The sirens, the visitors from the deep sea, and the rulers of the indescribable dark abyss were waiting quietly and patiently in the sea outside the island.
The grand and ancient Grand Temple was silent. Most of the priests who used to be bustling here were gone. The last of the converted were hiding in various rooms, waiting for the arrival of the Day of Destiny.
In the deepest room of the Grand Temple, an old man wearing the Triple Crown of Storm stood in front of a bed painted with waves, clouds, and lightning. He looked down at the person lying on the bed.
That was the last Storm Officiant in the Temple other than him, the Pope. He was a powerful and determined Extraordinary.
But now, this powerful man could only lie on the bed in a daze, weakening little by little in the great panic. His skin had turned a visible grayish-blue, and some kind of fish-like scales covered his neck and limbs. In fact, the Storm Officiant's legs had even 'melted', and the original human limbs were gradually merging into a form between a fish and a snake. This made it impossible for him to wear human clothes. He could only wrap himself in a thin blanket.
"Your Holiness …" The Storm Officiant lying on the bed suddenly opened his mouth and murmured in a low voice, "Are you still there?"
"I'm here," the Storm Pope, Saul Storm, bent down and said in a low and gentle voice, "Can you still hear my voice?"
"I can … although it sounds very far away," the Storm Officiant said in a low voice. The scales around his neck undulated as he spoke. "Are we at the seaside now?"
The Storm Pope shook his head. "Have you forgotten? We are in the temple in the center of the island. This is far from the seaside …"
"Is that so … I can't remember. I heard the sound of waves. It was very close. I thought we were at the seaside …" the Storm Officiant said slowly. "And the sea breeze on my face. I feel … very comfortable."
The old pope's expression dimmed, and his voice slowed down. "… You can't feel the sea breeze here."
"Probably because my time is almost up …" The Storm Officiator was silent for a moment before he said with a hint of relief. He slowly raised his severely mutated right hand. Between his slender, pale green fingers, there was a tough webbing that connected his original human limb. "I can hear their call more and more clearly, and the call from the sea itself … It's a very gentle voice, and I don't think she … means any harm."
Facing such a low murmur, the pope did not speak for a while. An indescribable silence lingered between the two.
A few seconds later, the Storm Officiant, who was lying on the bed, broke the silence. "We have been on this path for too long … Perhaps it is time to choose to give up."
The old pope shook his head. "This doesn't sound like something you would say normally."
"But this is not a 'normal' day," the Storm Officiant said in a low voice. "We are persistent in going to the deep sea to find answers in the deep sea. But a fallen god can't give us any answers … Our initial persistence has changed in the past 700 years. You, I, and many other Officiants, we were persistent in seeking the truth at the beginning, but in the end, 'seeking the truth' became an excuse for all kinds of bigotry … What is happening to us now is probably the price of everything. Bigotry … has led to more bigotry …"
The old pope was silent for a moment, and suddenly smiled. "… You are called the 'philosopher', so you are still thinking about these things at this moment."
"Thinking is a human instinct, a human talent and birthright …" the Storm Officiant, who was called the 'philosopher', said slowly in a low voice. "I only hope that … when I have completely become one of 'them', I can still think like now, like now …"
His words suddenly stopped, and a disturbing noise replaced the human language. It kept muttering from the depths of his throat. The sound seemed to be mixed with the sound of waves, and it also seemed like there was an invisible current flowing in the room. There was a damp, seaweed-like smell in the air, and the water element was enriched, forming visible marks on the bed, the floor, and the walls. Amidst this terrifying phenomenon, the man on the bed began to rapidly transform into the last stage of his mutation.
His last distinguishing feature as a human was his pair of light blue eyes. They were rapidly being covered by a pale golden color. His pupils were also gradually turning into a pair of vertical slits. Amid the sudden increase in his breathing, Pope Saul Storm heard a barely recognizable human language coming from his throat again. "Ah, I hear it... The voice in the waves... Your Holiness, I hear the call of the dark sea abyss. There is a voice, many overlapping voices..."
The pope held the Officiant's hand, and he felt that the Officiant's soul was resonating with some more distant, higher consciousness. The man was gradually being affected by the consciousness of the endless sea. The Officiant's lips moved, and his eyes became more and more distant. His last words were intermittent. "Those voices are calling … those voices are calling … those voices are saying …"
Suddenly, the Officiant's trance seemed to have faded away, and an unprecedented clarity appeared in the Officiant's mutated eyes. The lips of the Naga, who was still a human a few seconds ago, trembled violently, as if the last trace of instinct in his muscles was still resisting, but in the end, his resistance failed.
The trembling lips finally turned into a bright smile, and he was very happy. "Let's go dig up the big squid!"
Saul Storm let go of the Officiant's hand and sighed dejectedly.
This man belonged to the deep sea.
Everyone on this island belonged to the deep sea.
The Officiant who had turned into a Naga was still lying on the bed, still immersed in the trance brought about by his first 'ascension'. The pope, wearing the Storm Triple Crown on his head, stood up, tidied his clothes, picked up the scepter leaning against the corner of the wall, and turned to the door. He left the room deep in the temple, walked through the deep and long corridor, and walked past the closed doors. Behind the doors, there were inhuman murmurs, the inexplicable sound of the waves, and the creepy, slippery sound of a sea snake crawling on the ground.
