Chapter 2

The tunnels were a bit wider than the one I arrived in. Around me, bubble drifted up lazily, gently pushing me upwards like large transparent jellyfishes. It was a far cry from the ridiculous vortex that I got pulled through earlier, allowing me a modicum of control.

I could imagine a light shining through the pockets of air, drifting through the water — if only I do not see everything in perfect, unchanging brightness.

Gradually, the rock walls gave away into space as I continued on with the spiraling cave system.

I noticed that the more I moved on, it got easier to move around in. My fins could paddle faster, the water more... yielding.

It was as if I had been swimming in syrup rather than water before. I wouldn’t know any better since I held no expectations as to what swimming would feel.

Or walking.

The sensation of being able to swim easier was not unwelcomed though.

It took me a short while to maneuver through the winding tunnels, rocks walls dipping and rising, pierced through with stalagmites and strange indents. The bubbles weaved in and out, plastered to the ceiling, rolling across the bumps like marbles, leaving behind a trail that I could follow.

Around me, I noted that there was almost no indication of life at all. No [Seaweeds], no signs of critters, an absolute nothing.

It was rather unnerving.

Eventually, the tunnels began to branch off into smaller offshoots, my bubble guides splitting up amongst the walls. I stuck with the main tunnel until it divided into two equally wide openings.

I gazed into one after another, observing the way the two tunnels curved out of sight.

Hmm...

Seeing that both had drastically reduced currents, I decided I could probably return if I wanted to. There weren’t any pockets of stagnant air on the rooftop, so I made the assumption that both had an outlet for the air.

Hopefully a surface.

I chose one at random, heading toward the left.

The water turned lazy, drifting along with the bubbles. I gently floated along, my eyes open and alert as I am venturing into unfamiliar territory.

The tunnel gradually widened, the walls losing its smooth consistency as it turned more rugged, some patches even getting covered with what seemed like dirt. The tunnel gradually bent upward, pebbles collecting at the bottom. It was shortly after that it transitioned directly into a vertical path, much like a rocky well. Beyond that was an expanse of white, seemingly glaring down with blinding light.

Well, as bright as ‘bright’ could be here. It all looks exactly the same.

I knew then I was approaching the surface, even though it didn’t seem to have taken long at all. I, as an ex-human, expected swimming to take a bit more effort than this despite acknowledging the fact that most conventional rules of physics no longer apply to me.

That was especially true towards someone that was rather lacking in the movement department. To most people, getting a glass of water from the kitchen would probably one of the easiest things to do, but to me, it was a humongous gap in distance that made me carry the entire jug to my room instead.

Fun times, fun times.

However, as I proceeded to move on, something caught my attention.

No, more like, a lot of something caught my attention.

At first, I thought I was simply hallucinating, then I remembered that I don’t have a brain to mess with, so I forced myself to stop dismissing things.

Something, something moved.

I wasn’t too sure, but I swore that I definitely saw something flutter across my vision.

I stopped moving, my fins slowly paddling against the water to keep myself in place. My eyes methodically scanned the well, observing the circular walls that climbed upward. The circular opening was rather wide, at least a dozen meters across. Rocky outcrops pop in and out like layers as if it was some sort of miniature quarry.

However, no matter how much I watch, I couldn’t actually see anything moving about. All that there was, was the currents carrying the last remnants of bubbles downstream and then upward.

That made me rather uneasy. If something could escape my eyes, it’s nothing good. It would mean trouble, and that is bad.

There it is again!

Something was definitely moving, billowing oddly. It was like those odd floaty bacteria-like things that would occasionally drift into your vision when you look into the light, just to disappear when you move your eyes just a tiny bit.

However, something’s definitely here.

Then, I saw them.

Scratch that, make it ‘when noticed them’.

That's because in front of my eyes, despite my best to see them, were faint transparent things. Small shapes that barely register as anything at all, like leaves in a windstorm they went unnoticed, flitting in and out of focus.

Odd, quick shapes that when under closer inspection, looks like fishes.

