​In the afternoon, Azure Bay appeared entirely transformed.​Arven stood at the water's edge, gazing out across the vast expanse of the sea. Ordinarily, gentle waves rolled effortlessly toward the shore, depositing soft white foam upon the golden sands. Seabirds soared across the azure skyscape, diving periodically to claim glinting fish beneath the sunlit surface.​Yet on this morn, all was still. The ocean lay silent—a stillness far too heavy to be natural.​Arven furrowed his brow. As he scanned the shoreline, a disturbing anomaly caught his sight. The sea was receding, drawing back slowly as though pulled by an invisible, colossal hand. The damp sand normally washed by the surf now lay exposed and dry, revealing ancient rocks and shell beds rarely exposed to the light of day.​"The water recedes," Arven muttered quietly to himself. "It recedes too far."​He stepped closer toward the retreating water, but each stride only deepened his unease. The further he walked, the more vast th

Kiana opened her eyes slowly. Her vision was blurred, then gradually focused on the darkening twilight sky. She felt something soft beneath her head—Sarmila’s lap."Kiana? Are you conscious, my child?" Sarmila's voice was gentle, fraught with worry.Kiana blinked. She tried to remember. The tsunami. The colossal wave. The devastating deluge. And then ... Arven. Arven with his hands raised, bending the water, thrusting the surge back into the sea.She sat up abruptly, her eyes searching frantically. Arven sat not far away, leaning against the trunk of a tree. His face was still pale, though the blood from his nose had been wiped clean. His eyes met Kiana’s cautiously."Are you awake, Kiana?" Arven asked, a faint smile of relief breaking across his face.Kiana stared at Arven for a long moment. Then she turned her gaze down the hill. The sea was calm once more. Gentle ripples lapped softly against the shore, as they always did. Down in the village, pools of water lingered in the streets

Night fell, and once a quiet calm had settled over everything, Arven found himself unable to sleep. He slipped away to the shores of Azure Bay alone—not to cleanse the debris or render aid, but to seek the portal.Arven stood before the tangled thicket beneath a night sky ablaze with stars. The faint vibration was still perceptible at his fingertips, yet it felt weak, like a fading heartbeat receding into the distance. He attempted to breach it using the power of water, and then with fire, but neither yielded results. The barrier proved far too formidable, sealed too tightly."Someone closed this intentionally," Arven muttered, his hands clenching into tight fists. "Yet I will discover a way to unseal it once more."He sat upon the damp sands of the shore. Silt and seawater left behind by the deluge clung to his surroundings, but he heeded it not. He merely sat, gazing out at the now tranquil sea, where gentle swells rolled softly toward the strand as though no catastrophe had ever tr

In her luxurious private chamber, Davina sat before her silver mirror, staring at her own reflection with a cold gaze. The past few days had been difficult. Ellara was still by Aldric’s side. Aldric still never looked at her with genuine attention. And her plan to meet Drakon had come to a halt because of her failure to find an antidote for the poisonous mist.She was on the verge of giving up.Almost.A soft knock on the window made her start. Davina turned her head. Behind the glass, Moverick’s faint smile greeted her. With a careful motion, Davina opened the window and let the young man in.Moverick stepped inside gracefully, his black cloak fluttering lightly. His eyes sparkled in the light of the crystals. “You look tired, Davina. I heard you failed to find a way through Drakon’s mist.”Davina clenched her fists. “You don’t need to remind me.”“I didn’t come to remind you. I came to offer my help.” Moverick sat down in the chair across from her, casually crossing his legs. “I kno

Ellara left the palace alone—without guards, without Aldric. She merely sought to walk toward the shore, to sit beside the dark sea, and to allow her thoughts to drift to the sanctuary she had yearned for all this time: the world from her dreams.A realm of radiant light. A pale blue sea. Warm rays that were intense, yet profoundly soothing. Ellara knew not why this place visited her sleep so relentlessly. She only knew that whenever she closed her eyes, the same vision resurfaced: a vibrant sky, white sands, and a sense of belonging that felt like home.Today, she resolved to seek it out. Though she was well aware that the shore of the Shadow Realm bore no resemblance to her dreams—the sky was forever somber, the waters a dark silver, and the sands as black as ash—being near the waves afforded her a semblance of peace, as though the chasm between her and that distant dream grew just a little narrower.Ellara traversed the winding path leading to the shore. A biting wind swept across