Far beneath the roiling surface, in the shadowed depths around Misty Tower, Theo stood alone in a chamber carved from centuries-old stone. There, in the ocean’s ancient silence, a current of raw energy surged through him—an awakening so profound that he staggered, clutching a barnacled pillar for balance. Throughout the undersea stronghold, others reeled from the same invisible force, their senses heightened, nerves alive to the shift in power. It seemed as though the very bones of the ocean were singing with newfound strength, summoning secrets older than memory itself.
The tides beyond the thick, moss-blanketed walls churned as if in answer, and creatures in the deep paused in their endless migrations, attuned to something monumental unfolding. Theo drew a long, steadying breath, feelin
