The sun had already started to lean westward when Jayden finally left the beach. His legs ached with every step, but the deeper ache came from within — the strange rhythm of Essence pulsing in his veins, like a heartbeat that wasn't entirely his.
The coast was quiet except for the whisper of waves colliding against rock. Far inland, cliffs jutted like broken teeth, marking the boundary between ocean and land. Jayden climbed the path slowly, his fingers brushing the cold stone. The breeze that greeted him smelled of wet moss and salt.
For a moment, he paused and looked back at the horizon — endless water stretching toward a place he could never unsee.
The Water Realm felt distant now, but something deep in him still listened to the ocean. Every ripple whispered faintly to his Essence, like a secret language only he could hear.
He shook the thought off. "No point looking back," he muttered. "They're gone."
The words barely left his mouth when a voice drifted from behind the rocks.
"Gone? That's a rather grim thing to say for someone still leaking Essence all over the place."
Jayden spun, muscles tensing.
A figure stepped out from behind a ridge — a boy, roughly his age, wearing a travel cloak that had clearly seen better days. His clothes were lined with thin strands of silver runes that glimmered faintly in the sun. He held a crystalline device — half compass, half orb — that hummed softly in his palm.
The stranger tilted his head, studying Jayden like one might study a strange insect under glass.
"Interesting. You're definitely human… I think. But your signature—"
"Who are you?" Jayden snapped.
The boy blinked, as if surprised by the tone. "Oh. Right. Introductions. I'm Askelad — scholar of the Aether Cartography Circle. Apprentice, technically."
He gave a half-smile, one corner of his mouth quirking upward. "And you, stranger, are standing at the epicenter of a Class-C Essence breach. That ocean just breathed. Do you know what that means?"
Jayden didn't answer. His guard stayed up. "I don't care. I just need a way back to Keystone."
"Keystone?" Askelad frowned and tapped his device. "That's a few hundred leagues east. You plan to walk there with Essence veins burning through your bloodstream?"
Jayden's expression didn't change. "I've done worse."
That earned a quiet laugh. "I can tell."
Askelad's eyes flicked over Jayden again — the faint shimmer beneath his skin, the exhaustion in his stance, and the subtle tremor of Essence that refused to settle.
"You just came back from a Trial, didn't you?"
Jayden froze. "What?"
"No one leaks Essence like that unless they've survived one," Askelad said simply. "And from the looks of it… the Water Realm?"
Jayden stayed silent. His hand drifted instinctively toward his face, but there was no weapon there — only the faint pulse beneath his eyelids, where the Eye of Creation rested unseen.
Askelad smiled faintly, adjusting the crystal compass. "Don't worry. I'm not here to hunt you. I study anomalies. And you, my friend, are the biggest anomaly I've ever seen."
Jayden narrowed his eyes. "Then study from a distance."
He brushed past, but Askelad fell into step beside him, utterly unfazed. "You'll collapse before sundown if you keep ignoring your Essence imbalance."
"I'll manage."
"Suit yourself."
A few moments passed in silence — only the wind and their footsteps against stone. Then Askelad added casually, "You know, when an Unlocked's Essence refuses to stabilize after a Trial, it usually means one of two things: either the Codex messed up…" He glanced at Jayden, a knowing glint in his eyes. "…or you're carrying something it doesn't understand."
Jayden didn't respond, but his grip tightened slightly.
Askelad grinned. "Thought so."
The cliffs opened ahead, revealing the faint glimmer of a settlement far below — smoke rising lazily from a fishing village nestled beside the surf.
Jayden stopped at the ridge, gazing down at it. The sight stirred something like relief — real land, real people. Maybe, finally, a start.
Askelad adjusted his lenses and pocketed his device. "That's Tidecross. Closest thing to civilization around here. If you're heading east, it's your first stop."
Jayden eyed him. "And you?"
"I go where the distortions go," Askelad replied with a small shrug. "But since you're clearly one of them, I suppose I'm going your way."
Jayden sighed and started down the path. "Do what you want."
"Gladly."
Askelad followed with the easy stride of someone who'd already decided he wasn't leaving.
Jayden intended to return to his home as soon as possible
Behind them, the wind howled softly over the cliffs — a whisper that carried the faint echo of deep waters and something ancient awakening far below.