"That’s right." Thalor looked Rick right in the eye.
"She’s only one bad day away from giving up..."
"Fifty years of bottled-up grief, no emotional support, and taking care of wards she doesn’t even care about anymore except out of duty."
"Why would she say no if the corruption gives her peace and takes away all of her pain?"
Sebastian floated down, forgetting about his notepad. He didn’t use any of his usual sarcasm trying to talk to Rick right now because the situation is serious.
"Rick... Nerissa Abyssryn is eight hundred years old."
"She has endured wars, disasters, and political coups, yet fifty years of solitude following the greatest betrayal?"
"That kind of pain likely runs so deep that even ti cannot nd it."
"I knew that this ti you had to be completely honest about how you felt about her. She needs to get back in touch with herself before she can get back in touch with you."
"Any hint of manipulation, and that’s the end... she’ll kill you without hesitation and devour you like human sushi."
Rick nodded slowly, his mind already working on the problem. This was no longer just a diplomatic mission.
This was a rescue mission for soone who had been dead inside for fifty years after being betrayed by his loved ones. "Cheating is bad, but I... myself... can’t judge that because, yeah, you know..."
He shook his head and asked, "So... what’s going on in ridia right now?"
"Thirty percent of oceanic wards are failing," Thalor said, slipping into the role of military briefing like it was second nature. "My mother keeps them running, but she won’t accept any help or suggestions for how to make them better."
"Forty-seven of my brothers and sisters have tried to talk to her about the threat of corruption."
"And it turns out the sa... all of them failed."
"What’s the tiline before everything collapses?" Zephyra asked.
"At the current rate of deterioration, the whole ward will fail in sixty-seven days..."
Zephyra nodded in agreent. "My calculations support that sa math."
"But still... we can’t let our guard down, knowing that the Archon is likely plotting sothing to bring about the end of this world with the rise of the ocean."
Carmilla spoke up, her voice soft yet strong. "A mother who was abandoned by love..."
"I understand that pain. As a widow, she carries her own unique grief."
"We will reach her, Thalor."
"Good motivation," Natasha said, which was almost glowing praise from her. "The emotional logic makes sense."
Liora put her hand on Thalor’s shoulder. "The Divine Mother cries for her pain... I promise we will help her as fast as we can until she’s back to her usual self."
Sylvia crossed her arms. "She killed seventeen children herself and ruled for six hundred years...?"
"That’s cold, and I agree with that... Let the Dragon Queen admire how brutally effective it is."
Zara smiled, but her eyes were sharp. "Fifty years of grief, and she’s still here while still being in charge?"
"That’s a true fucking warrior right there."
Zephyra even seed to be affected, holding Sophia a little more tightly. "The ward’s math checks out."
"Even though she’s upset, her magical power is impressive."
Rick looked at Thalor with a concerned look, and he knew the prince who lived in the ocean was tired, scared, and desperate, but deep down, he really loved his mother and hoped that soone could sohow get to her.
"Thalor," Rick said in a low voice. "I cannot guarantee I’ll fix everything, but I promise I’ll try my best to make it work!"
"Just because soone did that for once."
He looked at Carmilla, who smiled back at him. She had gotten him out of his loneliness by being kind to him when he didn’t expect it.
Maybe he could pass that on.
Thalor said, "Sebastian told your story while Liora was purifying ." His voice sounded hopeful.
"You were a recluse who died alone, but you ca back."
Rick looked at Sebastian. "Why did you tell him that...?" he asked in his mind.
Sebastian answered in his mind. "He needs to, so that you can get the permission to steal her mother?"
"Wait... that actually sounds good! I’m in!"
"You found people who cared about you, and you are the only one who knows what it’s like to be alone and co back from it."
Rick could feel the weight of that statent on his shoulders. "Good."
"There’s no need to worry or anything." Thalor stood up and said, "And... one more thing."
"The storm of corruption above us isn’t random."
"There is an anchor, a huge core of corruption, sowhere in the deep trenches."
"That’s what’s causing the storm, and we can dismantle that core to allow my mother enough ti to recover."
Zara got up and stretched. "So we have to save an empress who is emotionally broken and fight whatever is making that storm?"
Rick let out a sigh. "Yup... just another Tuesday in Zorathia."
"I like your attitude as always," Sylvia said with a sly smile. "So when are we going?"
Rick said, "As soon as everyone is better."
"Thalor, you’ll lead us through the wards."
"Zephyra, can your barrier stay up while we’re gone?"
Zephyra fixed her glasses. "For about six hours before another big attack would break through it."
"I suggest you should move quickly..."
"Alright then, we get ready to travel underwater and leave in an hour." Rick stood up and felt the determination of all five of his partners in his bonds.
"You talked about royal passages, Thalor..."
"What are we looking at, exactly?"
"Magical current channels that connect big ocean structures," Thalor said, still standing.
"They are linked to the magical signatures of the royal family. Even after the corruption, mine should still work."
"We can use them to get around most of the broken areas and go straight to ridia Citadel."
"For how long...?" Natasha wanted to know.
"Three or four hours, if we don’t run into any big problems."
Rick nodded. "Everyone, check your gear."
"Liora, can you put protective spells on us all so that we can be protected from the corruption?"
Liora nodded. "Already planning it."
"Carmilla, Zara, get our weapons ready for fighting in the water."
"Natasha, get any ice magic that works underwater ready."
"Sylvia—"
"Anything that gets too close will be roasted," the Dragon Queen said. "Water won’t put out dragon fire."
"Okay." Rick looked at everyone on his team.
The story revolves around five couples deeply in love, a grand sorceress bearing a child, and an ocean prince who has endured a great deal. Against an underwater empire that was about to fall apart, an empress who was emotionally dead and didn’t trust anyone, and whatever was causing that storm.
A normal day for the Hero of Mature Hearts.
"Okay, everyone," Rick said. "Let’s go rescue an Ocean Empress."
Sebastian appeared on his shoulder, back to his usual sarcastic self. "This is either going to be your biggest success or the biggest failure I’ve seen in sixty-seven thousand years."
"I really don’t know which one..."
"Thanks for believing in ." Rick knew Sebastian’s sarcasm right away.
"Hey, I’m just here to see the show... but..." The tone of the chibi butler changed to sothing almost serious.
"Nerissa isn’t like the other won you know."
"She won’t fall for bravery, charm, or heroic bullshit. She is eighty hundred years old and spent fifty of those years learning not to trust anyone at all."
"What should I do about that...?"
"Just be you, and I an it this ti... the real you after everything you went through in this world."
"The gooner who died alone and then ca back..."
"Let her know that she can co back as well, and that’s the only thing that might work."
Rick took a deep breath and nodded. "No pressure at all, huh?"
"I had to bring soone back to life emotionally who had been dead inside for fifty years while also saving the world from ocean corruption."
Through his bond network, he felt Carmilla’s steady confidence, Natasha’s analytical support, Liora’s divine warmth, Sylvia’s fierce protectiveness, and Zara’s battle-ready enthusiasm.
He wasn’t by himself. He never had to be by himself again.
Maybe that was the ssage Nerissa needed to hear as well.
Rick said, "Let’s go."
"We need to save an empress."
And deep down in the corrupted waves, in a castle made of crystal and shadow, the Ocean Empress sat alone on her throne, keeping wards that she no longer cared about, waiting for a rescue that she didn’t think could happen.
She had no idea that help was on the way.
It was a whole other question...
Would she accept it?
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