Sleep refused to come as I drifted between rest and awareness, my mind caught somewhere between dreams and memory.
Every time I closed my eyes, I felt the ocean moving around me…not physically, but spiritually, like invisible tides brushing against my thoughts.
The presence below never spoke again.
Yet it remained.
By the time dawn currents illuminated Oceania, I had already given up pretending to rest.
Soft blue light filtered into my chambers as bioluminescent rays awakened across the capital.
The empire transitioned smoothly from night vigilance into morning activity.
Servants moved through palace corridors, reef-creatures resumed migration patterns, and distant bells marked the beginning of the First Current.
Life continued.But nothing felt ordinary anymore.
I floated near the window, watching schools of glowing fish weave through coral towers when a knock sounded at my chamber entrance.
"Enter," I called.
