"Who never knew stealing potions could be this difficult."
. . .
A bulk brown wooden building near a frozen shoreline emerged beyond the snowy fog, with docks and the like situated near a ring of frost-capped mountains. Over there, there were several tables, each with a brewing station perched on the top. Bookcases, empty potion bottles, and goods were located within the building. At the same time, the exterior got blocked by frost ravens.
"So… let's cloak my damn self first." With a swift motion, he donned the black cloak, deliberately obscuring his vision, his eyes, mouth, and nose. Then, slowly, he approached the building, using the tall pine trees to hide.
"So close. Yet s-so cold, damn it."
The frosty fog enveloped the scene, successfully obscuring Grandpa but reducing his visibility by a ton. His shadow followed wherever he moved, being hidden by the snowy ground. He crouched and slowly felt his footprints painting the snowy field in black. Although his disguise was in place, he noticed the sheer number of brewers inside the building. Yes, due to the heavy snowstorm that covered the ground, the trip was a lot more treacherous.
He cloaked himself so that he wouldn't get spotted. With this, plus the giant black sword placed on his back, there was no way this theft would fail.
The only problem was that there were several brewers and potion bottles on those tables. If anything, he had to choose the right potions, or else this theft meant nothing. To create a diversion, Grandpa threw his wine glass to the ground, as far as the shore, far from the station.
"Water-breathing potions. Check." Grandpa muttered to himself as he saw three people rushing outside, hearing the glass shatter before their ears.
(Now is the perfect time to steal.)
Without thought, Grandpa scurried into the building, seeing several brewing stands creating several potions. Dark crimson covered the liquids; others shone in brilliant blue. It was obvious to Grandpa that the light blue potions were the water-breathing ones; the ingredients said otherwise.
And so, before he could get caught, Grandpa shoved twenty water-breathing potions into his soul storage and dashed far from the building. Just before they noticed, the mages quickly used their wands and shot out into the fog.
"Stop thief!" They cried out into the distance, obviously dumbfounded beyond belief.
Yet, due to Grandpa's sheer luck, he made it through unscathed, with 20 water-breathing potions and two fire-resistant ones in his person.
"Yes, in the world, there were many brewers..." He began retrieving memories, ones he had not seen for a long time. "But after that wretched war, we lost half the brewers to the nightmarish monsters that had that same, sacred ingredient."
As he ran, he took a look at the frosted shoreline and came up with an idea.
"Maybe if I can bring Asahi down into the depths, there might be a chance that he could find that recipe book from the Ruler of Potions."
Now, as he dashed through the forest, he arrived at a pathway, far from the potion brewers. It was clear what his next plan was.
. . .
(Present day, in the ruins beneath the submerged city.)
The purple luminance grew brighter. Asahi, Brooke, and Coral raced into the submerged city's deepest depths, arriving at an entrance of solid stone after finding that lavender glow. Asahi scratched his head at the confusion of this doorway. Runes appeared before his eyes, translating to.
"Unfit for exploration, come back later."
Asahi squinted his eyes. He had never expected the entrance to speak to him. He slammed his fist onto the stone gate and screamed.
"Let me in!"
(Unfit for exploration, come back later.)
It appeared to Asahi that whoever retreated with the purple light could be the carrier of the armor and even the blade that Brooke and Coral traded with. But they surrendered to the door, which slammed before they could reach the other side. Asahi took his eyes off the entrance, towards the mermaids, and his eyes leered over to his wrist. The waters there were dark and unmerciful, tricky to see through the shadows of the ruins. It was thanks to the luminescence of underwater torches perched on the walls that the light granted sight. Without it, it was pitch black.
Asahi turned his head back to the door, pondering his next move.
"That scoundrel stole my sword and armor and retreated to a place I can not go." Asahi clenched his fists, slamming them at the door one last time. "Why can't I get in?"
