Naelvorn's massive form coiled around the ship, bioluminescent eyes bright with enthusiasm. "So! Ready for the dive? It's six kilometers down, but I've got you covered!"
Draven nodded, then looked at Genesis Codex floating beside him. "First, let me bring out the rest of my pack. They should meet you properly."
"Oh yeah! Your other friends! Let's see them!"
Genesis Codex pulsed green-gold as light flowed outward, four Lord-tier beasts manifesting on deck. Velnar's ancient scorpion bulk settled, Sylvara's forest druid form glowed gently, Feyra's small fennec fox appeared with green roses blooming, Zor's Thunder Raven landed with purple lightning crackling.
Through shared vision they'd witnessed everything, but seeing Naelvorn directly was different.
Forty stories of serpentine leviathan coiled around their tiny ship, scales like polished obsidian, eyes larger than buildings burning with teal bioluminescence, presence overwhelming the ocean itself.
Even Velnar's ancient composure showed strain, even Zor's tactical confidence wavered because size was beyond comprehension, power beyond measurement.
Naelvorn grinned, his massive alien face somehow conveying friendliness despite terrifying features.
"Whoa! You guys are awesome! Lord-tier, right? Nice!"
The massive head lowered to examine each individually. "Ancient scorpion! Bro, you're from desert! Ocean must be weird for you!"
Velnar clicked diplomatically. "Unfamiliar. But educational."
"Forest druid! Your element's gonna love the ocean life! So much nature down there!"
Sylvara bowed respectfully. "I look forward to experiencing it."
"Tiny fennec! You're adorable! Life element in ocean? You'll feel like kid in candy store!"
Feyra's cheerful energy matched his perfectly. "Nice to meet you!"
"Thunder Raven! Purple lightning! Does that work underwater? We should test it!"
Zor responded cautiously. "Perhaps another time."
Naelvorn's boisterous energy was impossible to resist, tension easing despite his overwhelming presence.
"Alright! Time for magic!"
Naelvorn's aura shifted, not threatening but protective as Pressure Crown activated.
An invisible field expanded from his massive body, surrounding the ship, encompassing everyone as reality itself adjusted within that sphere.
Pressure equalizing, atmosphere stabilizing, water-breathing capability granted through Overlord authority over ocean domain.
"There! My Pressure Crown keeps you safe. Breathe normally underwater, pressure won't crush you, depth won't matter. Just stay near me and you're golden!"
Power radiated gently, protection absolute within his aura.
Family was safe, descent was possible.
***
Naelvorn sank beneath waves, his massive body submerging smoothly as Pressure Crown maintained protection around the group.
Draven and the pack followed, swimming movements unnecessary because the protective field carried them, moving with Naelvorn's descent.
Sunlight penetrated easily here, water brilliant blue-green, visibility extending dozens of meters.
Fish scattered at Naelvorn's approach, schools parting like silver curtains. Colorful reef structures were visible below, kelp forests swaying, marine life abundant.
Sylvara's nature magic responded immediately, sensing ecosystems thriving. Feyra's life element detected abundance. Velnar observed with ancient curiosity. Zor's aerial instincts adjusted to three-dimensional aquatic environment.
Beautiful, peaceful, wonder beginning.
They descended deeper as sunlight faded.
Colors disappeared progressively, first reds, then oranges, finally yellows as the world became blue-grey monochrome. Shadows lengthened, darkness approaching.
Temperature dropped noticeably, water colder, pressure increasing outside Naelvorn's protection.
Strange creatures appeared, jellyfish pulsing with bioluminescence, fish with enormous eyes adapted to dimness, squid darting past in brief flashes of light.
"Getting darker! This is where things get interesting!" Naelvorn's voice resonated through water.
Malvorn's earth communion sensed ocean floor still kilometers below, trenches deeper than mountains tall, Theia's underwater geography revealing itself.
Darkness became absolute as sunlight disappeared completely.
Only bioluminescence was visible now, creatures creating their own light. Blue-green glows drifted past, alien shapes barely glimpsed, deep sea fish with translucent bodies and glowing lures and teeth too large for mouths.
Cold, silent except for water moving, pressure immense outside protection where it would crush unprotected humans instantly.
"Welcome to my neighborhood! Most surface-dwellers never see this!"
Naelvorn's scales glowed faintly, bioluminescent lines tracing his massive body and providing light for the group, forty-story serpent illuminated like a constellation.
