At the edge of the pristine lake hidden within the Veil, an otherworldly sight unfolded. A woman of breathtaking beauty stood upon the water, her hair a cascade of luminous azure strands that shimmered like liquid sapphire beneath the light. Her eyes, vast and fathomless, mirrored the ocean's depths—both tranquil and unknowable.
With each step, her bare feet skimmed the glassy surface, sending delicate ripples outward, as though the lake itself bowed in reverence. She moved in time with a melody too soft for mortal ears, her motions fluid and unearthly, a waltz that belonged more to dream than reality.
In that moment, she seemed less a woman and more a celestial spirit, an ethereal dancer gracing the veil between heaven and earth.
But there was one problem, or rather, anomaly…
The woman… was a man.
"Pffft, you're doing great, Leon! The perfect epitome of womanhood and grace!"
"... please shut up."
Leon bit the bottom of his lip as he cursed at the beauty who was laughing at his dance. Then, he looked to the man who forced him into this state, and he was simply wearing a neutral, firm expression. Follow current novels on novel-fire.ɴet
"You're doing great," Amon praised. "Keep pouring your mana into the lake that way, it will get Thalassa's attention."
"... this better work."
Leon swallowed the insults he wished to spew and continued with his graceful movements. It was hard to imagine that he hadn't taken any dancing lessons since today, and slowly but surely… his dance stirred the quiet lake awake.
The mirror lake started bubbling like a geothermal fissure, and mana could be felt seeping from its leylines. It was as if something was awakening from its deep slumber and had been jolted awake to watch Leon's dance to its finality.
"Something is coming…"
"Leon, do you feel anything?"
After the Solaris Founder had awakened his potential, Leon's sensitivity rose through the roof. Added with the essence of Thalassa he'd inherited from his mother, Leon could clearly feel the power of the slumbering Titan.
It was enormous, far more than anything Leon had ever felt. It felt like he was a bee trying to navigate through a hurricane, and just a moment of distraction was enough for him to be swept away by the transcendental mana.
Overwhelmed by the being that was tied to nature itself, Leon was beginning to have second thoughts. Could they really defeat something that powerful?
But Amon's voice snapped through the fog and brought him back to reality.
"Don't be afraid! Remember our plan!"
Once more, Leon slapped himself back as his focus zoned in on the massive mana signature attempting to connect to him. Taking two deep breaths, he opened his soul and allowed the invisible tendril to form a deep connection within him.
"This is… the power of Thalassa."
Mana of the ocean flowed into Leon's body as the part of his soul, which Solaris had suppressed, was now stirred awake. It rejoiced in the new nourishment, and it greedily sucked the mana like a baby weaning from its mother. And sure enough, Thalassa indulged Leon's soul.
"It's working… Thalassa believes that Leon is Aluria."
Even Lucas, with his worldly experience and knowledge, had no words for the turn of events. Yes, Leon looked like his mom when crossdressing, but they were ultimately two different people. For Thalassa to mistake Leon as his mother…
"I told you, despite being a Titan, it lacks intelligence."
Amon reminded Lucas as he drew Nyx from its sheath. Rising to the sky, he levitated there as seven incandescent Moons orbited around him. Against Thalassa, the Solaris mana was a detriment. After all, no matter how much fire Amon produced, he couldn't evaporate the might of the world's oceans. With his Lunar mana, however…
"We'll start the next phase of our plan. Leon!"
As if waiting for this moment, Leon raised Ascalon before his eyes as he recited the Nine Suns Heart Mantra. No, in Leon's case, it was the Eighty-One Suns Heart Mantra.
Five flaming spheres orbited around the young Hero while twenty more satellite Suns created a constellation above the mirror lake. While Leon had been constantly cultivating Solar mana, he had neglected his other half. The mana that belonged to the oceans and the power that suppressed his Solaris bloodline.
But now… he was letting it all loose.
Merging the mana he got from Thalassa with his Eighty-One Suns Heart Mantra, he managed to find a balance between the two. And all of a sudden, the massive ocean of mana that Thalassa controlled was beginning to show signs of peculiarity… as if it was attempting to break free from Thalassa's grip.
