The sea was quiet—but not peaceful.
It was the kind of silence that pressed against your eardrums, unnatural and heavy. Somewhere in the endless blue, a predator was moving.
Varun's eyes were open, glowing with faint cerulean light. His body glided through the shadows like a wraith, his armor of scaled jet shimmering with the faint luminescence of deep-water spores. He didn't need to swim. The ocean made way for him—currents parted, pressure bent, and lesser creatures fled before his silent approach.
He was a God of the Tides. And he had smelled the shift.
Dominic.
The boy's divine aura had awakened fully. Raw. Wild. Dangerous. The ripple had reached even the Mariana Hollow, and Varun had left his sanctuary without a word. Not even the Sea Court dared question him.
He was not a diplomat. He was not a teacher.
He was a hunter.
And Dominic, whether he knew it or not, was now prey.
---
Far ahead, Dominic's laughter echoed through the coral groves as he summoned a current and rode it like a storm-surfing beast. Aegirion followed behind, keeping pace, his brow furrowed.
"You're getting reckless," the older god said.
Dominic twisted mid-spin, water spiraling around his arms like serpents. "I'm learning faster than I expected. That encounter with Vayron... something clicked. I can feel the ocean listening now."
He gestured toward a cluster of darting fish. They halted in mid-swim, suspended by his will. A flick of his wrist, and they scattered again in perfect formation.
"You're syncing with the ocean," Aegirion said. "But that comes at a cost. You're also making noise."
Dominic frowned. "Noise?"
"Yes," came a voice. Cold. Measured. Echoing from behind.
Dominic spun—and time slowed.
Emerging from the shadows between kelp towers, Varun appeared. His trident crackled with tidal force, runes glowing blue like ancient wounds. His eyes were sharp and empty, forged by centuries of bloodshed.
Dominic's body froze. It wasn't fear—it was instinct. Every part of him screamed danger.
Aegirion raised a shield instantly, stepping forward. "Varun—don't."
But the Tidal Hunter did not stop.
He studied Dominic with the gaze of someone who had killed gods before. "So. This is the vessel."
Dominic's fingers curled, ready to summon a wave—but Varun raised a hand.
"You strike first, boy, and I strike to kill."
Dominic hesitated. His heart pounded. The ocean around him vibrated with tension.
"What do you want?" he asked.
Varun stepped closer. "To see if you're a threat. To see if Thalorin controls you. If you lie, I'll know. If you fail, I'll end it here."
"And if I pass your little test?" Dominic challenged, voice sharp.
"Then I'll let you live long enough to face the rest."
A second passed.
Then the world exploded.
Varun launched forward, faster than thought. Aegirion barely raised a wall of pressure before the trident slammed into it, sending shockwaves through the trench. Dominic dove back, summoning a vortex that coiled into a whip of violent current.
Varun ducked and twisted mid-spin, slashing with precision. Water hissed and shattered like glass as their powers clashed.
"You're holding back!" Varun barked. "Don't insult me!"
Dominic snarled, releasing the full force of his connection. The sea turned furious. A column of ancient magic erupted from beneath, coiling around him in a cyclone of godly wrath.
Varun smiled.
Now the real fight began.
The trench shook with every blow. Coral split. Currents twisted. Fish fled for miles.
Dominic gritted his teeth, a crimson trail swirling in the water behind him. His shoulder burned from a near-miss—a graze from Varun's trident that had pierced clean through his guard. He was fast. Too fast.
And worse—he wasn't trying to kill yet.
He's testing me.
Dominic roared and summoned a torrent from the seabed, a spiraling geyser of condensed pressure and boiling mana. It blasted upward like a sea volcano, slamming into Varun's defensive shell. The Tidal Hunter staggered but didn't fall.
Varun's lips curled into a smirk.
"Better," he said, stepping forward again. "But still clumsy."
Clumsy? Dominic's rage flared.
He thrust his palms outward. The water obeyed—twisting into dozens of spears, sharp as obsidian. They launched in perfect rhythm, targeting blind spots, spiraling with speed.
Varun didn't dodge.
He welcomed the onslaught.
The spears struck—but the moment they did, they shattered against a sudden field of rotating currents. It was like his very presence repelled attack, the sea itself refusing to harm him.
"You command the ocean," Varun said, closing the distance. "But you don't understand it yet."
Aegirion hovered in the background, watching closely. His hands twitched—but he did not interfere.
This was Dominic's trial.
Varun thrust his trident—and Dominic blocked just in time. The force sent him flying backward through jagged coral.
He groaned, blood trickling from his lip.
Too fast… too precise… he's dissecting me.
Dominic's vision blurred.
Then… the world darkened.
---
He was no longer in the trench. No longer underwater.
He stood in a vast blue void, a whispering sea that stretched into infinity.
Floating before him—barefoot, cloaked in foam and shadow—was Thalorin.
The entity did not speak. Its eyes were endless abysses, reflecting everything and nothing.
Dominic clenched his fists. "What do you want now?"
I did not come to possess you, the voice echoed, cold and deep. Only to remind you: You are not alone. You never were.
Thalorin raised a hand. Power surged—like a floodgate breaking within Dominic's chest.
The pain vanished. So did the fear.
In its place… clarity.
Let go, the voice said. Just once.
---
Dominic's eyes snapped open—now glowing with gold and abyssal blue.
The ocean responded instantly.
Waves buckled. Currents surged.
Even Varun froze mid-strike.
The trench groaned.
Dominic rose slowly, hands outstretched, his aura immense. Symbols of the deep etched across his arms. He no longer commanded the water.
He was the water.
"I'm done playing," he said, voice layered—his and another, deeper voice entwined.
Varun narrowed his eyes. "You've awakened it."
The sea behind Dominic coiled like a dragon. Lightning pulsed in the depths. Aegirion's eyes widened. "Dominic… don't lose yourself."
But it was too late for warnings.
Varun lunged again—but this time, Dominic didn't defend.
He stepped into the strike, catching the trident bare-handed. The weapon trembled, ancient runes flaring—but it didn't pierce him.
Dominic stared into Varun's stunned expression.
"Now you hold back."
With a shout, Dominic unleashed everything.
The ocean exploded outward, a supernova of divine force. The seabed cracked. Kelp forests tore apart. Varun was thrown back for the first time, crashing into a reef wall and sinking with a grunt.
Silence.
The water simmered.
Dominic's glow dimmed. He dropped to one knee, panting, clutching his chest.
What was that…?
He looked down at his hand. It was shaking—but not from fear.
From power.
He glanced toward the shadows where Varun had fallen.
Gone.
Only a shimmer remained, and a trail of blood.
Aegirion rushed over, gripping Dominic's arm. "That wasn't you," he said grimly. "You let it speak."
Dominic nodded slowly, still dazed. "I didn't mean to. It just… happened."
"Then you must learn to control it," Aegirion warned. "Because next time, you might not return."