Right after teleporting into the underwater city with Absolute Hit, Lucian held Helektra close and, under her steady guidance, swiftly arrived at a place that appeared to be a vast city square.
At this moment, quite a few sea sirens had already gathered here, forming clusters that filled the surrounding space, and just like the game had said, all of them were female, not a single male in sight, without exception.
Seeing that all of them were female, Lucian suddenly felt curious about how sea sirens reproduced, the question surfacing almost instinctively in his mind.
'Oh, right, they're the Titankin of the Ocean Titan, made from their divine power, so they don't really need to reproduce.'
Just when Lucian was lost in thought, a solemn and oppressive presence descended without warning, and all noise instantly fell silent as the sea sirens bowed their heads in reverence, their movements uniform as all of them faced a massive scallop shell at the center.
In the next moment, when the tightly shut scallop shell slowly opened, Lucian saw a female figure resting within.
Needless to say, the figure was none other than the queen spoken of by the sea sirens, the Ocean Titan—Phagousa.
Their figure was noticeably taller than that of ordinary sea sirens, exuding an innate sense of authority even in stillness.
Their fish tail was an unfathomably deep blue, close to ink-black, covered in fine, star-like specks of shimmering light that seemed to flicker faintly like distant stars.
Their features were noble and beautiful, carrying the weight and majesty of ages, but at this moment, their complexion was abnormally pale, and between their brows lingered deep exhaustion and a faintly withered aura that could not be concealed.
Apparently, to purify the pollution of the black tide, they had ruined themselves completely, leaving them on the verge of death.
Phagousa's gaze soon swept slowly over all the sea sirens, tenderness and sorrow lying deep within their eyes, but when their gaze passed by Lucian, it lingered for an extra second, seemingly surprised by the sudden arrival of a human in this place.
Unfortunately, now was not the time to question the human's origins or presence.
"My little fishlings…"
Phagousa's voice rang out clearly, gentle yet solemn, as it carried into the ears of every sea siren.
"You swim with such joy, so full of life. It pains me to speak of our kingdom's sorrow..."
"I once believed I could drink the black tide dry, that I alone could hold it at bay, but even the deepest chalice must one day overflow... and I can hold no more of this filth."
"Who would have thought the black tide… would be fiercer than expected… more relentless than any of us imagined…"
"It has already breached the ocean's borders… and is eroding our homeland… devouring all that we have guarded for generations…"
As they spoke, Phagousa's voice carried suppressed pain and quiet exhaustion, while their gaze slowly passed over every young sea siren gathered before them.
In that instant, fear and worry were written all over the sea sirens' faces, their earlier joy fading into unease.
"I…" Phagousa paused slightly, as if steadying themselves, then continued, "I will drink the poisoned chalice one last time for you… to slow the spread of the black tide… to buy you what time I can…"
Everyone knew what this meant—it meant their queen would die.
Yet no one cried, as though the weight of the moment had stolen even their voices.
Amid the heavy silence, Helektra quickly stepped forward, her expression resolute.
"Mother, worry not. We're all children of the sea. Let us bear your fate together."
Another sea siren soon followed, her voice firm despite the tension.
"Yes, we'll take up your mantle and drive back the black tide, no matter the cost."
Hearing their brave words, Phagousa smiled in quiet relief, a trace of warmth returning to their weary expression, then spoke again.
"My little fishlings, when the spear of Strife falls, you may retreat in peace. I promise you: on the surface, the city-states will hold a feast without end in your honor, and your names will be remembered."
Phagousa's words were like a brand, deeply imprinted in every sea siren's heart, leaving a mark that would never fade.
A sorrowful atmosphere instantly enveloped the square, as though even the surrounding waters had grown heavy with grief.
Just as Helektra and the other sea sirens, holding back tears, prepared to rush toward the black tide with faces bearing a desperate, almost self-sacrificial resolve, in that very moment, an untimely voice rang out, cutting through the tension.
"You all treated me with such kindness, and even wanted to sing for me..."
Lucian spoke while gently patting Helektra's icy-cold hand, his touch steady and reassuring, looking at the pure yet grief-stricken faces around him—faces that still carried traces of warmth despite their despair.
"If I can solve this problem, yet only stand by as a spectator, that would be rather heartless of me."
As he spoke, Lucian walked forward at an unhurried pace, passing Helektra, then stopping once he arrived before Phagousa, his figure positioning itself between them and the crowd of sea sirens.
In that instant, Phagousa, with their keen eyes, knew with just one look that this human was not simple—the fact that he could breathe underwater alone already made him extraordinary, something no ordinary being could achieve.
Moreover, the fact that even a Titan like them could not discern his true nature, even though he stood directly before them without concealment, further cemented his extraordinariness.
"Human, do you have a way to help us?"
Phagousa asked weakly, their voice carrying both exhaustion and a faint, fragile hope, not minding Lucian's casual attitude toward them at all.
"Of course. I won't stand here if I can't," Lucian replied calmly while nodding, his tone even and certain. "What a Titan cannot do, I can."
As soon as these words fell, he raised his hand, and a soft light bloomed at his fingertips, spreading outward in a quiet glow. It was not a blinding radiance, but a gentle emerald green, a color brimming with vitality and quiet life—the unmistakable power of Abundance.
In the next second, as the power of Abundance began to flow forth like a steady current, he lightly pointed through the water in Phagousa's direction, as if guiding that vitality toward its target.
*Buzz!*
When a soft green light precisely sank into Phagousa's body, a miracle quietly occurred.
*Psss—*
Suddenly, a gray-black aura entwined their body, sizzling like ice and snow meeting a blazing sun before rapidly melting away, thinning into wisps as it dispersed into nothingness.
