"What, what is this? I have never seen anything like this," Lucas wondered.
Lucas was tied up with a strange chain that appeared to be made of light itself. His eyes wandered around the underwater world, noting that the city's buildings were crafted from coral and shells with intricate carvings. The streets were paved with glittering sand, and the city's many marketplaces were filled with glowing jellyfish, pearls, and shimmering gemstones.
At the city's heart lay the Great Tower, a vast structure dedicated to the ruler of the sea.
The sea creatures that had captured Lucas pulled him along as they swam to the tower. "Where are you taking me?" Lucas asked, struggling to break free, but it was of no use.
"You will answer to our king, so stay still," one of the creatures replied.
They now stood in front of the tower, where two guards stood. Their skin was covered by scales up to their faces, leaving only their eyes, nostrils, and the lines of gills by the sides of their jaws and on their chests down to their waists. The guards looked the same as the other creatures that had captured Lucas, but they were bigger, and their scales were blue.
"Halt!" one of the guards ordered, looking down. "What is that you have there?" he asked, pointing at Lucas.
"It's a surface dweller. One of our men found it outside our fortress while scouting and immediately reported back to us. We followed him there, confirmed it was true, so we captured it and brought it to show our king," the smaller creature replied, bowing his head to the temple guards.
"You may go in," the guard said. They both stepped aside, and the doors to the tower swung open gradually, revealing a long and open hallway with pillars made of pearls and blue-skinned creatures standing beside each pillar.
"So this is it; this is where I've been sensing the energy from. Now that I'm closer, I can feel it more, but it's strange—I can't see what could be producing alpha energy here," Lucas thought.
"Who seeks my presence?" a booming voice sounded from the end of the hallway. Immediately, everyone in the room bowed their heads as the creatures who had captured Lucas spoke up.
"My king, we found this surface dweller outside our fortress and noticed he was still alive despite how deep he had swum. So we captured him and brought him to you, my king."
"A surface dweller? This deep in the ocean? That's impossible! Bring him closer so I can see him," the king said.
Lucas was pulled forward to the end of the hallway, where he saw a large throne made of gold, pearls, and gemstones, with a man seated on it. The man had all the features of the creatures but with a darker shade of blue.
One of the creatures that had captured Lucas walked up to the king and bowed his head. "My king, the surface dweller had this with him," the creature said as he presented the alpha box to the king while keeping his head bowed down.
The king took it from his hand and examined it. "I can sense life in it and power; it feels familiar," the king said. "Bring in the seer!" the king ordered. The guards opened a door at the side of the hallway, and another creature, similar in appearance but without scales, walked in. He seemed older, with a more mature appearance.
"My king, you called for me," the creature said as he walked slowly closer to the king.
"Yes, I did. Now tell me, what sort of artifact is this, and where is it from?" The king asked, passing the box to the creature.
"It's called the 'alpha box,' an artifact from the planet Kron, a planet abundant with life. This box can create, capture, and transfer life, but this one is broken. Perhaps someone used it improperly. My king, where did you get this?" the seer asked.
"It belongs to the surface dweller over there," the king said, gesturing towards Lucas.
The seer walked closer to Lucas and looked him in the eyes. Lucas noticed that the seer was blind; the creature's eyes were pale and white.
"This is no surface dweller. This is a Kronian, and not just any Kronian; he is of royal blood," the seer said, now slowly walking away from Lucas.
Lucas could feel a surge of power rising in him as he neared the alpha energy, having been absorbing it from the chains that bound him.
As the seer turned and started walking away slowly, Lucas snapped the chain. He grabbed the guard standing beside him and slammed him into another.
The guards around them immediately pointed their weapons at Lucas and charged in.
"They're fast, but I've stored enough energy since I got here," Lucas said as he charged forward, moving so quickly he caught his first opponent off guard. Lucas grabbed the first guard by the neck and delivered a punch to his face, sending the guard crashing into the others.
But Lucas did not stop; he charged into the guards, grabbed two of them, and slammed them against each other. Lucas stomped his foot on the ground to gain balance and unleashed a laser blast that sent all the guards crashing in different directions.
Lucas saw that he could now shoot lasers from his body, but the blast was not strong enough to slice through the water creatures' scales; it only injured them badly.
"But that should do," Lucas said, his brows furrowing in determination.