Dhaga sat alone on the seafloor while Cridror swam several meters above him. They spoke to Azi who emphasized that she couldn’t do anything about his sight loss. The power behind the sight loss resembled a powerful curse but the naga healer lacked the spells to counter it. After learning that there was no cure to his blindness, Dhaga wanted to be alone and ended up at the sea floor. Cridror respected his wishes so she swam above him, far enough to not bother him.

  Now what? I’m completely useless now.

  Having given up on a chance to return to the battlefield as a capable warrior, the naga debated how he could pass on his orb to a successor. During times of peace, a candidate might be difficult to find as there were few opportunities for a true warrior to make his or her name. The current battle was ironically the best time for him to find one capable of inheriting the orb to continue the fight against the Kraken. He then summoned the trident and, as he was about to call Cridror to share his plan with the orca, something stopped him. He not only couldn’t move but he couldn’t make a sound.

  Damn! Are the Kraken followers responsible for this?

  He didn't expect the Kraken to afford to send powerful followers away from the actual battle. No amount of struggle could free him. As he made another attempt to break free, he felt that his environment had changed. The water around him became peaceful, as though he was far from the battlefield. He then heard the sound of an orca. Before long, he felt he was surrounded by orcas but none of them were the orcas he knew. They were strangers but the naga still felt warmth from them. The panic that was building within him earlier dissipated.

  Welcome, wielder of the trident! I see you have found your way here. This is ... .unusual.

  The orca introduced herself as Finne, the matriarch of the orcas. Her pod of a thousand orcas had made the Whale Realm their home for longer than any of them could remember. The general rule was that, once the black orb found an owner, certain orcas could leave the Whale Realm to aid the user against the Kraken. There had never been any cases of an orb user accessing the Whale Realm until Dhaga’s arrival.

  Do you know why I’m here? And what is happening in the real world?

  Fear not, child! Time flows differently here. For every hundred years that passes here, only a single year passes in the real world. In addition, any living creature ages a hundred times slower.

  I find that hard to believe. Doesn’t that mean all the orcas here are incredibly powerful with their training?

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  They are! I know what you wish to say. Cridror and the others are very powerful but, when they leave this realm, most of their power is sealed off. If it weren’t for this restriction, the Guardian would have won much sooner against the Kraken. That and the fact that only a selected few orcas could leave this realm at one time.

  Dhaga had never once considered Cridror and the other orcas weak. Compared to him, they were already extremely strong, though they were definitely very specialized which wasn’t a bad thing in itself. Now that Finne had told him that they could be even stronger, he couldn’t even envision such a thing. He shared his concern with the orca matriarch who simply laughed.

  I see a demonstration is needed. I shall let Cridraw, the brother of Cridror, show you what we orcas are capable of.

  A short while later, Cridraw appeared before the naga. The orca was roughly the same size as his sister but his aura almost felt overwhelming when Dhaga got too close. The other orcas then cleared some space before they formed a barrier between the orca and everyone else. As soon as the preparation was completed, Cridraw did his demonstration. Dhaga watched in awe as a whirlpool larger than the Leviathan formed with ease. Then, the whirlpool went through several transformations that seemed too incredible to be real. Despite being a mere spectator, the naga could interpret their uses. One was made for defense while another was ideal for healing. The versatility and range made the ability far stronger than any spells he had seen, including those casted by Seiluxr.

  What are your thoughts after the demonstration? That is merely one of his many spells.

  Just one of his spells?

  Dhaga was speechless at the thought, making the orca matriarch laugh. After the naga overcame his shock, he asked the matriarch what he should do next. The matriarch simply shook her head.

  As I said, there’s no precedent for this. I suggest you train for now. In addition, have you noticed something else that’s different?

  It took Dhaga several minutes before he realized what the matriarch was referring to. Before he entered the Whale Realm, he was surrounded by darkness. The world he was so accustomed to vanished in an instant. During Cridraw’s demonstration, he felt that he could see everything so clearly. Yet, he quickly realized that he wasn’t seeing everything in the normal sense. His eyes were still useless. However, he was able to observe his surroundings no different from when he could see.

  Wait! I think I can observe things even better. How is that possible? It's like my remaining senses all heightened.

  Dhaga, I know you have heard of echolocation. To put it simply, it’s a method of using sound to locate objects both close and far away. We orcas have, over time, developed advanced echolocation. This approach makes use of all of your senses, allowing you to actually exceed what you were once capable of detecting. In other words, most concealment methods no longer work on those who have mastered the ability.

  Am I using…

  No, your echolocation merely became stronger due to the realm enhancing it. If you hope to be useful in the conflict, I suggest that you master advanced echolocation. That might free you from the limitations you felt before you arrived in our realm.