Chapter 36: The Deep End

"Are we really sure about tackling this alone, Zion?" Alyx queried, his tone tinged with uncertainty, as it had been countless times before. "We still have two weeks until the others arrive. Couldn't we just wait for them?"

"We could, Alyx, but honestly, I'm going stir-crazy," Zion replied, casting a reassuring glance at the fidgeting elf and placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Seriously, don't stress so much. If we didn't have the strength to face the dungeon boss, I wouldn't have suggested coming here. But between the two of us, I have confidence."

Zion stood up, shaking himself to limber up. "Besides, it's not my first time."

Without waiting for a response from Alyx, Zion decided it was time to get started. With utmost confidence, he pierced the barrier and entered swiftly. The battle to reach the boss room would have been relatively straightforward if it weren't for the fact that every skirmish took place in the water—a detail that had made the dungeon far more challenging than Zion had anticipated.

He hadn't shown any sign of struggle yet, not wanting to agitate Alyx further. Over the past few weeks, Zion had learned that while Alyx was an undeniable powerhouse, he tended to be overly cautious. In Zion's opinion, the only silver lining was that their group now had a voice of reason that wouldn't lead to stupid decisions—or so he hoped.

On the other side of the barrier, Zion found himself in what resembled an underwater ruin, with decaying buildings obscured by thick algae—a testament to the passage of time. At the far end of the room, perched atop a large broken pillar, sat a creature Zion could only liken to a giant crocodile, except this one had shark fins protruding from its back and tail.

As Zion moved forward, water splashed beneath his steps, accompanied by the following of his party member. Things took a strange turn when the ground beneath him gave way to the deep end. With a resigned sigh, Zion found himself submerged in the liquid, unable to touch the bottom and merely treading water.

This aspect of the dungeon, with battles taking place either in deep water or on flooded floors, made it more challenging than most. Normally, Zion would have heeded Alyx's advice, but he needed to gauge combat difficulty in this environment before the girls arrived.

As he became fully submerged, Zion noticed the sharkodile turning its large pointed snout in his direction. Without hesitation, he retrieved an earth absorption gem and shattered it, unleashing a flurry of Elemental Blitz. The stone fragments collided with the creature's scaly hide, leaving minor gashes but otherwise leaving it unharmed.

The creature surged rapidly towards them, the water parting in its wake. Zion activated an Arcane barrier, but it was no match for the force of the creature's charge, sending him hurtling through the water as if it offered no resistance.

Summoning a series of mana bursts, Zion hurled them at the boss, but to his dismay, they lost momentum upon impact, barely affecting the creature.

As the creature charged once more, Zion intercepted it with Onyx in hand, attempting to block its initial momentum. However, his attempt to slide to the side and slice at its flank proved futile as the creature's large tail struck him, sending him spinning through the water.

Releasing a barrage of ether storms, Zion caused explosions all around the sharkodile, sending the water into spasms and churns. Yet, amidst the chaos, he realized he was losing sight of the creature—a problem he needed to address.

Sensing an impending attack, Zion activated his Arcane barrier just in time to feel the creature's teeth rip into the shimmering field with formidable force. Seizing the opportunity, he thrust Onyx into the monster's side and unleashed a flurry of mana bursts at close range, causing the creature to bleed from its side.

His victory was short-lived as a forceful wave sent him tumbling through the water, disorienting him. Fortunately, Alyx's Shield intervened, protecting him from the creature's serrated teeth.

With renewed determination, Zion unleashed a series of aether storms and absorbed mana from his ring to launch more mana bursts. Alyx joined the fray, his staff slicing into the creature's hide as Zion blocked its attacks with barrier and buckler. Activating mana spikes, Zion sent one into the creature's eye socket, eliciting a mighty roar.

Signaling to Alyx, Zion indicated for him to draw the aggro while he surfaced for a gasping breath. Meanwhile, keeping a watchful eye on the battle, Zion stowed Onyx and retrieved his Staff of Amplification and an electric blue gem before returning underwater.

Upon his return, he noticed Alyx struggling, so he held up the gem, recognizing a flicker of recognition in his friend's eyes. Alyx created shields around both of them as Zion prepared for the final showdown with the sharkodile.

Despite its battered state, the creature remained a formidable foe, turning its attention again to Alyx as he broke the surface. Zion smashed the blue gem, enveloping the area in a current of electricity. Unleashing an Elemental Blitz, he sent shards of lightning straight into the creature's open mouth, bypassing its thick armor and causing it to spasm in agony.

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As the creature writhed in pain, its green eyes betraying fury, Zion knew victory was within reach.

Zion activated Arcane Edge and swam towards the distracted creature, striking it relentlessly with Onyx. The green-black blade easily tore into its tough hide. From above, he witnessed Alyx plunging his blade into its head, finally ending the creature and sending it into death throes.

After Alyx stashed the twitching corpse into his mob sack, they both made for the far end of the room, where the boss had originally been. Climbing onto the broken pillar, Zion flopped himself over the cold stone and took a series of deep breaths.

