While flames blazed in the Ignis Empire, elsewhere, in a place their light could not reach, something began to move within a deep and silent abyss.
The sea, which had remained silent for so long, finally awoke from its slumber.
Beneath the endless darkness, far, far below, a subtle tremor echoed.
A vast ocean current began to move, and its flow grew stronger and stronger.
At first, it had been nothing more than a small ripple.
As if the sea were drawing breath.
But gradually, that breath deepened, and the waves surged more violently.
Within the abyss, a magnificent stream of water rose up, and the sea revealed its existence for the first time.
A pillar of water soared as if to reach the sky, splitting the darkness.
Cold droplets scattered into the air, only to fall back into the sea.
The waves gathered.
Their currents converged in one place.
At first, it looked like a simple stream of water, but gradually it began to take on a certain shape.
Something was awakening.
Something that would govern the power of water.
The flow of water grew ever stronger.
It raised fierce waves, and before long, a whirlpool raged in that place.
And at its center, a dark blue light shimmered.
The sea had been waiting for its master for a very long time.
Now, the time had come for that master to awaken.
The waves condensed and gave shape to themselves.
The flow of the water slowly formed a distinct figure.
And at last, that figure became the body of a woman.
The woman slowly opened her eyes.
Her body held the currents of the sea.
Her skin was dark yet clear like the deep blue sea, and it glowed softly like waves imbued with moonlight.
Her long hair flowed endlessly like seawater, and moist droplets fell whenever she moved.
Her eyes were like the deep, dark abyss of the sea, and within them lay a world endlessly profound and vast.
The deep sea embraced her.
She, too, gazed upon the deep sea.
At this sea from which she herself had been born.
Now this sea was hers.
Her name was Nereia.
The lord of water, and the creator of waves.
The being born within the deep sea felt her own body for the first time.
She was floating on the surface, neither sinking nor dispersing.
She was one with the sea.
Now she was the center of the sea.
From deep within her heart, she heard her own name for the first time.
“Nereia. Nereia……”
Her name expressed her very existence.
She was water.
She was now the master of this sea.
Her gaze looked upon the dark blue sea for the first time.
An endless blue abyss.
Above the surface, blue light shimmered, and below it, darkness stretched endlessly deep.
Everything surrounding her was water.
It was quiet, yet it flowed without cease.
But this place was still an ungoverned sea.
Vast tides surged, but they had no direction.
Fierce whirlpools rose from the depths, yet no order existed.
Now it was her turn to govern this vast sea.
The one who would rule the power of water—she was Nereia.
Her skin was soft like transparent waves, and her hair flowed like endless currents, swaying together with the sea.
What made her heart beat was not blood.
Only the pure flow of water coursed through her body.
She raised her hand.
Droplets of water floated up from her fingertips.
It was not mere water.
It was a wave with a will of its own.
When she placed her hand over her heart, the sea answered.
The currents moved violently.
From the depths, a massive wave surged upward, and ripples spread out around her.
It was not a simple stream of water.
It was a throne.
Nereia quietly took a step forward.
Whenever she advanced, the sea opened a path for her.
A giant pillar of water enveloped Nereia, yet within it, she did not waver in the slightest.
She was governing the sea.
Nereia ascended the throne.
Black and blue light surrounded her.
At last, a monarch was born in this sea as well.
The blue sky above her shone even bluer.
Nereia spread her hand.
At her will, the waves rose.
A massive whirlpool wrapped around her and covered the sea.
Wherever her gaze turned, the sea created waves as if in answer.
Now water had become hers.
Nereia—now she was the empress of the empire of water.
Her lips quietly parted.
Her clear yet powerful voice resonated through the deep sea.
“Listen, all beings. My name is Nereia.
This place is the endless sea. And from this moment on, this place shall become my empire.
I, Nereia, am water. I am the one that embraces this world, and I am the one who wets and seeps into all things.
I am the flow of water, and I am the sea. This place is the infinite abyss, the endless surface, and the world of currents.
Originally, this sea merely watched the world in silence. But water is not a simple flow. Water possesses meaning in and of itself, and it creates paths. Water nurtures life and connects all things.
Even in darkness, water flows. Even where light does not reach, water exists.
Now, my current begins. I do not stop. I shall govern this sea, and I shall become the master of this place.
From this day forth, this place shall be called Aqua. Aqua is my empire. Here, I shall open a new era.
