Leo and the ssenger entered one of the dos, leading them to a vast circular hall with countless passageways that led underground. They entered one of the passageways, scaling downwards with the help of the stone stairs and finally reaching a long aisle of prison rooms flanking it.
Everywhere was pitch dark.
"And you’re certain he’s not from the other cities?" Leo asked with urgency.
"No, sir. He’s not from this realm," the ssenger replied with a shaky voice. "And... and... I think he’s a Pisces."
Leo flinched. ’Another Pisces? Who could this person be?’
Now he was eager to know.
Then the ssenger stopped in front of a prison door and opened it. Leo walked in, assaulted by a bright light.
There were three n in the room. Two were soldiers, with one of them glowing from his body and lighting the room.
’So they can still use their abilities?’
The third person, though, was on the floor, his hands chained together. The man slowly raised his head, and his gaze t Leo’s.
He looked strangely familiar.
The man had short jet-black hair, piercing black eyeballs, and porcelain skin.
’Have I t him before?’
Other than that, the man wore a calm smile that seed to send shivers down Leo’s spine.
’A Pisces.’
He could just feel it. The aura radiating from this man was like nothing he had ever seen before. It was more than apotheosis—almost conceptual, but in bits. Nevertheless, the aura was strong. If the strange man wanted, he would have killed all of them in the blink of an eye.
’How did they chain him?’
The strange man wore a normal tunic similar to the ones worn by the citizens of Abyssal Cradle.
’Looks like he had tried to blend in with the rest.’
The strange man’s smile widened into a warm smile after seeing Leo, and then he spoke.
"Ah, big brother. I couldn’t identify you behind that armor. Long ti no see, Brother Aquarius."
Leo froze, speechless. ’Brother?’
His mory suddenly went back to the description on the ship.
"Weakest of the brothers."
The strange man continued to speak. "I just ca here to see you for the last ti. No, no, apparently it’s the second ti. No, if I rember correctly, it’s one hundred and fifty tis, maybe? I can’t rember, we’ve seen each other alot of tis. But it’s sure nice to see you in this armor... it looks so fitting."
’Is he mad? What’s he rambling about?’
Leo stepped forward, hiding his fear. "I don’t know you. Stop the lies and tell who you are."
The strange man laughed lightly. "Do you ever ask any other questions? This is just old and cringe."
’What’s cringe?’ Leo frowned at the strange word. What world exactly was this man from?
"After countless tis, I really still don’t see the reason why you guys chain down. It’s not like I’m a spy of the Spirit of Madness, aka shadow, or sothing. I an, I am the weakest of brothers alongside my brother here. I’m just a guy who loves visiting his brother."
’Guy? Aka? What godforsaken languages are these?’
The strange man looked at Leo and laughed. "This mont is always too priceless. Well, I’m just here to tell you: my plan failed again. But now, it’s going to work. I refuse to fail again. I know what I’m saying is a bit strange to you, but you’ll understand when the ti cos. I’ll be going back to my consciousness, and I hope this ti around we will succeed."
Leo grabbed him by the collar. "Succeed in what?! What plan?!"
The strange man looked at him, his smile not leaving his face. "The plan you made yourself. The big plan. Don’t you rember, huh?" he taunted.
"Oh, I’m sorry. You can’t rember, but you’ll rember in no ti... My plan will succeed, and I’ll clear the burden... Leo Atlantis," he whispered his na into Leo’s ears.
Leo’s hand froze on the man’s collar as he trembled. The cloth and the man disappeared into thin air... and he was gone with no trace.
But he left behind a deep fear in Leo’s heart. ’He... He called by my na.’
*****
A ship stood tall in the distance. It was as big as the Ocean of Existence and as tall as the Raging Tower. Its hulls, masts, and decks were all built with intricacies, with countless runes and sigils covering its body.
The ship had been completed, and it looked exactly like the one Leo had seen so ti ago back in the obsidian desert.
Aside from the ship, countless dos were scattered around, but they weren’t exactly scattered; they were placed and arranged in such a manner that it looked like a maze that wasn’t also a maze at the sa ti.
Thousands of humans moved closer to the dos. When they got close enough, they were welcod by the King, Lyra, and Leo himself.
It had been a week after the encounter with the strange man, which Leo still pondered about a lot, but now he had much more important things to do.
Firstly, they welcod the rest of the humans and their leaders. After that, the thousands of humans—both the old citizens of the Abyssal Cradle and those from other regions—moved to the ship to watch Leo make the final blessings to the vessel.
Leo walked forward to the ship after being handed a white piece of chalk. He climbed a ladder that magically moved if told and started scribbling Auric Codex on the side of the ship.
He wrote:
"I am the weakest of brothers, but the little power I have cos from engineering. And you, as my first invention... I na you after , Aquarius. No one but and the ones I allow with a calm mind shall be able to reach you. You are as tall as the Raging Tower. You are as big as the Ocean of Existence. With you, I shall save the world. Together, we shall save the world and clear the burden. You are Aquarius."
And then he wrote "AQUARIUS" in large cases over the small descriptions, still in Auric Codex.
He did the sa on the other side, leading to a round of applause from the thousands watching. He got down from the ladder and walked to Lyra with a smile.
Lyra hugged him lightly. "You’ll save us. I know it."
Leo turned to the thousands and bowed, then looked back at the ship.
’What could possibly go wrong?’
*****
A vast ocean of shadow moved across ruins under the sea. It was darker than a shadow... similar to true darkness. It didn’t have a real form, but its shadows did the job of handling the sea monsters that ca its way.
It did not shoot out like tendrils to cut them into pieces, nor did it erase them from existence. All it did was place a bit of its darkness into their shadows, making them more mad, and slowly they died from the overload of madness.
The creature stopped in front of a crater and saw a small pink pebble.
With that, it disappeared as if it never existed. In its wake, countless dead bodies of monsters were drifting in the water.
The Spirit of Madness had arrived.
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