Chapter 53

Sophia swam closer, ignoring Kael's warning hand on her arm. "Arin, please. This isn't you."

Something flickered in Arin's eyes-a moment of understanding, perhaps. "I'm still me, Sophia. Just... more."

The Leviathan shifted restlessly, its huge head moving closer to Arin. She reached out to touch it without fear, her hand tiny against its huge scales.

"He's been waiting so long," she said softly. "Trapped in darkness, forced to guard what he never chose to protect."

"The Leviathan was a guardian," Sophia remembered. "Created to protect the Heart."

Arin nodded. "And twisted by it. The Heart's power was too much. It changed him." She looked down at the shard in her chest. "But I'm stronger. I can control it."

"No one can control that kind of power," Tharros warned. "It will consume you, just as it consumed the Leviathan."

Arin's face hardened. "You always misjudged me, Tharros. All of you did." The darkness around her pulsed with her anger. "But no more."

She raised her hands, and the water around them began to swirl with dark energy. Ancient symbols appeared in the currents-writing that Sophia had never seen before.

"The old language," Kael breathed. "From before the Sundering."

"I can read it now," Arin said, watching the symbols dance around her fingers. "I can understand what no one has understood for millennia."

Despite her fear, Sophia couldn't help but be fascinated. "What does it say?"

Arin's eyes met hers, and for a moment, Sophia saw her friend again behind the whirling darkness. "It's a history. The true tale of the Heart, the Leviathan, and the barriers between worlds."

She waved her hand, and more symbols appeared, making a complex pattern in the water. "The Heart wasn't made to separate worlds. It was made to heal them."

"Heal them?" Tharros asked, confusion clear on his face.

"The barriers weren't meant to be permanent," Arin explained, her voice getting stronger. "They were emergency measures, to give the worlds time to recover from the war."

"But that was thousands of years ago," Kael said.

Arin nodded. "And the guardians who created the barriers died before they could complete their job. The third stage-the healing-never happened." She touched the shard in her chest. "That knowledge was lost... until now."

The Leviathan growled again, its massive body tensing. Arin put a calming hand on its scales.

"He remembers," she said softly. "The original goal. The promise that was broken."

Sophia's mind was racing. "So the renewal ceremony..."

"Was never about replacing the Leviathan," Arin ended. "It was supposed to be the beginning of the healing process." Her eyes sparked with excitement. "Don't you see? We don't need to bind another being to endless servitude. We can finish what was started thousands of years ago."

Hope bloomed in Sophia's chest. "We can heal the barriers instead of maintaining them."

"Yes," Arin said, putting out her hand toward Sophia. "But I need your help. All of you."

Tharros and Kael traded wary glances.

"Arin," Tharros said slowly, "how can we trust that this is really you speaking, and not the corruption?"

Pain flashed across Arin's face. The darkness around her surged, then settled. "I'm fighting it," she admitted, her voice strained. "But I don't know how long I can hold on."

As if to highlight her words, the black veins on her skin pulsed, spreading farther across her body. She gasped in pain, doubling over.

"Arin!" Sophia cried, running forward.

The Leviathan moved to block her way, but Arin raised a trembling hand.

"No," she ordered. "Let her through."

The massive thing reluctantly moved aside, its ancient eyes fixed on Sophia with suspicion.

Sophia reached Arin and took her hands. They were ice cold. "We'll help you," she promised. "Just tell us how."

Arin's eyes cleared briefly, the warm amber showing through the swirling darkness. "The shard," she whispered. "It holds memories-the Leviathan's memories. The key to beating the corruption is hidden within them."

Her body suddenly convulsed, the darkness rushing around her. When she looked up again, her eyes were once more pools of whirling black and purple.

"But you'll have to hurry," she said, her voice faraway and strange. "Because I don't think I can fight it much longer."

The First Guardian

Arin's body shook as darkness pulsed through her veins. Sophia held tight to her friend's cold hands, unwilling to let go even as the corruption spread.

"How can we see these memories?" Sophia asked, her voice steady despite her fear.

Arin closed her eyes, fighting for control. When she opened them again, flickers of amber showed through the whirling darkness. "I can show you," she whispered. "But you must be prepared. What you'll see isn't easy to watch."

Tharros swam closer, his golden eyes fixed on Arin. "We're ready."

Kael nodded in agreement, though wariness remained etched in his features.

Arin took a deep breath and pressed her hands against the crystal shard embedded in her chest. It pulsed in reaction, black light seeping between her fingers. "Join hands," she ordered. "Form a circle."

They obeyed, forming a ring around her. As soon as the circle was complete, the darkness around them changed. The Heart room, the crystals, even the looming presence of the Leviathan faded away. In their place came images-vivid and real as life.

Four figures stood on what looked like a beach, though the sky above was strange-filled with whirling colors instead of clouds. The figures wore robes that seemed made from light itself, their faces serious as they drew patterns in the sand.

