Thera 2.01

Thera swam close to the seafloor. A thick sheet of ice expanded overhead like a gathering of storm clouds blotting out the sun. She raised a flipper, using [Manifestation of the Heart] to focus her [Indomitable Soul] at its very tip, and the golden aura acted as a torchlight in this icy terrain.

Brine pools of varying sizes revealed themselves to the Vanima Testudine. They were most dense in salt and frost at their center where the magical brinicles from above laid their touch of death. The corpses of hundreds of starfish, mollusks, and clams lay unmoving in the saline mist at the heart of the brine pools. Towards the fringes, the curtain of mist unfurled to uncover a thin veneer of ice covering the sandy seabed.

Iceflakes slowly peeled away from the edge of the brine pools and floated back up in a reverse hail. They glinted, reflecting the light from Thera’s golden aura as she narrowly snaked her way down a natural path between two large brine pools.

With one flipper raised to light the way, and the other tightly clutching Mors’ egg sac to her chest to keep it warm in these cool waters, she couldn’t afford to get into a fight now. Not with her core as depleted of mana as it currently was. The light flickered as the baby Mystic Turtle continued to navigate through the deadly terrain.

She was tired. So tired. It had been non-stop action ever since Mors had died. From the Colossus Phleglings to the trip back to the surface to the magical snow storm. She needed to find a safe place to hide. To rest.

But something moved within the brine pool.

Thera’s gaze snapped to the side, shining her light in the direction she saw the shadow. It slinked back into the blanket of salt and frost as she warily spun around. The baby Mystic Turtle narrowed her eyes as she drew back hesitantly, her gaze fixed on the brine pool, the chilling touch of the cold waters creeping up her back and coiling around her like loose strands of kelp caught on her shell and restricting her movements. It wasn’t a good feeling.

Exhaling slowly, Thera turned to leave the area, only for a dark thing to lash out at her. She swerved out of the way in time thanks to [Underwater Maneuverability]’s passive effect, watching the monster leap through the water from one brine pool to another, vanishing behind the thick layer of mist.

She barely caught a glimpse of it. It had been a sinuous creature. One with a long body, nearly twice the length of hers. At first, Thera thought it was a Phlegling with the seaweed-like shape of its body. But as the monster dove at her again, she was more prepared for the attack and managed to catch a proper look of it.

[Arctic Electric Eel]

Its body flashed, screeching with lightning as Thera narrowly dodged out of the way. She raised her one free flipper warily, drawing from her core, pouring her mana into an aura-blade. But her chest strained as the golden aura tried to take form… and failed.

The golden light sputtered, flickering like the dying gasps of an ashened ember. She looked down at her free flipper as the aura dimmed, and there came another flash.

Thera braced herself as a powerful shock of pain struck her shell. A second Arctic Electric Eel. It tried to coil around her, sending waves of electricity into her back, causing her to jolt and spasm uncontrollably. But she swung her free flipper and slapped it away.

The monster reeled back and slithered back into the brine pool. Bubbles poured from Thera’s shell as she panted, flinching from a flicker of electricity.

“Need… to…” She spoke weakly as she waddled her hind limbs. “...get…a-away…”

From the corner of her eyes, she saw the flashes— heard the chittering. It was like the sound of thousands of birds chirping in a cacophonous clamor. More and more of those monsters were gathering around her, lurking in the brine pools, stalking their prey.

The first Arctic Electric Eel poked its head out of the mist, Unlike a Phlegling, it had the face of a fish, with beady black eyes and lips that hid its sharp teeth. It almost looked like it was sneering at Thera. She recoiled from its terrible gaze, turning to swim faster.

But it kept up with her, traveling through the frost and salt. She glanced back as the number of Arctic Electric Eels only grew. She feared the worst. But then she felt at the thing pressing against her chest— the only part of her body where [Indomitable Soul] was still active.

The egg sac.

Her eyes closed as the chittering grew louder. Thera could not fall here. Not for Mors, and not for herself. She opened her eyes, glancing back as the first Arctic Electric Eel took its chance, diving at her—

[Mighty Crunch]!

—and swam straight into the Mystic Turtle’s mouth. Its body convulsed as it wriggled in Thera’s jaw. It sent waves of electricity straight into her body, and she tensed up for a moment. But she bit through the pain.

Thera ripped the monster in half, chomping straight through its thin body. It let out a shrieking sound for a second— although that could’ve been the death throes of its fading magic— before breaking in half. It fell to the cold and callous seabed in two pieces.

For a moment, the Vanima Testudine felt a sense of triumph. One that was accompanied by the Voice of the World.

You have leveled up!

[Vanima Testudine (Mystic Turtle) - Level 13] -> [Vanima Testudine (Mystic Turtle) - Level 14]!

Skill gained: [Improved Mana Regeneration]

Thera didn’t even have the time to take in her new Skill. She looked down as the chittering became deafening. Three Arctic Electric Eels whipped out at her in rapid succession, and she barely avoided their attacks thanks to her renewed vigor.

