Arthur: "We really did make the right choice... didn't we?"
Venti stared for a moment at the passage through which the crab had just disappeared, then closed his eyes.
Venti: "Yes... whatever happens next."
"Let's follow."
Venti and Arthur exchanged a brief glance before setting off after the blue crab.
The creature moved with surprising confidence through the cavern's tunnels, its legs striking the rock with a heavy but steady rhythm.
With each step, slight vibrations rippled through the walls, as if the cavern itself recognized its presence.
The further they advanced, the more the heat intensified.
The air grew dry, thick with the smell of burning metal and molten stone.
The light changed too:
The cold blue of the marine reflections gradually gave way to orange and red glows emanating from incandescent cracks in the ground.
The heat inside the cavern increased slightly.
Arthur wiped the sweat from his brow.
Arthur: "We're getting closer..."
He murmured.
Venti nodded.
Even without his adventurer's crystal, he felt this overwhelming, heavy, almost suffocating presence.
An ancient, brutal energy, made of fire and iron.
The Emperor of Fire and Iron.
The tunnel suddenly opened onto a vast, circular cavern.
At its center stood a colossal figure:
A crustacean creature, its hues a deep red and metallic black.
Its carapace seemed forged from a living alloy, veined with incandescent energy like trapped lava.
Large pincers bristling with white-hot spikes sank into the ground, leaving smoking trails behind.
Its eyes, glowing like embers, immediately fixed on Venti and Arthur.
A low rumble resonated, shaking the cavern.
The Emperor slowly raised a pincer, its blazing energy concentrating at the tip. The air vibrated, ready to explode.
Arthur tensed.
Arthur: "Venti."
But before the attack could be launched, the blue crab advanced.
It deliberately positioned itself between the two humans and the Emperor.
Its posture changed: it straightened its body, slightly spreading its claws, then struck the ground precisely, three times in succession.
The Emperor of Fire and Iron froze.
GGG0GGggggggggrrrrrrrrrr
Its blazing eyes narrowed, no longer with anger, but with recognition.
Slowly, it lowered its claw, then responded with an equally precise movement: a sharp strike of the right claw against the carapace, followed by a circular rubbing motion.
Venti immediately felt the wind change around him.
This wasn't a fight.
It was a language.
The two crabs then began a series of complex movements:
— Alternating strikes of the ground.
— Slow rotations of the claws.
— Body tilts.
— Subtle vibrations of the carapace.
Each gesture seemed laden with meaning.
Venti, thanks to his Wind Communication, perceived fragments of emotion carried by the air currents:
- Relief
- Ancient anger
- Pride
- Gratitude…
- And above all, a profound shared memory.
Arthur watched the scene, his mouth slightly open.
Arthur: "They… they really speak…"
The blue crab made a broader movement, raising its claw adorned with golden patterns, then resting it against its own shell before extending it toward Venti and Arthur.
The Emperor remained silent for a long moment.
Then, slowly, he knelt.
The ground trembled violently as he lowered his immense body, a sign of absolute respect in the language of ancient crustaceans.
The lava veins in his shell pulsed more faintly, as if the inner fire were subsiding.
Venti understood.
The blue crab had just explained.
The capture.
The chains.
The poachers.
The Abyss.
The liberation.
The Emperor of Fire and Iron emitted a deep rumble, quite different from the sound of an attack.
This time, it was more like a roar of suppressed anger.
His claw sank into the rock and partially melted it with the heat.
Then, slowly, he raised his head toward Venti.
GGGGGGGGggggggrrrrrrr
Even without words, the message was clear.
You have freed one of our own.
The blue crab moved closer to the Emperor, briefly rubbing its shell against his in an intimate, almost brotherly gesture.
The Emperor responded with a similar movement, though heavier, slower.
Arthur felt a shiver run down his spine.
Arthur: "I think... we've just avoided certain death."
Venti gave a faint smile.
Venti: "Yes..."
"And perhaps gained something far more precious."
The Emperor straightened completely.
GGGGGGgggggggrrrrrrr
The heat intensified, but it was no longer oppressive.
He made one last flick of his claws, tracing a kind of broken circle in the air, an ancient symbol signifying debt acknowledged.
Then he turned slightly, deliberately leaving a clear path to the cavern's exit.
Permission.
A promise.
The blue crab paused for a moment before Venti and Arthur, then gently struck the ground, just once.
Gggggggrrrrrr
Venti: "Now that I think about it, I don't even know what the blue crab is called."
"...".
Venti felt a slight shiver run down his spine.
Out of simple politeness, and also curiosity, he took out his adventurer's stone and discreetly raised it toward the two colossal creatures.
The crystalline surface pulsed gently, projecting lines of luminous information before his eyes.
Emperor of Fire and Iron — Level 50
Tsar Crab — Level 55
The numbers imprinted themselves on his mind.