Gradually, their pale, exhausted face recovered its color at a speed visible to the naked eye, a faint flush returning to their cheeks, until the withered gloom and pain between their brows vanished almost instantly, replaced by shock and a surging, almost unbelievable vitality.
"What is this... power..."
Phagousa lowered their head, looking at their arms, which were once again full of strength and smooth as new, flexing their fingers slightly as if to confirm the sensation, then raised their head to look at Lucian with eyes filled with disbelief.
Meanwhile, the sea sirens, who felt a leaking surge of vitality from their queen, couldn't help but be bewildered as well—the faint, overflowing energy spreading through the air even made some of them instinctively crave it.
""Queen!""
All of them were stunned for a brief moment before erupting into thunderous cheers, their voices overlapping in excitement!
"Wonderful, the queen is saved!"
"It's that good-looking human! He saved our queen!"
"Is he also a Titan?"
As the sea sirens cheered, Helektra, seeing her mother safe and sound, immediately rushed to the very front where Lucian was, her steps hurried and unsteady, and cried tears of joy.
"Lucian! Thank you!"
Helektra shouted excitedly, her voice trembling, while the other sea sirens silently looked at Lucian with gazes filled with gratitude and reverence.
"So, do you want me to help?"
Lucian smiled faintly and asked Helektra casually, as if he had merely done something insignificant.
"Yes!"
Helektra answered almost instantly, without the slightest hesitation, then naturally linked her arm through Lucian's, her face filled with earnest pleading.
Following her answer, the rest of the sea sirens quickly chimed in, their voices overlapping in urgency.
"Yes!"
"Yes! Please help us!"
"Please!"
Just witnessing Lucian's single healing technique was enough to leave all the sea sirens utterly shocked, each of them seeing it as nothing short of a miracle unfolding before their eyes.
When their queen had been on the verge of death, and no one present could do anything to stop it, he healed them effortlessly, so how could that not be a miracle?
In no time, every sea siren crowded around, surrounding Lucian from all sides and covering both of his arms with their fair, trembling hands, as if afraid he might disappear at any moment.
"Human, please save us!"
A mature sea siren stepped forward and directly hugged Lucian's waist, her arms tightening around him as she pleaded with tearful eyes.
"You could cleanse the filth from the queen's body, so you must also have a way to resist the black tide, right?"
Lucian had only intended to casually show off a little, to test the waters, but he had not expected such an intense and overwhelming reaction from them.
"Alright, I'll help you. Calm down first, okay?"
As soon as he spoke, every sea siren immediately fell silent, as if his words carried authority, but those holding onto him did not loosen their grip in the slightest, their fingers still clinging tightly, afraid that this hard-won lifeline would slip away if they let go.
"Well, Phagousa, given the current situation, can three Titans handle the black tide?"
Lucian glanced toward Phagousa and asked calmly, his tone steady and unhurried, as if the matter at hand were of no immediate urgency.
Phagousa pondered for a moment, their gaze lowering slightly as they considered the scale and pressure of the encroaching threat, then gave a slow, measured nod.
"If there are three Titans, it will be enough to resist this wave of the black tide... But why are you asking this? Do you want help from other Titans?"
Hearing this question, Lucian merely smiled, his expression faint and unreadable, offering no clear hint of his true intentions.
"Well, not really. Either way, you're gonna be my guinea pig."
He intended to test his newly acquired conceptual ability—to determine how much it would cost to copy a Titan, what level a perfect replica would reach, and how long such a replica could persist in existence.
"Guinea pig? What's that?"
Phagousa asked, confused, their brows knitting slightly as they failed to grasp his meaning or the implication behind his words.
However, instead of answering, Lucian slowly spread his hands, as if he were about to embrace the world itself, his posture relaxed yet deliberate.
'Let me see whether the concept of the river of time can be regarded as a river...'
With this thought in mind, Lucian activated River God and treated Phagousa as though they were a dropped item, then imaginatively cast them into the long, flowing 'river of time,' letting the idea take form within his perception.
In that instant, an invisible ripple spread outward, distorting the surrounding space ever so slightly, like a disturbance passing through an unseen current, and then—
*Buzz!*
Space beside Phagousa seemed to twist slightly, as though the very fabric of the sea itself had been disturbed, and soon, right beside them, two identical figures to Phagousa suddenly appeared without any warning!
Equally tall!
Equally majestic!
Equally radiating the powerful, suffocating authority of the ocean!
What made them different was that one was pure gold, gleaming like sunlight reflected upon endless waves, while the other was pure silver, shimmering like moonlight cast upon a silent sea.
Aside from their color, they were two identical Ocean Titans, indistinguishable in form and presence!
Seeing this absurd and almost blasphemous scene, Phagousa was stunned as they looked at the two clones of themself that had suddenly appeared beside them—their auras identical, their power identical, even the pressure they exerted upon the surroundings no different from their own.
'What kind of power is this? Cloning? To be able to perfectly clone even a Titan like me...'
One had to know that the Titans were essentially the gods of this world, supreme existences that stood above all living beings, so the fact that someone could easily create clones of a Titan meant that the human before them was most likely even above the Titans.
At the same time, the sea sirens couldn't help but gape as they gazed at the golden and silver versions of their queen, before their gazes settled on the original. Aside from their color, they truly looked identical in essence, as if they were witnessing three sovereigns of the ocean standing side by side.
"T-Three?!"
"Three queens!"
"We have three queens!"
One after another, the sea sirens exclaimed in surprise, looking like children caught in a sudden joy of discovery, their luminous eyes widening further as they leaned closer together, their voices overlapping in a rippling, excited chorus that skimmed across the square like waves brushing the shore.
No matter how hard they tried to think about it, their minds simply could not process it at all, unable to understand how Lucian did it, as though such a phenomenon lay far beyond the limits of their comprehension.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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