The abyss swallowed the last remnants of the ruined Church facility without ceremony. Debris drifted slowly through endless darkness.
Broken stones, shattered holy metal. Fragments of enchantments still flickering weakly before the crushing ocean finally consumed them completely.
It was strange how quickly the sea erased everything. One moment, everything was there, and the next, it was complete silence.
Jax floated there for a few moments longer, golden eyes scanning the surrounding currents one final time.
He exhaled softly through his nose,"Seriously," His voice echoed faintly through mana rather than sound, "They really commit to being awful."
Then, Jax accelerated.
~WHOOOOM!~
The ocean folded around him.
He cut through abyssal currents with impossible smoothness, mana shaping itself instinctively around his body as water parted before him like obedient silk.
Hours passed and the deeper he traveled, the older the world felt. Ancient trenches stretched endlessly beneath him.
Entire mountain ranges existed underwater, their peaks lost in darkness. Bioluminescent forests larger than cities drifted slowly with unseen currents.
Towering kelp-like structures glowed in pale silver hues, stretching for miles into the abyss. At one point, Jax slowed briefly near something enormous.
An ancient stone city, or what remained of one. Half-buried beneath coral and time. Collapsed towers leaned at unnatural angles.
Massive statues rested broken across the seabed. Most no longer recognizable. Yet one still stood.
A colossal figure carved from dark stone, that was humanoid and elegant, holding what looked like an ocean current in one hand.
Jax paused, "…Merfolk?"
No, after closer look, the style felt olderr, far older. Ancient civilization older than most kingdoms still alive. Maybe forgotten entirely.
Mana Refract flickered instinctively, ghostly echoes briefly appeared and then vanished. They existed so long ago, far before the current Demon - Church war was even going on, that even Mana Refract barely picked up anything
Jax stared a moment longer, "…Ocean really keeps secrets," and then continued.
Eventually, the ocean itself began changing. Currents slowed unnaturally, pressure shifted and mana density increased.
The water became… quieter. That was the only way to describe it. Like the sea itself had entered reverence. His golden eyes narrowed slightly as he knew he was close.
Then, after 5 more minutes of moving, Jax saw it, and for the first time since entering the ocean, Jax genuinely paused.
"…Holy shit."
Far below him, an impossible structure rested within the darkness. Not ruined or broken. In fact, it was perfect.
An enormous underwater temple stretched across the ocean floor. Ancient beyond comprehension, yet untouched by time.
Gigantic pillars rose from the seabed like mountains. Blue-white stone shimmered softly beneath bioluminescent light.
Massive spiraling towers curved upward elegantly. Water flowed around the structure unnaturally, almost respectfully, currents bending away from it rather than touching it directly.
Ancient runes glowed faintly across its surface. The architecture felt unlike anything mortal hands could ever replicate.
Jax slowly descended toward it, the closer he got, the stronger the feeling became. Ancient divinity, like standing beside an endless ocean and realizing how small everything else actually was.
He landed softly upon a massive stone platform leading toward the entrance. Even here, the water remained strangely still.
Gigantic doors stood before him. Hundreds of feet tall. Covered in symbols resembling tides, stars, moons, eternity loops, and unfamiliar language.
Jax studied them briefly, "…Guess this is it."
The moment he stepped forward, the doors opened on their own slowly and silently, like they had already been expecting him.
"…Convenient."
He stepped inside and landed on his feet, as there was no water, a magical barrier blocking the water from coming inside.
He was now greeted by the warm air of the environment, as the temple interior existed completely isolated from the sea.
Jax glanced behind himself once. Water remained visible outside like glass surrounding another world.
The interior stretched endlessly. Massive halls illuminated by floating blue lanterns.
Crystal rivers flowed gently through carved channels across the floor. Living vines shimmered with soft mana. Elegant murals covered towering walls, showing stories and ancient history.
All of these murals had one recurring figure always appearing. A beautiful woman, distant but always watching in the background, presumably she was the Sea Goddess Jax was here to meet.
Jax moved deeper, not sensing any traps or enemies as he moved aroumd. Occasionally he passed strange mechanisms still functioning despite impossible age.
Fountains flowing with glowing water. Floating orbs drifting peacefully through corridors. Ancient bells chiming softly with unseen currents.
The place felt sacred, not in the Church sense, as there was no forceful holiness or superiority
Just peace and silent power.
Eventually, he entered an enormous circular chamber at the center of the temple.
At its heart, an ancient mechanism rested. A massive pedestal surrounded by rotating rings of glowing water suspended impossibly in midair.
Runes drifted lazily around it, waiting for someone to activate it.
Jax approached carefully, his golden eyes studying everything.
"…Activation mechanism?"
Sona hadn't exactly given detailed instructions, only coordinates, so he sighed softly,"Guess we're improvising."
Jax raised one hand, golden mana flowed outward and then touched the structure. Immediately, everything reacted.
~WHOOOOOM!~
The chamber exploded with light, the floating rings spun violently. Runes ignited and ancient symbols illuminated across every wall.
The temple trembled and water currents outside surged, reality folding around Jax as he narrowed his eyes, "…There it is."
The mechanism accepted his mana instantly and finally, space shattered.
~CRACK!~
Light swallowed everything. Jax found himself in endless silence and then, he heard and felt water, not around him, but beneath him.
Jax stood upon perfectly still ocean stretching infinitely in every direction. The sky above shimmered with impossible colors. From silver to starlight and more.
Auroras drifting endlessly overhead, the ocean reflected the heavens perfectly as it was infinite and peaceful.
Jax could sense he was in a divine realm and looked around slowly.
"…Pretty."
Then, he heard a voice, soft but ancient in his ear, "You are far from where mortals belong, other-worlder,"
The ocean rippled once, and suddenly, she stood there, directly ahead of Jax s though she had always been present.
It was a woman beautiful beyond mortal comprehension with a timeless aura. Her long blue hair moved like flowing water itself, shifting softly without wind.
Blue eyes unlike anything he had seen before, deep and endless, like entire oceans lived within them.
Her garments flowed like tides and moonlight combined.
She looked at him quietly, "I know who you are."
Silence stretched between them. Finally, she spoke again.
"You seek what my waters conceal."
"You may call me…"
The endless ocean around them stirred softly.
"Meridia!"
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