Scene: Beneath the Pavilion, Below the Coral Roots
The Pavilion's lowest sanctum is not of mortal construction. It is grown — a living spiral of pearl and bone, veined with bioluminescent coral, silent save for the echo of water's breath. Here, the Seventh Crown was once placed in slumber, buried until now.
Feng Xian stands before the entrance, accompanied by:
Sect Leader Myrllan, who observes silently, trident staff grounded in the coral floor.
Heir Disciple Rei, who hands him a silver mask: "To breathe, not through lungs, but through will."
Mirth weave Yan, worried but wordless, her usual smile gone.
Nai'Esha, who clasps his wrist. "If the Crown rejects you, I'll dive in anyway."
With a nod, Feng Xian enters.
Inside, the chamber is a sphere of slow-moving water. Gravity ceases. Light filters in from above like memory made visible.
At the center floats the Seventh Crown, a spined relic of glimmering sea-jade, pulsing faintly. As Feng Xian draws near, it flashes once — and the world tilts.
🌌 Soul-Domain: Leviathan Memory Drift
Feng Xian is pulled into the Crown's memory, an astral space of shifting tides, half-real. There, visions flood his mind:
Cities drowned in silence.
Great Leviathans bound in chains of light.
A child wearing the Seventh Crown, who walked into the sea smiling… and never returned.
Then, he sees himself — but altered. His body flickers, eyes glowing deep blue, a sea-mark spiraling down his arm.
"You do not belong to flame alone," the Crown whispers. "Would you wear two legacies… and bear twice the cost?"
The Pulse of the Drowned
He must synchronize his heartbeat with the Crown's pulse — failing to do so floods his lungs with spiritual pressure. Every misstep brings phantom pain of drowning. He endures by remembering his training, his bond with Nai'Esha, and the moment he chose to descend.
❝I do not fight the sea.
I listen. And I burn clean through it. ❞
He synchronizes on the seventh beat — the same number as the Crown.
The Memory Leviathan
A spiritual echo of the Seventh Leviathan forms — enormous, translucent, its eyes old beyond comprehension. It attacks not with power, but existence itself. It tries to overwrite Feng Xian's name, soul, identity — replacing it with that of a long-dead heir.
Feng Xian must anchor his soul by shouting his name, his origin, and his intent. He roars:
❝I am Feng Xian, born of ash and exile! I came to master my fate, not to inherit yours! ❞
The Leviathan halts, regards him — and bows.
The Crown's Embrace
Finally, the Seventh Crown tests his will to carry it. He sees the futures it has touched — wars, betrayals, dead seas, crowned kings who became tyrants. It asks him:
❝Will you bear the burden, even if it poisons all who stand beside you? ❞
Feng Xian hesitates… then answers:
❝Yes — but I will walk through flame and wave alike to change that fate. I will not wear the Crown. I will reshape it. ❞
The Crown glows. It settles not upon his head — but fuses as a mark across his back, shaped like a stylized Leviathan with a flame-heart.
He awakens in the real world, gasping — water bursting from his lungs like mist. The Crown now floats behind him in a silent orbit, only visible to those attuned to it.
Myrllan gazes at him with new gravity. "The Crown accepts you… and fears you."
💠 Rewards
Tide fire Brand: Grants him access to fused techniques of flame and water — vapor-step, boiling palm, and tide burst flame.
Crown's Favor (Dormant): One day, the Leviathan Spirit will answer his call.
Ancestral Echo: A fragment of memory — the drowned child — lingers within him, whispering secrets yet untold.