The grand hall of the merfolk palace was deep and cold, illuminated by the eerie blue glow of coral lamps that cast shifting reflections on the shell-tiled floor. Dan walked at the front, his expression calm, even carrying a hint of nonchalance. Luna and Leo followed closely behind him, their movements deliberately slow, but in their hearts, they had already prepared for the worst.
At the center of the palace, upon a raised throne, sat a regal merfolk woman. She wore a deep blue robe, and her long silver hair drifted gently with the currents. A crystalline ornament on her forehead shimmered with a soft glow. Though her face showed no overt anger, her sharp gaze carried an undeniable authority.
Dan stopped several meters away from the throne and bowed slightly. "Greetings, Chieftain."
The chieftain's gaze fell upon Dan, carrying a restrained coldness and underlying fury. "I cast you out of Driftwind Sea long ago. Why have you returned? You know that those who are exiled and dare to return face only one punishment—death."
Dan smirked faintly at her words, his tone relaxed yet tinged with resignation. "Grandmother, even after all these years, your words are still as sharp as ever."
The chieftain's expression faltered for the briefest moment, a flicker of complex emotion crossing her eyes, but she quickly masked it and spoke with the same cold hardness. "Dan, if it weren't for you and your so-called teammates, the world would not have fallen into this state! The merfolk would not have suffered as they have! You are to blame! It was you who unleashed the corruption upon the world!"
The atmosphere in the hall instantly grew tense. The merfolk guards instinctively tightened their grips on their weapons, their gazes fixed warily on Dan.
Dan didn't flinch. The amusement in his expression vanished, replaced by firm resolve. "No! We are not to blame—the world is! Back then, when my team and I set out to challenge the Ten Gates, everyone cheered for us. Everyone supported us. But when we failed, the same people turned their backs on us, cast us out, made us scapegoats! Because you couldn't allow failure, could you? You needed someone to take the blame to protect your own interests!"
His words echoed through the hall, making even the guards hesitate, unsure of how to respond. The chieftain remained composed, yet a flicker of something unreadable passed through her eyes. She slowly closed them, as if unwilling to continue the conversation. When she reopened them, her cold demeanor had returned.
"That's enough," she said icily. Her gaze shifted away from Dan as she gave a quiet order to the guards. "Take him away. Lock him in the prison."
Several guards stepped forward and seized Dan by the arms. He didn't resist, only staring deeply at the chieftain before murmuring, "I didn't come back to beg for forgiveness. I came back for the truth."
The chieftain didn't reply, turning her face slightly away.
Luna and Leo, standing off to the side, watched as Dan was led away. Though anger burned within them, they knew that arguing now would be pointless. The chieftain finally turned her attention to them. Unlike with Dan, there was no hostility in her gaze—only distant indifference.
"You are Dan's friends. I will not harm you," she said calmly. "But you should leave. Do not return."
Leo and Luna exchanged glances. They were reluctant to leave, but they knew they had no choice. Fighting now would only be reckless. They needed a better plan to save Dan.
The two of them slowly swam out of the merfolk city. Only when the palace lights faded behind them did Luna finally speak. "The chieftain must not know what Dan's teammates looked like. Otherwise, she would've recognized you."
Leo frowned slightly. "Yeah… It seems they don't know my identity. But that might actually be a good thing. At least we can still move freely."
Luna nodded, determination flashing in her eyes. "We have to save Dan. No matter what, we can't leave him there."
As night fell, the deep sea grew dark and silent. The number of patrolling merfolk guards had lessened, their silhouettes barely visible in the distance. Under the cover of darkness, Leo and Luna sneaked back toward the outskirts of the merfolk city, searching for a way into the prison.
The prison was located in an underwater cavern behind the palace, secured by thick coral walls and a powerful magic barrier. Two guards patrolled the entrance at regular intervals. Luna observed them closely before whispering, "They switch directions every thirty seconds. We need to move when their line of sight shifts."
Leo nodded, holding his breath. The moment the guards turned away, he swiftly guided Luna through a narrow gap between the rocks, slipping into the prison cavern. Inside, rows of coral pillars formed a tightly enclosed area. At the center, Dan sat on the floor, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, seemingly indifferent to his predicament.
Luna tapped lightly on the coral bars. "Dan, we're here."
Dan opened his eyes, blinking in surprise before smirking. "I thought you'd at least wait until morning."
"Less talking, more escaping," Leo muttered, running his fingers over the magical seals on the cage.
Luna pulled out a small enchanted dagger and traced the spell markings on the barrier, searching for weak points. Just as she was about to break the seal, the guards outside seemed to notice something amiss and began heading their way.
"Hurry up!" Leo urged in a low voice.
Luna took a deep breath, focused her mind, and suddenly stabbed into the core of the magic array. A flash of blue light flickered, and the magic barrier shattered instantly. Without hesitation, Dan swam out of the cage.
The three had just left the prison area, heading away from the merfolk city, when a familiar figure appeared before them.