A lot of really, really weird looking fishes of different sizes.

Fishes aren't supposed to have four eyes, aren't they?

I wouldn't know since all that I know of fish came from seeing pictures in academic books or referenced in some other text. Other than the really occasional fillet, I've never actually seen fish in real life before.

But I was pretty sure that they weren't supposed to have that particular number of eyes.

Or me, the prime example.

Enough of that! We really should be worrying a bit more about now than the correct anatomy of fish!

I tore my mind off them and back to the more immediate and pressing matter —

What, why, how.

And if they are edible.

That's always important.

According to my obvious observations of them being distinctively fish-like, I noted the way they seem to give little to no shit of me making a ruckus. They each swam obliviously, swarming and tangling without care, doing fishy things despite me moving, loudly and visibly.

It's like they couldn’t see me.

Just like how I couldn’t see them either.

Are these creatures alive?

That would certainly why they seemed so… insubstantial.

Who’s the dead one here?

Like pale shadows in poor lighting, they might as well not be there at all.

That is, if they didn’t number in the thousands, circling around the blue well. There were some there were obviously bigger than others, floating by like sharks.

Sharks that were smaller me, some part of me noted, so they really couldn’t be much of a threat that way, could they? I got a lot of defensive measures too.

It's just that most of them are offensively orientated.

Then, another part of me realized that my favorite tactic of hovering out of reach, slashing at the target until they die wasn’t going to be functional here.

They too could swim.

…

Every part of my poor, battered common sense yelled at me that diving into a swarm of potentially angry snippers would be a bad idea.

But fuck it. Let's go.

Taking a deep metaphorical breath ( I am underwater, after all ), I tentatively paddled over yonder to the center of the well.

Above me, ghostly fishes swam by in circles serenely, ponderous. The light passed through their shadowy bodies, filtering through in patterns that I didn’t notice until now, like sunshine through diamonds and dew. In a way, it was strangely and unexpectedly beautiful, the way light spilled through the gaps, the creatures drifting by like dust in early morning.

From the layered outcrops, phantom seaweeds and odd-looking corals grew, pale and transparent like clear glass in water, its edges fuzzy — and useless in hiding the living beings from my sight. Small fishes ducked and weaved in between the plant matter, hiding away from predators. Towering, ribbon-like seaweed — they are called kelp, maybe — reached for the skies like gangly arms, drowned creatures grasping. The water, now that I could compare it to a background of white, was tinged mildly blue, its color lost among the grey of stone and dirt.

The sight, despite the distinct lack of sounds, was rather stunning.

I had never been to a theme park, let alone an aquarium. Somehow, being in the tank along with the fish was not what I imagined my acquaintance with aquatic life would be.

…

And now that I did notice the floaty shapes, they became easier to see. It wasn’t that they were more substantial or any less wispy, but it was easier to focus on it, like a camera popping out the tiny resolutions meticulously when it focuses.

Despite my questionable mental health, I was certain that a mere while ago, I could see an absolute nothing there. Somehow out of nowhere, like a poor animation sequence, all of that abruptly faded into view.

Did my eyes get used to seeing them? Is it possible?

I checked my near-depleted [Deposit] — nothing changed there — then what? There weren't any changes to my eyes, so whatever that might have happened must have been purely mental.

Ha, mental. I'm going crazy.

Occasionally, it was better to not question too much.

Slowly, I moved forward, carefully avoiding the odd fish at the bottom. Wraith-like skeletons littered the ground, wrapped in grassy tendrils and coral-like protrusions that were equally transparent.

I predicted that these… creatures and their possible remains were probably something that only exists in the living world, somehow having leaked into the [Beyond] somehow — no, not leaked, but more like a fraction of it could be seen here.

Seeing how my limbs could pass through the people in the past [Area], I should be able to pass straight through them without issue.

Somewhere off to my left was kelp tower. Hesitently, I waved a [Spear] through it and as I thought, the limb went straight through the plant with barely any resistance at all. All that I got was a slight tingle, and the plant itself was unharmed.

Figures.

