Chapter 55 – The Abyss Stirs

  The dark currents of the abyss settled into an eerie stillness. Despite the vastness of the trench, it felt as though the ocean itself was watching. The three territorial lords, still bearing wounds from battle, circled Eo with newfound wariness. Though they had overpowered him in sheer size and presence, the sheer adaptability he had displayed left them unsettled.

  More troubling, however, was the effortless way he manipulated different elements—something no abyssal being had ever done.

  A silence stretched between them, only broken by the occasional, distant hum of unseen creatures in the void below. Then, the first to speak was Ka’thulos, the eel-like lord, his long, sinuous body coiling as his golden eyes flickered with something unreadable.

  “Eo, you are an anomaly unlike anything we’ve seen.” His voice was deep, reverberating through the currents. “You hold power fitting for a ruler. Become one of us. Claim a domain, and your strength will flourish.”

  Eo blinked. A territorial lord? Staying in one place, defending a domain—it felt counterproductive to his ever-growing curiosity.

  “No.” His voice was calm but resolute. “I am not interested in ruling. I want to understand.”

  A deep clicking sound came from Morgros, the crustacean-like lord. His massive claws shifted, exoskeleton creaking under the weight of his shifting stance. “Understand what?”

  “The Grimoire system. The world above.” Eo’s tendrils flexed, sensing the minute changes in the currents as he spoke. “The creatures above wield power differently, despite the magic being thinner. Their Grimoires allow them to manipulate magic in ways we cannot. That… interests me.”

  At the mention of Grimoires, a heavy silence fell among the lords. The abyss itself seemed to contract, the darkness thickening. Then, Xelthar, the serpentine lord with obsidian scales, let out a slow exhale.

  “You are not wrong. The surface world is weak only in appearance. Their magic is thinner, but their understanding of it is far broader.”

  Nearby, Ozure, the great abyssal beast, loomed with a wary expression. Her wounds still oozed faint traces of energy, yet her presence remained firm. “Unlike us, who absorb elements and wield them in their rawest form, the surface dwellers refine their magic through Grimoires. We have tried to study their methods before.”

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  “And?”

  “It was a failure.”

  Eo tilted his head slightly, analyzing the shift in their tones.

  “The Grimoire system is built for human physiology,” Ozure explained. “Territorial lords and other abyssal creatures have attempted to harness it, but it never works. Our bodies are too attuned to raw magic. The structured patterns within Grimoires—runes, formations, incantations—are incompatible with our nature.”

  Ka’thulos grunted. “Unlike them, we store vast amounts of power but cannot recharge quickly in thin magic environments. If we were to go to the surface, our reserves would deplete faster than we could replenish them. We would be vulnerable.”

  Eo absorbed this information. It made sense. The surface dwellers had evolved in a world where magic was scarce, so they found ways to use it efficiently. Abyssal beings, in contrast, were creatures of raw elemental force, thriving in an ocean of dense mana.

  “Then why don’t the lords below come to the surface?” Eo asked.

  “The same reason,” Ozure said. “They may be powerful, but without an environment rich in magic, their strength would dwindle. Only creatures adapted to thin magic can thrive above.”

  Eo’s tendrils twitched. If abyssal creatures had tried and failed to use Grimoires before, then that meant—

  “You want to change that.” Ozure’s voice was unreadable.

  Eo remained silent for a moment, then nodded. “Yes.”

  A sudden shift in the currents drew his attention. Ka’thulos and Xelthar exchanged a glance before the latter spoke.

  “Then you should know this, Eo.” His voice was cold. “Your existence will not go unnoticed.”

  Eo’s body stiffened slightly. “Explain.”

  Morgros’s heavy claws clicked. “We are not… free agents. We serve a greater force from below.”

  Ozure tensed.

  Eo’s interest sharpened. “And?”

  “We were not only defending our domain. We were evaluating you.” Xelthar’s gaze burned with something unreadable. “We will report your existence to our lords.”

  Ozure’s massive form tensed. “You fools.”

  Ka’thulos’s expression did not waver. “We have no choice. The deeper abyss watches for anomalies like you. If we remain silent, we would be the ones hunted.”

  A weight settled over the abyss.

  Eo processed the implications. Something greater is watching. Something beneath even this layer of the abyss.

  Something ancient.

  Something that ruled even the territorial lords.

  His tendrils quivered, not in fear, but in anticipation.

  If the abyss watched him… then he would watch back.

  Ozure saw the look in his eyes and let out a low growl. “Do not mistake this for an invitation, Eo. The deeper abyss is not kind. If they come for you, it will not be as allies.”

  Eo turned his gaze downward, toward the depths that even these lords seemed to fear.

  For the first time in his existence, he realized—

  He had only just begun to scratch the surface.