystallized the atmosphere. The sea responded, birthing delicate ice shards that spread like neural networks, each note weaving life into the crystalline surface. Slowly, her mother''s face materialized—frozen, distant, a spectral reflection through time.


    "Why do you cling to the past, Dheandita?" The spectral voice echoed from the ice.


    Her world condensed to that frozen image. "No... this isn''t... this isn''t real," she whispered.


    "You''re holding onto your grief, my love. Carrying our sacrifice like a chain. But please… let it go. The ocean won''t heed your pleas if you can''t find calm within yourself."


    The words struck with her magic spiraled—wild, uncontrolled. Guilt and pain erupted as jagged ice spikes, waves crashing violently against the shore, mirroring her internal tempest.


    I can''t... I can''t let go! I don''t know how!


    "Dheandita..." Luna''s voice was gentle.


    She turned to meet Luna''s piercing blue eyes—the same steady gaze that had saved her from the men in black suits. Luna sat beside her, a steadying presence. "There are some things we can''t change. Some things that stay with us," she murmured.


    Breath by breath, the storm within Dheandita receded. Magic ebbed, ice melting into soft, surrendering ripples.


    "I wish I could be like you, Luna… strong, someone people can rely on..." she whispered.


    Luna''s eyes widened. She bit her lip, gaze averted. "That''s not true… I''m…" Her voice faltered. "I''m not what you think I am."


    Footsteps interrupted them.


    "It''s been almost 24 hours... we need to move, now," Drifter said.


    Luna, unsurprised by the urgency, glanced at Dheandita. "Let''s go, Dheandita."


    Dheandita nodded, rising from her perch by the sea.


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    As Drifter, Luna and Dheandita neared the wooden ship, Drifter saw Alma sitting on a rock, Devita beside him, smiling.


    “Well, good thing they lost track of us,” Devita said.


    Drifter simply nodded, but his mind raced. Why didn’t they attack...? An uneasy feeling settled in his chest.


    As they finally boarded the wooden ship, it set sail with the help of the villagers, who possessed the power of the wind. The sea was calm, the breeze gentle—a stark contrast to the tension Drifter felt.


    After sailing for a while, Drifter noticed the villagers beginning to relax, exchanging soft murmurs and cautious glances.


    Alma, Dheandita, and Devita sat together, the faint sound of their conversation lifting the tension in the air. There was a lightness in their voices, the kind that only comes from shared camaraderie, their banter flowing easily.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Dheandita sat slightly apart, her eyes scanning the horizon. Her presence was quieter now, but not detached. Something had shifted in her demeanor—there was a softness in the way she looked at her friends, something akin to acceptance.


    Drifter turned to his right and saw Luna, her gaze straight ahead, arms crossed, her long black hair billowing in the wind.


    Drifter''s unease still tightened in his chest, the tension thick in the air. His mind raced.


    Did Friedrich do something to them? I hope so…


    He glanced at the ocean, searching for a moment of calm.


    Suddenly, without warning, a violent tremor ripped through the sea beneath them. Drifter heard a loud crack echo from below, followed by the brutal sound of the ship splintering in two. His heart raced, and he gritted his teeth. Villagers were thrown into the air like ragdolls, their screams of panic swallowed by the crashing waves as chaos unfolded around them


    Drifter instantly grabbed a nearby support and reached out for Luna''s hand as she fell. With a swift motion, he teleported them to the top of the ship.


    “Careful—something’s coming from below!” Luna’s voice was sharp, her hand already materializing blue sigils in the air.


    At the top, Drifter saw Alma, Devita, and Dheandita below, already in the water. His eyes scanned the surroundings, taking in the remnants of the ship slowly sinking and the scattered wooden debris.


    His gaze narrowed as he saw ripples in the water moving toward a male villager. Without hesitation, he teleported down, and his Exaltare, a dark gray sword, materialized in his hand. He swung it immediately as he landed, but the strike felt heavier than usual, weighed down by the water around him.


    Through the water, Drifter saw a pale-skinned woman with fin-like ears, silver-blue hair, and a crystalline harp. Her lower body was that of a fish, and a cruel smile spread across her face as she began to sing. Her voice sent a paralyzing chill through Drifter’s body, and he found himself unable to move. His heart began to race faster


    Damn… Nereid magic… he thought to himself.


    Suddenly, Exalt Healing, a pink magic circle surrounded him, and Drifter immediately felt the weight lift from his body, allowing him to evade the attack.


    As he glanced nearby, he saw Dheandita’s lower body transformed into that of a fish, allowing her to swim with remarkable speed. Alma and Devita moved more slowly beside her. With precision, Dheandita attacked, her harp releasing a volley of ice bolts toward the Nereid. Alma followed with her Exalt Missiles, the pink projectiles moving slowly but steadily. Devita attempted a kick, awkward and slow, but the Nereid easily evaded all their attacks.


