STILL ON DYLAN'S POV
Anabella sat on the floor immediately after I spoke, tears began to stream down her eyes, I knelt beside her as I patted her on the shoulder. "Hey, I am sorry," I said quietly. "You are not the problem, I am. I have forgotten who I was and what I wanted owing to all these duties, I forgot my love," she said while I continued to pat on her back.
"Then go back to your love," I said after a while. "Even if I go back, can I get him out of prison?" she said to my surprise. "Prison! how come?" I asked.
I needed to ask right? There is an urgent need within that demands an answer.
She stood and sat on the edge of the bed, I joined us as I crossed my legs and rested my head on it as I prepared for a full gist like the humans say. "It goes many years back, in my prime era. I met this young man, he was a human. I escaped to the surface several times without my mother's knowledge, I promised him a lot of things and he did the same. Days turned into weeks, weeks turned to months, months turned to years and as a human he expected me to accompany him home but as a royal mermaid born in the sea, I haven't lived up to the years I would be able to transform into a human" she paused as she Inhaled the fresh air coming in through the window. Right then, my ears were on attention to what she was saying because it would benefit me one way or the other as long as we could both work together to abolish the tradition.
"So what happened next, am all ears," I said so she could continue the story. "Then, I tried several times to turn into a human but I failed and I did not stop, I continued till I failed again and again so he asked me to stop I also sensed the love in his eyes. A few days later, I was with him then all I saw was a loud thud of waves. We both held our hands, I closed my eyes and I felt his touch gradually leave me. When I opened my eyes my mother was right in front of me..." she said but I cut her off. "What! the queen!" I was shocked knowing trouble had arrived.
"Yes, the queen. I was so tense that I could do nothing, but I saw him already locked in a magical cage. I swam as fast as possible but I couldn't make it, I begged Mother to save his life and she did after a lot of pleas" She stopped suddenly while I stood up from my seat wanting to know the rest of the horror story before me.
Did I just say 'horror', yes it was that kind of story to me.
"Continue, I want to hear the last part" I requested firmly. "We went back to Lemuria, she allowed him to live but on a condition. She locked him up" she explained and that cropped up a question in my mind. "Where is he locked up?" I asked. "In the Abyss of Lemuria," she finally dropped the bombshell while I covered my mouth with my hand.
Abyss!
I was so shocked that I moved back from her immediately, the story itself is enough for her to cry not to talk of the punishment. That was too much of a punishment for him, how does she expect a human to live there?
"No merman or mermaid has ever been able to get out of that place for ages. None of them made it alive, and a human...I don't think he will still be alive" I said. "Why do you think so?" she asked. "I said so because I overheard my father telling my mother one day while I was passing by and he also mentioned something about blood...." I struggled to remember the rest of the words he said that day.
"Blood revival" she completed it for me. "Yeah.. that one, it was what he said that day. How do you know about it?" I asked and she walked away from the window she was standing earlier towards me. "My mother told your father," she said. "But why and why do you know she told him?" I asked. "I think she never intended to keep him there that long in the first place, but she's gone now. She died, you know. That must have been why she called your father, they have not been on terms for a long time after they failed to marry each other. So few days after that incident, why do you think she can call him?" she asked and I understood it all.
"At this juncture, we can only get our answer from one item, the Isnamermaid's book," I said. "Yes, that is the only way we can know the secret behind it and not before it," she said as she faced me "so I think it is high time I free you from this bondage so you can stay with your love. I can see the love you have for Doris in your eyes even if you keep denying it in front of us but you cannot lie to your heart" she said "And what will you do?" I asked her.
"Sacrifice" she uttered the word while I looked on shocked. "Sacrifice! For what?" I asked again. "I need your blood with mine since we won't get married," she said. "There is no way I am doing that, it is forbidden you know that right? I have heard father telling Marvin severally" I explained to her. "It might be risky but we have to take the risk for our love, what comes after it will be what we will face together. But can we do this for our love?" she asked me as she folded her two hands together right in front of me, I couldn't resist her so I nodded in response.
The surface of the water glistened creating a dazzling display of dancing reflections. As we approached the water's edge, a sense of anticipation and wonder fills the air. It has been a long time since I have been here, Mother must not know I am here. And for the fact that I am coming here for love.
Never! she will know.
