‘Direk, get over here. This is your kill. I told you enough times, just treat this like a video game. Look, they’re not actually people, when they die, they melt into water. Nothing special, they even repeat lines of dialogue. This is a joke. I thought we were in serious danger but even that bitch Carissa could handle this. Then again, she probably offered that young guy her body to protect her. Stupid cow. I said get over here! He’s waking up after we knocked him out and about to spout his dialogue scene again.’ said Bonnie.

After entering through the Ocean Gateway Water Portal, they had ended up in a small room, the lights glowing dimmed red and the ceilings and walls were made of solid steel with pipes and cables running along them.

There had been a warning klaxon but she had mostly ignored it due to the surprise her group faced when they had first arrived. The other three in the group had held weapons and talked about it being a puzzle room or a locked room scenario. Not that their words made much sense for her, it turned out that they did all come from different worlds after all even if they remained human.

Then the metal door had opened up and a naval rating had shouted at them about hostile boarders and rushed in holding an extendable baton. Bonnie hadn’t hesitated then when the spike ball she was holding in her hand extended and skewered the man right in his face.

That had only been when the navel sailor had repeated himself slowly and then literally melted before her eyes and everyone on her team received a notification and a minor individual reward from the Ocean Gateway System in the form of a permanent physical or mental boost, she had let out her scream.

She had directly experienced a release of emotion and joy when her eyes flickered over the message and one of the blessed Ocean Gods had congratulated on her first kill and given her a physical boost of pleasure which had tickled her brain and made her smile.

After opening her own backpack mass storage bag and taking a few swigs of the tincture mixture which Sherry had so kindly given her a decently large supply of she popped the lid back on and put it into her bag.

Sherry hadn’t told her or Direk much when they had been travelling down towards the Deep Temple beyond telling them to rest and calm themselves. There had been a vague warning about drinking too much of the mixture and possible side effects but Bonnie had assured her that she was more than capable of taking care of herself. Sherry had responded with a sad smile but hadn’t said anything more until they had arrived and entered through a gateway.

After Bonnie had reassured her little group that the naval sailor turning into a puddle of water was perfectly normal and they all ran through the quest given by the Ocean Gateway System and adding a few of their personal own messages from various deities and rechecking their weapons and equipment things had settled down.

It turned out that they had been placed on one of the former enemies of the Drowned Gods. As this world was being slowly being converted into a suitable hosting ground there had been those who had chosen to fight back.

They had thought themselves hidden inside their submarines and technology and unleashed a series of nuclear missiles on their own cities, their own populations when the water levels had increased and true believers began to rule and dismantle the old order.

The rest of her group had followed her after they shortly exited the basic empty submarine storage room immediately met several more naval ratings who turned out to be far weaker than your average human. All they did was shout about hostile boarders and wave their silly extendable batons before they were quickly killed by Blake, Ciara or Bonnie and turned into puddles of water on the deck of the submarine.

The blessings from the Ocean Gods made killing the naval sailors worth it. Bonnie knew that it gave her physical pleasure to win and destroy the technology which had been the downfall of the Drowned World. They were evil and deserved it after all for using such hideous weapons of power on their own people.

As the leader of their small group, Bonnie realised that the larger reward went to the individual group member who actually made the kill. Now it was Direk’s turn.

‘Direk, you’re holding us all up. Everyone here has killed one of these nameless NPCs except for you. All you have to do is take your weapon and hit it on the head. It’s not like blood comes out. You promised to listen to me when I took care of you on the trip down with Sherry to the Deep Temple. I found you when the waters drained and the blessed Drowned Gods told us the story and fate of this world, I even joined with you first before we found others. Get over here and kill this one. Quickly.’ said Bonnie.

She had retracted both of the spiked balls which covered her hands and was watching in the narrow area filled with various machinery and grilled covered flashing red lights. The sign on the room read communication centre, she was sure that it wasn’t English but her brain translated it as such.

They had already smashed every single piece of electronical equipment they could find and even ripped out the necessary wires avoiding small amounts of electrical sparks which flared.

