Chapter 379: Underwater Palace (1/2)

Arthur jumped off the descending root and rolled on the ground below. The rift was closing after it had allowed the island, and he witnessed the site from the land below.

After everything settled, the eerie silence of the surrounding struck Arthur harder than he expected. It seems he was alone again after meeting an old friend and a bizarre spirit.

As for what Adrian told him before he left, Arthur could only make out a few things. First, a being, a human, or a spirit had tasked Adrian with building a city for the people to survive when the end arrives.

As for the end itself, it was no other than what Jizo said will happen if humans kept going beyond the gate. Then, the split will undo itself, and the calamity gates will open. At that time, neither Alka nor Earth will survive.

As for what he knew about the calamities, it wasn't a lot. There were The Enders, Vampires Overlord Kar, and Lord of Giants, Lorth. Kar was the one infiltrating the royal court, and Lorth was the one who killed Jizo's family.

'Where am I?'

Finding himself alone and purposeless again, Arthur couldn't help but feel a sense of realignment with reality. He didn't want to face it so quickly, but he might need to kill Gala now.

She was in this world, after all.

Arthur looked at the surrounding. He was on a sandy beach, and his feet dug into the cold ground. The waves crashed to the shore, covering his feet with water.

”Are you also a spirit?” Arthur asked the water, and he heard the hum of a distant being. Then, with a smile, he sat down on the sand.

After closing his eyes, Arthur sent his chains in all eight directions around him. They traveled far and wide, covering the area around him in an instant. He combed for spirits or anything that would guide him to the bookkeeper.

His chains covered the land, generating new chains until they resembled a branchy tree with Arthur in its center. They also spread over the sea.

'How far can they stretch?' Arthur wondered to himself as he pushed to test his limit. 'But can I test what doesn't exist?'

He didn't feel like there was a limit to his chains, as if they were one with this realm. They endlessly stretched until something touched them in the middle of the sea. Arthur snapped his eyes open and turned in that direction as his chains began to retreat into his body.

”Is it a spirit?” Arthur wondered as he stood up. His chains were like measure tapes that rolled back into his body, retreating at unprecedented speed. ”Can you hold me up, dearest sea?” Arthur asked, and the sea gave a hum in reply.

Without hesitation, Arthur ran on top of the water. True to its words, the sea held him floating above the water as he ran on top of it. The location of the spirit was far from the shore, so Arthur had run for a while.

He ran for an hour before he met another being. Arthur found a raft in the middle of the sea, and there was another Seeker on top of it.

The seeker was like a flame, and their aura was wild and flickering. They stood on top of the raft proudly. As Arthur ran past them, he could tell how speechless they were by his actions.

”Hello, friend.” Arthur stopped running in front of the raft, standing firmly on top of the waves. The seeker looked at him, then at his legs, then back at him.

”Oh, great spirit!” With a feminine voice, the girl said in Alvan Language. ”Are you the ruler of this sea? This humble one wishes to contract you.”

”Uh, what? No...”

”Please don't be hasty to reject!” The seeker went on one knee as if she was proposing. She clapped her hands together as if she was praying. ”I promise you as much fish you want if you accept to contract me!”

”Fish?” Arthur was taken aback. He was no spirit, but he didn't think they could eat. ”No. As I was saying, I'm not the deity of this sea or whatever.”

”Ah?” The woman tilted her head. ”If you are not, how can you walk on water?”

”I just asked it.”

”You... asked it?” The woman seemed confused. She looked at the raging sea and how Arthur rose and dropped with the waves. ”This must be a test to see if I can judge correctly. I know that you are the Deity of Seas, Rider of Waves!”