Chapter 1428: Weng Faluos 3.5 (458)

My sisters! You've finally come swimming.

Haiseyin was very happy to see them.

"Of course, Hailiequla, we were drawn by your enchanting melody," a beautiful mermaid replied.

"Hailiequla...?" Xing furrowed his brow.

"Her true name is 'Hailiequla'—that is the remnant of her past, looking back in regret," Laigushi explained.

Haiseyin continued: "The queen is summoning us. She must be exhausted, and the black tide will soon flow into the border."

"What should we do? Will our sea also fall into this dark misery?" another mermaid worried.

"Don't worry. We will lift the cup to receive the black tide in her place, together protecting the nation and its people." Haiseyin's expression was very firm.

Laigushi beside them looked at Haiseyin's attitude with disdain: "Pitiful Titan kin, thinking you can stop the tide of truth—how naïve… that naivety is the cause of suffering."

Haiseyin led the two sisters to the queen's residence, where they saw a semi-transparent woman sitting on a huge golden cup.

"Oh, Fajina, noble queen! We have come in response to your summons."

Fajina was so weak that speaking was an effort: "My little fish, how joyful your swimming makes me, I cannot bear to proclaim the kingdom's misfortune… I once thought I could drink the black tide dry. But even the deepest cup will overflow—I can no longer hold more mire."

"Mother, don't worry. We are all children of the sea, and we will share your destiny."

"We will take over your duties and dispel the black tide."

"We will repair your holy chalice and bear the curse's corruption."

Fajina nodded: "Fish! When the spear of Strife descends, you may withdraw. I promise you, the city-states on land will hold an endless feast for you… that is the last favor I can grant you."

As her words fell, the palace suddenly trembled; a gilded chandelier fell from the sky, smashing Fajina's phantom to pieces.

Laigushi's figure slowly appeared: "Fajina sank into the abyss, the cup shattered—her intoxication poured into the black tide, bringing the first madness to Weng Faluos."

"The mermaids went forward one after another, seeking the Titan's fragments, until their bodies rotted into dry bones, all to welcome the promised feast."

——

The World of Bumps and Hollows.

"Do you still remember the journal Xing found in Stikokisia before?"

Seeing Fajina promise the three mermaids an endless feast, Zitang Huan felt no warmth, only chills rising from the heart.

In that refugee's journal, it was recorded that the city's banquets grew ever more mad, the feast endless, everyone seemed to lose their senses, leaving only burning fervor.

At that time, fishermen by the sea had heard a strange song. The song seemed to come from the deep sea, and it could compel people to unconsciously approach the shore… now it seems this must be Haiseyin singing.

"Well, as Fajina continually sinks into the black tide, all the people of Stikokisia will meet death in the revelry." Ge Rui said in a low voice, "It seems Haiseyin is the sole survivor of the merfolk."

Jin looked somewhat sad: "I thought Bai'e had suppressed this generation's black tide, so it would no longer affect Weng Faluos… but Haiseyin is a mermaid who once lived in the water—how did she meet Kaisa?"

"Of course, because she can't survive at sea anymore? The ocean is polluted by the black tide, so she can only live on land—but land is Kaisa's domain." Kaili rubbed her chin, a flicker of curiosity in her eyes, "It's quite something that someone so loyal to Fajina would join Kaisa's camp, and even raise arms against her former queen when she attacked Fajina..."

"What? You think she shouldn't have acted against her former queen?" Ge Rui looked at the hesitant Kaili.

Kaili shook her head: "No, I never thought that. I'm just curious why Haiseyin is so loyal to Kaisa, when he is merely a human… or a human who wants to kill her former queen."

——

"Hailiequla! My tail has been gnawed by evil spirits; I can no longer swim far."

"Hailiequla! My fins are soaked in black mire; I can no longer dance with you."

Haiseyin looked at the mermaids unable to stand, reaching out a hand: "Sisters, don't give up, don't forget the queen's promised feast—the city-state named Stikokisia!"

"I haven't forgotten; every night it appears in my dreams… dreaming of how beautiful the city is, lights shining through the dark seabed..."

"Dreaming of children placing flower wreaths on my horn, poets singing of the mermaids' deeds in protecting the world..."

The beautiful mermaid painfully shook her head: "It's just a shame… we can no longer move forward; please sing for us to humanity, sing the legend of the deep sea."

Having said that, the two mermaids' bodies began to twitch and deform before Haiseyin, as if some indescribable force tore at their flesh; black substance gushed from their mouths, eventually enveloping them entirely, turning them into two black-tide constructs resembling swimming fish.

"Feast… song… Hailiequla..."

Seeing this, Laigushi slowly walked from behind Xing: "The mermaids have been corroded by 'Destruction,' their flesh rotting, becoming this era's black-tide constructs."

Haiseyin gripped her sword, a flash of resolve in her eyes: "... Farewell, sisters. I will fulfill my final duty, then prepare your banquet."

"Thus, only one conscious mermaid remains in the sea depths. Haiseyin, she wanders alone in the ocean, burying her kin, seeking the fragments of the overflowing cup."

Following Laigushi's advice, Xing used the power of 'Ages' to turn time to the journey's end; Haiseyin stood before the fully assembled golden cup.

"At last, the overflowing cup is whole again, the Heaven's Punishment Spear steps out of the Underworld River, the gods reclaim their duty to resist the black tide. I have freed myself from endless toil, rushing to the ceremony of Stikokisia..."

On the mural, a girl walks out of the dark currents, wearing a flowing white gown like moonlight‑thin waves on the sea. The water behind her slowly closes, the last trace of black ripples lightly kissing her ankle, as if bidding farewell to this daughter of the sea.

"I bear my sisters' vision, taking on a lovely human form, hoping for a myriad of celebrants on shore. My tail fin becomes legs, scales become skin, the foam on my body turns into a glittering skirt."

"But when I set foot on land, I found no honey‑wine splashed festivities, no harpist plucking strings——"

"——only silent death, flowing quietly in the Underworld River."