Location: Arcania Academy – The Following Morning
The storm had passed, but its weight still clung to them.
Morning sunlight pierced through the stained-glass windows of Arcania Academy, too warm and peaceful for four adventurers who had just stared death—and something worse—in the face.
The group sat stiffly in the Headmaster's chamber. The room was silent save for the soft ticking of an old arcane clock and the quiet swirl of incense that danced like memories refusing to fade.
Headmaster Elira Vance stood by the window, arms behind her back, silent, brooding, and unreadable as ever.
"You encountered a creature of the deep. That much I expected," she began, voice low. "But the voice you heard… I did not."
Her eyes flicked toward them, sharp and tired. "Tell me again. Every word."
Rayan recounted the whisper. Cezar chimed in with details, occasionally glancing at Tonio, who was eerily quiet, lost in thought. Yeon, for once, didn't interrupt. He simply stared at the floor, his cape unusually still.
Vance listened, then nodded once.
"You've touched something ancient. Something that should not be stirring."
She turned toward a bookshelf, her fingers tracing the spine of a black tome, one older than any of them could guess.
"There's a legend," she murmured. "Of a throne not made of gold or power, but of despair. Built beneath the sea. Where the Sleeper waits—not dreaming, not dead. Waiting."
The room chilled.
Tonio broke the silence. "Then the Leviathan… it wasn't the threat. Just a guardian."
Yeon finally stood, clearing his throat with a dramatic flourish. "So what I'm hearing is—we poked a sea god in the eye and now his emo dad might be waking up?"
Cezar barked a laugh. "You say that like it's not our usual Tuesday."
Rayan sighed, rubbing his temple. "We need to prepare. Whatever's coming… it's not going to play by the rules."
Vance turned back to them, her voice now heavier.
"You are grounded. Not for punishment—but for protection. Research. Training. Observation. If the Sleeper stirs, Arcania will feel the tremor before the world does."
She walked past them, pausing at the door. "But be warned… some thrones aren't claimed. They awaken themselves."
And with that cryptic warning, she left them in silence.
Dorm Room – Later That Night
The squad gathered again, this time in a quieter mood.
Rayan cleaned his katana silently, his eyes distant.
Yeon stared into a cup of steaming tea like it might whisper secrets.
Tonio was buried in a stack of old books, cross-referencing ancient sea legends.
Cezar tossed a ball against the wall lazily. "You know what I hate most?" he asked. "We don't even know what this Sleeper looks like. Could be some giant fish with daddy issues."
"Or worse," Tonio muttered. "It could be one of us... eventually."
Everyone looked at him.
"What?" he said, flipping a page. "Legends sometimes speak metaphorically."
Yeon stood up suddenly. "Well, metaphor or not, if anything's sitting on some shadowy throne of doom, I'm kicking it off and claiming it myself!"
Rayan didn't even look up. "You'd forget your speech halfway through and fall off the seat."
"Lies," Yeon hissed. "I'd have a dramatic cape-flip and everything."
Another gust of wind blew open the window.
A whisper, almost mocking, slithered into the room:
"You carry the light. But you are all still bound to fall."
The lightbulb flickered.
Cezar stood, eyes narrowing. "That wasn't wind."
Rayan drew his katana halfway. "It's watching us…"
Yeon muttered, voice suddenly dead serious, "I felt that in my bones…"
Tonio finally closed his book, tone grim.
"It's not just watching. It's waiting."
Cut to: A Vast, Subterranean Throne Room – Unknown Location
A gargantuan chamber of obsidian pillars and chained glyphs.
There, in the center, rested a crumbling, jagged throne of blackened coral and cracked crystal.
Something stirred in the shadows.
Not waking.
Not yet.
Just… remembering.
To Be Continued...