Arthur streaked across the sky like a dark gold comet, his speed so immense that the air behind him ignited into a trail of violet fire. Below him, the Pacific Ocean was no longer the calm, blue expanse it used to be. It had become a churning cauldron of death. Massive whirlpools, each the size of a small country, were spinning violently, and the waves had reached heights that could swallow skyscrapers.
[Ding!]
[Environmental Warning: High-Pressure Water Mana detected.]
[Effect: Gravity in the area has increased by 50x. Oxygen levels are dropping.]
Arthur didn't care. He stopped mid-air, hovering directly above the eye of the largest whirlpool. From the depths of the black water, a massive structure was rising. It was the Trident of Poseidon, glowing with a bioluminescent blue light that pulsed like a dying star.
Then, a voice emerged from the abyss—a voice that sounded like a thousand shipwrecks happening at once.
"Mortal anomaly... you have disrupted the balance of the Great Twelve. You have slain the Architect and the Executioner. But the Sea is not a machine, and it is not a soldier. The Sea is the beginning and the end of all life."
A massive figure, made entirely of swirling seawater and ancient coral, emerged from the center of the trident. It was only a partial manifestation of Poseidon, but its head reached the clouds.
"I am the King of the Depths," the manifestation roared, raising the glowing trident. "And you are just dust on the surface. Drown in the silence of the abyss! Great Flood: Planet's Tears!"
The entire Pacific Ocean seemed to rise into the sky. A wall of water, thousands of miles long and hundreds of miles high, began to move toward the continents. If it hit the shore, billions would die in minutes.
Arthur gripped the hilt of 'The End of All Things'. He felt the '100x Multiplier' in his soul screaming for release.
"You talk about the sea as if it's infinite," Arthur said, his voice cutting through the roar of the waves. "But you forget that the sea exists within space. And I... I am the Monarch of the Void. To the Void, your ocean is just a drop of spit."
Arthur raised his blade high. Dark purple electricity crackled around the edge of the concept blade.
"100x Multiplier... Concept Cut: Dehydration!"
Arthur didn't strike the water. He struck the 'concept' of the ocean itself. He sliced the air in a horizontal arc.
[Ding!]
[100x Multiplier Activated!]
[Concept of 'Liquid' has been deleted in a 5,000-mile radius!]
In an instant, the massive wall of water didn't crash; it vanished. The billions of tons of seawater were converted into dry, harmless steam. The Pacific Ocean, for a radius of five thousand miles, became a barren, salt-crusted desert. Thousands of ancient shipwrecks and long-forgotten sea monsters were suddenly exposed to the air, gasping for life.
Poseidon's manifestation froze. His body, which was made of water, began to evaporate. "What... what have you done?! You have violated the laws of nature!"
"I didn't violate them," Arthur said, appearing in front of Poseidon's face in a blink. "I rewrote them. 100x Multiplier... Monarch's Devour!"
Arthur reached out and grabbed the starlight trident. The 100x Multiplier began to suck the divine energy directly out of the weapon and into Arthur's core.
[Ding!]
[Absorbing 'God of the Sea's Authority'...]
[Multiplier Activated: Authority gained x100!]
Arthur felt his body expanding with the power of the tides. He could feel every drop of water on the planet, from the deepest trench to the clouds in the sky. He could now freeze the oceans or boil the rivers with a single thought.
Poseidon's manifestation let out a final, gurgling shriek before shattering into a billion pieces of dry salt.
[Ding!]
[Urgent Quest Complete: The God of the Depths has been repelled!]
[Experience gained: 1,000,000,000 EXP!]
[100x Multiplier Activated!]
[Ding! LEVEL UP! Host has reached Level 800!]
Arthur stood in the center of the dry ocean floor, holding the now-dim trident. He looked up at the golden rift in the sky, which was starting to close as the gods realized their early attack had failed.
"One down," Arthur whispered. "Eleven to go."
He looked back at the Himalayas. He could see the 'Tower of Eternal Trials' glowing in the distance. His army was growing. His power was reaching the level of the creators themselves.
"Igris," Arthur called through the mental link.
"Yes, my King?"
"The Sea God is gone. But the world is still in shock. Send the 'Divine Sparks' to the coastal leaders. Let them use the mana to rebuild. And tell them... the next god won't be as easy to kill."
Arthur vanished from the Pacific and reappeared in his throne room in Xerxes. He sat down, feeling the immense weight of the 'Sea God's Authority' settling into his soul.
[27 Days Remaining.]
"System," Arthur said. "Prepare the next evolution. If 20,000 words were the key to the contract, let's see what 50,000 words do to the universe."