The atmosphere above the endless ocean was heavy, suffocating even the brave souls who sailed the Black Shark fleet. The sky was no longer blue; it was a canvas of swirling black storm clouds and purple lightning, mirroring the chaos unfolding below.
The Sea Temple, a majestic fortress constructed of white coral and blue crystals that had stood for millennia, was trembling. Its magical barrier, a shimmering dome of azure light that had repelled sea beasts and armies for generations, was currently groaning under the assault of a nightmare.
BOOOOM!
A massive tentacle, thick as a skyscraper and covered in jagged, rock-hard suckers, slammed into the barrier. The impact sent ripples of shockwaves through the air, shattering the windows of the temple towers.
Inside the barrier, thousands of Sea Guards—shark-men, crab-generals, and mermaid warriors—looked up in absolute terror. Their god, the Great Kraken, the guardian deity they had worshipped for centuries, was attacking them.
And standing atop the Kraken's massive, barnacle-encrusted head was a man.
He stood with his arms crossed, his black trench coat flapping violently in the gale. In his right hand, he held the Ocean God Trident, which pulsed with a deep, rhythmic blue light, syncing with the heartbeat of the sea itself.
Vikram looked down at the temple like a god judging an anthill.
"Open the gates," his voice was not loud, yet amplified by his Origin God energy, it bypassed the barrier and exploded in the ears of every living being in the temple. "Or I will bury this coral castle under the weight of the ocean."
Inside the Temple - The Altar of Ascension
High Priestess Kalya stood frozen. Her hand, holding the obsidian sacrificial dagger, hovered inches above the pale, exposed neck of the woman chained to the altar.
The woman was Mira. She wore a ceremonial gown woven from sea silk, her blue hair cascading down like a waterfall. But her eyes—those deep, ocean-blue eyes that Vikram loved—were empty. They were devoid of light, devoid of recognition. A glowing blue pearl was embedded in the center of her forehead, pulsing with a sinister rhythm.
"He... he tamed the Kraken?" Kalya muttered, her voice trembling with disbelief. "Impossible. That beast answers only to the True Ocean God. How can a filthy human control it?"
Around the altar, the noble elders of the Sea Temple were panicking.
"Priestess! The barrier is at 90% fracture!"
"The pirates... the Black Shark Fleet is swarming through the cracks!"
"We must complete the ritual! Summon the Demon God to save us!"
Kalya gritted her teeth. She looked at Mira, then at the approaching destruction.
"Fine," Kalya hissed, a cruel glint appearing in her eyes. "If he wants his wife so badly, let him have her. But he won't like what he finds."
She lowered the dagger, not to kill Mira, but to slice her own palm. She dripped her blood onto the pearl embedded in Mira's forehead.
"Awaken, Daughter of the Sea," Kalya chanted in an ancient, forgotten tongue. "Your enemy is at the gates. He seeks to destroy your home. He is the darkness. You are the light. Kill him."
The pearl flashed with a blinding intensity.
The Breach
CRACK!
With a final, ear-splitting sound, the Sea Temple's barrier shattered into millions of shards of light.
"Attack!" screamed Captain Great Tooth from the flagship of the pirate fleet. "For Admiral Dollar! Plunder everything, but do not touch the girl on the altar!"
"ROAR!" The pirates, energized by the sight of their invincible leader, launched their grappling hooks. The battle began instantly. Shark-men clashed with pirates, blood dyeing the white coral floors red.
Elara, standing on the deck of a ship, drew her bone bow. Her eyes glowed green as she channeled her Dark Elf evolution.
"Nature's Curse: Thorns of the Abyss!"
She fired a single arrow that split into hundreds in mid-air. They weren't normal arrows; upon impact, they exploded into black, thorny vines that wrapped around the Sea Guards, draining their stamina and immobilizing them.
"Go, Master!" Elara shouted via the comms link. "We will handle the trash!"
Vikram didn't hesitate. He kicked off the Kraken's head.
"Nine Steps of the Void: Step 1 - Flash!"
He vanished.
In the blink of an eye, he bypassed the chaotic battlefield, bypassed the thousands of guards, and materialized directly in the center of the Grand Altar, ten meters away from Kalya and Mira.
