I must've knocked out right after the loan shark fiasco, because the next thing I knew, I wasn't underwater at all.
I wasn't in the inn.
Not in the bed.
Not even in Uverra.
I was back near the lake.
The same breathtaking, impossible place—the dream realm with the golden tree and the air that felt like stillness given shape. A place that didn't feel threatening this time… it felt allowed. Like someone higher had opened a window for me.
The sky wasn't bright or dark, somewhere in between, as if dawn and dusk were trying to meet.
And then I saw her.
A woman with long silver hair, glowing softly in the breeze. Flower petals clung to her strands like they adored her. She held a baby against her chest, singing the same lullaby I'd heard before—the one that felt like memory and ache tangled together.
My breath caught.
The pendant at her throat—
A delicate seashell encased in curling ivy vines—
Was the same one I'd seen in dreams back on Earth.
The same one that always appeared when I woke from nightmares I couldn't remember.
Something in my chest tightened—not fear, but something deeper. Recognition without explanation.
I tried to move closer. Tried to speak. Tried to ask how I'd seen that pendant before, in two worlds that should never touch.
But the scene blurred like water shaken in a glass.
Her face faded first.
Then the child.
Then the shore.
A pull grabbed me—gentle but firm—like a hand guiding me back. Not tearing me away… calling me back.
I turned—or the dream turned for me—and that's when I saw him.
A tall figure standing at the edge of the dream-space. Silent. Still. Watching.
No face. No features. Just presence.
But the presence didn't feel dark.
It felt… weighty, like truth standing behind a veil.
And then a voice pressed into my mind—not spoken aloud, not frightening, but resonant. Like something ancient whispering through ripples.
> "When the sea meets the flame,
and wings embrace the tide,
a soul of sorrow shall awaken the light."
I opened my mouth to ask—anything, everything.
But the figure turned, dissolving like mist on water.
And then—
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
I jolted awake, tangled in kelp-silk sheets, heart pounding.
Kaelen wasn't in the room.
The knock came again, firmer this time.
I dragged myself to the door and cracked it open.
Two merfolk guards hovered outside—one older, jaw lined with battle-scars, the other young with sharp, uneasy eyes.
"You've been summoned," the older one said.
"To the Court of Salt Judgement."
"…By who?"
No answer. Just a turn and expectant staring.
I grabbed my cloak and followed, stomach tight, mind still echoing with the prophecy-lilt of the dream.
Halfway down the hall, someone rounded the corner carrying a plate piled with food and two wrapped jelly-fruit domes.
Kaelen.
He froze when he saw me flanked by guards.
I didn't even think—I walked right up and hugged him.
He stiffened, nearly dropping the food.
"Uh… surface thing?"
"You weren't there," I mumbled. "Thought you bailed."
"I went to get breakfast," he said flatly. "Didn't want to wake you."
"Still rude."
"Still dramatic."
The older guard cleared his throat impatiently.
"The elders have requested her presence."
"The elders?" Kaelen echoed. "Seriously?"
The younger guard nodded. "She's to stand before the council."
Kaelen's voice dropped. "I'm coming."
"As long as you stay silent," the guard replied.
Kaelen shoved a jelly-fruit fizz into my free hand.
"Here. Drink something before they drown you in riddles."
✧𓂃⋆༶⋆𓂃✧
We followed them out of the inn, moving through winding alleys until they stopped at an open current lane. One guard raised their palm, and the water around us rippled—then twisted upward.
A travel spiral.
"Sea magic," Kaelen murmured. "Basic mobility. Half the capital uses it."
"I hate this already—"
WHOOSH—
The spiral jerked forward.
"I hate this!" I shouted, clutching the current-path.
"No you don't," Kaelen yelled back. "You just wish you looked as smooth as me doing it!"
As we rode the spiraling stream, the scenery shifted.
The coral towers faded into structures that looked older, sleeker—almost elvish.
"This part feels different," I said.
Kaelen nodded. "Built long ago by humans and elves who lived alongside us. Influenced everything. But they don't come here anymore."
His voice dropped.
"And that's partly why everyone stares at you. You're reminding them of something they thought died out."
Something uncomfortable stirred in my gut.
The spiral slowed as a massive gate came into view—metal shaped like open jaws, coral-stained and guarded by armoured merfolk.
"Ready?" Kaelen asked.
"No."
"Good. Means you're not clueless."
✧𓂃⋆༶⋆𓂃✧
Inside, the Court of Salt Judgement was quieter than expected. No glowing runes, no towering magic pillars—just rows of stone benches circling a central platform.
A few elders sat waiting.
Some stiff, some curious, some clearly uneasy.
"Stand in the centre," the guard instructed.
I stepped in. Kaelen stayed just outside the circle, jaw tight.
"Name?" an elder woman asked.
"Elara."
"Origin?"
"I… don't know. I drowned. Woke up here. That's all."
No one flinched.
They were waiting for the real question.
"And the sigil?"
Instinctively, my hand reached for my shoulder.
Kaelen spoke quickly. "She didn't know she had one. She's not dangerous."
An elder raised a hand. "Let us see it."
Kaelen stepped closer. "She doesn't—"
"It's fine," I said quietly.
I slipped the cloak from my shoulder.
The glowing, four-part sigil shone in the room like living light.
The reaction was instant.
Chairs scraped.
Breaths caught.
One elder whispered a trembling prayer.
Another grabbed a ward-stone for comfort.
A young one's hand shook.
"She bears all four," someone whispered.
"Sea. Flame. Forest. Sky."
"That bloodline is extinct."
"No— vanished."
"Not even the Azurans carried more than two!"
"So how can she—"
Kaelen wasn't smirking anymore.
For the first time,
I saw something like recognition—and fear—flash across his eyes.
Not fear of me.
Fear of what my existence meant.
The eldest elder raised his hand and the murmurs died instantly.
"The Azurans were a blessed lineage," he said. "Chosen by the Sea Goddess herself… and protected by the Most High."
A chill ran down my spine.
The woman next to him spoke softly. "Their fall came when the Sealed One rose against the light. One Throne God fell, and their race was hunted until none remained."
Another whispered, voice shaking:
"If she is truly Azuran… the Sealed One may sense her awakening."
I swallowed. "Okay—someone needs to explain what you think I am."
The female elder looked at me with a mix of awe and worry.
"You bear marks that have not appeared in many ages," she said. "If your lineage is what it seems… then your arrival is no accident."
Another elder nodded grimly.
"We must confirm it through the Sealorn."
My heart dropped. "What's a Sealorn?"
Kaelen winced. "Ancient truth-magic. Old. Unforgiving."
The elders rose in unison.
"You will be tested," the eldest said.
"To see if you are the one spoken of in the old songs."
The words echoed in the chamber, heavy with history.
The last Azuran.
The one who should not exist.
The one who might change everything.
✧𓂃⋆༶⋆𓂃✧✧𓂃⋆༶⋆𓂃✧✧𓂃⋆༶⋆𓂃✧