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Chapter 27 - CHAPTER 27: “The Ocean That Hates the Shore”

Arc 3 – Leviathan: Envy (Chapter 1 of 7)

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The sea was too quiet.

Lucen stood barefoot on the rusted edge of an abandoned coastal dock, the horizon melting into a pale green sky. Behind him, a half-sunken fishing town slept in silence — windows shattered, walls stained with salt and time. No crows. No gulls. Just stillness.

He hadn't been here in years.

Not since the night of the fire... the night he became something else.

But today, the wind didn't smell like ash.

It smelled like salt... and something else.

Rot.

He looked down at his reflection in the black water — hair grown, eyes dull, his stubble catching the sea breeze. He saw his own face flicker for a moment... then change. Something blinked in the water. A pair of green reptilian eyes stared back from the reflection.

Then — they vanished.

Lucen backed away, his heart quickening. He didn't need a warning to know what this meant.

Someone was watching.

Something envied his existence.

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[Scene: Return to Port Solis — The Sunken City]

Port Solis used to be a lively beach town. Now, it was forgotten. Flooded by storms years ago — some blamed the climate, others whispered about a curse.

Lucen came here chasing whispers. Missing fishermen. Vanishing coast guards.

And one thing in common: they all died with their eyes melted out, tears of salt and blood.

He walked slowly through the waterlogged streets. Knee-deep seawater reflected shattered shop signs and broken furniture.

Then he saw it.

A boy.

Standing still in the middle of the flooded road, wearing nothing but a soaked blue raincoat. His eyes were completely white. Pale lips quivered.

"...You shouldn't be here," the boy whispered.

Lucen stepped forward. "Who are you?"

But the boy didn't answer.

Instead, he opened his mouth... and green seawater poured out, gallons of it — far more than his small body could possibly hold. The liquid turned black in mid-air.

Lucen leapt back, summoning the power of Lust's illusion — a mirage of himself flickered and ran to the side, buying him time to roll behind a collapsed car.

From the flood, a figure emerged.

Tall. Twisted. Shimmering wet scales down its arms and shoulders. A long coat that looked like it was stitched from the hides of drowned captains. Skin blue like a drowned corpse.

And a voice — calm, icy, but full of venom:

"You're the favorite. Aren't you?"

Lucen's breath hitched.

"The precious 8th Son. Born by mistake, yet worshiped by fools. You think you've earned power. But I was promised the oceans. I deserved the world."

Lucen stood up slowly.

"Who are you?"

The figure tilted his head. Sharp teeth gleamed from a cold smile.

"Leviathan. Your brother. Your envy."

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⚔️ The Arc Begins:

Lucen isn't fighting muscle now.

He's fighting emotion. Memory. Regret.

He's about to be shown alternate lives — what he could have had, what others hated him for having, and what he doesn't even know he lost.

Leviathan's powers won't just be sea-based.

He'll warp people's minds, making them act on their deepest jealousy.

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Lucen whispered to himself as the waves crashed behind him:

"No more running."

And the sea answered with a scream.

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