The shockwave of his landing cracked the pristine marble floor.
Kalya stumbled back, terrified by the sheer Killing Aura radiating from him. It felt like standing next to a black hole.
"You have five seconds," Vikram said, his voice terrifyingly calm. "Release her. And I might let you die quickly."
Kalya laughed, a high-pitched, manic sound. She retreated behind the altar. "You think you've won, human? You think brute force is enough? Look at her! Look at your beloved!"
Vikram looked at Mira. He stepped forward, lowering his trident. "Mira? It's me. I'm here."
Mira slowly lifted her head.
Her eyes were glowing with a terrifying blue light. There was no love in them. Only killing intent.
"Intruder..." Mira's voice was distorted, echoing as if spoken by two people at once. "Enemy of the Sea. You must be purged."
Whoosh!
Before Vikram could react, the water in the air condensed.
"Ocean Art: Water Dragon Guillotine!"
A massive blade of pressurized water slashed horizontally at Vikram's neck. It moved at the speed of sound.
Vikram didn't dodge. He couldn't dodge, or the blade would hit the pirates fighting behind him.
He raised his left arm. [Void Barrier: Active]
BANG!
The impact was heavy. Vikram slid back two meters, his boots carving deep grooves into the floor. The Void Barrier held, but the force was immense.
"Mira!" Vikram shouted. "Snap out of it!"
"She cannot hear you!" Kalya screamed from safety. "The Puppet Pearl has fused with her cerebral cortex. She is the Avatar of the Temple now. To kill me, you have to kill her first!"
This was the cruelest trap. Kalya knew Vikram was powerful, perhaps invincible. But every strong man had a weakness. Mira was his weakness.
Mira levitated into the air. The ocean around the temple began to rise, obeying her command.
[Warning: High Energy Detected.]
[Target: Mira (Sea Princess Form)]
[Status: Mind Controlled / Berserk]
[Danger Level: Sacred-Blood (Evolved)]
She raised both hands. The water formed hundreds of spears, all aiming at Vikram.
"Die."
The spears rained down like a machine-gun barrage.
Vikram gritted his teeth. He activated his Phantom Steps, weaving through the rain of death. He couldn't attack her. One strike from his Ocean God Trident or a Void Punch would shatter her fragile body.
He was the strongest warrior in the Second Sanctuary, being beaten back by a girl because he refused to raise a hand.
Slash! A water blade grazed his cheek, drawing blood.
Thud! A water hammer slammed into his chest, cracking a rib.
Vikram took the hits. He moved closer, step by painful step.
"Fools!" Kalya cackled. "Look at the mighty Dollar! Being beaten like a dog!"
Vikram wiped the blood from his lip. He looked at Mira, watching the tears streaming down her face even though her expression was blank. Her soul was fighting the control. She was crying inside.
"System," Vikram whispered. "Is there a solution?"
[Analysis Complete.]
[The Mind Control is maintained by the Pearl on her forehead. It is powered by 'Dark Water Energy'.]
[Solution: Use the 'Ocean God Trident' to resonate with her bloodline, and use the 'Soul Gene' to suppress the Pearl's consciousness.]
[Risk: High. You must make physical contact.]
"Physical contact..." Vikram looked at the storm of water blades surrounding her. "Easy."
He dropped his defensive stance.
[Super God Mode: Active]
[Titanium Skin (from Iron-Head): Active]
[Void Regeneration: Active]
Vikram charged.
He didn't dodge. He ran straight through the barrage.
SPLURCH! A water spear pierced his left shoulder.
CRACK! Another broke his right forearm.
Blood sprayed, but Vikram didn't stop. His health bar was dropping, but his momentum was unstoppable.
"What is he doing? He's suicidal!" Kalya shrieked. "Mira! Kill him! Blast him away!"
Mira screamed, gathering all the water into a massive cannon blast. "OBLITERATE!"
Just as the blast fired, Vikram used his trump card.
"Nine Steps of the Void: Step 2 - Space Rend!"
He didn't cut the enemy; he cut the distance.
