Cetas regained his sanity, no longer suffering from the call of the deep.

His eyes darted towards the horizon and yet, he could no longer hear the familiar longing in his heart.

The dark expanse beyond just seemed like a still, endless sea that reflected the dim lights from an unknown source.

It flowed with a gentle touch, creating a sense of repose to whoever touched it.

Thankfully, Cetas didn’t manage to do so.

He shifted his gaze to the individual in front of him.

She wore nothing to cover her body, only the long black hair covered her most important parts.

Cetas glared at her and opened his mouth.

However, Elishia already beat him to it.

"You wretched being!"

Sitting upright, Elishia had a face filled with contempt.

Her tears still flowed but not as much as before.

"Now, now, I saved both of you.."

"Save?" Her voice bewildered, "We wouldn’t even be here if not for you! You kidnapped us!"

The woman’s smile became even wider.

"Is that what I did?"

"Yes!"

Elishia had steam coming out of her nostrils, her hands increasing in temperature as she talked.

"And you left us above to die! If not for Cetas, we would’ve gotten stuck for eternity!"

"And yet you did.."

Elishia gritted her teeth.

"Go to hell!"

She conjured flames in her palm and sent it flying toward the woman. However, before it could even travel a foot in the air, it simply vanished as if it were nothing.

"Calm yourself, child, you wouldn’t want to wake up the Drowned God would you?"

Upon hearing those words, Elishia’s face contorted into terror. She was reminded of how much she suffered by just being on the shores. What would happen to her if she were to meet the Drowned God itself.

She couldn’t even imagine.

Or rather,

She didn’t want to..

After her outburst, Cetas found the opportunity to talk.

"Why?" He said with a fluid tone, "Why bring us here?"

The woman couldn’t help but laugh.

She held her stomach as a loud burst of laughter echoed in the silence.

Then, when she finally stopped, rubbing the sides of her eyes, she let out an amused voice.

"That’s a secret for now. You really shouldn’t pry too much into things.."

Cetas’ skin shuddered.

But still, he remained composed.

"Then at least tell us where we are!"

The Prophet of Perfection flattened her eyes, "..this boy truly doesn’t learn."

She opened them once more, staring at him as her pupils grew.

"There are things that you simply cannot learn as they will endanger you. Didn’t the Historian tell you that?"

"The Historian?" Elishia grew curious, "How and why do you know him?"

The woman groaned.

"Aaagain with the questions! I just warned you, didn’t I?!"

Elishia repulsed back, realizing her sudden impulse.

The Prophet of Perfection sighed, then scrubbed her temples.

She raised her hand and pointed out two fingers.

"I’ll give you two questions, one for each of you.. I won’t answer questions that you aren’t supposed to know yet, and I won’t answer questions that are far too troublesome for me.."

Cetas and Elishia looked at each other.

"Can we confer?"

"That’s a question!"

Elishia suddenly covered her mouth.

"I’ll let that go, but the next time you ask, I will consider it as one of your chances. And no, you may not confer about this. Your questions have to be something that you are deeply curious about.."

The two nodded.

"I’ll go first.." Elishia said as she stepped forward.

"Where are we and what happened on the surface?"

"That’s.." The Prophet’s face looked annoyed.

She scratched the side of her jaw as a result.

"I asked for one question each .. But whatever.. To answer simply, you are inside a dream realm—a world that reflects the real one. Not to say that it doesn’t affect anything in reality, but rather, the Dream Realm is composed of multiple layers. Currently, you are in the bottommost layer of Dreams."

Her tone became more flat yet casual.

"Everything that you saw, didn’t transpire. But that doesn’t mean that they won’t happen. Dreams are simply the manifestation of one’s ideals. Currently, you’re in mine—a dream where everything is Perfect!"

Elishia looked around, listening while scanning her surroundings.

"It doesn’t look too Perfect down here.."

"I know.. It’s because the Drowned Gods meddle with my vision."

With that, it was Cetas’ turn to ask.

"If this was a dream, then how do we wake up from it?"

The Prophet of Perfection’s annoyance turned into a wide grin. She licked her lips as if a desire suddenly came upon her.

"Unless I willingly let you out, there are no other methods to do so.."

Cetas grew increasingly opposed to her words. Elishia, too, bore a sense of rage swelling in her heart.

"Then are our lives resting on your palms? If so, why haven’t you killed us yet?!" Elishia protested.

