He kicked back against the water, surging forward with ease and comfort.

“This just feels right. I don’t think I will ever leave.” He could feel himself falling into a trance as he glided across the surface.

“Whatever man. Just make sure the platform keeps up. I almost got knocked off when It jerked around earlier.” She was less than happy with the situation she found herself in.

“I already said I am sorry about that. All you need to do is relax while we travel.”

The water had gotten deeper as they made their way to the center of the lake in search of the next body of land.

“Hey…. I am glad you didn’t freak out when you saw the bird people.” He almost missed a beat in his Qi manipulation as she spoke.

“I… yeah I forgot I told you about that. I guess they were different enough from the attackers on that day for me to just ignore it. I try not to think about the details a lot. There aren’t many fond memories of that moment in my life.”

His mood soured slightly at the thought.

The eagle-like humanoids were a far cry from the infant genocidal crow humanoids during the disaster. Regardless of what he said, the idea had been present as he ran away from their onslaught.

Maybe he just tried to focus on saving people now that he was fully equipped or maybe he just tried his best to act like it never happened but keeping his mind busy with Qi manipulation and always moving forward had done wonders for his trauma.

He hadn’t felt completely helpless in the same way he once did ever since he started to grow his Qi and advance realms.

It was undeniable that the form of energy that coursed through his body changed him in ways he could only have hoped for in his youth.

He felt silly even thinking about it, but when he thought of a mage, he was the furthest thing from it as he could imagine.

The people he looked up to all embodied the intellectual and wizen magekings that used their minds and mana to shape the world and fight.

They weren’t the physically strong and durable members of his lineage that he had attempted to distance himself from.

His Qi flexed in the back of his concentration, carrying his salamander friend high above the water that she so feared.

His control of the elements that he incorporated within his understanding of the wetland’s dao was much more closely related to the magic he heard from the mages that lecture closest to his pools.

His nearly impenetrable skin and taut muscles belonged to ancestors who stood on the frontlines while the mages threw spells from behind.

The body he forged through pain and effort now and the Qi core that sat in his chest felt close to the best of both worlds.

The path he found himself treading was his very own. A mixture of the worlds he desired and rejected.

‘Maybe that is for the best. Maybe it’s just right.’

He broke through the clouds that had infused his thoughts.

The warm water parted around him.

In the distance, the first signs of solid ground broke through the fog that hung low over the surface.

“I think I see our destination just up ahead.” He startled Cinera back to attention.

“Oh yeah. Thank the goddesses. That would have sucked if it were just one massive lake that went on forever. I’m just surprised we haven't…oh shit. To the left!” She yelled as she caught sight of something he failed to notice.

His heightened senses caught the very end of a reptilian tail slipping into the murky water.

“It’s just one snake. We shouldn’t have to worry too much.” He turned his attention back to the rapidly approaching bank.

“No! You need to-” Her speech cut short as he was yanked completely underwater.

The pressure from a massive set of jaws pulled him deeper and deeper.

He struggled to keep Cinera high and dry while he dealt with the monster attached to his leg.

It suddenly began to thrash side to side, throwing him around with ease.

The teeth failed to break through his tough skin but worked wonders at keeping him firmly secured in between its jaws.

He could feel his control of the Qi holding his friend up begin to decay as he was dragged farther away.

He reached for the spear on his wrist and thrust it toward the top of the beast's head.

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The water offered little resistance as he slammed it as hard as he could.

Without the aid of the majority of his Qi, the blow did little more than inflame the beast's anger.

It thrashed harder and repeatedly tried to crush him between his jaws.

He pulled his arm back again and threw another jab. It glanced off the creature’s hard skull but was ignored as the beast rampaged to end its meal.

He went to pry the jaws open with his enhanced strength but was grabbed by another set of teeth.

‘More than one?!’

He couldn’t see through the murky depth he found himself in but he feared the worst.

If he stopped concentrating for a second on the weakening connection with Cinera, she would drop, but he would have a chance to fight back with his limited range of motion.

He fought with himself on the best course he could take before, yet another set of jaws came clamping down on his side.

The stalemate between all of the creatures ended as Egosum attempted to spear the one on his side.

It set them all off in a frenzy. They thrashed their heads and tried to roll in the water to rip the flesh from his body.

