The Evolution System of the Drowned

Chapter 7: Liquid Assets

I sat in the dark of a high-rise office I had bought with a handful of gold coins from the Sunken Vault. My skin still felt the itch of salt, but I was dressed in a suit that cost more than most people made in a year. On the screen in front of me, the Vane Estate’s stock ticker was a jagged line of red, bleeding out in real time.

"Sir, the buy-back orders are failing," my broker said through the intercom. He sounded terrified. He didn't know who I was, only that I called myself 'Lord Abyss' and that my bank account seemed to have no bottom.

"Double the pressure," I said. My voice was a calm, predatory rumble. "Short every share they have left. I want the Vane name to be a curse by morning."

"But sir, their shipping routes—"

"Are currently being hammered by 'unusual weather,'" I interrupted. "Just do your job."

I leaned back, watching the feed from the docks. In the distance, the *Vane Empress*, their flagship tanker, was currently sinking into the harbor. There was no storm in the sky, only a localized, violent churn of water that I had triggered from the depths.

My phone buzzed. It was an encrypted line. I knew who it was before I even picked up.

"Who is this?" Elowen’s voice came through, sharp and trembling. She sounded like she hadn't slept in days. "Who are you to do this to us? Do you have any idea who you are messing with?"

"I know exactly who you are, Elowen," I said. I didn't hide my voice. I wanted her to hear the ghost in the machine. "I’m the person who is buying your life for pennies on the dollar."

There was a long silence. I could hear her ragged breathing. "Osric? No. No, that’s impossible. You’re dead. I saw the anchor—"

"The anchor was too light," I said, watching a fresh wave of red hit the stock market screen. "I’ve established a shadow corporation, Elowen. Lord Abyss is now the primary lien-holder for your family estate. In about six hours, you won't even own the shoes on your feet."

"You think you can just come back and take everything?" she spat, her panic turning into a desperate kind of rage. "I’ve already contacted the authorities! I’ve told them an impostor is trying to commit fraud!"

"Tell them whatever you want. The stock market doesn't care about your feelings. It cares about assets. And right now, your assets are at the bottom of the sea."

"What did you do to the ships?" she screamed. "The insurance companies are calling them 'acts of God.' There wasn't even a cloud in the sky when the *Empress* went down!"

"Maybe God just doesn't like you, Elowen," I said. "Or maybe something ancient and hungry followed me back up. Something that likes the taste of Vane iron."

I hung up. I didn't need to hear more. I turned to the window, looking out at the city. The Vane Plaza building was across the way, its lights flickering as the company’s credit lines were cut one by one.

**[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: FINANCIAL DOMINANCE ACHIEVED. VANE ESTATE AT 12% VALUE.]**

**[LEVEL UP: TIER 3 ACCESS GRANTED.]**

A knock at the door startled my broker, but I already sensed the electricity of the person standing there. It was Cuthbert. He didn't wait for an invite; he burst in, looking like a man who had been dragged through a hedge backward.

"Where is he?" Cuthbert yelled, looking at my broker. "Where is this Lord Abyss?"

I turned my chair around slowly. The silver glow in my eyes was dim, but in the low light of the office, it was unmistakable.

Cuthbert froze. His jaw hit his chest. "You. It really is you."

"Sit down, Cuthbert," I said. "We need to talk about your debt."

"I don't owe you anything!" he shouted, though he backed away until he hit the door. "The Thorne assets were legally transferred!"

"Legally?" I laughed. I stood up, and even in a suit, my presence was overwhelming. I was broader, taller, and I radiated a cold that made the office windows frost over. "You forged my father’s signature. You threw me into the Atlantic. I’ve just spent the last three hours buying every debt, every mortgage, and every loan your family has ever taken out. I own you, Cuthbert. I own the chair you’re afraid to sit in."

"You're a monster," Cuthbert whispered. "Look at your eyes. Look at what you've become."

"I became what I had to," I said, walking toward him. I didn't use my claws. I just put a hand on his shoulder. The weight of it made his knees buckle. "I’m bleeding you dry. I’m going to watch you and Elowen lose everything. And when you’re standing on the street with nothing but the clothes on your back, then we’ll talk about the rig."

"I'll tell the board!" Cuthbert scrambled for the door. "I'll tell them what you are!"

"Go ahead," I said. "They’re all working for me now."

He fled down the hallway, tripping over his own feet. I turned back to the window. Elowen was standing on the balcony of the Vane Plaza across the street, looking toward my building. She was holding a pair of binoculars. She saw me.

I raised a glass of water toward her. I watched her flinch through the lens. She knew now. She knew I hadn't just survived. She knew I had brought the abyss back with me, and it was currently eating her empire piece by piece.

**[WARNING: HOSTILE INTERVENTION DETECTED. VANE SECURITY HAS TRIGGERED THE 'BLACK TIDE' PROTOCOL.]**

Suddenly, the water in the glass in my hand turned a murky, oily black. It started to bubble, emitting a foul stench of rot.

"What is this?" I asked the system.

**[BIO-CHEMICAL ATTACK. THEY ARE POISONING THE CITY'S WATER SUPPLY TO KILL THE WARDEN.]**

I looked out at the city. Smoke was starting to rise from the water treatment plant.

"They’d kill everyone just to get to me?" I growled, my scales beginning to itch beneath my suit.

**[THEY ARE DESPERATE. THE WARDEN MUST PURIFY THE FLOW OR THE CITY WILL PERISH.]**

I didn't wait for the elevator. I smashed through the reinforced glass of the office window and dived into the night, my cloak snapping behind me like wings. I wasn't just fighting for revenge anymore.

Elowen and Cuthbert had just turned the city's lifeblood into a weapon. They thought they could poison the ocean’s king. They were about to find out that you can't poison the source.

As I fell toward the harbor, I saw a shape rising from the black water—a massive, mechanical construct with the Vane logo on its side. It wasn't a ship. It was a harvester.

"So that's the plan," I whispered, hitting the water like a missile. "You want to steal the sea's essence before I can use it."

The battle for the city had begun, and the water was already starting to taste like death.