Chapter: Secrets Beneath the Depths
The crushing silence of the deep sea lingered around Ethan and his team as they boarded the modified submersible, a gift from Dock 13's upgraded workshop. Its reinforced alloy hull glowed with etched runes of air-tightness and pressure resistance, designed by Iron Bastion engineers and enhanced through the crafting bonuses granted by the Verdant Mines' rare materials.
System Notification:
[Item Acquired: Abyssal Relic - Sealed Core of Leviathan]
Quest Updated: "Depths of Knowledge"
Objective: Locate a Deep-Sea Scholar who can analyze the Abyssal Relic.
Their destination was Abylore's Grotto, a lost enclave whispered to be home to an eccentric NPC scholar known as Professor Thalorion, once a member of the Magisterium Arcanum before exiling himself for dabbling in forbidden sea magicks.
The submersible creaked as it descended past luminous trenches and aquatic ruins covered in coral fungus. A faint light pierced the gloom as they neared an ancient dome structure wrapped in kelp and bioluminescent barnacles.
"We're close," said Brandon, watching the sonar.
System Notification:
New Location Discovered: [Abylore's Grotto - Sanctum of Forgotten Scholars]
All party members gain +2 INT while inside this location.
The submersible docked, and the airlock hissed open. The team stepped out into a massive underwater dome, air-filled and warmed by geothermal vents. Arcane machinery, spinning glyph rings, and floating scrolls dotted the sanctum.
A tall, gaunt NPC with fins along his jawline and glowing eyes greeted them.
"Outsiders bearing relics of abyssal doom... you tread dangerous tides. I am Professor Thalorion, Keeper of the Leviathan's Legacy. Why do you disturb the forgotten?"
Ethan stepped forward, producing the Abyssal Relic.
"We need to understand this. It nearly cost us our lives."
System Notification:
Dialogue Choice:
"Please help us seal this power away."
"Can we use this power for good?"
"What do you know about the Abyssal Keepers?"
Ethan chose all three, in sequence.
Thalorion's gills flared. "This is the Heartshard of Leviathan, a core of abyssal anima forged from deep-sea wrath. Long ago, the Abyssal Keepers harvested such relics to imprison titanic beasts and bind the seas to their command."
Quest Updated: Leviathan's Legacy
Objective 1: Learn the true function of the Abyssal Relic
Objective 2: Decide its fate
Thalorion gestured to a magical projector.
"Watch and remember."
An ethereal display revealed ancient wars where Keepers used Relics like this to channel monstrous energy through armor, weapons, even seaborne citadels. One misuse led to the Shattering of the Tides, where an entire ocean trench vanished.
"If you wish to seal the Leviathan, we need to extract the Binding Cipher from the relic," Thalorion said, pulling a floating orb from a stasis chamber.
System Notification:
[Sub-Quest Accepted: "Cipher Extraction"]
Objective: Defend Thalorion while he performs the ritual
Ethan, Brandon, and Nyra formed a perimeter as magical waves pulsed from the scholar's runes. Enraged specters of drowned beasts began appearing.
Enemy Status Window:
Name: Drowned Guardian
Level: 57
HP: 4,211 / 4,211
Type: Undead / Water
Weakness: Lightning, Wind
Ethan uses [Abyssal Burst]!
Damage dealt: 743 (critical!)
Nyra casts [Tempest Spear]!
Damage dealt: 519 (chain lightning)
Brandon activates [Piercing Wave]!
Damage dealt: 387 (armor penetration)
Wave after wave came, and Thalorion's chants grew louder. As the final specter dissipated, the relic cracked and released a shimmering prism.
System Notification:
[Item Acquired: Binding Cipher - Leviathan Seal Fragment]
You may now attempt to weaken or control abyssal entities.
Thalorion collapsed, breathing heavily. "Take this... go now. Your choices will define the sea's future."
Quest Updated: Leviathan's Legacy - Phase II
Option 1: Use the Cipher to weaken the Abyssal Leviathan before sealing it.
Option 2: Craft an Abyssal Gearset using the relic's remaining power.
Option 3: Deliver the Cipher to the Iron Bastion for reinforcement of Dock 13.
___
The stormy winds howled above Dock 13, thunder crackling in the distance. Deep below the surface, where even light feared to linger, Ethan Cross and Brandon stood in a bioluminescent cavern, surrounded by eldritch murals and intricate aquatic runes pulsing with a slow, ancient energy. Before them stood Thalorion, one of the last surviving Abyssal Keepers—a reclusive group believed to have vanished in the previous Cataclysm.
