Alay Leria.
That was her Seafolk name.
Unlike “Wendy,” a Western-style name casually given to her by the orphanage, the surname Alay originated from the Seafolk Progenitor Goddess, Alaylith, its root meaning “supreme” and “the highest.”
As for Leria, in the ancient Seafolk language, it referred to the undersea storm that brought both destruction and rebirth.
Wendy liked the name.
It represented noble status and immense power.
More importantly…
It was the name her mother had left for her.
With that thought, she looked down at the gathered Seafolk.
Having survived the great catastrophe, her people were visibly uneasy.
Although every one of them hovered silently and respectfully in the water, Wendy could clearly sense their fear and anxiety.
She realized that if she wanted them to acknowledge her as their sovereign—and understand the situation they now faced—she would have to deliver a speech capable of calming their hearts.
Drawing upon the inherited memories she had received, she began to speak.
“Our world has always existed within an unchanging cycle.”
“The destruction of an old civilization marks the birth of a new one.”
“At the end of the Second Solar Era, Seafolk civilization encountered an apocalyptic catastrophe.”
“We should have perished.”
“But my mother—the previous Sovereign—offered her own life in sacrifice, earning the Seafolk a chance to continue our existence hundreds of millions of years in the future.”
“The Third Solar Era has now reached its end.”
“A new civilization has arrived at its own apocalypse.”
“The creatures beneath the earth have broken their seal.”
“The order of the world has once again been rewritten.”
“As the final heir of the royal bloodline…”
“My people…”
“I will lead you and restore the former glory of Seafolk civilization!”
Empowered by spiritual energy, her voice spread throughout the entire city.
The sound waves altered the currents of the seawater, becoming rippling waves that expanded into the distance.
The young woman, arms spread wide, possessed the royal family’s distinctive black hair and blue eyes.
Her blue-green tail was longer and more powerful than those of ordinary Seafolk.
It symbolized her unique identity—
And the immense power flowing through her royal blood.
You have realized your desire—to rebuild civilization and rule over all things.
Suddenly, a notification sounded inside her mind.
The blue bead around her neck abruptly lit up.
A violent explosion seemed to erupt within her consciousness, causing her mind to blur for an instant.
The next moment…
Her consciousness entered a silent, pitch-black space.
Below her field of vision, a tiny blue planet slowly appeared.
Sea Pearl activated.
Planetary Consciousness has acknowledged its master.
You have obtained the Sea of Consciousness.
Planetary Consciousness… acknowledged its master?
She quickly surveyed the space called the Sea of Consciousness before focusing on the planet floating at its center.
Following the guidance that had appeared in her mind alongside the notifications, she attempted to enlarge it.
The scene instantly changed according to her thoughts.
A panoramic view of the planet’s oceans unfolded before her.
Beneath the seas that covered the entire world lay fifteen thousand dimly lit ancient city ruins.
Among them…
Only one city emitted a faint glow.
It was the awakened Seafolk capital where she currently stood.
With another thought, her perspective withdrew from the planet.
Wendy / Alay Leria
Current Identity: Sovereign of the Seafolk
Ocean Control: 5%
Innate Talents: Basic Spiritual Energy, Hunter’s Instinct, Siren’s Eye
Authority: Dominion (E-Rank)
Fragments Collected: ×1
A panel resembling a game interface unfolded before Wendy.
Seeing the information displayed on it, she caught her breath.
It reminded her of the sandbox creation games she had played back in the human world.
In those games, the player usually assumed the role of a god.
They could freely create continents and worlds, develop civilizations of their own…
Or destroy everything however they pleased.
And now…
From within her Sea of Consciousness, the tiny rotating planet looked exactly like a primitive sandbox world waiting to be developed.
This ability was practically…
Divine.
She almost laughed aloud.
But she quickly restrained herself and immediately began examining what she considered the two most important “stats.”
With another thought, her consciousness returned to reality.
The blue ocean.
A thousand merfolk bowing beneath her tail fin.
They all remained respectfully curled in the formal salute.
None of them had moved.
None showed any sign of surprise.
Wendy carefully examined every one of her subjects before lowering her gaze to her own tail.
The flow of seawater brushing against it had remained perfectly steady.
Which meant…
The Sea of Consciousness did not slow or stop the flow of time.
