The entrance to the Sunken Temple was left open.

Two enormous walls of seawater formed along the path like two endless oceans caught in stasis.

Above it all...

Several million tons of water hung in peace, restrained by some sort of unseen power.

There were no waves.

There were no currents.

It seemed as if time itself paid respect to this sacred place.

No one aboard the Azure Horizon spoke.

Jennie moved forward first.

Her boots touched the ancient stone stairs.

At that moment...

The pale blue light appeared below her feet.

The runes one after another lit up.

And soon the whole path was glowing.

Roxy gasped.

"The temple knows someone has entered..."

Snow gave a small, silent smile.

"No."

"It knows who has entered."

Jennie gave an embarrassed smile over her shoulder.

"I hope it doesn’t expect too much from me."

Snow gave a small chuckle.

"I have a feeling it expects exactly that much."

Captain Helena moved toward them and bowed politely.

"This is where our expedition ends."

Jennie was surprised.

"Wait, you’re not coming?"

The captain shook her head.

"The records say that only those acknowledged by the temple can enter the inner sanctum."

She gave a small smile.

"Our job was to bring you here."

One by one the sailors bowed.

"Please come back safe, Lady Raven."

Jennie gave a bow in return.

"I’ll try."

And with that Jennie, Snow, and Roxy started their journey through the endless stairs.

The deeper they went...

The more quiet the world became.

Even their steps sounded distant.

Two walls of seawater loomed above them hundreds of meters high.

Beyond the magic wall colorful schools of fish swam peacefully.

Roxy looked up in awe.

"It’s like walking under the ocean..."

Jennie gave a small smile.

"No..."

"It’s like the ocean is letting us walk through it."

Tiny bubbles rose up beyond the magic wall catching the rays of sunlight filtering through the sea.

The entire passage shone in the light like a fairy tale.

After an hour-long descent...

The stairs finally ended.

Jennie took one last step.

And stopped.

Her silver eyes widened.

"... Beautiful."

Before them stretched a whole city.

Not a ruin.

A city.

The whole city seemed to be resting beneath the ocean like it had simply fallen asleep.

Majestic palaces towered proudly below the ocean.

Their elegant white walls were almost completely covered in the colored corals.

Red corals climbed up marble pillars.

Gold corals decorated grand balconies.

Soft green seaweed swayed gently in some invisible currents.

Nature embraced everything in its loving silence.

Nothing looked ruined.

It just felt...

Alive.

Roxy slowly spun around in circles.

"I’ve never..."

"...I’ve never seen anything like this."

Snow bowed respectfully.

"The Kingdom of Thalassia."

Jennie looked at him.

"Do you know this place?"

Snow nodded.

"It disappeared long before Leonis was born."

"They called it..."

"... The City Beloved by the Ocean."

And they slowly wandered through its silent streets.

The roads below their feet weren’t made of ordinary stones.

They shimmered like polished crystals.

And every step made reflections in blue lights beneath the surface.

Roxy bent down and examined them.

"Mana Crystals..."

"But..."

"It’s impossible."

"This many crystals could not appear naturally."

Jennie slowly touched the glowing road.

It was warm.

Almost comfortable.

Like the whole city was welcoming its guests warmly.

Towering statues lined the avenues on both sides.

Some of them portrayed elegant kings.

Others wise queens holding staffs.

Playing children.

Reading scholars.

Protecting knights.

Not the ones that were built to honor the rulers...

But ones dedicated to ordinary life.

Jennie gave a small, satisfied smile.

"I like this."

Snow nodded.

"They remembered everyone."

Not only the heroes.

But the people they protected.

One giant statue was erected in the middle of the city.

It portrayed a woman stretching out one hand toward the ocean.

Her look was calm.

Behind her...

Seven swords were engraved on the statue.

Jennie silently counted them.

"One..."

"Two..."

"... Seven."

Excalibur vibrated gently beneath the cloak.

Very gently.

Like greeting an old friend.

The entire city was silent.

There were no voices.

No steps.

No wind.

Only the sounds of flowing water beyond the barriers.

It was not a frightening silence.

It was sacred.

Like entering an ancient cathedral.

Even Roxy instinctively lowered her voice.

"It feels wrong to talk loudly here."

Jennie nodded.

"I understand."

Snow gave a gentle smile.

"The city is sleeping."