The entrance to Lemuria takes the form of an ethereal and colossal archway, crafted from luminescent coral and shimmering seashells. The archway rose majestically from the water, its intricate details showcasing the artistry of an ancient civilization.
As we swam through the archway, a fleeting moment of weightlessness engulfs me as the water envelops my body. The transition was seamless, as the boundaries between air and water blurred, and I found myself immersed in a breathtaking underwater world.
The archway served as a portal, leading us through a tunnel of iridescent coral reefs. The vibrant colors and intricate patterns of the coral formations create a kaleidoscope of beauty, while schools of tropical fish darted and weaved through the water, their scales shimmered in a myriad of hues which brought excitement in my heart.
"That is his place," Anabella said as soon as we swam towards an old reeky environment. "Who lives here?" I asked. "The Mersage, the wisest of us all" She explained while I nodded and managed to swim across the place. We swam in and we met the old mermaid in front of Kanaloa's statue, she was worshipping him and that reminded me it's been a long time since I had done that but I am not here for that, he won't be offended.
"Old one we greet you" We both greeted as we bowed in front of him. She opened her eyes from her meditation as she was surprised to see us owing to our appearances, she bowed immediately as she greeted us. "I guess it is time to tell the truth that has been left hanged for me many years," she said. "What truth?" I asked her. "the reason you have come is the truth" she replied to my surprise.
"Oh... well if you knew, why didn't you tell us?" my voice became more masculine as I was now taking it too seriously. "Things have to be done and told at the right time," she said. "Why?" Anabella asked. "It has always been part of history and so shall it be" she responded. "Well, time is far spent. Tell us the reason for what we came here came here for" Anabella said to keep the tension down.
A peaceful breath escaped my nose
"Years ago after your life was trapped in the Abyss, your father" she pointed at me "and your mother the queen" she pointed at Anabella as well "met together after so many years of not keeping in touch with each other. The two talked about the young man but after the promise your mother made to you she still had it in mind to kill the young man I please alongside King Theseus then and she decided to spare his life and let him live. She wanted to punish you for not telling her before you took that step, they both locked the Abyss by sacrificing their types of blood at the entrance. A few days later your mother died and a year later, we lost King Theseus on that deadly night" she explained. "Yes, we all know that. It is enough for now, and stop bringing our hurtful past right in front of us again" I said to her.
It is hurtful!
"So the issue at hand now requires sacrifices for two things," she said. "What are they?" Anabella asked. "One is to free Anabella's love from the Abyss and two is to open the Isnamermaid's book for the Isnamerman to find the answers to his quest in the human world. Once you leave from here, go straight to the Abyss and unlock the door but it deals with time. You have just fifteen minutes to leave there or you all will get trapped in the Abyss forever. While you go there, I will get the Isnamermaid's book from her palace. I wish you good luck" she said as she swam out of the shallow house she lived in "Be careful" I heard her say as she disappeared into the thick fog outside while we followed suit and we headed our separate way.
As we got to the entrance of the Abyss, it was not something the words of the mouth could say or express.
Imagine a dark, vast chasm that seems to have no bottom.
As we looked down, all we could see was the endless blackness, punctuated by the occasional bioluminescent light of a deep-sea creature. The water is cold and dark, and the pressure is immense. I felt scared myself but I brazed myself up. I felt like I was being pulled down into the depths, into the unknown for that matter. As we continued to descend into the abyss, I started to see strange creatures that seemed to defy imagination. Huge squid-like creatures with glowing eyes, blind fish that are navigated by sensing electrical currents, and other bizarre forms of life. The further we went, the weirder and more alien the creatures became. It's more like I was entering another world entirely.
As we went down the depths of the abyss, I noticed something even stranger - strange lights that seemed to move and shift in the darkness. We approached them, curious, and realized that they're not just lights - they're words. Strange, glowing words in an unknown language. I did not wait but continued my journey, it was just like the abyss itself was trying to communicate with us. "Wait!" Anabella said to me, I paused as I turned back and swam to her since I was ahead of her "Why do we have to wait? We have to find your lover right?" I asked.