Entering it merely transferred her consciousness elsewhere.
Her physical body remained in the outside world.
The “cheat” she had received possessed a definite weakness.
It wasn’t completely overpowered.
That disappointed Wendy somewhat.
She looked toward her people again.
Nearly five minutes had passed since her speech.
The lingering currents told her an invisible story.
After hearing her words, the Seafolk had erupted into joyous cheers.
But when they saw that their Sovereign remained expressionless and silent…
They had awkwardly quieted down once more.
None of them understood the temperament of the former princess who had now become their new Sovereign.
The very queen who had awakened them…
Explained everything…
And ignited hope within their hearts…
Now hovered there with an icy expression and oppressive silence.
Naturally, everyone became uneasy.
The thousand gathered merfolk lowered their heads as though children who had done something wrong.
Only a few cautiously raised their eyes, hoping to gauge their Sovereign’s reaction.
But the moment they did…
They saw the Sovereign suspended above them lower her own head.
Those noble yet icy blue eyes looked directly at one of them.
The brown-haired Seafolk nearly jumped in fright.
He hurriedly lowered his head again.
The Sovereign…
The exalted… supreme Sovereign…
Looking directly at one’s king during an audience was an enormous offense.
This new Sovereign didn’t appear as gentle or forgiving as Her Majesty Daiyi…
Would she… punish him for such disrespect?
The moody (?), unpredictable new Sovereign, Wendy, had absolutely no idea what her subjects were thinking.
She merely glanced at the brown-haired Seafolk who had suddenly panicked after meeting her gaze, then returned to the Sea of Consciousness.
At present, the most important task was understanding the “cheat” she had obtained.
The awakened royal capital faced no immediate threats.
Everyone nearby was her own subject.
Without receiving the Sovereign’s orders, they would continue waiting.
She didn’t have to worry about time.
Nor did she have to worry about harm coming to her body.
This was the perfect opportunity to study the Sea of Consciousness.
The interface that had appeared earlier was now folded beside the planet.
Wendy reached out and tapped it, expanding it once again.
During the motion, she noticed her own “hand.”
It was translucent, glowing white, with a faint blue aura outlining its edges.
There were no mirrors within the Sea of Consciousness.
Even so, Wendy knew that her entire body probably looked the same here.
The first panel that opened was the basic status screen.
Along its left side were several buttons.
They appeared to open secondary menus.
She wasn’t in a hurry.
Instead, she carefully examined every detail of the basic panel.
Earlier she had already noticed that several entries glowed bright blue, indicating they could be selected, almost like a beginner’s tutorial.
Current Identity: The final royal princess born during the last era of Seafolk civilization. Possessing the royal heirloom—the Sea Pearl—you have rightfully inherited the position of Seafolk Sovereign and now command a population barely worthy of being called a civilization.
Ocean Control: Increased by completing missions. Raising Ocean Control unlocks and upgrades Authorities. Every additional 5% Ocean Control raises all currently possessed Authorities by one rank. Proficiency may also be improved through practice.
Innate Talents: As Sovereign, the abilities of the three Seafolk lineages are your bloodline talents. The stronger your people become, the stronger your bloodline abilities will become.
Authority: Divine Power. The power of dominion bestowed by the gods flows through the royal bloodline. It is both overwhelming strength and a symbol of supreme nobility.
Fragments: A fragment of a map, obtained by unlocking an Authority.
Wendy memorized the descriptions of each major attribute before selecting the three skills listed under Innate Talents.
They, too, glowed bright blue.
Dominion (E-Rank)
Your proficiency has reached perfection.
You may freely dominate any object within a 400-square-meter area centered upon yourself.
Basic Spiritual Energy
Your current spiritual energy can purify Aberrations of C-Rank or below.
By studying Spirit Runes, you may expand both its applications and offensive capabilities.
Hunter’s Instinct
As the apex predator of the deep sea food chain, your physical abilities are doubled, and the range of your five senses is doubled.
This instinct allows you to lock onto cunning prey skilled at hiding.
Siren’s Eye
Pure-blooded sea sirens with emerald-blue eyes are known as Sirens.
Making eye contact with another individual using the Siren’s Eye allows you to confuse portions of their memories from the previous one hour, provided the target is Level 10 or below.
In other words…
She currently possessed four abilities.