"Holy hell, fighting in water is so much harder!" he exclaimed, gasping for air, the sound echoing around the cave. "I mean, I knew it was going to be tough, but damn, that was harder than expected."

Alyx glared at him, not as winded. "How was that hard? We defeated it before the second stage even started," he remarked, surprised. "I've run this dungeon more times than most, and it's usually difficult without higher-grade gear. But you just use your cheat mana depth to fire off spells like it's nothing. Seriously, not sure any boss would be your match."

Zion's mind flashed back to the Odalin dungeon, and he had to disagree with Alyx. "My mana does give me a lot of power, but I promise it's not foolproof. I almost died multiple times in my first dungeon and used more power there than in this one. I think this battle was decided when the dumb thing swallowed actual electricity."

"Yeah, let's not do that next time," Alyx replied, rubbing his legs. "I can still feel the tingles of the electrical current, even if it didn't do any damage."

"Deal," Zion agreed, resting his face back down and taking a few more deep breaths.

Leaving the dungeon with loot in hand, they headed for the day. Though they hadn't been gone as long this time, both of them were absolutely drained. Zion felt a pang of worry about the impending battle after this fight. If it turned into a war fought in the waves and water of Tidus, their disadvantage could be deadly.

The loot they acquired was lackluster in Zion's mind. However, he still took a crocodile tooth necklace that granted him a twenty-five percent increase in movement speed in water, hoping it would offset some of the disadvantages he felt on that particular battlefield.

Arriving at the guild around two, Zion planned to rest and work on more battle plans. "Hey Alyx, I think I'll eat and head to my room early tonight," he informed his friend as they approached the service desk. "I'll check my notifications and work on some things for Mavik."

"Sounds good. I'll probably go sell the gear you didn't want and maybe spend some time with my family," Alyx replied, placing the bag on the counter. "They're a little worked up about the coming month as is. Might do some good trying to calm them down."

"If you two don't stop bringing in more monster parts, we might go broke," Eva greeted them, hands on her hips. "I'm glad to hear you both are finally taking a break. You need it, and we do, too."

They both grimaced at the implied accusation of being workaholics. In Eva's defense, they had indeed spent hours every day fighting mobs and bringing back the bodies, which had earned them a sizable amount of money.

She rifled through the mob sack, transferring the contents to her own. "Took down that sharky in record time, boys," she whistled, giving them an impressed smile.

"Had a good teacher," Zion replied, pointing his finger at Alyx. "A fountain of wisdom, that one is."

Alyx gave him a slight shove, not meeting his eyes. "Oh, shove off, you ass. I'm out of here. Get some rest, Zion. I'll see you in the morning."

"See ya," he called in farewell, taking his leave as well. He heard a cough from behind him and turned around to see Eva giving him a wide smirk.

"So, Mr. Herald, you have a surprise waiting for you in your room," she told him, a mischievous glint in her eyes as her eyebrows wiggled up and down.

He looked at her suspiciously. "What on Nifell does that mean?"

"Oh, just that two lovely ladies came looking for you and insisted that they 'surprise you,'" she air quoted the last words. "Their tags checked out, and they knew pretty much everything about you, so I sent them on up. Don't have too much fun now."

Zion barely heard her finish, already sprinting for the stairs. He took them three at a time, not caring that he tripped multiple times in his rush. He burst through the door to the second floor and almost used kinetic movement to reach his room, but he finally let his mind settle.

Coming to a walking pace, he put his hand on the handle, his breath catching slightly in his chest. It had to be Beth and Camila, right? He literally didn’t know anyone else. But what if these were actually people sent by Randan to kill him?

His musings came to an abrupt end as the door opened, and a body flung itself into his arms. He fell to the floor as Beth wrapped herself around him. "Zi," she practically squealed as they collapsed together.

Zion hugged her back fiercely, his eyes burning with the emotion building up behind them. She was really here! Beth hadn’t died or forgotten him. He had trusted Yon to be on the up and up, but part of him had worried that the asshole wouldn't tell his friend where to go. But Beth being here meant his worries were for naught.

As he squeezed Beth, he realized just how close she was when he saw the dagger Camila was shooting him from the doorway.

"Happy to see you too. Mind letting Beth go so you both can get off the floor? Stop acting like lovestruck teenagers," her voice was cool, but Zion thought he detected a smile trying to break free from her stony expression.

He awkwardly let go of Beth, realizing how nice her hug had felt. His face must have turned from azure to tomato red with how embarrassed he was feeling about that internal thought. Beth got off him in a rush, her own face a nice shade of scarlet.

"I'm so happy to see you," she whispered, not meeting his eye and heading back into the room.

Camila snorted and helped him to his feet, giving him her own tense hug. "We really did miss you, you dumb lug." He returned the hug, maybe less enthusiastically than Beth's but equally as strong. Goddess, how he had missed them.