It was time to seek out the next goddess. He would go next to the domain of the Water Maiden; the old hermit had said he would find her beneath the waves, but how he would get down to her, he did not know. He reached the water again, and used the music box again. Southwest, it told him. Then that was where he would go.

The trip across the water seemed even briefer than the last, and he soon arrived at the island upon which Water-lily should be. Yet it seemed that it was completely bare. Searching around, he finally noticed an anomaly around the island's coastline. There was a spot where the water seemed strangely absent. Walking closer, he realized that it was the opening of a tunnel underwater. But the tunnel was not made of any material he recognized. He was mystified, and stood directly before it in wonder before heading in.

The wavering tunnel which he was entering defied reality, but even after he blinked in disbelief, it refused to go away. The entrance to the Water Maiden's palace was, indeed, made of water that somehow allowed him to walk upon it and breathe despite the tremendous depths to which he would descend. With no small amount of trepidation, he gingerly moved forward onto the first step of the underwater staircase, and reassured of its solidity, started the long trek down into the sea.

Around his surreal tunnel of air, passing fish glanced at him and expressed as much shock as their faces would let them. Far above, the surface of the water was visible as a shifting array of beautiful light filtering through the water, which slowly played across the path, illuminating at times certain steps and making visible the impossible surface upon which he walked. Deeper and deeper into the sea he went, noting that the cerulean waters above gave way to darker regions, full of startled creatures glowing by their own light, and finally the boundary between sea and air seemed too distant to clearly see. The glowing fish circled around the path, peering curiously at the strange being inside, and lit Cyrus' descent to the ocean floor.

Once he arrived, the staircase flattened out, producing a flat pathway on the bottom. Ahead, an indescribable wavering marked out the perimeter of Water-lily's temple. After he entered the grand hall, he could see the roof above as if he were inside a giant bubble. At the zenith, he could see a vortex which seemed to be sucking down the air needed to maintain this magical structure under the waves. Slowly, a shimmering figure began to coalesce in the center of the hall.

"Welcome to our domain, little one. We have marked your progress well," Water-lily said, with a musical lilt in her voice. From what he could see, the maiden's body was a continually flowing mass of water. Her form was elegant; yet one could look right through her to the ocean beyond. Only the woman's eyes could be seen clearly; they were slowly swirling sapphires, full of the profound blue of the ocean's depths.

"You know that we must present you with a challenge before granting you the water's power. It pains us, but our sisters assure us it is necessary. Please, prepare yourself." She gave a nod, and floated gradually back outside the bubble to observe.

Unexpectedly, the bubble began to fill rapidly with water. Before Cyrus had a chance to cry out, he was completely submerged. Yet when he involuntarily tried to breathe, he found that he had no difficulty in doing so, and discovered shortly thereafter that his movements were unaffected by the water's presence.

The maiden must have granted him the ability to survive underwater. But surely, this could not be the challenge of which she had spoken. That was approaching even as he pondered the matter.

Gliding silently through the water, a giant octopus made entirely of water appeared in front of him. Its quavering figure was revealed by the slow circling of the luminescent fish, but Cyrus could not see it directly, only its rough form as outlined by the shimmering of the fish. His mind was racing as he searched for ways to combat what Water-lily had summoned to challenge him. The fire powers which he had gained were of no use in this underwater locale. In addition, he could not hide underneath the ocean floor, for beneath a thin layer of sediment there was only bedrock.

Just then, an idea occured to him, and he stood perfectly still as the creature approached. As it was about to come upon him, he used his earth energies to stir up the bottom, obscuring the area with a billowing cloud of silt. The octopus screeched in rage, but was unable to locate him, its enormous eyes whirling about madly in the darkness. Now, he could not see it, just as before, but it could not see him, either. Taking full advantage of the opportunity, the boy ran as fast as he could to the left, and paused a moment to utilize his awareness to locate the creature.

