The grotto was heavy with tension, the salt-laced air still and watchful as though the ocean itself was holding its breath. Weilin leaned against the stone wall, arms crossed tightly, her dark eyes troubled.

"We’ve tried everything," she muttered, her voice carrying the faintest edge of frustration. "The Moon Rings don’t work, Turn the Tide failed, and Verris’s council magic nearly destroyed us along with the dragon." She paused, swallowing hard. "We’re running out of options."

Minna, perched anxiously on the edge of a rock pool, looked up. Her normally bright expression was shadowed with worry.

"There has to be another way. Nerys’s freedom proved the dragon wasn’t just a beast, but… what if the real answer isn’t just about spells or power?"

Orinda scoffed lightly, pacing back and forth.

"If you’re about to say we need to believe harder, Minna, I’m going to scream. This isn’t about faith. We need a strategy." She flicked her damp hair over her shoulder, though the bite in her voice was mostly fear.

Risa stepped closer, her calm presence steadying the rising tension.

"Perhaps it isn’t just about strength or strategy," she said gently. "Magic is more complex than we often realize. There is an ancient tale—older than any council decree or pod scroll. A prophecy whispered across the seas for generations."

The grotto fell silent as Risa’s voice lowered.

"They speak of the Regent of the Ocean, a figure not born to any pod, not bound by one sea, but chosen by the tides themselves. The Regent was said to be destined to unite the Seven Oceans, to rise when the balance of the seas was threatened by darkness. This Regent would wield a power no mermaid or merman could possess alone—the will of the ocean itself."

Minna’s eyes widened, her lips parting in awe.

"The Regent of the Ocean… I’ve read fragments of that in old stories, but I thought it was just a legend."

Weilin’s brows knit together, her skepticism wrestling with the weight in Risa’s tone.

"I’ve heard whispers too, from the Eastern Pod. A child born outside the pods, carrying something the sea itself placed within them… But no one ever believed it was real."

Orinda crossed her arms, frowning.

"And you think this Regent is out there now? That they are supposed to stop the Water Dragon when all of us couldn’t?"

Risa’s gaze shifted toward the shimmering pool at the center of the grotto.

"I don’t think," she said firmly. "I know. The ocean is restless. It has chosen, and the Regent is already among us."

The water in the pool began to glow, rippling with light. Slowly, an image formed—clear, undeniable. It was not a mermaid, nor a merman, but the reflection of {{user}}.