Dominion was clearly her ultimate ability.
Basic Spiritual Energy and Siren’s Eye functioned more as support skills—one for purification, the other for cleaning up afterward.
As for Hunter’s Instinct, it was essentially a passive ability that enhanced her attributes.
Wendy replayed her battle against the fish-scaled monsters.
She had fought entirely on instinct.
Crushing the monsters and creating spatial barriers had both been applications of Dominion.
Four hundred square meters…
That was roughly the size of a basketball court.
Thinking back, that seemed accurate.
She had vaguely sensed that everything within that space was her absolute domain.
That was why she had waited until the monsters entered her range before attacking.
Simple manipulation consumed very little energy.
However, controlling space itself had been much more difficult.
Wendy guessed that the discomfort and recovery time she had experienced were tied to the ability’s proficiency.
And by slaughtering so many fish-scaled monsters…
She had completely maxed out the proficiency of her E-Rank Dominion.
During that battle, she had unconsciously used two of her three innate talents.
Even her ultimate ability had received extensive practice.
Only Spiritual Energy had gone unused.
Perhaps it hadn’t fully awakened yet.
Or perhaps its presence had simply been overshadowed by the overwhelmingly stronger Dominion.
That was why she had never noticed it.
Being unable to effectively use multiple abilities at once…
Was a weakness.
Wendy analyzed herself.
She remembered driving into Huaijiang City.
After overusing Dominion, she had entered a weakened recovery period.
Had the vehicle not protected her…
Even a single additional fish-scaled monster could have placed her in grave danger.
But if she had known how to use Spiritual Energy…
Then against C-Rank or weaker Aberrations, she could have purified them during that weakened state, buying herself enough time to recover.
Against enemies above C-Rank, purification might not work outright.
Even so, it should still be capable of inflicting serious damage and delaying them until Dominion’s cooldown ended…
At which point she could finish them with a single decisive strike.
Next time I fight…
I need to eliminate this weakness.
Having finished reviewing the basic panel, Wendy turned her attention to the secondary menus on the left.
The buttons were arranged like piano keys.
Only the first two glowed.
The rest remained gray, indicating they were locked.
The two available panels were:
[Missions]
and
[Civilization I]
Civilization I…
Wendy paused before opening it.
It was the management panel for Seafolk civilization.
It recorded the current population, number of cities, territorial size, agriculture, animal husbandry, trade, military strength, and every other aspect of development.
Together, these values formed the civilization’s overall Prosperity.
Having just survived the apocalypse…
Every statistic—including Prosperity—stood at its minimum.
Civilization I…
The Seafolk civilization was labeled with a number.
Did that mean…
There could also be other civilizations?
Civilizations… that I could rule as well?
Wendy’s heart couldn’t help but race.
She suppressed this blood-pumping possibility for the time being and clicked into the first secondary panel:
[Missions]
As soon as the [Mission Panel] opened, a series of notifications appeared.
[Beginner Mission: Awaken the Seafolk Capital, City of Rebirth—Apari (Completed)]
Reward Obtained: Ocean Control +5%
Subjects × 5,889
[Congratulations. You now possess a capital city and your initial population. The foundation of your dynasty has begun.]
[Advanced missions have now been unlocked. After completing advanced missions, the main storyline missions will be fully opened.]
Advanced Mission: Lead troops to rescue the lost subjects
After announcing the mission results, the [Mission] panel closed, returning to the basic status interface.
So now…
The main storyline mission hasn’t been unlocked yet?
Wendy was briefly speechless.
Then she gave a quiet laugh as she looked at the panel.
She had roughly figured out what was happening.
When the secondary panel closed, a small map appeared in the upper-left corner of the main interface.
A group of rapidly flashing white dots immediately caught her attention.
White dots represented the Seafolk.
Red dots represented the Aberrations.
Black dots represented other marine creatures.
Three-quarters of the small map was covered in darkness, indicating areas that could not be observed.
Only the ocean surrounding the capital city appeared as illuminated blue.
A group of rapidly moving white dots flashed across the map.
Not far away, an enormous black dot was relentlessly pursuing them.
Wendy used her consciousness to try and enlarge the map.
However, this clearly exceeded her current abilities.
A sharp pain struck directly through her mind.
