The voyage toward the Shattered Sea took Lin Sheng and his companions through some of the most desolate territories in the Immortal World. Once part of the Oceanic Empire that spanned half the eastern sky realms, the region had long since fallen into ruin after the Leviathan Uprising three millennia ago. Now, what remained was a stretch of endless black waters broken by jagged reef pillars and ghost-lit waves. No sun shone here. No stars dared to linger above. Only moonlight kissed the tides—and even that trembled.
Their vessel was conjured from spirit-forged timber and air-gliding arrays that allowed it to hover inches above the ocean surface. Captain Mira, who now doubled as the navigator, charted a course along the ancient Leviathan ley-lines—lines of power buried beneath the sea, guiding them toward Elarion's last known location.
Fei'er stood at the bow, gazing down at the shimmering spectral fish beneath. "This place feels like it's dreaming of itself. A nightmare dreaming a nightmare."
Lin Sheng, seated cross-legged beside the mast, opened his system interface.
[Aeonic Accord Path Activated: Next Guardian – Elarion of the Deep.]
[Danger Level: Grand Catastrophic. Environmental Threat: Leviathan Curse. Estimated Probability of Success: 24.5%. System Suggestion: Increase Authority or Withdraw.]
He closed the panel and breathed in the cold sea air. "We're going anyway."
The crew nodded, resolute. They had braved worse odds.
As the vessel sailed further into the sea's heart, strange phenomena began to manifest. Echoes of voices long dead sang through the mist. Shapes danced beneath the water, mimicking the crew's every movement. Once, they passed a mirror-isle—an island that reflected the sky below rather than above—and witnessed their own ship drifting beneath them in reverse.
"Dimensional drift," Fei'er muttered. "The sea doesn't just exist in one place. It's fractured across timelines."
The deeper they ventured, the heavier the pressure became—not just physical, but spiritual. Even Jin Rui, whose earth-forged body was resistant to magical corruption, began to sweat cold.
Finally, they reached the Maelstrom Gate: a swirling vortex of water and darkness suspended in midair like a wound in the world. Runes, older than history, shimmered around its edge.
"This is it," Lin Sheng whispered. "Elarion sleeps beneath this gate."
As the vessel approached, a shadow rose from the deep. Bigger than any mountain, its serpentine body was adorned with glowing scales like starlight on oil.
"The Leviathan," Yue Lan breathed.
It was one of Elarion's ancient guardians—beasts formed from his subconscious. This one bore the title Khal'Zeth, the Breath of Abyss.
It struck first.
A wave of pressure crashed down on the ship, breaking its wards. The sky fractured above, and the crew fell into aerial combat as the Leviathan's endless coils slithered through space itself.
Mira launched mirror barriers and reversed the tide's direction, buying time. Jin Rui drove a stone pylon into the air, anchoring the ship mid-collapse. Fei'er unraveled seven scrolls at once, creating a floating matrix of gravity fields to hold Khal'Zeth back.
Lin Sheng leapt.
Stormlight burst from him as he invoked the authority of the Stormbearer and Sovereign Flame. He descended like a thunderbolt, striking the beast's eye with a dual-element spear. The creature shrieked, shaking the very realm.
But it did not die.
It spoke.
"WHO AWAKENS THE FIRST MIND?"
Lin Sheng's system flared.
[Deep Call Recognized. Elarion's Will Detected.]
Instead of killing Khal'Zeth, Lin Sheng focused his energy inward.
He allowed the creature to strike him.
As its coils wrapped around his body, dragging him beneath the waves of reality, Lin Sheng's consciousness plunged.
He fell through layers of memory and illusion, seeing cities swallowed by water, empires lost to hubris, and an ocean weeping blood. Then he reached it—a core of crystal, floating in the abyss.
Elarion.
The Guardian's voice echoed like a tide. "You are not like the others. You carry the storm and the flame. Why do you seek me?"
Lin Sheng spoke with his soul. "Because the Sovereign has awakened. The Accord must be rejoined."
Elarion hesitated. "Then prove you are not his pawn."
A trial unfolded.
Lin Sheng relived his entire journey—but twisted. He was shown a world where he never resisted, where he accepted power blindly, where he became a tyrant crowned in stormfire.
He rejected it.
He cast off the illusion and stepped forward.
The core shattered. Light filled the abyss.
When Lin Sheng awoke, Khal'Zeth had vanished. The sea calmed. The ship hovered above still waters.
In his hand was a new sigil.
[System Update: Aeonic Guardian Elarion Awakened. Leviathan Pact Formed.]
His companions rushed to his side.
Mira grinned. "So… are we dead?"
"No," Lin Sheng said softly. "But we're getting close to the Sovereign. And we're running out of Guardians."
He looked toward the eastern horizon.
"The next lies in the Fireveil Expanse. And it won't be water we face—it'll be war."
To be continued in Chapter Twenty – "Blades of Emberlight"