The Alpha King's Nemesis-Chapter 127: Trident Snatcher ()

"There are twelve guardians of the sea dome and the seal of water magic sealing the sea dome feeds off of the magic of the guardians."

" All twelve guardians are chosen from the most noble bloodlines and have the strongest water magic to support the seal, yet the seal of guardians was made to be transferrable." Lord Melven began,

"When a transfer is made, it can only be to someone of a more powerful or equal bloodline than your ownself. This maintains a balance of power."

"When Kristen relinquished his status as guardian, he was replaced by a mer of royal bloodline and equal rank hence the seal remained unaffected."

"However, there is one guardian mark that has never been transferred before. The position of Lord guardian is not like that of the other eleven guardians."

"The mark of Lord guardian chooses it’s bearer, after the passing of the previous Lord guardian, the mark chose Lord Imain who was then a battle mer in the royal palace of the main sea."

"Lord Imain has been Lord guardian since his youth, there has never been a case in our history where the mark of Lord guardian was transferred."

"This will be the first ever attempt and Creator alone knows what the results might be." Lord Melven said in a grim tone.

Zariah’s eyes widened slightly, she had not known this part of the mer’s history, she had not known anything related to the existence of the Sea Dome and it’s guardians at all.

"You mean to say the seal of the dome may be weakened during the transfer? How can he be willing to take such a risk when he is not even certain the mark can be transferred?" Zariah asked with a frown.

Zariah could not understand Lord Imain’s thought process, although she sympathized with him for his unfortunate lot,

Chosen against his will to guard a dome where the darkness was imprisoned for all eternity, making him no less than a prisoner to the dome himself.

At least other guardians had the option to transfer their markings, while he was stuck with his duty till his dying day,

Forever bound to the Northern Seas, never to know the taste of freedom, it was enough to drive anyone mad with rage at the world.

But there was no assurance he could actually transfer the mark at all, of what use was allying with the darkness you had spent all your life to keep locked in?

Was that not just a waste of the centuries of efforts he and his predecessors had expended?

"That is a possibility and Lord Imain knows this too, if he is hell bent on transferring the shadow mark despite this, it can only mean he does not care if the seal of the sea dome is broken." Lord Melven replied.

"Why would he when he has already dabbled with the darkness? His intent is clear, if the shadow mark cannot be transferred, there is only one other way to get rid of it."

"If the seal of the sea dome is broken, the shadow marks will loose their significance. Without a dome to guard, there will be no more guardians. He will get his freedom... one way or the other." Zariah murmured grimly.

"I fear you are right. And that is why we must stop him now and save the Sea King before the situation takes a turn for the worse." Lord Melven agreed.

However as though the universe heard their conversation, the situation did take a turn for the worse in the next moment.

Suddenly, the calmly flowing currents of the seas changed and the waters began churning turbulently, fishes darting about frantically, scurrying away from the canyon to safety.

There was an ominous shrieking sound emitted from the depths of the sea dome and the glow rocks that gave a dim lighting to the Sea depths all began shattering one after the other, casting the sea depth in almost pitch darkness.

There were flashes of light tearing through the shadows above the canyon and even the Northern battle mers surrounding it exchanged glances of unease.

Zariah’s senses were immediately on high alert as she picked up a powerful aura of ancient magic and Zariah knew whatever it was that was needed for the transfer of the shadow mark had already begun.

"What is happening down there?!" Lord Jole hissed, his hand clutching his sword.

"We have to go down there, the fate of the Sea Kingdom is at stake, we cannot wait any longer. If the Sea Dome is opened...it will be all over." Lady Olga said in urgency.

"But Lord Yogan has not returned, there are only six of us here. Five, since the trident snatcher doesn’t count." Lord Jole murmured in a grim tone.

Zariah frowned at the title Lord Jole had decided to use in addressing her but she refrained from commenting on it.

"We have to take the risk, Imain must be stopped before he can transfer the marking." Lord Melven said.

Zariah knew Lord Melven was right, she had already confirmed what she needed to know, Lord Imain and the mastermind had figured out a way to contain the darkness and control it’s power without binding to it and attracting the Creator’s curse.

Which meant Lord Imain had an insurance that he would use to win himself the throne even if the seal of the sea dome was affected by the transfer of his marking. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Whatever that insurance was, that was what Zariah needed to get...if she could lay her hands on it, she could figure out exactly what the mastermind’s grand plan was.

Now, it was time to ensure the merfolk would not be harmed by this... even in the past lifetime, Zariah had not heard of the sea dome.

Zariah could not begin to imagine what would happen if the Sea Dome was opened, but if the darkness sealed within was nearly as destructive as that within the element seal,

Then all seven seas were in grave danger and not even a single merfolk who was presently in the depths would get out of this unscathed.

And if the merfolk fell to the darkness, an entire species numbering in the thousands, an army of forsaken would rise again, wielding the powers of the sea,

Then it was over for the supernatural realm, there would be no stopping the darkness, if one domain fell... the others would fall along with it.

The dark war had already sent many supernatural species into extinction, what was left of the supernatural realm had to be protected.

Zariah needed to get into that canyon, if there was anyone who could prevent the seal of the sea dome from breaking open, it was the Crimson Alpha.

"How long will it take reinforcements to arrive from your seas if you dispatch a message now?" Zariah asked seriously,

"The Southern Seas are the closest, at full glide, my battle mers should arrive in an hour. I can convey the summons but what can be done about the Northern barrier?" Lady Olga asked,

"The Northern Sea barrier can only be erected by the Lord guardian, yet there is an artifact that can overpower every barrier of the Sea Kingdom." Zariah pointed out the obvious.

"The Tide Trident." Prince Treyton murmured as he exchanged a glance with Zariah.

"Is the Trident here?!" Lord Jole exclaimed.

"The trident snatcher is here, where else would it be?" Zariah asked sarcastically, unable to resist taking a jab at Lord Jole.

"Lady Zariah has kept the Trident safe... she will return it to us when she deems it fit." Prince Treyton explained.

"So take it out right now! Prince Treyton and Lord Melven are both of royal blood, they can wield the trident and get the barrier down!" Lord Jole exclaimed and Zariah scoffed beneath her breath.

"There is just one little problem with that reasoning... the Tide Trident is all the way on the other side and there is an army of battle mers between us and it." Zariah murmured,

"The Tide Trident is in the Sea Dome?!" Lord Melven exclaimed in panic.

"Well...not exactly." Zariah replied.

"The Trident is under the protection of trusted people, one of which is the Ethereal King, Askel Vance Niolen. My father has complete faith in him and you should too."

"It will be safe till we get to it. The problem here is, how do we get past that army?" Prince Treyton interrupted before any of the Sea Lords could speak again.

"If the Ethereal King is here, then the Trident is in capable hands. As for the army, we will need to come up with a distraction." Lord Melven suggested.

However before anyone could say anything, Zariah noticed a shadow overhead and her gaze lifted up to see a large sea octopus and atop it’s head stood a battle mer in his human form, grasping a spear.

This battle mer was Alan, the second in command of the Northern Seas and his narrowed gaze was fixed straight at them.

"Uhmm... something tells me it’s already too late for a distraction." Zariah murmured grimly.