William convulsed violently, hacking up thick streams of blood as his trembling hand stretched toward the trident. The instant his fingertips brushed its unearthly shaft, a malevolent energy tore through him, like barbed claws shredding the essence of his being.
"AAAGH!" he gasped, blood gushing from his lips. Crimson torrents flowed from the puncture wounds inflicted by the trident's prongs, staining the jagged cliffside in vivid scarlet streaks.
Kalyra approached with calculated grace, each step precise, her glowing eyes radiating disdain. To her, William was no more than an intruder, a defiler unworthy of the ocean's dominion.
"Tell me, surface-dweller," she hissed, her voice sharp and venomous. "What did you hope to achieve?"
Her fingers trailed along the weapon's shaft, igniting arcs of black lightning that danced beneath her touch. Each surge amplified William's agony, his nerves ablaze as though molten fire coursed through his veins.
Blood pooled around him. His breaths came in shallow, ragged gasps. His body's efforts to heal were thwarted by the trident's insidious energy, which corrupted every attempt.
Kalyra's grip tightened, channeling ominous currents of power into the weapon, spiraling around it like a sentient storm. The surrounding waters grew dense with foreboding, thrumming under the weight of her malevolence.
William's agonized scream tore through the silence as the central prong of the trident pierced his chest.
From the gaping wound, a seething orb of crimson and violet energy began to form, consuming his flesh in a whirling cyclone of blood and raw power. His body convulsed violently, bones creaking under the intense pressure, skin blistering from the scorching heat.
The orb grew larger, pulsing with menace, a heart of destruction on the verge of exploding. Kalyra's lips curled into a sinister grin, her voice booming with dark triumph:
"DIIIIIIE!"
WHOOOOOOM!
For a fleeting moment, time seemed to stand still. Then the orb erupted. A beam of pure malice tore through William's chest, blinding in its radiance, relentless in its power.
The blast hurled him backward like a ragdoll in a storm. Cliff walls disintegrated as his body smashed through layer after layer of rock, sending explosions of debris and coral fragments flying. Ancient sea gates trembled as the beam finally forced him through to the opposite side—
CRAAAAASH!
He collided with the seabed beneath a crumbled archway, the impact raising a towering cloud of silt and debris.
William lay shattered, his chest a hollow crater of charred flesh and glowing embers. His heart fought desperately against the corruption coursing through his veins. His regenerative abilities, normally swift and unstoppable, faltered and failed under the toxic influence of the malignant energy.
Without his inhuman resilience, he would already be reduced to ash.
William's vision blurred as the world dissolved into a haze of silt and blood. His body convulsed uncontrollably, every nerve seared by the malignant energy burrowing deeper into his chest. The wound emitted a faint glow, violet sparks coursing through his veins like wildfire.
Each breath he drew was sharp and ragged, as though shards of glass were ripping through his lungs. His regenerative ability, the one unshakable constant in his life, was faltering, overwhelmed by the corruption twisting its way through his cells. Where once there was healing, now there was only decay.
No... His fragmented thoughts clung desperately to defiance. I will not... end here.
With gritted teeth, William placed a trembling hand over his chest. His blood-slick fingers pressed against the smoldering wound, forcing his body to respond. He could feel the toxic energy writhing inside him, spreading like a parasite intent on hollowing him out from within.
"GHHHAAAA!"
His roar reverberated through the depths, muted by the ocean's immense pressure, as he summoned every ounce of his strength to resist. His muscles tightened, veins swelled, and his eyes burned with an intense orange light. The corruption fought back viciously, sending waves of searing agony through his core, threatening to rupture his organs from within.
The seabed fractured beneath him as his body convulsed, raw power radiating outward in chaotic bursts. Coral splintered. Silt erupted in plumes. Yet he refused to yield.
Images surged across his mind unbidden, Conor's steadfast grin, Marie's resolute gaze, the Immortal's stoic presence. They were not phantoms but lifelines, grounding him in his resolve.
"I... WILL... NOT... BREAK!"
The roar awakened something primal within him, sending orange flames coursing through his veins, colliding violently with the writhing violet infection. The opposing forces clashed like fire and poison, each thunderous heartbeat detonating in his chest.
