Chapter 210. Below the Source.
Half an hour later, having exited the ravine without difficulty, Severus wrapped himself in a Notice-Me-Not charm layered with several others that reduced his presence to near nothing, and set off toward the oasis at the center of the Tianzi mountains.
As he walked, he kept turning over in his mind the silhouette in the crystal and the unpleasant sensation he had felt the moment the passage closed behind him, as though someone's gaze had settled on his back. The identity of that "someone" required no great deduction.
And it did not make him feel more at ease. If the mind inside had already begun to stir, that could mean only one thing: that in the not-too-distant future, whatever was in there would break free. Precisely how it intended to restore its missing arms, legs, and the hole in its chest remained an open question.
In any case, it was not something to be underestimated. Whatever was sealed in that crystal was at minimum an early-rank Archmage, judging by the volume of magic, and what it might have in mind was anyone's guess. Killing the Vampire had slowed its recovery, if only slightly, which meant the two of them were already on opposing sides. The gaze that had followed him out had carried nothing resembling warmth. It had been arctic cold, laced with a faint but unmistakable thirst for blood, subtle enough that most would have missed it, but not subtle enough to escape a Slytherin's senses.
That, more than anything, was why he wanted to finish his business here as quickly as possible and leave the country, and then concentrate almost entirely on his own strength for a while—accelerating his plans connected to the Heart of the King of Ents and beginning work on Project Second Home.
They arrived at a small beach beside a wide natural spring, enclosed by high green-covered peaks, with no one else in sight. Severus conjured a dome around himself almost immediately and began to descend into the water.
"This is… extraordinary," Nagini breathed in quiet awe as they passed fully beneath the surface and an entire underwater world opened before them.
From above, there had been almost nothing to see but shades of blue ranging from deep to pale. But through the barrier, the view was breathtaking. Schools of fish and solitary swimmers drifted past in every color imaginable. Other creatures resembled eels, sea stars, or true octopuses, and occasionally a larger beast glided past just beyond the barrier. The water was inhabited by plants of extraordinary height, from simple weeds to flowers growing from moss-covered boulders riddled with holes, through which fish continually swam in and out.
"I won't argue. Remarkable." He gave a slight smile and guided the dome further down, though the pressure was clearly felt regardless, and the deeper they went, the more magic it took to maintain the barrier.
"But where is…"
"There he is." Severus answered aloud, narrowing his eyes at a blue silhouette in the distance. It was growing larger by the moment.
A few seconds later, a thunderous, furious roar erupted:
"RAAAAAAAAAAR!" The water heaved with the sound, and every fish and creature in sight scattered instantly, vanishing in every direction.
"He's… enormous." Nagini hissed, staring with visible shock as the creature finally drew close.
The monster stretched over thirty meters from head to tail. Its entire upper body, including the fringe around its yellow eyes with their black vertical pupils, was covered in blue scales. Its face was broadly horse-shaped, and its open jaws showed two full rows of teeth as sharp as razors.
It didn't stop in front of them. Instead, like a shark, it began circling the barrier slowly, growling in a continuous low rumble, never taking its eyes off the wizard.
"It's telling us to leave. Or else..."
"Hm? You understand it?" Severus looked at her with mild surprise. She seemed genuinely taken aback by it herself. "Though why am I asking? You already demonstrated that." He pressed two fingers to his closed eyes and rubbed them tiredly. "When we get back, I need a couple of hours of sleep. My head isn't working properly." Then he added, "Ask it whether there's anything unusual in this place. A cave with a large crystal, or an altar. Passages that lead somewhere unknown. Tell it I only want to look, and I'll leave immediately after."
"Understood." Nagini looked up at the Sea Serpent and relayed Severus's message word for word. The monster actually paused for a moment and fixed Nagini with an unblinking stare, then growled something back. Nagini gave a quiet nod and looked back at Severus. "It wants to know how you know about it."
"Tell it I've seen something similar in another place."
She relayed that. The enormous creature growled its reply.
