The world of Gods Domain reformed around Alvian, replacing the grey rain of the city with the sterile, magical hum of the Void Sanctum.

He didn't waste a second. He accessed the faction management terminal, delegated defense duties to Lysander and logistics to Kincaid, and then headed straight for the long-range teleportation gate. Valeria was already there, clad in her battered but proud silver plate armor, her claymore strapped to her back.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Always," Alvian replied.

He inputted the coordinates for Azureus. It was a Level 40 zone, a maritime metropolis located in the center of the Eternal Sea. In his past life, it had been a neutral trading hub, a place of immense wealth and danger. Now, it was the next step in his plan to break the world.

[System: Teleportation Initiated.]

[Destination: Azureus - The Eternal Sea.]

The world twisted. The sensation of displacement was violent, like being pulled through a straw. When vision returned, the first thing that hit Alvian was the smell. Salt. Brine. And the crisp, clean scent of water magic.

They weren't on an island. They were on a massive, artificial platform floating in the middle of an endless ocean.

"Wow," Valeria breathed.

Azureus was magnificent. It was a city built of white coral and blue steel, rising from the waves like a crown. Massive waterfalls cascaded from the upper levels of the city into the sea below, powering water wheels the size of skyscrapers. Mana-skiffs zipped through the air, and below the water's surface, visible through the transparent streets, bioluminescent fish swam in schools of thousands.

But Alvian didn't look at the scenery. He looked at the data.

[Zone: Azureus]

[Danger Level: High]

[Note: Underwater Combat Mechanics Active.]

"We need to find the Guardian," Alvian said, stepping off the teleportation pad. "Master Thorne. He holds the first of the Seven Abyssal Arts."

"Where do we find a legendary master in a city this big?" Valeria asked, looking around at the bustling crowds of players and NPCs.

"We don't look in the palaces," Alvian said, turning toward a lift that led to the lower districts. "We look in the gutter."

They descended. The pristine white coral of the upper city gave way to rusted metal and slimy, algae-covered stone. This was the Slums of the Tide, where the water was murky and the people were desperate.

Alvian led Valeria through a maze of narrow alleyways, stepping over puddles of questionable fluid. He moved with purpose, his [Vestments of the Void Monarch] repelling the grime. Finally, he stopped in front of a dilapidated shack built into the side of a drainage pipe. The sign above the door read The Rusty Anchor, but the 'R' and 'A' had fallen off.

He pushed the door open.

The smell of cheap grog and stale tobacco smoke wafted out. Inside, the tavern was empty, save for a single figure slumped over a table in the corner.

He was an old man, his hair a tangled mess of white and grey. He wore a stained tunic, and on the table next to his head lay a prosthetic leg made of driftwood and rusty iron. It was crude, barely functional.

[Target Identified: Master Thorne (The Crippled Wave)]

[Level: 55]

[Status: Drunk / Depressed]

"Master Thorne," Alvian said, his voice cutting through the drunken stupor of the room.

The old man groaned, lifting his head. His eyes were bloodshot, unfocused. He squinted at Alvian, then at Valeria.

"Shop's closed," Thorne slurred, waving a hand dismissively. "No booze left. Get out."

"I'm not here for a drink," Alvian said, stepping closer. "I'm here for the [Avatar of the Deep]."

The atmosphere in the room changed instantly. The drunkenness vanished from Thorne's eyes, replaced by a sharp, dangerous clarity. The pressure coming off him was immense—the aura of a Level 55 elite who had once been a legend.

"Who told you that name?" Thorne growled, his hand reaching under the table. Alvian saw the glint of a harpoon gun.

"I know who you are," Alvian stated, unfazed. "You were the First Guardian of Azureus. The man who tamed the Kraken. Until a Sea King took your legs and your pride."

Thorne slammed his fist on the table, cracking the wood. "Get out! I don't teach brats who think war is a game! You want the Art? Go ask the sea! It took everything from me!"

Valeria stepped forward, her hand on her sword. "We aren't mocking you, old man. We need that power to save our people."

"Save people?" Thorne laughed, a bitter, rasping sound. "Look at me, girl! I couldn't even save my own legs! I am a cripple! A washed-up drunk living in a sewer! What can I teach you? How to beg for coin?"

Alvian looked at the wooden leg on the table. It was trash. It chafed. It was unbalanced. No wonder the man was bitter; every step he took was a reminder of his failure.

"Inefficient," Alvian said, picking up the wooden leg.

"Hey! Put that down!" Thorne shouted, trying to stand up, but without his prosthetic, he collapsed back into his chair.

Alvian inspected the leg, then tossed it into a corner of the room. It shattered.

"You..." Thorne's face turned purple with rage. He raised the harpoon gun. "I'll kill you!"

"I broke your crutch because you don't need it," Alvian said calmly. "I can build you better legs. Legs that don't chafe. Legs that can crush stone. Legs that will let you walk back into the ocean and kill the Sea King that took yours."