She was forced to exit the Sea of Consciousness.
She lowered her eyes and looked down.
Among the thousands of Seafolk bowing before her with their tails curled, there was an elderly woman with completely white hair.
Having inherited the memories of her lineage, Wendy instantly recognized her.
That woman was the current Seafolk Priestess—
Hegaluoyin.
With a command from Wendy, Hegaluoyin swam upward and stopped directly beneath Wendy’s tail fin.
The priestess’s hair had already turned white.
Countless marks of time covered her skin.
Yet her eyes still carried a sharp and ethereal brilliance, as though they could see through everything.
“Priestess, when the catastrophe descended, were there any Seafolk who were outside the capital?”
Wendy’s question caused Hegaluoyin to freeze.
The passage of hundreds of millions of years seemed to have created a brief gap in her memories.
“Your Majesty… they were the children who had gone to train in the Wasteland Sea.”
“They are still in the Wasteland Sea!”
Before Hegaluoyin could finish answering, a cry suddenly came from below.
A red figure rapidly swam upward and stopped beneath Hegaluoyin’s tail.
“Your Majesty, Priestess, forgive my disrespect.”
“Before the catastrophe arrived, a group of young Seafolk who were about to reach adulthood went to the Wasteland Sea for training.”
“Based on the timing, they should have been there when the catastrophe occurred.”
The Seafolk who had broken the rules by swimming upward possessed fiery red hair.
Her entire body was muscular, yet her physique remained graceful and powerful, radiating a dangerous and wild beauty.
It seemed Wendy’s question had suddenly reminded her of something.
She was extremely anxious.
Wendy examined her.
Red hair…
She remembered.
That was the symbol of the Tuolie Clan of the Sea Hunter Tribe.
The Seafolk were divided into three races:
Sea Spirits, Sea Hunters, and Sea Sirens.
Among them, the Sea Spirits were the main race of the Seafolk.
They made up sixty to seventy percent of the entire population.
A small number of Sea Spirits could awaken spiritual energy, become Chosen Ones, and enter the Divine Temple.
The Sea Hunters worshipped strength.
Regardless of gender, they possessed tremendous physical power, developed muscles, and sharp claws and fangs.
They were natural warriors and hunters.
The Sea Sirens, meanwhile, possessed enchanting and beautiful appearances.
They excelled in illusions.
Because their rank and order differed from the other races, they had their own cities scattered around the major Seafolk capitals.
“Among this group of young Seafolk, there is also the pure-blood successor of the Sea Siren race, and…”
The red-haired Sea Hunter paused.
She cautiously raised her eyes toward Hegaluoyin.
“According to the timing, all the Sea Spirit candidates who could possibly become the next Priestess are also among this group of young Seafolk.”
Hegaluoyin was already at the end of her life.
Her death was approaching.
This meant that the next Priestess had already been born and grown into adulthood.
Tuolie Suola was burning with anxiety.
Yet she feared upsetting the elderly woman above her who was nearing the end of her lifespan, so her voice became softer.
Wendy’s brows furrowed even deeper.
In other words…
Those children represented the most important new bloodline of the Seafolk.
They were the key to the continuation of their race.
With Tuolie Suola’s reminder, the missing pieces in Hegaluoyin’s fragmented memories returned.
She looked at the young Sovereign.
The pure spiritual energy radiating from Wendy allowed her to directly sense just how powerful she was.
“Your Majesty, I will lead the remaining citizens in rebuilding the capital.”
The elderly priestess respectfully curled her tail.
Her silver-gray eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through the passage of time, gazed at the girl above.
It was as though she was looking beyond the present moment…
Toward another person from a distant era.
“You may leave with peace of mind and lead your troops to the Wasteland Sea.”
“Bring back your people who have been lost outside.”
Wendy led an army composed of Sea Hunters and Sea Sirens into the Wasteland Sea.
The Wasteland Sea, which had not been illuminated by the Magneto Stone’s radiance, was barren and harsh.
The bone-chilling cold and endless darkness covered everyone like an ocean tide.
Almost immediately after leaving the range of the Magneto Stone barrier, they were attacked by sea beasts.
After hundreds of millions of years had passed, the former main race of the ocean had long since lost its past glory.
The newly evolved sea beasts living in this silent deep sea no longer recognized the race before them.
