The days passed uneventfully after the strange encounter with the black-sailed ship. The crew had returned to their normal duties, though there was a noticeable edge to their movements. They were seasoned sailors, and they knew as well as Elara that the calm was deceptive. Beneath the surface, something was building—something they could not yet see.
Elara had spent most of the time on the deck, her eyes scanning the horizon, her thoughts consumed by the stranger's words. The Abyss had always been a source of darkness and chaos, but for the first time, she wondered if it had roots that stretched further back than she had ever imagined. What if the battle she thought she had won was only the beginning of something much larger?