Thalorion's seaweed-wrapped robes clung to his gaunt form, glowing faintly in rhythm with the water. His eyes were voids of dark wisdom, but not unkind. He extended a translucent webbed hand, gently touching the Abyssal Cipher Ethan had recovered.
"The relic you hold," Thalorion rasped, his voice echoing as if it traveled from the bottom of the ocean, "was never meant for mortal hands. It is the last binding key, forged by our forebearers to imprison the Abyssal Leviathan."
Ethan frowned, gripping the Cipher tighter. "Why was it left behind?"
Thalorion glanced at the surrounding murals—images of enormous serpentine horrors tearing through naval empires. "Because the cost to use it... was soul-bound. Only one with defiance in their blood and clarity in their heart can activate it. You, Abyssal Harbinger, may be the first in centuries to fit the mold."
[System Notification]
Quest Updated: "Abyssal Lock"
Objective: Use the Cipher to seal the Abyssal Leviathan permanently.
Warning: Activation requires sacrificing 25% of total HP and disabling all skills for 5 minutes after use.
Reward: Leviathan-Sealed Title, +50 Resistance to Abyssal Magic, Unique Artifact: Abyssal Ring of Balance.
Optional Objective: Learn from Thalorion the origin of the Abyssal Keepers.
Reward: Unlock Hidden Class: Abyss-Bound Scholar (Support Tier).
"What are the Keepers exactly?" Brandon asked, glancing between the shifting light and ancient relics. "Why stay hidden while the world crumbles?"
Thalorion slowly turned to a rusted shrine beneath a carved whale statue. "We were guardians of the World Fissure, protectors of the Deep Lock—a crack in the world where the Void bled through. We failed. The Leviathan broke free during the last cycle, and we were hunted by those who feared what we knew."
A small window popped in front of Ethan:
[Knowledge Unlocked: Abyssal Origin - Chapter I]
+250 Lore EXP
Thalorion bowed his head. "But the Cipher was our final hope. Deliver it to the Deep Current Altar, where its energy can reinforce the Seal."
The journey to the altar wasn't simple. Ethan and Brandon returned to the submerged ruins, fighting through schools of hostile Spectral Eels and Coralborn Sentinels. At every turn, ancient defenses activated.
Enemy Status Window: Coralborn Sentinel
HP: 8,753 / 8,753
Level: 51
Skills: Coral Spire, Mineral Shield, Abyssal Pulse
Ethan leapt forward, casting [Abyssal Rend].
Damage Dealt: 3,147 (Critical)
The Sentinel retaliated with a spinning coral lance.
Damage Received: 1,511 (Blocked with Abyssal Barrier)
"We have to reach the Altar before we draw in more Leviathanspawn!" Brandon shouted, swinging his enchanted axe through a school of Abyssal Anglerlings.
After an hour-long push, the two reached the Deep Current Altar—a massive spiral stone enshrined in glowing kelp. In the center, a pulsing cavity hummed with abyssal resonance.
[System Prompt]
Do you wish to activate the Abyssal Cipher? This will sacrifice 25% HP and disable all skills temporarily.
[YES][NO]
Ethan selected YES.
His HP dropped instantly by 3,445 points. His vision blurred, and the weight of the ocean thickened. The Cipher pulsed violently, discharging streams of dark-blue energy into the stone spiral.
[System Alert]
Leviathan-Sealed
The Abyssal Leviathan has been sealed beneath the world for the next cycle.
Title Gained: "Leviathan-Breaker"
Abyssal Ring of Balance Added to Inventory
Item: Abyssal Ring of Balance
Type: Unique Artifact
Effects: +25 Resistance to Abyssal Magic, +10 Intelligence, Passive Skill - Abyssal Clarity: Reveal hidden enemy buffs and traps within 15 meters.
As Ethan stumbled back from the altar, Brandon caught him.
"We did it," Ethan breathed. "We actually sealed it."
"Yeah," Brandon said, smiling grimly. "But now we have something everyone will come for."
Thalorion emerged behind them. "Word of this act will echo through the currents. The Keepers may yet rise again… or be extinguished fully. Choose your next move wisely."
[System Notification]
New World Event Unlocked: Echoes of the Deep
All players will receive news of the Leviathan's sealing. Factions, NPCs, and players alike will act based on Ethan's choice.