"It says it can't do that. Its master, several thousand years ago, told it to guard that place and let no one through. It's demanding we leave, and it won't touch us if we do. Otherwise..."
"As I expected." Severus gave a small nod, smiling faintly to himself as he studied the creature before him. It's larger than the Basilisk, though the Basilisk wouldn't have fallen far short in raw power. On land, the Basilisk would likely have had the edge, while in water, the advantage would belong to the Serpent. I doubt it's actually several thousand years old, though. The lifespan of a Sea Serpent, even in my world, was no more than fifteen hundred years at the outside, and the maximum rank they reached, usually near the end of their life, was sixth. This one is fourth, roughly equivalent to the Basilisk. Which means somewhere down here there are the skeletons of at least two more of these creatures, at fifth rank or higher.
"Rrrr." Sensing something unsettling in that gaze, a particular kind of interest it didn't like, the Serpent growled in warning.
"It says to get out. This is the last warning." As though to underscore Nagini's words, a whirlpool began forming around the Serpent's body, slow at first, then building, and its eyes shifted from yellow to deep crimson.
If my teacher could see me now, a fire mage diving into water, directly into the territory of a water-element creature, he would hit me over the head before even asking why. But… His smile turned considerably more pleasant, which made the monster instinctively sense that something was wrong.
"Severus, it's going to attack!" Nagini's voice shook.
"Let it try. If it can." Without sparing the Sea Serpent any further attention, Severus used the simplest manipulation of the surrounding water to continue descending. He already knew exactly where to find what he was looking for. Nagini kept her gaze fixed on the enormous monster above them as the modest whirlpool transformed into a full column of churning water.
"S-Severus!!!"
"RAAAAA...!" And then, abruptly, the magical creature fell completely silent. The water circling it began to dissipate until it was gone entirely, revealing the Serpent frozen in place, staring after them with barely suppressed fury, but not moving, simply watching them go.
They continued descending until they reached a narrow opening near the very bottom, roughly the diameter of the Serpent itself.
"How did you do that underwater?" Nagini asked with a puzzled expression, studying the nearly perfectly circular walls of the tunnel as they moved through it at a moderate pace.
"Simple enough." A small vial of red liquid appeared in his hand. He uncorked it, and its contents drifted out into the water. Before Nagini's astonished eyes, the substance divided into hundreds of pieces and formed into razor-thin needles. "The weak point of a Sea Serpent: the gaps between scale joints," Severus said calmly, then gathered the needles back together and returned the potion to its vial.
"Does that mean I have the same…"
"No. You evolved toward defense and venom. The Serpent evolved toward an elemental focus, which is why it carries that vulnerability. In water it's nearly unbeatable, but on land, even you would have roughly a seventy percent chance of finishing it." He slipped the vial back into his coin pouch.
"I see."
"And don't let that go to your head. You're still far too weak right now. Your goal for the next four years at minimum is to reach the level of the King of Chimeras. After that, I'll help you grow further." Noticing the self-satisfied glint in Nagini's eyes, he immediately brought her back down to earth. She fixed him with a slightly offended look. He couldn't help himself and flicked her on the nose.
"I asked you not to do that!" She pulled back with a disgruntled stare. But Severus was already looking forward, toward the end of the tunnel, from which a warm, iridescent glow radiated. "We're here." A few seconds later they emerged into a small bright cave, its ceiling lit with scattered colors from a layer of mixed minerals covering half the rock above. From a basin six and a half meters wide, filled with crystalline, luminous water, a translucent sphere drifted up and vanished almost immediately. Severus crossed calmly to the edge of the spring and settled there.
"This is beautiful too." Nagini shared her thought with quiet delight, her eyes on the ceiling. What drew Severus's attention was a passage leading out of the cave in another direction. It was small and uneven in shape, an irregular oval roughly two meters high and about five wide. Beyond the entrance it narrowed significantly, down to barely a meter across. Where it led was unclear. Even the Sea Serpent didn't know. Its father had been charged with guarding this place, and had passed the task to his son before his death, with no further explanation.
"We continue."
"Right."
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