Chapter 95: Chapter 94: What Time Brought

Aegis did not ascend to the surface with a roar of thunder or a blinding divine proclamation.

Instead, he rose with the absolute, rhythmic certainty of the tide.

​The waters above the Sea God’s Palace parted smoothly, opening a vast cylindrical corridor of pressurized air that carried him upward like a living elevator.

The light grew warmer with every passing meter, the crushing sapphire of the deep giving way to a brilliant turquoise, and then finally to the sunlit shimmer of the surface sea.

Boink.

Pyro bobbed beside him, unusually energetic now that the familiar scents of his home territory surrounded him once again.

​When Aegis finally broke the surface, the sky of the Eternal Sky Realm greeted him with its drifting cloud-islands and a calm, endless horizon. It also greeted him with noise. A staggering, deafening amount of noise. There was cheering, rhythmic shouting, and the distinct, whistling crackle of what suspiciously sounded like magical fireworks. Aegis blinked, adjusting his vision to the sudden glare of the sun.

​Then he saw them.

​The entire coastal command platform had been cleared of its usual industrial clutter. Banners bearing the Aquabyss sigil snapped proudly in the sea breeze, their deep blue fabric catching the light. Soldiers, administrators, mercenaries, and civilian representatives packed the docks shoulder to shoulder. Water mana lanterns floated in the air, magically manipulated to spell a single phrase repeatedly: WELCOME BACK.

​Before Aegis could even set foot on the wooden planks, someone tackled him. Hard.

​”MY LORD!”

​Felix’s voice boomed with unrestrained joy as he wrapped Aegis in a crushing hug, nearly lifting the Sea God off the ground.

Aegis stiffened for exactly half a second, the instinct of the abyss flaring briefly before his brain registered the familiar scent of expensive wine and polished leather that always trailed after his second-in-command.

He sighed, relaxing his posture.

​”Felix,” he said flatly, though there was a ghost of a smile in his voice.

​Felix pulled back just enough to look him in the eyes, grinning like a madman. “You are alive. I mean, I knew you were, the system notifications were going crazy, but seeing you in one piece is better.”

​”I was planning on staying in one piece,” Aegis replied.

​Felix laughed loudly, then punched Aegis’s shoulder with more force than was strictly necessary.

“Do you have any idea how annoying it was pretending not to panic for two months straight? My hair is graying, Aegis. Look at this. I am an old man now because of you.”

​Aegis raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Pretending?”

​Felix scoffed, stepping back to address the crowd.

“Fine. Panicking internally. Calm and dashing externally.”

​The crowd erupted into laughter. Aegis glanced around, taking in the sight of familiar faces everywhere. There were veterans who had followed him since Aquabyss was nothing but a dangerous, forgotten coastline. There were newer recruits who had only known him through the weight of his authority. All of them looked at him with something dangerously close to reverence.

​”Alright,” Aegis said, lifting a hand slightly to quiet the roar. “Before this turns into a festival that I will eventually have to pay for, I want reports.”

​Groans followed immediately.

Felix placed a hand over his heart in mock offense. “You come back from saving an entire world and the first thing you ask for is paperwork? Truly, you are a heartless god.”

​Aegis just looked at him.

Felix sighed, his smile softening.

“Fine. But first, the introductions. You missed a few significant promotions while you were playing in the dirt.”

He turned and gestured sharply toward the harbor.

“Bring them in!”

​The ground beneath the docks trembled. It was not a violent shaking, but a heavy, rhythmic thrumming. From the sea behind the platforms, something massive broke the surface. Nine heads rose one after another, each crowned with jagged horns and glowing sapphire eyes. A colossal body followed, scales gleaming like wet steel. The Nine-Headed Hydra emerged fully, coiling beside the platform with a dignified rumble. Each head lowered respectfully toward Aegis.

​”My Lord,” nine voices spoke in unison, like a harmonized, terrifying baritone.

​Aegis nodded once, impressed. “You have grown.”

​One of the heads, the one with a distinct scar across its snout, snorted a puff of steam. “So have you, Master.”

​Felix smirked, gesturing toward the beast. “He has been guarding the western abyssal trench. Nothing short of a Duke-rank dares wander near our borders now. He is our primary deterrent.”

​The Hydra’s central head leaned closer. “We ate three Marquis-rank invaders last month.”

Felix coughed quickly into his hand. “After they attacked first, of course. Self-defense. Very legal.”

​Aegis made a mental note not to ask for the details of that dinner. Next came a sharp metallic ring as several figures stepped forward. They wore elegant armor forged from layered water crystals, their blades shimmering as if perpetually wet. These were the Water Swordsmen of the Tideguard. Each bowed deeply, their discipline absolute.

​”We are honored by your return, Lord Aegis,” their leader said. “The Tideguard remains intact and ready.”

​”How many?” Aegis asked.

​”Three thousand active. Another two thousand in training.”

