The ocean was no longer silent.
By the time Riku returned to Aomori, the waves were swelling unnaturally, slamming against the docks with the force of a brewing storm—yet the sky above was clear. Villagers crowded the shoreline, murmuring nervously, pointing to the roiling water that surged as if some giant creature were breathing beneath it.
Riku staggered onto the pier, still drenched, still shaking. The old fisherman spotted him immediately.
"What did you do?" he whispered, horror widening his eyes.Riku shook his head. "The temple—it collapsed. The Umibōzu… it warned me. It didn't want me there."
The fisherman's face drained of color. "You disturbed its sanctuary. The sea will respond."
A deep rumble vibrated through the harbor, rattling the wooden planks beneath their feet. Buckets toppled. Boats swayed violently. A gasp rippled through the crowd as a massive wave surged upward, not breaking, not falling—just rising, as though held by invisible hands.
Riku stared, heart pounding. "It's not a wave… it's forming."
The swell lifted, twisting into a towering mass of black water. A bald head surfaced at the crest, eyes glowing with cold fury. The Umibōzu watched the village with a single, sweeping gaze that froze every soul in place.
A woman screamed. Children ran. Men scrambled to tie down boats, though they knew rope meant nothing to a creature like this.
Riku stepped forward despite the tremor in his knees. He could feel its presence pressing into his mind again—heavier now, colder, angrier.
"You were warned."
The words reverberated through him like thunder in water.
"I'm trying to understand!" Riku shouted into the storming air. "Tell me what you want!"
The creature's eyes narrowed.
"Balance."
The wave behind it surged violently, crashing against the harbor and sending villagers scrambling. Riku braced himself against a post as icy water rushed past his legs. Boats snapped free of their lines and slammed into each other.
Another tremor shook the sea.Another wave rose.Another warning.
But this time, something was different.
Riku noticed swirling patterns forming at the edges of the water—spiral shapes like those carved in the ruins. Not random… deliberate. Symbols. Messages. The sea was trying to communicate, not destroy.
Riku stepped forward again, chest heaving. "I'll restore the balance! Just tell me how!"
The Umibōzu vanished beneath the water in an instant, leaving only churning foam and spiraling patterns in its wake.
The fisherman gripped Riku's arm. "You must leave. Now. You've become the center of this curse—if you stay, the entire village will drown."
Riku looked out at the sea, breath quickening. The spirals were widening, stretching toward the open ocean—as if pointing somewhere.
A direction.A path.
"Not a curse," Riku murmured. "A summons."
He turned to the fisherman. "I know where it wants me to go."
"To what end?" the man asked, fear tightening his voice.
Riku stared at the dark horizon, the spirals glowing faintly in the moonlit foam.
"To face whatever lies deeper than the Umibōzu."
The old man's voice trembled. "Deeper?"
Riku nodded. "This isn't just a monster. It's a guardian. And something else… something older… has awakened."
Behind him, the sea growled, low and ominous.
The Black Tide was no longer watching.
It was calling.