The moment the colossal eye opened beneath the abyss, I understood something instinctively.
I was no longer simply living in the Ocean Emperor World…
I was being recognized by it.
It also dawned on me that I won't be able to go home…it's not that I even want to go home…to that hell called Earth…
The pressure that followed was not violent.It did not crush or threaten. Instead, it felt like standing before something immeasurably ancient while it decided whether I belonged.
The guardian watched me.The water around the capital slowed, currents bending subtly toward the trench as if the entire ocean bowed in silent reverence.
Even distant marine beasts lowered themselves into stillness.I swallowed, unable to look away from the glowing abyss below.
"It sees me," I whispered.
Azarus stood beside me, close enough that his presence steadied the trembling energy inside my chest.
"Yes," he said quietly. "And it judges."
That word should have frightened me.
