The clouds over Athens twisted unnaturally, curling like claws across the sky. Thunder rolled, low and constant, as if the heavens were growling. Dominic stood atop the Temple of the Tide, trident crackling in his grip. He felt it before it happened — the surge in the ocean, the unnatural stillness, the sickening twist in the air.
The rift had opened wider.
Far out at sea, the water bulged, forming a dark whirlpool. Talyon appeared beside him, eyes grim.
"It's coming," the sea guardian said. "The rift has sent one of its champions."
Below, the people of Athens stirred in confusion. Sailors ran from the docks. Fishermen dropped their nets. The priests of the old gods began chanting prayers not spoken in centuries.
Then it rose.
From the heart of the whirlpool, a massive form breached the surface — a beast of coral and shadow, ten stories tall, with glowing red veins and a skull-like mask of bone for a face. Its arms were like tentacles and blades fused together. The air turned cold. Reality itself warped around it.
"The Abyssal Warden," Talyon whispered. "A creature of pure rift energy. A destroyer."
Dominic's heart pounded, but he didn't hesitate.
"Then I'll destroy it."
He leapt from the temple, landing in a swirl of seawater that caught him like a cushion. In moments, he was charging through the flooding streets, shouting to the civilians, guiding them toward safety.
But it wasn't enough.
The Abyssal Warden slammed into the docks, sending splinters and bodies flying. Shadowspawn surged from its wake—creatures like walking barnacles and spined sharks with glowing eyes, howling as they spilled into the city.
Dominic called to the tide, raising a massive wall of water to block their path. The wave crashed down, sweeping dozens of creatures into the sea, but more kept coming.
Athens was under siege.
Talyon appeared again, leading a group of sea warriors in bronze-scaled armor. "We hold the line at the market square. Push the Warden back!"
Dominic nodded and sprinted toward the beast.
As he approached, the Warden turned its skull-face toward him and roared. The sound cracked windows and made blood pour from the ears of those nearby. But Dominic didn't flinch.
He raised his trident and struck the earth.
A bolt of ocean-blue lightning surged from the sky, hitting him like a hammer—but instead of breaking him, it fused into his veins. His body glowed. His voice boomed like thunder as he shouted:
"I am Dominic, heir of Poseidon! Defender of the Deep! I will not let you take this city!"
The Warden lunged.
They clashed in the flooded streets of Athens, god and monster. Dominic ducked a sweeping blade-arm, rolled beneath a tentacle, and stabbed upward, sending a wave of pressurized water into the creature's exposed core.
It screeched but did not fall.
The battle was brutal. Dominic was slammed into buildings, flung across courtyards, and slashed along his ribs. Blood mixed with saltwater. He could barely stand, but he refused to fall.
Drawing on everything he had — the pain of dying young, the strength of the ocean, the memory of his mother — Dominic summoned a final strike.
He plunged his trident into the earth.
The sea answered.
A tidal surge burst upward beneath the Warden, lifting it into the air. Lightning struck it three times, and Dominic hurled his weapon straight into its chest.
The Warden roared... and exploded in a blast of salt, shadow, and thunder.
The shadowspawn froze — then dissolved into nothing.
The people of Athens looked up in awe, the streets soaked and burning, but safe.
Dominic collapsed to one knee, breathing hard. Talyon ran to his side, helping him up.
"You did it," he said.
Dominic looked around at the battered city, the survivors, the distant storm clouds.
"No," he said. "We started."
Because he could feel it now — the rift's true threat had yet to emerge.
And something deep below… was still watching.
The storm had passed, but Athens did not sleep.
Fires crackled in the distance. Survivors gathered in temples and open squares, whispering prayers to gods they hadn't believed in for years. The Abyssal Warden was gone, but the fear it left behind clung to the city like smoke.
Dominic stood at the edge of the sea, his armor torn, his ribs bandaged in kelp-threaded wraps. His trident rested beside him, humming softly, as if sensing his unease.
Talyon joined him, silent for a time.
"You fought well," the guardian said eventually. "But you know this was just the beginning."
Dominic nodded, eyes on the horizon. "The Warden wasn't acting on its own. There's something behind the rift… something worse."
Talyon's face darkened.
"There is. And it's time you saw it."
---
They dove into the ocean, deeper than Dominic had ever gone before.
Past coral kingdoms and ruins lost to time. Past the Trenches of the Forgotten. Past light itself.
They reached the Sea Below the Sea — an ancient, hidden chamber carved into the deepest part of the ocean floor. There, sealed beneath enchanted chains and runes older than Olympus, was the Rift Core.
A glowing fracture in reality itself, throbbing like a wounded heart.
Dominic stared, the water around it trembling. Even from afar, he could feel it pulling at his soul — whispering things in voices not meant for mortals or gods.
"What is it?" he asked.
Talyon's voice was heavy. "It's not just a tear. It's a prison. The gods sealed something inside it long ago—something from before time. Before even Cronus."
Dominic took a step closer. "Why?"
"Because it wanted to become the sea."
Dominic's eyes widened.
"It was a being of chaos," Talyon continued. "No form, only hunger. It tried to consume Poseidon once… and failed. But now Poseidon is gone. And you…"
He looked Dominic in the eye.
"…are not ready."
The words struck hard. Dominic turned away, clenching his fists.
"I didn't ask for this. I didn't want to be a god."
Talyon's gaze softened. "No. But fate doesn't care what we want. Only what we do."
The rift pulsed again.
Suddenly, a vision slammed into Dominic's mind.
A city burning — not Athens, but something older. A monstrous shape rising from the sea, devouring ships, swallowing islands whole. And at its center… a dark version of himself, eyes black, holding a shattered trident.
He gasped, stumbling back.
Talyon steadied him. "The rift can twist truths into lies. You must hold on to who you are."
Dominic was breathing hard. "What was that? What did I see?"
"A warning," Talyon said. "And maybe… a prophecy."
Dominic looked back at the core, the darkness inside. "If that thing escapes—"
"It will," Talyon said flatly. "The chains are weakening. Your battle bought us time, nothing more."
Dominic's grip tightened on his trident.
"Then I'll find a way to stop it."
Talyon gave a small nod. "You'll need help. Allies. The other domains have been silent since Poseidon vanished. Atlantis remains locked. The merrow tribes hate gods. And the sea witches… they serve only power."
"Then I'll make them listen," Dominic said. "Or I'll fight alone."
But even as he said it, he knew this would be no ordinary war. This was divine. Eternal. And if he failed...
The sea itself would become a weapon.
And the world above would drown in it.