The water was radiant from the bodies of the sea creatures that were transmuted into gold. From the surface, the sea looked brightly golden, yet from the depths, the sea was shining. The reflection of the sun had reached even the deepest parts of the depths.
The bottom almost looked completely golden, if not for the unusual shape of the sea creatures, Veritas would have thought of it as one of the wonders of the world.
Especially with his new Eye of the Kraken, the water looked clearer than before and it seemed tame to him. Thus, the radiance of the sun's reflection was almost blinding.
Veritas saw the former glory of the Golden City, or at least.. its remnants. He saw destroyed houses and buildings that were submerged deep within the water.
He saw the remnants of civilization and the deep history behind them. This once submerged city had been a former citadel for human support. People lived here, and those people had normal lives! They adults worked during the day, and drank at night. While the children went to academies to study, and slept humbly when night had arrived.
He felt a touch of sadness deep within his heart. Thus, Veritas continued to dive deeper into the city. The closer he got to the heart of the city, the more answers that he would receive, getting closer to the truth.
Veritas also felt that his time inside the Golden City was coming to an end. Especially due to the fact that he was close to seeing the whole truth.
Nevertheless, Veritas still had to search for the true heart of the city. One could say that a city's heart was the city hall, yet that could not be more wrong. Sometimes, it differs from each area, it might even be symbolic to say that the heart of a city does not solely belong to the place that governs it.
Veritas used the Winds to propel himself further deeper into the city. It looked like he was descending down a graceful city, only that.. the city was broken and golden.
It was really deep. Yet, with Veritas' speed, descending in a couple of minutes wouldn't be a problem.
The sea creatures from the depths differed in sizes, Veritas could distinguish which ones were different due to his improved vision under the water. He saw golden fishes, golden whales, golden sharks, and many more.
Yet, the terrifying size of other creatures had loomed all over him. Near the middle of the city lay a gigantic golden carcass of a crab. It was a king crab, it's legs were as large almost as the trees from the forlorn forest, and it's body was bigger although not that much.
The golden spectacle that lay before him was mesmerizing. Only once in a person's lifetime would they get to see something like this!
Veritas assessed and assumed the history of the Sunken Golden City. Based on his encounter inside the tower, Veritas deduced 2 conclusions.
One, that the prophecy was foretelling the destruction of the city, thus the existence of the people inside the tower. He realized that the towers were the last vestiges that was made to ensure the survival of humanity. This was the most plausible truth, and the most logical one.
Secondly, not only did the prophecy foretold the destruction of the city, what the citizens failed to realize was the flood that came along with it. The city's submerging was due to the high rising tides that washed over the city's landscape. This explained the destruction of it.
Additionally, the description of the Eye of the Kraken correlated with this! The origin mentioned the Kraken trying to expand its territory and entering a human city, breaking into a formidable tower.
Veritas had thought that the city had long been flooded. For the months that the people have been inside the tower, it seemed like the flood had come. The King or Oracle that foresaw this was quite great! Not only have they constructed a tower capable of resisting the flood, but they have also saved countless people from dying of drowning.
Yet, they have also failed to foresee the terror that would occur deep within the towers. Maybe they have.. yet they chose not to prevent it. It was saddening to say the least.
That does not mean that their efforts have gone to waste, choosing to save hundreds upon thousands of people has not been an easy feat..
With this, Veritas had found a partial truth deep within his analysis, proved further by concrete evidence and empirical data. He only needed confirmation and answers to a couple more mysteries that lingered in his mind.
Such as the slash that cut the tower whole. Where had it come from and what creature had the power to do so? Another was who had turned the city into gold?
He had many questions yet had no answers, thus Veritas decided to descend further down into the heart of the Golden City.
With his speed, Veritas had arrived shortly at the remnants of the Golden City. He felt the great pressure taking a toll on his Wind Veil due to him being hundreds of feet below the surface. However, this newly enhanced Wind Veil withstood the tremendous pressure.
Floating and traversing the once noisy streets of the city, Veritas' conclusion of it's history lingered in his mind. According to the prophecy that he had formulated, the city was shortly flooded and destroyed after the citizens had all been evacuated inside the towers.
This solved the mystery of the towers! They served as 4 bastions where humanity can reside in. With the system that was implemented to each and every one of them, the sustainability of life had been secured,
Four Spires that aimed towards the heavens, Veritas wondered what lied at the top of it. If only it hadn't been cut by an unknown creature, Veritas would gladly explore until his legs started to become frail and weak.
But reality had been harsh, cutting off the history of the upper floors and not leaving a single memory of it. It was.. strange, if the gigantic tower had been cut off then Veritas would have seen remnants of it under the water. Yet, nothing remained near it, it seemed like it had ceased to exist.
Another truth to be uncovered, the mysteries of Sunken Golden City seemed to get deeper within Veritas' eyes. He could not wait to reach the heart and learn of the truth hiding.
However, Veritas did not know where the heart truly resided. It could be one of the many buildings that were still intact, or destroyed. Veritas scanned his surroundings and searched for the instability within the area.
Veritas gazed upon the wide array of golden creatures, it existed everywhere that he looked, filling his vision with radiating blinding light.
Veritas searched everywhere but found nothing of the ordinary. Thus, he decided to enter the buildings one by one. He searched an abandoned house, only to find emptiness deep inside. It seemed like the plans to move inside the tower were planned properly.
The evacuations were successfully managed, the people had brought everything that they owned and brought it for personal use or barter inside the tower.
Searching another building Veritas found the situation to be the same, only emptiness awaiting Veritas in his entire ordeal.
He scouted and explored a majority of the buildings within the district and found nothing of the sort. He decided that the heart was not within this district of the city. Once, inside the Golden City, Veritas felt his Soul get stronger than before. Maybe if he used its convergence towards a piece of his soul would he be able to find a true remnant of the Golden City.
Thus, Veritas spent a while searching the entire landscape. Feeling that his Soul was slowly running out, Veritas felt the need to resurface and recuperate. Although his Soul still had some reserves left, he found recuperating to be easier to deduce some formulated conclusions with the evidence that he had gathered.
Ranging from the sheer emptiness of the Golden Houses to the existence of the vile sea creatures.
However, upon planning to leave, Veritas seemed to notice a highly distinguishable building on the horizon. He questioned himself as to why he had not seen it when patrolling the entire city.
In the distance, a grayish cobblestone cathedral had stood mighty, unnoticed by the pressure brought upon by the highly dense water. Amidst the golden landscape, something so mundane surely stands out.
Once an individual has been exposed to the vast world of riches, even something such as coins would vanish from one's head.
The cobblestone building that stood alone in this golden landscape shone brightly even though it had not emitted light. It shone in the way of normalcy, being so dull that it was incomprehensible to the minds of those that are golden.
With that, Veritas used the winds to propel himself nearer towards the grayish dull cathedral.