The canal water settled, the ripples fading against the mossy stone banks of the slums. The massive, frothing form of the [Frost Titan Avatar] had dissipated, leaving only a lingering chill in the humid air of Azureus.
Master Thorne stood on his new, quicksilver legs. He flexed his ankles, watched the liquid tal shift and harden instantly to support his weight, then looked up at Alvian with a mixture of disbelief and terrifying realization.
"You upgraded it," Thorne rasped, his voice rough. "The Art I spent forty years perfecting. You learned it in a second, and you improved it in another."
"It lacked solidity," Alvian replied, his voice calm. He dismissed the system notification confirming the evolution. "Water is fluid. That makes it hard to damage, but also hard to deal decisive blows with. By infusing it with [Frost Heart] energy, I gave it mass. I gave it teeth."
Thorne let out a bark of laughter that sounded suspiciously like a sob. He turned and walked back into his shack, his movent fluid and powerful. The limp was gone. The bitter cripple was gone. In his place stood a Level 55 Elite Guardian.
Alvian followed him inside, Valeria and Seraphina trailing behind.
Thorne rummaged through a pile of wet maps on his table, shoving aside empty rum bottles. He found a chart marked with red X’s and slamd it down.
"You have the weapon," Thorne said, his eyes burning with a renewed fire. "Now you need a target. Learning the Art is one thing. Mastering it in the chaos of the deep is another."
He pointed a calloused finger at a section of the map marked ’The Coral Plains’.
"Kulit," Thorne spat the na. "The Seahorse Warlord. He was a lieutenant in the Sea King’s army. When the city’s defenses weakened, he took over the outer reefs. He raids our supply lines, kills our scouts, and mocks the Guardians."
[System Notification: Quest Generated.]
[Quest: The Warlord of the Reef.]
[Objective: Defeat Warlord Kulit and retrieve his [Tidal Core].]
[Difficulty: Level 45 Elite Raid.]
[Reward: Master Thorne’s Recognition, Information on the Second Guardian.]
"He has an army," Seraphina noted, leaning over the map. Her chanical eye whirred as she scanned the topography. "Seahorse Cavalry. Fast, heavily armored, and they fight in three dinsions. In open water, they are a nightmare."
"An army is just a collection of targets," Alvian stated. He looked at Thorne. "I kill him, I bring you his core, and you tell where to find the Guardian of Speed."
"If you kill him," Thorne said, grinning and revealing yellow teeth, "I’ll tell you whatever you want. But be warned, boy. The ocean isn’t like the land. Down there, pressure is a weapon. And Kulit knows how to use it."
"I have my own pressure," Alvian said.
He turned to his team. Valeria was checking the straps on her plate armor, her expression grim but determined. Seraphina was spinning a dagger, looking bored but ready.
"Let’s go," Alvian said. "We have a Warlord to evict."
They left the slums, heading for the edge of the city platform. The Azureus platform ended abruptly, dropping off into the deep blue of the Eternal Sea.
"We dive here?" Valeria asked, looking down at the dark water.
"We dive," Alvian confird.
He handed them fresh [Water Breathing Potions]. He didn’t need one; his [Vestnts of the Void Monarch] had a life-support function that sustained him in any environnt, including vacuums and deep oceans.
"Seraphina, scout ahead. Mark the high-value targets," Alvian ordered. "Valeria, stay on my right flank. When the cavalry charges, you break their line."
"And you?" Valeria asked.
Alvian equipped the [Lance of the Void Winter]. The black tal shaft felt cold and heavy in his hand.
"I’m going to test the Titan."
They jumped.
The descent was silent. The water of the Eternal Sea was clear for the first hundred ters, filled with schools of bioluminescent fish that scattered at their approach. But as they sank deeper toward the Coral Plains, the light faded into a twilight gloom.