They only followed their instincts, determining their place in the food chain through slaughter.
Even though most of their ancestors had once been the Seafolk’s followers.
With the Sovereign herself among them, the Sea Hunters on the outer perimeter were almost all in a state of combat readiness.
The sea beasts attempting to attack had not even gotten close before they were torn apart by the Sea Hunters.
The surrounding seawater was dyed red with sea beast blood.
The strong smell of blood filled their nostrils.
Every Sea Hunter’s pupils turned golden-brown.
Their teeth and nails became sharp and pointed.
This was the second form that only appeared when Sea Hunters entered battle.
The wildness and bloodlust hidden deep within their bloodlines had been completely awakened at this moment.
“These sea beasts have degraded so much that I can barely recognize them anymore.”
The brown-haired Sea Hunter from earlier clicked her tongue as she looked at the corpse of a sea beast lying on the seabed.
“This isn’t just degradation. It should be considered mutation.”
“Without the guidance and illumination of the Magneto Stone’s radiance, reproducing in this darkness for hundreds of millions of years… it isn’t surprising they became like this.”
Tuolie Suola answered.
Following her gaze, Wendy looked over.
It was a shrimp-like creature nearly the size of a small car.
Its appearance resembled one of the iconic creatures from the “Cambrian Explosion” period in ancient biology textbooks—the Anomalocaris.
It had two mouthparts resembling an elephant’s trunk.
Its front limbs were large and powerful.
It possessed a fan-shaped tail and tail forks.
But its eyes were only two tiny dots, almost completely undeveloped.
The group continued forward.
They traveled through the endless Wasteland Sea for nearly four hours.
After killing countless sea beasts along the way, they finally arrived at a fractured mountain cave.
This was the original location indicated by the coordinates of the small Sea Hunter’s white dot.
The cave was extremely narrow.
The stone walls were covered with traces left behind by burning.
The ground was filled with enormous cracks.
Basalt formed from solidified magma had nearly filled the entire cave.
Yet within the basalt that had almost completely occupied the cave…
There were nearly a hundred empty spaces shaped like human bodies with fish tails.
Beside them scattered countless fragments of white-gray stone.
Wendy didn’t even need to approach to know what they were.
They were the broken pieces of the Seafolk stone statues after awakening.
This was where the young Seafolk had originally awakened.
However, there was no sign of anyone inside the cave now.
The aura belonging to the Seafolk had already faded considerably.
Wendy once again projected her consciousness into the small map within the Sea of Consciousness.
She discovered that the white dots representing the young Sea Hunters had moved farther away.
And were gradually disappearing.
At the same time, every Sea Siren within the group sensed a faint sound wave coming from afar.
From the depths of the Wasteland Sea…
To the southwest.
Wendy and the Sea Sirens simultaneously turned toward the source of the sound wave.
As members of the royal bloodline, she possessed the same ability as the Sea Sirens to sense the emotions carried within sound waves.
Fear.
Terror.
Anxiety.
Why had the young Seafolk gone into the depths of the Wasteland Sea?
Even if they had lost their direction after awakening in the endless wilderness of the ocean, the farther they traveled into the depths, the more they should have realized something was wrong.
Unless…
Something was chasing them.
Something was forcing them deeper into the Wasteland Sea.
According to the inherited memories, the deepest regions of every Wasteland Sea contained a massive underwater rift.
They were also known as—
The Abyss.
No Seafolk knew how the Abyss had appeared.
They only knew that one day during the Chaos Era, the earth suddenly split apart.
Countless cracks formed across the seabed.
Strange creatures with grotesque appearances began crawling out from those cracks, pouring into the ocean.
From then on, the ocean gained a nightmare-like race that defied all logic—
The Aberrations.
They began reproducing wildly throughout the seas, contaminating and eroding Seafolk territory.
Could it be the Aberrations?
Wendy pondered for a moment.
The ocean was vast and boundless.
Compared to the entire ocean, the awakened royal capital’s territory was as insignificant as a drop in the sea.
Although the Wasteland Sea where they currently were had once been outside the capital’s influence, after she awakened the royal city, it had already fallen within the range illuminated by the Magneto Stone’s radiance.
Through the small map in her Sea of Consciousness, she could confirm whether there were any unusual movements around herself and her army.
