Feet clunked to the floor of the dwelling.

Everything was set, all Sera had to do was attach the PID and follow the prompts.

Walking over to the mount, the PID was pulled from her hands as a blue screen popped up.

Dwelling Interface

[Begin Startup Procedure]

Pressing the button without hesitation, Sera stood back and watched with Iva as her new home already began to transform.

The whole Dwelling shook as power began lighting throughout the dwelling, the white light filled her vision just as she heard the beginnings of a low-pitched screech.

“Wow, that was a long night.”

Pushing off the Dwelling expecting a rested body, Sera instead was faced with her back aching and an irritated feeling that came when she looked at the empty Dwelling.

This doesn’t feel right.

All that was inside the Dwelling at the moment was three things. A small pile of unorganised crap that she had haphazardly hauled into the dwelling , her makeshift bed and Iva’s seagrass nest.

Which looked like it had been… half digested before either moss or a small coral made its home on the nest, Sera was going to just throw it out but decided to scan it first.

... Mostly because when she had tried Iva had brought it back inside the cave, and although she could just leave the hatch closed, Sera couldn’t help but feel a bit of guilt.

After all, it was the only ‘natural’ and normal thing Iva had left… although if Iva were normal she would likely have been eaten in the dungeon with her pod after laying their eggs.

Her eyes closed as she tried to focus on her current tasks and not a whole squadron of seals being eaten by a ruthless underwater dragon.

Bringing up the PID menu, Sera focused on the recipes she wanted to build sometime in the next few days.

PID Interface

Fins or ‘Flippers’:

User note:

“The light armour helps with speed, but I need to be faster if I want everything finished on time... And to outrun any of the new predators.”

Materials:

Threaded Anemone 1KG Quartz 100G Ink 300G

Solar energy or ‘Solar panels’ *:

User Note:

“Too much time with the turbines that came from the countryside. Solar panels seem quieter, cheaper and back at the ward the staff always went out of their way to avoid green energy. It’s the obvious choice.”

Materials:

Copper 2KG Lead 1KG Quartz 500G

PID Mount or ‘Mount’ *:

User Note:

“It seems like each new system needs its own interface, the PID is good with small tools and the builder tool seems good with building… But the Dwelling? It seems suspiciously absent.”

Materials:

Lead 500G Copper 500G Gold 500G Fossilised Coral 100G

She had to prioritise the most important recipes, after all, time hadn’t stopped and so far it had been roughly two or three weeks in this new land, in Temporous.

Despite her planning, Sera quickly went over her need for the new item and buildings.

What if the amount of predators increased so much that she could only swim for supplies during the night, she needed to be fast.

Or what if Sera was missing out on functions the Dwelling didn’t provide without power, she needed to be efficient and missing out on things that made her life easier could be life-threatening.

Or worse, what if the cold penetrated past her light armour? The PID hadn’t supplied or recommended any other clothing upgrades, she needed options.

Either way, at the moment the best place to get the supplies would be the dungeon, which looked like an appetising destination, or the soot heavy waters of the shipwreck.

“They should be clear today, or clearer at least.” The reaper lurking around the burnt waters and fiery wreck hadn’t helped her with sleeping or relaxing when she had the chance.

It was keeping her on edge, but it was costing her too much energy. She needed to revisit the wreck to cool her fears and hopefully find some more useful materials.

Or better, information about where Aquo was after her Dwelling had been upgraded, and she had tried the assimilation process.

One of the locations that she had very little information on. “I doubt it’s nearby, but...” Her fingers ran over the PID’s smooth round edges as she couldn’t help but associate Aquo with safety.

“Maybe the PID will help me with that. But for now, I need to focus on some movement upgrades. Flippers seem like the best piece of equipment to get first.”

Forming a circle with her lips, Sera tried to whistle to get Iva’s attention, but the result was just water being pushed out, all that achieved was a colder mouth and her mind telling her ‘Duh’.

Swimming over to the hatch in a swimming style that seemed to be a morph of freestyle and breaststroke, Sera called Iva away from her nest and the two were off.

The moment she was away from the shelter, she could already feel the cold waters begin to affect her. The Dwelling was different, it was always warm ever since it's creation, was it because the water was sealed from the outside?

“I wonder if new ai-water comes through the Dwelling, what if my gills breathe up all the usable oxygen in the water inside the dwelling?” Making a mental note to herself to leave the hatch open the next time she left, Sera didn’t notice Iva’s gaze.

Her small red seal’s eyes were glancing from shadow to shadow below as they swam towards the soot infested waters.

