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Isaac
I hadn't spoken in twenty minutes.
The silence underwater was strange. Not empty—alive with crackling currents and the flick of fins—but eerily hushed, like the ocean was holding its breath.
Beside me, Korrin swam ahead like a living spear, barely speaking. His focus was locked on the faint violet glow in the distance—the gateway to Atlantis Point.
"How much further?" I finally asked.
He didn't look at me. "Close."
I sighed, fingers twitching near my belt where I'd strapped the sonar pulse detonator. I hated needing weapons here. But after everything—after learning that my father had stolen the Aether Ring, possibly caused an interdimensional imbalance—I couldn't take chances.
Korrin suddenly paused. "You feel that?"
I blinked. "What?"
He didn't answer. He turned and grabbed my arm—hard. "Stay behind me. Don't speak."
I would've argued, but just then, I saw them.
Shadowmer.
Creatures I had only read about in stolen mer scrolls. Not quite merfolk, not quite beasts. Born of corrupted magic—flesh warped by dark currents.
They circled the gate like vultures guarding a corpse.
And just beyond them, half-concealed by reef and ruin, was my father.
Floating.
Unmoving.
I started toward him, heart pounding—but Korrin shoved me back.
"I said don't move," he growled.
"But—he's not moving—he might be—"
"He called them," Korrin hissed. "He's not helpless. He's bargaining."
My throat dried.
The Shadowmer hissed in unison, webbed claws twitching. One of them turned and smiled.
My father stirred.
He lifted his head.
"Isaac," he said calmly. "You found me."
He looked… calm. Too calm. As if we were having tea in the lab again, not floating in cursed waters surrounded by monsters.
"What did you do?" I shouted.
"I opened what they feared," he replied. "I saw what the Ocean's Heart really guards. It's not power. It's truth."
"You stole the Aether Ring—" I began.
He raised a hand.
"I borrowed it. For you. For your mother."
At that, I froze.
"My mother—?"
"She's not dead," he said, smiling. "She's trapped. And only the Aether Ring can open her cage."
Korrin growled beside me. "Liar."
My father tilted his head, eyes gleaming. "Ask him, Isaac. Ask the noble prince of the sea if he's ever heard the name Maris. Ask him what the mer did to her."
Korrin didn't speak.
I turned to him. "Korrin…?"
His jaw clenched.
"She was one of us," Korrin finally said. "A dreamer. A traitor. She tried to use the Ring to open the veil. She vanished."
I staggered back.
No.
My mother… was a mermaid?
My mind reeled.
"Do you see now?" my father said gently. "Why you're different? Why you feel pulled to the sea?"
My lungs ached even in this pressurized dome. My heart thudded like a war drum.
"I didn't know," I whispered.
"You're not just a scientist, Isaac," my father said, eyes glittering. "You're a key. The second link. The one who can finish what we started. Come with me. Join me. Save her."
Behind him, the shadows flickered—alive, hungry.
Korrin drew his trident. "Don't listen."
My mind screamed in every direction. Part of me wanted to believe. To hope.
But then I remembered her—Selene. Her voice as she sang the ocean chant. The glow in her eyes when she touched the shard.
She was fighting for the sea. Not to rip it apart.
And suddenly, I knew what I had to do.
I stepped forward and raised the detonator.
"I'm sorry," I told my father. "But you're not saving anyone. You're only destroying."
His smile faltered.
Then the shadows lunged.
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End of Chapter 15