Chapter 23

Sophia sat up abruptly, her heart thumping. The room turned dark, although she wasn't alone.

A shadow shifted within the corner, its form moving oddly.

"who are you?" Sophia ordered, her voice constant in spite of the concern tugging at her chest.

The determine walked into the little light, its face still hidden. "you know."

Sophia clinched her fists. "You're one in all them."

The parent willing its head. "And so are you."

The phrases sent a kick back down her spine. "I'm nothing such as you."

The determined laughed quietly. "Do you hear it?" The Leviathan's call. You may feel its might growing within you. You, like us, are a part of it."

Sophia's chest clenched as the Leviathan's presence pressed against her thoughts. "You're wrong."

"Am I?" The person spoke while tilting its head. "You believe you can combat it. However, the more you tolerate, the stronger it becomes. Why fight when you can join us?

Sophia's solution toughened. "I'll in no way be a part of you."

The discern's laughing vanished, replaced by a low, ominous tone. "We'll see."

Then, as soon as it had appeared, the figure faded into shadow, leaving Sophia alone in the oppressive blackness.

The following morning, Sophia gathered the others in the war room. Her tiredness became evident, as did her dedication.

"They want to divide us," she replied, her voice unwavering. "To make us activate each other." "We can't let them."

Arin nodded, her magic wavering slightly. "We want to find their base of operations. "Cut off the snake's pinnacle."

Kael frowned. "and how can we do this?"

Sophia hesitated, the Leviathan's murmurs tugging at her mind. "I think i'm able to song them."

Tharros' gaze narrowed. "How?"

Sophia returned his look, her voice lower. "The relationship." The Leviathan's presence is more intense now. If I recognize it, I'll probably be able to see it lower back to them."

The room fell silent, and the results hung heavily in the air.

"That's risky," Kael said later, his voice stressed. "What if it overwhelms you?"

Sophia swallowed hard. "We don't have some other choice."

They followed Sophia's example and ventured into the darker outskirts of the metropolis. The water here had been cooler and murkier, with light from the bioluminescent coral barely reaching the depths.

Sophia's link to the Leviathan became stronger with each stride, the whispers becoming louder and more persistent. Her head ached, her eyesight blurred, yet she persisted.

"There," she said, pointing to a dilapidated temple covered in shadow. "They're inner."

The group approached carefully, weapons drawn. The air became heavy with enchantment, and the shadows writhed like living beings.

As they entered the temple, the voices became loud. Figures came from the darkness, their shapes fluid and unsettling.

The fight grew sudden and chaotic. Tharros morphed into a dragon, cutting through the shadows with fierce precision. Kael fought with deliberate movements, his trident sparkling in the dark lighting. Arin's magic flared brightly, cutting through the darkness like a beacon.

But Sophia became their aim. The messengers swarmed her, their voices hissing together. "You cannot combat it. "You belong to us."

Sophia's chest burned, as the Leviathan's presence surged within her. She collapsed to her knees, gripping her head as the murmurs became increasingly loud and overwhelming.

Allow pass.

"Sophia!" Kael's voice became quieter as a result of the cacophony, which grounded her.

Sophia gritted her enamel and forced herself to stand. The Leviathan's force flowed through her, but she didn't let it consume her. Alternatively, she turned it against the emissaries, producing a powerful wave that scattered them.

The chamber fell silent, and the shadows retreated into the depths.

Sophia staggered, her energy diminishing, but Kael stopped her before she fell.

"It's no

longer over," she said, her voice shaking.

Tharros advanced with his lower back in human shape and a terrible face. "No. "It is only the beginning."

Heart of the Abyss

The darkness clung to Sophia like a second skin, stifling and frigid. She sat in the conflict room, staring at the maps sprawled across the desk, her mind racing. The Leviathan's murmurs had not stopped because of the temple. They strained on her resolve, each syllable sinking further into her mind.

"You're slipping," Arin's piercing voice interrupted the silence, frightening her.