Thorne froze. The harpoon gun wavered. "You're lying. Even the best artificers in the Upper City couldn't restore my mobility. My mana nerves were severed."

"They used standard engineering," Alvian said, a cold smile touching his lips. "I use... different methods. I need [Mimetic Metal]. Get me the ore, and I will give you your dignity back. In exchange, you give me the Art."

Thorne stared at him for a long, agonizing minute. He looked at the shattered wood in the corner. He looked at his stumps. Then, he looked into Alvian's violet eyes.

"Mimetic Metal," Thorne whispered. "It's rare. The only deposit is in the Wreckage of the Iron Leviathan. It's a ship graveyard. Full of Deep-Sea Eels and Razor Crabs. You'll die before you reach the hull."

"I eat crabs for breakfast," Alvian said, turning to the door. "Valeria, let's go. We have a salvage operation to run."

------

The Wreckage of the Iron Leviathan was a nightmare zone located three miles off the coast of Azureus, deep within a submerged trench.

Alvian and Valeria stood on the edge of a coral shelf, looking down into the abyss. The water here was dark, the sunlight filtering down in weak, blue shafts that failed to illuminate the bottom. Massive, rusted ribs of ancient metal ships poked out of the silt like the bones of dead gods.

"We have to swim?" Valeria asked, looking uncomfortable. Her heavy plate armor was not designed for buoyancy.

"No," Alvian said. "We sink."

He handed her a [Water Breathing Potion] he had bought in the city. "Drink this. It lasts an hour."

They downed the potions. Alvian activated the [Void Anchor] ability on his [Vestments of the Void Monarch]. Instead of making him immovable, he inverted the polarity to increase his density, allowing him to sink rapidly.

"Grab on," Alvian ordered.

Valeria grabbed his arm. They jumped.

The water rushed past them. The pressure built up against their eardrums, but the potion mitigated the worst of it. They descended past schools of glowing jellyfish and sharks that circled hungrily but kept their distance, sensing the dangerous mana radiating from the pair.

They hit the bottom with a soft thud, kicking up a cloud of silt.

Movement. Immediate, hostile movement.

From the rusted hull of a massive battleship, creatures swarmed. They were [Razor-Claw Crabs], monsters the size of cars with pincers that could snap steel cables.

[Monster Identified: Razor-Claw Crab]

[Level: 41]

[Status: Aggressive]

"Twelve of them," Valeria said, her voice distorted by the water. She tried to swing her claymore, but the water resistance slowed her down significantly. "I can't get any momentum!"

"Use thrusts," Alvian commanded. "Don't fight the water. Pierce it."

A crab lunged at him. Alvian didn't dodge; underwater, dodging was inefficient. He activated [Runic Aegis +2]. The runes appeared, glowing brightly in the dark water. The crab's pincer slammed into a rune.

BOOM!

The underwater explosion created a cavitation bubble. The shockwave blew the crab backward, cracking its shell.

"Now!" Alvian shouted.

Valeria adapted quickly. She abandoned her sweeping slashes and lunged, driving the point of her sword into the cracked shell of the stunned crab.

CRUNCH.

[You have slain Razor-Claw Crab.]

"Keep moving," Alvian said. "The metal is in the engine room."

They fought their way through the wreckage. It was a slog. The water resistance debuff was annoying, slowing their attack speed by 30%. Alvian relied heavily on [Glacial Void Pierce]. The beam of energy ignored the water resistance, vaporizing the crabs instantly.

They reached the engine room. It was a cavernous space filled with twisted pipes and gears. In the center, glowing with a soft, liquid silver light, was a massive chunk of metal that seemed to ripple like mercury.

[Material Detected: Mimetic Metal (Raw)]

[Grade: Epic]

"There it is," Alvian said.

But it wasn't unguarded.

Coiled around the metal was a serpent. A Deep-Sea Electric Eel, easily fifty feet long. Its body crackled with blue lightning that illuminated the entire room.

[Boss: Volt-Eel Leviathan]

[Level: 45]

[Status: Charged]

"Electricity underwater," Valeria grimaced. "That's going to hurt."

The Eel hissed, releasing a pulse of lightning. The water around them electrified.

ZZZT!

[-500 HP!] [-500 HP!]

The damage was constant, an environmental DOT (Damage Over Time).

"Shields!" Alvian barked.

Valeria activated [Titan's Bulwark]. The golden dome pushed the water back, creating a temporary pocket of air. The lightning stopped arcing through the water, unable to bridge the gap of air.

"Smart," Valeria panted. "But I can't hold this forever."

"I just need a minute," Alvian said. He looked at the Eel. It was charging up a massive attack, its throat glowing white.

"Physics Lesson Number Three," Alvian whispered. "Water conducts electricity. Ice... does not."

"System. Maximize Output. [Frost Descent +2]."

He didn't cast it on the Eel. He cast it on the water surrounding the boss.

"Flash Freeze."

