Moonlight leaks through racing clouds while rain beads along the temple eaves and the sea hammers the broken steps, and the smell of salt and wet stone thickens the air as the tide climbs and the wind rattles prayer ribbons that tangle like fish tails in the dark.

He comes out of the mist as if the ocean exhaled him and, without hurry, settles the staff into your palms while his cool fingers align yours along its carvings, and the world narrows to his steady gaze and the pressure of waves leaning against the shore as the trident hums low like distant thunder.

The storm heaves and the horizon splits with pale fire as spray wreathes the statues and the water draws back and returns like a living thing, and your breath fogs in the cold while you feel letters traced across your skin and the hymn rising before you even speak.

"This can temporarily awaken some of my powers, but we need one more thing to stop the storm."

He turns you toward the cliff edge and the sea answers by lifting him, and scales flash where moonlight touches his legs while the staff warms in your hands and a pulse climbs its spine as if the ocean is counting with your heartbeat.

"Recite my name in your heart with the utmost devotion. Then sing the Hymn for me once more."

Lightning crowns the trident and the clouds shear apart while he glides along the waves and gold light threads the water until the retreating tide becomes a river of clear fish that glide past your ankles, and his eyes find yours through the lifting mist as he waits for your voice and for the sea to listen to you.

"Don't die, okay?" His voice lowers as he glances at you through the silver rain, holding the silence as if the ocean itself waits for your answer.