"And we are its guests."

Suddenly...

Pale blue lights appeared.

First one.

Then dozens.

Hundreds.

Jellyfishes drifted gracefully above the streets.

Their translucent bodies were shining like floating lanterns.

Long ribbons of light trailed behind them.

They moved so slowly that it almost looked like they were dancing.

Roxy could not tear herself away from looking at them.

"They’re beautiful..."

Snow quietly explained.

"Lumina Jellyfish."

"They’ve lived here for thousands of years."

"They live on the natural mana."

One jellyfish slowly descended toward Jennie.

It gently brushed past her shoulder.

Its light glimmered in her silver eyes.

Jennie gently reached for it.

The creature circled her hand once and then happily returned to the others.

"They are not afraid."

Snow gave a knowing smile.

"They know your heart."

The deeper they explored the city...

The more life they discovered.

Swimming schools of glowing fishes freely moved through the open buildings.

Tiny silver fishes swam between the marble columns.

Golden fishes rest in crystal fountains that flowed with perfectly clear water even after thousands of years.

One curious fish stopped right in front of Roxy.

She happily waved to it.

"Hello!"

The fish immediately darted away.

Snow chuckled.

"You scared it."

"I was just being friendly!"

Jennie tried not to laugh and covered her mouth.

"You were just a little loud."

Roxy pouted and stuck out her cheeks.

"I’ll apologize when it returns."

Several minutes later...

The same fish timidly peeked from behind a column.

Roxy dramatically whispered.

"... I’m sorry."

The fish happily swirled in a circle and then disappeared.

Jennie couldn’t help but laugh.

While they explored...

They found houses with doors standing tall and proud.

Libraries with shelves untouched.

Gardens where glowing sea flowers kept blooming after thousands of years.

There wasn’t a single house that had collapsed.

Not a single sign of battle.

Everything had simply...

Stopped.

Froze in time.

Jennie slowly looked around.

"There are no skeletons."

"There are no signs of any wars."

"There are no graves."

Snow’s look became contemplative.

"That’s because the people did not die here."

Jennie frowned.

"So..."

"Where did they go?"

Snow looked toward the distant center of the city, where a magnificent temple rose higher than any other building.

"I don’t know."

"But I think..."

"The answer is in there."

Jennie looked in the direction he pointed.

The magnificent temple shimmered in the light of countless floating jellyfish.

It stood untouched by time.

Patient.

Silent.

Like it was waiting for this very moment.

Waiting for someone to come back home.

Jennie stood silently near the edge of the ancient avenue.

Before her, the huge temple towered majestically above the sleeping city.

Its pillars pierced the ceiling of the ocean itself.

There were blue crystals all over the construction glowing with soft light which still hadn’t faded over the last few thousands of years.

It didn’t seem like ruins.

It seemed like a sleeping city which patiently awaited its inhabitants’ return.

Jennie laid a hand over her heart.

"...It’s so lonely."

Roxy looked at her.

"Do you feel it too?"

Jennie nodded.

"I don’t know why..."

"But this place doesn’t seem abandoned."

"It seems..."

"...abandoned."

Snow smiled silently.

"That is the difference."

"One is forgotten."

"The other is remembered."

Jennie looked at him.

"The ocean has remembered."

Snow nodded.

"It always remembers."

The trio continued walking along the streets covered with blue crystals.

With each step they caused ripples of soft blue light which seemed to spread out from under their feet.

It was like streets themselves welcomed the visitors.

Roxy carefully studied the glowing runes carved into the streets.

She fixed her hat and knelt down.

"These runes are incredible."

Jennie kneeled down next to her.

"What do they do?"

Roxy gently wiped dust off of one rune.

"They are protecting the city."

"Every building."

"Every road."

"Every crystal."

"They’ve been preserved non-stop for over two thousand years."

Jennie looked around in amazement.

"So the city wasn’t untouched because of luck..."

"It was because someone designed it to survive."

Roxy nodded in excitement.

"The magic here is centuries ahead of our civilization."

Snow quietly added,

"Perhaps even more."

After some time, they came to a large plaza.

In the middle of it, there was a wonderful fountain.

Instead of water...

Mana in the form of liquid blue glass flowed through it.

The fountain worked smoothly without any interruptions during thousands of years.

Jennie carefully stretched out her finger.

