The waters near Ursula's old lair had grown darker than the last ti they were there.
Once rely eerie, the trench now pulsed with unnatural pressure. It pressed into Helios' skin and bones, like the ocean itself was trying to push him away. The darkness wasn't natural; it clung to the reef like rot, veined with filants of dim purple light that pulsed like veins beneath translucent skin.
Kurai glided beside him in silence, her narrowed eyes scanning the corrupted seabed. "It's worse than before. It feels like the parasite is feeding off everything now."
Helios didn't respond. His hand remained wrapped around the hilt of Equilibrium, which shimred faintly, unsteady in the darkness. He could feel it—his connection to light, his mastery of darkness—they were slipping, fraying, as though reacting to sothing deeper than Ursula's corruption.
The trench wound into a wide cavern—Ursula's old sanctum. Now, her signature potions were replaced by sigils etched in bleeding coral. The walls pulsed, not with magic.
"There has to be sothing here," Helios finally said. "It's too clean. Too precise. Ursula was theatrical. Angry. She liked being loud."
"This thing," Kurai muttered, "is wearing her mind and skin like a badge. I miss when I could do that."
They passed the shattered remains of Ursula's throne—once a grotesque construct of twisted coral, now split in two. Dark glyphs, flickering with a sickly glow, crawled like barnacles across its surface.
Kurai glanced over her shoulder. "Why are we even here? You think you'll find her lying around waiting for redemption?"
Helios shook his head. "No. But I might find a clue. A thread. Sothing we missed."
"We already combed this place. We should be focusing on the city. Thalen is still locked up. We could break him out. Leave."
Helios stopped mid-stroke. "No."
"No?" Kurai repeated. "You're still losing control of your powers. Admit it."
He sighed. "My light barely answers anymore. My darkness… recoils. And I don't think it's fear. I think it's recognition. I think I know what this parasite is. I think it has sothing to do with that being who saw us last ti in Traverse Town."
"Then that's all the more reason to retreat," Kurai pressed. "You've got enemies inside and out. Even your own power is rebelling against you."
"We leave now," Helios said, "and we stay blind. We need to stay so we can understand what we're facing. And more than that… I have debts."
Kurai's expression darkened. "Don't tell this is about Maleficent."
"She helped break the control on Triton and the soldiers," Helios admitted. "That was the second favor."
"And the first?" Kurai asked flatly.
Helios didn't respond. Not imdiately. "If we give her Ursula… that should count for sothing."
"And what about that thing inside Ursula?" she asked.
"You said you wanted to destroy it. I think it's best if you do. It might send a ssage not to ss with us for a while."
They drifted deeper, moving past shattered altars and broken amphorae. Once, this place had been a hub of vile power. Now it was a scar, pulsing with sothing more primal. The walls throbbed with an ambient rhythm, like breath—or a heartbeat.
Then, without warning, the water ahead of them darkened. Ink bled from the trench floor, spiraling upward. From it erged the illusion of Ursula.
Bloated. Regal. Grinning.
Her projection flickered, distorted—tentacles shifting through impossible angles, her face lting into a dozen subtle versions of itself, none quite right. Her smile was too wide. Her eyes too deep.
Helios imdiately drew Equilibrium. Kurai summoned her a shard of darkness.
"Calm down, darlings," the illusion purred. "I'm not really here. You think I'd risk my lovely new body just to flirt?"
Helios didn't lower his weapon. "What do you want?"
"To offer a proposition," Ursula said, circling them. "The ga has changed. The sea trembles. The old regi grows weak. But ? I've been chosen. Elevated."
"Possessed," Kurai corrected coldly.
Ursula chuckled. "Words, words. You say 'parasite.' I say 'partner.'"
"You're a mouthpiece," Helios snapped.
"And you're what?" Ursula cooed. "A fading spark pretending to be a bonfire? Your light slips from you. Your shadows coil away. Don't think I haven't noticed."
Helios gritted his teeth.
"I can give you balance," she continued. "Real balance. Not this fragile truce between forces that hate each other. The parasite doesn't demand allegiance. Only utility. You want your power back? Join us."
Kurai flung the darkness shard. It passed harmlessly through the illusion.
Ursula sighed dramatically. "Temper, temper. You'll need more than that to scratch what I've beco."
"Where's your real body?" Helios demanded.
"You're looking at her," the projection said. Then her face changed—subtly, but horrifyingly. Her skin rippled into pale, hollow flesh. Her eyes beca pits lined with teeth. Her smile was a maw.
"I am chosen," the voice said, now layered with dozens of voices beneath it. "The first vessel of the deep darkness. The one who sings when the ocean drowns."
Kurai stepped in front of Helios instinctively.
"You think this little girl will save you?" Ursula hissed. "You think minuscule powers will protect you from what's coming? Your life is growing shorter by the second. And the blade that will end you is getting closer as we speak."
"Whether I die or not, I will kill you first," Helios said.
Ursula smirked. "No. You'll kneel."
The projection shattered like glass in water, leaving only the silence of the deep.
They floated there, alone again in the endless dark.
For a long mont, neither spoke.
Finally, Kurai said, "I really want to kill her."
"No," Helios agreed. "We're capturing her."
With a flick of his wrist, Equilibrium flared dimly and he began to swim forward.
Kurai followed without another word.
Reviews
All reviews (0)