Space folded. The blast missed him by a millimeter as he teleported directly in front of Mira, floating in the air.
Time seemed to freeze.
Vikram, bleeding from a dozen wounds, looked into her glowing eyes. He gently reached out with his bloodied hand and cupped her face.
"I promised," Vikram whispered, ignoring the pain. "I promised I would come for you, even if I had to swim through hell."
He pressed his forehead against hers, right against the glowing Puppet Pearl.
"Soul Gene: King's Suppression!"
"Ocean God Trident: Resonance!"
HMMMMMMMM!
A golden-purple light exploded from Vikram's body, clashing with the blue light of the pearl.
Inside Mira's mind, a battle of wills took place. The sinister consciousness of the pearl hissed, trying to consume Vikram's soul. But it had made a fatal mistake. It was trying to consume the Soul Eater.
"Get. Out." Vikram's soul-voice roared.
The Void-Glutton Beast (his pet), which had been hiding in his shadow, suddenly jumped out onto Vikram's shoulder. Seeing the tasty energy of the pearl, the little black furball opened its mouth wide.
SLUUURP!
It bit down on the invisible energy connecting the pearl to Kalya.
CRACK!
The pearl on Mira's forehead shattered into dust.
The blue glow faded from her eyes. The water spears suspended in the air turned back into liquid and splashed down harmlessly.
Mira blinked. Her eyes regained their focus. She saw the man in front of her—covered in blood, panting, looking like he had been through a meat grinder.
"Vik...ram?" her voice was a whisper, trembling.
Vikram smiled, blood staining his teeth. "Hey, sleeping beauty. You hit pretty hard."
Mira's eyes filled with real tears. She threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his chest. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I couldn't stop myself!"
Vikram held her tight, his wounds healing visibly thanks to his regeneration. "It's over. I've got you."
The Demon God Descends
Down below, the pirates and the Sword Saint cheered. "He did it! The Admiral did it!"
But on the altar, High Priestess Kalya had fallen to her knees. Her plan had failed. Her control was broken.
"No..." she muttered, her eyes wide with madness. "If I cannot have the Sea Princess... then no one will!"
She crawled towards a massive, grotesque statue behind the altar. It depicted a creature that was half-man, half-octopus, holding a world in its tentacles. This was the idol of the Demon God of the Depths.
"Master!" Kalya screamed, slashing her own throat. "Accept my life! Accept the lives of all my guards! DESCEND!"
Blood sprayed onto the statue.
Simultaneously, thousands of Sea Guards fighting outside suddenly grabbed their heads and screamed. Their bodies exploded into blood mist, which flew towards the statue like a red river.
Vikram felt a chill go down his spine. His Dongxuan Sutra screamed: DEATH.
"Mira, get back!" Vikram shoved her towards Elara who had just arrived.
RUMBLE...
The sky turned blood red. The ocean turned black.
The stone statue... cracked.
A massive hand, covered in black scales and dripping with slime, burst out of the stone shell. Then another hand. Then a face—a face that looked human but had no eyes, only a vertical mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth.
[System Alert: SUPREME DANGER!]
[Entity Detected: Avatar of the Demon God (Asura Class)]
[Level: Surpasses Second Sanctuary Limits.]
[Note: Run.]
The Avatar stood up. It was fifty meters tall, towering over the temple. It looked down at Vikram.
"WHO... DISTURBS... MY... SLUMBER?" Its voice caused the very reality of the Second Sanctuary to glitch.
Vikram stood his ground, gripping his Trident. His injuries were healed, but his energy was low.
"Just my luck," Vikram spat on the ground. "I save the girl, and the final boss shows up immediately. Can't a guy catch a break?"
He looked at the Avatar. The pressure was immense. This thing was stronger than the Hydra. Stronger than the Kraken. It was a projection of a Third Sanctuary being.
"Run?" Vikram smirked, his eyes flashing with the five colors of his genes. "System, activate Overdrive."
He raised his trident, pointing it at the Demon God.
"Hey, Ugly!" Vikram shouted. "You're standing in my temple. Get out, or I'll turn you into sushi!"
The Great War for the Sea was about to enter its final, catastrophic phase.