Elion woke to shouting.
He bolted upright, grabbed his sword, and rushed topside. Dawn was minutes away. He nearly collided with Kael.
"What's happening?"
"Don't know yet. But it woke me up, so it's probably not good."
They emerged onto deck to find a crowd at the port rail, pointing at the water. Elion pushed through.
At first, nothing but dark water. Then the surface broke, and massive tentacles rose—easily thirty feet long, thick as barrels. They swayed before sliding back beneath the waves.
"By the gods," someone whispered.
"That's not the creature following us," Captain Theron said, his face pale. "That's something new. Something bigger. A kraken. If the tentacles are thirty feet, the body is probably twice that size."
"Can we outrun it?"
"Not with these winds. And krakens don't give up easily."
"Then we fight."
"You don't fight a kraken, my lord."
"I didn't flee the Empire just to be eaten by a sea monster." Elion turned to the crowd. "Everyone below deck except essential crew and fighters. Now. Quickly and calmly."
As people hurried to obey, Elion reached through his mental link. All shadow soldiers, battle stations. Prepare for aquatic combat. Priority: Protect the ships.
His shadow army materialized across all three ships.
"Can shadows fight underwater?" Kael asked.
"We're about to find out."
Lyssa joined them, her staff glowing. "I can sense it—massive, ancient, and very hungry. But something's driven it from its territory. Something worse than a kraken."
"What could be worse?"
"We should worry about that later. Right now—"
The water beside the Shadowhaven exploded. Tentacles erupted, lashing out. One wrapped around the mainmast, beginning to pull.
"Shadows, engage!"
Twenty shadow soldiers dove over the rail. Elion felt through his mental link as they engaged beneath the surface—blades cutting, shadows grappling tentacles in lightless deep.
The tentacle loosened as the kraken's attention shifted. It released the ship and dove deeper.
Silence. Then the water churned violently.
"It's coming back!"
The kraken surfaced between the ships, massive body breaking the water. Elion got his first clear look—writhing tentacles, beaked mouth large enough to swallow a horse, eyes holding alien intelligence.
╔════════════════════════════════╗
║ ELITE ENEMY DETECTED ║
╚════════════════════════════════╝
Target: Ancient Kraken
Rank: Legendary Beast
Estimated Level: 35
Warning: Significantly exceeds combat capacity
Recommended Action: Flee or negotiate
Extraction Success Rate: 15%
Level thirty-five. They couldn't win.
But they couldn't flee either.
"Lyssa, can you do anything?"
"I can try to reason with it." She began chanting, her staff blazing.
The kraken paused, turning toward Lyssa. For a moment, Elion hoped.
Then another tentacle erupted, wrapping around the Raven's Wing. The smaller ship groaned as the kraken began pulling it under.
"No!"
He made a desperate decision. All shadows, coordinated assault. Target the tentacle. Full strength.
His entire shadow army—one hundred and forty-two soldiers—dove simultaneously. They swarmed the tentacle, hacking with supernatural strength.
The kraken's bellow of pain shook the air. The tentacle released. The ship bobbed back, damaged but afloat.
Now the kraken's full attention was on the shadow army. It dove, dragging most shadows into the abyss.
Elion felt connections strain as his shadows fought in crushing depths. Some were being destroyed. They would regenerate, but that took time and mana.
"We're losing," Kael said, firing arrows that bounced off armored hide.
Elion's mind raced. They couldn't win. Couldn't flee. What did that leave?
Then he remembered—Something's driven it from its territory.
"The predator," Elion said suddenly. "The one following us. Where is it?"
Theron looked confused. "When the kraken appeared, it fled."
"But that predator has been hunting us for days. It won't give up its prey easily." Elion reached through his link. Find the other predator. The one following us. Drive it toward the kraken.
Minutes passed—each one an eternity. Then one scout reported success. Target located. Half a mile distant. Attempting to drive it forward.
"Everyone hold on! This is about to get worse!"
The water between ships began to glow with bioluminescent light. Skaroth rose from the deep, driven from hiding by shadow soldiers. The sea serpent was massive—sixty feet long, armored scales reflecting dawn light, jaws filled with sword-like teeth.
And it was furious.
The kraken noticed immediately. Tentacles withdrew from the ships.
For a moment, the two ancient predators regarded each other.
Then Skaroth attacked.
The battle was primordial—tentacles wrapping serpentine body, jaws tearing flesh, blood staining water.
"Raise the sails! Now!"
The crew scrambled. Sails unfurled. Slowly, the three ships began pulling away.
Shadow soldiers emerged from water, reforming on deck. Elion counted. One hundred and thirty-eight. He'd lost four shadows.
They'd survived. Barely.