The dim yellow gaslight flickered as a deep, resonant voice recited words of revelation:
"I came into this world to see the sun and the azure fields."
"I came into this world to see the sun and the valleys in full bloom."
"I signed a covenant with the world. I am the world's true lord."
He circled the strange pattern on the ground, chanting as he performed an odd dance.
It was a fiery red circle surrounded by eight pointed triangles, like a sun radiating light and heat.
He held a cup-shaped vessel filled with crimson blood. After each verse of prayer, he poured a little onto the sun-shaped pattern.
"I came into this world to see the sun."
"And once daylight fades, I shall still sing... sing praises to the sun."
"Until the final moment of my life."
Splash! He poured all the remaining liquid onto the ground. As though tung oil had been thrown onto a raging fire, flames instantly soared, illuminating the darkness.
The pattern on the ground writhed as though it had come alive. The eight triangles around the circle turned into tentacles, binding the black-robed priest in the blink of an eye and dragging him into the flames.
Agonized screams echoed throughout the cavern as his body slowly turned to ash. After devouring the black-robed man, the being seemed satisfied. It withdrew its tentacles, and the flames gradually died out, as though conveying some sort of signal.
Meanwhile, on the sea off Las Vegat, far beyond the Forsaken Land of the Gods, a royal warship laden with soldiers raced into the wind.
A woman sat in the lounge area on deck.
She wore gold-rimmed glasses and carried a subtle air of nobility. Her features were delicate, her long hair fell to her shoulders, and her pale blue dress had a flowing skirt and gave off a fresh fragrance. Seated in a chair, she sipped her coffee elegantly, looking perfectly at ease.
Her azure eyes held a stillness like the clear waters of a thousand-year-old lake.
Solemn-faced soldiers in armor surrounded her. Compared with them, she looked conspicuously out of place. Strangely, no one noticed her presence.
Boom!
The smoothly sailing ship abruptly stopped, as though it had struck something. Its entire forward section crumpled, and several people were hurled straight into the water.
Some unlucky souls slammed into the deck, their bodies drenched in blood, their lives snuffed out in an instant.
The speeding ship had been forcibly brought to a halt. Soon, whirlpools appeared one after another on the calm sea. Dark clouds pressed down from the previously cloudless sky, accompanied by flashes of lightning, creating a scene like the end of the world.
Panic spread throughout the ship. Some people lost their minds and jumped straight into the water, only to be swallowed by the whirlpools moments later.
The woman on deck remained as calm as still water, her expression unchanged. She gently adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses and walked unhurriedly toward the bow, cup in hand, casting a glance at the whirlpools.
Neither the lightning overhead nor the listing ship on the verge of sinking seemed to affect her in the slightest. Even the sea breeze failed to disturb a strand of her hair.
Suddenly, a red thread appeared out of thin air. It drifted around her once, as though confirming something, then paused for several seconds before slipping into her azure eyes.
"It seems I'll have to pick up the pace. The Forsaken Land of the Gods? It's been so long since I last went back."
Her gaze turned impassively toward the southwest. Beyond the endless sea, something else seemed to lie there.
The chaotic shouting made her frown slightly, but she soon regained her composure. She returned to her seat, quietly watching this theatrical performance like a mere spectator.
A middle-aged man who looked like an officer faced the sea, waving a staff in his hand. The ruby on the staff shone with dazzling light.
"The waves exist to roar, blood to flow, an unceasing radiance yearning for freedom. You are the master of storms and lightning. Please quell your wrath."
His prayer achieved nothing. On the contrary, the churning sea seemed enraged, its waves growing even fiercer.
Countless tentacles stretched out of the whirlpools, coiling around the ship and trying to drag it into the sea.
Beneath the gloomy clouds, an island gradually emerged. Like a living creature, it approached the ship at tremendous speed.
A roar filled with fury followed:
"Hydra, you betrayed me! Hydra!"
The voice carried a multitude of negative emotions, driving everyone who heard it mad. Those aboard the ship began slaughtering one another. Gunshots fell like rain, and once their ammunition ran out, they fought with their bare hands. Blood soon covered the ship, streaming into the sea and attracting vast schools of fish.