His tough skin and taut muscles refused to give way, but the damage began to pile up as the crushing force pinched nerves and cut off blood flow.

It was beginning to get rough.

If he kept holding onto the Qi to keep her safe, he would be sacrificing his own life and then she would be next.

He dropped control of the platform and focused on the beasts around him.

He lashed out at the beast gnawing at his arm and empowered himself with as much Qi as he could muster.

The blow sank it all the way to his hand but failed to kill the beast outright. Despite the grievous injury, it thrashed harder than the other two combined as the pain shocked its senses.

He felt some cracking in his shoulder followed by a wince of pain and he knew he needed to end it then and there.

He withdrew the spear once more and slammed it down just behind the last wound.

The force easily broke through bone but didn’t finish it off. Egosum let go before pounding the spear deeper into the wound.

On the last slam, the pressure lessened and he stole the weapon back from the leaking orifice.

The jaws began to loosen and he managed to push it off him entirely.

With his arms free, he moved onto the monster with its mouth around his midsection. The force it clamped down with was by far the worst of the three. In fear of impaling himself, he sheathed his weapon and grabbed its top jaw.

He began to wrench it upwards with all of his Qi enhanced might.

The toothy upper jaw slowly came off his chest and then it began to thrash around in his grip.

Before he could land the finishing blow on the beast, it managed to shake him off and flee into the muddy water.

The last monster attached to his foot did everything it could to try and break him apart to avail.

Egosum could feel his internal clock ticking as he thought about the platform collapsing without his active control.

The water undoubtedly nurtured his own Qi but the stability of his creation was certainly lacking.

He grasped the spear once more and reached for the beast's head. Using his enhanced touch, he found what felt like the eye socket and jammed his weapon deep inside, refusing to give it the chance to flee.

The fewer of the beasts in the water, the better.

It lifelessly fell off his leg and began to sink.

He kicked hard against the water as he felt the blood rush back in.

As he broke the surface, he took a small breath and looked back to where he left Cinera.

The platform had deteriorated to a stump. He raced over to its base and looked for any signs of struggling to no avail.

His heart began to pound as more and more time passed. He dived deep down into the pond and reached around with his Qi for any signs.

With no luck, he kicked back to the surface and climbed the stump before growing it high into the sky.

With a bird's eye view of the area, he scanned the far bank in hopes of spotting her drenched figure loitering around.

His heart nearly leapt from his chest when he caught a glimpse of the prone figure of what he thought was his friend surrounded by some strange sort of snake. Her red skin had lost become much duller than before and her clothes were soaked through.

He needed to reach her fast.

He tensed his legs as he built up the power to make it to her in one leap.

As his legs pushed him off, the structure collapsed under the force, sending him flying into the water with more speed than he had ever moved.

Water shot into the sky as he barreled toward the bottom, smashing into the mud and sending a small tidal wave all around.

The disturbance woke up every predator nearby as he forced his head out of the newly formed crater.

The water rushed back in to fill the void he caused.

He popped back up to the surface and tried to reorient himself.

His eyes eventually came to rest in the direction he last saw the salamander but struggled to pick he out from the vegetation without the additional height.

He kicked furiously to propel himself toward her last known location when he was pulled back under.

He prepared himself to slaughter the new beast when he felt his skin give way to the teeth and his bones crunch under the force. He held his mouth tight as the pain racked his mind.

‘What fucking super predator is nipping at me now?’

The grip on his foot was solid as could be and the teeth only dug deeper inside.

He grit his teeth as blood began to leak into the water.

He whipped both weapons from their holsters and empowered himself to the highest degree he could.

The hook raked across the predator's skin, opening a long gash before finding purchase on its scaly lip.

The spear searched for the softest point with testing jabs.

It began to throw him around in the water, opening the wounds more and disorienting him further.

‘I need to end this fast.’

He felt for the lake bottom and surged the mud upward to meet the beast.

The thrashing quickly ended as he encased the massive creature in the earth.

It struggled for freedom, nearly breaking his hardened restraints multiple times before Egosum reinforced them to the limit.

A mound of mud rose out of the surface in a bid to still the beast and to give him a better chance at escaping before the worst could happen.

He watched as the beast showed itself as the silty water ran off of them both.

“A fucking fish with arms?”