Chapter 1232: Reaching Consensus

Petia, the Deep Sea Sovereign, felt that the situation was unfolding somewhat differently from her initial expectations. The Elemental Sovereign didn’t seem particularly fond of the local specialties the sea witches had brought—yet judging by the outcome, nothing seemed amiss.

She had come with her sisters to negotiate and met the Water Elemental Sovereign. At first, things didn’t go smoothly, but once she presented the local goods, the Elemental Sovereign’s attitude shifted to cooperation. In the end, the result was as expected.

Local specialties worked like a charm.

After quickly running through this flawless equation in her mind, Petia’s mood brightened. She smiled and looked up at the towering Elemental Sovereign, who was even taller than the highest wave. “Alright, if you don’t like these, I’ll take them back. I’ll see if I can find something else that suits you better…”

“Enough!” Gruugno, the Elemental Sovereign, interrupted with a hint of irritation. “You and your odd-thinking kin just need to stop causing me trouble. I have zero interest in your local specialties. Great Devourer, you’d better take advantage of the little trust I just extended to you and explain clearly what you intend to do—do you understand? Use normal logic, the kind that living beings and living elements can comprehend, the natural, ordinary logic of this planet’s rotation—not your tribe’s usual flights of fancy. Make it clear!”

Gruugno’s tone was blunt and unyielding. But considering what she and her sisters had done to this Sovereign and his followers over countless millennia—considering the elemental dome they had shattered, still riddled with holes, and the fact that the sea witches had forcibly occupied what was once a water element territory in the deep sea (mainly because their ships had nowhere else to go)—Petia could understand his sour mood. With the contract still in effect, the Sovereign’s only recourse was to speak harshly. As a sea witch, Petia’s greatest strength was her broad-mindedness.

So, the magnanimous Sea Witch Queen took no offense. Meeting Gruugno’s gaze calmly, she laid out her purpose in full detail: the anomalies humans had discovered in the Deep Blue Conduit, the dragon clan’s records from two million years ago, and her own concerns. She made the stakes clear, because she believed Gruugno was a wise being—after all, he had once defied all opposition to sign a peace treaty with the sea witch kingdom, ending the “millennia-long blood war” between the two elemental factions.

“The Deep Blue Conduit? You say there might be something going on there?” After listening patiently, the water flowing around Gruugno seemed to calm slightly. The mighty Water Elemental Sovereign spoke thoughtfully, “I recall something similar from long ago… back when those unfortunate dragons weren’t yet trapped by their equally unfortunate gods. Powerful magical surges erupted from every mana focal point on the planet, forming a swirling barrier that nearly sealed the entire world off from the cosmos… Ah, mortals can’t see such things, but to me, that was a spectacular sight.

“Let me think… what happened next? Global tsunamis? Extreme droughts inland? Magnetic pole shifts, raging hurricanes… That season, civilizations survived only by retreating to countless shelters. Even the dragons endured hard times, but for us elemental beings, it was a grand celebration. Great Devourer, it’s a pity you missed that spectacle—you and your kin hadn’t fallen here yet.”

Like an elderly human reminiscing, the aged Elemental Sovereign rambled on once he started recalling the past.

“I’m not interested in what happened back then,” Petia interrupted firmly. “I care about now, Gulu-lu. I want to know what’s happening in the Deep Blue Conduit right now…”

Before she could finish, Gruugno’s booming voice cut through the ocean air: “Call me by my proper name! Great Devourer! I am Gruugno!”

“That’s close enough,” Petia waved her tail dismissively. “You still call me and my sisters ‘Devourers,’ that strange name. After all these years, you haven’t changed.”

The elemental giant slowly bent down, his body more magnificent than a towering wave, the roar of surging seas emanating from him. A swirling vortex churned where his head should be, like an eye fixated on the seemingly tiny Petia, who looked like a small fish in comparison. But in his true elemental vision, he could see the almost infinite power surging behind this “Sea Witch Queen,” countless invisible elemental threads connecting her body to the surrounding ocean. Whether he liked it or not, this foreign elemental being was a Sovereign as powerful as himself—and that made him wary.

“Great Devourer, you and your people have resurrected yourselves from the corpses of my kin, again and again. Your arrival shattered our dome, and you drew unimaginable pure water from its cracks to repair your bodies. You extract power from the remnants of gods—not just using it as fuel, but feasting on it with relish. If you don’t deserve the title ‘Devourer,’ then who else does?”

“…Alright, you’re right,” Petia admitted readily after a moment’s thought. “Let’s drop the name debate. How about the Deep Blue Conduit? Gulu-lu, you’ve ruled this boundless sea for ages—have you noticed…”

“I don’t know what you mean by ‘anomalies,’ but as far as I know, everything here is as usual—no changes.” The giant straightened, gesturing behind him to the vast ocean. In an instant, the sea split apart like a blade cutting through water, revealing not the seabed but another turbulent sea beneath. Torrential rain rose from this “sea beneath the sea,” defying physics as it formed an inverted curtain of rain flowing upward, merging into the “Boundless Sea” under Gruugno’s control.

But Gruugno wasn’t showing Petia this strange layered ocean for its own sake. He pointed to the blue streams of light racing between the “reverse rain curtain” and the deep waters below.

These currents surged through the vast aquatic world. Magical torrents, invisible in the material realm, took on tangible form in this pure elemental environment. They were like the planet’s thick blood vessels, channeling staggering primordial power to distant places. At the confluences of these great blue streams, warped lens-like distortions appeared, within which faint projections from another dimension flickered.

