Thera 2.03

“You see it, don’t you, Thera?” said Mors as she stared into the dark waters. “The Ruins of Brunnholl’s Fleet.”

Thera raised her head, facing the familiar Dungeon. It was a colossal wreck, nothing but half-buried ships stretched into the distance, wreathed in shadows and decay. “What is it, Mors? I don’t see anything different.”

“See not with your eyes. See through the lens of history— past these ruins and into its memory. Relive the time before it had been a Dungeon. When it had been a majestic fleet, unrivaled at sea. When continents would tremble at the face of its might.”

The Luminant Lophis spoke with growing vigor. Her light pulsed, spinning as she stared into the darkness. She looked younger— her exhaustion gone. There was a flash, and Thera briefly thought she could envision the same sight Mors saw.

Thousands of ships, each larger than the other; able to sail the high seas, regardless of the weather.

“You’ve read the stories too— of the exploits of Admiral Mors Brunnholl in battle. But it was not he alone who led this fleet. No single man could create legend. It was his vice admiral, the [Archmage] Renatus Kastor, who dispelled the magical storms that threatened the fleet and created tempests to strike down their enemies. It was Renatus himself who enchanted these wooden walls to last even now, tens of thousands of years later…”

Mors ran a fin over the hull of the last standing ship of Brunnholl’s Fleet. The scene was filled with life. With light. With magic.

“It was not the work of a single man, but of all those who labored to build these ships, of all those who fought in its decks, and of all those who died with the fleet. As the Gnomes would say, a well-oiled machine. And yet, history remembers only a single man. Despite the sacrifices the others made for his triumphs, their names will be forever… forgotten.”

Her voice came out soft. Barely a whisper. Thera watched as her light dimmed and the shadows returned. Brunnholl’s Fleet was once again nothing but ruins, the vision of what had been fading away.

Closing her eyes, Mors sighed.

“How cold.”

* * *

Thera started awake as the dream came to an end. For a moment, she didn’t recognize where she was nor did she remember the events of the last few weeks. All she could think of was her time with Mors back in the Dungeon.

Her chest tightened— an uncomfortable feeling. Then she saw the gray stone walls, felt the cool touch of the water, and, finally, heard the little squeak. She returned to reality.

“Gnah!”

A small fish swam up to the baby Mystic Turtle’s side. She stared at it as it excitedly spun in a circle.

“Hello little Lophis,” Thera greeted it as she peeled herself out of the alcove. The odd feeling in her chest remained, and she knew what it was. “Give me a moment—”

With a breath of mana, she exhaled. [Bubble Conjuration]. The alcove was filled with magically created air bubbles in an instant. She gasped in the air, the uncomfortable feeling in her chest dissipating. It was a good thing she had that Skill, otherwise she wouldn’t have survived more than a week under the sea.

Thera watched as the Lophis happily floated with the plume of effervescence, bouncing from bubble to bubble. One of the bubbles popped, and it lazily fell past the baby Mystic Turtle’s face with a satisfied squeak.

“Gnaaaaah…”

Smiling, Thera raised a flipper to catch it. “Are you hungry?” she asked softly.

“Gnah,” it replied. Unfortunately, Thera didn’t understand what it was trying to say. She just assumed that meant ‘yes’.

It was tough, really. She didn’t know what was going on in the Lophis’ head. She found it difficult trying to discern what it wanted. So, a lot of assumptions had to be made.

“Here, let me feed you.”

She fully exited the alcove, swimming up to the wooden crate half-buried just a few dozen feet ahead. Heaving it open with a single flipper, she then reached for what was inside— and produced a single, half-eaten eel.

“Oh, we’re almost out of food,” she said, staring at the empty crate.

Thera had been heading out to the brine pools every few days to stock up on eel meat for both her and the Lophis. She was hoping to survive long enough for the magical frost storm to end before she could finally head out for warmer waters. It wasn’t something she was able to do as of right now, considering…

Her eyes darted to her left flipper, still tightly clutching onto a gelatinous egg sac, keeping it warm in this harsh environment. She’d occasionally swap which flipper she used to hold it, but it was practically second nature to have [Indomitable Soul] active at this point.

“Gnah?” the Lophis said, a concerned look on its face.

“Sorry, I didn’t know.” Thera slowly closed the crate and bit into the half-eaten eel. She chewed on it before spitting it out into her flipper and handed the blob of meat to the little fish. “You can have this for now.”

Instantly, the fish brightened. It nibbled on the food Thera gave it, only to pause as she drew back.

“Stay here. Make sure you don’t leave this rock. I’m going to get more food for you, but I’ll be back soon.” She nodded at the Lophis who tilted its head. With that, she swam off into the distance, heading for the brine pools and leaving it alone.

