Jack and Reina exited the hidden cave as the tide fell much below the cave's entrance. The salty air hit them again. Carrying the scent of the sea.
Rune zipped out ahead. Her mechanical body gleamed bright in the morning sun. A soft turquoise glow emanated from her core.
Jack glanced at Reina. Her long dark hair formed a wild frame around her beautiful face. Her eyes were bright with desire for more adventure.
"Alright!" Jack accessed his system inventory. In a second, the air in front of him shimmered. And with a familiar spatial distortion, a sleek, dark vehicle materialized. Humming faintly. Ready to be used again. The [Lightning Hoverbike].
Jack straddled it. The engine emitted a low thrum beneath him. "Hop on, Love! Time to see if the sunken Homeland of the Treentree still exists."
Reina settled behind him. Her arms were wrapped around his waist firmly. The hoverbike lifted smoothly. A controlled burst of steam power and runic energy pushed it up and forward. It sliced through the air above the sea. Leaving the jagged islet with its hidden cave, ancient carvings, and the tragic tale of the Trentree people behind.
Rune zipped along with them. Easily maintaining close distance with the speeding hoverbike.
The journey was swift and sure. However the destination was merely an imprecise estimation in the vast expanse of the ocean. There was no exact coordinate to be used as the more accurate guideline.
For several hours, the hoverbike hummed. Dissecting the distance. The morning sky had began to change into the brilliant blue as noon came close.
They stopped for a while to enter the Mirror Space. For lunch break. And continued moving soon afterward. The sea beneath them stretched. An endless, undulating spread of azure water.
Sometime later...
"This is it. I guess." Jack announced. He brought the hoverbike to a gentle halt. Hovering pretty close above the sea surface.
His chosen location was unremarkable. Just open water. A restless, empty expanse. There was no landmark. No suspicious ripple. Nothing but the endless blue.
Other than the soft humming of the runic machine, the surrounding was quite calm and silent. Broken only by the slosh of the waves against each other. And the distant cry of a seabird.
Rune's glow had long changed into deep green color. It intensified slightly just now. As if sensing the moment.
Jack half-dismounted from his hoverbike's seat. His movements fluid and practiced. He looked at Reina and nodded. "Hold onto this, Love. I'll take a look first."
He handed her the handle-bar for the hoverbike. Reina clutched them easily. Her expression was a mix of concern and quiet excitement. "Be careful, Dear!"
Jack simply nodded again and jumped. A splash of water erupted as he plunged into the sea. The cool embrace of the ocean water at noon was momentarily shocking. But his body adjusted instantly.
He sank quickly. The surface was shimmering above him. Sunlight fracturing into a thousand dancing shards.
Once submerged, the world changed. The sounds muffled. Replaced by the gentle murmuring of the currents. He closed his eyes for a moment. Focusing, drawing upon the powers he acquired some time ago. During the incident with the Kraken's spirit.
He activated his [Voldyanoi Shapeshift]. A tingling sensation spread across his skin. Like a million tiny crawling insects. His bones were elongated and compressed. His muscles were rippled and reshaped. His skin hardened. Taking on the texture of thick, iridescent scales. Black and dark blue colors mingled to form a perfect camouflage against the deep.
Jack could feel his fingers and toes elongated. Splaying into wide, webbed ones. Perfect for underwater movements. Intricate gills opened on either side of his neck. Allowing him to draw oxygen directly from the water.
His already sharp eyes bulged significantly. Adapting to the underwater environment. Gaining an almost predatory gleam. A set of mechanical armors appeared and was implanted in his body. A signature of his current new form.
He was now a Steamrune Voldyanoi. A mechanically armored murloc. A creature fully optimized for this undersea environment. Despite the large numbers of changes, the transformation was completed almost instantaneously.
Jack stretched his new limbs. Feeling the power surge through them. He was faster, stronger, and perfectly at home in the undersea environment.
He wasted no time. Kicking his powerful webbed feet. Diving deeper. Cutting through the water with effortless grace.
The light faded rapidly as he descended. The water grew colder. The pressure was increasing with every meter. Yet, his new form shrugged off the crushing weight. His enhanced vision pierced the gloom.
He saw them first... schools of strange, bioluminescent fish. Their bodies were glowing with soft, ethereal green light. Their forms were unlike any fish he had encountered and seen. They looked alien, yet beautiful.
He continued his descent. Soon, the bottom of the ocean floor came into view.
It wasn't a barren wasteland of sand and silt. Here, the seabed was littered with echoes of a forgotten civilization.
Jack could see crumbling stone ruins. Worn smooth by countless centuries of currents. They randomly jutted from the ocean floor like skeletal fingers. Once, they should have been part of grand structures. Now they lay scattered at the bottom of the sea.