The woman’s eyes grew cold.

"You’ve run out of chances.. I won’t be answering that. "

Elishua gritted her teeth once more, making a clicking sound in her mouth.

The Prophet of Perfection laughed in amusement.

Then, she turned around, facing the dark sea beyond, her enchanting figure casting a silhouette from behind.

"Now that I’ve done you two a favor. It is now my turn.."

"Why should we do anything for you?!"

Elishia grew wary.

"Why, that’s unfair, small one.. I’ve saved your lives, you should at least be grateful to me.. The only reason that you’re not consumed by madness or screaming your brains out right now is because of me!"

"We didn’t choose to be here!" Elishia challenged once again.

The Prophet of Perfection raised her arm and pinched the air.

"Shush.."

In an instant, Elishia’s voice turned clouded—silenced by the Prophet’s immediate action.

"Where was I?"

Her smile grew eerily wide, facing Cetas momentarily.

"You.. come over here.."

Almost instantly, Cetas walked closer to her direction. When he was a hair’s length away, the Prophet of Perfection whispered, "Go forth towards the Core Sea and seek for a treasure down below.. Do so in utmost efficiency and I would wake the two of you up."

Cetas challenged for control of his body, but against a powerful Zealot?

He was like algae to a whale!

His head could be split in a second but his captor merely chose not to do so..

It was either that or becoming a Dreadspawn due to madness..

Cetas decided to choose the former.

Regaining a bit of control to respond to the Prophet, he struggled to open his mouth and speak, "But..how? The depths..of that..sea..may be teeming with..dangers."

"Don’t worry," The woman reassured, "Just as the Historian is protecting you, I’ll give you some of my protection too.."

She then laughed.

"You should be grateful to the two of us! If not for our protection, then you wouldn’t even be able to survive half a second in these depths."

Cetas suddenly regained control of his body, making him fall on the dark sand below.

"Don’t worry, nothing can hurt you down here.. I’ve already cleared out the creatures deep below."

She continued to laugh.

"Now.. Get ahead of yourself, Cetas. If you want to wake up then better get swimming."

Cetas slowly stood up, carefully rubbing the sand off of his clothes. Then he took a step forward, passing the Prophet of Perfection’s porcelain body.

Before he could get far, he turned around, his eyes filled with suspicion, "Why can’t you go down there yourself? I am but a mere Spark, and you.. are far stronger than I."

The woman raised her finger forward, as if touching Cetas’ Zeal deep inside.

"That’s another question.."

She licked her lips as she sat on a chair made out of sand that appeared from below her. She crossed her legs as she gazed at Cetas.

"Get going."

Cetas judged her for a while then turned back around, heading towards the stygian sea.

She’s making a Spark explore a prison for a Drowned God, how shameless..

When Cetas reached a foot away from the waves, he stared below for a couple of seconds.

No matter what lies beyond, is our ticket towards escaping. If the Prophet of Perfection didn’t lie, then Elishia and I could make it out of here safely..

He took a step, feeling a cold sensation creeping up from his legs. It was different from the usual, freezing cold of the seas in the depths. Rather, the water was cold in a sense that it was devoid of any life..

If Cetas touched the waves when he was still in a trance, there was no doubt that he’d die on the spot, or perhaps lose his sense of self entirely.

Still, he had something to thank the Prophet of Perfection for..

Even though he didn’t want to admit it.

Pushing another step, Cetas felt the creeping cold rush through him, this time it was more potent.

His leg numbed at the experience but then he found himself regaining his sensation.

Additionally, the obsidian scale in his body that absorbed liquids didn’t help at all!

Slowly, it took in small amounts of the black water, making Cetas feel a tingle inside of his body.

This made him feel weak, almost losing his sense of reason.

But then, he continued to take another step.

Until he soaked his body in the water, carelessly letting the waves brush through him.

At this point, Cetas’ body circulated the liquid inside.

He gritted his teeth at the numbing cold that it caused, making him doubt if going further in was the right choice.

Krrk!

Now with only his head on the surface, Cetas struggled to breathe. But as his body adjusted to the sea, his chest gradually loosen.

And so, he soaked his head beneath.

Upon opening his eyes below, he saw a dark expanse everywhere he faced.

Now where am I supposed to look?!

Protesting inside, Cetas couldn’t help but keep it to himself.

Using his natural instincts, Cetas began to swim in the lightless depths.