The sky was still dark when Thalren woke up.
For a moment, he didn't know why.
The cabin was silent. Outside, the wind moved softly through the trees, and distant waves rolled against the shore. Everything felt calm.
Yet something felt… wrong.
Thalren sat up slowly.
A strange warmth spread across his chest.
He looked down.
The black crystal necklace was glowing again.
But this time the glow was stronger.
A faint blue light pulsed inside the dark scale-shaped crystal, beating slowly like a living heart.
Thalren frowned.
"It's happening again…"
The moment his fingers touched the crystal, a sudden pressure filled his mind.
A deep rumbling sound echoed inside his head.
Not a voice.
Not exactly.
More like a distant whisper carried through endless depths.
His vision blurred.
For a brief second—
He saw something.
Dark water stretching infinitely in every direction.
Massive shadows moving beneath the surface.
And far below, deeper than anything he could imagine, something enormous stirred.
Two gigantic eyes slowly opened.
Thalren gasped and fell backward.
The vision vanished instantly.
His breathing became rapid as he stared at the glowing crystal.
"What… was that?"
The cabin door suddenly opened.
Kael stood at the entrance, watching him closely.
"So you felt it."
Thalren looked up.
"You knew?"
Kael walked inside slowly.
"Your necklace woke you up, didn't it?"
The boy nodded.
"It showed me something… something deep beneath the sea."
Kael remained silent for a moment.
Then he sat down across from Thalren.
"Tell me what you saw."
Thalren hesitated but described everything—the darkness, the shadows, and the enormous eyes that had opened in the depths.
When he finished speaking, Kael leaned back quietly.
"I see."
"You're not surprised?" Thalren asked.
The old man chuckled softly.
"No. I expected this sooner or later."
Thalren blinked.
"What do you mean?"
Kael pointed at the crystal.
"That thing around your neck is not ordinary."
"I figured that part out," Thalren muttered.
Kael ignored the comment.
"Long ago, sailors spoke about artifacts connected to the deepest parts of the sea."
He tapped the table lightly.
"They called them Tide Relics."
Thalren's eyes widened slightly.
"Tide Relics?"
Kael nodded.
"Objects that carry ancient power from the depths. Power that normal people cannot control."
His gaze sharpened.
"Yet somehow… you survived it."
Thalren looked down at the necklace again.
"So this relic saved me?"
"Possibly," Kael replied.
"Or perhaps it chose you."
The boy fell silent.
Chosen.
He wasn't sure if that thought was comforting or terrifying.
Kael suddenly stood up.
"Come outside."
They stepped out of the cabin as the first rays of sunlight appeared over the horizon.
The waves rolled steadily across the shore.
Kael pointed toward the water.
"Today your training changes."
Thalren groaned.
"More rocks?"
Kael smirked.
"No."
He grabbed a long rope tied to a heavy wooden log.
"You're pulling this."
Thalren stared at the massive log lying on the sand.
"You're serious?"
"Completely."
Kael tied the rope around Thalren's waist.
"Walk into the water and drag it behind you."
The boy sighed.
Then he stepped forward.
The cold waves touched his feet.
He kept walking until the water reached his waist.
"Now move," Kael ordered.
Thalren pulled.
The log barely moved.
He pulled again.
This time it dragged slightly across the sand beneath the water.
Each step felt incredibly heavy.
The waves pushed against his body constantly, forcing him to fight for balance.
Minutes passed.
Then an hour.
Sweat mixed with seawater as Thalren continued pulling the massive log through the waves.
His muscles burned.
His legs trembled.
Yet he refused to stop.
Finally, Kael raised his hand.
"That's enough."
Thalren collapsed into the shallow water, breathing heavily.
The old man walked over.
"You felt something different today, didn't you?"
Thalren nodded slowly.
"When the necklace glowed… I felt stronger."
Kael crouched beside him.
"That's because your body is beginning to react to the relic."
Thalren looked at the crystal again.
"So this power… belongs to the sea?"
Kael's expression became serious.
"No."
"It belongs to something far older."
A wave crashed against the shore as silence filled the air.
Thalren slowly stood up.
"What kind of power is it?"
Kael stared toward the endless horizon.
"The kind that kings fear."
The boy's eyes sharpened.
"Sea Kings?"
Kael nodded once.
"Exactly."
The name alone carried immense weight.
Creatures that ruled the deepest waters.
Monsters capable of destroying entire fleets.
And yet…
The relic around Thalren's neck had reacted to something even deeper than them.
Kael looked down at the boy.
"You're walking a dangerous path, Thalren."
"But if you survive it…"
He smiled faintly.
"You might become something the world has never seen before."
Thalren tightened his grip on the necklace.
The crystal pulsed again.
Deep beneath the endless waves, far beyond the reach of sunlight, something ancient stirred once more.
And somewhere in those silent depths, a colossal shadow began to move.