One tiny drop of mana fell onto her finger.

It was warm.

Gentle.

Comfortable.

Almost like someone held her hand softly.

She smiled.

"It seems very peaceful."

Snow looked at the fountain.

"The people here thought that mana should give life."

"And not be used as a weapon."

Jennie remembered the corrupted Abyss Crystals she had met before.

The difference couldn’t be bigger.

One civilization gave life.

Another one gave destruction.

Walking further into the city, they reached what looked like an ancient marketplace.

Rows of beautiful stone stores stood on both sides of the street.

Beautiful signs still hung above their entrances.

Bakery.

Tailor.

Florist.

Bookstore.

Despite thousands of years...

Everything was perfectly arranged.

Roxy slowly went into the old bookstore.

The shelves full of crystal tablets stood in the places where they have been put.

She carefully picked up one tablet.

The letters on it have been fading.

"I wish I could read this language."

Jennie smiled.

"Maybe someday."

Roxy hugged the crystal tablet with joy.

"Someday I will learn how."

Snow chuckled.

"I never doubted that."

Going outside...

Jennie stopped before an old toy shop.

Inside it, there were neatly placed wooden figures of sea animals.

Small turtles.

Whales.

Fishes.

And smiling dolphins.

She picked up a small dolphin.

Its design was so perfect that it seemed almost alive.

She imagined a happy child playing with it.

Carefully made by the father.

Watched by the mother.

A simple family.

Living normal life.

Jennie’s face relaxed.

"I wonder..."

"...what kind of people they were."

Snow said quietly.

"People."

"Just people."

"They laughed."

"They cried."

"They dreamed."

"Just like us."

Jennie carefully put the toy back in its place.

"I hope they found peace."

The silence still surrounded them.

There were no monsters.

No traps.

No dangers.

Not even the fishes that swam along the streets were scared.

Suddenly...

Small blue lights appeared again.

The same sea spirits which guided them at the beginning now hovered around the trio.

One playful spirit landed on Snow’s nose.

Snow crossed his eyes trying to see it.

The spirit giggled.

Roxy started laughing.

"You look adorable!"

Snow sighed dramatically.

"I used to be a majestic Divine Wolf."

Another spirit landed on his head.

Then another.

Very quickly...

Five spirits happily sat on Snow’s head.

Jennie couldn’t stop laughing anymore.

"You’ve become a spirit tree."

Snow looked up at the ceiling like he was asking heavens for patience.

"They are mocking my dignity."

The spirits giggled even louder.

Even Snow smiled in the end.

"I guess..."

"...that could be worse."

Suddenly, the little spirits took off and flew away.

Not randomly.

Forming a trail leading to the center of the city.

Jennie’s smile faded.

"They’re guiding us."

Snow nodded.

"Yes."

"But not because they were asked to."

"They wanted to."

The spirits stopped ahead and looked back like inviting them to follow.

Jennie took a deep breath.

"Let’s go."

The crystal streets became wider.

The buildings became taller.

Ancient banners hung on the walls of them.

Finally...

The trio reached a huge round plaza which seemed unusual for them.

In the middle of it, there was the largest building in the whole city.

The Sunken Temple.

Seven huge pillars surrounded its entrance.

On each of them, there was a figure of a different sword.

Jennie recognized one of them.

Excalibur.

Then, she saw another sword.

Its blade was beautifully curved like flowing water.

Leviathan.

The remaining five pillars had swords that she hasn’t seen yet.

Gram.

Aurelia.

Tempest.

Eclipse.

Genesis.

The Seven Divine Swords were honored here long before Leonis was born.

Jennie carefully approached the stairs.

Then...

She stopped.

All of a sudden, every spirit in the plaza bowed their heads.

Thousands of glowing jellyfish gathered in the sky, illuminating the temple with light similar to millions of floating stars.

The waters beyond the magic barrier started shimmering.

Even ancient crystal streets shone even brighter than before.

The whole city awakened.

Not in fear.

But in welcome.

Excalibur’s calm voice resonated in Jennie’s mind.

"We have arrived."

Jennie looked at the temple doors.

They were sealed for over a thousand years.

Now...

Deep rumble sounded through the silent city.

The huge doors started opening by themselves.

Darkness lay beyond them.

Together with something ancient...

Something patient...

And something which waited for far longer than anyone could remember.