CHAPTER 68: CHAPTER 68: THE DEEP SEA GUARDIAN

The Abyssal Throne rose from the ocean floor like a mountain made of bone and coral, its twisted spires reaching upward through the golden-tinted water toward the surface far above. Bioluminescent organisms had colonized every surface, creating patterns of light that pulsed in hypnotic rhythms across the massive structure.

"Well, that’s definitely not natural," Borin observed, still getting used to breathing the magical water that surrounded them. His voice carried strangely through the liquid medium, but Evon’s power made communication possible.

"It’s beautiful though," Yulia said, her elven sight apparently able to pick out details the others missed. "Look at the architecture—it’s grown rather than built. Whoever lives here has been shaping this place for centuries."

As they swam closer, Evon could feel the third fragment of Yena’s seal more clearly. It was definitely here, somewhere within the throne structure, but its energy signature was... wrong. Instead of the pure, calming light of the previous fragments, this one felt turbulent, almost angry.

"The fragment’s been changed by its environment," Naia whispered in his mind. "It’s absorbed the deep ocean’s pressure, its darkness, its predatory nature."

"Is it still Yena?" Evon asked silently.

"Yes, but she’s become something she was never meant to be."

Nerissa and her merfolk escort had arranged themselves in a protective formation around the group as they approached the throne’s main entrance—a massive archway carved with images of sea creatures that seemed to move when viewed directly.

"This is as far as we go," Nerissa said, her expression troubled. "What lies within the throne is beyond our authority to enter. The Deep Ones’ war-chief claimed this place as his own after the Burning Pearl arrived."

"What happened to the war-chief?" Quendor asked, his dragon senses picking up traces of violence in the water.

"Dead," Nerissa replied simply. "Along with most of his court. Whatever the Pearl became when it settled here, it didn’t appreciate having rulers."

They swam through the archway into a vast chamber that defied the physics of underwater architecture. Despite being completely submerged, the space felt more like a cathedral than a sea cave. Pillars of living coral supported a ceiling that disappeared into darkness above, and the floor was covered in what looked like a carpet of luminescent sea anemones.

"There," Titania said, pointing toward the far end of the chamber where a raised dais held what could only be described as a throne. But instead of being carved from stone or coral, the seat appeared to be made from crystallized water, its surface reflecting the golden light that permeated everything.

And hovering above the throne, casting that golden glow, was Yena’s third fragment.

But this piece looked nothing like the previous two. Where the others had maintained some semblance of their original holy light, this fragment had taken on characteristics of the deep ocean. Tentacles of pure energy writhed around a central core that pulsed like a jellyfish, and the light it cast had an alien quality that made the water around it seem thick and oppressive.

"She’s been trying to adapt," Lyria said sadly. "To become something that belongs in this environment. But holy light and abyssal darkness don’t mix well."

As they approached the throne, movement in the shadows caught Evon’s attention. Something large shifted behind one of the coral pillars, and he could see the glint of what might have been eyes reflecting the fragment’s golden glow.

"We’re not alone," he said quietly, drawing the Blade of Fate.

The creature that emerged from the shadows was unlike anything any of them had encountered before. It was massive—easily twenty meters long—with a serpentine body covered in golden scales that seemed to absorb and reflect light simultaneously. Its head was the most disturbing part: a translucent, jellyfish-like dome filled with swirling patterns of bioluminescent organs, with tentacles hanging down where a mouth should be.

But it had arms—two powerful limbs that emerged from its upper body, ending in claws that looked like they could tear through ship hulls.

"What is that thing?" Borin asked, raising his war hammer defensively.

"Trezulas," Nerissa said from the archway, her voice carrying a note of fear. "The Deep Ones spoke of him. A guardian from the deepest trenches, awakened by the Pearl’s arrival."

Trezulas raised his head, and the organs within his jellyfish skull pulsed with malevolent intelligence. When he spoke, his voice was like the grinding of tectonic plates, carried through the water in waves of pressure that made their bones ache.

"SURFACE DWELLERS," he rumbled. "YOU COME FOR THE BURNING THING. BUT IT IS MINE NOW. IT FEEDS ME. MAKES ME STRONG."

"We’re not here to fight," Evon said, though he kept his blade ready. "We just want to take the fragment to where it belongs."

"IT BELONGS HERE," Trezulas replied, his body coiling as he prepared to strike. "IN THE DEEP. IN THE DARK. WHERE LIGHT LEARNS TO FEAR."

The attack came without further warning. Trezulas moved through the water like liquid lightning, his massive form covering the distance between them in seconds. His claws swept through the space where Evon had been standing, but the young warrior was already moving, guided by his Eyes of Fate.

"Spread out!" Evon called to the others. "Don’t let him corner us!"

