Dominic's breath hitched.
The light from his trident dimmed.
The abyss cracked further—wider than any mortal eye had seen—and that shimmering glass hand reached through the sea like a forgotten god returning to reclaim its throne.
Ka'dryn backed away, limbs quivering in terror, not at Dominic—but at what lay beneath.
Dominic floated there, heart pounding, feeling something ancient staring up at him.
> "What… are you?" he whispered.
The hand paused, mid-climb. As if it was listening.
Then it withdrew—slowly—leaving only a pulse behind. A soundless note that vibrated through his bones.
And Dominic understood something terrifying:
That hand didn't come for Ka'dryn.
It came for him.
---
Flashback – Faint Memory in the Vault
A flicker jolted through his head—images from the vault he'd once walked through.
A broken mural. Words half-erased by time. A prophecy etched in kraken's blood:
