Chapter 20 - Preparations and Pressure

My agreement to meet High Priestess Thalassa marked a significant escalation. Retrieving the Chrono-Shard felt like navigating a complex puzzle; seeking an audience with the spiritual leader of K'tharr, in the heart of the Leviathan's oppressive presence, felt like willingly stepping into the den of a slumbering god. Elara's warnings about the Abyssal Sanctum and the Priestess's potential reaction weighed heavily on me."Preparation is key," Elara stated, her practical nature reasserting itself now that our deal regarding the Shard was concluded and a new path agreed upon. "The Abyssal Sanctum is not a place one simply walks into. The physical pressure alone is lethal to unadapted beings, and the psychic pressure from the Leviathan's proximity can shatter unprepared minds. Furthermore, the Choir is insular and suspicious of outsiders. We need to manage your approach carefully."Over the next few cycles, Elara guided me through a rigorous, if unconventional, preparation regimen, conducted in the relative seclusion of the ancient ruins. Her knowledge was eclectic and surprisingly deep, covering abyssal survival techniques, Krakenborn social customs, resonance theory, and even basic psychic shielding.First was acclimatization. While my resonance abilities offered some protection against the crushing physical pressure, it wasn't enough for the depths of the Sanctum. Elara provided me with a series of injectable bio-compounds – salvaged or synthesized, she didn't specify – designed to temporarily enhance cellular resilience and oxygen absorption under extreme pressure. They were painful, causing deep aches and strange tingling sensations, but I could feel my body slowly adapting, the constant headache receding slightly, my breathing becoming less labored.Second was resonance control under duress. Elara couldn't teach me how to use my Pillar resonance, but she could simulate the conditions under which I'd need to use it. Using salvaged Krakenborn devices, she generated localized pressure fields and waves of discordant psychic energy, forcing me to maintain my focus, mask my signature, and perform fine resonance manipulations while under simulated abyssal conditions. It was brutal training. More than once, the psychic pressure overwhelmed me, leaving me disoriented and nauseous, my control shattering. But each time, I recovered, learning to build mental shields, to anchor my consciousness to the steady thrum of the Pillar even amidst the chaos."Your resonance is your shield and your weapon here," Elara stressed during one session, observing my trembling hands after a particularly intense psychic assault simulation. "But it also makes you a beacon. In the Sanctum, the Leviathan's presence will try to overwhelm you, drown your frequency in its own. You must learn to maintain your unique signature, to harmonize without being absorbed. Thalassa will sense your resonance instantly; how you present it, how you control it, will determine her reaction."Third was cultural understanding. Elara briefed me on the Leviathan's Choir, their history, their beliefs, their rituals. They viewed the Leviathan not just as a patron, but as the living embodiment of the abyss, the source of all life and stability in their realm. Their Rites of Somnolence were sacred, complex performances involving harmonic chanting, pressure manipulation, and offerings (the nature of which Elara disturbingly glossed over). Approaching the High Priestess required demonstrating respect for their traditions, even if I didn't share their faith."Speak only when spoken to. Offer no judgment. Focus on your purpose: understanding the Pillar, offering potential aid through your unique resonance. Frame it as serving the balance, preserving the foundation upon which even the Leviathan rests," Elara advised. "Thalassa is ancient, wise, but also burdened. Show empathy, not arrogance."During this time, Elara also studied the Chrono-Shard we had retrieved, using delicate instruments from her kit. She rarely shared her findings directly, but I occasionally overheard her muttering about temporal echoes, Pillar harmonics at the point of creation, and discordant frequencies suggesting ancient damage or interference.As my acclimatization and control improved, Elara deemed me ready. "I have sent word through… intermediaries," she said one cycle. "High Priestess Thalassa is aware of an anomaly seeking audience, vouched for by a 'Chronicler.' She is… intrigued. Wary, but intrigued. She has granted a preliminary audience. Not in the deepest Sanctum, not yet, but in the Outer Choir Chamber."My stomach tightened. This was it.Elara provided me with simple, dark clothing appropriate for the lower city, devoid of any markings that might identify me as an outsider or link me to the Nexus. She also gave me a small resonance dampener amulet. "Keep this active until you are before the Priestess," she instructed. "It will partially mask your Pillar resonance, make your presence less jarring to the Choir members we will pass. But Thalassa will see through it instantly; deactivate it when you meet her gaze."Our journey from the ruins into the inhabited city of K'tharr was tense. We moved through side passages and less-trafficked corridors, Elara navigating with practiced ease. Even with the dampener, I felt the scrutiny of the Krakenborn we passed, their large, dark eyes lingering on me, their resonance signatures pulsing with curiosity and suspicion. The sheer pressure of their collective presence, the weight of their adapted existence, was immense.As we descended towards the city's core, the ambient pressure increased exponentially. The bio-compounds helped, but I still felt like I was moving through water, my movements sluggish, my head pounding. The Pillar resonance grew stronger, deeper, shaking my very bones. And intertwined with it, the Leviathan's presence intensified – no longer just a background consciousness, but a palpable force, pressing against my mental shields, whispering dreams of infinite cold and crushing darkness.We reached a heavily guarded gateway carved from black, oily stone, pulsating with contained energy. Krakenborn guards, clad in formidable shell armor and wielding tridents that crackled with pressure fields, scrutinized us. Elara presented a sigil, a complex knotwork design I didn't recognize, and spoke in low, resonant tones – the Krakenborn language?After a tense moment, the guards stepped aside, allowing us passage. We entered the Outer Choir Chamber. The shift in atmosphere was immediate. The pressure here was immense, far greater than in the city above. The chamber was vast, circular, carved from the same black stone, and lit by swirling patterns of bioluminescent energy that seemed to flow like currents. In the center, a deep shaft descended into utter darkness – the path to the deeper Sanctum, I presumed.Around the shaft stood figures clad in flowing, deep-blue robes – members of the Leviathan's Choir. They stood motionless, their tentacles coiled beneath them, their faces hidden by veils woven from some kind of shimmering, abyssal silk. They radiated an aura of intense concentration and deep, resonant power, humming a low, multi-layered chant that seemed to push back against the crushing presence emanating from the shaft.And seated on a simple throne of polished obsidian, facing the shaft, was one figure whose presence dwarfed all others. High Priestess Thalassa. Even with my dampener active, I could feel the immense weight of her ancient consciousness, deeply intertwined with the Leviathan's own. She didn't turn as we approached, her veiled face directed towards the abyss, yet I knew she was aware of our every step.Elara led me forward, stopping a respectful distance away. She bowed low, a gesture I quickly mirrored."High Priestess Thalassa," Elara's voice was quiet but clear. "I present the anomaly, Kaelen Varis, as requested."The chanting of the Choir faltered slightly, their collective attention focusing on me. The psychic pressure intensified, probing, questioning.Slowly, High Priestess Thalassa turned. Her veiled face gave away nothing, but I felt her gaze land on me, piercing through the dampener, through my mental shields, directly into the core of my being. It wasn't hostile, not yet, but it was ancient, powerful, and utterly alien."Anomaly," her voice echoed not in the air, but directly in my mind, a low, resonant whisper like the shifting of tectonic plates. "You resonate with the bones of the world, yet you drift upon the currents of the abyss. Why have you come to this place of pressure and sorrow?"Following Elara's instruction, I deactivated the dampener. My Pillar resonance flared into the open, raw and untamed, yet distinct from the Leviathan's overwhelming presence. I met the High Priestess's unseen gaze."I seek understanding, High Priestess," I projected back mentally, focusing my intent. "I feel the Pillars weaken. I feel the sorrow in their song. I was guided here, told that Abyssal Mariana holds knowledge, that my resonance might… help."