Karl El nodded slowly, tacitly agreeing with her words. Yet almost immediately, another detail in the Nymph's explanation caught his attention, causing his brows to knit together slightly.
"You just said that you received divine grace?" he asked carefully. "Could it be that now—"
The Nymph's expression dimmed, as if a shadow had passed over her emerald eyes. She let out a soft sigh, one that carried within it a deep sense of loss and lingering confusion.
"Yes, Emissary. Ever since this world underwent… some unknown change," she said quietly, her voice tinged with melancholy.
"We have not felt the favor or response of the Goddess of Nature for a very, very long time."
She paused, then continued in a solemn tone.
"She—and many other ancient existences—have all fallen silent."
Karl El's heart tightened slightly.
"Goddess Meritari," the Nymph added respectfully, "though she is not the direct creator of us Nymphs, is still a benevolent deity who cherishes life and nurtures the natural order."
Karl El felt a stir in his chest. He leaned forward slightly and pressed on, his voice low but intent.
"What exactly do you mean by the 'unknown change' you mentioned?"
The Nymph raised a slender finger that glowed faintly with a soft green light. Almost unconsciously, she twirled a lock of emerald hair that hung over her chest, a subtle gesture betraying her unease.
She slowly shook her head, helplessness seeping into her voice.
"I am sorry, Emissary. I do not know the essence of that change either.
"We are merely spirits born from natural elements—children of the world itself. Even brushing against the divine realm is far beyond our reach. How, then, could we hope to comprehend a power mighty enough to shake the very foundation of the world?"
She fell silent for a moment, as though recalling something distant and unsettling. When she spoke again, her voice sounded faintly ethereal.
"But there is one thing of which I am certain."
Her gaze lifted, unfocused, as if looking through Karl El and into the distant past.
"Ever since that vast power invaded this world, everything began to change."
Her words grew heavier.
"Miracles became rare, almost ceasing altogether. Many ancient deities—beings that were meant to protect the world and maintain its balance—vanished one after another, as if erased from existence."
Karl El listened intently, his mind racing.
"At the same time," the Nymph continued, "many Outer Gods from beyond this world—existences filled with malice, distortion, and madness—took advantage of the chaos. They began extending their tentacles into this world, polluting our homeland and corrupting its laws."
She clenched her fingers slightly.
"And the power that caused all of this chaos in the first place," she said slowly, "is referred to among you mortals as… Chaos Magic."
"Chaos Magic?!" Karl El exclaimed involuntarily.
His pupils contracted sharply as the words struck him like a hammer.
The series of revelations pouring from this native spirit sent a violent storm through his heart and mind. Though he had already formed certain conjectures—based on the peculiar nature of magic in this world, the celestial anomalies, and the conspicuous absence of gods—hearing it confirmed directly was an entirely different matter.
Chaos Magic was not merely a dangerous school of sorcery.
It was an invading force.
And its arrival had driven native deities into dormancy—or annihilation—while opening the door for Outer Gods to pry into this world.
Karl El rapidly processed the information, countless clues linking together in his mind. Yet with every answer came even more questions.
Where had Chaos Magic come from?
Why had it invaded this world?
What exactly were these Outer Gods trying to accomplish by extending their influence here?
Suppressing the churning thoughts threatening to overwhelm him, Karl El forced himself to calm down. He knew this was not the time to dig deeper into those mysteries.
Refocusing, he looked back at the Nymph.
"Then, Lady Nymph," he asked steadily, "why are you so eager to find me? What is it that you need my help with?"
The Nymph turned and pointed toward another direction across the lake.
That area was shrouded in dense, almost tangible white mist. Even with Karl El's extraordinary vision, he could barely make out the vague outline of a smaller island hidden deep within the fog.
At the same time, the Nymph raised her other hand and gently waved it through the air.
Instantly, a translucent water screen formed before Karl El, composed of clear lake water suspended unnaturally in midair. Ripples spread across its surface, and dynamic images began to appear.
What he saw was the mist-shrouded island.
On the island, numerous creatures wandered aimlessly. They were unusually robust and muscular, their bodies radiating brute strength. Each had a fish-like head, with sharp, jagged teeth exposed whenever their mouths opened.
Yet their skin was an unsettling dark red, like dried, congealed blood.
Their eyes were tyrannical and chaotic, completely devoid of reason. They roamed without purpose, occasionally letting out low, aggressive roars. From time to time, they hurled themselves against a shimmering, transparent barrier formed by rippling water at the island's edge, as if desperately trying to break free.
"These are Fallen Merrow," the Nymph said, her voice laced with both disgust and exhaustion.
"They were once ordinary creatures of the lake. Long ago, they even coexisted peacefully with my people."
Her tone grew sorrowful.
"At some unknown point, they were corroded and twisted by a foul power rising from the depths of the lake, transforming them into what you see now. They have lost their reason entirely, retaining only instincts of destruction and slaughter."
She sighed softly.
"With my power alone, I can still restrain them and confine them to that island."
As she spoke, the scene on the water screen shifted.
The image plunged downward, sinking into near-total darkness and bone-chilling cold. This was the deepest part of the lake—the heart of its abyss.
There, embedded in the mud at the bottom, stood an ancient black stone stele.
The stele was slender and unnaturally tall, its surface covered in twisted, bizarre characters that Karl El had never seen before. Though unfamiliar, they instinctively made his skin crawl, as if the symbols themselves were alive and watching him.
The moment Karl El's gaze touched the stele, a violent dizziness struck him.
It felt as though countless needles were piercing his mind simultaneously. A low, chaotic, blasphemous whisper rose from the endless abyss, echoing directly within the depths of his consciousness.
"Ugh—!"
Karl El grunted, stumbling half a step backward as his face drained of color.
With great effort, he tore his gaze away from the stele—and then his eyes fell upon the monster entwined around it.
An even more grotesque and terrifying entity was clinging to the black stone.
It was neither fully fish nor fully snake.
Its upper body was vaguely humanoid but covered in slippery scales and strange folds of flesh. Long, slender arms ended in webbed fingers, each joint bending at unsettling angles.
Its lower body was a massive, dark-scaled tail, thick and powerful like that of a giant python.
At that moment, the creature's arms were wrapped tightly around the stele, while its serpentine tail coiled around the base in multiple loops. It appeared to be wrestling with the stone—either attempting to pull it free or desperately restraining it from something far worse.
Karl El's breathing hitched.
His pupils shrank violently as a primal chill surged from his tailbone to his scalp, leaving his entire body tingling with dread.
Although the creature's exact form differed slightly from what he remembered, that iconic fusion of fish and serpent—combined with the maddening, blasphemous aura—was unmistakable.
A Deep One?
No… the size, the presence, the association with an ancient stele—
Could it be Dagon?
Or something closely related to it?
The Nymph noticed Karl El's drastic change in expression and the obvious distress etched across his features. Without hesitation, she waved her hand, dispersing the water screen and severing the connection between that horrifying vision and his senses.
Her emerald figure swayed slightly as concern filled her eyes.
"Emissary," she said anxiously, "are you all right?"
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