Broken dismounted from Polly and walked toward the shore, the cool ocean breeze brushing past his face. At the sa ti, a surge of water rose from the sea, swirling upward with graceful force before revealing the figure of a woman—Queen Nerisa—followed closely by several rfolk attendants.
She erged with her usual expression: calm, unreadable, and cold.
Queen Nerisa stood before him once more, her gaze steady. Had they really been waiting here the entire week?
"You're back right on ti," she said flatly.
Damn. Why did it sound like he was afraid of her threats just by making it back on ti? Maybe because she had actually threatened him if he didn't return.
He hated this. Hated how cornered he felt in this arrangent. He needed to find a way to shift the balance, to raise his standing within their agreent. But truth be told, with a force this overwhelming, it wasn't sothing he could rush or approach recklessly.
"I heard the Queen of Dissidia Kingdom just gave birth to twin babies," she added, her tone still neutral.
"You knew that?"
"I wanted to offer my congratulations."
Broken gave a thin smile. So, she could talk properly after all—though the irony wasn't lost on him, considering she currently held him under her control.
"Thanks for coming back," she said next. "Because I was just about ready to co after you if you were even a day late."
He rolled his eyes slightly, letting out a low breath. "Shut up. Let's just get this over with," he muttered, striding past her without waiting for a response.
Broken leapt up onto the armored whale that had surfaced to receive them, settling into the ornate throne-like seat atop its back. A mont later, Queen Nerisa joined him, gracefully taking the seat right beside his.
As soon as they were seated, a shimring do-shaped barrier ford around them, casting a soft, protective glow. Without pause, the armored whale began its descent once more, slipping beneath the waves and into the vast, dark ocean.
It was only now that Broken truly noticed sothing—he was sitting right beside the queen. Not below her. Not at so distant place. But side by side, equal in height and space.
That… had to an sothing positive. Right?
Still, there was another thing gnawing at him. The speed. The entire escort was moving much faster than on the way here. He could feel the rush of current, the tension in the water around them.
Then, as if reading his thoughts, the queen finally spoke.
"The demons will attack," she said, her voice calm but firm.
"The demons?" he echoed, startled.
"They learned that I left the territory. They've decided to strike."
If the threat was real enough to prompt a full-force response… then why had she still chosen to leave the kingdom? To accompany him here?
She could've simply stayed behind. She could've ordered him to return alone. But she didn't.
"You could've just let go on my own," he said quietly. "Put more trust in ."
"That's not because I don't trust you," she replied.
"Oh?" he tilted his head, glancing at her. "You trust ?"
"Not fully," she answered without hesitation.
He scoffed lightly. "Then it's the sa thing. You don't trust . Enough with the wordplay."
After a stretch of silence, Broken spoke again, his tone casual but laced with curiosity. "Is there a chance this could turn into a war?"
"Yes," she replied simply, as if war was no more unusual than a shift in the tide.
Monts passed. Then she spoke again.
"Bring out the egg."
She turned slightly toward him, her voice calm, cold, flat—just like always. But Broken didn't react. He kept his gaze fixed forward, relaxed, as if he hadn't heard her at all. He did it on purpose.
"The egg," she repeated, this ti a bit firr, though her tone didn't shift much.
Still, Broken didn't move. He could sense the tension build beside him. The queen might have looked composed, but he could feel the tightening energy in the air.
Then, softly, she said, "Please."
He smiled faintly—just enough for it to reach his eyes. That was sothing. A sign of progress, even if small. Without a word, he reached into his inventory and retrieved the Abyssal Naga egg, placing it carefully on his lap.
As expected, the queen leaned slightly toward him, placing both hands gently on the smooth shell. Her fingers moved slowly, almost reverently, as the dim, watery glow reflected off its surface.
And then ca the familiar, awkward silence.
She was sitting close. Far closer than soone with her kind of detached coldness usually allowed. So close that when he turned just a little, he could clearly see her face—calm, elegant, impossibly serene—up close, the fine details of her features lit by the faint oceanic glow.
If this were happening in the real world… yeah, this would absolutely be considered cheating.
Once the process was done, the queen slowly withdrew her hands from the egg and leaned back into her seat, resuming her usual poised, distant posture.
Broken, anwhile, checked the egg's status window. His brows imdiately drew together.
Fifteen percent.
He frowned. That was… painfully low.
Even when he had tried supplying his own mana into the egg, nothing happened. It had rejected him completely, the flow of energy denied at the source.
It reminded him of the ti he had tried the sa thing with Elaine's seed—where the result was equally frustrating. And even Alora, a forest elf whose affinity should've made the process smoother, had taken months. Caelum was born nearly at the sa ti as Elaris, after all, and Alora had gone through a full, natural pregnancy over nine months.
Clearly, this wasn't sothing that could be rushed.
And yes, the incubation would probably go faster and more efficiently if he simply handed the egg over to the queen. But there was no way he was doing that.
This egg… it was his one secure reason for being close to Queen Nerisa. The only reason he could stand among her forces, under the watchful eyes of her powerful army, and still breathe freely.
This egg was his VIP pass—his ticket to move around the Oceanic Kingdom with respect and protection. And until it hatched, he had no intention of letting that go.
The journey continued just as it had before—stretching out over several days beneath the sea. Broken stuck to a strict schedule, logging in and out only as needed, never allowing himself to be distracted. There was an urgency in the way everyone moved, a quiet, unspoken race against ti.
No detours. No delays. They were truly in a hurry.
Then, finally, the Oceanic Kingdom began to appear in the distance, the faint shimr of its massive protective do coming into view through the deep blue haze.
Suddenly, the queen stood up from her seat, eyes fixed forward, her expression sharpening.
Broken followed her gaze—and his breath caught.
There, in the far distance, just outside the massive do that shielded the kingdom… were lines upon lines of army forces. Hundreds—no, thousands—of them.
And then he realized sothing that made his stomach twist.
These weren't just ordinary demons.
They had aquatic forms—creatures twisted and shaped by dark magic to move effortlessly through the sea.
"Wait…" he murmured, eyes wide. "They've got aquatic variants too?"
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