53-Shadows of the Past

Zhaelor watched Nexha sleep, the child's small, gentle movements wrapped in the soft algae. His chest rose and fell slowly, his features still marked by the exhaustion of his nightmare. For a moment, the elder felt a brief sense of peace.

But then, the ocean changed.

The waters around them grew denser, as if the sea itself were holding its breath. The cold that spread through the cave was unnatural—not the salty, refreshing breeze of the deep. It was a chill that seeped into the bones, carrying something ancient and forgotten. A whisper echoed from an impossible place, dragging like chains scraping against stone.

— You cannot protect him forever, Zhaelor…

The whale closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. He knew that voice. He recognized the elegant tone, the refined calmness, the smoothness that had once been captivating. But now… now it was rotten, like a pearl corroded by darkness.

— So, you are conscious enough to speak… — Zhaelor murmured calmly. — When did you stop crying?

The laughter came softly, reverberating like a whisper in the ear.

— When a piece of my once beautiful lady fell back into this sea.

Zhaelor opened his eyes and turned toward the entrance of his home. The ocean there was darker, shadows slithering through the water like veils of black ink.

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— You lost the right to call her that. You are not him. And she was never yours.

A silence followed before the voice returned, seductive as a treacherous tide.

— Ah, Zhaelor… Always so righteous with me. Pretending not to understand. But deep down, you know I was wronged. He may have left… but I remained. And now, I am what he was.

Something inside the elder tensed at that insinuation. The voice was the same… but the soul behind it? No. He knew that man no longer existed.

— You are not him. And you never will be.

— You are wrong.

The conviction in the voice made the ocean tremble, the shadows rippling with its presence.

— I once was him. And I can be again. I just need to have… what belongs to me.

Zhaelor felt the water’s temperature drop even further.

— Nexha is not a thing.

— Don’t lie to me, whale. I am no longer as naïve as I once was.

The elder let out a low chuckle, a sound filled with irony and sorrow.

— Of course, you are. If you weren’t, you wouldn’t still be trapped on that throne like a starving shadow.

The silence that followed was almost oppressive. Then, the voice returned, this time lower, but still laced with a corrosive desire.

— As always… trying to make me lose my composure. Mischievous. But it doesn’t matter, Zhaelor.

The presence grew stronger for a moment, as if trying to surround him, test his limits.

— I will have what I desire.

And then, as if it had never existed, the presence vanished.

The ocean began to move normally again. The cold dissipated.

But Zhaelor knew the truth.

With slow, solemn movements, he picked up the fragment of a broken spear’s shaft. He held it against his chest, feeling the weight of the memory it carried.

— Descendant of the seas… the threat returns.

The fragment glowed with a golden hue, pulsing like a heart about to awaken. Then, it fell silent. But the message had been received.

Zhaelor closed his eyes.

— The battle will begin again.