“Leave me alone!” she yelled as bubbles escaped from her back.

The monsters ignored her, their assault continuing. They tore through the bubbles she left behind as she swam as fast as she could. She looked around, but all she saw were the brine pools, spreading out all over the seabed.

She needed to find a way to escape. Her thoughts were reaffirmed as another eel struck her side. Her grip on the egg sac only tightened as she shrugged the attack off.

But where is it safe? Thera’s eyes darted from side to side as the world wheeled. She saw nothing— not in the darkness nor in the mist. If only there were a way to peel back the veil…

And perhaps there was a way. Thera closed her eyes briefly, feeling her core regain some mana. Before it was once again rapidly drained for use.

[Soul Sense].

For a brief moment, the dark world was illuminated by specks of light. All around here, there were little glints and glows. Everything she saw emanated soul magic. A pebble radiated a faint light, and she passed a half-frozen enchanted trinket in the brine pool.

Thera swept her gaze across the seafloor, searching for the light sources. Some of the speckles were far. Too far for her to reach. Others were small and weak, not something that indicated safety. Her gaze stopped to her left as she saw a flashing light. It wasn’t nearly as strong as Mors’ magic, let alone the Treasure of Brunnholl’s Fleet, yet it stood out here and that was all that mattered.

But there was a problem: it was beyond a brine pool.

An Arctic Electric Eel stared at her, waiting in the mist, as if daring her to make the trip to the possibility of safety. She didn’t know if there was even anything there that could provide her sanctuary. Yet Thera took the chance.

She pulled up as she headed straight over the expansive brine pool. Already, she could feel the colder waters. Rime formed on the tip of three of her flippers. Sleet grew on her back. But she continued to give the egg sac the warmth of her soul.

The eels gave chase, bolder in their attacks now as she swam over the brine pool. She slapped them back, swerving around the spire of ice at the center of the mist. A few of the monsters crashed straight into the brinicle, but didn’t freeze over and managed to peel themselves off after a moment’s struggle.

That, however, gave Thera an edge over them. She broke free from their chase just long enough to get over the brine pool. The Arctic Electric Eels continued their pursuit as she glanced up with her fading [Soul Sense].

“There.”

She saw it. Just a few hundred feet away from the mist. Protruding from the ground, far from the brine, stood a tall rock, slanted on one side.

A crab stood at its flat end, looking around, clearly confused. Then it went running— sideways— before swimming off as Thera descended upon it. She grunted, looking back once.

“Have they…?” She hoped that the Arctic Electrics Eels had stopped giving chase.

And they did. They receded back into the brine pools, uncaring of their prey now that she had gotten far enough away. Sighing in relief, she lowered herself to the base of the tall rock. There was a wooden crate poking out of the sand. Thera glanced at it momentarily, but her [Soul Sense] had already ended so she didn’t see a glow from it.

She found a depression— one that led to an alcove which she snuggled herself into with the egg sac. Thera looked down at the gelatinous film, clinging onto her flipper. There was a soft pulse of light. One that was dim and weak. Still, it persisted. It refused to fade away.

Thera could finally feel her new Skill’s effects. [Improved Mana Regeneration] filled her core, letting her regain mana at a slightly faster rate than she was losing it, But it was not much. And the moment she used soul magic beyond warming the egg sac, she would once again be pushed to the brink, running on fumes.

And that thought alone exhausted her. She hugged the egg sac as she lay in the alcove, eyes fluttering shut in the cold. All around her were brine pools filled with monsters. Above, a magical frost storm still raged, and chaos reigned supreme.

She wouldn’t dare return to the surface until she was fully recovered. Not with those hordes of Letus Seals ravaging the panicking sealife. That was not to mention the Horned Orca…

It was far too dangerous. Even as Thera drifted off, shivering, all she could think about was of the dangers lurking around, and how wholly underprepared she was to face it as she was right now. If she sacrificed the eggs, letting them freeze in the cool waters, perhaps…

But no. She clutched the sac tighter, as if to keep warm. That was out of the question to her. She did not want that. She was far beyond just listening to her foolish self-preservation instincts now.

The true problem was the fact that Thera was alone. If she wasn’t alone, she wouldn’t be struggling so hard right now. Just Mors’ presence in the Ruins of Brunnholl’s Fleet made a massive difference for her. And as she fell asleep in the cold waters, the baby Mystic Turtle dreamt of companionship. Of warmth. Of her siblings.

She imagined her siblings swimming with her, ripping apart the Arctic Electric Eels as she swam through the brine pools. She saw them fighting beside her, matching the Letus Seals in numbers. From the very bottom of her soul, she desired to not be alone.

Her body glimmered purple, before turning gold and wreathing her in warmth. She basked in the warm embrace, even as the light vanished, feeling… pleased.

And, perhaps, she did something in her sleep. Perhaps, in her dreams, she manifested her desires to reality. Because when she woke up—

She found one of the eggs had hatched.