"Oh divines, shelter us from destruction. Guard our bodies as you guard our souls. Stand strong against the defiling touch and offer succor to those who have fallen. May you stand your eternal vigil against the dark, and in your wake, allow all life to flourish."

--Common Prayer, Lenorian Chapel. AC 273.

As we head down the stairwell, I ask Luna about the layout, monsters, and her experiences with the floor. She perks up, seeming a bit more animated in her steps, as she explains,

"Oh! I'm very familiar with the area. This is the floor where I gained [sapience] after all. It's a small reef, similar in character to the [safe zone], though substantially smaller in size. Monster wise there should mainly be starfish, barracudas, squids and the odd crab. There will be other mundane fishes and such, but nothing dangerous."

I recognize the squid as a relative of the dreaded octopus and resolve to keep wary. I'm not sure about the barracuda though.

"What's a barracuda?"

"It's a long predatory fish with sharp teeth. Mundane types can be five or six times as long as you are and it's primary mode of attack is to dart in at speed and bite their prey. They're very quick. Some of the ones we may see here can be up to seven to eight times as long as you; so we may need to hide in the coral and ambush them."

I nod, already forming plans for attack and defense against this new predator. It seems like I might need to take advantage of the terrain. One thing though,

"If it's an open area, what about the boss?"

"Ah, the boss changes. It can be any of the things I've just spoken of, crabs, starfish or barracudas. They're all just larger, faster versions of the regular ones, so we should be able to get plenty of practice. The boss may roam a bit, but it generally hangs out at the entrance to the next level."

I acknowledge her words and we fall silent as we reach the end of the stairs. Emerging into a new level, we're greeted by a scene of devastation. In front of our eyes, a wide swath of coral lay, dead and still. The vibrant colors of the [safe zone] are nowhere to be seen, just bone white reaches of expired matter. No movement was in sight, no small fishes or crabs, no small plants clutching to the rocks. Just still, silent water and the light flickering weakly from above.

The only sound that echoes in the void is the light *tap* of our own steps as we touch the sand. My nerves begin to climb and, quietly as I can, I whisper,

"Is this normal?"

My stalks swivel in all directions searching for a threat. Only bleak wastes respond to my gaze as Luna weakly says,

"No, no... I... I don't know what's happened here. There should be little fishes and crabs... starfish and barracudas and squids. There's.. there's nothing here."

I motion her to jump on my back and I tense, prepared for anything.

"Hop on and let's get to the exit, I don't want to stay here a minute longer than we have to."

She climbs on and we progress through the deserted reef. Even the current seems dull to my perception, as we move among the once vibrant life. Luna motions left or right as we get to various pathways, guiding me silently and with as little motion as possible. An hour passes as we venture through the level, and the slow tightening of Luna on my shell breaks me from my vigilant fear. One of her arms is pointing forward, and I can barely make out what she's indicating. Up ahead is a region of darkness, something is blocking the light from above. I raise my claws in preparation and slowly make my way towards what I assume to be the exit.

As I rally forth, the path is restricted by a ring of coral, reaching high into the water and blocking my view. I ring around the coral and notice an entrance, a way forward into what appears to be an arena. It is there I see what is blocking the sun. It is there I see the carnage. The dead litter the floor as the dead block the light. A thick layer of corpses float above the makeshift arena which is only matched by the putrid pile of rotting flesh in the sand. The smell hits like a truck and I retch, staggering backward from the weight of the stench.

"Now we know where all the animals and monsters went," Luna whispers, her tone disgusted and scared. I try to reign in my emotions and look with a clinical eye at the sights before me. The layer of rotting meat on the ground is mostly comprised of crabs and starfish, ripped apart into constituent pieces. I can see chunks torn from each animal, bites and marks in the bodies consistent with a frenzied attack. Above, the fishes seem to float. With a sense of detachment I note that they'll eventually fall to the floor as the natural decay process decomposes the bodies. Luna whispers,

"I don't see or sense anything. Do you?"

I send a mana ping and receive nothing. My stalks have been moving nonstop as well, searching for movement. I gently shake my body no as Luna says,

"The entrance to the next level is on the other side of the arena. Let's head over there and regroup."

