In the unfathomable hush that encased Dreygor's retreat, the stillness of the Abyssal Caverns weighed heavily upon Islael and her Guardians. Their energies had been drained by the battle, but there was no chance for rest. Within the water throbbed an ominous pulse: faint, tremulous, like an ancient living thing restless for attention.
"The Nexus has warned us," Islael murmured, while calm seemed on her lips, but her undertone spoke of anxiety. She touched the coral pendant; faintly did it flicker. "Something older than Dreygor's shadows is here."
The Guardians cast worried glances at one another. Serin, who never knew fear, held tightly to her spear. "Whatever it is, we shall fight it together. Hurry, we must not linger. Dreygor will come back."
The more they moved deeper into the caves, the colder it became, the water thick with a strange, oppressive energy. The walls were covered in bioluminescent plants casting a ghastly green light that blinked erratically when something could be perceived. Airily, Islael felt something was watching them closely.
Suddenly, water rippled violently around them. From the shadows came forth a colossal, translucent figure, a Guardian from the time long forgotten. Its form scintillated like glass, its eyes deep and cold.-
"You trespass on the sacred depths," rang the being's voice. Ancient-a second world. "Who dares disturb the Echo Warden?"-
Speaking softly but hoarsely, Islael stepped forth. "We are the Guardians of the Eternal Reef, protectors of Coralveil Nexus. The ocean is in peril and we come to ask the spirits for help against Lord Dreygor."-
An imperceptible flicker in the Warden's gaze narrowed. "Dreygor's corruption seeps even here. But for the unworthy, the spirits do not awaken. Prove your mettle or be gone."-
At one instant, the Warden's image fell apart into small, innumerable spectral shards, hastening toward Islael and her Guardians. Coldness gripped the air as the shards flew around them, providing an intricate maze of sparkling light and shadow.--
"Stay close!" Islael's voice cut through the din like an arrow. The group-formed into a single mass and wove faithfully through the mazes as Islael's pendant glowed all the brighter to guide their way. Each step a test-it would conjure elaborate illusions of their worst fears, trying to break their steadfastness.-
Serin froze; tear-filled eyes watched as memory blinded her with the image of her family lost in a storm long ago. It was Islael's voice that called her back, "Serin! Concentrate! They aren't real!"
Islael pushed ahead with energy flowing through her from the Nexus, claiming her destiny with the ocean. Here, at the center of the maze, stood the Echo Warden, now manifest once more, its hollow eyes fixed simply on her.
"You have courage," it said, its voice softer now. "But courage alone is not enough. The Nexus demands sacrifice."
Islael's heart dropped; the burden of steering the ship was sensed in her heart. "What must I do?"
With fingers extended, the Warden drew nearer with a spectral hand. "Surrender thy innermost light- thy link with the Coralveil Nexus. This will renew the spirits."
The Guardians gasped: Without the bond with the Nexus, Islael would be powerless to summon its forces during the battle against Dreygor.
"I'll do it," said Islael, finding her voice in the fear raging inside her. "If that's what it will take for the ocean to live!"
And as the Warden reached for the light, the cavern convulsed violently. Out of the water stomped a great and terrible roar and a dark gap rippled open on the floor of the cave as faint streams of light cascaded from doubtful openings in the roof of the cavern. Dreygor's laughter filled the space as his shadowy form rose again.
As the Warden stretched forth to grasp at the light, a violent tremor upturned in the cavern. A deep, guttural roar resonated against the water as a deep crack opened in the cavern's floor. With Dreygor's laughter coming from within came his shadowy form, now rising again.
The Guardians steeled themselves, the Echo Warden stepping forward to shield Islael. But the crevice widened, and out of it rose something far more terrible—a monstrous creature, its body a churning mass of darkness and ancient coral. Its hollow eyes glowed with a bloody light, and its roar shook the caverns.
"Shadowborn," the Echo Warden whispered, its voice trembling with fear. .
The battle for the ocean had just become a good deal deadlier.
