The morning after the Glamour Illusion (Labyrinth) purchase, Zanya couldn't resist testing her new abilities with the girls. Mako's Moon Pool lay still under a pale dawn, the air crisp and quiet. Emma, Cleo, and Rikki hovered at the edge, still a little wary of what they had witnessed yesterday.
Zanya waded in first, letting the water wrap around and transform her. She hummed softly—almost instinctively—and the Song of Calm (Tolkien) vibrated faintly through the liquid, smoothing ripples and quieting small eddies.
"Girls," she said gently, "watch the water around me. Feel it… not just move, but bend. Gravity, not just flow."
She flicked her tail and arched her spine, and the currents responded differently than before: they didn't push outward; they curved, swirled, and pulled subtly inward, almost as if the water were orbiting her presence.
Emma gasped, eyes wide. "It's… alive!"
"Different from your magic," Zanya said, smiling, a mixture of pride and caution. "This is me—Saltborn resonance. Water reacts to my presence, not just my movement."
Cleo reached out a hand, hand hovering over a floating droplet. It hesitated, then twined around her finger like a ribbon, without transforming her. "It's… beautiful."
"And terrifying," Rikki added softly.
Zanya nodded, letting the currents pulse and shift. Then she took a deep breath and dove deep, slipping below the Moon Pool's mirrored surface. The girls' voices blurred, distant echoes. Down here, the world changed. The gravity-like pull of her manipulation intensified, swirling around her like invisible rings of water.
And then—the Dragon's voice, unmistakable, resonant and raw:
"Free me… the moon… hurts…"
Zanya's chest tightened. Through the currents, through the Song of Calm, she felt the chains binding him. Metallic tension, old and exhausted, thrumming through the water like a silent drum. Every note of her humming vibrated along them, sympathetic resonance amplifying her perception.
She exhaled, letting her Saltborn soul expand, and the currents around her spiraled upward, subtle but tangible even on the surface. The water seemed to lean toward her, listening.
The System chimed, playful as ever:
[REWARD UNLOCKED — AC Rare Sea Creature Caught: Giant Oarfish]
[Buff Applied: Deep-Sea Resonance +12% | Tidal Awareness +1]
Zanya surfaced, gasping slightly. The giant, Oarfish was near the pool floor, a creature of the deep that rarely approached shallow waters. The reward shimmered around her inventory like a silent approval.
Another chime:
[Infinity Nikki Outfit Available — Abyssal Bloom]
[Effect: Optimized for deep dives; enhances tail propulsion and underwater agility.]
She tapped yes, and her tail was immediately coated in soft, bioluminescent patterns, petals of deep blues and violets swirling over silver scales. Even underwater, the currents seemed to caress her movements more fluidly, faster, sharper.
The girls watched from the surface, awe overtaking caution. Zanya rose to meet them, the Abyssal Bloom outfit shimmering under the rising sun. "So…" she said, voice steady but low, "that's what deep resonance feels like." She flicked her tail experimentally, sending a subtle gravitational swirl outward.
Emma laughed, breathless, reaching out. "It's… incredible."
Cleo smiled softly, awe in her gaze.
Rikki only nodded, sharp eyes still scanning, but no fear now—just respect.
Zanya exhaled, closing her eyes briefly. Even awake, even at the surface, she could hear him through the water, feel the chains, and sense the pull of the Moon's pressure on the ancient creature below. She let the currents dance, the Song of Calm harmonizing with the gravitational tug, stabilizing both the water and herself.
For the first time, she felt the Saltborn resonance fully in action.
Power, connection, and responsibility intertwined. And somewhere beneath Mako, the Dragon waited, listening, aching, and—finally—acknowledged.