The sea lunged as if alive.
A massive surge of water slammed into the shrine's stone steps, exploding upward in a spray that drenched Riku and Aya. The force nearly knocked them into the churning black, but they clung to the slick stone pillars.
The Umibōzu's silhouette writhed across the surface, a colossal shadow of rage.
Aya lifted the glowing charm again—but this time…
It flickered.
Then dimmed.
Riku's blood went cold. "Aya—"
"I know," she whispered. "The charm's light isn't enough. Not by itself."
The sea responded with a roar that split the air. Waves collapsed around the shrine, swirling into a vortex that tightened with terrifying speed. The water rose in a spiraling wall around them, forming a cage of churning black.
The Umibōzu was trapping them.
"Aya," Riku said, voice low, "what else does the ritual need?"
She opened the maritime journal with shaking hands, rain and seawater staining the fragile pages—but the writing remained, as if protected.
She skimmed the text, then froze.
Her eyes widened.
"No… no, this can't be right."
"What does it say?"
Aya swallowed dryly."It says the Tide Shrine can repel the Black Tide only if the ritual is completed. But the ritual requires two things."
She lifted two fingers.
"One: a charm forged from salt and ash… which we have."
She hesitated at the second.
Riku steadied her arm. "And the other?"
Aya's voice cracked.
"It needs the truth of fear."
Riku frowned. "What does that mean?"
"It says the sea responds to fear—not strength. To activate the shrine fully, someone must speak aloud the thing they fear most. Their deepest truth. The one they've never spoken to anyone."
She stared at him, the wind howling around them."It has to be freely given."
Riku shook his head."That doesn't make any sense—"
"It does to the ocean," Aya said. "Fear is what anchors the Black Tide. To break its hold, we have to offer fear willingly instead of the monster taking it."
The waves spun tighter, the vortex narrowing like a throat swallowing them.
The Umibōzu's voice boomed:
"YOU CANNOT HIDE."
Riku clenched his jaw.
"Aya, I don't have time to go digging into—"
"It doesn't matter if it takes time," Aya snapped, grabbing his shoulders. Her voice trembled—not from the cold, but from the truth she was terrified to face. "If we don't do this now, the ocean will take us both."
A massive wave slammed into the shrine, knocking them to their knees. The water tore at Riku's arms, trying to pull him back under. Aya wrapped both arms around him, holding fast.
Riku breathed hard, chest pounding.
His deepest fear.
It wasn't death.It wasn't the Umibōzu.
It was something far quieter… far older.
Aya looked into his eyes.
"Riku," she said softly. "It doesn't say who has to speak it. It can be either of us."
He shook his head violently."No. You saved me. I won't let you—"
She cut him off.
"Riku… I'll do it."
Before he could protest, she rose to her feet atop the trembling shrine. The vortex spun around her, casting her in a circle of black water and misted light.
The Umibōzu towered above them, shadow swelling until it eclipsed the sky.
Aya swallowed hard.
Then spoke.
Her voice was barely audible over the storm.
"My deepest fear…"
The ocean leaned closer, listening.
Riku's breath caught.
Aya's hands trembled at her sides as she whispered the truth:
"…is being alone at the end."
The vortex shuddered.
Aya continued, tears mixing with seawater.
"Everyone thinks I'm brave. But I'm terrified… that the people I care about will disappear one by one… and I'll be the only one left."
The shrine ignited with blinding light.
The Umibōzu recoiled, roaring in agony. Its shadow writhed across the sea, melting away at the edges.
Aya's knees buckled, but Riku caught her.
Light surged from the charm in her hand, now burning brighter than before, feeding off her truth—her fear freely spoken.
The vortex began to collapse.The waves receded.
The monster screamed.
For the first time…the Black Tide knew pain.
Riku held Aya close as the shrine's light pulsed again, preparing to drive the creature back into the abyss.
But the Umibōzu wasn't finished.
Not yet.
Through the roar of the dying vortex, a final voice rose from the deep:
"IF SHE OFFERS HER FEAR…YOU WILL OFFER YOUR NAME."
Aya's eyes flew open in horror.
Riku turned toward the sea—
—and the monster reached for him.
To be continued…