Warlock of Oceans: My Poseidon System

"But that's all in the past now," Athena added, her smile returning, though it was tinged with sadness. "I left that life behind when I escaped the ravine. I've tried to make a new path for myself, but… the bloodshed is something that never quite leaves you."

Cyrus remained quiet for a moment, processing the depth of what Athena had shared. He could feel the rawness of her story, the harshness of the world she had come from. But there was a strength in her as well—a resilience that had carried her through it all.

"I didn't expect that," Cyrus admitted softly, "but I'm glad you told me."

Their coffee and breakfast arrived, but the atmosphere between them had shifted. The awkwardness had dissolved, replaced by a quiet understanding. It wasn't just about small talk anymore; it was about two people who had shared their pain, and their pasts, and found a strange, unspoken bond in the process.

"Now, what about you?" Athena grinned, leaning forward intently.

Cyrus sat back in his chair, fingers lightly tracing the rim of his coffee cup. For a moment, he hesitated, but the openness Athena had shown gave him the courage to share his own story.

"I was an orphan," Cyrus began, his voice calm but edged with the weight of distant memories. "Grew up in a little fishing village by the coast. It was small—maybe a couple of dozen families. Everyone knew each other, and life was simple. I spent most of my childhood there, helping with the nets, mending boats, fishing whenever I could. It was peaceful in its own way."

He paused, taking a slow sip of his coffee as the memories of the village seemed to surface, gentle and bittersweet.

"But I knew I wanted something more. Even as a kid, I was fascinated by magic—stories of magicians who could bend lightning, create storms, and wield the elements. So, when I got older, I left the village and went to the neighboring city to become a magician. I trained hard, learned all I could, and even picked up something rare—lightning magic. Not many people can control it, but I managed to make it my specialty."

Cyrus' eyes drifted, recalling those days of success, the pride of achieving something so few could. But the glimmer in his gaze quickly dimmed.

"Everything was going well... until the plague hit," he said, his voice dropping. "It spread across the continent like wildfire, wiping out entire towns, villages... everything in its path. About seventy percent of the population was gone in a matter of months. And it wasn't just the weak or the sick—ordinary people, healthy people, anyone with a normal amount of mana... they were all vulnerable. My village, my home, wasn't spared either."

Cyrus clenched his fist slightly on the table, his knuckles turning white. The painful memories of the devastation, of the lives lost, were still vivid in his mind.

"After that, I couldn't go on with being a magician. I left the city and went back to the village... or what was left of it. Once a cure to the plague was found, I focused on rebuilding it. I couldn't save everyone, but I could at least help restore what was lost. With time and effort, I managed to connect the village with other places, and made use of the connections I had made during my time as a magician. It wasn't just a fishing village anymore—it became something more, almost a town where people came and went, trading, fishing, building lives."

There was a brief flicker of pride in Cyrus' eyes as he spoke of his efforts, but that pride quickly faded as his expression darkened.

"I..."

His words faltered. He glanced at Athena, her eyes sharp, watching him closely, and for a moment, he seemed to wrestle with something inside. The rest of his story—how it all ended—hovered on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed it back.

Cyrus' mouth shut abruptly, and he looked away, his jaw clenched tight, leaving the rest of the story unsaid. Athena noticed the sudden shift, a flicker of suspicion crossing her face. She could tell there was more, something he was holding back, but she didn't press. Instead, she gave him a nod, a quiet respect for the past he clearly didn't want to share in full just yet.

As the last remnants of breakfast lay scattered across the table, the cozy atmosphere of the café had lulled both Cyrus and Athena into a comfortable rhythm. The awkward silence from earlier had lifted, replaced by a sense of camaraderie forged through their shared experiences. They both sipped their coffee, the warm aroma mixing with the soft light filtering in through the windows, casting a gentle glow on the worn wooden furniture.

Athena leaned back in her chair, her gaze drifting toward the window for a moment before returning to Cyrus. Her body still held the faint traces of exhaustion, though the rapid healing from her regeneration had left her in far better condition than she had been before. She sighed, setting her cup down and breaking the silence.