He could also see twisted, organic-looking treelike coral rocks. Devoid of any discernible branches or leaves. Standing motionlessly amidst the debris. These were not mere rocks. They might be the remnants of Trentree Orchards. Either the silent witnesses or the involved actors to the disaster that had struck the Trentree Homeland.
Jack swam through the silent, submerged ruins. His [Eyes of Judgement] hummed with activity. Constantly scanning, analyzing, and providing him with a stream of data.
The ruins were ancient. Infused with residual magic. But, it offered no immediate threat. He passed through what might have been streets and over fallen walls. And he reached the edge of a colossal fissure in the earth.
A deep trench. A scar on the ocean floor. Plunged into unimaginable darkness. It was a geological anomaly. Far too straight and deliberate to be natural. And at its very end, something pulsed.
A swirling spatial crack. It hung there. A cosmic, shimmering vortex of energy that defied the laws of physics.
It spun slowly. Silently. Drawing in and out the water around it. Yet it caused no violent disturbance. It was utterly captivating. And subtly terrifying in its sheer reality defying existence.
Jack approached cautiously. His murloc form was alert. His [Eyes of Judgement] were focused to the max and started to give him critical information. The crack was not a danger. It was a gateway.
[Spatial Gate: Trentree Sanctuary]
[Nature: Stable]
[Danger Level: Low]
[Description: Entry point to an extra-dimensional pocket realm.]
A sanctuary? Was this the final piece of the puzzle? A smirk, entirely unsuited for his new voldyanoi face, tugged at his scaled lips.
He circled the gate once. Confirming its stability. Confirming the lack of malevolent energy signature. Satisfied, Jack began his ascent. The journey back to the surface was faster. His powerful fins propelled him upwards with incredible speed.
He breached the surface with a controlled splash. The air above the sea felt refreshing against his transformed skin.
Reina was still hovering patiently on the hoverbike. She instantly drew her twin handguns at the sight of his monstrous form.
Rune, perched on Reina's shoulder, emitted a rapid series of green glows. Indicating that the creature was not hostile. Calming her down.
Jack focused on canceling the transformation. The familiar tingling returned. But this time in reverse. Instantly, transformation began. Scales... retracted, webbing... receded, gills... sealed. In just a second, Jack was there on the water. Dripping wet but entirely human.
"Well, Love..." He began talking while treading water. Pushing his wet hair from his eyes. "It's down there. A big trench. And at the bottom, a spatial gate."
Reina leaned closer. Her expression was eager. "Spatial Gate?"
"Yeah. To Trentree Sanctuary." Jack replied. "My [Eyes of Judgement] tell me that it is a stable, non-hostile spatial gate. A pocket realm. Probably where the Trentree survivors, or at least their legacy, ended up."
He considered her. "It's deep. And the pressure is immense. My Voldyanoi form handled it fine, but you'd be crushed without something."
Reina nodded. Already reaching for the leather-bound grimoire she always carried. "I have a spell for that, Dear. Just learned [Underwater Breathing] a few weeks ago. And my fog power can handle pressure."
Her fingers danced over the grimoire pages. "Problem is... it doesn't affect movement. And I am not a great swimmer."
"No problem." Jack said. "I'll handle the movement."
Reina began chanting in a low, melodic hum. One that seemed to resonate with the very water around them. Immediately, her eyes glowed with a soft, ethereal blue. A shimmering, invisible barrier of pure mystic energy enveloped her.
It was subtle. But Jack could feel the power radiating from it. A protective shell. Likely the one allowing her to breathe under the water.
Then, thin white flog began to appear. Blurring Reina's whole body. It was her protection against pressure.
"Ready, Dear." She announced. And immediately jumped into the water. A splash of water erupted as she entered the sea.
Jack raised his hand and mentally stored the [Lightning Hoverbike] to his system inventory.
"Alright, Rune. Let's go!" Jack transformed once more and sank himself underwater again. In the form of Steamrune Voldyanoi.
Rune followed him. Her mechanical fairy form wasn't affected by water at all. Air or water was the same for her.
Jack moved rapidly under the water. The [Steamrune Voldyanoi] was a perfect beast for undersea exploration.
He grasped Reina gently, but firmly, around her waist. She was protected and encased in her magic. But her movement capabilities were limited. He, however, was in his element.
With a powerful kick of his webbed feet, Jack pulled them both downwards. He acted as their propulsion. Bringing her through the water with precision and speed.
Rune kept pace with them effortlessly. She pulsed with a vibrant emerald glow. Somehow unaffected by the pressure and the lack of air.
The descent was quick. Even faster than Jack's initial solo dive. The strange fish, the petrified trees, the crumbling ruins... All flashed past them until the deep trench could be seen beneath them.
And then, they reached their destination. The swirling spatial crack, the gate to the Trentree Sanctuary, pulsed invitingly.