The sea churned like a beast disturbed.
Every creature in the water — from the smallest shardfish to the titanic dragons of the Mariana Ruins — felt it.
A heartbeat.
No... not a heartbeat.
A call.
The water pressure dropped violently, currents reversing in a panic. Whirlpools cracked open the ocean's floor. Coral reefs shattered as an ancient tremor rose from the deepest part of Thalorenn's trench.
Dominic stood alone.
Above, the skies had darkened. Clouds swirled into a vortex, and even Olympus turned its gaze downward.
Then, it came.
Ka'dryn.
---
It wasn't a creature.
It was a continent of death.
A mass of writhing, armored flesh, the size of an island. Eyes like black suns opened across its body, blinking in unnatural rhythm. Tentacles surged out from beneath its belly, each one miles long, pulsing with venomous green veins.
Its maw opened slowly, and Dominic's breath caught.
It wasn't a mouth.
It was a gate.