"I feel as if these words written here are not here for lights or something else, they are trying to pass a message to us," she said as she moved closer to the words inscribed on the wall. I hesitated for a while before I decided to move closer when Anabella told me the words were moving. I felt drawn to the glowing words, and I decided to try to understand them. As I concentrated, the words seemed to shift and change, until I realized that they were morphing into words we could understand. I realized that the abyss is speaking to us, telling us its secrets and mysteries.
What does it say?
The words form a message, three circles in between a large one just as if it were a portal. Then I understood that the Abyss is a portal to another realm, a realm where time and space are fluid and changeable that must be it. The Abyss invited me to cross over, to explore this realm of endless possibility.
"Do we have to accept the invitation?" Anabella asked me, I gazed at the circle and it was just as if the circle was calling me, telling me to enter it. I nodded my head slowly as I placed my right palm on it, my crown glowed, my eyes shone blue and I felt a surge of confidence and power within me.
Anabella joined me and the same happened to her, the portal opened and we found ourselves in another realm entirely. As we entered into a strange new world, where the laws of physics seemed to have been turned on their head. I floated through the air, weightless, as I gazed upon bizarre landscapes and impossible structures.
I looked down amid the strange floating landscape, I saw a young man trapped in a cage. He looks terrified and confused as if he has no idea how he got here. I understood it was Anabella's lover, I swam quickly as I approached the cage, he saw me and started shouting, begging me to free him. I glanced back down and saw Anabella who was not moving, probably she was shocked about what she was witnessing.
Who knew he would be there?
As I reached out to the cage, the bars shifted and changed, until they simply disappeared, freeing the young man. I formed a bubble around him so he could breathe, He looked at me in wonder and asked me who I was and how I did that. "I am the son of the sea and my powers must have freed you", I replied.
He looked at me with even more wonder and awe, and asked "Are you some kind of god or supernatural being?", I smiled at first before I replied "No". I kept smiling at him until I noticed that his gaze was not on me but at my back, I turned back and saw Anabella then the look of recognition dawned on the man's face. He realized that it was Anabella his love, and he swam towards her, tears in his eyes.
I also felt that that moment
Anabella rushed to meet him, and they embraced, crying and laughing at the same time. As they held each other, the landscape around me changed again.
What's happening again?
I and Anabella both have the same thought at the same time - to escape through the opening that appeared when the man was freed. As we all swam towards the opening, the landscape started to collapse and dissolve around us. Suddenly, we were falling through space, the strange landscape disappearing into nothingness. We all tumbled through a void until finally, we landed with a jolt on solid ground.
As I looked around, I realized that I and my friends were back in the abyss, in a different location from before. We were then on a rocky shore, surrounded by dark water, with no sign of the strange landscape we were just in. The young man and Anabella are both dazed and disoriented, but they seem to be unharmed.
How come we are at a shore in the sea, then I understood the real work of the Abyss.
I stared at Anabella and Age also got the message, she dragged her lover by his arm and we started swimming fast trying to escape whatever strange force brought us here. As we swam, the rocky shore gave way to a dense forest, and the dark water turned into a rushing river. The landscape shifted constantly and changed, and I was not sure where I was going or what I was running from.
I and my friends swam blindly through the ever-changing landscape when suddenly we halted to a stop at a cliff's edge. Below us, the water plunged over a huge ocean, crashing into a roiling pool of white water far below. There's no way to go back, and no obvious way forward.
A dead end precisely!
As I stood at the edge of the cliff, trying to figure out what to do, I heard a strange, distant voice calling out to me. "The way out is through," it says. I believed they both heard that as well, before I could speak Anabella spoke up "Let's try what the voice said, we are running out of time" she reminded me. But I thought within myself unsure of what to do. Should I trust the mysterious voice, or is it just leading me into more danger?
I decided to take a chance and trust the mysterious voice, and Anabella and her lover jumped, while stood there. I decided to jump off the edge of the cliff, plunging into the water below. As I hit the water, I felt myself being pulled under, as if by some unseen force. I was carried along in the wave, spinning and tumbling through the darkness. Finally, I found myself in a calm pool, surrounded by a beautiful forest. The voice spoke again: "Now you're on the right path."
We were out of the Abyss, what a bumpy ride! I and my friends swam through the clear water, I felt a sense of peace and calm that I had not felt before. The little weed around us was lush and green, filled with the sounds of water currents and running water. As I swam, I noticed that the wave was carrying us toward where we came from, the old mermaid's dwelling.