Dhaga arrived at the rendezvous but Naha was nowhere to be seen. He swam into waters assigned to the sorceress, hoping that the Kraken followers didn’t have a way of concealing her presence too. The naga was also aware that she could be dead. For the Kraken, death of one of the orb owners would only speed up its victory so it made more sense if it did order to have them killed. Putting aside the thoughts of the worst case scenario, Dhaga swam at his top speed while using his current sense. A few minutes later, he detected something and swam towards it.

  I hope she’s merely unconscious.

  Naha’s limp body moved through the water, creating a rather odd sight. Through echolocation, he discovered two eels were hauling the sorceress’ body. After a few attempts, he confirmed that no other electrical eels or Kraken followers were present. Then, he made his move by giving himself a wide berth before he swam at his top speed with his aqua blades drawn. During his charge, he corrected his course a few times as he used echolocation. By the time the eels noticed his presence, Dhaga had already closed the distance and his blades sliced through the eel heads in an instant. With the eels dead, he could unwrap their tails from Naha and carried her to safety.

  Good! She’s still breathing.

  During the swim to reunite with the other nagas, Dhaga wondered about the electric eels he faced. He found it odd that they never once used their electric abilities on him. Electric eels were known to be dangerous for that exact reason. The electric fields they created was deadly to all creatures, including themselves. The last two eels might have been caught off guard but the one he fought one on one should have plenty of time to unleash its attacks. As he went through the scenarios, Naha stirred in his arms.

  “Dhaga, is that you?” she asked weakly.

  “Don’t speak right now,” replied Dhaga with a small smile on his face. “You’ll be all healed up in no time. Azi is getting that good!”

  Due to her stubbornness, the sorceress refused to go back to sleep until she shared what she encountered. The sorceress was busy fighting a non-concealed electrical eel when a concealed one surprised her with a nasty bite to her tail. While she struggled to rid the one on her tail, the other one closed the distance and sent electric charge through her body, rendering her unconscious. Once Naha was asleep once more, Dhaga muttered a silent thanks to her as she answered his question.

  When concealed, it seems like the electric eels cannot use their electric attacks. That's a good thing or they could sneak up on our forces and devastate our ranks with ease.

  Dhaga then reached the naga camp where he left Naha in the reliable hands of Azi. As soon as he arrived, Cridror arrived and stated that the Leviathan had summoned him. Not wanting to keep the Guardian waiting, the naga followed the orca until they were before the Leviathan.

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  “Dhaga, I will make this quick! As the black orb owner, you and the orcas must destroy an egg in the enemy’s possession. Here’s an item to assist you in combat. You must not fail!”

  A black trident materialized in the water in front of the naga. As he reached for it, Dhaga felt the immense power inside. He also heard the calls of orcas numbering in the hundreds but, when he looked around, only Cridror was there.

  What is this powerful weapon, Cridror?

  I can explain as we go. Like the Leviathan said, we must not fail in destroying the egg. It should be hatching soon so we must end the creature before it reaches the juvenile stage.

  As soon as the two of them left the naga camp, Acro and Ray joined the group. The four of them made excellent progress while Cridror explained the Trident of a Thousand Orcas to Dhaga. The weapon was supposedly created following the death of a thousand orcas. Their lifeforce was somehow merged into the trident, giving the fallen orcas a chance to still serve the Leviathan after death. The trident owner had a chance to learn all the spells and abilities of the orcas that still lived on in the weapon.

  Doesn’t it take a lifetime to master all of them?

  With the way the orbs work, you should master most of them before you die.

  Of course, I had forgotten. Though, I don’t feel like I’m dying yet.

  You haven’t reached your prime yet.

  Dhaga, puzzled by Cridror’s comment on his prime, asked for clarification. Cridror explained that none of the chosen nagas had reached their prime yet. In addition to their orbs, there was a special weapon assigned to them. Once they unlocked the full potential of the weapons, then the timer would start ticking down. The Leviathan would decide when they received their weapons and each of them would have to overcome a trial to unlock the full potential. The orca confirmed that the trident was Dhaga’s special weapon and the egg’s destruction would get him to his prime.

  What should I know about the egg then?

  The egg is another one of the Kraken’s attempts to make a new Kraken.

  New Kraken?

  Unlike the Leviathan, the Kraken has the ability to produce an offspring through an egg once every century. If the baby Kraken survives long enough, it can be as strong if not stronger than its parent. We cannot allow that to happen

  I thought there was only a single Kraken? How could it produce an offspring by itself?

  From what little we gathered, we believe that the Kraken has been working with those from hell. It’s the only explanation we have as to why the Kraken is able to recover its losses so quickly and seemingly grow stronger over time. The Kraken we face today is several magnitudes stronger than the one we faced a century earlier.

  Are we fighting a losing war?

  If we don’t slay the Kraken this time, I fear we won’t have another chance to challenge the Kraken.