As soon as he did so, he realized that while the earth awareness made the silt cloud appear as a mere haze, the octopus was still nowhere to be seen. It dawned on him that since it was solely a creature of water, it did not enter affect the currents of the earth, and was thus nearly impossible locate via this method. Still, as he focused further, it became evident that it could be found by looking where the sand and dirt were blocked by some form of barrier, surely the many limbs of the menacing creature. Hoping that his surmise was corrected, he collected energy, and shaped it into the form of a blade, then sending it at the junction between tentacle and body. The piercing cry he received in response assured him that he had indeed made a direct hit. Emboldened by this success, he scrambled about some more, aiming carefully at another tentacle and sending an energy blade in its direction. Again, the watery limb was severed without any resistance.

Once the cloud had completely cleared, the boy looked as best he could at the giant creature to ascertain the damaged it had sustained. There was a strange swirling surrounding it, and he peered more carefully to see. Suddenly, he realized that it was forming new arms! Then his strategy had been useless. What could be done against an enemy that could regenerate at will?

It began its slow approach yet again. He swirled up the silt once more, but this time, the monster was ready. Spinning about, waving its tentacles strongly outward, it expelled the cloud in all directions, buffeting Cyrus with waves as it did so. After it was finished, all of the boy's protection had vanished, and the circumstances looked grim.

His mind raced even faster than before, thinking of what possible weaknesses such an entity could have. Perhaps he could merely dice it up further? But that would be of no use, since he did not have sufficient speed to counteract its regenerative capabilities. Maybe, then, he could destroy just the head. Yet if the arms were any indication, the creature did not need to retain all of its body in order to regenerate, but only any small part of it. Then he must somehow eliminate the whole thing at once.

Another though came to him, although this one seemed considerably more difficult. He would open up a rift in the ocean floor, and somehow drag the creature down into it. Hoping that his powers of controlling earth energy were sufficient for the task, since it was a daunting one indeed, he readied himself and sought out the weakest point within his sphere of awareness. It was fortunately nearby. Then, as the octopus approached, he would build up energy, and when it was nearly upon him, he would open the bedrock like a vault and it would slip inside without any fuss.

The plan set, he prepared himself for the exertion as the creature drew ever nearer, closer and closer to the moment of truth. It was time! He wrenched with the entirety of the energy which he had accumulated while waiting, and a strong shuddering indicated that he was indeed moving. But was it fast enough? The distance between where he had been before and his present location seemed to have increase, but in the commotion he had momentarily lost track of the octopus.

Cyrus felt a tentacle curl about his leg. Not fast enough, he thought with an almost absurd sense of regret as he was being pulled backwards, presumably into the creature's transparent but nevertheless deadly maw.

Just as suddenly as he had been pulled back, the movement stopped and the octopus' screech could be heard. He turned around, in time to view the creature dissolving rapidly from the heat of the magma which had been revealed in the youth's incredible effort. So the idea had worked after all, though not in the manner which he had intended. Still, his life was saved, and he was certainly not about to complain of his good fortune.

"So then, you have succeeded. We were confident that you would do it. Now, you shall be granted the power of water. Please, come here."The Maiden flashed her brilliant translucent smile and beckoned him forward. "Come!"

He walked towards the waiting goddess, and she held her hands out in a gesture of offering. A single water-lily, of such perfection it was hard to believe it was a real object. Carefully, he took the flower from her hands, and felt infused with invigorating energy as he had before. The flower disappeared, leaving him with the curious sense that once again an entire new world had opened before him. Without thinking about it, he began inadvertently to float upwards, and hastened to return to the bottom before he realized that he now had complete control over his movements. The temporary power granted him in order to breathe and walk along the bottom had evidently been made permanent.

"Many thanks, my lady!"

She nodded graciously. "You ought not to overtax yourself. Please, return to the surface with our blessing. It has been a pleasure to assist you."

Cyrus cheerfully waved and shot through the water like a dolphin, feeling exuberant with his newfound strength. Returning to the boat, he went on to the next task that was set him.