The steps out of the abyss felt heavier than the descent.
Faint blue light returned as Kent emerged into the upper corridors of the Ancestral Sea Temple, his figure cloaked in quiet purpose and divine resonance.
On his shoulder, JoJo rested, his serpent form still but alert — dagger tail tucked, drum silent.
And waiting at the mouth of the abyss — stood Nyara, the Second Princess of the Naga Clan.
She had not left.
Despite four long months, despite court summons, despite all expectations — she waited.
Draped in flowing ocean-silk robes, her deep green scales shimmered beneath the sunlight. A crown of coral vines wrapped her brow, and her sharp amber eyes locked onto Kent the moment he stepped out of shadow.
She didn't speak immediately.
She simply looked — and saw.
The change.