I nod my head and [coast] around the edges of the corpse pile. I struggle to step in a place that's not covered in gore and rot. I make it halfway along the edge of the area when I see a flicker of motion. I freeze, slowly turning my body to face what's coming. The corpse pile is shifting, crabs and starfish cascading gently down as a creature reveals itself.

It was buried under the pile... No... it wasn't buried... It was burrowing among the dead.

It's a giant starfish, five times my size with rotting twitching arms. I can tell it originally had five limbs, but it seems to have lost one in its struggle for supremacy. It slowly stands up from the shifting pile and I see the raw strips of flesh torn from it's face. Slowly, it takes a step, turning around, and shows me a backside filled with horror. Glistening fangs protrude from every inch of it's bottom, ichor welling from deep within it's form.

At this point, I've already activated mana reinforcement. And as panic rushes through my frame I tell Luna,

"PREPARE FOR..."

I don't finish my statement.

It springs, headlong towards me, hungry teeth reaching to bite and crush. It's fast, faster than I would have expected a dead starfish to be. It's movement through the water kicks up a cloud of muck, and it seems to still have some measure of [skill]. I can detect the artificial movement of mana around it's body and feel the currents changing to aid it's attack. As an arm flashes down, I barely manage to raise a claw to block as Luna is already gone.

[LEG SUBSTITUTION]

[LEG BOMB]

[LEG SUBSTITUTION]

As I join my other claw to reinforce the block, a small explosion pierces into the front of the star. Though, when Luna performed the second substitution, she seems to have decided that disengagement was the right call, appearing further behind me.

The explosion rocks the monster, yet just as the undead creature before, it doesn't feel any pain. Only a split second has passed, and I find my strength equally matched with the rotting star. It takes a second longer for me to notice it's insidious plan. While it's one arm is engaged with my two claws, the other three are creeping around, trying to wrap my body entire. I imagine those teeth grinding against my shell, my body slowly giving way to it's crushing weight and strength. Panic races through my thoughts as I realize that I have to break away! I can't let the arms encircle me!

Seconds pass before I put my thoughts in order. I don't have time to test the usual song! My claws and eyes begin to glow as I intone...

"GIVE ME CRAB BEYOND CRAB!"

**Warning**

**Sir Crabby's Music: Overload Activated**

**Effect: +50% increase to STR.**

**Sir Crabby's Music: 15 seconds remaining.**

With the rush of power coursing through me, I HEAVE; pushing myself out of it's grasping reach as I [slice] at the attacking limb. Our disengagement kicks up another cloud of rot and a sudden lungful of the black water sends me coughing, scrambling backwards to safety. I activate [Water Manipulation] to sort my vision and lungs, sending the particulates away to give myself some breathing room.

I manage to catch my breath as the water settles, and I can see the results of our brief clash. Luna's attack had already removed one of it's four remaining legs, and my [slice] had cut another. Now, only two remaining, it was dragging itself through the layer of decay on the floor; it's teeth ripping into the bodies to give itself the traction needed to crawl.

I shudder with revulsion and move ahead to finish the job. Two descending claws [slice] and remove it's remaining limbs as the creature stills. It's motion arrested, the monster dead, I turn to check on Luna. It's only as I see her moving as fast as she can that I realize something.

There hasn't been a 'ding' from the system.

I whirl, claws raised, just in time to witness the monster ballooning up and then bursting into a cloud of little starfish. It's rotted flesh withers as hundreds of tiny horrid creatures rip and tear through their mother's flesh. I'm caught in a cloud of putrid rot, and I swing wildly, trying to dislodge them as they land on my body.

I can already feel them tunneling into the joints of my shell, miniature dead fangs reaching for my insides as they burrow in to destroy me. I try everything, my will reaching, my mana bursting as I scramble for [Water Manipulation] to dislodge them. My throat is choked in fear as I spin wildly about, trying to kill something I can barely see.

As pain and fear ravish my flailing body, I cry out, "Luna! Luna please help me! They're crawling in the joints! They're EATING ME!!!"

Long seconds pass with no response. Where is she? Has she ran away? My music runs out as the buff fades and my struggles grow weaker. I can't see the surroundings, the water turned black by my panicked struggle. As I start to give up hope, I feel a familiar pulse of mana ripple through the water. Then,

[LEG SUBSTITUTION]

[LEG BOMB]

[LEG SUBSTITUTION]

I barely register what happens next as an explosive shockwave sends me into unconsciousness.