Venti blinked in surprise.
Venti: "Level 55…"
He thought.
Venti: "So it's her…"
He observed the blue crab, the Tsar Crab, again.
Its blue-tinged carapace, covered in almost regal patterns, suddenly seemed even more imposing.
He then understood why, despite her seemingly calmer appearance, something about her inspired an instinctive respect.
A silent, ancient, almost imperial authority.
The Emperor of Fire and Iron, though massive and terrifying, stood slightly apart, as if he naturally acknowledged his companion's superiority.
Venti offered a barely perceptible smile.
Venti: "I suppose even among crabs… power isn't always where you expect it."
Suddenly
BBBBBBBBbbbbbbbbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
A deep, rumbling, almost tectonic sound rippled through the cavern.
It wasn't a cry, nor a roar, but a vibration so intense it seemed to rise directly from the earth's core.
Venti stiffened immediately.
He wasn't the only one.
GGGGGggggrrrrrrrrr
The Emperor of Fire and Iron froze, his lava veins pulsing more violently.
CCCCCCcccccccrrrrrrrr
The Crab Tsar jerked his head up, his golden eyes shining with a worried glint.
All three, bound by their elemental affinity, clearly felt the strange waves shaking the depths of the cavern.
Arthur, however, remained motionless, slightly disoriented.
Arthur: "What is it?"
he asked.
Arthur: "Why did you stop like that?"
Venti gritted his teeth.
Venti: "Didn't you feel anything?"
Arthur shook his head.
Arthur: "No… just a slightly odd noise, but nothing more."
This confirmed Venti's worst fears.
Arthur, lacking elemental affinity, was incapable of perceiving such phenomena.
But for Venti, it was crystal clear.
These vibrations weren't coming from the surface.
They were coming from below.
From the depths.
A brutal memory flashed through Venti's mind.
The pearl.
He inhaled slowly, then closed his eyes for a fraction of a second.
Venti: "That's right..."
He thought.
I'm not finished yet.
Two objectives became chillingly clear to him.
The first: to retrieve the pearl from the Millennial Pearl Seahorse.
Without it, the creature would remain weakened, vulnerable.
Even worse, this pearl contained a colossal amount of electro-energy—powerful enough to fuel rituals, weapons... or far darker schemes.
The second: to prevent the Abyss Herald from escaping again.
At this thought, a simmering anger rose within him.
The Abyss.
Venti remembered all too well the devastation the Abyss could cause, as he had been told.
Entire villages razed by Abyssal incursions.
Corrupted ecosystems, transformed into dead lands.
Ancient creatures reduced to mere tools.
And above all… innocent lives sacrificed in the name of designs that only madmen could justify.
He saw the faces of Kael, Lyra, Bram, and Eron again.
The battles.
The narrow escapes.
And that same Abyss Herald, arrogant, convinced he was acting in the name of a higher cause.
Venti clenched his fist.
Venti: "Even if I'm not up to it..."
He told himself.
Venti: "I can't let him do this."
He opened his eyes again and noticed something he hadn't seen before.
Off to the side of the main cavern, hidden behind a partially collapsed rock formation, was another entrance.
A narrower, darker tunnel, from which that unsettling vibration was emanating.
The air there was heavier, charged with an unstable energy that made even the wind shudder.
This was it.
The depths of the cavern.
Venti turned slowly toward Arthur.
The young man immediately noticed the seriousness of his expression.
Arthur: "Venti..."
Tell me what's going on.
Venti took a deep breath.
He didn't like involving Arthur in this kind of danger, but he couldn't leave him in the dark either.
Venti: "There's something moving beneath our feet."
He explained calmly.
Something powerful.
And dangerous.
Arthur frowned.
Arthur: "The poachers?"
Venti: "Worse."
Venti replied bluntly.
Venti: "The Abyss."
The name seemed to chill the air around them.
Arthur swallowed.
Arthur: "You mean the guy with the daggers you told me about…"
"The Abyss Herald?"
Venti nodded.
Venti: "Yes."
"And I'm almost certain he has the Millennial Pearl Seahorse."
Arthur clenched his fists.
Arthur: "Then we'll arrest him."
Venti immediately shook his head.
Venti: "No."
His voice was firm, unwavering.
Venti: "Arthur, this fight is way beyond your capabilities."
"Even for me, it's suicidal."
"But..."
"Listen to me."
Venti placed a hand on his shoulder.
Venti: "If something goes wrong... someone needs to be able to escape and warn the others."
Arthur: "I..."
"..."
Arthur then understood what Venti meant.
He took a deep breath, clearly torn between fear and frustration.
Arthur: "So what should I do?"
Venti: "Hide," Venti replied.
"Find a safe place, out of reach."
"Don't make a sound."
"And whatever happens... don't interfere."
Arthur gritted his teeth.
Arthur: "And if you don't come back?"
