As the missions were given, Salim and Ton left the castle.
The morning air around Noctharis was cold, and the last traces of the night's storm still hung over the sea. Dark clouds drifted above the horizon while the ocean remained restless beneath them.
They had only one destination.
The underwater prison.
Salim looked toward the endless ocean.
"Three hours is all we have... for saving Junyu and Mil."
Ton stood beside him in silence.
Then he opened his clothes, preparing himself for the dive.
Salim glanced at him.
He stopped.
Ton's physique was far more powerful than Salim had expected. His chest and shoulders were heavily developed from his training, while tiny markings covered parts of his skin, resembling the patterns of a lizard.
Salim raised an eyebrow.
"Dude... when did you get this strong?"
Ton didn't answer immediately.
His expression became serious.
His voice dropped into that deep, almost unnatural tone.
"Salim... don't hold me back."
Salim smiled.
"I won't."
Ton looked toward the ocean.
"There will be challenges."
The waves crashed against the shore.
"There will be dangers."
A gust of wind swept across them.
"But we will overcome all of it."
JUNYU
Junyu continued falling.
The darkness swallowed him completely.
There was no sunlight.
No sound from the castle.
Nothing.
Only the endless darkness surrounding him.
Where am I?
He kept falling.
Seconds became minutes.
Still—
nothing.
Junyu looked upward.
The opening he had jumped through was no longer visible.
He looked downward.
Still darkness.
"How deep is this place...?"
He continued descending.
Then—
a faint light appeared below.
Junyu's eyes widened.
There.
A tiny glow.
It was getting closer.
The walls around him became visible.
Junyu immediately dug his fingers into the stone wall, desperately trying to slow himself down.
His nails scraped against the ancient surface.
He slid downward.
The light grew brighter.
Closer.
Closer.
Then—
Junyu suddenly stopped himself.
His feet barely touched the ground.
He dropped down onto the stone floor.
Silence.
Junyu slowly stood.
"Where am I...?"
Ahead of him was an enormous underground passage.
Ancient torches burned along the walls.
Dozens of doors and rooms extended into the darkness.
The place looked abandoned.
Yet somehow...
the torches were still burning.
Junyu approached one of the openings and looked through it.
Nothing.
He looked upward.
There was no sunlight.
Not even a faint glow from above.
He realized how deep he had fallen.
Am I already below 1,000 meters?
Junyu looked around.
"This place... isn't part of the prison."
He tightened his grip around the rock.
Something much older was buried beneath Noctharis.
ON THE BEACH
Ton stood at the edge of the water.
He looked down into the dark ocean.
"What if the prison is so far below that we can't even reach it?"
He glanced toward Salim.
"The highest depth a person without NIT can reach is 332 meters."
Salim adjusted his bow.
"Don't worry."
He looked toward the ocean.
"We got this."
Ton stared at him.
"I hope we do."
He took a breath.
"Because if we don't..."
His expression became serious.
"...we just die."
Salim gave him a look.
"Thanks for the motivation."
Ton shrugged.
"I'm being realistic."
Salim looked back at the water.
"Okay. Let's waste no time."
The waves rolled toward the shore.
"Let's go down."
They stood beside each other.
Salim counted.
"Three..."
Ton lowered himself.
"Two..."
The ocean roared.
"One."
SPLASH!
They both dived beneath the surface.
UNDERWATER
The world instantly became blue.
Salim and Ton kicked downward, their bodies disappearing deeper into the ocean.
The sunlight above them slowly became weaker.
Ten minutes passed.
Then twenty.
The pressure increased.
The darkness became thicker.
But there was still no sign of the prison.
Salim checked his oxygen.
Almost empty.
Not yet...
He raised his bow.
Then released an arrow upward.
The arrow disappeared into the water.
For twenty seconds, nothing happened.
Then the strange energy surrounding the arrow began gathering oxygen from the surrounding water.
The oxygen flowed along the path created by the arrow and returned toward Salim.
His bag filled again.
Salim took a deep breath.
"Got it."
He immediately began kicking downward again.
Ton didn't even slow down.
His altered reptilian body allowed him to remain underwater far longer than Salim.
Twenty minutes.
Then more.
They kept descending.
The island above them was becoming nothing more than a distant shadow.
Salim looked around.
Still nothing.
Where is the prison?
He turned toward Ton.
"Ton?"
No response.
Salim looked around again.
"Ton?"
Nothing.
The sunlight above had almost completely disappeared.
Salim's expression changed.
Where did he go?
He raised his bow and prepared an arrow, intending to signal Ton.
Then—
something touched his foot.
Salim froze.
His eyes slowly moved downward.
Something was beneath him.
Something he couldn't see.
His heart began pounding.
"What...?"
The thing wrapped around his leg.
Salim's eyes widened.
"TON?!"
He tried to pull himself free.
The force suddenly increased.
WHOOSH!
Salim was dragged straight downward into the darkness.
His body disappeared beneath the water in an instant.
His bow slipped from his hand.
And far below...
something moved through the darkness.
Something was waiting for them.