The fish were mentally corrupted and began killing one another as well. Soon, the waters were stained red, and the whirlpools sucked up nourishment like gaping mouths.
"R'lyeh... R'lyeh, the island of death! Why is it here?"
"Sea God, have you abandoned your people?"
He was the warship's highest-ranking commander and its only surviving Transcendent.
"I have to get this news back."
The ancient city of R'lyeh had always been a taboo upon the sea. Encountering it meant certain death, but that had always happened in the deep sea. Now that R'lyeh had appeared in shallow waters, this was nothing short of an immense catastrophe.
If he failed to send word, there was no telling how many people would die.
Only now did he finally understand why so many people and ships had gone missing recently.
Just as he was about to summon a messenger, his pupils abruptly lost focus and he fell into a daze. In that brief pause, a tentacle wrapped around him and dragged him into a whirlpool.
The woman holding a teacup glanced over casually and murmured to herself:
"I finally got the fish to bite. I can't let those barbarians from the Church notice."
Soon, the tentacles dragged away the living people aboard the warship one after another.
R'lyeh had drawn close as well. Jagged rocks covered it, along with many oddly shaped trees and plants. Compared with the ancient city of R'lyeh described in legends, however, it was much smaller, more like a miniature version.
Transcendent characteristics obeyed the Law of Convergence. With his appearance, the nonhuman races that had remained hidden in the depths of the sea began emerging.
They had human bodies and fish heads, with bulging eyes, enormous eyeballs, and scales covering their bodies.
As though drawn by some force, they all swam in the same direction.
Somewhere in the sea stood an underwater city with a complete system of its own, different from that of humans. It was like a city hidden in the deep ocean, with the seawater kept outside. Its inhabitants lived as humans did. Some had fish heads and human bodies, others human heads and fish bodies, and many looked entirely human.
Inside the tallest building, a handsome blond man stood before a floor-to-ceiling window, his brows tightly furrowed. From there, he could see the entire island.
Beyond it lay azure seawater, where countless schools of fish could be seen racing in the same direction.
"What on earth happened?" The inexplicable unease in his heart made him sense an approaching danger.
Knock, knock, knock! Urgent knocking sounded at the door.
"Come in!" With his thoughts interrupted, his expression turned extremely grim.
"This is bad, Lord Herman! A lot of people have gone mad!"
A thunderous crash rang out.
Without needing anyone to report it, he had already seen numerous people on the island whose eyes had turned red, attacking their own kind indiscriminately.
"Seal off the entire island." His calm composure was frightening.
"Lord Herman, many people are still outside and haven't returned. If we seal off the island, they'll..."
"Carry out the order." His words carried the authority unique to a ruler, making the visitor tremble all over.
Within moments, a pale blue barrier enveloped the entire island, cutting it off completely from the outside world. As a result, those who had gone mad gradually regained their senses. They stared blankly around them, rooted to the spot, with no idea what had happened.
Simmons Herman, also known as the Sea King, was the supreme leader of Mermaid Island, a High Sequence Transcendent of the Deep Dweller Pathway, and a believer in the Mother Goddess Hydra.
Since becoming the Sea King, this was the first time he had felt panic and heart-pounding dread.
"What on earth happened?"
Simmons had an inexplicable feeling that this disturbance was connected to the Sea God. But to preserve stability on Mermaid Island, he dared not leave recklessly. Compared with humans, the Deep Ones ultimately had limited strength.
Mermaid Island was their greatest asset. Nothing could be allowed to happen to it.
As a High Sequence demigod, any revelation of danger he sensed had to involve a God. With matters at that level, even the slightest mistake could trigger a devastating catastrophe. He dared neither risk it nor gamble.
The pull from the deepest reaches of his consciousness was almost impossible to resist. This was also the main reason he had sealed off the island: he did not know whether that sensation would eventually corrupt their minds.
If it could draw in even a demigod, then at the very least, an evil god had to be exerting its power.
He began praying to the Sea God over and over, but received no response.
Above the sea, fierce winds swept the dark clouds along. Between the clouds and the ocean, a writhing mass of flesh moved slowly, like an irregular patchwork creation.
