Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

"Isn't this the best chance to attack then?" Asche asked.

"Until we know what the dragons are up to, we can't risk it," Rain said.

Eventually, Rain went to the northern Coast as well and soon was surprised to see things there. The unprecedented phenomenon extended its reach even to the vast expanse of the ocean, where an unusual and unsettling sight met the eyes of onlookers.

The usually crystal clear waters were now obscured by a thick layer of dust that seemed to stretch across the surface, lending an eerie and surreal appearance to the sea.

Despite the dust's attempt to invade and taint the waters, a remarkable sight unfolded amidst this surreal scene. Seadrei, using his abilities and power, exerted his influence over the aquatic domain. His power acted as a shield against the encroaching dust, preventing its entry into the ocean's depths.

The dust, though omnipresent and engulfing everything in its path, met an invisible barrier at the water's edge, halted from further intrusion by Seadrei's resolute efforts. His powers and determination served as a bulwark, ensuring that the ocean's sanctity remained preserved amidst this strange and unsettling turn of events.

"Sorry, Rain. Things are slow here," Jori said when Rain arrived and began to help the mages in the port. "The wind coming from the north is quite difficult to handle."

"It is fine, just tell them to focus on creating barriers against the wind," Rain said. "The other places will also use the warriors if things get complicated, so don't hesitate in doing that."

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The walls in the port town weren't as high as Rain had expected, so he had a lot of work there. In the end, doing all that over the Kingdom took several days. When Rain was done, he tried to use his rain spell around the port town and see if he could make the dust fall, and while he did that… it soon returned back to normal.

Since it was something like a natural phenomena, it wouldn't be easy to solve.

"... At least there are no signs of attacks so far," Reca said.

"You usually would be pretty eager to fight, though," Rain said.

"Even I know that it would be insane to fight with this bad visibility," Reca shrugged. "I also don't want to eat or breathe dust."

"I am going to check things underwater," Rain declared. "Seadrei must have the things under control there, but if the sea dragons decide to attack, he won't be able to fight, and that will be a problem to everyone down there."

Rain recalled that in Seadrei library, they had registers about the time such a thing happened in the past. So he might be able to find something there that could help… Seadir should already be working with that, so he was only going to help.

The usually vibrant and luminous underwater capital was draped in an unusual veil of darkness, casting an unexpected gloom over the bustling city despite the time of day. What should have been the peak of noon was now shrouded in an eerie twilight, owing to the dense accumulation of dust that loomed ominously above the ocean's surface.

This airborne dust, settling over the water's expanse, blanketed the underwater Kingdom, inhibiting the usual radiant glow that permeated the city's depths. The once-brilliant hues that danced through the underwater landscape were now subdued, subdued by the encroaching dimness caused by the layer of dust hovering overhead.

In light of this atmospheric anomaly, the citizens of the underwater capital found themselves uneasy and on edge. The few individuals venturing outside wore expressions of tension and concern, their movements cautious and deliberate amid the unfamiliar and foreboding ambiance that had enveloped their once-live domain.

When Rain arrived in the throne room, he found Seadrei talking with his advisors while he kept his spear pointing upward. Before long, he noticed Rain's arrival, and then he told them to leave.

"It seems that you have finished the defenses against this world wide dust storm," Seadrei said. "As you can see, there isn't much that we can do for now against all this."

"I take it that you still didn't find an explanation as to why all this happened," Rain said while holding his chin. "Didn't you find any mention of this in your library?"

"We found mentions but not real solutions," Seadrei shook his head. "The first sea emperor created his Kingdom as soon as the war ended. Around ten years after its start. The ocean stayed like this for five years and then slowly returned to normal after five more years."

That definitely wasn't normal… maybe that was one of the reasons the first sea emperor stole the spear, and he was able to clean the ocean waters with it. Rain had some ideas on how to do that, but they were quite risky. It was better not to try them until they had no other options.

"I was hoping to find some clues here before thinking of what we could do. I will help Seadir in the library for a short while," Rain said.

"Dozens of people are with him already," Seadrei shook his head. "Just return home and make your family feel safe with your presence."

"... All right," Rain said after nodding.

Rain truly felt like he needed to be with his family, but his sense of duty made him feel like he had to deal with the whole situation as soon as possible. Things didn't change as much in the capital; the walls became a bit taller, and mages were positioned all around the place to keep the dust away, but the darkness was still enveloping everything around.

Rain's wives and kids sighed in relief when he finally returned… Branden, Esmeralda, Orcis, Lorene, and their kids were still there as well. It was better to communicate this way, it was also safer as well since it was hard to imagine how long the inhabitants of the capital could take.