And then it took form—an immense sphere of mana, pulsing with raw vitality. Leon watched, entranced, as it tore itself free from the soul that bound it. Two tendrils unfurled from its surface, twisting like living cords. They reached outward, latching onto Leon and Thalassa. The sphere became their mother, and they her competing children, each struggling to claim her nourishing essence.
That sphere wasn't Thalassa's mana… it was the essence of nature… the divinity of the oceans.
Over the years, Thalassa had claimed this divinity from its original master, Khion, the Ocean Titan. With no being born capable of wresting control over this divinity, it had held this monopoly with impunity. But now, there was another born with the ability to fight against Thalassa, to claim the title of the Ocean Monarch.
And this wasn't missed by the astute Amon.
Leon couldn't spare a single word. All of his focus was on the deluge of mana entering his body. Like two souls engaging in a tug of war, Leon and Thalassa fought over control of this massive mana sphere. Thalassa's soul was infinitely bigger, and it had a greater integration with the Ocean's Divinity, so it held the definite advantage.
But Leon had a trick up his sleeve.
The Holy Sword, Ascalon. The blade that once sealed Thalassa into the lake now screamed into life. Burning with a radiant blaze, it scared the Titan's soul into releasing some control, giving Leon some space to breathe.
However, it was only a temporary fix. The moment Thalassa realises that Idrytis Solaris, the man who sealed it, wasn't here, it would do everything in its power to get its divinity back.
And it was this gap that Amon was aiming for.
Yue immediately leapt forward and began casting a spell. Temporal chains erupted from her soul and bound the struggling soul of Thalassa, making Leon's job infinitely easier. At the same time, Amon used his Lunar mana to suppress the raging Ocean's Divinity.
With all those factors at play, there was only one thing Leon needed to do now.
With the Holy Sword in hand, Leon charged forward and aimed Ascalon at the tendril connecting Thalassa's soul with the Ocean's Divinity. On this planet, there was no other sword with the capability of touching the divine. But Ascalon was different.
Probably the most legendary sword of all time, it was a blade that even the Goddess couldn't underestimate. With a soul-wrenching roar, Leon mustered all of his strength and sliced through the tendril, severing Thalassa's connection with the Ocean's Divinity once and for all.
"Eerekmakkkkkkkkkk!!!"
A roar… no, perhaps a cry… erupted from Thalassa's soul.
With the divinity severed, it was now fully mortal again. A former Titan mount, while challenging to overcome, was infinitely easier to conquer than a God. And with it weakened… it was time to release the seal.
"It's done," Amon declared. "But it's not over yet."
"We're going to release the seal now?"
"No, we have to seal the Ocean's Divinity in the Holy Sword."
"... we'll have to try."
While Amon knew that it was theoretically possible to use the power of the Holy Sword to seal divinity, he never had the experience. After all, he wasn't actually Ascalon's owner. In [Bright], Leon managed to do it instinctively, but that was after his parents sacrificed themselves to weaken Thalassa.
"Without sealing the divinity, we can't let Thalassa out. And we'll need Leon to seal it somehow."
Just as Amon found himself lost in uncertainty, unable to decide his next step, a voice drifted through the air: soft, melodic, and delicate, like the chime of crystal bells.
It pierced his concentration, pulling his gaze toward the lake. From its shimmering depths, a figure began to ascend. She was a vision of divine beauty, her long, cerulean hair cascading like liquid sapphire, catching the moonlight with every ripple that slid from its strands.
Her slender, graceful frame carried an ethereal perfection, each movement effortless and poised. She seemed carved by the gods themselves—her curves subtle yet entrancing, her proportions immaculate, designed to tempt even the most disciplined of men.
But it was not mere allure that defined her.
Otherworldly aura radiated from her presence, commanding attention, as though the lake itself had chosen to birth her for all eyes to witness.
While Amon and Yue immediately got on guard, the two others widened their eyes, both with bliss. And then, at the same time, both of them shouted.