Chapter 7 — Oro

Cleo tells Oro his father sought a “lost king” using a secret record and map left by Horus, founder and Oro’s ancestor. Grim, focused solely on rescuing Isla, demands the map. Cleo retrieves a compass from the Moon Isle library; inside is not an arrow but water that points to its source.

Grim smashes the compass, senses the destination through the seawater, and portals them to a tiny mid-ocean rock. There, he and Cleo realize the target lies underwater. Cleo assumes a powerful stance and, despite the storming sea, stills and then parts the ocean to create a vast chasm, vowing to hold it—driven by determination and for her son’s sake.

Grim leaps into the cleaved sea; Oro follows, flying downward while Grim’s shadows slow his fall. Miles below, a ward strips their powers, sending them crashing onto a seafloor landscape that resembles a sunken island. Realizing they cannot escape if Cleo falters, they push forward, choosing urgency over fear.

An unearthly bellow leads them over a rise to a horrific sight: miles of people and beasts chained to the seabed, endlessly drowning, dying, and reviving in a cycle of torment. The revelation confirms this place is not merely hidden but an ancient prison—implying the lost king is confined within, and that Grim and Oro are trapped without Cleo’s hold.