The Lophis raised one of its flippers, squeaking as she left. “Gnah—”

And she pressed on, out away from the slanted rock, towards more frigid waters.

Fighting with only a single flipper and barely any mana in her core wasn’t easy. Especially so close to the brine pools where dozens of Arctic Electric Eels could overwhelm her with numbers. But what she learned when she first arrived here was that these monsters liked the brine pools. What she had to do was simple.

Thera swam close to the saline waters, passing floating iceflakes that were more numerous than ever, until she heard a crackle. An Arctic Electric Eel lashed out at her from the side, but she caught it with a single [Mighty Crunch]. It died in her mouth as she immediately retreated, already hearing the chittering of dozens more of its kin.

But by the time they arrived, she was already swimming in the distance, carrying the dead eel on her back. The monsters stared at her for a minute before finally dispersing. When they did, she returned for more.

That was right. If these Arctic Electric Eels could only lurk in the brine pools, then that meant she could use it to her advantage and take them out one by one. So far, it was working for Thera.

She brought down another of the monsters and quickly swam away once again. It was an effective strategy, the only downside being that it was incredibly time-consuming.

But as Thera continued her hunt, a small fish was left feeling… lonely.

* * *

The Lophis wasn’t happy.

It wasn’t hungry anymore, either.

It ate a bit of the food before leaving it alone. Now, it waited at the edge of the slanted rock, staring out into the misty waters.

It had been happy when Thera was there. It wanted Thera to come back. But Thera went to get food, so it had to wait by itself.

This always happened. The little fish didn’t like it when this happened.

It didn’t like waiting. The first few times, it even thought that Thera had abandoned it. Now, even if it knew Thera would eventually return, it still wanted Thera to come back soon.

If only there was a way for it to stop Thera from leaving.

The Lophis watched as twinkling objects floated up to the ice sky for a while. Bits of iceflakes ascended, carrying starfish and clams and mollusks with them.

Food? the little fish thought.

And it had a bright idea.

Swimming, it left the boundaries of its rock home and caught one of the iceflakes before it floated too far away.

Food! it thought with a squeak. “Gnah!”

The iceflake had a starfish the size of the Lophis caught inside of it. It was very cold. But the small fish carried on until it was back in its rock home.

“Gnah!”

It laid the iceflake down in triumph.

But the iceflake wanted to float back.

The Lophis struggled to keep it down. “Gnah….”

It needed this. If it could give this frozen starfish to Thera, that would mean she wouldn’t leave so frequently. And that would make it happy.

Unfortunately, during its struggle, the month-old Lophis didn’t see the dark figure creeping up on the rock home. It was the Onyx Crab that Thera had injured, and it was back for revenge.

The Lophis barely forced the wooden crate open and slid the iceflake in.

The lid slammed shut.

“Gnah!” the small fish cheered. I did it!

It swam back— and that was when it saw the Onyx Crab.

At first, the Lophis thought Thera had returned. It beamed, ready to greet her. Then it saw the black shell. Heard the snapping pincer.

The Onyx Crab raised its single pincer. Bubbles poured out of its mouth.

The Lophis fled. “Gnaaaaaaaah!” it screamed.

But the monster was faster. It skittered up to the crate and swung down. The Lophis dove out of the way as the wooden crate smashed open.

It watched as the iceflake with the starfish floated up from the splintered wood. Its eyes widened.

“Gnah!”

Instead of swimming away, the small fish swam back for its precious frozen meal. It needed the iceflake for Thera!

But just as the Lophis snatched up the iceflake, the Onyx Crab swung its claw and struck it, sending it sailing into a wall.

Thud! The Lophis squeaked in pain. “Gnaaaah…”

The Onyx Crab leapt and swam forward in one quick motion. In a daze, the little fish looked up and saw the alcove next to it. It slipped into the hole of safety as the monster tried to clamber in.

Clutching tightly onto the iceflake, the Lophis cried out for Thera in fear. “Gnaaaah! Gnaaaah! Gnaaaaaaah!”

The large obsidian-colored pincer struck the mouth of the alcove, causing the stone walls to tremble. The Onyx Crab reached in as the Lophis backed up in terror, growing silent.

“Gn…”

It watched as the pincer broke part of the rock entryway. The stone crumbled, giving way for the Onyx Crab to skitter further in. The Lophis closed its eyes, letting out a silent cry. And there was a crunch.

The Lophis cracked an eye open. It thought the Onyx Crab was gone. That, somehow, the monster disappeared. That hadn’t happened.

Instead, a beak-like mouth ripped through the monster’s shell, dragging it back from the alcove. The small fish blinked and edged forward, before squeaking in surprise.