William's body convulsed uncontrollably, his hand pressing deeper into the gaping wound. Blood-slicked fingers tore through scorched flesh and jagged bone, clawing into the hollow cavity of his chest. Pain surged white-hot across his vision, yet he continued, molten fury blazing in his eyes.
"GGHHHHAAAAHHHH!"
His fingertips brushed against something alien, a pulsing knot of living corruption, a tumor of violet lightning throbbing like a second heart. It lashed out instantly, venomous tendrils scorching his nerves, crawling up his arm in an attempt to consume him. His skin blistered and split, blood boiling beneath its surface.
But William roared through clenched teeth, grinding them until they cracked.
"GET… OUT… OF… ME!"
With a savage jerk, he plunged his fingers into the malignant core. Flesh tore apart. Bone fragments splintered beneath his grip. The seabed shattered around him, cracks spreading through coral and stone as the ocean itself trembled under the sheer force of his struggle.
Blood erupted from his chest in thick crimson clouds, veiling the water in suffocating red. The corruption thrashed wildly, embedding its tendrils deeper into his tissue, shredding his insides as it fought back. Each attempt to subdue him was met with an even greater surge of orange fire, flames erupting from his chest, encasing his arm, and searing the infection with molten chains.
William roared again, primal and relentless, summoning every ounce of fury and willpower he had left—
Until at last, with a sickening, tearing RRRRRRAAAAAAGHHHHH!, he ripped the malignant core free.
In his hand writhed a chunk of living violet fire, screaming and crackling like a dying star, while William's flames rose higher, consuming the remnants of the infection.
The malignant orb dissolved with a final hiss of violet sparks, the surrounding water boiling away the last traces of its corruption. William's chest lay open, raw and blistered, yet the orange flames within him blazed more fiercely than ever, licking at the edges of his gaping wound. With a guttural groan, he forced himself upright, each movement a symphony of agony, each breath a grueling battle. Blood slicked the seabed, swirling silt transforming into a crimson storm, while the regenerative fire coursing through his veins painstakingly repaired shattered flesh and bone with excruciating precision.
He gasped as tendrils of flame clawed through his chest cavity, searing away the remnants of Kalyra's poison. Each heartbeat resounded like a war drum, driving the orange fire that now blazed brighter than the sunken sun itself. His body trembled as he pushed himself upright, muscles quaking and chest heaving, yet slowly, almost imperceptibly, the hollow crater began to mend. Skin fused, tissue regenerated, and jagged bone fragments ground themselves down into dense, smooth forms that clicked back into place with agonizing exactitude.
As he rose to his full height, blood and orange fire cascading from his body, the seabed lay in ruin, a crater of destruction marked by fractured coral, shattered stones, and crimson silt drifting like storm clouds. His blazing eyes swept across the abyss with a relentless, feral intensity until they locked onto the distant shimmer of Atlantis.
Through the murky veil of water and silt, the city's golden light pierced sharply, each radiant pulse a declaration of Kalyra's dominion over the deep, and a searing reminder of the pain she had inflicted. Bitter rage churned within William, entwining with the regenerative fire in his chest, each orange flare mirroring the fury that surged through him.
His fists clenched tightly, flames climbing higher along his arms, casting a fierce glow on his blood-streaked face.
He was pissed.
William exhaled a ragged breath, molten orange sparks flaring from his chest like a forge of unbridled rage. "You think this will stop me?" he growled, his voice reverberating through the water in deep, resonant tones. "You cannot begin to comprehend what I am truly capable of."
For a moment that stretched endlessly, he remained motionless, flames flickering around him, his chest rising and falling with deliberate, fierce intensity. The ocean seemed to still, holding its collective breath. In his blazing eyes, the shimmering light of Atlantis burned and surged.
With slow, purposeful movements, he began to advance, each step steady despite the searing agony coursing through his body. His unwavering gaze locked on the city ahead, every crumbled stone beneath his feet and every ripple in the water marking his relentless march from the abyss.
The shadows of Kalyra's trembling minions lingered at the edges of the devastated seabed, but William ignored them entirely. His mind burned with a furnace of fury and resolve. From the fiery core of his chest, orange flames spiraled outward, forming jagged, molten arcs that crackled along his arms and shoulders. Their fiery glow illuminated the cavernous ruins, igniting the silt in bursts of vibrant orange and red.