Alvian moved through the water with ease. His [Vestnts] negated the drag, and his high stats allowed him to swim faster than most torpedoes. Valeria, weighed down by her armor but buoyed by magic, sank like a stone anchor, her boots hitting the sandy ocean floor with a dull thud.
The Coral Plains stretched out before them—a forest of massive, calcified structures rising from the seabed. It was a beautiful, alien landscape.
And it was crawling with enemies.
[Enemy Detected: Armored Seahorse Knight]
[Level: 42]
[Status: Patrolling]
Hundreds of them. The Seahorse Knights rode massive, barded sea-steeds. They wielded lances made of coral and bone, patrolling the currents above the reef.
"They’ve seen us," Seraphina’s voice ca through the magical comms crystal, distorted by the water. "Scouts on the ridge. They’re sounding the horn."
A deep, mournful sound reverberated through the water. It wasn’t a sound carried by air; it was a vibration that rattled their bones.
From the darkness of the deep reef, a massive formation erged. Five hundred knights. And leading them was a giant.
Warlord Kulit.
He was a shark-man hybrid, massive and scarred, riding a Seahorse that was clad in black iron armor. Kulit wielded a trident that crackled with bio-electricity.
[Target Identified: Warlord Kulit]
[Level: 48]
[Class: Tidebreaker General]
"INTRUDERS!" Kulit’s voice bood through the water. "YOU DARE ENTER THE DOMAIN OF THE IRON FIN?"
"So loud," Alvian muttered. "Inefficient."
"CHARGE!" Kulit roared. "SKEWER THEM!"
The army moved. Five hundred knights spurred their mounts. They didn’t charge across the ground; they charged through the water column, a three-dinsional wall of lances aiming straight for the three intruders.
"Valeria," Alvian said calmly.
"On it!"
Valeria slamd her boots into the sand. She activated [Titan’s Bloodline]. Her body glowed with golden light, illuminating the dark ocean floor.
"TITAN’S REEF!"
She slamd her shield down. A massive wall of golden energy erupted from the seabed, rising fifty ters into the water.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
The first wave of knights slamd into the barrier. The impact sent shockwaves rippling through the water. Seahorses were stunned, their riders thrown from their saddles.
"Flank them!" Kulit shouted, effortlessly guiding his mount over the barrier. "They are but three! Swarm them!"
The knights split, swimming over and around Valeria’s shield.
"Now, Alvian!" Valeria shouted, bracing herself as a knight smashed a lance against her shield.
Alvian floated upward. He looked at the swarming army. He looked at Kulit, who was charging toward him, trident raised.
"System," Alvian commanded. "Infinite Mana Output."
The [Tear of the Infinite] in his chest spun.
"Activate Skill: [Avatar of the Deep]."
"Upgrade: [Frost Titan Avatar]."
The water around Alvian didn’t just swirl; it detonated.
-----
A vortex of absolute cold exploded from Alvian’s position. The seawater, usually resistant to freezing due to the salt and mana content, had no choice. It obeyed the command of the Void Monarch.
Billions of gallons of water were pulled into the vortex. They condensed, hardened, and froze in a fraction of a second.
From the center of the maelstrom, a hand erged.
It was a hand made of deep blue, diamond-hard ice, the size of a house. It grabbed a passing Seahorse Knight.
"CRUNCH."
The knight and his mount were crushed instantly, turning into red mist that froze into pink snow.
"What..." Kulit pulled on his reins, his eyes widening.
The Avatar rose.
It stood two hundred feet tall, towering over the coral reef. It was a humanoid construct of terrifying majesty. Its body was crafted from translucent, glacial ice that pulsed with violet veins of void mana. It wore armor made of frozen seawater. Its face was a featureless helm of ice, save for two burning violet stars for eyes.
Inside the chest of the Titan, suspended in a sphere of water, floated Alvian. He was the heart. He was the brain.
[Skill Active: Frost Titan Avatar]
[Stats: Scaling with User’s Energy (5000% Boost)]
[Duration: Until Mana Depletion (Infinite)]
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