​Felix added, “They have been drilling nonstop. They scared half the local mercenary guilds into behaving just by standing near the docks.”

​Then came the heaviest step of all. The dock creaked ominously as a massive crimson shell hauled itself forward.

The Crab King emerged, towering over the crowd, his claws decorated with engraved runes and trophies from fallen enemies. His eyes glittered with amusement.

​”My Lord,” the Crab King rumbled, his voice like grinding stones. “You missed a good brawl last week. Some sky-whales tried to migrate through our shipping lanes.”

​Aegis looked at the mountain of a crustacean. “You are still alive, I see.”

​”Disappointing, I know,” the Crab King replied cheerfully.

​Felix laughed. “He has been managing coastal security. Sneaking into Sea God’s Palace is down ninety percent. Turns out people do not argue with a crab the size of a fortress when he asks to see their permits.”

​The welcoming ceremony continued for some time, a blur of minor commanders, abyssal scouts, sea witches, and administrators who looked like they had aged several years from stress alone.

Aegis listened to every word, filing the information away. When the noise finally died down and the crowd dispersed under Felix’s firm direction, the two of them stood overlooking the sea, alone at last in the quiet of the evening.

​Felix leaned against the railing, his playful facade dropping.

“So. You killed something big, didn’t you?”

​”Yes,” Aegis replied.

​Felix squinted at his friend. “Bigger than usual.”

​”Much bigger.”

​Felix whistled lowly. “That explains it, then.”

​”Explains what?”

​Felix gestured vaguely at the sky above. “The balance shift. The world felt you win, Aegis. The system did not keep it a secret.”

​”Show me,” Aegis said, his voice turning serious.

​They moved into the central command tower, where maps unfolded across a circular table in projected light. Aquabyss glowed a deep, vibrant blue at the center, surrounded by expanding rings of influence that reached far beyond the original coast.

​Felix began his report. “The underwater domain is fully secured. Aquabyss proper has tripled in controlled territory. The abyssal trenches are fortified, and the hostile leviathans have either been eliminated or forced into submission.”

He tapped a section marked in dark, ominous blue.

“The Abyssal Court has gone quiet. Too quiet. They are watching you, waiting for a slip-up.”

​Aegis nodded. “Expected. What about the surface?”

​Felix continued, “Regional islands have effectively aligned under our trade umbrella. Not as official vassals, but they route everything through us now. They listen when we speak.”

He expanded the projection further to show the Eternal Sky Realm.

“This is where it gets interesting.”

​He highlighted three massive regions on the map. “First, the Celestial Concord. Still powerful, but they are fractured. There are internal disputes following the conclusion of the Primordial Battlefield. Second, the Iron Sky Union. They are militarized, expanding aggressively, and watching us with hungry eyes.”

He paused, his expression darkening.

“Third. The Voidbound Church.”

​Aegis’s eyes narrowed slightly. “They are active again?”

​”Yes. Very. They did not participate in the Battlefield, which means they were resting and waiting for the other powers to exhaust themselves.”

​Aegis exhaled slowly, feeling the weight of the crown again. “And Aquabyss?”

​Felix zoomed the map in. Aquabyss now glowed brighter than almost any other faction on the interface.

“Ranked second in overall influence,” Felix said carefully.

​Aegis looked at him in surprise. “Second?”

​Felix smiled slowly. “That is the conservative estimate. The system took your performance against the Sovereign into account.”

He snapped his fingers, and the air above the table shimmered, expanding into the InfluenceRanking.

​Rank 1: Holy_Emperor (Celestial Concord)

​Rank 2: Aegis (Aquabyss)

​Rank 3: Warlord Threx (Iron Sky)

​Rank 4: Iceland (Skadi_Supremacy)

​Aegis scanned his name, which etched into the air like a constellation.

“I jumped six positions in two months? I was not even here.”

​Felix shrugged. “Turns out ending a Global Event tends to impress the system administrators. People are calling you the ’Tide that broke the Mountain’.”

​Aegis looked thoughtful. “Who is Holy_Emperor?”

​Felix grimaced. “That is the problem. No one knows. He appeared at the top of the rankings while you were away. His territory is hidden behind a permanent cloud bank in the upper stratosphere.”

​Aegis waved a hand, minimizing the interface. “Alright. Here is what we do next. We consolidate. No expansion wars for now. Strengthen our logistics, train the new recruits, and prepare.”

​”Prepare for what?” Felix asked.

​Aegis looked out over the sea, his eyes calm but as deep as the abyss he had just conquered.

“The next wave. The world is changing, Felix. The Primodial battlefield was just the training ground to prepare us for hreater danger.”

​Felix smiled slowly, a dangerous glint in his eye. “Good. I was getting bored with the peace anyway.”

​Above them, the Eternal Sky Realm drifted peacefully, but below, the foundations of the world were shifting. The game had not ended with the death of the Titans; it had merely entered a far more dangerous phase.

​

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep