Aoki: Page of Cups

Book 2 of the Aoki book series. Aoki and Kaya continue their quest to purge the planet of the mysterious, dark entity that threatens the land, leading them to the grand ocean city of the Medusae - a race of jellyfish people so sensitive to energy and emotion that they can sense all of one's deepest feelings and even manipulate creatures of lower-level consciousness with "emotional compulsion." The city appears beautiful and peaceful, yet Aoki and Kaya soon learn that it harbors deep secrets and a vicious lust for power within its leaders, not to mention a monstrous beast in its bowels, both literally and figuratively...