Dilan and Oxin walked side by side along the aquarium's observation path, their footsteps muted by the silver stone steps as they descended.
Neither of them talked as they looked around with interest…
Soon, the largest viewing chamber opened up before their eyes.
This was a vast cylindrical room that was filled with many people. The core habitat stretched downwards, extending beyond the floor and was separated from the rest of the water, contained within a long tube-like structure that disappeared into a dim aquatic abyss. Although the general body of water could still be seen when one looked 'around', everyone present was captivated by the sight 'below!' Its walls were layered with a special reinforced crystalized glass that was nearly a meter thick, making it almost opaque. Special runes rippled faintly along the seams, stabilizing pressure, managing temperature, and maintaining a perfectly balanced, isolated ecosystem. Looking even closer, in the center of this habitat, something immense drifted slowly through the dark waters.
Looking down, Dilen peered through the transparent glass floor with great interest.
These were the legendary 'Coral Backed Fairy Whales!' that he had heard about?
They were smaller than most whales, measuring only around fifteen meters in length as an adult, yet their presence filled the entire chamber with a quiet gravity, almost appearing to produce their own momentum as they slowly drifted through the darkness.
Their bodies were long and gently curved, marked along their backs with broad, shell-like formations that resembled layered stone reefs.
Across their ancient 'shells', entire ecosystems had taken root.
Looking even deeper…
Coral forests spread in branching spirals, pale anemones swayed back and forth in the slow currents, bioluminescent moss and crystal-like kelp clung to their ridges and crevices, causing everything to glow softly in several shades of blue and violet, which created a small sea of stars. Tiny fish and drifting plankton moved across their backs as if traveling across small islands, making each whale appear as if they were carrying their own miniature world.
Low harmonic sounds occasionally rippled through the water, their calls reverberating against the reinforced glass, producing faint vibrations beneath the feet of those observing them.
They swam slowly, appearing indifferent, as if time itself didn't matter to these large creatures…
-
Dilan slowly sighed as he leaned against a long railing, gazing out into the drifting blue abyss. "With everything going on in the capital right now, combined with the approaching third calamity…" he muttered out loud. "…keeping track of everything has become an entire mess in and of itself…"
Oxin faintly nodded.
"A lot of my family's businesses are still recovering. With the sudden surge of outsiders, we were struggling to keep up after the Mercenary Alliance was banned in the south."
They continued to wander along the observation path.
The layered light shifted across their faces as a massive sea turtle lazily drifted overhead, its shadows sweeping past the two young men.
After some time passed, Dilen spoke up.
"Do you know how Nellio's body is doing?"
Oxin shook his head. "They're keeping a tight lid on their families' current condition, but if I had to guess… the Azurefell family should be getting pretty desperate right now." He turned his eyes to the side. "That is, if they even care about him…"
He paused, not finishing.
"That's not good, right? If they really bring the twins back… then what do you think will happen?"
"What do you mean?"
"Did you forget?" Dilan glanced sideways. "That little girl, Petra, should still be a hero, after all. Although that 'Hero Faction' is relatively new, even my family is having a hard time investigating those strange people right now." He scratched his nose. "The first thing my grandfather told me when I was released from the training tower was to avoid them when possible."
"…Ah, right." Oxin's gaze remained on the drifting shapes.
"It's unlikely that many will stand up for her if she throws a tantrum," he said after a moment of thought. "Not with her reputation like it is right now…."
Dilan hesitated, "You don't think that she'd attack the mansion by herself?" He asked this because that was the impression he had when he met Petra back in Imai.
Oxin gave him a flat look. "Are you serious? Do you think she can?"
"…I'm not sure." He mumbled.
In fact, he thought that she might really do it, even if it was suicidal.
They walked in silence for several steps.
The water rippled faintly across the glass, casting fractured reflections across their clothes.
Oxin spoke again, his voice now more grim. "From what I've heard, ever since the Guardian learned that the twins disappeared… Hm, its should have been around the period of time before the Grand Gathering in Imai—"
He sighed again…
"—Their lifespan seemed to have been reduced as a punishment. That's what my family learned at least. If they get pushed into a corner…" He shook his head. "Things will turn bloody, that's what I suspect will happen. I just don't know if they dare to kill the Northern Regions Heavens Chosen…"
Dilan's eyes shifted.
"…What do you think, then?" Oxin asked. "If something really happens… whose side will you take? Nellio or Petra's?"
"I don't know," Dilan admitted. "I'm not even sure what that little girl is capable of, but even if she begged… it might not be enough."
Oxin let out a faint, humorless laugh.
"You think she's tragic, right?"
Oxin tilted his head back slightly, looking up through the water as a massive serpent-like silhouette drifted across from another chamber far above.
"I was born to be a vessel for the 'Will of the Second Hero'." He finally muttered.
Dilan's expression didn't change. "…You don't have long either, right?"
"Oh?" Oxin gave him a sideways glance, "So you did know? For a family of muscle-headed madmen, the Dimebeck Family hears a lot more than it should," Oxin laughed.
Dilan chuckled.
There was a brief silence between them.
"Not many people know you're the descendants of the Second Hero," Dilan continued with a grin. "Even fewer know your family still 'carries' his soul from generation to generation. A lot must've changed after so many reincarnations. Are you sure that it can even be called possession? Why does it feel more like an inheritance at this point?"
Oxin smiled faintly.
