Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

The Drowned District was an old neighborhood deep in the City of Tears Lake, where the murky blue water had once completely covered the streets, houses, and buildings.

Before, the dilapidated and rusty buildings blended in with the vegetation growing freely around them, as if nature had reclaimed the place. And the streets were once aquatic corridors where fish of all sizes and colors swam, and algae and water plants floated happily along. The houses, on the other hand, were obviously sunk in the water, with broken windows and collapsed doors, while furniture and personal belongings lay in an underwater chaos.

Over the course of more than a hundred years, the Drowned District had become home to sea creatures, some of them hostile, hiding in the underwater shadows and debris. Visibility in the water was poor and darkness reigned in many places, making it a dangerous place to explore.

Despite its abandoned and frightening appearance, the Drowned District had a mysterious and intriguing beauty, with the water shimmering in shades of green and blue as the sunlight filtered through the cracks in the surface.

To the people of the City of Tears, which sat above the lake, the Drowned Lands were a mystery from a distant past, a place of legends and terrifying tales passed down from generation to generation. But one day, the nobles of the city decided that they deserved to live somewhere different from the others, because they felt they were too powerful. But there was no place to build a fancy new neighborhood, because up in Olaynore was the Citadel of the Magi, and down below was the Forest of the Lost. So they decided to return to their origins and revive the Drowned District.

With the help of the city's greatest mages, the then-waterlogged district was transformed into an underwater city, a place where the nobles thought they would find peace. But Kaizen had no intention of leaving them alone for long.

Since Kaizen and Dhetha were far from nobles, they could never use a magical teleportation station to get to the Drowned District, so they had to jump into the lake and swim to the bubble at the bottom.

The distance between the shore and the Drowned District was about 100 meters in depth, and that was not the only problem. Throughout its existence, it had served as a dumping ground for the sewage of this magician-filled city. One could imagine that there were not only very strange fish, but also terrifying sea monsters. But that was not their biggest problem. Kaizen and Dhetha did not have unlimited breath, so they had to find a way to deal with this.

After thinking about it for a while, Kaizen came up with an idea, and before they finally jumped into the lake, he covered their bodies with spheres of <Telekinesis>, allowing them to breathe for a while while submerged in the water. This was only possible because Kaizen was much more accustomed to using this ability than when he first started, so his control was on a different level. As long as they didn't breathe in distress, they would be fine.

As the two sank deeper and deeper into the lake, Dhetha was fascinated.

A veritable forest of colorful algae rose from the sandy bottom in the distance, moving smoothly with the current in a mesmerizing dance.

Fish of all sizes and shapes swam around them, some with shiny scales and others with transparent fins, emitting multicolored lights that reflected off the rocky walls of the lake. Since there was no sunlight in most of this place, they illuminated their surroundings themselves.

Dhetha marveled at the beauty all around her. She had heard many stories about this place over the years, but seeing it with her own eyes was different.

She admired a school of small glowing fish swimming around her, playing with each other. Suddenly, a larger fish approached, its silver scales glistening in the light of the algae, and she felt a wave of fear mixed with fascination.

Kaizen, on the other hand, looked around calmly, identifying the different species of fish and plants and guiding Dhetha to keep looking forward without distraction. With the help of their spheres of <Telekinesis>, they moved nimbly and easily, as if floating in a dream.

As they swam, they passed through an underwater cave on the side of the lake, the walls of which were covered with glittering crystals.

As they approached the bottom of the lake, the water was no longer clear, but murky and greenish, but the local fauna and flora were also much larger than near the surface.

As they progressed, Dhetha saw some strange creatures writhing in the depths, which made her even more apprehensive. She tried to remain calm, but her heart was pounding in her chest.

Suddenly, a huge shadow approached them, and Dhetha felt her heart freeze in her chest. It was a huge sea monster, with long, spiky tentacles and a mouth full of sharp teeth. She prepared to face the monster, but before she could act, the monster writhed in agony and began to move away, as if struck by something invisible.

Kaizen smiled and said nothing, only Dhetha knew what he had done and thanked him with a nod.

Finally, in the distance, they could see the bubble at the bottom of the lake, the Drowned District.

The underwater city looked magical, fascinating and luminous, with coral walls forming a natural protective barrier. At that moment, Kaizen and Dhetha exchanged glances.

"Are you ready?" Kaizen asked.

"I will do whatever it takes to honor my late grandfather's belief in you, Psyker. Do not worry, I will watch your back."

...

Edited by: DrHitsuji

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