Meanwhile, Sera was enjoying the silence and general lack of fish. Alone it would’ve been eerie or even creepy but with some rays from the sun piercing the waters and hitting the seafloor, she couldn’t help but feel relaxed.

“Iva, maybe we should move away from the caves. This area is so peacefu-”

Sera instinctively jumped when she saw jaws.

Thankfully it was in the distance, but looking down she saw a glimpse of Iva moving behind her before looking back at the glitter of the jaws.

But they were gone, in their place was a long shadow coming from the long columns of sand and rock reaching upward, the cliffs… were giving it cover.

She stopped swimming as she looked around her.

She was surrounded, but the cliffs were still too small, too far away to arch over her, but they would soon if she continued. “Iva.” Turning to her companion to get a feel of what they would face, Iva barely spared Sera a glance before facing the cliffs again.

Sera slowly began inching away from the area as she considered her options. Do I continue or head towards the dungeon?

Idly, she began looking towards the shadows, and tried to remember what she saw.

Teeth with familiar sharp jaws that the water dragons held, teeth of predators, Sera realised. She immediately brought out her knife and her scanner, it wasn’t the best as a distraction, but all she needed was a second.

“Iva, let’s keep going. We’ll keep our distance and try to stay away from any of the cliffs.” Seeing her friend still stare towards the shadows, she gave Iva a small reassuring pet which seemed to calm her before continuing.

Swimming with a purpose, her eyes now scanned the shadows as Iva’s did, despite the rays of sun reaching the seafloor, it seems like the rotation of the sun meant that long shadows were cast where before there were none.

I need sunglasses. Sera imagined the effect a good pair would have, illuminating the dark shadows that followed them as they went onwards.

She spotted not one fish.

Getting closer to the wreck, the surrounding cliffs had finally reached a height where if she went any higher, the reaper could be involved, which was a risk Sera was unwilling to take.

Especially for a predator she had not seen yet.

She could feel Iva huddle to her back as the wreck began to come into vision.

“Holy,” Her eyes stuck to a glinting crate, a yellow tint was shining onto the sand from the broken crate, she had found gold.

Sera couldn’t help herself as she began swimming downwards, she had just run out of gold coins! This would be perfect for the PID and was arguably the hardest mineral to find! It was lucky, and perfect with no predators.

Swimming directly down, Sera’s legs kicked hard into the water, desperate to grab the gold, so she could explore the other loot filled crates, before she heard a sucking noise. Iva squeaked loudly, shoving into Sera-

She could barely see what happened, but she felt it. Her neck throbbed as it was unnaturally pulled to the right, but that didn’t matter. The new creature attacking did.

Sera brought up her knife and scanner as the new creature was rearing up to attack again. It’s body sleek was sleek and starch black, not only that it looked like it was missing something, and it’s jaw…

Sera realised the resemblance, it looked like a scaleless crocodile, but its eyes were missing, it felt eerily similar and yet wrong. But Sera didn’t have time to appraise its appearance as it dived with no sound towards her!

Sera could hear a sucking noise and realised her error too late. Letting go of the scanner, Sera had less than a moment to bring out her PID.

Using her items as a shield, she tried to out manoeuvre the croc, but it was too late.

The monster broke through her defences and sucked in the only two limbs defending herself, her arms. The teeth carved through the light armour's garment into flesh as the force of the attack pushed her backwards.

She could feel the warmth leave her back as something holding onto her went flying, but Sera couldn’t focus on that.

Her arms fully inside the croc’s mouth, its jaw rammed into her, pushing what felt like the air inside her out. Bubbles violently burst from her gills as her arms tried to pull themselves out of the predators jaws.

Her legs tried to get a foothold, but unexpectedly she could find no purchase-

The jaws began to crush her limbs as Sera tried to scream, but succeeded in sounding like a fish out of water. Her hands desperately held her tools as she tried to carve the inside of the creatures mouth open with one hand and keep it from crushing her limbs with the other.

Then she was flung.

But not away, like a wolf trying to crunch the neck of it's prey the croc swung its jaws back and forth-her shoulders and limbs felt like they were cracking as her blood was now heavy in the water.

Alarm bells rang as she desperately tried to stab somewhere important-

Still being swung, Sera tried to wrap her legs around it’s neck, but each time one leg came close, the croc swung her back in the other direction.

She could feel her arms beginning to lose their power as Sera realised she would have to let go, of her items and hope with her hands free she could somehow escape.

Swung through the water again, she felt dizzy, lightheaded with her blood screaming vengeance through the water.

Sera had only a second to react as a squeal and a hint of red came from behind the croc. Immediately, she could feel water being pushed from its mouth as the monster froze from the attack, Sera didn’t waste the moment Iva bought her.