"That thing we fought... it wasn't like anything I've ever seen," she began, her voice measured but laced with frustration. "The way it moved, how fast it was, and the power behind its attacks—it felt like it wasn't just any ordinary dungeon monster."

Cyrus nodded, his fingers absentmindedly tapping the edge of his cup. He could still feel the weight of his injuries, though they had mostly healed by now. Yet the memory of that creature's speed and power still made his muscles tense up, a reminder of how close they'd come to death.

"That monster was something else," Cyrus agreed. "I've fought strong enemies before, but the way it just... shrugged off attacks, even slowed time, it felt unnatural. Almost like it was cursed or under some kind of spell." He paused, narrowing his eyes. "And that transformation..."

Athena's brow furrowed, her fingers drumming against the table. "Yeah, that part. When it died—or when we thought it did—it came back. Like it was possessed by something. There's no way that was just a coincidence."

"I don't think it was," Cyrus replied, leaning forward slightly. "Remember the moment before it got up again? That chill... it was like the entire room knew something was wrong. And then, it moved like a puppet, jerky but deliberate. That wasn't normal resurrection magic. It was something far darker."

Athena nodded grimly. "I felt it too. It wasn't just a second wind or some last stand. Something animated it, something powerful enough to give it a whole new form. And the sapphire flames—it was like the entire dungeon had shifted to accommodate its power."
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Cyrus stared into his coffee for a moment, reflecting on the fight. His mind replayed the way the monster had moved with impossible speed, how it had tossed him and Athena around the dungeon like ragdolls. "If it weren't for that throne world... I don't think we'd be sitting here right now. I barely managed to summon it in time."

Athena's lips curled into a faint, appreciative smile. "I felt that. The water, the way it engulfed everything. I thought I was drowning for a second, but then... it was like it let me breathe, move, as if it wasn't real for us but was deadly for everything else."

Cyrus nodded, his gaze meeting hers. "It's the Kingdom of the Sea of Life. I didn't know it could do all that until I used it, but I guess it recognized the danger we were in. The way it targeted that monster—like the ocean itself decided to tear it apart—it was brutal."

"Brutal, but necessary," Athena added, her tone resolute. "That thing was far too dangerous to leave standing. And the sea itself choking the life out of it… it felt right." She leaned in slightly, her eyes narrowing with thought. "But there's something about that creature—it didn't feel like just another monster. The dungeon itself… something was off. You remember that blue crystal we saw deep inside, in that old church?"

Cyrus tilted his head slightly, recalling the glimmer of the crystal in the shadowed ruins. "The blue one?"

Athena nodded, a flicker of concern crossing her face. "Yeah. I have a feeling it had something to do with that monster's power. It wasn't just a coincidence that we found it so close to where we fought that thing. The energy coming off it was... strange. Maybe it's connected."

Cyrus frowned, the pieces falling into place. "You think the crystal is behind the creature's strength? Like, it was feeding off of it somehow?"

"Could be," Athena replied. "Or maybe it was protecting it, boosting its abilities. Either way, I can't shake the feeling that whatever we fought wasn't acting alone. Something's deeper here, tied to that crystal."

Cyrus sat back, digesting the possibility. "So, what do we do? Go back and check it out?"

Athena shrugged, though her expression remained serious. "It's a risk. But if that crystal is the source of what made that monster so strong, there's a chance it could cause more problems. Maybe there are others like it, or worse, something else down there tied to it."

Cyrus chuckled dryly, though there was no humor behind it. "Great, because the dungeon wasn't dangerous enough already."

Athena cracked a small smile, but it didn't last long. "Whether it's tied to the dungeon or not, we need to be sure. There's no telling what else might come out of that place."

They both fell into silence, the weight of the conversation settling over them. The hum of the café was a stark contrast to the chaos of the dungeon, a strange reminder of how close they had come to not making it out.

Athena broke the silence first, her voice soft but determined. "We'll need to be ready next time. Whatever's down there, it's not done with us yet."

Cyrus met her gaze, a steady resolve growing in his chest. "Agreed. We'll go back. And we'll figure it out."