Scene 1: The Sky Veil Sanctum, Cloud bridge Mountains
A high peak shrouded in mist. At its summit, a constellation of floating jade obelisks spins slowly, reacting to distant spiritual shifts. Within the Sky Veil Sanctum, Grand Archivist Qi Wenyao jolts awake from her meditative trance. A scroll on her desk burns with blue fire — not of flame, but of deep-sea essence.
"It has risen," she whispers. "The Tide Crown has chosen."
Behind her, a wind-monk enters. "Should we inform the Nine Sky Elders?"
Wenyao doesn't answer immediately. Instead, she gazes toward the southern horizon, where the Pearl Shard Archipelago lies just beyond mortal sight. She murmurs:
"No. Not yet. Let the tides reveal whether this flame is a flare... or a flood."
Scene 2: The Serra spine Broadlands, Deep Verdant Maw
In a dark grove choked with roots, Azhur the Fang-Binder kneels before a bloodied pool. The Crown's awakening has triggered a response in one of their most ancient relics — the Bone-Tide Mirror, buried for generations.
From the pool, a vision flickers: Feng Xian, cloaked in sea-light and flame.
Azhur snarls. "Twice now, he interferes."
An elder crone of the brood peers out from the shadows. "He walks with beasts and sea-kings now. Will you let him claim the land too?"
"I will bleed the tide dry before he wears a second legacy."
Azhur turns away. In the dark, a Hollow-Touched figure steps forward. This one is called Whisper-Talon, and she smiles with too many teeth.
Scene 3: The Wandering Monolith, Outer Deserts
A nomadic trader stands frozen beside a titanic, half-buried monolith of obsidian. It is ancient, cracked — a relic of a war long buried.
Now, it glows faintly, etched with the same Leviathan mark now burned into Feng Xian's back.
Watching from the dunes is a veiled figure — a scout of the Dark Tide Cult. She pulls a crystal shard from her robes and whispers into it:
"The Resonance blooms. Mark the map. Prepare the Oath carvers."
Far below the sand, something begins to stir. An eye opens. And waits.
Scene 4: Pearl shard Archipelago — Tide woven Pavilion, War Council Hall
Back at the Pavilion, Feng Xian now sits at a jade table beside Sect Leader Myrllan, Nai'Esha, and several senior disciples. The mood is tense. Maps are unfurled. Threads of cult movement, Serra spine aggression, and storm-weird portents emerge.
Myrllan speaks gravely:
"The Crown was never just a relic. It is a beacon. And now... every snake, shark, and shadow in the sea will swim toward its light."
Vael slams a fist onto the coral wood. "Then we strike first."
Feng Xian remains calm, his voice steady. "No. We prepare first. Because the one who truly wants the Crown hasn't arrived yet."
All eyes turn to him.
"We're not fighting for a throne. We're fighting for the right to change what the Crown even means."
🌊 World-State Now Updated
The Sky Veil Sanctum begins sending observers south.
Serra spine Brood has activated its elite hunters to track Feng Xian.
The Dark Tide Cult prepares to send a full Ascendant, not just an assassin.
Beast borne remnants in exile begin whispering Feng Xian's name — some call him the "Twin Flame."
Neutral sects watch, waiting to declare sides once blood is spilled.