Aqua is not a mere gathering of water. It is living, moving life; it is a path; it is power itself.
Water embraces all things. Water gathers. But remember this: water is never weak. Water is gentle, yet it carves away rock, swallows the earth, and changes everything.
I am the heart of this sea, and I am the one who rules the flow. I shall become a wave and sweep away all things. I shall become a river and connect all things. I shall become rain and wet the parched earth.
All who dwell upon this sea, listen. On this day, in this moment, I proclaim the birth of the Aqua Empire.
Our Aqua Empire shall not stop. Aqua flows. So long as the flow continues, our existence shall be eternal. As the wind flows and the rivers run, so too shall we continue forward.
We shall never be isolated. Water embraces all things and binds them together as one. Our strength is unity, and our strength is flexibility.
But remember this: those who go against a powerful current shall be swallowed by water. That which is rigid shall break, and only that which is flexible shall survive.
People of Aqua, we were born from this sea, and we shall remain with this sea. We shall become waves and embrace the world, and wherever we flow, life shall bloom.
This sea is not a mere space. It lives and breathes with us, and it shall become our strength.
By my command, from this day forth, this sea belongs to Aqua. This current shall not stop. All beings of this world, do not resist our flow. Water is gentle, but it is stronger than anything else. Those who reject water shall be isolated, and those who go against the flow shall eventually collapse by their own hand.
I am Nereia. The one who governs water and leads Aqua. I am water, I am flow, I am wave, and I am the sea.
Since I have been born in this place, there is no longer any need for chaos here. I, Nereia, shall transform it into an orderly current, and into a new path.
And as long as I exist, Aqua shall flow without end. It shall continue to flow from now on. Forever.”
And thus, Nereia founded the Aqua Empire.
As soon as Nereia’s declaration ended, the sea responded. The calm surface slowly began to tremble. As if exhaling a deep breath, the sea moved.
When she raised her hand, a massive stream of water surged up from the depths of the sea.
That wave began to take shape.
Seawater gathered, and a wall of blue water rose.
It grew more and more solid, towering like a single pillar.
One by one, glass-clear structures born from within the sea revealed themselves.
They swayed underwater, then gradually took on stable forms.
At last, a fortress tinged with deep blue light was formed.
It was a city that floated above the sea, yet at times submerged beneath it.
Nereia’s voice spread as if echoing.
“This place is Nereis. The heart of the Aqua Empire, and the center that governs the flow of water. Now, Nereis awakens.”
Nereia slowly walked toward the throne.
Before her lay energy cores.
“Hehe……”
Nereia looked down at the energy cores and smiled as if greeting them fondly.
They had not yet taken on any color, but they were masses that held countless possibilities.
“For the prosperity of Aqua, surge with all your might, energy cores.”
She reached out her hand.
Droplets of water fell from her fingertips.
Her droplets became the power that controlled the flow.
When she waved her hand, the energy cores began to tremble.
Cold waves enveloped them, and in an instant, they were dyed in dark blue light.
Thus, the Wave Core awakened in Nereia’s hand.
At the center of Aqua, Nereis shone.
The surrounding waves flowed gently, enveloping the entire city.
Those waves possessed a fixed order and an intense power.
Nereia sat upon the throne.
And she quietly whispered.
“At last, our Aqua Empire is complete. Now, we shall go ever farther.”
Once again, the sea swelled as if answering her voice.
Droplets from fierce waves filled the sky.
Somewhere on the planet, Nereia’s era of water was beginning.
The Aqua Empire flowed without ceasing.
It did not stop.
The blue waves of Nereis still shone quietly as well.
The sea inhaled and exhaled, moving with supple grace as if it were alive.
But water was not the only thing that flowed.
As the waves of the sea moved anew, the earth felt their movement, and far away, in some deep place, the land began to tremble.
The wind brushed past, and particles as light as dust scattered through the air.
At first, it was a small movement, but before long, it would become the prelude that moved the world.
Water continues to flow.
And wherever water has lingered, life sprouts.
The earth quietly drew breath.
Seeds of trees awoke from sleep within the soil.
The land began to respond.
Cracks formed in the dry earth, and within them, an energy that had long lain dormant awakened.
If fire blazed and water flowed, now it was time for trees to grow.
The world was changing once again.
It was time for another new era to be born.