Chapter 61 – The Girl in the Steam

The next morning, Shisui stood in his personal training field, the blade of Astradríga humming in his grasp. Its void runes pulsed like a heartbeat. He closed his eyes and focused on its abilities: Void Gatewalker, Lunarcleave Slash, Dragon Fang Suspension…

He tried to control the dimensional flow—opening a small portal to the training yard's edge. But something flickered. The energy twisted violently.

"Wait—this isn't right!"

The portal surged open, sucking him into a swirl of stars, time fragments, and cosmic winds.

Then splash.

Steam rose around him. His back hit warm water. Gasping, he stood quickly, wiping his soaked face. His surroundings were… wrong.

Smooth stone walls. Lanterns. Hot spring steam?

And then he saw her.

In the center of the hot spring stood a girl—beautiful, fair-skinned with a generous figure, waist-length tan hair, fan-like fin ears, and webbed fingers gently resting on the water's surface. Her light brown eyes met his with a mix of shock and caution.

"…Who… are you?" Shisui managed to ask.

Before he could take a step closer, her eyes gleamed, and with a sudden sweep of her hand, a wave of water surged toward him. A loud thump echoed through the hot spring as everything went black.

---

When he awoke, his arms were bound in strange glowing chains. He was inside what looked like a coral-lit chamber filled with aquatic crystals and strange writing etched on the walls.

He tried to move, but his body wouldn't respond fully.

The mysterious girl from the hot spring stepped forward, now dressed in a flowing robe of silken kelp.

"You trespassed into sacred waters," she said sternly. "I don't know who you are… but until I find out what kind of danger you bring, you're not going anywhere."

Shisui blinked, bewildered. What kind of universe did I fall into? he wondered.