Widening the mouth of the beast, Sera was ready to pull her hands out when she saw two eyes staring back at her from inside the mouth-

The jaw couldn’t close fast enough as her blade skid from the jaw towards the eyes, and she could feel it tear just as the jaw came back down.

Then suddenly the croc screeched out a rattly cry before stilling completely.

Wrapping her legs around the croc, Sera wasn’t going to take any chances, as she was about to finish it however she noticed four more jaws come from the cliffs towards her.

Freezing at the sight, Iva squealed, but she reacted too late.

The croc sped into action, ripping free of her hands-

It tried to swim off!

Sera tried to hold on, her feet wrapped around it, the rock sped with the same speed it had attacked her with-if not greater, she nearly missed the handhold Iva had made into it's tail as she was pulled along.

She could hear its cries as it scurried, trying to escape its former prey and away from the cliffs towards the wreck, her hands gripped into the bloody tail as she realised her tools were still inside its mouth!

With a snap of it’s tail the croc tried to get rid of her and leave her for dead to it’s pod, but she held on for dear life, it was blind and injured, she needed to finish it.

Pulled through the water with it, Sera tried to get closer to the head, but as she looked ahead she saw a new problem-

It was heading right for the spikes!

Almost releasing her hold, Sera barely held on as the croc managed to dodge every edge while snapping her body in the way. Sera barely held on as her legs now took the brunt of the damage, brought up to her torso they nullified every surface that looked too sharp for her armour with a kick.

Before it dived downwards, Sera lost her handhold and only one hand held on as she was suddenly brought downwards. Looking ahead, she could see the croc was zeroing on a hole leading back to the cliffs!

Sera only had a second to grab onto an eroded hole’s edge, with the whip of the croc tale she barely made it, smashing into the ground one hand wrapped around the croc as the other desperately gripped the cave’s edge.

“Just-” Pulling her body closer to the hole, her legs gripped the edges as her free hand now went deeper, pulling herself and the resisting croc closer to the entrance.

“Stop-” Hearing the rattly screech, her ears felt a piercing sensation but her arms with salt water cauterising the wound and her legs almost numb with the numerous impacts won out.

Her focus unparalleled, she used all her strength to pull the beast now inside the hole-

Its tail tried to garner and manoeuvre in the water, but it’s energy was spent.

Sera barely looked up to see Iva now headbutt into the croc just as she pulled, which was enough for her to fully be inside the cave-

Enough for her to put both her legs on the ceiling.

Grabbing the retreating tail with two hands, Sera desperately pulled, trying to finish the monster before its pod would come and enact vengeance on her.

Whipping the tail like the croc had done to her, Sera pulled downwards and with a pitiful cry the croc was pulled under into the cave.

The second it was inside, Sera let go and watched as the croc raced forward away from the entrance and into the darkness, her hands went to her belt before she heard a bang.

She brought out her scanner and saw the croc bludgeoned into the wall, it had used its opening lunge attack to try and escape, but the force had killed it… unless it could live with a smashed brain.

Sera barely spared it a glance before swimming up towards the entrance, expecting to see the squad of crocs hot on her tail.

But instead she saw them retreating, away from a shadow that, she now realised, had covered her.

Looking up expecting the reaper, Sera instead saw a new predator.

No a new monster, that thing was no predator.

She instinctively stilled at it's size, it was half the size of the reaper, but shape and the scales-no the eyes.

Her eyes widened as she realised she wasn’t staring at scales but thousands of eyes, they reached out like tentacles at the surroundings, looking at the areas which were falling and still moving from her departure.

Sera slowly moved downwards, using minimal movement her head stayed craned upwards, the cave entrance was too small to let the creature in, but the tentacles?

She didn’t doubt for a second they couldn’t reach in and grab her.

Taking each motion deliberately, Sera looked to her side to see Iva curled up next to a rock, it looked like natural camouflage, Sera would’ve laughed at the absurdity of it once she was away from the entrance.

Finally, making it past where light reached downwards from the entrance, Sera decided that Iva could wait a second before she grabbed her tools from the croc.

Her gills began to untense, but her shoulders still shook with adrenaline as she retrieved her knife and PID from the ground next to the croc's corpse, Sera of course gave it two stabs where the brain seemed to be.

But didn’t try very hard when she noticed it was leaking from the monster's skull.

Turning back to Iva, Sera was relieved when she saw it was slowly inching her way towards her before it moved out of range of the light and swam towards her almost desperately.

Launching itself like a cannonball, Sera caught Iva and hugged him silently as the two stared back at the cave entrance.

They were trapped.