The sea was a storm of blood and fury.
Dark shapes collided amidst towering columns of sand and coral debris as the Atlantean army clashed with the monstrous Deep Dwellers—twisted, abyss-born horrors with jagged carapaces, glowing eyes, and gnashing teeth like deep-sea nightmares made flesh.
Kaius—Tidebreaker—was a blur of violence and purpose.
Clad in his sea-forged armor, his trident spun and danced in his hands like a living extension of his wrath. Each thrust shattered bone. Each sweep dismembered. Each surge of hydrokinetic force sent clusters of Deep Dwellers spiraling back, their blood swirling like black ink in the water.
"FOR ATLANTIS!"
His voice boomed through the pressure-thick battlefield, and morale surged. Soldiers who had faltered found their footing. Spears bristled. Shields locked.
He carved a path through the monstrosities, his ankle wings slicing through the currents, giving him terrifying speed and maneuverability in close quarters. With each takedown, the enemy's glowing eyes dimmed, leaving Kaius moving like a living tempest.
But even his fury couldn't stem the tide forever.
Soon, amidst the chaos, he saw it—Atlantean soldiers dropping fast, overwhelmed by sheer numbers, their corpses drifting downward like shattered statues. Whole phalanxes were being torn apart at the edges of the formation. The Deep Dwellers had adapted, flanking from crevices, ambushing from shadows.
A grim realization settled in his chest: reinforcements from the secondary battalion were too far. They wouldn't arrive in time.
He watched one of his captains—a proud hammerhead-styled warrior—get dragged into a rift, his screams swallowed by the deep.
His hands clenched around the trident shaft.
His eyes narrowed.
"No more."
Kaius surged upward through the battlefield like a missile, and then he did something no one expected—he roared.
A guttural, primal sound that didn't just echo through water—it vibrated through it. It wasn't just sound—it was a psychic pulse. Ancient. Innate. Something tied to his royal bloodline and hybrid nature.
Atlantean soldiers paused and looked toward him with awe. The Deep Dwellers… some reeled, others thrashed violently as if disoriented.
But deep beneath the battle, something else stirred. The roar had reached further than anyone realized. A ripple passed through dark trenches and old crevices, across glowing reefs and ancient ruins lost to time.
Something heard him.
Something responded.
Kaius, oblivious to the scope of what he had just done, tightened his grip on his trident and charged, swimming like a blazing spear into the thickest part of the battle.
The chapter ends with his body trailing light, cutting through the dark like a meteor—and a pulse following behind him, spreading, resonating, awakening something slumbering in the depths.
---
The ocean floor was a graveyard.
Crimson plumes of blood danced like silk in the currents. Bodies—Atlantean and Deep Dweller alike—floated like lifeless statues, armor fractured, weaponsshattered. Kaius stood at the front line, wounds slashed across his chest and side, the left plate of his armor cracked open, revealing bruised skin and glinting scales beneath.
But he didn't falter.
His trident was soaked in gore, his breathing heavy but determined. Only one squad remained at his back—loyal soldiers battered, bloodied, but emboldened by their prince's wrath. Kaius raised his trident high, his voice steady even in pain.
"Hold your ground. Atlantis does not bow. We fight until the last breath—"
CRUNCH.
A grotesque, serpent-like Deep Dweller lunged from his blind side, jaws wide to sever his head from his shoulders—only for those same jaws to be crushed between even larger fangs. A thunderous shockwave rolled through the water.
From his left, the monstrous head of a Mosasaurus surged forward, shredding the ambusher in its jaws.
From below, the primordial bulk of a Megalodon rocketed upward, devouring two Deep Dwellers in one bite, its colossal form blotting out the bioluminescent light.
Kaius froze, eyes wide.
Ancient beasts—long believed extinct, or myth—had answered the call. But they were not alone.
Behind them, streaking like torpedoes through the dark waters, came a host of sea creatures—some armored in coral and kelp, others glittering with natural bioluminescence. Giant sea snakes, armored turtles, prehistoric predators, and even stranger, alien-looking fauna surged into the battlefield with fury.
The Deep Dwellers turned to fight—and were overwhelmed.
Kaius's squad looked on in stunned silence. And then, his eyes began to glow.
A soft, pulsing blue-white radiance lit from his irises, not from rage, but from resonance—something ancient, deeper than genetics. A bond had been made. Or perhaps... revealed.
He realized then—his roar had summoned them.
Whether by royal right, instinct, or something older—it didn't matter.
Kaius gripped his trident tighter, feeling a second wind rush through his battered body. His wings sliced behind him, his wounds forgotten. With a cry like a war horn, he propelled himself forward—a comet of fury, leading his new allies into the heart of the Deep Dweller ranks.
"ATLANTIS RISES!"