Bodies of different species had been stitched together to form an entirely new species, with tentacles extending from its body.
As it surfaced, the island of R'lyeh followed close behind. The two soon merged, the mass of flesh spreading over R'lyeh like an outer garment.
The newly formed creature resembled an octopus covered in eyeballs. Countless tentacles writhed over the water, occasionally devouring the schools of fish drawn to it.
Farther out, fish-headed, human-bodied Deep Ones approached little by little, their eyes vacant. Their arrival only intensified the violent surge of energy within R'lyeh.
As though finding their targets, the tentacles all coiled toward the Deep Ones. Before long, every last one had been devoured.
"Hydra! Hydra! You betrayed me! You wretched woman, I'll find you! Hydra, where are you?"
The resonant voice seemed to echo throughout the entire sea, coming from every direction.
Abruptly, another voice rang out, forming a stark contrast with the first.
This new voice was gentle and melodious.
The first conveyed anger, irritability, and madness.
The second was like a breeze brushing willow branches, like bathing in sunlight, soothing restless hearts and bringing them peace.
"It's not very nice to shout so loudly."
Within that gentle voice was a playful hint of displeasure.
"Who?" The voice venting its fury abruptly stopped. Even the restless lightning seemed to halt as his emotions shifted.
The warship was sinking little by little. She stood at the very top of its mast, the only part still above the water.
She stepped forward. As the warship sank completely, she walked upon the water, moving with light, graceful steps as she slowly approached the monster formed by R'lyeh's convergence.
Not even the spray could wet the hem of her dress. Instead, as she drew closer, the turbulent water instantly calmed, and the whirlpools subsided.
"A sky without sunlight really does put one in a bad mood."
She lightly touched her gold-rimmed glasses and looked up at the sky. Its dense, dark clouds felt oppressive.
"If I had never seen the sun, I could have endured the darkness. Yet sunlight has made me desolate, into a newer desolation. God said, let there be light."
As her tranquil, gentle voice faded, the dark clouds immediately dispersed. Dazzling sunlight spilled over the sea, dispelling death and gloom.
A wave swept past, washing away every trace of filth. There were no corpses strewn about, no slaughter or panic. Only a gentle breeze and brilliant sunshine remained.
Her dazzling golden hair gleamed in the sunlight.
Lightly lifting her skirt, she inclined her head in greeting, following the etiquette of Las Vegat's nobility.
Before R'lyeh, she looked exceedingly small.
"Dagon! Old friend, it's been a long time."
How long had it been? How long since anyone had spoken that name? He had forgotten, so very long ago.
Ever since Hydra had seized his authority as the Sea God, no one knew that he was the true Sea God.
"There is something about you that disgusts me. Who exactly are you?"
Warm sunlight fell across her delicate face, and a faint smile curved her lips.
"You may call me by my new name now. I'm quite fond of it: Nur Maimaiti Plato."
Dagon pondered for a moment and quickly reached a conclusion: the name was unfamiliar.
Having only just awakened, he dared not act rashly against someone whose strength he could not gauge. During the time Hydra had held his stolen authority-
He had only been able to eke out an existence in endless darkness. Despite constantly shouting that he would take revenge on Hydra, if he actually encountered her, he would flee without hesitation.
The woman before him possessed at least the strength of an Archangel. It would be best not to make an enemy of her lightly.
With that thought, he suppressed his primal urge to devour her.
His voice was hoarse, carrying a hint of inexplicable strangeness:
"Sun?"
The scorching aura she gave off reminded him of a certain being.
"Hehe, I'm not someone who enjoys reminiscing. I came to take something from you."
Dagon did not answer immediately. His writhing eyeballs all turned to stare at Nur Maimaiti Plato, as though trying to see through her.
"Would you give me your little life?"
Dagon, who had remained on guard the entire time, turned and fled the instant he heard those words, without the slightest hesitation.
He hardly resembled a deity who commanded the winds and waves of the sea. He looked more like a clown fleeing in panic.
"How naughty. I asked so politely. How could you refuse?"
She pursed her lips in a playful smile and followed him with light steps, neither hurried nor slow.
"I know who you are! Damn it, how could it be you?" Dagon roared in terrified fury.