Chapter 13: Descent into the Abyss

The entrance to the ruins' heart lay beneath the waves.

Kaelen led us to it — a half-submerged temple built into the cliffside, its mouth yawning open like the jaws of some ancient sea monster.

The tide lapped hungrily at the shattered steps leading inside. Strange barnacle-covered statues guarded either side of the entrance, their faces worn smooth by centuries of salt and time.

I stood at the edge, feeling the pull of the unknown tugging at my gut.

"You sure about this?" Vargan grunted, eyeing the dark water suspiciously. "I sink like a damn rock, remember?"

Kaelen nodded solemnly. "There is an air pocket inside. The ancients built it to withstand even the tides. But reaching it… will not be easy."

I grinned, cracking my knuckles.

"Nothing worth finding ever is."

We fashioned makeshift breathing tubes from hollow reeds Kaelen scavenged nearby — crude, but enough to survive the dive.

Riku tested his tube, gave a thumbs-up, and slid into the water with barely a splash.

I followed, shivering as the cold wrapped around me like a living thing.

The descent was a blur of motion and shadow.

Sunlight faded quickly, replaced by murky twilight.

Shapes drifted past in the gloom — schools of glittering fish, tendrils of kelp swaying like skeletal hands.

The temple's entrance loomed below, its stone maw beckoning.

I kicked hard, lungs burning, and slipped inside.

The temperature dropped immediately.

Inside, the water was still and heavy, filled with drifting silt.

We swam deeper, guided by the faint phosphorescence of algae clinging to the walls.

Shapes emerged from the darkness — broken columns, toppled statues, murals half-obscured by barnacles.

The murals showed scenes of glory: a kingdom beneath the waves, its people dancing and forging mighty artifacts. Then — disaster. A great storm. Monsters from the deep. Collapse.

The deeper we went, the more oppressive it felt.

Like the temple itself mourned its fate.

Finally, we surfaced into the air pocket Kaelen had promised.

It was a vast, echoing chamber — half-flooded, illuminated by strange blue crystals embedded in the walls.

At the far end, atop a massive dais, sat a stone pedestal.

And resting upon it — gleaming even in the dim light — was a weapon.

A spear, forged from some dark metal, with veins of blue energy pulsing along its shaft. The air around it shimmered, heavy with power.

Kaelen bowed his head. "The Leviathan Spear," he said reverently. "The last relic of my people."

I stepped closer, heart pounding.

But the moment my foot touched the dais, the ground trembled.

A low rumble echoed through the chamber.

From the dark waters behind us, something stirred.

Something big.

The creature exploded from the water with a deafening roar.

It was like nothing I had ever seen — a twisted fusion of eel, crocodile, and octopus, its body writhing with sinewy muscle and slimy tendrils.

A guardian.

Left behind to protect the relic.

And it was very much alive.

"Formations!" I shouted, instincts kicking in.

Riku and Kaelen flanked me instantly, weapons drawn.

Vargan roared and hefted a broken stone pillar like a club.

The beast lunged, tendrils whipping toward us.

I ducked one, blasting another with a bolt of lightning. The smell of scorched flesh filled the air.

Riku darted in, his twin swords flashing, slicing through a thick tendril — only for two more to lash at him.

Kaelen moved with terrifying grace, spinning between strikes, his own blades carving shimmering arcs through the air.

But the creature was relentless.

It smashed into the dais, sending cracks spiderwebbing through the ancient stone.

Chunks of ceiling rained down.

The water level began to rise, surging into the chamber as the structure destabilized.

We didn't have much time.

I called upon the Kirin within me.

Golden lightning burst across my skin, my hooves slamming into the stone floor as I half-shifted — not fully transformed, but enough to channel the beast's power.

With a roar, I launched myself at the creature, slamming a lightning-infused punch into its side.

The beast screeched, rearing back — but not falling.

Riku took the opening, leaping onto its back, driving both swords deep into the thick flesh.

Kaelen followed, severing tendons with precise, brutal cuts.

Vargan hurled his makeshift club, smashing the beast's eye with a sickening crack.

It flailed wildly, smashing into walls, sending waves crashing through the chamber.

But we held our ground.

Together.

Finally, with a final roar, I charged a blast of lightning between my hands — a crackling orb of golden-white energy.

"Move!" I shouted.

My crew dove aside as I hurled the blast straight into the creature's gaping maw.

The explosion shook the entire temple.

When the smoke cleared, the beast was gone — its body sinking into the rising water, defeated.

The chamber trembled violently.

Cracks raced across the walls.

It was collapsing.

"Grab the spear!" Kaelen shouted.

Without hesitation, I sprinted to the pedestal.

The Leviathan Spear pulsed as my hand closed around it — a surge of power racing up my arm.

It recognized me.

Or maybe it simply knew there was no time to argue.

We ran.

Ducking falling debris, splashing through rising water, scrambling up the shattered stairs.

We barely made it out, bursting back into open water just as the temple collapsed behind us, sending a shockwave through the bay.

We hauled ourselves onto the rowboat, gasping for breath, the Leviathan Spear clutched tightly in my hands.

Behind us, the ruins of the Kingdom Beneath the Waves slipped beneath the waves for the final time, swallowed by the sea it had once ruled.

But we had survived.

And we carried with us a piece of its legacy.

Back aboard our ship, I studied the spear by lantern light.

It was heavy, but balanced perfectly.

The blue veins of energy within it pulsed in time with my heartbeat.

Kaelen knelt before it, reverent.

"This weapon... was forged to slay sea kings," he said softly. "It will serve you well."

I nodded, feeling the weight of destiny settle on my shoulders.

The Grand Line was dangerous.

But with my crew by my side, and relics like this at our disposal…

We would carve our legend into the seas.

No matter what — or who — tried to stop us.