“Gnah!” Thera was back!

* * *

Thera came back from hunting just in time to see the Onyx Crab tear into the alcove. She moved with a [Hunting Dive], racing to stop it. With a [Mighty Crunch], she tore through its back shell and tossed it aside. It wasn’t dead yet, but she was more concerned with the Lophis.

Poking her head into the alcove, she hurriedly asked, “Are you alright? What happened?”

Inside, she saw the small fish shaking in fear. It instantly brightened when it saw her, and she scooped it up with her flipper. It didn’t answer, instead raising a frozen starfish for her to see.

“What is that?” Her eyes narrowed, but she didn’t get an answer right away.

The snapping of claws drew her attention, and she turned to face the Onyx Crab, still standing, albeit with a broken back shell. She felt angry. The Vanima Testudine was ready to rip the monster apart when a squeak caught her.

“Gnah!” The Lophis tugged her by her hind flippers.

She blinked as it once again tried to show her its catch.

“What are you…?” she started. Then her gaze snapped to the side. She saw the Onyx Crab coming, and she pulled the small fish away and dodged the wild charge.

The monster broke off bits of stone, turning to face her. She tried to set the Lophis down, but it refused to let go of her flipper.

“Gnaaaah…” it whined.

“What’s wrong? Why won’t you let me fight that Onyx Crab?” Thera asked as she dodged another attack.

This time, the monster’s pincer got caught in the dirt. It tried to pry itself free for a moment as the baby Mystic Turtle faced the Lophis.

She saw the way it held up the frozen starfish, desperately trying to get her attention. The way it tried to speak but failed. The way it refused to separate from her. And it finally clicked in her head as the Onyx Crab broke free.

“Were you… lonely?”

The Lophis hesitated for a moment, lowering its catch. Then it nodded. “Gnah…”

“Oh.”

And Thera understood how it felt. She recalled the time Mors had disappeared while she was sleeping, and the panic and fear that settled in quickly enough. Not just that, but even now, Thera felt lonely at times. She wanted companionship, and it was the Lophis who answered her call. How could she have left it alone and vulnerable?

Tucking in the small fish into the little indent in her shell at her neck, she looked up at the charging Onyx Crab.

“Stay with me,” she whispered. The Lophis didn’t protest as she flipped over the monster in the water. “You… you don’t have a name yet, right?”

Clinging on tightly to the edge of her shell, the small fish nodded once. “Gnah!”

“What about Renatus?” Thera said softly. It— no, he blinked. The words took a moment to process.

The Onyx Crab swung at her with its pincers. She backed away casually thanks to [Underwater Maneuverability].

“Gnah,” Renatus finally said, approvingly.

“Then you are now Renatus, son of Mors.”

Thera felt a surge of strength as she caught the pincer with her free flipper. It glowed with [Indomitable Soul], preventing the sharp claws from piercing her skin. [Manifestation of the Heart] turned it to an aura-blade, and she swung down.

Renatus saw the flash. The bright light glinted gold, before flashing purple for a moment as he brought up a fin. And at that moment, their souls connected.

“Gnah?” he squeaked, confused.

In a single strike, Thera sliced the monster in half. The Onyx Crab fell with two soft thuds.

Thera didn’t see the purple aura radiating from her peripherals as she lowered her flipper. She exhaled, letting out bubbles from her shell as the glow faded away. Renatus looked on with wide-eyed awe. She brought the Lophis forward with her free flipper.

“You won’t be alone again, Renatus.”

He blinked at her. She held his gaze with a smile. The Lophis and the Mystic Turtle didn’t break away from each other. Neither one would be lonely again. It filled Thera’s chest with a warm feeling, almost like the touch of soul magic in the freezing waters.

And that was when she realized her [Indomitable Soul] had ended.

“Oh no—” Her eyes went round as she felt the egg sac.

It was already starting to cool in this environment. She brought it up in a panic, unsure of what to do. But Renatus moved ahead of her. He squeaked determinedly, taking over for her.

“Gnah!” Halting before the eggs, his body shone.

Thera paused. “This is—”

She felt the warm embrace of soul magic fill her senses. She looked on as the Lophis stuck close, keeping the egg sac protected. A golden radiance. Its source was evident. Thera stared at him.

“You learned… a Skill?” she asked in disbelief.

He nodded at her. “Gnah.”

“Then this means I can…” she trailed off.

Renatus bobbed his body eagerly in agreement, still tending to his unborn siblings. The meaning was simple. After so many weeks, she could rest.

And then they could finally leave these frozen waters.

* * *

You have leveled up!

[Lophis (Angelus Fish) - Level 0] -> [Lophis (Angelus Fish) - Level 1]!

Skill gained: [Radiant Touch]