Chapter Four: When Water Turns to Darkness

Chapter Four: When Water Turns to Darkness

After Himaru departed, burdened with anger and bitterness, the old man Kaizu returned to his home nestled in the heart of the still, quiet pond. He sat in the middle of the house's main hall, eyes closed, sinking into deep contemplation as he tried to gather his scattered thoughts. Suddenly, his senses stirred; he felt a familiar, gentle ripple caressing the waters of the pond surrounding the house. The old man smiled to himself, recognizing the light, graceful footsteps of his grandson Kaelon.

The door swung open, and the boy stepped inside carrying a few supplies, calling out cheerfully:

"I'm back, Grandfather!"

But before the grandfather could even open his mouth to reply, his entire body went rigid. His expression shifted into pure terror; he had sensed another presence—strange, viscous, foreign—treading upon the waters of the pond outside. It was not mere footsteps. It was a violent, savage energy surging through the water, instantly turning it into a black liquid, the color of pure darkness!

The grandfather sprang to his feet with a speed Kaelon had never seen in him before, and in a single swift motion, summoned his glowing sword of water into his grasp. He shouted, his voice firm and utterly without humor:

"Kaelon! One of the Elemental Incarnates is approaching the house... its energy is monstrous! Hide inside, right now, and do not come out, no matter what happens!"

But instead of fear, excitement blazed in Kaelon's eyes. He lunged toward the wall, snatching up one of the wooden swords, and cried out fiercely:

"I won't leave you alone! I'll fight with you, Grandfather!"

At this, the grandfather erupted with anger, his face flushing red as he roared with a harshness Kaelon had never heard from him before:

"Get out of here! Now! If you stay, you will be nothing but a burden, holding me back in this battle!"

A wave of crushing disappointment tightened around Kaelon's heart. He lowered his wooden sword and whispered in sorrow:

"...Alright, Grandfather."

The boy retreated with heavy steps and entered his grandfather's room to hide. But the moment his feet crossed the threshold, he felt a strange, warm bond pulsing deep within him—as though an invisible thread were pulling him toward a particular spot on the wooden floor.

He stepped toward it, almost as if under a spell, and the instant he stood before that spot, a miracle occurred; the solid wooden planks beneath his feet dissolved into liquid water, melting away and draining downward, revealing a dark stone stairway descending into the depths of the earth. Kaelon hesitated for a moment, glancing back toward the door, fearing for his grandfather—but he reassured himself, thinking: *Grandfather is one of the strongest warriors alive. I'll just go down to take a quick look, then come right back.*

Kaelon took his first step downward... never knowing that this single act would become the greatest regret to haunt him for the rest of his life.

Meanwhile, in the upper hall of the house, a deafening sound of destruction roared out!

The wooden wall of the house exploded, its splinters scattering violently outward, and through the breach stepped the man with the black eyes and blood-red whites—the very same specter that had been watching from the rooftop. He advanced with slow, deliberate steps, darkness pouring out from beneath his feet like a living creature devouring everything in its path. He looked at the grandfather and said, with utter coldness and mockery:

"You don't seem pleased to see me... Water Lord."

The grandfather tightened his grip on his glowing blade and shouted in a booming voice, despite the terror gnawing at his chest:

"Who are you?! How dare you break into the home of the Water Lord?!"

A low, dreadful laugh erupted from the visitor's throat, its echo shaking the very walls, and he said:

"I am the ruin that will befall you, and everyone who stands with you... I am the Dark God, and king of the Elemental Incarnates... I am Emperor Megin!"

The grandfather's eyes widened in shock. He swallowed hard and asked:

"What do you want? Why have you come here?"

Megin replied, raising his hand high, shadows dancing around his fingers:

"There is something that belongs to me, in your possession. And I want it back. Now."

"What is this thing?"

"The Water Sigil."

A look of fierce resolve and sacrifice settled over the grandfather's face. He took up an offensive stance from his purest fighting style, and said, his eyes blazing with a frost-bright light:

"That... will only ever happen in your dreams!"

With an unnatural, blinding speed, the grandfather shot forward like a missile of water toward the Emperor, gathering every last drop of his power, and cried out:

"Water Assault... The First Drop: Aqua Collision!"

The grandfather appeared before Megin in the blink of an eye, driving his water blade with all his strength and ferocity toward his opponent's left side. The horrifying shock was this—Megin did not move a single inch, did not even attempt to dodge or block the strike!

The water blade struck the Emperor's body, and from the force of the impact, a terrible, monstrous shockwave rippled backward—so violent that it was the grandfather's own bones and internal organs that shattered and tore apart under the unbearable weight! The old man stared in disbelief and horror as he realized his pure water blade had not even scratched Megin's black robe!

Before the old man could even comprehend what had happened, Megin's hand moved with the speed of lightning, driving a brutal blow into the grandfather's chest, hurling him through the air to crash against the far wall. His bones shattered on impact, and he collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood.

Megin gave him no time to breathe; he advanced like a specter of death, and with cold, merciless precision, thrust his bare hand—sharp as a blade—into the old man's chest, plunging it deep into his heart. He closed his fingers around a glowing, radiant blue mass, pulsing with pure light... and tore it free. He had taken the grandfather's Heart Core.

Megin raised the core and absorbed it into his palm, and a wave of watery energy, tainted with darkness, surged through his body. He let out a cruel, mocking laugh:

"And now I've claimed all of this old man's power... nothing will stand in my way now!"

He bent down and seized the grandfather's lifeless arm, beginning to draw out the energy of the sigil etched upon it, intending to absorb it completely. But suddenly... the flow of energy cut off. The aura of absorption stopped dead. The look of triumph faded from the Emperor's face, replaced by a wave of utter shock and bewildered confusion!

He looked down at the old man's hand, then at his own palm, and exclaimed in barely contained fury:

"What is this?! It's... it's only half a sigil! Where is the other half?!"

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