The creature crashed through the roof.
Metal and glass shattered into the raging wind. The lighthouse trembled violently as a massive shadow dropped into the lantern room.
It was taller than any human. Its body looked like it was made of dark mist and seawater, constantly shifting. Its eyes glowed a faint, unnatural green.
Anika stepped back, blue light still swirling around her.
The creature didn't attack immediately.
It studied her.
"You are not ready," it growled, its voice like waves smashing against rocks.
Anika's heart pounded, but she forced herself to stand straight. The storm outside moved with her breathing now — rising and falling with each inhale.
"I don't even know what I am," she replied.
The creature tilted its head.
"You are the next Guardian. The sea has chosen you. But choice has a price."
The words echoed inside her mind.
The blue light around her pulsed brighter.
Suddenly, memories she didn't recognize flooded her thoughts — ancient rituals near the shore, storms controlled by raised hands, a lighthouse shining not to guide ships… but to seal something beneath the ocean.
Seal something.
Anika understood then.
The storm wasn't trying to destroy the town.
It was trying to break free.
The creature lunged.
Instinct took over.
She lifted her hand — and the storm obeyed.
A blast of wind slammed into the creature, pushing it backward through the broken wall of the lighthouse. Lightning struck it midair, wrapping around its shadowy form.
It screamed — a sound filled with rage and warning.
"You cannot hold it forever!" it roared as it dissolved into mist. "The sea remembers its true master!"
And then it was gone.
The storm began to calm.
The red sky slowly faded into deep grey. The waves softened. The violent wind reduced to a cold breeze.
Anika fell to her knees.
The blue light dimmed, shrinking until it became a faint glow resting over her palm — then it sank into her skin like ink disappearing in water.
Silence returned.
But this time, it wasn't peaceful.
It was heavy.
She stood slowly and looked out over the ocean. The horizon seemed darker than before, as if something vast was moving far beneath the surface.
The voice spoke one final time.
"Guardian, your duty has begun."
Then it vanished.
No more voices.
No more glow.
Just Anika… and the quiet sea.
In the distance, emergency sirens began to echo from the town below. People would wake tomorrow to broken trees and damaged houses.
They would call it a natural disaster.
They would never know the truth.
Anika touched her wrist where the blue light had disappeared. A faint mark remained — shaped like a spiral wave.
Proof that it was real.
She took a slow breath.
Her life as an ordinary girl had ended tonight.
The storm had chosen her.
And somewhere beneath the ocean's dark surface, something ancient was waiting for the day she would fail.
The lighthouse stood broken behind her.
But Anika did not feel broken.
She felt ready.
The next time the sky turned red—
She would be waiting.