The moment I recognized the aura, every trace of relaxation vanished.
Far across the silver horizon, where the Soul Sea merged with the dark sky above, a pressure descended upon reality itself. The surrounding soul force immediately became unstable as though the sea itself recognized the arrival of something it had learned to fear long ago.
The seven whales reacted before any of us.
Without warning, their gigantic bodies shuddered violently and then plunged deeper into the ocean. Fear radiated from them so strongly that even without a direct connection, I could feel it.
"That’s not normal," Silver muttered.
"No," Aurora replied while staring toward the horizon. "It isn’t."
Then the first wave arrived.
The ocean beneath us suddenly rose several hundred meters before collapsing back down. Soul currents that had previously flowed in orderly patterns reversed direction entirely. The sky darkened. Distant islands floating upon the Soul Sea began breaking apart as though some invisible force was passing through them.
Far away, something moved. I could already see giant shapes fleeing across the sea. Massive creatures that dwarfed cities were abandoning entire territories and swimming in the opposite direction.
Then one of the whales surfaced beside me. Its countless eyes fixed upon me. For a brief moment, fragmented thoughts brushed against my perception.
Run.
The message carried no language. Only instinct. I didn’t need a second warning.
"Move."
The seven whales immediately accelerated.
The Soul Sea exploded behind us as they shot forward like living islands propelled by panic. The speed they displayed now was far greater than anything they had shown while transporting us earlier.
Unfortunately, Verilux was faster. Minutes later, a distant roar rolled across the horizon. The entire ocean responded. Waves hundreds of meters high rose and fell across the sea while soul force storms formed throughout the sky.
Ragnar looked back once.
Then immediately looked forward again.
"I don’t like this."
Aurora almost laughed. The whales continued accelerating. The first place we crossed was unlike anything I had ever seen before.
Gigantic bones floated across the Soul Sea. At first I mistook them for islands. Then I realized what they truly were.
Skeletons.
Thousands of them.
Colossal ribs protruded from the ocean like mountain ranges. Ancient skulls floated among the currents, each larger than entire cities. Some possessed horns stretching for kilometers while others still carried remnants of soul force so dense that storms formed around them.
"The Leviathan Graveyard," Aurora said quietly.
The whales immediately changed direction and dove deeper among the skeletal remains. I understood their intention.
’Hide.’
The bones interfered with perception as the ancient remains distorted soul force.
For a brief moment, it actually seemed possible. Then the ocean behind us exploded. A roar crossed the graveyard. The nearest skeleton shattered instantly.
Entire mountain-sized bones disintegrated into silver dust. The shockwave alone ripped through the graveyard and sent countless remains flying across the sea.
The whales panicked again. Whatever hope they had possessed vanished.
We accelerated once more. The second territory appeared some time later.
A storm.
An endless expanse of silver lightning stretched across the horizon. Massive cyclones connected sea and sky while rivers of condensed soul force flowed through the clouds like glowing veins.
The moment we entered, visibility vanished. Lightning struck continuously. Soul currents attempted to tear us apart.
Silver actually smiled.
"Finally."
Wind exploded around him. Aurora rose into the air beside him.
The two immediately began manipulating the surrounding storm, creating temporary pathways through the chaos while guiding the whales forward.
For a while it worked. Then Verilux entered the storm. The distant clouds simply disappeared. Entire sections of the tempest collapsed as though reality itself had been punched apart.
Lightning that could destroy Saints struck toward the approaching guardian.
It didn’t matter. The storm wasn’t slowing it. The storm was dying.
Hours passed.
The distance continued shrinking between us and the guardian. Eventually another territory appeared.
Ancient pillars rose from the sea.
Thousands of them. Each covered in glowing runes. Vast walls of soul force connected the pillars together, forming an enormous boundary stretching across the horizon.
"What is this?" Ragnar asked.
"A Warden territory," Aurora replied.
For the first time, hope appeared in her voice.
"Maybe..."
She never finished. Verilux crashed straight through the boundary. The pillars exploded and the runes shattered.
The territory itself trembled. Nobody spoke afterward. The realization was obvious. Whatever authority protected this region, it wasn’t enough.
Verilux simply didn’t care.
The whales were beginning to tire now. Even creatures as powerful as Saints possessed limits. Unfortunately Verilux didn’t seem interested in respecting them.
The guardian was still gaining ground.
I looked toward the horizon ahead. Then I remembered something, the map I had seen and a place that was forbidden and needed to be avoided.
"There is a way." I said and immediately turned toward Aurora.
Her expression changed the moment she understood what I was thinking.
"No."
"We don’t have another option."
"We absolutely have another option."
"Such as?"
Aurora remained silent. That answered the question. An hour later, our environment began changing.
Space distortions appeared throughout the ocean. Small at first. Then larger.
It was a portal field. The Soul Sea no longer looked normal.
Thousands of portals floated throughout the sea and above it. Some resembled doorways. Others resembled stars. Several were larger than continents. Endless fractures spread between them, slicing through reality itself.
The whales immediately resisted. They wanted nothing to do with this place.
Unfortunately neither did Verilux.
And it was still coming.
"Keep moving," I ordered.
The whales obeyed. The moment we entered, disaster followed. One whale drifted too close to a spatial fracture.
Half its body disappeared instantly. Another accidentally brushed the edge of a floating portal.
The creature vanished entirely. Nobody knew where.
The remaining whales became even more frantic. Meanwhile, the environment itself began attacking us. Space fractures appeared without warning. Dimensional storms erupted throughout the region. Knight was forced to continuously manipulate space just to keep pathways open.
Even then he wasn’t perfect. A fracture sliced across his shoulder. Dark blood sprayed through the air. Ragnar received a wound moments later when an unstable portal released a torrent of condensed soul force directly into his chest.
Aurora’s lightning repeatedly vanished into nearby portals before reappearing somewhere completely different.
Even I wasn’t spared. Several fractures managed to strike my body. Soul cracks spread across my arms.
Pain burned through my soul.