She nodded her head towards the other three in her group. Darren was reliable she knew, heavy handed and slow to react but he followed her instructions well enough. A broad, muscular man with dark shaggy black hair and a lack of expression on his face.

Bonnie hadn’t tried him out in other areas but once they had a little privacy out of this testing scenario, she’d see how well he listened to her instructions then. The strong, silent type had always been her preference as long as they listened.

Bonnie ran a grey suit covered hand through her short-blonde hair as she looked down at her own t-shirt. The material had become sopping wet when she’d been hands on killing a submarine sailor who had melted into water before becoming a small puddle on the flooring. Bonnie had decided to leave it on to better show her figure.

‘Darren, keep holding it down. Ciara, pin the arms and legs of that NPC down. Blake, keep an eye out for any more. We’ve yet to run into any with firearms but given that we’re on an operational nuclear submarine there’s going to be a mini-boss fight and then a boss fight. As long as we keep moving and smashing any technology which could be used against the Drowned Gods, we’re running sweet and golden. Gods, this isn’t even a challenge anymore.’ said Bonnie as her eyes lingered on Darren’s muscular arms. He was certainly her type indeed.

Blake and Ciara were more talkative but still near complete strangers. The only thing that all of them had in common was that they loved going on the ocean or had some incident related to it. Blake was a shorter man with long greying hair and lean body, not enough muscle on him for her taste but neither was he overly fat. Bonnie considered him as being rangy and likely a homeless person who was living on the beach front who got lucky.

When he talked it came out slightly garbled so she preferred to give directions and get on with it. Ciara was one to watch out for, her skin was deeply and she spun around several knives made of coral as though she had trained with them. Her figure was a little fatter than Bonnie’s own body but not by much.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

She preferred to smile most of the time except when she was killing one of the NPCs, then she would shed a few tears and return to her usual smile. An odd one but then everyone here had one thing in common beyond deep waters. They were all mad and it didn’t matter.

Beauty.

I will become a true ocean-going beauty.

Mermaid goddess bless this one.

‘More Bonnie. We need to find more. More, more for the divine taste. Not a challenge. Not a challenge. Boring. I’m bored.’ said Ciara.

‘Bonnie, I’m done disabling any communication or operational equipment inside this room. I still don’t get it. How are we meant to take out nuclear missiles? I’m grateful for everything you’ve done but these...they feel like people you know? I’ve never killed anyone before. Hells below, I’ve never even been in a fight before we ended up here. I know the Ocean Gods have given us a sacred duty but…’ started Direk before Bonnie cut him off.

‘Alright, alright, I’ve got it. I know exactly what your problem is. You can kill directly, can you? That man...what was his name...the odd one...good at cooking? Not the old man or the Little Miss Cheerful. Chas. The Priest. He told you remember? Priests can’t kill directly with weapons. Tell you what, hand over your weapon to me and summon water in your hands. He’ll die either way but we’ll help you out just this one won’t we boys and girls?’ said Bonnie.

The naval sailor wore a crisp white shirt tucked inside a dark black boiler suit with matching heavy laced up boots and gloves. Presently the man was unconscious and lying on the metal deck of the submarine in the middle of what was left of the communications room.

This one had been interesting as she he fought back harder and had shouted out about sending a signal to the rest of the fleet that the submarine had been infiltrated by hostile Deep-Water Cultists before Darren had laid him low with a single tackle and a punch to the face.

‘Pray. All we need to do is pray to the Blessed Drowned Ones and they reward us for our work. Death to the evils of technology and welcome to the blessings of the waters from the skies. They love is, they all love us. Grumera. Your beauty outshines all, your voice is truly divine. Give Direk your power in your name to give the gift of water to a thirsty soul. Let it drink deep and be returned to you.’ said Bonnie as tears of joy began to fall down her face.

A message from the Ocean Gateway System appeared in the air in front of her eyes, her eyelids flickering as she absorbed the contents.

[Player-Candidate Designate: Bonnie. You have received a message from an identified Drowned God. The Ocean God Grumera hears your prayer and blesses your group Tidal Reach with the joy that true believers experience. Allow the construct to drink and be returned to the fold of the one who built him. The Ocean Gods appreciate your offerings.]