William's eyes narrowed as he fixed on Kalyra in the distance, her trident spinning defensively to deflect an onslaught of pink javelins hurtling toward her. Each projectile shattered into sparkling shards upon impact, but suddenly, an enormous water construct shaped like a fist struck her from behind, leaving her vulnerable to Atom Eve's relentless barrage.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Three devastating blows landed before Kalyra managed to break free from the assault. She surged toward Eve like a cannonball from the depths, terrifying the younger woman, who hastily erected a fragile, desperate barrier.
"PATHETIC!" Kalyra roared, thrusting her trident toward the pink shield encasing Eve.
Rain surged toward Eve in a desperate bid to shield her from the impending strike, but no matter how much power he summoned, he could not outpace the relentless Kalyra. Forced to rely on ranged assaults, he unleashed a barrage of projectiles in an attempt to divert her focus. Yet Kalyra, seemingly endowed with an uncanny awareness, evaded each attack with effortless precision, weaving and dodging as though it were instinctive, her unwavering gaze locked on Eve.
"Don't underestimate me!"
Rain roared, the glowing blue lines etching his skin intensifying before surging into his eyes, which ignited with a brilliant azure light. Stretching his hand toward the hated Kalyra as if to grasp her, he summoned a spectacle that left not only Kalyra but also Eve and the Atlanteans on the distant battlements stunned. A colossal hand, formed entirely of pure seawater, rose and gripped Kalyra, slamming her into the ocean floor with immense force.
"Oceanus...!"
The single word, a name brimming with profound meaning, resonated deeply within the hearts of the Atlanteans who heard it, filling them with an overwhelming warmth, as though something cherished and long lost had finally been restored.
But before anyone could celebrate, a surge of malevolent energy shot upward through the watery hand, shattering it upon impact and dispersing it back into the surrounding sea. From its remnants emerged an enraged Kalyra, her eyes ablaze with unearthly power as she advanced toward Rain, her mind consumed with visions of tearing him apart piece by piece.
Raising her trident, she prepared to impale Rain, but before she could strike, a flaming hand grasped the weapon's tail end, halting her movement entirely. Forced to turn, Kalyra glared at the one who dared seize her weapon, only to be met with another flaming hand smashing into her face.
BOOM!
Kalyra was hurled violently through the churning waves, her body twisting uncontrollably as the fiery inferno of William's fist scorched her face. Pain twisted her features into a grimace, her senses overwhelmed by an intense surge of raw, unrelenting energy coursing through every fiber of her being.
"AAAAAHHHGGGG!" A guttural scream tore from her throat, reverberating across the water and sending ripples surging outward. Her body convulsed in agony, crashing against every surface in her chaotic path as she endured an unbearable torment unlike anything she had ever experienced.
Before she could even begin to recover from the searing pain ravaging her body, William's figure came streaking through the ocean like a missile tearing through the sky. He drove his feet with devastating force into her stomach, folding her in half like a flimsy chair and reducing the surrounding seabed to shattered debris.
With every brutal assault, more energy was forced into Kalyra, intensifying her suffering, and William showed no sign of stopping.
He mounted Kalyra's waist and unleashed a relentless barrage of punches, each one infused with the entirety of his strength.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Each merciless blow struck her face and abdomen with brutal precision, ignoring the anguished cries spilling from her bloodied lips. Without hesitation, William seized her by the skull and slammed her into the seabed with such force that it fractured the ocean floor, leaving her battered visage etched as a grim testament to her torment.
Yet, despite the unbearable agony, when the blade grazed the tender skin of her neck, a sinister smile seemed permanently carved onto her face, bewildering William, who had just inflicted a savage beating upon her.
"Why is she smiling? Something is terribly wrong!"
Kalyra, trembling, raised a hand and summoned a sphere of energy, launching it at William in a desperate bid for survival. He dodged it effortlessly, driving Morganna deep into her neck with unwavering precision, unleashing a torrent of vile, black blood that spilled into the ocean depths.
Her head turned, locking eyes with William, the demonic grin on her face now far more chilling as a string of haunting words finally escaped her lips.