That confirmed my suspicion of it being literally not the same dimension. There, but also not there.

Or am I the one that is not there?

Disgruntled, I noted that being unable to touch these wispy things, I wouldn't be able to draw any meaningful substance from it. On the other hand, if they couldn't interact with me, then it couldn't threaten me either.

A random fish-thing passed by idly, grazing at the sandy floors. I flicked a [Spear] through it, feeling the way it tingled as it passed through without doing anything.

The fish then did something rather unexpected. As if it could feel my casual swipe, it immediately scrammed as if it got lit on fire, disappearing into the corrals with a spray of sand.

Huh?

Some of the other fishes around were too disturbed but calmed down almost immediately as they couldn't see any potential predators.

Could they feel me?

…

I shouldn't be able to touch them at all if the [Way finder] paper taught me anything.

But that girl, Agnes, could feel it when I tried to touch her hair.

She's human — and glowy. This fish isn't. But does it matter?

There was only one way to find out — field testing.

I approached the kelp column near me, letting my [Spear] rest inside it, acknowledging the odd tingling sensation.

I waited.

After counting down from thirty seconds, I removed the appendage.

It was then I noticed, on the very spot that I had touched, was a circle of white, bleached something that was obviously a shade lighter than that of its surrounding.

I watched, fascinated, as the spot slowly disappeared, like condensation on a mirror.

...

Well, that was enlightening. It was obvious then that I could somehow influence the physical world, if not directly. What the consequences and effects are, however, were up to debate.

In many myths and stories, the spirits and those in the ‘spiritual realm’ could interact with the physical world. The prime example would be the poltergeist, famous for being able to lift objects and throw it around. There was a rumor of my orphanage having a haunted basement that used to freak out the more superstitious handlers, and I never thought that I would one day become one of these under-the-bed monsters.

However, In that case, how would I go around replicating that?

Intention? I did intend to touch the plant, so what was I missing?

Do I need to spend [Essence] for that? It shouldn't work that way.

Focus, focus! Important things first — what's happening when I touch the kelp?

As far as I could see, my [Spear] dispersed the murky grey, leaving behind a spot of white. White much like the rest of the [Beyond], pale mimicry, empty.

That brought me to my next question — why? How?

Did I somehow displace the Essence?

No, that would be ridiculous.

… Is it though?

It is a plant. Hardly the paragon of spirituality, to have any Essence at all.

It's a soul, nonetheless.

Does that mean that everything alive got this… [Essence] in them?

Preposterous—

But it is worth considering!

Considered for what?

…

Suddenly, I found myself arriving at a conclusion, that in hindsight, should be painfully obvious.

I am…

The thought was disturbing, and at the same time not.

It would be pointless to feel guilty about all of this. Afterall, I knew it for quite some while already. The idea, centering around the fact that I am dead, the fact that I am not exactly human anymore.

It was… only natural, or so I told myself.

It wouldn’t matter if they were “dead”, spiritual or alive.

Not at all.

Death holds little to no meaning now since the entire concept of souls was rather moot. I’ve been devouring the [Essence] of beings since I arrived here, essentially wiping out their ‘afterlife’ just as well. What would the difference be if I attempt it on something that had yet to die?

I had never expected my ‘existence’ to continue on this way, after all.

[Essence] is [Essence].

There was no difference, not in what or where it came from.

If it was the past me, I would probably be horrified at the thought of devouring the soul of a living being.

I would have never considered it, or even thought of it at all.

You are you, now. People change, I told myself.

I sent my gaze back to the lofty kelp, ethereal and grey as it swayed gently. Taunting, almost.

Slowly, I let one of my [Spear] touch the plant lightly.

Just the surface.

It tingled.

An image of a needle came to mind. A small puncture, much like that of a mosquito, piercing into the wispy tendril.

There —

A queer sensation, a small ‘pop’ as something gave away. Suddenly, it was no longer clouds and mist, but more ‘real’. Around the tip of my [Spear], I could feel the crispness of the kelp, the soft flow of [Essence] that curls around it.