Venti smiled slightly.
Venti: "I will come back."
He straightened up and glanced briefly at the two colossal crabs.
CCCCcccrrrrreeeee
The Tsar Crab had been listening intently.
Bam
She gently struck the ground with her claw, a gesture heavy with meaning.
Venti understood.
Venti: "She senses what's coming too…"
GGgggggrrrrrr
The Emperor of Fire and Iron let out a low growl, like a promise of future retribution.
But neither of them committed to following Venti.
Their role was here, to protect their territory (and their child), to prepare for whatever might rise from the depths, and to live.
Venti nodded respectfully.
Then he turned to Arthur one last time.
Venti: "Stay alive."
He said simply.
Without waiting for a reply, he stepped toward the dark entrance.
With each step, the vibrations grew stronger.
The wind around him whispered, carrying an ancient warning.
If the Abyss Herald succeeds in its plan… Venti thought, no one knows what might be unleashed.
Tap tap tap tap
Venti slowly approached the small rock formation.
At first glance, it looked like a simple pile of fallen stones, but as he drew closer, a narrow opening, almost swallowed by the shadow, became clearly visible.
From within emanated a cold breath, charged with an oppressive energy that made the air around him vibrate.
He stopped at the edge of the hole.
For a moment, everything was silent.
Then, without even physically turning around, Venti mentally turned his head toward Arthur.
He imagined his face, his worried gaze, his slightly rapid breathing.
The bond between them, strengthened by everything they had been through so far, made this gesture almost real.
Venti: "Wait for me here."
He thought intensely.
Venti: "I'll be back soon."
Arthur, though unable to hear these words, felt a shiver run down his spine despite himself, as if the wind had just whispered his name.
FFFFFFFFffffffffffffffffff
Venti took one last deep breath.
The deep air burned his lungs slightly, charged with unstable Anemo energy and abyssal memories.
His gaze hardened.
Venti: "Whatever awaits me down there…"
He thought.
Venti: "I won't back down."
Then, without further hesitation, he bent his legs and jumped.
His body disappeared into the rocky opening, swallowed by the darkness, as the wind closed behind him like an invisible door.
A few minutes later:
The cave Venti had to cross was noticeably narrower than the previous ones, but it was still high and wide enough for him to walk without having to stoop.
The rock walls were smooth in places, polished by centuries of salt water, and further on, they became uneven, marked with ancient traces whose origin was best left unseen.
The sand beneath his feet grew wetter as he walked, sticking slightly to his boots.
After about a hundred meters, he stopped for a moment.
There was that sound.
PLoploploploploploploploploplop
A distant murmur, almost imperceptible at first, like a steady breath.
Venti closed his eyes and let the Anemometer sharpen its senses.
It wasn't the wind.
It was water.
A slow, repetitive movement… waves, or something resembling them.
Venti: "So the cavern opens onto a body of water…"
He thought.
He resumed his walk, more cautiously.
At two hundred meters, the sound grew noticeably louder.
This time, there was no doubt: water was crashing against rock with a heavy, deep rhythm.
It wasn't just an underground pool.
It was vast.
Too vast to be natural in a cave of this size.
The further he walked, the more humid and cold the air became.
Fine droplets settled on his skin, and his green cloak slowly darkened.
Puddles began to appear on the ground, faintly reflecting the greenish glow of his elemental energy.
Then he felt it.
That vibration.
It was no longer diffuse as before.
It was clearly coming from in front of him, pulsing at regular intervals, like a gigantic heart beating beneath the rock.
With each pulse, the water rippled slightly, and the stone itself seemed to respond.
Venti placed a hand against the wall.
Venti: "Electro…"
He murmured.
An ancient, unstable energy, charged with an almost painful tension.
He had no doubt: the pearl of the Millennial Pearl Seahorse was there.
Or, at least, something directly connected to it.
He slowed down even more.
The passage gradually widened, until it opened onto an immense circular cavity.
Venti stopped abruptly at the entrance, remaining in the shadows.
Before him stretched a colossal underground basin.
The water, a deep, almost black blue, rippled slowly, as if animated by an invisible breath.
Waves crashed against the rocky walls with a dull thud, explaining the rumble he had heard much farther away.
In the center of the pool, a small rocky island rose barely above the water.
And on this island…
Venti: "That's it…"
A violet light.
A pulsating, almost living glow floated above an ancient stone pedestal, covered in abyssal symbols carved directly into the rock.
With each pulse, the air crackled with electricity, making Venti's hair pop.
Venti: "The pearl…"
He thought, breathless.
But he wasn't alone.
On the opposite shore, a figure stood out in the gloom.
Standing motionless, as if he had been waiting for a long time.
Two daggers glittered faintly at his waist, and the abyssal energy around him was so dense it almost warped the air.
Venti gritted his teeth.
Abyss Herald
Chapter 59: Reunion
The End