She grabbed onto Azul and held him as tightly as she could. The last thing she wanted was to be swept away by the waves and left alone in the dark ocean. Azura did the same. The little girl clung to Azul’s clothes while he held her safely against his chest.

It seemed that even though their daughter could breathe underwater—and actually seemed to breathe much better in the middle of the ocean—she was still afraid of the cold darkness surrounding them.

’I got you,’ Azul told them gently. ’I got you, so don’t be afraid.’

Roxanna was about to take a deep breath underwater when something terrifying made her freeze. After destroying their ship, the Kraken had disappeared into the depths of the ocean. Now, it was slowly rising from the darkness once again right in front of them.

Its bright yellow eyes stared directly at Roxanna and Azul, looking as though it wanted to devour them right then and there.

Seeing that, Roxanna tried to scream, but the water swallowed her voice before it could escape. She wanted to swim to the surface, but the current kept dragging her downward. And since she wasn’t a strong swimmer, there was no way she could reach the surface without Azul’s help.

[Azul! Azul! We need to go now!]

She desperately begged him to swim away from that terrifying monster. But for some reason, her fish husband didn’t move, not even a little.

His blue eyes stared back at the Kraken without showing any fear or hesitation. He didn’t even blink when the Kraken directed one of its tentacles toward him, and for some reason, the tentacle stopped moving the moment it was about to touch Azul.

[A-Azul, what’s happening?] Roxanna asked in her mind, completely confused. To be honest, this was the first time she had ever seen Azul look this eerie.

As if his behavior wasn’t strange enough, the current around them also felt odd. Roxanna wasn’t sure if she was imagining it or not, but she felt that the current was beginning to circle around them instead of flowing past them.

More precisely, it felt as though the ocean was trying to create a whirlpool around them, or perhaps only around Azul.

[Does the ocean want to drown us?!] Roxanna panicked, and she became even more panicked because she couldn’t find Zeir or Calen anywhere nearby. [Have they drowned? Or... or did they—]

’They’re fine,’ Azul suddenly spoke through his mind. ’They’re drowning, but they’ll be alright.’

Roxanna’s eyes widened the moment Azul said that. How could they possibly be alright if they were drowning in the ocean? They couldn’t even breathe underwater!

Unfortunately, Roxanna didn’t have the luxury of thinking about it for long because the Kraken was still her main concern. But the moment she looked back at the Kraken, she realized that the giant octopus seemed somewhat hesitant to attack Azul again, especially as the current around Azul grew stronger and stronger, wrapping around him like an invisible shield, the giant monster slowly stopped moving.

For several long seconds, neither side moved.

The Kraken remained where it was, its enormous body swaying slowly with the current. Its glowing yellow eyes stayed fixed on Azul, watching him carefully.

Roxanna could hardly believe what she was seeing. A monster large enough to destroy their ship with a single attack was hesitating—wait, no, it almost looked like it was waiting.

The water around Azul continued to move in strange patterns. What had started as a gentle current was now becoming something much larger. Waves of water spiraled around him, forming a wide circle that kept growing with each passing second.

Even Azura seemed to notice it. The little girl peeked out from Azul’s chest and stared at the swirling water with wide eyes, but instead of looking scared, she suddenly giggled, as if she recognized something.

[Azura?] Roxanna thought in confusion.

She had no idea what was happening. But a few moments later, she suddenly felt a strange pressure spread through the ocean.

Oddly enough, the pressure wasn’t painful, nor was it threatening, but it was still incredibly powerful.

It seemed to come from every direction at once, as though the entire ocean had suddenly become aware of Azul’s presence.

[Azul, do you have any idea what’s happening?] Roxanna asked once again.

At first, she thought he was simply ignoring her question. But a few seconds later, his voice finally reached her through their mind link.

’I finally remember everything.’

Roxanna’s eyes widened because she hadn’t expected him to say that.

[Remember what?]

’Everything,’ Azul replied. ’I remember who I am. I remember my past. And I remember the ocean.’

His voice was calm, but there was a seriousness in it that immediately told Roxanna he wasn’t joking and he meant every word.

For a moment, happiness rushed through her chest.

For so long, Azul had been searching for answers. He had spent countless days wondering who he was and where he came from. Those missing memories had haunted him for as long as she had known him and now, he had finally found them.

He had finally found the missing pieces of himself, but along with that happiness came fear, a fear she had carried for a long time.

What if remembering everything changed him?

What if the Azul she knew disappeared?

The thought had crossed her mind before, and even now, she couldn’t stop herself from worrying.

Upon hearing her mind, Azul spoke to her through their mind link. ’No matter what memories return to me, my love and my feelings for you will never change, my wife.’

Roxanna lifted her head and looked at Azul’s face, which for some reason seemed tougher than usual. The moment he tightened his arm around her waist, she became even more certain that he wasn’t lying.

At the same time, the water around them began to change. The current that had felt so wild only moments ago slowly became gentle. It no longer felt like it was trying to pull them into a whirlpool. Instead, it wrapped around Azul softly, almost like an embrace.

It was like a welcome, like the ocean itself was greeting someone it had been waiting for someone who had finally come home.

Moments later, more movement appeared in the surrounding water. Schools of fish began swimming toward him from every direction.

There were large fish, small fish, brightly colored fish, and even silver fish that reflected the faint light filtering through the ocean.

They gathered around Azul without a trace of fear. And somehow, Roxanna had the strange feeling that they weren’t there by coincidence, but they had come because of him.

More and more sea creatures began to appear from the darkness. Some circled around him playfully, while others simply remained nearby, as if they wanted to stay close to him.

Even creatures that should have been hunting one another ignored their natural instincts. For once, the ocean felt peaceful, almost reverent.

When Roxanna looked at the Kraken again, she noticed that the giant creature had lowered its massive body even further. Its enormous tentacles drifted slowly beneath the water, no longer showing any sign of aggression.

It was hard to believe that this was the same monster that had destroyed their ship only minutes ago.

The Kraken’s bright yellow eyes remained fixed on Azul, but there was no hostility in its gaze anymore. Instead, it looked almost... respectful.

Roxanna blinked several times, then she blinked again because no matter how many times she looked at it, the giant sea monster still appeared to be bowing.

[Azul...] she called carefully. [Is it just me, or is that thing bowing to you?]

For a moment, Azul remained silent, then he finally nodded. ’It is.’

Roxanna nearly choked on the water she had just breathed in. [It is?!]

Her eyes immediately flew back to the Kraken and the giant creature didn’t react to her outburst. It simply remained where it was, patiently waiting, as though it had no intention of leaving until Azul acknowledged it.

[What exactly did you remember?] Roxanna asked. [Because normal people don’t make giant sea monsters bow to them!]

A faint smile appeared on Azul’s face. ’I never said I was normal.’

Roxanna stared at him, then she stared even harder. [This is not the time to be funny!]

Azul’s smile widened slightly. For the first time since recovering his memories, he looked a little more like the husband she knew and that alone eased some of the tension in Roxanna’s chest.

Azul slowly turned his attention back to the Kraken and the giant creature immediately lowered its head even further.

’It recognizes me,’ Azul said sofly in his mind.

[Recognizes you as what?] Roxanna asked, utterly confused.

For a few seconds, he didn’t answer. The schools of fish continued circling around him, the ocean currents wrapped gently around his body, even the water itself seemed to be waiting for his words.

Finally, Azul spoke. ’As one of its rulers.’