    Suddenly, Drifter’s eyes widened as blood began to fill the water. A gray, shark-like humanoid with black armor appeared, its sharp eyes gleaming with ferocity. Its greatsword, shaped like a fishbone, had already impaled the unmoving villager. But in an instant, the creature moved with startling speed, appearing directly in front of Drifter. With a swift swing of its greatsword, it unleashed a shockwave of dark energy.


    Instinctively, Drifter raised his Exaltare to parry the blow, but the strike''s force shattered his sword. His natural barrier and black armor broke as well, and a searing pain shot through him. Blood poured from the wound in his chest, blurring his vision.


    Stumbling and losing his balance, Drifter immediately raised his left hand, channeling Exalt Heal. A blue light emanated from his palm, closing the wound, but before he could recover, the shark-like humanoid cleaved its greatsword toward him again. This time, a pink, transparent barrier materialized just in time, deflecting the strike. In retaliation, pink missiles and ice bolts rained down on the sharkman, but it evaded them with ease.


    Drifter quickly reformed his Exaltare and black armor, though he hesitated to materialize his spectral swords—he knew they would be too slow to move effectively in the water.


    Suddenly, a volley of lightning projectiles shot up from the depths below. Drifter and the others managed to evade most of them, but some of the villagers weren’t so lucky, some struck by the blasts and falling lifelessly into the water.


    The flash of lightning from the bowgun illuminated the figure for a brief moment before it vanished back into the depths. Drifter narrowed his eyes as he caught a glimpse of the attacker from below—a humanoid creature, resembling a jellyfish, wielding a bowgun.


    Suddenly, a loud noise echoed from above. Drifter turned his head— the ship had completely sunk.


    His eyes locked onto Luna, engaged in battle. Blue sigils hovered around her, launching ice lances and bolts toward a humanoid creature resembling a crustacean. It had a single large horn protruding from its forehead, its body covered in thick, red armor-like plating. Wielding twin crimson blades, the creature moved with terrifying precision, slashing and deflecting Luna’s relentless barrage with ease.


    As the crustacean man closed in on Luna, Drifter teleported, intercepting the attack with a swift parry. Dheandita, Alma, and Devita followed, regrouping near Luna in formation.


    Across from them, the shark man and the nereid woman gathered around the crustacean man.


    Who are they…? The way they fight… Drifter narrowed his eyes. Mercenaries, maybe.


    "What’s this? A group of women?" the crustacean man mused, his gaze sliding over Luna, Dheandita, Alma, and Devita.


    He smirked. "She’s the one? Not bad… They’re all quite my taste. Can I take them home, boss?" His eyes flicked toward the shark man.


    The shark man remained silent, his expression unreadable.


    "I’ll take that as a yes." A grin spread across the crustacean man’s face.


    In a blink, he was suddenly in front of Drifter. His eyes gleamed with killing intent.


    "Sorry, but I don’t need a man."


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    Drifter''s blade clashed against the crustacean man''s weapons, each strike sending ripples through the murky depths. From Dheandita''s position, she could see his movements growing sluggish, the ocean''s weight betraying his surface-dweller nature. His blue barrier cracked under the relentless assault, pieces floating away like scattered starlight.


    Nearby, Luna and Alma faced their own desperate battle. The nereid woman''s ice spikes shattered against their combined ice shield and exalt barrier, but the sharkman''s dark greatsword cleaved through their defenses with frightening ease. Dheandita watched as their spells—Luna''s frost nova and Alma''s fire tornado—dissipated in the water like dying embers.


    Devita moved with deadly grace, her crystalline boot-blade cutting clean arcs through the water as she engaged the nereid woman. But even her practiced movements proved futile. The nereid woman dodged with fluid ease, turning Devita''s momentum against her. Ice explosions bloomed around her spinning form, testing the limits of her brown barrier.


    Horror gripped Dheandita''s heart as she witnessed the nereid woman cast ocean blessing on the sharkman. His already frightening speed doubled, becoming a blur of motion that culminated in Luna''s blood spreading through the water like crimson ink.


    "Ocean blessing…. " Her voice trembled.


    But silence answered. Ten times she intoned the sacred words, yet her magic lay dormant. Tears dissolved into the saltwater, indistinguishable from the ocean''s endless sorrow.


    The truth crashed against her like a merciless tide—they were lost. Again and again, she summoned her magic, the strings of her harp fraying. Around her, the water screamed. Lightning projectiles pierced through liquid darkness, their deadly dance impaling vulnerable bodies. Children''s cries echoed in the depths, a haunting chorus of despair that would haunt her dreams forever.


    Please... calm down, Dhea... you can...


    Her scaled tail propelled her through the water''s turbulent heart, each movement a testament to her mounting desperation.