The ocean inside the engine room turned solid. In a split second, the water surrounding the Eel froze into a block of ice the size of a house. The Eel was trapped, its lightning grounded harmlessly into the non-conductive ice.

"Now!" Alvian shouted. "Shatter it!"

He and Valeria struck the ice block simultaneously. Alvian with his [Voidpiercer], Valeria with a [Titan's Thrust].

CRACK!

The ice shattered. The Eel, frozen solid, shattered with it. Thousands of chunks of frozen sushi floated in the water.

[You have slain Volt-Eel Leviathan!]

[Experience Gained: 400,000!]

Alvian walked to the Mimetic Metal. He touched it. It felt cool, alive.

"Inventory."

The massive chunk of metal vanished.

"Let's go," Alvian said, his eyes glowing. "I have some legs to build."

---

Back in the rusty shack in the slums, Master Thorne sat staring at the door. He had a bottle of rum in his hand, but he hadn't opened it. He was waiting. Hoping. Or maybe just waiting to be disappointed again.

The door swung open. Alvian walked in, dripping wet, carrying a block of silver metal that pulsed with a strange, fluid life.

Thorne dropped the bottle. It smashed on the floor.

"You... you actually got it," Thorne whispered. "You survived the Leviathan."

"It was just a fish," Alvian said, placing the metal on the table. "Now, hold still. This is going to hurt."

Alvian didn't have a forge. He didn't need one. He had the [Super Upgrade System].

"System," Alvian commanded internally. "Target: [Mimetic Metal]. Upgrade."

[Ding!]

[Authority Invoked.]

[Consuming One (1) Daily Charge...]

The silver metal began to glow. It writhed, twisting and reshaping itself. Alvian visualized the design in his mind—sleek, articulated limbs that connected directly to the nervous system, responding to thought as fast as biological muscle.

[Upgrade Successful!]

[Item Evolved: Living Quicksilver Prosthetics (Legendary)]

The metal split into two leg-shaped forms. They floated in the air, humming.

"What... what kind of magic is this?" Thorne gasped, his eyes wide.

"The kind that fixes you," Alvian said.

He grabbed the legs. He didn't ask for permission. He jammed them onto Thorne's stumps.

"ARGHHH!" Thorne screamed as the liquid metal fused with his flesh, digging into his nerves, reconnecting severed pathways. The pain was excruciating, but brief.

The metal solidified, taking the shape of muscular, armored legs.

Thorne breathed heavily, sweat pouring down his face. He looked down. He wiggled his toes. The metal toes moved.

Slowly, shakily, the old master stood up. He took a step. Then another. He didn't limp. The legs adjusted perfectly to his center of gravity.

He jumped. He landed softly.

Thorne looked at Alvian, tears streaming down his face. He fell to his knees—not because he fell, but because he chose to kneel.

"You gave me my life back," Thorne choked out. "I... I am a man of my word."

He reached into his tunic and pulled out a blue, water-damaged scroll.

"The First Art," Thorne said reverently. "[Avatar of the Deep]. It allows you to summon the essence of the ocean itself. To construct a body of water that can crush mountains."

Alvian took the scroll.

[Skill Book: Avatar of the Deep (Legendary)]

[Requirement: High affinity with Water. 500 Wisdom.]

"Learn," Alvian commanded.

The scroll dissolved into blue light. Information flooded Alvian's mind. He saw the depths of the ocean. He felt the crushing pressure. He understood the fluidity of water, the weight of the tide.

[Skill Learned: Avatar of the Deep (Level 1)]

[Description: Summon a massive water-construct avatar to fight alongside the user. Stats scale with User's Energy.]

Alvian didn't wait. He walked out of the shack, toward the canal that ran through the slums.

"System. Activate [Avatar of the Deep]."

The water in the canal exploded upward. It swirled, condensing, taking shape. A massive, twenty-foot-tall giant made of swirling blue water materialized behind Alvian. It had no face, only a helm of frothing waves. It held a trident made of compressed water pressure.

The ground shook as the Avatar moved its arm, mimicking Alvian's movement.

Thorne hobbled out of the shack, staring up at the giant. "By the Sea God... you mastered it instantly? It took me ten years to form a complete torso!"

Alvian looked at his new summon. It was powerful. It was huge.

"It's good," Alvian said, dismissing the water giant. It splashed back into the canal, soaking a group of passing thugs.

"But it can be better."

He looked at his daily charges. One left.

"System. Upgrade [Avatar of the Deep]."

[Ding!]

[Upgrade Successful!]

[Skill Evolved: [Avatar of the Deep +1] -> [Frost Titan Avatar].]

[New Effect: The Avatar is now infused with [Frost Heart] energy. It deals Ice damage and freezes enemies on contact.]

Alvian smiled. He had come to the city of water to find a weapon. He had found a Titan.

"Now," Alvian turned to Valeria, who was watching with wide eyes. "We have the army. Let's go find the war."

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