"At long last." Came the triumph of a man who had successfully swam to the deepest parts of the ocean, only to stand before many shiny ornaments in a room that appeared to be under water.
He had been selectively cautious on his movement and made sure to scrutinize the area carefully before taking any steps towards the building that glowed with red and blue lights above the top.
Successfully making his way into the room, there were so many glittering ornaments that filled the entire space of the room, so many that it was enough to call the attention of anyone but the man who stood in the room wasn't interested in the rest of the ornaments.
Instead, his greedy gaze was fixated on a certain crystal-blue colored pearl that stood in the middle of the room, glowing in its magical radiance and emitting a different aura that showed its speciality.
It left the man breathless with adoration as his eyes gleamed in amusement.
"It's just as the old witch said it would be- Divine." He noted inwardly as the magical pearl reflected in his dark orbs.
Like a spellbound servant, he took a step closer towards the glowing pearl that rested above a milky colored sea shell.
It was just too good to be true but it wasn't his imagination fortunately, he was actually standing before the Pearl and his excitement lightened his expression.
"Finally, you will be mine and all riches shall come to me."
His lips parted at his own word before spreading menacingly, revealing a set of brown teeth while his eyes sparkled with mirth, watching the pure thing that shoned with divine beauty before him.
Picking up the soul pearl, a satisfied smile worked its way to his eyes before letting them survey the room once again.
Apparently, he was starting to notice the rest of the shiny objects that lay scattered in the room.
'Hmmm, I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I take a few more, I may just have to do some more lifting then.' He voiced in his mind while curving his lips into a mischievous grin.
Suddenly, his forehead creased into alarm and his gaze instinctively lowered to his hands.
To his evident surprise, a green-like substance appeared in his left hand, reeling out the fear in him and his brain instantly clicked when it made sense.
"The witch was right," he began, "by this, I have barely forty minutes to leave the water before the option starts to lose effect."
He grimaced in annoyance, 'Damn it! There's no more time left, and those guards won't be distracted forever.'
He thought alarmingly, but no sooner had he said those words in his mind, did he get a little surprise from the presence of a woman who had the looks and beauty of a mermaid.
His head instantly whipped in her direction as she stood at the entrance, staring at him with a look of shock and confusion reflecting in her own eyes.
Suddenly, her brows furrowed deeply, snapping together as she swam her way into the room.
The man who held the soul pearl in his grasp was taken aback by her intervention, obviously struck that he was caught by no one else but the protector of the soul pearl, and before he got a chance to utter a word, Aella's gaze swept up to the center of the room, only to find the sea shell empty and her face paled.
"It's gone." She gasped.
Immediately, she whipped her head at the criminal who dared to break into the room of the soul pearl and visible anger instantly flashed in her fox-like eyes.
"How dare you?!" She openly enunciated with her voice audible of her anger, pointing an accusing finger at the man who stood frozen in the room.
"Where is the soul pearl?!" She demanded.
Shocked by the recent turn of events, the man tried to swim away when Aella moved swiftly, blocking his path and leaving him with no source of escape.
"Going somewhere?" She asked, squinting at him.
Her eyes revealed her hatred and she found no use in hiding it.
She was the priestess of the soul pearl, guardian of its rights.
She could not let it be wielded by any mermaid or merman, not to speak of a tainted human.
"Give it back!" She called out with audacity, her chest rising as she got ready for a fight.
"No." He dared to refuse.
"I am not asking."
"And I am not listening." He stood his ground, "get out of the way and I would not hurt you."
"Not on my watch."
Ignoring whatever danger he may impose, Queen Aella dove right in, trying to snatch the soul pearl back from him.
Unbeknownst to her, he had his sinister plans and the second she got close enough, he pulled out a dagger from his back pocket and stabbed her chest at the accurate timing, leading Aella's eyes to snap open as everything around her stopped moving.
It all had happened too quickly, leaving a shocked Aella as the blood immediately pooled out of her body, mixing with the water.
Seeing as she refused to let go of his hand, he twisted the dagger slowly and pushed it deeper into her chest, earning a sharp cry from her.
With her eyes half closed, she gazed down at her chest only to see dark green lines spreading on her skin from where the dagger had stabbed her.
Immediately, Aella moved her fins sideways, using them to slap him and push his body far from hers, flinging him to the other side of the room.
Due to how weak she became from the wound, the power of her attack yielded little effect.
"Aaahh!" she cried out and pulled the dagger out of her chest quickly, and then she heard,
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The man's voice rang out close to her as the corners of his lips curled into a smirk.
"The moment I stabbed you with the poisonous dagger, you were done for."