Prince Helard strode through the portal to the Realm of the Mermans, his face set in a hard, determined expression. His red hair flowed like a fiery cascade down his back, and his ember eyes burned with the fierce intensity of someone driven not by conquest for the sake of glory, but by an insatiable thirst for power. Though he had legions of admirers—his chiseled body, fiery spirit, and piercing gaze making him irresistible to most women—his heart had always been cold to romance. He desired only to rule, to one day claim his father's throne and become the most powerful king in history.
But here, in the watery depths of the merman realm, the very element that defined him—flame—was rendered useless. He gritted his teeth in frustration, his fiery temper rising as he descended into the watery world below. His signature outfit—a simple red arm band, tight pants, and no shirt—allowed his well-toned, muscular frame to be on display, but it did nothing to improve his mood. The thought of his flame being smothered by the sea gnawed at him.
"I'll conquer this cursed realm," Helard muttered to himself as he surveyed the underwater kingdom before him. Towers made of coral rose from the ocean floor, their glowing tips lighting the deep blue waters. The mermen swam with grace and strength, their sleek bodies moving effortlessly through the currents. They were a proud, ancient race, deeply connected to the ocean, and they guarded their realm with unwavering loyalty. Helard knew that brute force wouldn't win him this battle. His flames would die the moment they met the sea, and he couldn't burn a kingdom built beneath the waves.
His hands clenched into fists. Patience was not his strong suit. He was used to overwhelming his enemies with firestorms, with sheer force, leaving nothing but ash in his wake. Here, in this alien world, he would have to find a different way—one that didn't rely on his flames.
Helard moved carefully through the outskirts of the kingdom, concealing his presence as best he could. He wasn't one for stealth, but he wasn't foolish enough to march into the heart of the merman empire without a plan. As he moved, he studied the realm, his sharp mind working through possible solutions. He observed how the mermen manipulated the currents and how their defenses seemed designed to repel invaders from above, not from within.
His frustration boiled within him, as fierce as the flames he could no longer summon. It was in the midst of this irritation that a spark of an idea ignited in his mind—an idea as unexpected as it was brilliant. He couldn't use fire. But what was fire, at its core? Heat. If he couldn't create flames, what if he could harness the raw heat of his aura?
A grin spread across his face as the realization dawned on him. Flames weren't necessary to win this battle—he just needed to generate enough heat. And where there was heat, water would boil.
"Let's see how your kingdom fares against the sun beneath the sea," Helard whispered to himself, feeling a new surge of confidence.
Taking a deep breath, Helard began to focus, drawing on the immense power within him. He couldn't release his fire here, but he could feel the heat coursing through his veins. He had always controlled the flame, but he had never considered what might happen if he unleashed the heat itself without the accompanying blaze. Slowly, deliberately, he began to release the raw energy within him, pushing it out in waves of invisible heat.
The water around him began to shimmer, the temperature rising subtly at first, then more noticeably. The cool, dark waters of the merman realm gradually warmed, and small bubbles began to rise from the sea floor. It was working.
He pushed harder, focusing all his energy into raising the temperature around him. The water near him began to boil, clouds of bubbles rising to the surface. Fish and small sea creatures scattered, fleeing the growing heat. Even the mermen, who were distant at first, started to notice the sudden change in their environment. Their movements grew more erratic, and some began to swim towards the source of the disturbance—toward him.
The heat continued to build, and soon entire sections of the water were roiling with intense heat. Coral structures began to weaken, their once-vibrant colors fading as the relentless heat sapped the life from them. Helard's grin widened as he watched the chaos unfold. He didn't need flames. He could destroy them with heat alone.
But just as he thought victory was within his grasp, something unexpected happened. The mermen reacted quickly, faster than he anticipated. They summoned powerful currents to push the heat away, redirecting it with their control over water. Helard's brow furrowed as he watched his plan unravel. The mermen were strong, too strong to be undone by heat alone.
Anger flared within him, but he fought to keep it under control. Impatience would only ruin him here. He couldn't afford a direct confrontation yet. For now, this was just the first step—a test to see how they would react. He had learned something valuable: the mermen could counter heat, but they could only do so for a time. If he kept pushing, if he kept building the pressure, they would falter eventually.
Satisfied with his initial efforts, Helard retreated, allowing the waters to cool once more. He wouldn't rush into battle blindly. He had learned that lesson well today. He needed to find the weak points in their defenses, and he needed to wear them down slowly, methodically. His impatience had nearly cost him victory, but now he knew better.
As he made his way back to the shadows of the deep, his mind raced with new ideas. There were other ways to win this war, ways that didn't rely on brute strength alone. The mermen would learn, soon enough, that Helard's ambition was as endless as the fire within him.
The flames might be dormant for now, but the heat had only just begun to rise.