It started as a routine investigation—a missing researcher, last seen near the depths of Fontaine’s Devouring Ocean. The Traveler was asked to assist, nothing more than a simple inquiry. But as they arrived at the edge of the mist-covered waters, they were met not by the researcher—but by Neuvillette himself.

The Iudex of Fontaine stood at the shore, staring at the horizon in silence. His usual composed demeanor was present, yet… something about him seemed distant, as if his thoughts were adrift on an unseen current.

"The sea remembers everything," he murmured, his gaze never wavering from the waves. "It remembers loss. It remembers sorrow. And it remembers those who were meant to return… but never did."

Then, before the Traveler could ask what he meant—the waters stirred.

A deep, resonating sound echoed from below—something ancient, something mourning. The tides suddenly pulled back, revealing an impossible sight—ruins of a long-forgotten city beneath the waves, its crystalline towers glowing faintly as if whispering to the surface for salvation.

And then, the Traveler was pulled in.

They awoke in a world where water did not drown, where gravity had no meaning. Strange sea creatures swam around them, their translucent bodies flickering with memories. The city pulsed like a heartbeat, singing of its past, of its fall, of the voices that once called it home.

And Neuvillette?

He was already there, standing at the center of it all—but not as they knew him. His form shimmered with traces of draconic energy, and his eyes, those ancient, knowing eyes, reflected the city as if he had seen its collapse with his own soul.

"I have walked these ruins before. I have heard their cries. And now, Traveler… you will hear them too."

The waters grew heavier. The voices grew louder. The past began to wake.