"Nereuson the Betrayed shall be freed at last. My death was merely the final key!" The vengeful light faded from her eyes as she uttered these final words.
RUMBLE!
Suspended in the dark, inky waters of the Bermuda Triangle, the ancient gate convulsed violently. Cracks webbed across its rune-carved surface, glowing with an ominous, sickly green light. The seals that had held it intact for eons unraveled from within, as though a vast, malevolent force clawed to break free.
A low, bone-shaking hum emanated from the gate's core, reverberating through the water and the swirling currents. The ocean itself seemed to writhe, currents twisting chaotically, spiraling around the structure like a frenzied serpent. Fish fled in terror, their shimmering scales reflecting fragments of the eerie luminescence.
Then came the sound: a deep, resonant groan, alien and otherworldly. The gate's massive arches began to warp, metal and coral contorting as though alive and in torment. With every crack, waves of energy pulsed outward, sending shockwaves that obliterated nearby coral reefs and hurled boulders like mere pebbles.
From the largest and most jagged fissure, a dark, unfathomable form began to emerge. Immense and incomprehensible, it stretched beyond the gate's dimensions, taking shape from shadow, water, and raw malice. The ocean boiled furiously where it came into contact with the seal, bubbles and currents churning in a violent frenzy.
The creature writhed and twisted, its scales blacker than midnight, streaked with pulsating green veins that exuded an unnatural energy. Its eyes, blazing embers of molten malice, pierced through the turbulent waters, observing its surroundings with an intelligence as ancient as it was wrathful. Razor-sharp fins, serrated like deadly blades, sliced effortlessly through the currents, leaving trails of chaos and destruction in their wake. Each exhalation sent ripples of power through the ocean, obliterating the delicate remnants of coral and rock formations.
The dragon's gaping maw, a cavernous void lined with rows of needle-sharp teeth, shimmered with an unearthly glow of violet and green energy. A deep, resonant roar emerged from within, echoing through the water and reverberating through every living being, structure, and essence within the Triangle. This sound, older than Atlantis and the oceans themselves, carried the fury of a force long restrained, now unleashed upon the world.
The ancient gate trembled violently under the dragon's relentless assault, cracks spreading into gaping fissures as waves of energy erupted like molten rivers. Runic fragments broke free, drifting chaotically through the water as they radiated the immense power of a prison shattered after millennia. Corrupted tendrils of sea matter extended outward, tearing apart the remaining fragments of the gate and hurling currents into impossible, chaotic patterns.
With a final, shuddering crack, the gate erupted from within, fragments bursting outward like fireworks in a tempest of green and violet energy. The water boiled and surged violently as the dragon emerged fully, its colossal form dwarfing everything around it. Its wings, or the jagged, membranous structures that served as wings, unfurled, sending torrents of water spiraling into chaotic vortexes.
The corrupted dragon lashed its massive tail, smashing into the seabed and tearing fissures that unleashed clouds of silt and rubble into the dark waters. Its claws, each one larger than a man, tore through the terrain with horrifying precision, carving deep trenches of destruction that radiated outward for hundreds of meters.
A palpable aura of malevolence enveloped the beast, dark energy writhing across the ocean like a living stain. Even the currents seemed to recoil in terror. The dragon raised its head and released a bone-chilling roar that reverberated through the depths, shaking the water so violently that monstrous waves rippled across the surface above.
Its gaze locked onto Atlantis, and its intent was unmistakable. No longer bound by its prison, it was free to consume, corrupt, and destroy everything in its path, reclaiming the dominion of the deep that had been taken from it long ago.
From the shattered gate, shards of glowing runes fell into the water, each fragment sparking like a dying star, as if the world itself lamented the loss of the ancient seal. The dark sea dragon, now fully unleashed, coiled its immense body around the remnants of the gate. With a single snap of its jaws, it crushed the largest arch, obliterating centuries of magic and stone in an instant.
The Bermuda Triangle had become a maelstrom of chaos, a storm of elemental fury and corrupted power. At its center loomed the dark sea dragon, heralding the rise of Nereuson the Betrayed, the god it was always destined to become, now free and ravenous for the world above.
[AN - Nereuson the Betrayed? what you all think? also, how are you all enjoying it? Leave some reviews lol!]