Kael stood at the ocean's edge, the dark glass vial warm in his palm. Kael uncorks the Abyssal Blood Bait.
Pop.
Kael tilted the vial over the water.
Glug... glug... glug.
The thick crimson liquid poured out in slow, viscous streams. It hit the ocean surface. The bait didn't dissolve immediately. Instead, it coiled through the water like living smoke—dark red tendrils reaching deeper, spreading wider, sinking into the depths.
Hissss...
The ocean around the shore darkened slightly. The crimson threads multiplied, branching outward, descending deeper into the blue. Within seconds, the bait had spread across a thirty-meter radius. Within a minute, it was beyond sight.
Kael corked the empty vial and pocketed it. Then he waited.
"You there!"
A harsh, cracking voice cut through the sound of waves.
Kael turned. An old man stood on the rocks behind him, fisherman's clothing patched and salt-stained. His eyes were wide with fury.
