Saan shifted their stance, raising a hand as air swirled violently before them and the beam of water hurtled toward them with a roar that reverberated through the chamber. The gust condensed, forming a spinning wall of wind. Behind them, the flames flickered, nearly extinguished, and the fire spirit above strained to keep its form. Its once-sharp edges blurred, its color dimming to embers.
From the pendant pouch, faint threads of red and orange light began to seep out, drawn toward the spirit. The mana shimmered like molten dust, wrapping around its form until the spirit grew larger and denser, a renewed inferno in the dim chamber.
With a guttural cry, the spirit released a burst of flame—broad, heavy, and blazing—enough to swallow the oncoming beam. The collision split the air with a deafening crack. Steam exploded outward, racing toward the ceiling, but Saan's wind barrier spread across the chamber, pushing most of it back. The torrent of water, though weakened, broke through the flames and hurtled forward.
The blast struck Saan's barrier, sending cracks through the ground. Water and air spiraled outward as the floor trembled. Rocks fell from above, only to melt or shatter as the fire spirit reduced them to molten dust before they could reach the saint.
The earth beneath Saan rippled like a drum. They pressed their boot into the fractured stone and shot forward, harnessing the wind to propel them. Air swirled around their body, forming a roaring vortex. Flames followed, drawn into the motion, spiraling around them in a burning coil. For a moment, Saan became a comet of fire and storm, the ground beneath cracking from the force.
Rocks disintegrated before they could land. When they struck the pond, the surface exploded, the impact tearing the water apart and sending a sound that shook the chamber walls. Steam billowed into the air, only to be swept aside as the fire spirit redirected it with roaring waves of flame.
Saan plunged into the depths, light and flame scattering around them. The water closed above their head, and for a moment the world became silent except for the dull pulse of their heart. The fire dimmed, swallowed by the cold, though faint embers still flickered within the wind barrier that shielded them.
The flicker of flame barely cut through the darkness, revealing deliberate movement in the deep waters, glinting faintly off its smooth, wet skin.
The creature was enormous, easily large enough to swallow several people at once. Its body was short and compact, muscular tail propelling it through the water with sudden speed. Smooth, reflective skin, no eyes, no fins beyond the tail, nothing gave away its presence except the force it carried.
The creature whipped its tail in a single, fluid motion. A concentrated torrent of water slammed into Saan's shrinking wind barrier, pushing against it with bone-crushing force. The flames within flickered but endured.
Reacting swiftly, Saan gestured through the water, guiding the currents around them. The surrounding water spiraled into a protective bubble, enclosing their wind barrier and the flame within it. They floated at the center, encased in layers of air and water, the inner flame casting a faint glow across the dark, rippling depths.
The creature darted in the shadows. Saan swept their hands in a wide, arcing motion, guiding the water forward in a churning surge meant to trap it. But the creature's tail whipped, scattering the attack. Another jet struck Saan's shield, forcing them backward again. The pressure built around their ears, the water heavier and colder with every movement
They countered, guiding the water to steady themselves and halt the drift. Currents spiraled around them, twisting and churning in the dim glow of the flame. The creature retreated into the shadows, its massive form slipping beyond the flame's reach.
The currents shifted, the water itself seeming to be drawn forward. Saan felt the tug and adjusted, letting the flow carry them while keeping their balance. Pressure built around them, growing heavier with each movement, until suddenly, it appeared again: the creature, swollen and massive, its body twice the size it had been before.
The creature released another blast of water, tearing through the depths. Saan gestured, shaping the surrounding water into an outer barrier to reinforce their existing sphere. The impact rippled through both layers, pushing them backward, but they twisted with the flow, guiding the currents to absorb and disperse the shock.
Then, the chaos faded, leaving only a heavy, muted silence. The light dimmed, swallowed by cold. Saan waited, every sense tuned to the smallest ripple or vibration.
Then the pull returned, sharper this time. The water was drawn inward, spiraling toward a single point. Saan steadied themself and moved with it, letting the current carry them forward. Ahead, the creature's mouth opened wide, a black void that swallowed all trace of light.
As Saan reached the maw, the glow of their flame dimmed, distorted by the sudden rise in pressure. The air within their sphere compressed, the barrier trembling like a stretched film under strain. Still, Saan pressed on. The current tightened, and in the next instant, they were pulled inside.
Within, everything churned. The water was dense and alive, twisting in violent, unpredictable motions. Faint light revealed walls of translucent tissue flexing and contracting in slow rhythm, veins pulsing with dim bioluminescent streams deeper into the dark.
"Come out," Saan whispered.
From the pouch at their belt, a faint red shimmer seeped through the fabric, almost imperceptible. The light gathered, drawn outward toward the air within Saan's sphere, condensing into the fire spirit. Its body flickered under the crushing pressure, yet even that small glow pierced the darkness, illuminating the vast chamber, a shifting expanse of living walls and pulsing flow, moving and breathing like a world unto itself.
The creature convulsed, blasting a torrent of water from its mouth. Saan braced within their sphere, struggling to maintain control against the violent surge and crushing pressure.