So they were relatively safe.
But the depths of the Wasteland Sea…
The waters around them had already grown completely dark.
Only the eyes of the Seafolk shone like the eyes of wolves gradually lighting up in a forest at dusk.
Golden-brown, emerald-green, and deep blue lights flickered in the darkness.
This represented that they had already traveled far beyond the safe range illuminated by the Magneto Stone.
Yet Wendy looked ahead.
The thick darkness, impossible to disperse, accompanied by deathly silence, swallowed every trace of approaching light.
If they entered that place…
They would be completely exposed to unknown dangers.
“Your Majesty, we…”
Seeing the Sovereign staring silently toward the direction of the sound waves, one of the Seafolk swam forward hesitantly.
Should they go rescue them?
Of course they wanted to.
The Sea Siren successor and the next Priestess were among those young Seafolk.
And even putting those identities aside…
Those children were also the children of their own relatives and friends.
How could they not want to save them?
But the depths of the Wasteland Sea were absolutely dangerous.
Their current Sovereign was still young and needed their protection.
How could they possibly allow her to lead them into the deepest parts of the Wasteland Sea?
How could they let the only bloodline left by Her Majesty Daiyi face such danger?
“To the depths of the Wasteland Sea.”
Wendy looked into the distance and gave her command.
“Yes… ah?”
The Sea Siren who had swum forward was unable to sense Wendy’s power because she lacked spiritual energy.
She had been about to say:
“We should escort you back…”
But instead, she heard a command completely different from what she expected.
The red-haired Sea Siren raised her head in shock.
The Sovereign had already taken the lead and swum out of the cave.
A royal command could not be disobeyed.
Even though she was filled with disbelief, she could only quickly follow.
Wendy led the Seafolk toward the depths of the Wasteland Sea.
They swam at full speed for an unknown amount of time.
The Sea Sirens continuously sent sound waves toward the direction where the young Seafolk’s signal had come from.
Unfortunately…
They received no response.
Another hour passed.
Just as the hearts of all the Seafolk began sinking into despair…
A group of figures entered their field of vision.
It was the young Seafolk.
Dozens of surviving young Seafolk imitated the adults and formed a small army of their own.
The Sea Hunters tightly protected the Sea Sirens and Sea Spirits within their formation.
Their eyes had all turned golden-brown, filled with killing intent.
The Sea Sirens trembled as they continuously released sharp sound waves, seemingly attempting to drive something away.
Several awakened Sea Spirits stood protected at the very center.
They gritted their teeth and used their newly awakened, still-weak spiritual energy to create a barrier, shielding all the young Seafolk within it.
“Miss Esha!”
Almost at the same moment, the Sea Sirens cried out in alarm.
Their eyes filled with uncontrollable anxiety and anger as they looked at the small blue-eyed Sea Siren leading all the others in releasing attacking sound waves from within the protective formation.
A blue-eyed Sea Siren represented the purest Sea Siren bloodline.
They were the most precious pure-blooded heirs of the Sea Siren race.
And now…
This treasured heir of the Sea Siren clan had a face as pale as paper.
A large portion of the scales on her tail—brilliant and gorgeous like purple gemstones—had been torn away.
Fresh blood continuously flowed from the exposed wounds where the scales had been ripped off.
Hearing the voices, the young Seafolk turned their heads.
Almost instantly, they saw the girl leading the group.
Black hair.
Blue eyes.
The symbol of the royal family.
In that moment, the eyes of all the young Seafolk lit up.
The Sovereign!
They were saved!
Without caring about the remaining distance between them, a Sea Spirit flicked her tail and swam out of the barrier that the other young Seafolk had joined together to create.
She rushed toward them.
At the same time…
The beast that had been lurking in the darkness for so long finally found an opening in its prey’s defenses.
A thick, crimson tentacle suddenly shot out from the dark mountain range.
The young Sea Spirit who had just escaped danger still had a relieved smile on her face.
But in the very next second—
The tentacle wrapped around her and dragged her into the darkness.
Author’s Note:
Are there any readers still here, babies? Why is everyone so quiet? I feel so lonely. (Crying loudly)
Note: Female Seafolk are the dominant gender in their society. Therefore, when a group of Seafolk contains both males and females, “they/them” will automatically be used with feminine pronouns in reference to the group.