The merfolk matriarch floated quietly in the water, her silver-white hair drifting with the currents. Her deep gaze fell upon Dan, carrying a trace of sorrow that was almost imperceptible. She did not summon the guards, nor did she show any anger. She merely watched them in silence, as if she had long anticipated their actions.
"Dan..." The matriarch's voice carried a hint of exhaustion. "If you leave, don't come back."
Dan's body tensed slightly, and the smile on his lips faded. He looked at the matriarch, his eyes filled with complicated emotions. After a moment, he took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Grandmother... Before I leave, I have a request."
The matriarch was silent for a while before speaking. "What request?"
Dan's gaze flickered slightly, his tone carrying a hint of pleading. "Can you give me a fruit from the Tide Sanctuary Tree?"
At these words, the matriarch's expression grew even heavier, the sorrow on her face deepening. She gently shook her head, her voice low and slow. "The Tide Sanctuary Tree... can no longer bear fruit."
Dan was momentarily stunned, while Leo and Luna both frowned slightly.
"Why?" Luna couldn't help but ask. "Did something happen to the Tide Sanctuary Tree?"
The matriarch looked at them, her expression distant, as if lost in memories from long ago. Her gaze became deep and faraway as she slowly began to speak.
"The fruit of the Tide Sanctuary Tree was once the most precious treasure of our merfolk race. Not only could it heal young merfolk suffering from 'scale withering disease,' but it also sustained the health and prosperity of our people. But do you know? The tree's roots were also an invaluable resource to humans..."
She paused, her voice tinged with sorrow. "A century ago, humans accidentally discovered that the sap secreted by the Tideheart Tree's roots could be used as the core material for forging anti-magic weapons. They called it 'Tide Silver.' From then on, the merfolk and humans became closely intertwined. In exchange for weapons and food from the land, we provided them with a limited amount of the tree's sap. For a time, there was peace between us."
"But then… decades ago, a once-in-a-century monster tide swept across the continent." The matriarch's voice grew lower, and her gaze darkened. "Cities on land were devastated by the tide of beasts. The lord of Windbreak City came to us, pleading for more of the Tideheart Tree's sap to forge stronger weapons to defend against the monsters."
"But the merfolk refused to overharvest the tree's roots." The matriarch closed her eyes, her tone carrying deep fatigue. "That tree is the foundation of our survival. We could not give it away. And so, we rejected the city lord's request."
"But..." The matriarch opened her eyes again, her gaze sharp and cold. "The city lord of Broken Wind City was unwilling to accept our refusal. He bribed a merfolk to secretly install a magic array at the base of the Tide Sanctuary Tree. Once activated, the humans could continuously siphon the tree's sap through it."
Dan's fists slowly clenched, and Luna's eyes were filled with disbelief.
"And then?" Leo asked in a low voice.
A bitter smile appeared on the matriarch's lips. "They took too much. Part of the Tide Sanctuary Tree's roots withered, unable to support new life. Since then, the tree has never borne fruit again."
She paused, her tone becoming even heavier. "The newborns suffering from scale withering disease could no longer be cured with the fruit… We could only seal them in crystal coffins, letting them sleep, waiting for the day the Tide Sanctuary Tree would recover."
Dan gritted his teeth, his eyes burning with fury and pain.
"For humans, this was a disaster as well." The matriarch continued, "With the Tide Sanctuary Tree's decay, weapons forged from Tide Silver began to weaken, no longer as strong and resilient as before. Though they could still forge them, they would never regain their former power."
"Later, the merfolk discovered humanity's betrayal, and our rage could not be soothed. Even when the lord of Broken Wind City personally came to apologize, it could not mend our broken trust." The matriarch's gaze turned ice-cold. "From then on, the merfolk decided to sever ties with humans completely. We no longer welcomed them, no longer traded with them. Instead, we began using our songs to create whirlpools, attacking human fishing boats..."
"Those who fell into the sea were sacrificed to the Tide Sanctuary Tree's roots, in the hope that it would be revitalized. In response, humans began brutally hunting merfolk during their fishing expeditions, stripping their scales, stealing their lives..."
Her voice grew softer and softer until it finally faded into a barely audible sigh. "It was the filth within the human heart that led to the downfall of the merfolk."
As her words settled, the water around them grew eerily silent, as if everything had sunk into the depths of an old, sorrowful memory.
Dan remained silent for a long time, his expression filled with pain. Leo and Luna, too, had no words to say. They could not refute her, for every word she had spoken was a harsh truth.
"So..." The matriarch slowly turned away from them, her tone still heavy. "The fruit of the Tide Sanctuary Tree can never grow again. I cannot grant your request."
Dan's gaze trembled slightly. His lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing more.
Leo was silent for a moment before he finally spoke. "What if... the Tide Sanctuary Tree could be restored?"
The matriarch's figure froze slightly, but she did not turn back.
"If it could truly be restored..." Her voice drifted with the water, "Then… those sleeping children might awaken once more."
With that, she slowly swam into the darkness of the deep sea, disappearing from their sight.