Sophia looked up to see the sea witch leaning against the doorframe, hands crossed, with an enigmatic face.

Sophia responded, "I'm great," but her voice was barely credible.

Arin came closer, her golden eyes narrowing. "You are lying. Whatever connection you have to that issue is expanding, and it is pulling you apart."

Sophia clinched her fist. "If i can use it-"

"-You'll destroy yourself," Arin said, her tone sharp but not harsh. "I walked that line before you, Sophia. I've felt the tug. You assume you have studied and are in control until the darkness consumes everything."

Sophia turned aside, her chest constricting. "I don't have a preference."

Arin's visage softened, but her voice remained hard. You usually have an option. Simply make sure it's the correct one."

The following morning, the plan started to take shape. Sophia gathered Kael, Tharros, and Arin in the royal room. The water around them pulsed gently with Aquaria's power, but even its soothing light couldn't hide the worry in the room.

"I want to go deeper," Sophia began, pushing her voice to remain consistent. "I want to trace the Leviathan's effect back to its source. If I can learn where its coronary heart is-"

"We are capable of ruining it," Tharros concluded, his tone as cold as metal.

Kael frowned, striking his trident softly against the earth. "And if you may not? What happens if the Leviathan takes control of you?

Sophia said, "It won't," with skepticism in her eyes.

Kael moved closer, his presence providing grounding pressure. "You do not recognize that. This component is already present within your mind, warping you. What if it drags you too far?

Arin, who has status in the aspect, spoke up. "She's correct about one aspect-we don't have time to waste. However, she is no longer doing this alone.

"I don't want any of you-" Sophia began.

"Too awful," Arin cut her off, her voice stern. "You're now not the best one combating for this town."

Tharros, who had been silent until now, advanced, his golden eyes fixed on Sophia. "If that is the handiest way, then we'll see it through. together."

Sophia nodded, the weight of their decision sitting heavily on her shoulders.

They descended into the royal crypt beneath the palace, which few had ever visited. The chamber became historical, carved from coral and stone, its walls etched with runes that gleamed dimly in the low light.

"This area feels wrong," Kael murmured, his voice low.

Arin's palms touched one of the bright runes as she improved. "The crypt is a gateway, a location where nation-state borders are thin. If Sophia connects with the Leviathan, it will happen right here.

Sophia advanced to the center of the chamber, her heart quickening. The Leviathan's murmurs were stronger with each stride, a cold caress on her psyche.

"Are you sure about this?" Tharros asked, his voice firm but filled with apprehension.

"No," Sophia admits. "but I have to attempt."

She knelt before the cool stone, her breathing steadying as she closed her eyes. The voices erupted, a chorus of wrath and energy that threatened to consume her.

You may not break me out.

Sophia gritted her teeth, determined to push through the Leviathan's crushing presence. "Display me," she said softly, scarcely audible. "show me where you are."

The visions arrived in fragments, disorganized and overwhelming. A trench, darker and deeper than Sophia had ever seen. Tendrils of dark electricity writhed like living things, coiling around a pulsating, dazzling core.

A heartbeat. Deep, rich, and frighteningly alive.

Sophia gasped as the inventive and clairvoyant fed on her, drawing her into the Leviathan's world. She felt herself slipping, plunging into the depths, the murmurs becoming louder and more powerful.

Be a part of me.

Her breathing increased, and her body trembled as the Leviathan crushed against her thoughts, drowning them.

"Sophia!" Kael's voice broke through the blur, piercing and urgent.

Sophia snapped back to reality, her chest heaving as she opened her eyes. The room whirled, but Kael's steady fingers kept her grounded.

"I saw it," she explained, her voice quivering. "The trench." That's where the coronary heart is."

Tharros advanced with a gloomy face. "Then that's where we'll pass."

Sophia shook her head, the memory of the inventive and perceptive sending shivers down her spine. "Now it's not so straightforward. The coronary heart is alive. It's part of the Leviathan. And it is aware that we are approaching."