"Halt!"

The leader of a mermen patrol called out loudly to a blond human who was waltzing into their territory without any fear for the dangers posed by mermen. Humans were normally very afraid to even cross the waters of Silisia without arming themselves to the teeth. This one was taking a walk underwater with the self assurance of someone who was confident about his own power. To add insult to injury, he wore nothing but a cotton shirt and light working pants. 

Which insane human was daring to pull such a stunt at the borders? The merman thought.

That was when the human held up a glass cube the size of his palm. It glowed with an intense blue colour that dazzled the mermen. Arcane crystals, they recognised. These crystals were rare down under. Thus the small amount in the anti mage's hand was worth a large sum in Silisia's economy. 

"I need help locating a sunken ship," he told them. "And willing to pay more for a quick job."

The mer guards were tempted to take his offer.

"What ship?" The leader asked after a beat.

________

One month later.

The mers had already forgotten about the fake saviour who's body was rotting inside the abyss. Life continued as if Syryn had never been a part of their kingdom. 

Drevin, Enkansh, and Shali were the only ones that mourned Syryn's passing.

"He told me the prophecy would save him," Drevin said to the siren. "I believed him, Enkansh. I should have forced a rescue from prison when I had the chance."

The siren didn't know what to say to the mer prince. When Syryn had been thrown into the abyss, he hadn't been there to watch. Neither had Drevin. The siren didn't have the same faith in Syryn's return like Drevin did but a part of him held the hope that the human would surprise them again like he did after the snakes had attacked.

For two weeks, Drevin stubbornly clung to the belief that the oracle's prophesy held water, that Syryn was going to appear before him as if he had never left. But now a month had elapsed and his hopes lay crushed under the weight of a stark reality. Syryn was gone.

"Do you think the oracle made a mistake?" Enkansh asked the mer prince.

"I don't know."

"The oracle has never failed Silisia but I don't see how a human could ever become its king. The mers would never respect him."

"My father was convinced enough about Syryn being a threat to his throne, so maybe he believed that the oracle was right."

"Then Syryn should be alive," Enkansh replied. "He's either alive or the oracle made a false prophecy this time."

"I want to believe that he's alive."

"Nobody ever comes back from the abyss. You know that."

The silver mer nodded, eyes glued to the little jellyfish that was in the palm of his hand.

"I hope he's resting in peace."

____

The mermen and the sirens were both the eyes of the ocean. Nothing in the ocean could hide away from their searching gazes. Even so, the ocean was a vast place and a missing ship was just one tiny needle lost in a haystack.

Rowan's patience was at its end by the time a month had passed and the Fool's Noose had still not been found. The small band of mer guards had grown into a large group of eager mers, combing through the ocean for a ship. The anti mage had paid half the amount of arcane crystals he had promised them, and then increased the reward to triple of what he had initially wanted to pay. For greedy mers who never got a chance to trade with humans, this was a chance they jumped at.

The anti mage often spent time searching the ocean for wrecks. And when he wasn't in the water, he recuperated on a ship that was anchored close to the border of Silisia. The blond had brought with him a skeleton crew of highly disciplined sailors who were trained for battle in water.

After a long day in the water, Rowan surfaced to find a bird circling the ship like it was looking for something. The bird spotted Rowan and flew down to land on his shoulder.

Rowan removed a small canister from the bird's foot. It had a message from Artemus.

Got news from Robin. The captain of the ship you're looking for has allegedly been imprisoned by Red Sun. I'm going to coop Island.

Artemus.

Rowan let the paper burn. If the captain was on Coop island then it meant that Syryn too could be there. Rowan decided he would also head to Coop island and rendezvous with Artemus. An entire month searching for the wrecks of the Fool's Noose had yielded them nothing.

The blond remembered the words of the man he had bumped into. He was running on prayers and hopes at this point but it was all that Rowan could do to stave off the inevitable breakdown that was coming for him.

Losing Syryn in their first life had been unavoidable. The mage had wanted to give his life for a good cause before the demonic emperor claimed it. The blond had accepted Syryn's decision because it seemed the only way to stop the end of the world. This lifetime, the anti mage was more selfish, more aware of how little he actually owed the world. 

"Sir, dinner is ready," a young crewmate informed the anti mage.

"I'll be there shortly." He wasn't hungry.

Right then, Rowan abruptly felt the ship sway dangerously. He quickly balanced himself by holding on to the railing next to him. The anti mage was now alert for an underwater enemy but it was something else coming for the ship.

A large wave rose like a water palm over the ship. For a few moments, it towered over them all and fell, smashing into the deck with all the fury of nature in it. Wave after wave arrived, the next one bigger than the last, and they fell upon the ship that was being tossed about in the violent waters it rested over. 

"What's going on?!" A shocked sailor shouted.

"Some force underwater is generating the waves," Rowan replied, grimly. If the waves didn't stop hitting them soon, the ship was doomed to sink.

____

Underneath the turbulent waters of the ocean, the kingdom of Silisia was facing an unprecedented disaster.

An earthquake had taken hold of the kingdom and the shaking was only getting stronger. Fissures erupted on the surface of the rock foundation that held up the mer kingdom. Dust and sand choked the water so that visibility was reduced.

Panicking and terrified mers left their homes to swim up higher where the effects of the earthquake weren't as powerful. There had been minor earthquakes before but nothing so devastating and prolonged as this. Living structures collapsed onto unlucky mers who hadn't yet escaped. Every part of Silisia was in chaos.

Even at the palace, an evacuation had begun the moment the mers realised that this earthquake was not natural. The pillars of the palace were already showing hairline cracks and buckling under the weight of the enormous mountain that formed part of its architecture.

"Drevin! Hurry!" The siren screamed.

"You leave first! I have to get Gaia!"

"Leave her or you'll both die!" The siren grabbed the mer prince who was adamant about finding his stepsister.

Gaia lived deeper inside the mountain. Drevin knew she hadn't left yet because she needed to pass by his door to get out of the palace. And Drevin hadn't seen her leave. Shali and concubine Shaye, along with several other concubines and royal heirs had been the first to leave when the shaking began.

"I saw her leaving!" Enkansh lied. He knew that Drevin was going to die if he went inside the mountain.

The silver mer glanced at the siren. "Did you really?"

A section of the palace next to him collapsed, nearly clipping his tail. Enkansh took the opportunity to grab the prince and make a hasty escape.

___

Deep under the crust of rock that formed the ocean bed, an ancient creature was awakened from its sleep.

Its size was bigger than any water monster that the mers would ever encounter. Curled up under the thick layer of ocean rock, the leviathan was a scaly creature that did not resemble any sea monster in existence. 

The entity had slept for thousands and thousands of years, waiting for the sage to return. It had remained trapped inside its prison of sleep after the Sage's death. So much time had passed that the oceans had forgotten how terrible the collosal behemoth could be in its fury.

It opened its chasm of a mouth to reveal long tentacles that came out like tongues to wrap around the form of a sleek black sleeping serpent with three eyes on its head.