The pack stayed close, Velnar's ancient patience steady, Sylvara fascinated despite darkness, Feyra's life element sensing organisms adapted to extremes, Zor's sharp eyes tracking bioluminescent movements.
Draven was awed because this was Naelvorn's domain, his territory, his home.
They went deeper still, beyond midnight, into abyss.
Pressure was incomprehensible, temperature near freezing, darkness total except for Naelvorn's glow and occasional bioluminescent creature.
Life was sparse here, only the most adapted organisms survived. Abyssal fish, deep sea crustaceans, creatures that never saw sunlight, never knew warmth, existed in eternal cold darkness.
Malvorn's earth communion detected ocean floor finally, rocky abyssal plain, volcanic vents, tectonic trenches, geological features invisible to normal eyes.
"Almost there! Sunken Archives ahead!"
And then light appeared.
Not bioluminescence, not Naelvorn's glow, but something else.
Structures appeared in darkness ahead, crystal reflecting Naelvorn's illumination, architecture emerging from abyssal plain. Ruins preserved perfectly despite depth, despite millennia, despite pressure that should crush stone.
The Sunken Archives.
Draven's breath caught despite the water-breathing field. After a week of travel, after ocean journey, after six-kilometer descent, they'd arrived.
Ancient stable zone, underwater ruins, potential answers waiting.
Family together, purpose reached, investigation beginning.
***
The Sunken Archives rose from abyssal darkness like a monument to a forgotten age.
Crystal construction, not stone, not metal, but crystal, the same material Draven recognized from previous ruins in Western and Southern Wild. Translucent structures caught and refracted light, geometric patterns precise, architecture impossibly preserved.
Buildings were arranged in a complex with towers reaching upward, halls connecting structures, central chamber largest and dominating the center. Everything glowed faintly with internal light as the stable zone's energy maintained preservation.
Beautiful, immensely and impossibly beautiful.
Not decayed, not damaged, not touched by time or pressure or ocean, suspended in perfection through ancient magic Draven barely comprehended.
The scale was moderate, not a vast city, not a single building, but a complex large enough for significant investigation yet small enough to explore thoroughly.
This was it, this held answers, maybe.
Movement between structures caught attention.
Crystal constructs, and Draven recognized them immediately.
Humanoid figures made entirely of translucent crystal, the same as ruins in Western and Southern Wild. Guardians, protectors, automated defense mechanisms from ancient civilization.
They moved with purpose, patrolling, maintaining, observing.
But not attacking.
Last time Draven encountered constructs, they'd been hostile, protecting ruins from threats. Here they moved peacefully, acknowledging presence without aggression.
Because no threat was detected, perhaps from Naelvorn's Overlord authority, or Draven's peaceful intention, or the stable zone recognizing legitimate investigation.
Reason was unclear, result was welcome.
Constructs allowed approach, guardians permitting entry.
Investigation was possible.
The central structure's entrance stood open, archway leading inside with no barrier, no seal, no magical protection blocking access.
Simply open.
Naelvorn's massive form approached the entrance, then stopped. "Can't fit like this! Hold on!"
Light flooded around the forty-story serpent as body shrank, compressed, form changed.
When light faded, a man stood where the leviathan had been.
Seven feet tall with blue-black skin like his scales, hair flowing like water, eyes still burning teal, wearing simple clothing manifested from mana.
Naelvorn in human form.
"Much better! Let's go, bros!"
They approached the entrance together, seven figures consisting of Draven, five bonded beasts, and an ocean Overlord in human form.
They passed through the archway as crystal constructs watched but didn't interfere.
Stepping from water into air, normal air.
The interior was dry, breathable atmosphere maintained by the stable zone, pressure normal, temperature comfortable.
No water inside ruins, completely dry, magic separating interior from ocean absolutely.
They stood in the entrance hall with crystal walls glowing softly, architecture beautiful, halls extending deeper into the complex.
Draven looked around at his family, at ancient ruins, at potential answers.
A week of travel, ocean crossed, six kilometers descended, finally arrived.
"Let's begin," he said quietly. "Carefully. Systematically. We search for any information about stopping Fate's Revenge. About the failed merger. About solutions we can use."
The pack nodded agreement, Naelvorn's human form grinning.
"I'll help! Haven't explored this place thoroughly before. Could be fun!"
Family together, purpose clear, investigation beginning.
The Sunken Archives waited, silent, ancient, holding secrets.
Time to discover what remained.
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