The pressure of the ocean changed as we advanced into the deeper regions of the merfolk kingdom. After the report about the remnants of the previous battle, we were led through natural corridors formed by ancient coral and structures that seemed to have been shaped by magic over centuries. The water there was not just water. There was a strange feeling, as if every drop carried memory and intent.
Scarlet kept her hand close to her sword even though there were no visible enemies. Rai'kanna watched the movements of the currents with almost instinctive attention. Lyannis analyzed everything in silence, as if every detail could turn into useful knowledge. Liriel seemed more focused on the energy around us, especially the subtle variations in magical flow that coursed through the environment. The princess walked beside me, guiding the group confidently, but there was tension in her eyes.
"We're getting close," she said.
The path opened before us as if the ocean itself were giving way. A huge circle of floating stones appeared on the seabed, slowly rotating around a core of bluish light. The energy there was not aggressive, but it was dense, heavy with accumulated knowledge. At the center of the structure, someone was waiting for us.
He appeared without haste.
A merman different from the others. His body was marked with ancient symbols, not ordinary tattoos, but inscriptions that glowed softly as if they were living writings. His eyes carried a disconcerting depth, as if he had already watched entire eras pass. Around him, small spheres of water rotated in perfectly geometric patterns, as if obeying a logic that went beyond ordinary magic.
"Finally," he said.
His voice was not loud, but it crossed the space with precision.
"The heir of the surface has arrived."
I kept my gaze firm.
"You are the archmage?"
He smiled faintly.
"If I still need a title, then yes."
Scarlet stepped forward.
"You were waiting for us?"
The archmage tilted his head.
"Not exactly you. But someone who could interfere with this cycle."
Rai'kanna crossed her arms.
"Cycle?"
He raised one of his hands, and the circle of stones around us began to rotate faster.
"The war you are facing did not begin here. And it will not end here either."
The environment seemed to grow heavier.
Lyannis observed the inscriptions around him.
"These runes… are extremely ancient."
The archmage looked at Lyannis with interest.
"You can read them?"
"I can try."
He smiled again.
"Then perhaps you will understand faster than the others."
The princess intervened.
"He is responsible for the magical defense of the kingdom."
I observed the spheres of water around him.
They were not merely ornamental. Each one seemed to contain a different flow of energy, as if they were small independent systems.
"You control all of this alone?" I asked.
He answered calmly.
"I do not control it. I understand it."
The silence that followed was immediate.
Liriel stepped forward.
"Do you know about the recent attacks?"
He closed his eyes for a moment.
"I know more than I should."
Scarlet frowned.
"Then speak."
The archmage opened his eyes again.
"The demons you have faced so far are not complete invaders. They are projections. Fragments of a larger system being tested."
Rai'kanna narrowed her eyes.
"You already said something similar before."
He nodded.
"And now I can state it with more certainty."
I stepped a little closer.
"If that is true, then what is the real objective?"
He looked directly at me.
"Building compatibility."
The phrase did not make immediate sense.
Lyannis realized it first.
"Compatibility with what?"
The archmage raised his hand, and one of the spheres of water divided into multiple layers.
"With this world."
The ocean around us vibrated slightly.
Scarlet tightened her grip on the sword.
"This doesn't look like an invasion. It looks like…"
"An experiment," I completed.
He nodded.
"Exactly."
The princess turned pale for a moment.
"You're saying we are being studied?"
The archmage answered without hesitation.
"Yes. And adapted."
The silence returned, heavier than before.
Liriel looked around.
"Then this entire war…"
"Is a compatibility test between worlds," he said.
Rai'kanna slowly exhaled.
"And where do we fit into this?"
He looked at all of us.
"You are variables."
I felt the weight of those words.
Scarlet took a firm step forward.
"Variables that can fail this test."
"Or break it," he said calmly.
Lyannis watched everything in silence, but it was clear that her mind was already trying to reorganize everything she knew about magic and warfare.
The archmage then slowly walked toward the center of the circle.
"I was assigned to protect this kingdom from external interference. But what is coming now is not an ordinary invasion."
He raised his hand again, and the space around us distorted slightly.
"It is a reorganization."
The water seemed to darken for an instant.
I looked directly at him.
"If you know all of this, why didn't you stop it before?"
He stared at me.
"Because this was already underway before I was born."
The silence returned.
Deeper.
More unsettling.
The princess closed her eyes for a moment.
"Then there is no way to stop it?"
He answered calmly.
"There is a way to interfere."
Scarlet smiled slightly.
"Now we're speaking the same language."
The archmage looked at each of us one by one.
"But interference comes at a cost."
Rai'kanna crossed her arms.
"What cost?"
He answered without emotion.
"Total exposure."
I understood immediately.
"If we enter this level of combat, we won't just be reacting. We will be seen directly by whoever is behind all of this."
Liriel took a deep breath.
"Then we stop being protected."
"And become direct targets," I completed.
The archmage nodded.
"Exactly."
The silence that followed was different from the previous ones. It was not just tension. It was a decision taking shape.
Scarlet looked at me.
"You decide."
The princess also looked at me.
"If you accept this… there will be no turning back."
I looked at the energy core in the center of the circle.
And I felt something strange.
Not fear.
Direction.
"If this has already been happening for so long… then waiting won't change anything."
The archmage watched in silence.
I took a step forward.
"We will interfere."
The energy around the circle responded immediately, as if that decision had activated something ancient. The spheres of water began to spin faster, forming new patterns.
The archmage closed his eyes for a moment.
Then he smiled.
"Now we're talking."
And the entire ocean seemed to react along with that word.