“As you can see, the Deep Blue Conduit itself—I haven’t found anything wrong with it. At least, so far, it seems normal.”

“…Maybe the anomaly hasn’t reached this far yet,” Petia said, her expression growing serious as she watched the blue currents racing through the Boundless Sea. “Our allies suspect someone is deliberately manipulating this phenomenon. If it’s artificial, their actions might take time before they reveal themselves.”

“Artificial… Who could possibly fathom the secrets of this ‘planet’s blood,’ control the Deep Blue Conduit’s flow?” Gruugno scoffed. “Some clever mortals? Or their gods, who go mad and lose control every now and then? Even we, the ancient Elemental Sovereigns, and that unbelievably powerful ‘Dragon God’ from long ago, dare not claim to understand it fully. Do you really think anyone can influence the Conduit’s operation?”

“I don’t know. But clues have surfaced, which is why I came to you,” Petia said earnestly. “I know you don’t care much about the material world’s affairs, but we live long-term ‘on the other side.’”

“…Hmph. I don’t believe anyone can truly affect the Deep Blue Conduit’s flow—only the original Voyagers could do that. But I have no interest in arguing with you over this.” Gruugno glanced at Petia. “I have only one question… You mentioned your ‘allies.’ Do you mean the ‘Cecil’ people living north of the Loren continent? Or that ‘resurrected’ Gawain?”

“Both,” Petia replied calmly. “Gawain Cecil is our friend, and the Cecil Empire under his rule is a partner of the sea witches. So far, our cooperation has been quite pleasant.”

“…Gawain Cecil, interesting. I thought I’d never hear that crazy name again. Didn’t expect he’d really come back as promised.” Gruugno’s tone held a trace of amusement—whether it was mockery or admiration was unclear. His “single eye vortex” atop his head slowly spun as his gaze returned to Petia. “Very well. Since you’re willing to stir things up, do so here. For the sake of our shared water element, and that mad name—you may establish an outpost near the rift in the Boundless Sea and send a small number of sentinels.

“Normal elemental beings dislike approaching those magical currents, but you strange creatures seem indifferent… If you want to monitor the Deep Blue Conduit, go ahead. But some rules must be set in advance.

“Your sentinels must not cause trouble for any water elementals, must not stray far from the outpost, and the location and number of sentinels will be designated by me. Also… I will be watching them closely.”

“No problem—that’s your domain, reasonable requests all,” Petia agreed without hesitation. Then, as if recalling something, her expression turned curious. “But there’s one thing I want to ask…”

“Speak, Great Devourer.”

“When you mentioned Gawain Cecil just now, your attitude seemed… odd,” Petia said, looking at the elemental giant. “You called it a ‘crazy name’… Why? And I heard Gawain Cecil was able to die and come back because he once received blessings from the four elements. Is that true? Did you bless him?”

“Ha, Great Devourer, your curiosity is boundless.” Gruugno laughed, his voice rumbling through the sky. After a brief pause, his tone dropped low. “Yes, it’s true. The four Elemental Sovereigns rarely agreed on anything, but they did unite to do this one thing… including me.”

“Why?” Petia’s curiosity swelled even more. “None of you really strike me as the type to be interested in the mortal world—if anyone, maybe Wendy, the elemental lord of wind, could be persuaded. But the other three? Why would they care about an ordinary mortal from back then? And why would they personally bless him, granting him an immortal body?”

“Why…” Gruugno’s voice rumbled like the ocean waves surging within him. He seemed to drift into a brief memory, then suddenly let out a low, amused chuckle. “Heh… When a reckless mortal suddenly shows up before you, declaring he’s going to climb the Tower of the Voyager—and that he intends to reach the very top to ‘keep an appointment’—who could resist their curiosity? What a magnificent feat… Since the dragons sealed themselves away, we haven’t witnessed anything so incredible… Who wouldn’t want to see how such a bold mortal’s story ends?”

The giant’s voice was deep and resonant. After a pause, he added with a hint of nostalgia, “When he held his funeral, we even sent our avatars to watch. Frem and Gondakrum were convinced we’d been fooled…”

He waved his hand, and a curtain of water cascaded like a waterfall. With a thunderous roar, the sea returned to its natural state. His gaze then settled on Petia. “Our new pact is sealed, Great Devourer. Is there anything else you need?”

“No,” Petia shook her head, her expression serious as she gave a slight bow to the giant. “Thank you very much for your understanding and cooperation, Guluulu. We’ll be on our way now. I’ll send my generals later to discuss the details of the outposts and sentinels with you. Until next time.”

With that, the lord of the deep turned, accompanied by her sea nymph entourage, heading toward the still-functioning elemental portal. Gruugno hesitated for a moment before reacting, his voice booming like crashing waves across the boundless ocean: “Damn it! I’m Gruugno! Don’t you have any memory at all, you creature without an elemental core?!”

But his shout was met only with Petia’s indifferent wave and the swift disappearance of the sea nymphs into the elemental rift. The distant sea breeze blew once more, leaving only the lord of water elements and the ocean’s sentinels staring at each other across the vast expanse.

After a moment, a water elemental sentinel clutching a crystalline spear finally spoke up, unable to hold back: “Great Lord, do you really believe what those sea nymphs said? Their story is too unbelievable…”

“At first, I didn’t,” Gruugno replied in a low voice, tinged with an indescribable emotion. “But when they showed us those… ‘local specialties,’ I began to believe. Those things… to us, they’re pollutants we’d rather avoid at all costs. But to them, they’re not. They even offered those as ‘gifts’… That means they’re serious. After all… they are sea nymphs.”

(End of chapter)