I felt it pierced through.

Just like that, I felt myself breaking through some sort of invisible barrier that was meant to keep the two worlds apart. The plant matter around the [Spear] was at that moment, so tantalizing real.

An intoxicating thrill ran through me as I felt myself interacting the with the physical world.

Excited, at the way that somehow, somehow, I’ve taken the first step to being able to be more. More than just a clump floating through the [Beyond].

I tugged on the appendage, and the kelp waved, impaled upon in crystalline barb.

Intent.

Intent is important.

In a world where there is something physical, where all that exists was clouds of memories, feelings, and will, intent is power.

{Puncture}

The foreign [Essence] of the kelp, however small it was, swelled against my [Spear]. The greyness rapidly drained from the plant, down from the very top and bottom, receding like water spilled away.

I realized then, it was exceedingly foolish to keep thinking in the way a flesh-and-blood mortal would. There was no need for a mouth. There was no need to go through the hassle of all that work when I originally existed as a blob too. A straw would serve just as well as a pair of jaws.

The process was violent — ugly veins swelled up on the surface of the kelp, the [Essence] flooding up and flowing down as if it suddenly became veins and blood trails. The whiteness of the kelp, starting at the top, quickly withered away as if rot had suddenly set in, eroding away before my very eyes.

That too, rapidly faded away into non- existence as the life left it, rendering it invisible to my eyes once more — just not before seeing it crumple away like dirt in water, bursting apart in the way sand disperses. The fish around the plant fled as the crumbs fell upon them, bewildered at the suddenly disintegrating kelp.

At the very point of my [Spear], I felt the drained [Essence] condense, the thin, fragmented existence of the kelp swirling down into a single point. I felt the flow travel down the [Spear], forcing through the tendril and into my [Deposit].

…

Seriously?

A single fucking grey blob worth of [Essence]?

The dollop of grey flowed reluctantly into my gluttonous mass, a mere drop within the three-four thousand that composes my entirety. Even as that drop was swallowed up by the [Deposit], I understood that the effective usage was less than half of that since building any body parts would inevitably generate some form of wastage.

…

Quantity over quality? A part of my mind comforted me.

Stop comforting me, me!

…

At least its varied, I suggested to myself as I glared up at the fishes that swam in circles around the Well ( or so I christened it be ).

I took a deep metaphorical breath.

And let it out again.

Remember, Elisa, I said to myself, size doesn’t mean that it's intelligent — or have a big soul.

Deep breath, deep breaths.

Alrighty alrighty. How should I do this?

In hindsight, I had absolutely no idea how this {puncture} works. Puncture, not just as in somehow punching through into the [Essence] of the creature, but into the physical world itself.

It makes absolutely no fucking sense.

Again, does that matter?

No… wait, it kinda does. How the heck am I holding onto something physical? What dictates my physical strength? Does [Essence] Translates into mass?

…

This is confusing.

Stop thinking too much, Elisa. Take it as it comes.

Take it as it comes, Elisa.

Whew.

...

As [Essence] is more dependant on the… mental development of the being, their physical size doesn’t matter.

Unless it's the size of a mountain, of course. I would rather not tangle with that.

While some of these larger shark-looking things were rather scary, there might be some other beings that could potentially cause me harm. After my last adventure in the ‘sacred forest’, I learned a valuable lesson in that over-hunting would probably be a terrible idea since it seems to draw a lot of unfriendly attention. I would have gone ahead and reaped the [Essence] anyway if it were back in the forest — but here, I must show prudence.

As stupid as it seemed, was because I no longer have the option to simply float away. Since everything could swim, I could no longer disengage from a battle on my own terms since they could simply chase me down. Also, there was the issue of me not seeing another [Corridor] anywhere near me. If I do not have a guaranteed path of escape, I would rather not draw too much attention.

— That being said, it did not mean I wouldn’t slaughter these living [Essence] bags with great prejudice, it merely meant I would try to showcase restrain.

Try to? I snorted at my own thought.

You know what I mean.