"Where are we? Do you even realize what would've happened if you died and the pendant was destroyed?" the spirit snapped.
"Stop talking. Focus. When I give the signal, release everything you have," Saan said, straining to maintain the sphere.
The creature's body spasmed again, expelling bursts of water that rattled its insides.
"It doesn't like us being here," the spirit said, flickering brighter. "But you need to protect yourself. My flames won't hold back."
Saan expanded the sphere, using the air within to shield themselves from the heat. "Don't worry about me."
"I worry about the pendant. And I don't take orders from anyone but the saint," the spirit muttered, condensing its mana into a single focused point of flame.
"Get used to it," Saan replied, adjusting the air flow inside the sphere to push back against the rising heat.
The creature began to dive deeper, making the pressure around them increase sharply. Saan could feel the weight of the water crushing inward. The creature's body swelled drawing water from the depths.
"What is it doing?" the spirit asked, hovering within the sphere, its flames bright enough to shimmer through the darkness.
"It's compressing pressure. If it releases it, the entire pond could rupture," muttered Saan, focused on reinforcing the barrier.
"Hurry up then." The spirit crackled.
The creature's body swelled to three times its original size, its skin stretched thin, almost translucent, letting the faint glow of the fire spirit shimmer through.
The moment it expelled a torrent of water, Saan was yanked toward its gaping maw with terrifying speed.
"Now," Saan said, opening part of the sphere.
The fire spirit erupted in a beam of concentrated flame. The water inside the creature vaporized instantly, turning to superheated steam that expanded violently, ripping through the surrounding tissue. Compressed gases ignited, and the combination of heat and pressure tore the creature apart from the inside out.
Saan was hurled through the chaos, spinning violently as the sphere twisted and bubbled around them. They crashed into the pond floor, driving a crater into the soft earth beneath. The creature's body dissolved into a cloud of vapor and ash, leaving a gaping cavity. Water rushed in immediately to fill the void, creating a turbulent whirlpool as the displaced mass collided with the pond below.
Rocks cracked and shattered, bubbles of steam exploded upward, and torrents of water surged violently, carrying fragments of flesh and flickering embers in chaotic swirls. The fire spirit hovered beside Saan, its light flickering but cutting through the darkness, revealing the aftermath of the annihilation: a cratered pond, roiling water, and the remnants of a creature utterly undone.
As Saan slammed into the pond floor, sliding through the debris, huffing and drawing ragged breaths as the sphere of water wobbled around them. The fire spirit flickered, retreating back into the pendant, leaving only a small, steady flame hovering near Saan to illuminate the darkness.
The water settled and grew still again as Saan floated in the dim glow, their breathing steady.
Then a voice echoed through the darkness.
"When will I be able to accept you? I have committed wrongs that must be corrected. I will not ask forgiveness. I only ask that my punishment end soon… so I may finally accept you."
A woman's voice, soft and sorrowful.
The words were impossibly clear, neither muffled by water nor distorted by pressure — as if they were spoken directly into Saan's mind.
Their hand clenched. "Who are you? Answer me," Saan demanded, their voice steady.
No reply. Only silence.
Then the darkness shifted.
The murky blue dissolved into bright sky. The crushing pressure vanished, replaced by a gentle breeze. The cold, fluid floor gave way to soft, spring-green grass beneath Saan's feet. The scent of water faded, replaced by the freshness of blooming fields.
Before them stood a woman, her back turned. Long black hair flowed below her shoulders, and a white dress trimmed in blue brushed lightly against the grass. A broad red hat shaded her from the sunlight.
In the distance, a small pavilion rose above the ground, built upon a raised platform. Four white pillars ringed the edges in place of walls, each evenly spaced, supporting the structure with elegant simplicity. Atop the platform, a dome crowned the pavilion, and from its center rose a tall pillar like that of the Yām in Sunk Down, double the height of the base pillars, stretching straight upward. The pillar was adorned with carvings depicting a staircase painted in vibrant colors, figures in motion. Just below its peak, the sun and moon were etched into the stone, faintly catching the light of the flame that burned within a large glass encasement, mirroring the pointed tops of nearby pillars of light.
The pavilion's dome and base pillars gave it an airy, open feel, a stark contrast to the solid, enclosed design of the Guiding Light.
Saan blinked, shielding their eyes as a fierce gust tore through the grass, sending blades spinning and soaring high into the sky like green sparks caught in a storm. They tumbled, buffeted by the chaotic wind that seemed alive. Saan raised a hand, instinctively trying to form a barrier, but it refused to obey; the currents surged freely around them, twisting and spiraling with relentless force.
Amid the tempest, the woman stepped forward. The wind swept the grass before her into a clear path, blades bending and twisting aside as if bowing to her passage, while the rest of the field churned violently around her. She moved with quiet certainty toward the pavilion, leaving a trail of stillness amid the storm.
"Who are you?" Saan called again.
The woman did not answer. She walked on, her steps silent.
Saan clenched their hand, heartbeat quickening. They drew in a deep breath, letting it steady them, then stepped forward, eyes locked on the woman.