Shui Yi woke to the rhythmic dripping of water on her face, the scent of damp wood filling her nose. Her body ached, a dull reminder of the waterfall training that had nearly claimed her life. She had barely recovered. Her strength still wavered. The hairs on the back of her neck stood as unease washed over her.
A deep, guttural groan resonated through the once peaceful shrine as the heavens had cracked open and water seeped down in torrents, twisting like grasping limbs. A sea appeared from nowhere, raging and colliding against itself in unnatural spirals, as if a sleeping mammoth had awoken beneath the waves. The ground rumbled beneath her. She had woken up to a nightmare.
The first tremor was subtle, barely a ripple in the vast expanse of water stretching across the mountaintop shrine. She felt it through the soles of her feet as she sat up, a shift in the energy of the realm. Water was never meant to reach this high. But before she could make sense of it, the waters began to surge.
Ling Yue stiffened and stomped her feet in the rising water. "What in the oceans?!"
A tidal wave surged forward, slamming into the shrine. The ancient structure groaned under the immense force, cracks splintering across the walls as seawater gushed in, swallowing everything in its path. Shui Yi was tossed aside like a rag doll, barely catching herself in time. Her heart pounded as their sanctuary flooded.
BOOM! The roof collapsed, sending a cascade of jagged rubble into the churning waters. All three barely dodged the falling debris.
"Ling Yue! What's happening?!" Shui Yi shouted over the deafening roar of the waves, struggling to wade her way toward the guardian.
The guardian's gaze darted across the scene, her lips pursed. She raised her fist to the sky and cursed under her breath, "What in the Oceans is he thinking?!"
Shui Yi barely had time to process those words, but she latched onto the slip immediately. "'He'? Who is 'he'?!" she demanded, drenched by the torrential rain.
Ling Yue's eyes widened in a rare flash of alarm. She quickly averted her eyes to the ground, avoiding the mermaid's gaze. "Never mind that. Just prepare for battle!" She tossed her sword to the mermaid, then turned her back.
Before Shui Yi could press further, a monstrous shadow loomed from the depths. A scaled leviathan, its eyes burning red, burst through the waves. Its gaping maw opened, revealing rows of serrated teeth. Then another surfaced. And another. Countless sea monsters emerged, towering over them. One resembled the legendary beast from the chasm—an ancient, ravenous creature, its massive form slick and pulsing with killing intent. Others followed, twisting through the water, grotesque bodies undulating with hunger.
Suddenly, the chasm beast unleashed a burst of electricity. A blinding arc lanced through the water. Shui Yi recoiled, bracing for death, but Ling Yue was already in front of her, arms outstretched, summoning a barrier. An air bubble shimmered around them, rippling with her magic as the shock slammed into it and rebounded.
Outside the barrier, the other sea monsters convulsed, snarling and thrashing. Their eyes blazing with fury, they turned on the electric beast. A feeding frenzy erupted. Scarlet ribbons spiraled through the water as they tore the culprit apart. The leviathan floated belly-up, twitching once before going still. Then, slowly, the remaining beasts turned their attention back to them.
A massive serpent-like creature lunged at Shui Yi, shattering the barrier. She twisted aside, barely avoiding its snapping jaws. Before it could bite again, Long Fei struck its head, forcing its jaws shut. He scanned the aquatic chaos, eyes wide, his face unusually pale. Could he actually be astonished? The realm was unraveling at the seams so quickly that even her companions were caught off guard.
Another beast surged forward, and this time, Ling Yue acted. She summoned a water tendril, sharpening it, slicing through the monster's gills. It let out a bloodcurdling shriek before collapsing into the waves. Still, the horde did not relent.
CRACK! Another beast surfaced, its jaws snapping inches from Shui Yi's legs. She sidestepped, slicing at its face, but the force of the attack barely fazed it. Long Fei appeared beside her just as she swung her sword again. He kicked the flat of her blade, redirecting the strike with added force. The blow connected, sending the beast flying backward into the wreckage of the shrine. "Stay close!" he commanded, pulling her behind him.
She barely had time to catch her breath before another hulking beast surged toward them. Its crimson eyes locked onto her. Fear gripped her, and she yelped, burying her face into Long Fei's back as the creature lunged. His expression darkened, and his kick landed with a resounding crack, sending a spray of seawater and shattered scales into the air. It stumbled back, dazed. A second kick sent it retreating with a whimper.
Ling Yue let out a deep, resonant cry, warning them of another incoming attack. Shui Yi couldn't bring herself to face the monsters at first. She felt Long Fei shift, fighting off the assailants to protect her. But a fire began to burn within her — she hadn't trained so hard just to hide.
Gritting her teeth, she raised her sword and drove it with all her strength into a serpent's open jaw. The blade pierced clean through to the other side of its head. She let go of the hilt, stunned by what she had done. The creature choked and recoiled. Around them, the sea churned violently. The creatures circled like hungry predators. The flood had trapped them.
The waters rose further, crashing into the shrine with relentless force. The entire structure groaned as its foundation cracked. The floor beneath them split apart, and the walls caved in. If they stayed, they would be buried alive.
"We have to get out of here!" Ling Yue shouted.
"Go all out," Long Fei commanded.
"Oh, yes!" she said, leaping out of the shrine.
A bright light emanated from her, blinding the sea monsters. Her body stretched and morphed—legs fusing, spine arching—until she became a massive, majestic whale. Crushing sea monsters in her wake, she opened her mouth wide. The shrine was collapsing around them.
Without hesitation, Long Fei swept Shui Yi into his arms and leapt into the whale's mouth, which clamped shut and thrashed, shaking off sea monsters. A vortex appeared as the earth split, a yawning abyss sucking in everything. With a powerful dive, she plunged into the surging currents, navigating through the storm of destruction as floodwaters raged around them, dragging debris and monstrous forms in their wake.