A week passed traveling east.
The Southern Wild's familiar forests and settlements faded behind them as territory transitioned gradually, dense jungle thinning into temperate woodlands, then rolling grasslands, finally approaching coastal plains.
Malvorn maintained human form throughout, six and a half feet of crystalline man walking comfortably beside Draven, more practical than Overlord size for long-distance travel, no need drawing attention or terrifying settlements they passed.
He'd grown comfortable in this shape, almost preferring it for daily travel.
Genesis Codex floated steadily, guiding their path eastward.
The journey was peaceful, uneventful by design.
Zor scouted ahead daily, returning with reports of safe paths. Velnar's ancient patience set a sustainable pace, not rushing, not dawdling, just steady progress. Sylvara foraged herbs during rest stops, maintaining medical supplies. Feyra's cheerfulness kept morale high despite long days walking.
Evenings found them around campfires with quiet conversations, shared meals, family bonding through simple proximity.
No dramatic encounters, no battles, no crises, just family traveling together toward purpose.
Exactly what they needed after recent devastation: peace, normalcy, forward motion without urgency demanding more than they could give.
They passed through scattered settlements along the way, small villages and farming communities and trading posts near roads. News of the Southern Wild catastrophe had spread, and some recognized Draven as the bearer who'd helped organize cooperation after devastation, some knew Malvorn's crystalline human form marked him as something more than ordinary.
But they moved through quickly with polite interactions, brief supply restocking, no long stays, purpose driving them forward.
Eastern territories were less developed, more wilderness, fewer people, because approaching ocean meant approaching frontier.
On the seventh day, the air changed.
Salt-scent carried on wind, temperature moderating, humidity increasing, seabirds circling overhead in patterns Zor found fascinating.
Land sloped gradually downward, elevation decreasing toward sea level.
The Eastern Ocean was close, very close.
Anticipation built, not about encountering anyone but about reaching destination, about beginning investigation.
Through trees ahead, blue appeared, not sky but darker, deeper, moving.
Water.
Draven's pace quickened involuntarily, pack responding to his anticipation as everyone moved faster toward the treeline marking coast.
Malvorn's crystalline features reflected increasing light, rainbow patterns dancing across his skin as they approached.
Genesis Codex pulsed steadily, Adhivar and the Codex both sensing destination nearing.
They broke through final trees, stepped onto rocky shore, emerged into open air.
And there it was.
The Eastern Ocean.
***
The ocean stretched to horizon, endless, vast beyond comprehension.
Water darker than sky above, blue-grey mixing with green-black in depths, waves rolling in rhythmic patterns and crashing against rocky shore with constant white-foam thunder. Salt-spray misted the air while seabirds cried overhead.
The scale was overwhelming. Draven had never seen anything this large, the Southern Wild's forests seemed small by comparison, mountains seemed finite, but ocean felt infinite.
No visible end, just water meeting sky at impossible distance, curve of planet evident in that junction, Theia's scope made tangible.
Beautiful, humbling, overwhelming.
The pack reacted differently to the sight.
Velnar clicked thoughtfully, desert-adapted scorpion contemplating water's vastness with ancient curiosity. Sylvara's nature magic responded to ocean's life, ecosystems beneath waves singing to the forest druid's senses. Feyra darted to water's edge, small paws touching foam cautiously, life element detecting abundance below. Zor circled overhead, Thunder Raven's electrical sensitivity feeling something in the water, charge and current and energy moving differently than in air.
Malvorn's earth communion extended downward through shore, through continental shelf, through depths, sensing ocean floor kilometers below, feeling trenches deeper still, planetary connection revealing underwater geography.
Everyone processing differently, everyone awed.
Genesis Codex pulsed as Adhivar's voice emerged. "The ancient zone is beneath these waters. Approximately forty kilometers offshore. Depth varies, portions at two kilometers down, deepest sections reaching six kilometers into abyssal trenches."
Draven stared at endless water, forty kilometers out, six kilometers down.
"The ruins are underwater. Preserved by ocean pressure and isolation. Unexplored for millennia because reaching them requires specific capabilities."
Adhivar's pause was meaningful, specific capabilities they didn't possess.
"Six kilometers deep?" Draven repeated.
Malvorn's earth communion confirmed it. "Deeper than any mountain is tall. Pressure at that depth would crush normal humans instantly. Darkness absolute. Temperature near freezing."
The Codex added more detail. "The stable zone created a safe pocket, breathable atmosphere within ruins, manageable pressure. But reaching it requires crossing ocean distance and surviving descent."
The problem was crystallizing. They'd reached the Eastern Ocean.
Now they needed to reach what lay beneath.
***
They gathered on the shore, looking at water stretching endlessly.
Draven voiced the obvious problem. "How do we reach something forty kilometers offshore and six kilometers deep? We can't swim that distance. Can't survive that pressure. Can't breathe underwater."
Silence followed, everyone recognizing the challenge.
They'd traveled a week to reach this location, stood at the threshold of potentially crucial information, ancient ruins holding possible answers about stopping Fate's curse.
But the ocean separated them from investigation, vast and deep and deadly ocean that humans couldn't cross, that most beasts couldn't survive.
They considered options systematically.
Zor could fly offshore but couldn't dive deep, Thunder Raven was aerial not aquatic, useless underwater.
Velnar was desert-adapted, ancient scorpion could hold breath longer than humans but not for hours, not for six-kilometer dives.
Sylvara's nature magic might create air bubbles, but maintaining them under extreme pressure was uncertain, risky.
Feyra's life element couldn't create water-breathing, wrong application entirely.
Malvorn could survive underwater, earth element granting immunity to pressure through density manipulation, but he couldn't extend protection to others easily, and Overlord size underwater would disturb the entire ocean while human form lacked that capability.
Genesis Codex's pocket dimension could store people safely, but they needed to investigate personally, couldn't examine ruins from inside an artifact.
Every option was insufficient, every capability limited.
Adhivar spoke gently. "I knew this would be challenging. Underwater ruins require specific solutions. Some stable zones are accessible to all, others demand particular abilities or assistance."
The cosmic entity paused, considering options. "Water-breathing magic exists. Pressure protection is possible. Transportation across ocean distances can be achieved. But your current capabilities don't include these solutions readily."
The implication was clear: they needed something they didn't have, someone they hadn't met, help from an unexpected source.
Draven sat on rocky shore, thinking. "Could we find local humans with boats? Travel offshore that way?"
Malvorn considered the suggestion. "Boats reach surface. Doesn't solve diving six kilometers. Doesn't solve breathing underwater."
Sylvara added her perspective. "Maybe create magical apparatus? Life bubble around everyone?"
The Codex responded analytically. "Possible theoretically. But maintaining stability at six-kilometer depth for extended investigation? Your current magical capability is insufficient. Would require significantly more power."
They sat quietly, ocean waves crashing rhythmically against shore.
They'd traveled a week, reached their destination, found the ocean hiding answers.
And couldn't reach them.
Draven looked at his family, at the endless ocean, at the depths hiding ancient ruins.
"We'll find a way. We didn't travel this far to stop at the shore."
Determination was present despite lacking solution.
Somehow, they'd reach those ruins. Somehow, they'd investigate that zone.
They just needed to figure out how.
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