---
Chapter 16: The Drowned Throne
Beneath the waves of the Wyrmdeep Sea, the world forgot the sun. Light was a myth, time a rumor. And in the blackest trench of all, the Tide Ring waited.
Kaelen stood aboard the skyship Elarion, staring down into a whirlpool that churned like the eye of a god.
"We can't breathe down there," Aeris warned.
Kaelen didn't answer.
He raised his hand—eight rings glowing in rhythm. The Tempest and Nature Rings responded. The wind stilled. The sea parted.
A path of water opened like a gate to the abyss.
---
Descent
They descended into the trench inside a sphere of air, protected by the rings. All around them, colossal bones lay scattered like forgotten titans.
Then they saw it:
The Drowned Throne—a cathedral made of coral and shadow, pulsing with blue light, guarded by a figure bound in chains of salt and stone.
Her eyes opened as they approached.
"I am Nysera, Queen of the Lost Depths," she said. "And I have waited a thousand years for someone brave enough to take the ninth ring."
---
The Weight of Water
The Tide Ring was not a test of battle—it was a test of burden.
Nysera showed Kaelen visions:
A world drowning in sorrow.
People he could not save.
Futures broken because of his choices.
The ring sang a song of grief.
Aeris tried to reach him, but Kaelen stood still, heart breaking. He whispered, "If I carry this… I'll carry all of it."
Nysera nodded. "And still, you step forward?"
He did.
The Tide Ring flowed like water onto his hand.
---
Nine Rings. One Remains.
The sea trembled.
Above them, the surface cracked like a mirror.
And far away, the Herald of Ten stood atop a black mountain beneath a bleeding sun, watching Kaelen rise from the deep.
He turned toward the last ring—hidden in the one place no bearer dared to look.
Within.
---