"The Four Creators," Arin's voice stated, though her lips didn't move. "From the time before the barriers."

The scene changed. The same four figures now stood in a circle, just as Sophia and her friends did now. Between them, energy gathered-blues, greens, and golds flowing together. The energy grew, spreading upward and outward, taking shape.

A sinuous form emerged, beautiful and terrible. Not the corrupted Leviathan they knew, but a thing of pure light and power.

"The First Guardian," Arin's voice whispered in their thoughts. "Created to be the living barrier between worlds."

The picture changed again. The Guardian swam through waters filled with life-creatures Sophia had never seen before, half-water and half-light. It moved between them and a storm of darkness that threatened from above.

"For centuries, the Guardian protected the balance," Arin continued. "Preventing catastrophic interactions between surface magic and sea magic."

The pictures darkened. The beautiful waters grew cloudy. Strange objects-metal and plastic-began to appear, sinking from above. Dark liquids poured from pipes. The Guardian swam through it all, its once-bright scales turning dull.

"Pollution," Sophia realized aloud. "From the human world."

"Yes," Arin's voice confirmed. "And worse..."

The vision showed warfare-explosions both above and below the water. Magic weapons fired from ships. Underwater towns retaliating with their own weapons. The Guardian put itself between them, absorbing the magical backlash.

Sophia felt tears forming in her eyes as she watched the Guardian's pain. Its body twisted in pain as rot spread through its scales-the same black veins that now covered Arin's skin.

"It was poisoned," Tharros growled, anger obvious in his voice. "By both worlds."

The four robed figures appeared again, older now, their light dimmed. They surrounded the corrupted Guardian, their expressions filled with sadness.

"They couldn't heal it," Kael muttered. "So they bound it instead."

The vision showed an elaborate ceremony in a chamber of crystal and coral. The Guardian writhed as chains of light wrapped around it, pushing it down, binding it to the Heart that pulsed in the chamber's center.

"Not chains," Arin corrected, pain in her voice. "A collar. They tried to contain the corruption while preserving the Guardian's mission. But they died before they could finish the healing ritual."

The images faded, leaving them floating once more in the Heart room. The Leviathan watched them with ancient eyes that now seemed less malicious and more sorrowful.

Arin slumped forward, tired by the effort of sharing the memories. Sophia caught her, shocked by how cold her skin had become.

"The corruption is spreading faster," Tharros observed, referring to the black veins that now covered most of Arin's arms and neck.

"I can handle it," Arin insisted, though her voice was weak. She pushed herself upright, her eyes flickering between amber and black. "There's more you need to see."

She raised her hands again, and the water around them whirled. This time, instead of visions, the currents made a map-tunnels and chambers spreading out from the Heart like the branches of a tree.

"The binding chamber," Arin said, referring to a large space several tunnels away. "That's where we need to go."

"Why there?" Sophia asked.

"Because that's where the original ritual was performed," Arin explained. "The magic is still stronger there. If we're going to free the Leviathan and fix the barriers, that's where it must happen."

The Leviathan growled, circling them restlessly.

"He knows," Arin said, putting a hand on its scales. "He remembers the room. He's afraid to return there."

"Can you blame him?" Kael asked. "That's where he was imprisoned."

"Not imprisoned," Arin amended. "Bound. There's a difference." She winced as another pulse of darkness moved through her. "We don't have much time. The rot is spreading to the Heart itself."

She was right. Looking at the swirling vortex of energy, Sophia could see dark tendrils getting thicker, spreading through the once-vibrant colors.

"If the Heart falls completely to corruption, the barriers between worlds will collapse," Tharros said grimly. "Both surface and sea will be destroyed."

Arin pushed away from Sophia, swimming toward one of the tunnels marked on her map. "This way."

They followed, with the Leviathan gliding behind them like a giant shadow. The tunnels were narrow in places, causing the great creature to compress its enormous body, but it never lost sight of them.

As they swam, Arin continued to fight the darkness. Sometimes her eyes would clear entirely, and Sophia would glimpse her friend's true self. Other times, the corruption would surge, leaving her cold and remote.

"Why isn't the shard affecting you like it did the Leviathan?" Sophia asked during one of Arin's clearer times.

Arin smiled slightly. "Because I'm not alone. The Leviathan had no one to help fight the rot. I have you."

The tunnel opened into a vast room that took Sophia's breath away. Unlike the dark crystal of the Heart chamber, this place was made of pure white coral, etched with thousands of symbols that glowed with soft blue light.

In the middle stood four pillars arranged in a perfect square. Within the square was a depression in the floor, shaped like a coiled snake.

"The binding circle," Arin said, her voice filled with awe. "Untouched for millennia."

The Leviathan hung back at the door, unwilling to enter. It made a sound-not a growl, but almost a whimper.

"It's okay," Arin said to it gently. "We're not here to bind you again. We're here to set you free."