"With your sharp instincts, I'm slightly more relieved." He hummed. "Perhaps, when the time comes, I might still be me…"
"If you really don't want to, you can just run away like the twins did, who knows..."
"If it were that simple, I'd have done it already." Oxin looked towards the distorted sun from far above, its light restrained, twisted, and controlled by the thin veil of water that separated them. "Not all of us can be as lucky as 'that old man'…"
His voice faded beneath the rolling waves…
* * *
Time passed.
The next place Petra's party approached was a vast cylindrical hall…
This was a towering open chamber that rose four stories high and stood beneath a special ceiling of reinforced glass that had been layered with an uncountable number of rune channels and a carefully constructed magic framework.
Throughout the whole Beast Garden, this room seemed to possess the highest level of security.
In the center of the room stood a towering glass column. It appeared as a massive cylindrical tank that stretched from floor to ceiling like a pillar of magically restrained water. Soft light filtered through the tank, refracting across the chamber in slow, waving patterns that rippled alongside its sole inhabitant.
Petra stepped down a short flight of stairs and entered the large hall.
Her little eyes sparkled as she looked up.
As the others arrived from behind, the female servants all looked up in awe.
Floating within the central column of water was a very long, pale creature, the so-called 'Leviathan Cub' of the White Serpent. It drifted weightlessly through the water, its slender body coiling and uncoiling in a slow, absent-minded motion. Its scales rippled like polished silver and pale pearls. Beneath thin eyelids, its pupils glowed faintly with a soft blue light. Two small fin-like structures extended from the sides of its neck, while a series of strange, feather-like protrusions ran down the length of its spine, swaying gently with the currents. It did not move like a beast, instead, it moved like something that had always existed in nature, like drifting seaweed or a blade of grass.
For a moment, the entire group simply stood there and watched.
There was something almost mesmerizing about its presence, the way it moved.
Time seemed to pass without anyone noticing.
Then—
A sudden voice cut through the quiet!
"Two hundred years ago, the southern coast suffered a devastating attack from a colossal serpent that crawled out of the sea!"
A staff member began to recite nearby…
"This massive monster measured over five kilometers in length and eventually made its way deep inside the southern region! It would later come to be known as the 'Silver Serpent'!"
Petra turned her head.
A small crowd had gathered around a Beast Garden's guide who was recounting the creature's history.
Petra quietly stepped closer and blended into the crowd.
"Back then," the guide continued to speak, "it appeared without warning, vanished without pattern, and left complete devastation wherever it went! Despite its enormous size, the White Serpent could burrow and swim in the sea with ease, but it could also fly through the sky and run with a nearly unmatched speed on land! Back then, it was difficult to even catch, not to mention stop!"
He lowered his voice…
"Entire cities disappeared overnight, countless trade routes were closed and abandoned, and soon, many merchants didn't even dare to go out, causing many settlements to be isolated even if they had survived an attack! It was a very dark period in the empire's long history. The most terrifying thing was that a storm would always follow in its wake, almost as if it were dragging the weather along with itself, like some god who had descended to bring judgment!"
He gestured towards the towering tank.
"This creature is believed to be its offspring! After many months of pursuit, the White Serpent was eventually slain! During the clean up, when they were dismantling its body… this cub was discovered within its corpse!"
Many murmurs spread through the quiet hall.
"Despite being called a leviathan," the guide continued, "its actual classification remains uncertain even today! It may be related to the ancient dragons, it may be some primordial serpent, and some scholars even believe that it could be something entirely new to our era!"
In truth, no one knew what it was…
Inside the tank, the cub slowly rotated, its silver eyes drifting across the chamber with a subtle, yet strangely deep gaze.
Petra furrowed her brows.
She could feel it watching, despite its inanimate appearance.
As the guide continued to speak, she shifted her attention, glancing towards the entrance of the hall.
There, a few new figures had just stepped inside…
* * *
Dilan and Oxin stepped into the hall together, accompanied by Cinder, the spear servant, and several of their female attendants. Their pace slowed down as they took in the appearance of the massive room.
From their perspective, the chamber appeared calm, quiet, and almost ceremonial.
Until—
Oxin tilted his chin towards the base of the towering column of water and gave a short, almost amused laugh. "Well-well-well, would you look at that," he muttered. "There she is, walking around without a worry in the world…"
Dilan followed his gaze.
There, in the center of the room and submerged in the crowd, Petra stood near a central railing, staring up at the floating serpent as if nothing else mattered.
She didn't seem the slightest bit concerned that someone might recognize her.
Thinking about it—
…Perhaps that was exactly why she hadn't been 'caught' yet.
But, her luck would only last so long, at least, that was what the two young masters believed.
With a small nod, Dilan followed Oxin down the short flight of stairs towards the center of the room.
"…She really doesn't care about her reputation at all," Dilan added with a quiet chuckle.
Oxin smirked. "Want to go say hello? She is a hero, after all. It can't hurt to at least try to have a good relationship, even if it's destined to fall apart later."
"…Hm, sure, we can also ask about Dorthy. I only met her once, but she left quite an impression back then, I wonder how she's doing right now."
Oxin watched Petra for a moment, then began walking towards her while Dilan followed from behind.
They approached...
Petra had sensed them from the corner of her eye, but didn't turn immediately. Her mind was already running simulations over something else, considering something entirely unrelated.
Then—
Swoosh!
A small 'fireball' shot forward!