Their journey turned east, past crumbling cities and through forests drowned in fog. Aarav and Ishira were joined by Vayara once more, and a new companion—a mute boy with golden eyes named Luan, found wandering the ruins of an ancient observatory.
He spoke not a word, but understood things before they were spoken. Ishira believed he had dream-walker blood.
Together, they arrived at the cliffs of Varnash, where the ocean churned with unnatural tides.
There, carved into the rocks, were the gates of Nandaka—a kingdom submerged after the first war of the gods. Legends spoke of a coral crown and a forge that burned beneath the sea.
The gates responded to Aarav's ring, opening in spirals of sapphire light.
They descended.
What awaited them was a city frozen in time—statues of warriors mid-battle, temples filled with luminous jellyfire, and songs that echoed through water without sound.
But at the city's heart stood a creature not made of flesh—a guardian of the Second Ring.
A serpent formed of tides and memory.
It spoke in a thousand voices.
"To claim the Ring of Waters, you must surrender what anchors you most."
Aarav looked to his mother. Then to the ring on his finger.
The trial had begun again.