Yulia’s arrows flew through the water, each one trailing streams of elven magic. But when they struck Trezulas’s golden scales, they simply bounced off, the creature’s hide apparently too tough for conventional weapons to penetrate.

Borin tried a different approach, swimming low and aiming his war hammer at what looked like a softer spot on the creature’s underbelly. But Trezulas twisted with impossible speed, and his tail whipped around to catch the dwarf with crushing force.

"Borin!" Evon shouted, but the dwarf was already recovering, his runic armor having absorbed most of the impact.

"I’m fine!" Borin called back. "But this thing’s tougher than dwarf-bread!"

Quendor engaged Trezulas directly, dragon against sea monster in a clash that sent shockwaves through the water. The two massive creatures grappled, claws against claws, but it quickly became apparent that Trezulas had the advantage in this environment.

"The poison!" Nerissa shouted from the archway. "Beware his poison!"

As if summoned by her words, the tentacles hanging from Trezulas’s jellyfish head began to excrete streams of luminescent toxin that spread through the water like living smoke. Where it touched, the golden glow dimmed, and even the magical water that allowed them to breathe became thick and difficult to process.

Evon felt the poison trying to seep through Naia’s protective barrier, a burning sensation that made his lungs ache even though he wasn’t technically breathing air.

"This isn’t working," Veyra said in his mind. "We need a different strategy."

"Suggestions?" Evon asked, dodging another sweeping claw attack.

"The fragment," Sythara rumbled. "It’s still Yena, even changed as it is. If you can reach it..."

Evon understood. Instead of fighting Trezulas directly, he needed to get to the corrupted fragment and try to communicate with the piece of Yena’s consciousness trapped within it.

But the guardian wasn’t going to make it easy. Trezulas had positioned himself between the intruders and the throne, his massive coils creating an almost impenetrable barrier.

"Keep him distracted!" Evon called to the others, then activated partial Destiny Resonance.

The familiar surge of power flowed through him as he channeled the four goddesses’ abilities simultaneously. Water, fire, technology, and dragon-force combined to make him faster, stronger, and more aware of his surroundings than any normal being could be.

He moved through the water like a living torpedo, using Naia’s affinity to find the perfect currents and pressure differentials. Trezulas struck at him repeatedly, but Evon was always just out of reach, guided by the Eyes of Fate to avoid every claw swipe and poison cloud.

The throne dais was only meters away when Trezulas made his most desperate attack yet. The creature’s entire body convulsed, and a massive cloud of poison erupted from his jellyfish head, filling the entire chamber with toxic luminescence.

"Everyone hold your breath!" Evon shouted, though the irony of breathing water while trying not to breathe wasn’t lost on him.

"Immortal Water of Purification!" he shouted and Naia’s immortal water of purification made bubbles of pure water around the others, instantly purifying the poison.

Then with Sythara’s enhanced speed combined with Veyra’s Cyber enhancement power, Evon arrived over the throne and touched the fragment.

"Yena," he called out through their bond. "I know you’re in there. Come back to us."

The fragment pulsed once, and for a moment, the alien jellyfish-light flickered back to its original golden glow. Through that brief connection, Evon felt Yena’s consciousness—confused, angry, trying to understand why she had been forced to become something so contrary to her nature.

"I don’t belong here," her voice whispered in his mind. "But I don’t know how to leave."

"Take my hand," Evon said, reaching out to touch the fragment. "Let me help you remember who you are."

The moment of contact sent shockwaves through the chamber. The corrupted fragment began to change, its tentacle-like projections dissolving as it reverted to its original form. The golden light grew brighter and cleaner, driving back the poison clouds and illuminating the throne room with pure, healing radiance.

Trezulas screamed—a sound like the ocean itself crying out in pain. The creature began to convulse, the golden scales that had protected him now burning with holy light. But instead of fighting the purification, he seemed to welcome it.

"FREE," he gasped, his voice losing its grinding quality and becoming almost musical. "FREE FROM THE DEEP MADNESS."

As the fragment settled into Evon’s palm, he realized what had happened. Trezulas hadn’t been guarding the corrupted piece of Yena’s seal—he’d been trapped by it, just as she had been trapped by the alien environment of the deep ocean.

"Thank you," the sea creature said, his form already beginning to fade as the unnatural energies that had sustained him dissipated. "The depths call me home."

With those words, Trezulas dissolved into streams of golden light that flowed back toward the deeper trenches where he belonged. His corrupted form was gone and in a few years the real Trezulas will be reborn.

Standing on the throne dais, holding the third fragment of Yena’s seal, Evon felt the familiar activation of his Eyes of Fate. And there, embedded in the crystallized water of the throne itself, was another piece of the mysterious relic.

"Well," he said to the others as they swam closer, "at least we’re consistent."

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