Lith could see everything clearly thanks to Solus's tenth sense, while the girls could only perceive through their spells that either there was a crowd around them or they were in an enclosed space.
Once they stopped, Lith shared Solus's senses via a mind link, letting them realize that the entire population of Zhen had assembled for some kind of ceremony.
The merfolk held hands, forming an upward spiral formation whose extremities lied at the monument on the seabed and at a height comparable to that of one of the tallest buildings.
The person at the top of the spiral started humming and the vibration spread down along the living spire, growing in intensity with each person it passed through. When it reached the seashell statue, the humming propagated to the rest of the city.