The Alpha King's Nemesis-Chapter 70: The Sky Bubble ()

"We will arrive the main city within the hour." Prince Treyton’s voice was carried over to them by his magic.

Zariah guessed they had been traveling through the Sea for close to half a day and Zariah wondered why they were yet to encounter any other merfolk.

Although the main city was still ahead, Zariah had thought the Sea Kingdom would be more lively with dozens of merfolk in sight.

There were many duties the merfolk needed to see to all across the sea on a daily basis, from regulating wave movement, to fortifying the water banks, things should not have been so calm and devoid of life this close to the main city.

"These routes are too close to the East Shore, my father has given orders that all activities be moved to the Southern shores, we cannot allow the fairies to lay hand on anyone of our kin." Prince Treyton spoke as though guessing Zariah’s thoughts.

Zariah nodded in understanding, from what she had heard of the Fairy Queen, she would not hesitate to abduct as many merfolk as she could lay her hands on if any were unfortunate enough to cross paths with the battle fairies.

Prince Treyton swam far up ahead, almost out of sight, but somehow, he was still able to comfortably convey his words to them.

Zariah’s eyes fluttered closed, the sea waters glided over her face in a soft brush and the hum of ancient magic accompanied the sound of the waves.

It had been far too long since Zariah had felt the ancient magic in such intensity,

Above the surface, magic had become sparse and contaminated, filled with impurities but Zariah could see the Sea Kingdom had remained unaffected, at least to her present knowledge.

Zariah was not sure how long her eyes remained closed, basking in the pleasant hum of magic but when her eyes did flutter open again, up ahead of them lay a great city.

The city stretched on and on for as far as the eye could see, and there was something akin to a large bubble encasing the entirety of the city which seemed to keep water out of it.

The city was suspended by the bubble above the Sea Bed and only a small fraction of it was visible to Zariah’s gaze hence it was impossible to tell just how large the city actually was.

Something about the bubble called out to Zariah and struck her as familiar, Prince Treyton’s next words explained why.

"The Sky Bubble, it is one of the great graces done to the Sea Kingdom by the Crimson Moon."

" One could call it a miniature version of the Crimson Barrier created by the unified efforts of the water wolves and the wind wolves of Crimson Moon." Prince Treyton said.

"It has been an invaluable aid since the dark war, created for the purpose of offering protection to the merfolk unable to seek solace above surface during the desolate times where the Seas were poisoned by darkness."

"There are three of it, hence only three of the Seven Seas containing the Sky Bubble remained untainted by darkness after the dark war."

"Although the four affected Seas were purified, the Sky Bubble has become a part of our existence."

Zariah quirked a brow, she had not known the Crimson Wolves had created a barrier with half the power and efficiency of the Crimson Barrier.

Zariah had only been aware of the efforts made by the Crimson Wolves to purify the Sea.

Seeing the power of this Sky Bubble, Zariah understood better why it was recorded in ancient texts that many Crimson Wolves had sacrificed their lives in the bid to restore the glory of the Sea Kingdom.

A barrier made from the combined life essence of water wolves and air wolves, Zariah was deeply humbled by the sacrifices of her ancestors,

Truly they had been the very one’s to give life to the title ’Protectors Of The Realm.’

The closer they got to the Sky Bubble, Zariah finally began to see the presence of other merfolk.

Surrounding the Sky Bubble at strategic positions were battle mers, Zariah guessed they were the elite warriors of the merfolk based on their bejewelled breast plates.

Only at Zariah’s sight, she could count at least twenty of them spread out on the part of the bubble within sight,

There were also patrol groups circling the bubble, both underneath and above and each held deadly looking tridents whilst others had sword holsters strapped to their backs.

The patrol was rather water tight for a regular day and Zariah assumed it was owed to the ongoing threats of battle from the Floral Domain and Prince Treyton’s words confirmed as much.

"The Sea would usually be more lively with my kin going about their daily duties across the ocean, but the main city is presently on lock down in preparation for the impending battle." Prince Treyton relayed.

Zariah nodded in understanding, one would not expect the merfolk to lay low when the Floral Domain was hell bent on aggression. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The merfolk may have been advocates for peace and the preservation of the alliance, but that did not mean they were weak and feared to battle.

If it did come down to battle, Zariah could see the merfolk would deal as much damage to the Floral Domain as they would do to them, if not more.

And the reports from Zariah’s previous life of the result of this battle served as proof that it absolutely could not be allowed to take place

Prince Treyton led the way down to the large bubble where two elite battle mers protected the entrance.

"Prince Treyton." The battle mers greeted in unison.

The fierce gazes of the battle mers then lifted to Zariah and the rest and it was only then Zariah recognized one of the battle mers to be the very one who had been possessed by the charmer demon... Kristen.

"Lady Zariah." Kristen greeted, a guilty expression on his face as he tilted his head down in a bow.

Zariah nodded in response to the greeting since she was not yet certain she could speak without getting a mouthful of sea water.

Kristen seemed to be about speaking again but he was stopped by Prince Treyton.

"I know you have a lot to say, but some other time Kristen. I must escort our guests to father immediately." Prince Treyton said.

"Guests for the King?" The other battle mer asked,

"Honored guests." Kristen replied before Prince Treyton could.

"I hear you travel through the waters adjacent to the East Shore, any movements on the side of the battle fairies?" The other battle mer asked.

"None for now, they seem to be withholding fire...for how long, I do not know." Prince Treyton began,

"Kristen, have your scouts on alert, at the slightest signs of aggression, we shall accord them a brutal retaliation." Prince Treyton said to Kristen this time.

"Understood." Kristen replied before he nodded at the other battle mer and they both stepped aside,

Prince Treyton nodded in response, turning and gesturing for the Killer Whale to make it’s landing.

The Killer Whale quickly swooped down to the entrance of the Sky Bubble, slanting slightly as it soared within and the entrance closed up behind them.

The Killer Whale glided forwards for a short distance before Zariah was astonished as her head broke the surface and she stared out at another shore entirely.

"Within the Sky Bubble, the water is sparse, just enough to enrich us but not so much that we have to take our true form."

"There is still water all around you, but you would hardly take notice of it and it gives the illusion of dry land, it only becomes obvious without the breathing potion as it would be impossible to breathe." Prince Treyton said as he gestured for them to get down.

King Askel jumped off the Killer Whale and offered up a hand to assist Zariah, a gesture she blatantly ignored and jumped down herself.

Zariah was astonished to see her feet connected with a hard surface, whilst it still looked like water , it was akin to walking on water.

Prince Treyton himself still swam forwards and Zariah watched in awe as dozens of mer folk swam to and fro right in the middle of the air as though they were floating or levitating.

Meanwhile Zariah took a step forward and found it was as comfortable as walking on solid ground.

It looked like any other city with land, air and sky and if Zariah did not see Prince Treyton swimming through air, she would never have believed it was still water.

Zariah noticed Nile stretch a hand out to the thin air and swayed it slightly, shaking his head in astonishment as the transparent air rippled just like water would do.

Prince Treyton chuckled softly at Nile’s actions.

"Oh... and you can speak comfortably now." Prince Treyton added.