Sophia approached the circle, studying the marks carved into the floor. "These look like the ones you showed us earlier. The old language."

Arin nodded, swimming to join her. "The ritual instructions." She traced her fingers over the figures, translating as she went. "Four powers united... darkness balanced by light... surface joined with sea..." She stopped suddenly, her body going stiff.

"What is it?" Tharros asked, moving quickly to her side.

"The ritual," Arin said, her voice hushed. "It needs power from both worlds-surface and sea. Without both, the binding cannot be broken, nor the healing finished."

"Surface power?" Kael frowned. "But we're all from the sea."

"No," Sophia said slowly, a chill running down her spine. "I'm not. Not originally."

All eyes turned to her.

"I was born on the surface," she continued. "My magic woke here, but it's not the same as yours. It's... different."

Arin's eyes cleared completely for a moment, burning with sudden hope. "That's why you were called to us. Why the prophesy spoke of a fourth who would join our bond. You're the surface power we need."

"But how do we perform the ritual?" Tharros asked, looking around the old chamber. "The Creators left no instructions beyond these symbols."

Arin returned to the markings, running her hands over more symbols. As she touched them, they glowed brighter, reacting to her magic.

"The ritual requires four points of power," she translated. "Each representing a part of balance. Dragon for fire, Mer for water, Witch for spirit..." She stopped, looking at Sophia. "And Human for earth."

"Like the four Creators," Sophia realized.

"Exactly," Arin said. "They built the pattern into the ritual itself, ensuring it could be repeated if needed." She smiled, though the effort clearly cost her as darkness pumped through her veins. "They planned for this day."

Her smile disappeared suddenly as her body convulsed. The black veins pulsed fiercely, spreading up her neck toward her face.

"Arin!" Sophia cried, running to catch her as she fell.

"The shard," Arin gasped, clutching at her chest where the crystal was attached. "It knows what we're planning. It's fighting back."

The Leviathan roared from the entrance, its massive body thrashing in obvious pain.

"The corruption is accelerating," Tharros said grimly. "In both of them."

Arin's eyes flashed between amber and swirling black, faster and faster. "You have to perform the ritual," she managed through gritted teeth. "Now. Before it's too late."

"But we don't know how," Kael argued.

"I do," Arin whispered, her voice getting weaker. "The shard showed me." She pointed to the four pillars. "Take your places. I'll help you."

"What about you?" Sophia asked, unwilling to let go of her friend's hand.

Arin looked down at the rot spreading across her skin. When she raised her eyes again, they were filled with a terrible resolve.

"I'll be the conduit," she said quietly. "The channel between the Leviathan and the ritual."

Understanding dawned on Sophia's face, followed quickly by fear. "No. That's too dangerous."

"It's the only way," Arin insisted. "Someone has to direct the corruption as it leaves the Leviathan." She squeezed Sophia's hand. "Don't worry. I've always been good at handling darkness."

Before anyone could argue further, the chamber shook. Cracks emerged in the ancient coral walls as the corruption from the Heart reached them.

"We're out of time," Tharros said. "The barriers are beginning to fail."

Arin pushed herself to her feet, determination winning over pain. "Take your positions," she commanded. "Dragon to the east. Mer to the west. Human to the north. I'll take the south."

As they moved to their places, Arin turned to face the Leviathan still hovering at the door.

"It's time," she called to it. "Time to be free."

The Binding Ritual

Arin's words hung in the air. "Time to be free."

The Leviathan trembled at the chamber entrance. Its massive body shifted, scales rippling with anticipation and fear.

Sophia took her position at the northern pillar, her hands shaking. The white coral beneath her palms felt warm, almost alive. She glanced at her friends-Tharros at the east pillar, his golden eyes fixed on the Leviathan; Kael at the west, his jaw set with determination; and Arin at the south, darkness pulsing through her veins.

"What do we do now?" Sophia called.

Arin placed her palms against the pillar. "Channel your power into the pillar. Focus on healing, on balance."

As Sophia closed her eyes and concentrated, she felt something stir within her-her surface magic, different from the others yet complementary. The pillar beneath her hands began to glow with soft green light.

"That's it," Arin encouraged, her voice strained. "Everyone, focus on your element. Tharros, fire. Kael, water. Sophia, earth. I'll channel spirit."

Around the chamber, the other pillars lit up-Tharros's blazing red, Kael's deep blue, and Arin's swirling purple. The lights spread from the pillars, following the carved patterns on the floor until they met in the center, illuminating the serpent-shaped depression.

The Leviathan growled, backing away.

"He needs to enter the circle," Arin gasped, black veins now creeping up her face. "Sophia, call to him."

"Me? Why me?"

"Because you're the missing piece," Arin explained, wincing as darkness pulsed through her. "The bridge between worlds."

Sophia took a deep breath and looked at the creature. Not a monster, she reminded herself. A guardian. Poisoned and suffering.

"It's okay," she called softly. "We're going to help you."