With no explanation for why his clearance does not meet the suggested needs, Asahi returned from the cold depths to Coral City, pondering what to do. But just before he left, the runes communicated to him this.
(To access the gateway, one must face three trials.)
"Three trials?!" Asahi exclaimed, slamming his fist yet again at the stone gate. "That makes no sense. What are the three trials? Brooke, Coral, back me up here."
Only one of the mermaids swam by and answered.
"This gateway has three trials. These trials the Demi-Ruler made are what kept his lover's corpse locked away and all her treasures."
Before Brooke could finish what she had to say, a reverberating underwater voice answered from the shadows of the gateway.
"By entering all three locations, Swallower's Reef, Vortex Valley, and Puddlers Pond, all doors may open with clearance. Find all three treasures, and you shall pass."
Now, it came with a request: Asahi, Brooke, and Coral must individually find three sacred treasures at those three specific locations, so they can open the door, catch up with the scuba diver, and eventually get his weapon to save Primrose from The Collector.
(Sounds like a plan.)
Asahi shook his head and tilted his head upward. An inverted cathedral opened up, revealing three scuba divers with two gold star pins perched on their collars. Purple lumiance entered their futuristic visors, shooting lasers and severing fish. It was clear what these followers looked like.
"These henchmen look just like The Collector."
Yes, with the purple visor and black scuba clothing, it was only clear to them that these were his henchmen. But without a weapon, Asahi thought no choice but to engage the evil scuba divers with his fists. But before he even swung his fists,
(PEW)
A magical green beam entered from the depths and sliced both arms of the henchmen. Quickly, they reeled in pain, trying to retreat. But another beam followed, successfully slaying two of the henchmen. Asahi's eyes broadened in shock at the severity of the attack. He tilted his head over and saw a magical ball. It came from none other than Coral and Brooke's hands. After fighting the henchman, they raced and swam up the spiral stairway, up back to the ocean surface. Light filtered deep through the watery ceiling, entering and illuminating the timid staircase, rising to the rest of Coral City.
"We... did it," Asahi said, breathless.
Coral and Brooke's faces shared a look of fear. Do they really want to follow Asahi across the whole ocean in search of these so-called sacred objects?
"So, where first?"
Coral felt butterflies swimming in her stomach. Although she wanted to assist Asahi, she couldn't be bothered to join him on his quest.
"I'm sorry, Asahi. But I don't feel safe doing this."
Asahi lowered his eyebrow and shook his head, cracking up a grin before patting her on the back.
"It's okay, Coral, you deserve a break."
Unlike Coral, Brooke shared an extremely excited expression. She, on the other hand, was thrilled to follow Asahi wherever they went. Even though her greed meant no bounds, she wanted to find out what the vault hid.
After meeting at the central plaza of Coral City, Coral waved and bid Asahi farewell.
. . .
Now that Coral was gone, the quest at hand was left only to Brooke and Asahi.
(The water seems so high? How much breath can I have before I run out?)
Fish slowly swam by, followed by whales and other sea creatures. Right in the city, Mermaids and mermen conversed, giving Asahi strange looks. The first thought that needed to come across was how they would track down the sacred treasures if they didn't know where to look. So, Asahi and Brooke scoured the area and asked anyone for navigation services.
"Not here, go look elsewhere." One merman said.
"That far? Sorry, but I can't reach beyond the bounds of the city." Another inquired.
With no hope, Asahi rolled the dice and decided to check his map back inside his Soul Storage. If he were underwater, how could a dry map not wilt and shred?
"Brooke, I have no choice. Either we do this, or we force our way through the gateway."
"That won't be possible," Brooke said, twiddling her blonde hair and wiggling her tail. "That gateway is made specifically to seal all treasures. And protect anything that dares to breach through."
Asahi's eyes leaned over to the sea floor. Truly, if he wanted his sword back at least, he must delve further into the unknown sea before him. With this in mind, one thought remained.
(How much time do I have left until my water-breathing runs out?)