We? I’m holding a conversation with myself again. Great.

Hay! I’m a great conversation partner!

…

I need friends.

Ignoring those thoughts, I headed over to my next victim.

This time, I decided to test it something moving. As I was contemplating the meaning of life, some of the fish move back towards me, having gotten over the Horror of the Disappearing Kelp.

Big mistake.

Choosing one of the less wispy creatures, a flat-faced fish with its eyes stuck on the top rather than on the sides, I whipped my tendrils towards it. It wasn't particularly big, just smaller than my head, but it was more solid than those around it.

And it was really ugly, all of its face and nubs rubbed me the wrong way, so I didn't feel too bad about devouring it.

The [spears] arced towards it nonetheless without mercy.

With a small ‘shunk’ the [Spears] {punctured} their foe, impaling the creature.

The fish immediately attempted to dart away, tearing at my tendrils to no avail as they wrapped around it. In the same way, straws sucked up a drink, the three appendages hungrily slurped up the critter’s [Essence] as it laid within my grasp, wide eyes staring into nothing.

Swiftly, the greyness of its soul was siphoned out of its flesh, ripped into bits as it was divided among the three channels. Bled out, the white bits of its body crumbled away, atrophying as soon stuck to the bones until that too eventually wilted.

Buckling wildly within my grip for just a moment as it realized that its life would come to an end, the fish expired, disappearing around my [spears] like melted butter.

A shiver ran up my tendrils as [Essence] flowed through, as few as if was. The syrupy mess consolidated into part of my [Deposit], adding itself to my collection.

I counted as each drop made their way in…

Eight, nine? Not bad at all, seeing that it is a fish. They are hardly the peak of intelligence, after all.

That being, it would take a long while to actually make meaningful progress, seeing the abysmal rate that I'm gaining [Essence].

That being, it is not like I need to eat everything. Things with more [Essence], like those glowy [Deers], are much more nourishing and they aren’t much tougher.

…

It was then I immediately realized how messed up that train of thought was.

I am not going to eat a human, I decided then.

…

Unless they are dead. Then they are fair game since the [Essence] goes poof anyway.

Well, that’s better.

Abandoning the hopelessly introspective and rather sardonic thoughts, I brought myself back to reality.

The watery reality that is the not-so-desired afterlife.

Above me, the fish did their business.

Well, kind of, since they were now actively avoiding the bottom of the well. The tiny coral fishes had vacated into their protective homes, the larger critters swimming up to the ledge to avoid whatever that plagued the bottom. The kelps, being kelps, stayed exactly where they were.

Glancing at my [Deposit], I decided that as so far, I was not exactly too pressed for [Essence], so I may as well figure out where I was. The well appeared to be a mere indent in some landscape since the effective “ceiling” was still quite far away — definitely not merely capping at the mouth of the well.

It would be foolish to presume myself safe or limited to just this spot, being so… open. Common sense dictates that not knowing about something does not equal it does not exist, so I would rather be secure and sound before attempting anything... more violent.

Twisting my body like a snake to help propulse myself through the more-viscous-than-air water, I swam for the top of the surface.

The fish around me swam in circles, rotating around the well like so many wheels and gears, churning and churning. As I progressed through the middle, it was as if suddenly the world had flipped, that I was swimming through a tunnel rather than for the surface.

Trippy.

It wasn’t before long that I popped out of the mouth like a rabbit — or how I imagined them to be. It took me a second to orientate myself again, as I was facing the surface.

Then, as I stared at the sandy landscape around me, the “sky” above that shone milky white like liquid silver behind a mask of grey moss and other dubious matter, the towers of seaweed and kelp, the schools of fishes and oddities, the swimming-fish-man, the wishy-washy ambience of the water currents, it was safe to say that I was most definitely underwater, in some strange lake or something.

…

Hold on a moment there.

What?

Did I just see…?

…

Fish... man?

Next to me, a bubble gently floated upward. Nonchalantly, it splattered against the webbed mask on the water surface, disappearing into the white beyond with barely a ripple.