Daric, Kaelen, and the buff goat tumbled out of the stabilizing portal and landed with a wet splash.
Daric sputtered, shaking water from his ears.
"I swear, if I have to swim again, I'm declaring war on destiny itself."
The landscape before them was breathtaking—and a little terrifying.
Vast, sunken cities stretched out beneath crystal-clear water, illuminated by eerie blue lights. Colossal statues of forgotten gods loomed from the depths. Ruined skyscrapers lay toppled like ancient bones.
Floating islands dotted the sky, connected by waterfalls that seemingly defied physics.
A new system notification chimed:
[Welcome to the Realm of Sunken Cities.]
[Objective: Awaken the Deep Beacon to restore the Breath of the Waters.]
[Warning: High Risk of Drowning, Crushing, and Sudden Existential Sadness.]
Daric sighed, adjusting the Shovel of Destiny across his back.
"Awesome. Let's find something to punch before I start writing sad poetry."
Kaelen wrung out his cloak and grinned.
The buff goat floated by majestically atop a broken door like a furry, muscular survivor.
—
Status Update:
Name: DaricClass: Primal Hunter (Legendary)Titles: Chickenbane, Monarch Slayer, Brunchbreaker, Stuffing Slayer, Realmwalker, The Ridiculous One, Mirror Breaker, Skybreaker, Breaker of MasksEssence Total: 695,000Primary Weapon: Shovel of Destiny (Enhanced)Secondary Weapon: Fancy Cane of TimekeepingLevel: 54Ascended Realms: 9Ascension Authority: 45%Companions: Kaelen (Frying Pan Crusader), Buff Goat (Lord of Gains)New Ability: Time Step (Rewind 5 seconds once per battle)
—
They swam and climbed their way into the first city ruins.
Gravity was weird here: sometimes the water felt light, almost breathable, and sometimes it pressed against them like a crushing hand.
They encountered:
Ghostly schools of translucent fish that whispered secrets.Jellyfish the size of barns, drifting like living zeppelins.Eels with unsettlingly judgmental expressions.
The deeper they went, the stranger it became.
Time rippled occasionally, a side effect of their journey through Broken Time.
Daric found himself reliving odd moments.
One second he was climbing a coral-covered tower; the next he was six feet back, arguing with a particularly smug crab.
"Focus!" Kaelen called, lobbing a rock at Daric to snap him out of it.
"I'm focused!" Daric lied, tossing the crab into orbit with his cane.
—
The center of the Realm pulsed ahead: the Deep Beacon, a massive crystalline obelisk buried beneath the ruins.
System alert:
[Guardian Detected: Leviathan of Forgotten Currents.]
[Level: Cataclysmic.]
[Strategy Tip: Try not to get eaten.]
Daric groaned. "Great. Sea monsters. My favorite."
The water around them darkened.
From the abyss, it emerged: a titanic serpent with translucent scales, glowing with inner starlight. It wound around ruined buildings with effortless grace, eyes like cold suns.
[World Boss: Leviathan of Forgotten Currents]
[Skills: Tidal Crush, Abyssal Pull, Song of the Drowned]
—
The battle began with the Leviathan releasing a sonic boom that shattered nearby ruins.
Daric activated Moonveil, creating a field of silver light that dulled the Leviathan's mind-melting song.
Kaelen hurled his frying pan in wild arcs, each throw bending slightly through the shifting currents.
The buff goat swam (swam!) circles the beast, leaving trails of bubbles shaped like flexing arms.
Daric darted forward, landing brutal strikes with his Shovel of Destiny.
But every hit barely scratched the beast's armor.
The Leviathan counterattacked, creating whirlpools that flung them into broken towers and statues.
Daric gritted his teeth, activating Time Step just before a massive tail strike connected.
Reality snapped back five seconds.
He dodged cleanly this time, countering with a spinning overhead smash that cracked a scale.
[Critical Hit!]
Kaelen and the buff goat seized the opportunity, slamming into the weakened spot.
The Leviathan roared, sending a shockwave that nearly snapped Daric's arms.
"New plan!" Daric gasped. "Find a way to ground this thing!"
Kaelen pointed at the broken chains floating near the ruins.
"On it!"
—
Together, they lured the Leviathan toward a colossal broken arch.
Kaelen and the goat looped the chains around the archway and Daric, with a herculean effort, slammed the Fancy Cane into a weak point in the structure.
The arch collapsed onto the Leviathan, trapping it briefly.
Daric channeled everything into a final, massive blow.
The Shovel of Destiny gleamed with starlight and moonlight.
With a scream of fury and triumph, he plunged it into the Leviathan's exposed core.
The beast thrashed—then disintegrated into a flurry of glowing scales.
System notification rained down:
[World Boss Defeated: Leviathan of Forgotten Currents]
[Essence Gained: 100,000]
[Ascension Authority Increased to 50%!]
[Item Obtained: Crest of the Deep — Grants underwater breathing and enhanced speed underwater.]
Daric floated in stunned silence.
Then Kaelen whooped, swimming clumsily toward him.
The buff goat paddled by, balancing on a piece of coral-like a champion surfer.
Victory tasted sweet—and slightly salty.
—
The Deep Beacon pulsed and rose from the ruins, casting beams of sapphire light across the realm.
The waters calmed.
The broken cities slowly began to mend.
A new portal shimmered into existence atop the Beacon.
Daric floated up beside it, exhaustion and exhilaration warring inside him.
"You ready?" he asked Kaelen.
Kaelen just grinned.
The buff goat flexed so hard that a ripple crossed the water.
Daric adjusted his grip on the Shovel of Destiny, feeling the growing hum of power within him.
"Halfway there," he said quietly. "Let's finish what we started."
Together, they swam into the light—toward whatever madness awaited next.