"Isaac!" I screamed through the water, my voice distorted but laced with fury.
The mermen turned sharply, fins and weapons at the ready. Korrin's tail surged as he positioned himself between me and Isaac, the stolen shard of the Ocean Heart casting a sickly glow in the scientist's hand.
"What have you done?" Korrin growled, eyes blazing.
Isaac looked wild. The deep pressure of the sea didn't faze him anymore. He had activated something unnatural. Around him, water twisted oddly, as if resisting him and him alone.
"I'm taking back what my father died for," Isaac snapped. "This shard belongs to my family. He gave his life for it."
"He desecrated a sacred tomb," Elder Nymora spat. "The Ocean Heart is not for human ambition. It binds balance, it holds the tides in rhythm."
Isaac shook his head. "Balance? That balance stole my father's mind and left his body in a submarine wreck. You think I'll just walk away?"
Korrin surged forward, trident in hand. But Isaac raised the shard—
—and the ocean trembled.
A shockwave pulsed from the artifact, knocking every mer out of place. The chant of the Trial stone warped, and the light of the arches flickered.
Something woke.
From the trench below, a roar echoed. A deep, bone-shaking groan that made even the elders freeze.
"You fool," Nymora whispered. "You've stirred the Sleeper."
I struggled to right myself in the shifting currents. "The Sleeper?"
"An ancient leviathan," Korrin replied through gritted teeth. "Kept bound by the Ocean Heart for a thousand years. Isaac's tampering... it's breaking the seal."
Isaac blinked, his confidence faltering. "No… that's not—this wasn't supposed to—"
A massive shadow loomed from below. Tentacles, obsidian scales, and an eye the size of a moonstone opened slowly, staring straight at us.
I grabbed Korrin's arm. "We need to stop him. Now."
"Selene, that shard resonates with your blood," Nymora said urgently. "Only you can reclaim it."
The ocean boiled.
I darted forward, pushing against the unnatural force surrounding Isaac. He raised the shard again, but this time, I called to it.
"Return."
The word wasn't just spoken. It was felt. Echoed. Demanded.
The shard trembled in his hand—then flew from his grip, landing in my palm with a searing burn.
The beast paused. Watching.
Isaac was hurled back by the current, unconscious.
The sea calmed, but only for a moment.
"It's not over," Korrin said gravely. "We need the full Ocean Heart to restore the seal. And the other shards... they're missing."
I looked down at the fragment in my palm, blood and light mixing over its sharp edges.
"Then we find them. Before the Sleeper fully wakes."
End of Chapter 22