The market square was in panic. The citizens of the Water Kingdom ran away.
"Guards!" someone shouted. "Invaders!"
From the palace, the Royal Guard arrived. They were not fish-men. They were Crab Knights. They had thick red shells and giant claws that could cut steel.
"Surrender!" the Captain clicked. He snapped his massive claw.
Cain looked at the claw. "I am hungry," Cain said. "I like crab legs with butter."
The Captain charged. He swung his claw at Cain's head.
Cain did not block. He punched the shell.
CRACK.
The shell broke. The Crab Knight flew backward into a shop full of glass vases.
"Next," Cain said.
Suddenly, the water in the fountain behind him began to rise.
It did not splash. It moved like a snake. It rose up and formed a staircase.
A woman walked down the water stairs.
She was beautiful and terrifying. She wore a dress made of blue waves. Her hair was floating water. Her eyes were deep, dark oceans.
This was Luna, the Third Divinity. The Goddess of Water.
She did not yell like Solus. She did not roar like Terra. She spoke softly.
"You are loud," Luna whispered. Her voice sounded like rain. "You broke my roof. You scared my fish."
Cain wiped crab shell off his fist.
"I am here to collect," Cain said. "Your brothers are dead. You are the last one."
Luna smiled. It was a cold smile.
"My brothers were fools," Luna said. "Solus tried to burn you. Terra tried to crush you. They fought your outside."
She raised a delicate blue hand.
"But I fight the inside."
Cain frowned. "What?"
Luna pointed a finger at Cain.
[Divine Art: Blood Bend]
Cain tried to step forward. He could not.
His leg did not move. His arm did not move. His body went stiff.
"What is this?" Cain grunted. He pushed with all his strength, but his muscles locked up.
"The human body is seventy percent water," Luna explained softly. "Your blood is water. Your cells are water."
She curled her finger.
Cain's arm moved. But he did not move it. Luna moved it.
He punched himself in the face.
SMACK.
Isolde gasped. "Cain! She is controlling your blood!"
"I know!" Cain grunted, trying to fight his own hand. "It's... annoying!"
Luna laughed gently. "You are strong, Cain. But you are just a bag of water. And water obeys me."
She waved her hand.
Cain's body flew across the square. He slammed into a wall. BOOM.
Then she pulled him back. He slid across the ground and stopped at her feet.
She forced him to kneel.
"Kneel," Luna commanded. "And drown."
She formed a ball of water around Cain's head.
Cain held his breath. He tried to stand, but his legs would not work. His own blood was holding him down.
Isolde raised her staff. "Let him go!"
She cast a lightning spell. [Thunder Bolt].
Luna didn't even look. She raised a wall of water. The lightning hit the water and vanished.
"Stay out of this, little candle," Luna said.
Cain's lungs burned. He was drowning on dry land. He could not move. He could not punch.
How do I fight this? Cain thought. She controls the liquid inside me.
He closed his eyes. He focused on his heart.
If she controls the flow... I have to change the flow.
He didn't use mana. He used Adrenaline.
He forced his heart to beat faster. Faster. Faster.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
He flexed every muscle in his body at the same time. He turned his body into a vibrating stone.
He exerted so much physical force that his internal temperature spiked.
"Boil," Cain thought.
Steam started to come out of his ears.
Luna's eyes widened. "What are you doing?"
"Getting..." Cain gritted his teeth. "Hot."