Lin Tian stood at the edge of the Coral Palace's central chamber and felt the Water Fragment pulse inside his chest.
The King had risen. His scales gleamed like polished jade in the bioluminescent glow of the palace walls, and his eyes held the weight of centuries. But there was a hollowness to his frame, a weariness that no amount of royal bearing could hide.
"Your people are still sick," Lin Tian said.
It wasn't a question. He could feel them through the Fragment—thousands of Naga scattered across the ruined capital, their life forces dim and flickering like candles in a storm. The Void corruption had burrowed deep into their meridians, their bloodlines, their very souls.
The King's tail coiled beneath him. "The corruption has nested in our marrow. We have survived, but we have not lived. Not for a long time."
Mira swam to her father's side. "Father, I—"
"Let him finish," the King said gently. "The human brought the Fragment back. Let him speak."
Lin Tian stepped forward.