He walked through all of this expressionlessly. The pope's robe was gradually eroded and disintegrated by the elements. As he continued to walk, scales began to appear on his face, webbing grew between his fingers, and wet and slippery thick skin covered his torso. Scales and fins slowly protruded on the thick skin. He staggered and fell to the ground, and the scepter fell to the ground. A few seconds later, he slowly got up, picked up the scepter, and continued to meander forward.
Saul Storm walked through the empty and quiet streets of the town. He came to the coast, and many Nagas came out of the nearby houses and silently followed behind him. They climbed up the harbor ramp that everyone had built with their hands and shoulders hundreds of years ago, and came to the end of the trestle that led to the sea.
The sea surged, and a gorgeous throne formed by water elements slowly rose from the water. A graceful and elegant woman with long silver hair and an extremely beautiful appearance stood in front of the throne. Beside her were maids of the deep sea in luxurious clothes, and on both sides of the throne were royal tidal guards holding particle pulse rifles and tridents.
"Saul Storm." The siren queen, Petia, nodded slightly with a smile on her face. "We have been waiting for a long time."
"The last of us has lasted longer than expected." Saul Storm lowered his head. "We want to properly wait for all of this to end smoothly."
"It's okay. This is what we have promised from the beginning," Petia said gently. "Although I am not human, I understand the feeling of a race wanting to maintain their original form until the last moment. If that last human knew that as early as half a month ago, everyone on the island, including you, the pope, had been transformed into Nagas, he would most likely commit suicide. This is a great tragedy."
"… This drastic transformation of life form will have a great impact on a person's body and mind. And before the transformation is complete, the human mind cannot imagine or understand it." Saul Storm, in the form of a Naga, shook his head. "Anyone who has not completed the transformation will fall into deep fear during the transformation process. Too many people have needlessly harmed themselves because of this."
"Fortunately, we have solved the problem of the Nagas losing their minds in the early stages of transformation. Otherwise, the chaos would have become even more serious." Petia nodded. She looked into the distance where the sea was surging. A tower-like facility formed by many pipes and antennas, which was glowing under the sun, gradually rose to the surface of the sea. "I will leave the mind stabilizer here for a while. When the last batch of Nagas on the island have completely stabilized their minds and personalities, I will bring them to Io."
The tower-like device was something that the sirens had created after studying the Nagas for a period of time. For the sirens, who had mastered advanced technology, it was a very simple thing. Its function was also very simple. By constantly releasing "psionic songs" that could not be heard by human ears but could be recognized by the sirens and the Nagas, it could calm the Nagas who had just completed the transformation and were in a trance. It allowed the Nagas, who originally needed about a month to regain their memories and personalities, to wake up within a few hours after the transformation.
The "psionic songs" that the sirens liked could speed up the awakening of the Nagas. The discovery of this phenomenon was completely unexpected to the sirens. It originated from a small episode when the sirens held the "New Naga Citizens Welcome Assembly" on the sunny beach a few months ago. At that time, the Witch of the Deep Sea, Hathaway, had drunk an excessive amount of "squid extract." As a result, the Senior Witch, who had fallen into a state of severe excitement, broke through the blockade of the Royal Guards and performed a heavy metal death song with several other equally excited witches. Sirens loved music and were good at all kinds of music. But apparently, the Nagas, who had just embraced the deep sea, had not yet adapted to the local customs. In that incident, more than half of the Nagas fell into a deep coma.
Three days later, the Witch of the Deep Sea, who woke up from a hangover, thought for a while and thought that it was not the musical instruments that affected the Nagas, but the powerful "psionic songs" of the sirens. Then she conducted a series of experiments and confirmed her speculation.
After a series of complicated tests and adjustments, the sirens created the "Mind Stabilizer" that could allow the Nagas, who had just transformed, to quickly regain their sanity. This advanced device consisted of two main components: a music player that only the sirens and the Nagas could hear, and a lot of pipes and antennas that were used to make the player look very powerful.
Petia withdrew her gaze from the Mind Stabilizer and sighed slightly in her heart.
The sirens could only carry out this level of "technological development" now.
But fortunately, the situation was gradually getting better. As more and more sirens mastered the secrets of arcane magic and began to understand and deal with the natural laws of the world, the technology tree of the sirens that had been frozen for millions of years … finally showed signs of loosening a little.
The former Pope of the Storm and the current leader of the Nagas, Saul Storm, did not know what the queen, whom he had recently pledged allegiance to, was thinking at the moment. He was only concerned about the future of the Storm Children. After getting a further promise from the queen, he seemed a lot more relaxed. "We have had many years of friction with you … Fortunately, it's all finally over."
"The sirens do not want to fight with anyone, but unfortunately, we have been unable to communicate smoothly." Petia recovered from her thoughts. She smiled and nodded gently to the leader of the Nagas in front of her. "Now that you have sensed the goodwill of the sirens from the psionic echoes, then as a celebration of reconciliation between the two sides … we will also share the secrets of the deep sea with you.
"Welcome to the sea. May this be your new home."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
