Time in the Fish-Men Kingdom did not pass in the same way as on the surface. Here, the days were not marked by sunrise or sunset, but by the ocean currents that changed direction as if they were breathing. Even so, two weeks had passed since the advance against the last demonic strongholds, and the environment around the capital was beginning to reflect a strange sense of stability.
The attacks had decreased.
Not abruptly, but like a tide slowly retreating after a storm. First, there were fewer invasions along the outer borders, then the isolated assaults began to disappear, until only small traces of resistance remained, appearing and being eliminated before they could even become established.
I watched all of this from the top of one of the city's coral structures, while the flow of water around us moved calmly, almost too orderly to be natural. The princess was beside me, looking in the same direction, with an expression that mixed relief and suspicion.
"This is happening too quickly," she said.
I agreed.
"It doesn't seem like a normal retreat."
Scarlet was leaning against a nearby structure, arms crossed.
"Either they're reorganizing, or they're planning something bigger."
Rai'kanna let out a short sigh.
"I prefer it when they just come and attack directly."
Lyannis analyzed small fragments of energy that still circulated through the water.
"These magical residues aren't from a disorderly retreat. They're controlled dissolutions."
Liriel looked at him.
"Controlled by whom?"
He hesitated.
"I don't know yet."
The silence that followed was brief, but heavy.
The princess spoke again.
"The problem isn't what's happening right now."
I looked at her.
"It's what isn't happening," she completed.
The sentence hung in the air like a warning.
Over the following days, the pattern repeated itself. Small patrols reported encounters with corrupted creatures, but each of them seemed to act independently, without coordination. It was as if something greater was keeping the chaos under control, but without allowing it to disappear completely.
It was during this period that the more intense training began.
The archmage had authorized limited access to some areas of the city where the magical currents were more stable. There, I began testing what I had learned in the submerged library. At first, it seemed impossible to apply those adaptation structures in real combat, but little by little, the concept began to make sense.
It wasn't about strength.
It was about response.
Scarlet watched as I tried to stabilize a stream of energy that fell apart every time I tried to shape it.
"You're thinking too much," she said.
I didn't respond.
She approached.
"This isn't calculation. It's instinct."
Rai'kanna chuckled softly.
"Funny hearing that from her."
Scarlet shot him a quick look.
"Be quiet."
But the truth was simple. She was right in a way. The magic of that place did not respond only to intention, but also to the state of the person using it.
Lyannis tried to explain it more technically.
"The system reacts to internal coherence. If you hesitate, it falls apart."
Liriel added.
"It's as if the environment is testing you."
The princess watched in silence.
"So it's not about mastering the magic."
I completed the thought.
"It's about not being contradictory to it."
That changed everything about my understanding.
Over the following days, the attacks almost ceased completely. Only rumors of distant movements remained, without any clear form, like echoes of something that still existed but did not manifest itself directly.
That was when the kingdom's council decided to gather everyone.
The audience chamber was fuller than before. Nobles, strategists, and representatives of the Fish-Men discussed the recent reports. The king watched in silence, with the serious expression of someone who knew that the absence of war did not always mean peace.
The archmage was the first to speak.
"The patterns are changing."
One of the ocean's generals asked.
"For the better?"
He answered without hesitation.
"Into something more complex."
Silence settled over the room.
The princess stepped forward.
"This means they're preparing."
Scarlet crossed her arms.
"Or waiting for the right moment."
Rai'kanna added.
"Or studying us."
Lyannis looked at the king.
"There is a fourth possibility."
Everyone looked at him.
He continued.
"They've already achieved their objective here."
The atmosphere became even heavier.
The king finally spoke.
"And what would that objective be?"
Lyannis hesitated for a moment.
"We still don't know."
The meeting ended without clear answers, only with a deeper sense of uncertainty.
That night, I walked alone near the outer structures of the city. The ocean was calmer than ever, but there was no comfort in it. On the contrary. It was as if something had held its breath.
The princess appeared behind me.
"You couldn't sleep either?"
I shook my head.
"It's not just that."
She stood beside me.
"Are you feeling it too?"
I looked at the submerged horizon.
"Yes."
She took a deep breath.
"Then it's not just paranoia."
We remained silent for a while.
Until she spoke again.
"If this is only the beginning..."
I completed the thought.
"Then we haven't seen anything yet."
The ocean responded with a slight change in the current.
Almost imperceptible.
But enough to make me uneasy.
And at that moment, I understood that the last fifteen days had not been peaceful.
They had been preparation.
For something that had not yet shown its true face.