"Wait! They don’t have bubbles!" Derek shouted, waving frantically at the merwoman, who had already darted ahead. The merwoman paused, turning slowly with an expression of indifference and her eyes glided over the group. With a flick of her wrist, water bubbles instantly formed around each person’s head.
Derek exhaled, feeling the weight of the moment ease just a little. "Thanks," he muttered, though he couldn’t shake the unsettling coldness in her demeanor. It was as if the lives of everyone else meant little more than a passing inconvenience to her.
"Do not waste time, my liege," she said in a tone that bordered on irritation. "We are on borrowed moments. Follow me, and do not fall behind again." She darted ahead once more, cutting through the water with grace and precision, her glowing form a beacon in the dark waters.
Derek followed, glancing back at the others. Their faces were pale, eyes wide with fear and uncertainty, but they had no choice but to swim after her. However, just as they were about to exit the cave and head back for the ocean water, the merwoman abruptly stopped.
“No,” she said with her arms crossed in front of her. “This has gone far enough. This is where we part ways. My liege will not be risked for your sake any longer," the merwoman continued, her voice cold and final. Her eyes flicked over the group, as though their presence was little more than a nuisance.
Derek opened his mouth to say something but the family man blurted out in panic. "Wait, what do you mean 'part ways'? You can't just leave me here! My wife and my children need me. Please. I will not slow you down. I will do anything you want."
Unfortunately for him the merwoman did not even spare a glance at him. She turned to Derek, her expression unyielding. "They are dead weight, slowing you down, my liege. Your destiny cannot be fulfilled if you are tied to the fates of weaklings."
Derek clenched his fists, struggling to keep his voice calm. "No. We’re all getting out of here together. You can’t just abandon them now, not after everything." He knew the merwoman held all the power here, but he couldn’t let her just leave the others behind. He wouldn’t.
Leaving them here was the same as killing them right now, right this moment. He might not be some sort of hero who would want to save this world from all of this chaos. He didn’t have that kind of power or strength, but he couldn’t let these innocent people die like this—not like this. Not when he could at least try to do something.
The merwoman’s gaze sharpened, and for a moment, Derek feared he had pushed too far. But instead of retaliating, the merwoman sighed, as though exasperated by a child refusing to listen. "Very well, my liege," she said, her voice dripping with condescension. "But know this—your path will be harder for it. If they slow you down again, I will not hesitate next time. I will directly execute them even if it means I will have to bear your wrath."
Derek exhaled. "Thank you," he muttered, though he didn’t entirely believe she had relented out of compassion. He awkwardly gave a small smile to the others signaling that everyone was safe for now. He could see the others visibly relax but they looked back at him with mixed expressions. The family man particularly did not look pleased.
Derek couldn’t blame him. He had spoken up, but in the end, it was clear who held the power. It didn’t feel right. None of it did. He wanted to explain to him more when he saw the merwoman give a curt nod, before spinning around and resuming her swift pace, slicing through the water. "Keep up," she called over her shoulder, her voice echoing through the cave.
Signaling for the others to follow him, Derek swam behind her, his thoughts churning. He knew that the merwoman was dangerous, and her patience was wearing thin. But for now, they had no choice but to stick together—and hope that somehow, they could make it out alive.
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"Stay close," the merwoman’s voice rang out sharply. Derek noticed how effortlessly she cut through the water, her bioluminescent scales shimmering faintly like a predatory fish in the abyss.
They swam in silence, the stillness of the deep ocean wrapping around them like a suffocating cloak. Why was it so suffocating? Water had never been suffocating for him. He felt like he needed to breathe and his current state of mind was not helping anyone. He needed to think clearly and act better.
This pressure he was facing right now was far more than anything he had ever experienced before. But he needed to endure it and come out on top. Otherwise, things could go south very quickly. The survival of not only himself but the others depended on it. He had already pushed the merwoman’s patience to the limit, and it wouldn’t take much for her to snap.
Derek started doing his breathing exercises and focused on calming his mind. Each breath filled his lungs with the cool air, grounding him in the present moment. It took him a couple of minutes and he eventually calmed down and was able to focus on the water around him.
Derek breathed again and the water felt home. He had trained in water his whole life—it was the one place where he always felt centered. He could do this. Thankfully he adjusted his attitude right in time as the merwoman once again abruptly halted. “We will start from here, my liege.” She pointed to a spot ahead of them.
They hadn’t swam too far from the glowing hilly territory and she was pointing at one of the smaller hills, well smaller relatively. Derek frowned, confused. "Here?" It didn’t seem like anything special, just another patch of coral and bioluminescent flora.
"Yes," she replied, her tone sharp. "This is where your first trial begins."
"Trial?" Derek asked. “What do I need to do?”
“Stand here and stand strong, my liege.”
Derek still did not understand but seeing that the merwoman was not planning on explaining anything further, he could only swim ahead to the spot. "Swim to the top and touch the coral at its peak. When you do, the trial will begin."
Derek gave a small nod. He swam toward the hill and he inched closer to the coral that looked suspiciously normal, except for its beautiful glow. He took a couple of seconds and then reached out to touch it, his fingers brushing the glowing coral.
Instantly, the water around him pulsed with energy, the light intensifying. The glow became blinding, and Derek felt the world around him shift, the pressure of the ocean vanishing in an instant.
He was no longer in the water.
Derek found himself standing on a wet rocky surface again, inside some cave. But this one was unlike the previous small cramped space. This cave was massive, its rocky walls slick with moisture, reflecting the faint glow of bioluminescent moss clinging to the jagged surfaces. Water dripped steadily from the stalactites above, echoing eerily throughout the cavern.
Suddenly, he felt something off and threw his head around to see a few more figures materializing right behind him, one after the other. The rest of the gang had arrived as well along with the gang leader, the merwoman. She slithered forward in her trademark iron maiden style and hissed. “This is it, my liege. This will be your first stepping stone.”
Before she could finish her words, scuttling sounds echoed in the cave. Derek instinctively tensed at the sound, the scuttling noises bouncing off the cave walls like a growing storm. The others in the group shifted nervously, exchanging uneasy glances. Something was coming and it was not good news.
Standing next to them, the merwoman remained calm, her eyes narrowing as if she anticipated this. "The trial has begun," she hissed. "These creatures will test your will, your instincts. They are not meant to kill you, my liege, but if they do, then we will have to wait for your next reincarnation." Her gaze flicked to the others briefly, her disdain clear. "For the rest of you, they may do as they wish."
Reincarnation? Derek’s stomach dropped. This monster has completely lost it!
It was one thing for her to not care about the other four but she did not even seem to care about him all that much. Wasn’t he the heir of the ocean or some shit? Was she already changing her mind about her previous words? Or was she trying to tell that he needed to prove his worth?
Derek snapped out of it. This entire situation had spiraled into madness, and the merwoman's words only heightened the absurdity. He did not have the time to be distracted by all of this right this moment. There was only one thing he needed to do right now.
Survive.