Direk had approached the unconscious naval sailor. Despite having seen several of them wildly swing their extendable batons towards the members of his named group Tidal Dawn, he had found it harder to shake off the feelings of anxiety when they turned into puddles of water.

From what he had heard Blake and Bonnie considered this as some kind of construct called a video game, Blake didn’t care either way and Ciara scared him enough that he didn’t even want to talk to her directly.

He approached the figure crouching down and cupping both of his hands together and trying to avoid any skin-to-skin contact held his hands under the face of the unconsciousness he sailor.

Clear blue water began to form, almost transparent and for a moment Direk was sure that he had seen a grinning set of gorgeous shining white teeth before he vanished and he could see his palms as the water filled and began to overflow spilling onto the metal decking of the submarine communication room.

‘...Ciara...could you uh…. can you lift the head up? Or Darren, could you turn him around? It’s hard to pour the water in the mouth and I don’t have the trick of making a bubble of floating water quite yet.’ said Direk.

He hadn’t wanted this, all he had wanted was to return back to his family, to before when his shipping container boat hadn’t had the accident and he was trapped inside his cabin as water flooded in. Still, the Ocean God Dreris has promised him a chance to return home. To return safely with the power to keep his family safe and healthy. And all he had to do in return was follow orders and Bonnie.

He knew that she had become broken, either she talked aloud to herself or through her actions. Dreris hadn’t even minded that he wasn’t a firm worshipper and believed in his own unknown, unnamed god which lived in the skies back his home planet. Dreris had wanted more of a partner and a worker than a true believer.

After the submarine naval sailor had been flipped onto his back like a turtle, the sudden jolt awoke him just before he began to spout his same tired lines once again Direk took the initiative to hold his cupped hands directly over the raised head and forced open mouth held by Ciara.

The near transparent water continued to flow from his cupped hands as Direk opened his hands and placed them on the mouth and nose of the sailor holding them down tightly as he experienced his chest tighten.

A message came directly from the Ocean God Dreris through the Ocean Gateway System. He had approached Direk in the dead of night when he had been lying in the room provided for him on the Driftwood Enclave after Sherry had given him another massage and left a bottle of tincture on his floor.

He had felt guilty about her touching his skin but she had told him that he needed to be calm for the trials ahead. Thankful that she hadn’t pushed him further physically and left him alone the Ocean God had entered his thoughts and provided him with the ability to generate a massive amount of water that could be channelled through his hands. The creation of it was slow but steady and he’d never tested the limits of how much could be generated.

As the transparent waters continued to flow directly from his palms into the struggling figure of the submarine sailor being held down by his fellow group members, Darren and Ciara Direk allowed himself to read the communication with the Ocean God.

He allowed himself to focus on it and not the slow death of the person Bonnie had called non-playable characters. It was likely another sign of her growing madness but he no longer cared and in truth was afraid of her mood swings.

[Player-Candidate Designate: Direk.

-An identified Ocean God has sent you a message.

The work you do is for the right to return to your family, your wife and children as a man of power, of ability and strength to protect them. This is the work of one who would stand with me, first as a demi-god and then as one of us to protect all Mariners of the Oceans. Believe in yourself Direk as I believe in you.]

As salty tears fell down, Direk squeezed his eyes shut, a pleasure centre deep inside his brain began to flare and a release of endorphins flowed into his body. Another message came through the Ocean Gateway System although he wasn’t familiar with this god.

[Player-Candidate Designate: Dickhead Direk.

-An unidentified Ocean God has sent you a message.

Hey, idiot. When you’re done with your guilt trip of killing my constructs, finish your main mission, disable the nuclear missile control firing mechanisms after killing the Captain and his Lieutenants and get the dried pits of hells out of my nuclear submarine scenario. I’ve got better things to do than watch you chosen and your group of psychopaths mess up my finely tuned collector’s item. And to you Ocean God of Mariners, stay out of my levels unless you want your latest project to lose an arm or a leg. Permanently. Then again, the bunch of you are freaks so maybe you’ll like that. Bad enough I have to tolerate the one of beauty. This is my place of power not yours.]