Rain stopped touching her.<\/p>\n
Not because the storm ended\u2014<\/p>\n
but because the storm moved around her.<\/p>\n
The woman hovered above the raging ocean.<\/p>\n
Blue light shimmered through soaked darkness.<\/p>\n
Hair drifting weightlessly against the wind.<\/p>\n
Eyes glowing brighter now.<\/p>\n
Ancient.<\/p>\n
Awake.<\/p>\n
Behind her\u2014<\/p>\n
the towering wall of seawater twisted higher into the sky.<\/p>\n
Waves rising impossibly tall.<\/p>\n
Alive.<\/p>\n
Waiting.<\/p>\n
At the cliff edge\u2014<\/p>\n
the hooded cultists stumbled backward.<\/p>\n
Fear spreading through silent ranks.<\/p>\n
Several dropped their torches.<\/p>\n
Fire hissed out against wet stone.<\/p>\n
One figure fell to trembling knees.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice cracked.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt cannot be.\u201d<\/p>\n
The woman slowly stepped forward through the air.<\/p>\n
Bare feet never touching the water.<\/p>\n
Her expression calm.<\/p>\n
Almost disappointed.<\/p>\n
Thunder rolled softly behind her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou buried the wrong woman,\u201d she said quietly.<\/p>\n
The sea growled beneath the cliffs.<\/p>\n
The two hooded figures who had shoved her over staggered backward first.<\/p>\n
Terrified.<\/p>\n
One raised shaking hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe followed orders!\u201d<\/p>\n
The woman looked at them.<\/p>\n
Only looked.<\/p>\n
Suddenly\u2014<\/p>\n
water surged upward from the ocean below.<\/p>\n
Fast.<\/p>\n
Violent.<\/p>\n
Two massive streams wrapped around the cultists\u2019 ankles instantly.<\/p>\n
They screamed.<\/p>\n
Dragged to their knees.<\/p>\n
Frozen in place.<\/p>\n
The rest of the followers panicked.<\/p>\n
Some turned to flee.<\/p>\n
Others dropped to the ground.<\/p>\n
Praying.<\/p>\n
Begging.<\/p>\n
Because whatever stood before them\u2014<\/p>\n
was not human anymore.<\/p>\n
Then\u2014<\/p>\n
a figure stepped forward from the center of the crowd.<\/p>\n
Tall.<\/p>\n
Black ceremonial robes.<\/p>\n
Silver symbols stitched into dark fabric.<\/p>\n
Unlike the others\u2014<\/p>\n
he wasn\u2019t afraid.<\/p>\n
Not yet.<\/p>\n
Slowly\u2014<\/p>\n
he lowered his hood.<\/p>\n
An older man.<\/p>\n
Sharp eyes.<\/p>\n
Calm smile.<\/p>\n
The leader.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou remember,\u201d he said softly.<\/p>\n
The woman\u2019s glowing eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n
Lightning cracked across the sky.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d she answered.<\/p>\n
The ocean rose higher.<\/p>\n
Violent now.<\/p>\n
Hungry.<\/p>\n
The leader smiled faintly.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
The cultists turned toward him in confusion.<\/p>\n
Fear mixing with disbelief.<\/p>\n
One whispered,<\/p>\n
\u201cMaster\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n
The old man spread his arms toward the storm.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were never meant to die.\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice echoed strangely now.<\/p>\n
Like something deeper spoke through him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were meant to awaken.\u201d<\/p>\n
The woman froze.<\/p>\n
Something shifted in her expression.<\/p>\n
Confusion.<\/p>\n
Memory.<\/p>\n
Pain.<\/p>\n
Fragments rushed back.<\/p>\n
A temple beneath the sea.<\/p>\n
Ancient symbols glowing blue.<\/p>\n
Hands reaching toward her.<\/p>\n
A promise broken.<\/p>\n
Then suddenly\u2014<\/p>\n
her chest tightened.<\/p>\n
The glowing power flickered violently.<\/p>\n
The leader smiled wider.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ocean behind her trembled.<\/p>\n
Unstable.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou still don\u2019t remember who you really are.\u201d<\/p>\n
The woman looked down at her shaking hands.<\/p>\n
Blue light pulsing beneath skin.<\/p>\n
Fear touched her expression for the first time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you do to me?\u201d<\/p>\n
The leader stepped closer.<\/p>\n
Rain bending strangely around him too.<\/p>\n
Voice lowering.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t throw you away.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lightning flashed.<\/p>\n
Thunder cracked violently overhead.<\/p>\n
The leader\u2019s smile disappeared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe brought you home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Suddenly\u2014<\/p>\n
something enormous moved beneath the ocean.<\/p>\n
Far below the cliffs.<\/p>\n
Too large.<\/p>\n
Too deep.<\/p>\n
The sea itself seemed to shift.<\/p>\n
Cultists screamed.<\/p>\n
The towering wall of water behind her began shaking.<\/p>\n
And slowly\u2014<\/p>\n
a massive glowing eye opened beneath the waves.<\/p>\n
Watching her.<\/p>\n
Waiting.<\/p>\n
Like it had been asleep for centuries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rain stopped touching her. Not because the storm ended\u2014 but because the storm moved around her. The woman hovered above the raging ocean. Blue light shimmered through soaked darkness. Hair drifting weightlessly against the wind. Eyes glowing brighter now. Ancient. Awake. Behind her\u2014 the towering wall of seawater twisted higher into the sky. Waves rising […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":3500,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trending-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3497\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}