“In the end, you are exactly--what you are. Put on an armor with a million layers, put the highest damage sword in your hand, yet you remain in the end just what you are.”

“And what is that?”

“Only human.”

--Excerpt from: “The Apocrypha: Pre-System.” AC 26.

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The swim back is one of the hardest things I've ever done. Knowing that she is waiting there, all alone, wears on me. There are so many things that can go wrong. Doubts roil in my mind. Maybe I should have listened to Mina to begin with? If we had immediately headed back, then there might have been time to report and for an expeditionary force to arrive and handle it. Maybe there's still time to do that. I jerk in the water, my limbs out of balance as I almost turn around to go get her. I stop myself though, we have a plan. An entirely reasonable, well thought out, full agreed upon plan. With a sarcastic huff I think to myself,

“If you keep telling yourself that you might believe it.”

I manage to repress the doubts zooming in my mind and try to focus on the matter at hand. As we approach the mining site, I gesture for the rest of the squad to continue on. I tell them,

"Go ahead and set up by the exit. Should something go..."

I stutter, finding the words hard to say.

“...go wrong, return to the surface as quick as you can and notify someone. Keep each other safe. In the worst-case scenario, Mina is in charge."

Between the remaining squad members, I can at least trust her to prioritize safety over anything else. I wave them off and they swim away while I lurk nervously near the ceiling. My claws open and close in the water and I force them still, the nervous twitch distracting me from concentrating on the enemy. And what a legion it is. Starfish, octopi, squids, seals, crabs, otters.... anything with a prehensile manipulator that can work with stone.

That's not the only creature present though, there are still clouds of fish loitering about. These seem to be more skill users, and [Water Manipulation] is the primary magic displayed so far. I keep an eye on the Demon Kelp grove. The guardian has disappeared within the swaying vegetation, but I remember its level from the last time we fought. It was level 51 then, before it split into separate pieces and started absorbing more plant life. As I eye the grove, I place that worry aside. I don't think there's enough plant material in there to sustain that kind of strategy if I have to face it again.

Trying to shake off the jitters I think,

"Not that I'll have to fight it anyway. Everything is going to go fine..."

I glance nervously in the distance where Luna is located.

"...just fine."

It's been a while, but I send up a prayer. I don't have any favors left, but it couldn't hurt. Time seems to click onward, and I find myself counting seconds, waiting for the mission to start. I almost jump out of my shell as the comms squeak and I hear Luna's voice,

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"Starting now."

My muscles tense, ready to move. This whole thing should be insanely quick. I can't see her that far away, but I instantly know when she's been detected. Every corrupted in sight roars and turns towards her location. They burst out to swim that way when I hear a faint pop noise. It repeats, getting louder, and a few seconds later I can make her out. She has a cut on her armor and is bleeding into the water. I start to move forward but she continues her teleportation, making three more jumps before arriving on top of the hole. There's a flash of mana and then all I hear is a deafening rumble as tons of stone fall out of her spatial storage. The glow from below fades and then disappears.

She did it!

I pump my claw in the water and prepare to move out. The corrupted haven't caught up to her yet, and we can make our escape. All she has to do is get out of there and...

My train of thought freezes as the skin of the floor splits open. Numerous slits open up one after the other and I can see fleshy tendrils writhing inside. As they turn over I see an odd leaf shaped pattern...

I shout to her over comms,

"MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!"

Luna looks around, but it's too late. The kelp erupts from the floor in all directions, shooting towards the hole and forming a ball around her location. I've already launched myself from the pillar and am swimming to save her when the kelp grove sheds its exterior. Each plant drops a thin layer to the floor as glistening sinews are revealed. Huge writhing strands of muscle flex in the water, each a mockery of what the kelp used to be.

With horror, I realize that the entire floor has been hiding these flesh amalgamations as they continually stretch out into the water. Portion after slit splits open, the writhing meat-plants lifting to the ceiling of the room. The guardian steps out of the original grove, and into his newly formed forest. He waves a hand in a grasping motion and the ball Luna is trapped in detaches from its current position. As it floats over to him, he opens his mouth. Panic and fear mount, and I swim faster trying to reach her before she is consumed. And yet, the mouth closes and for the first time I hear the guardian speak.

"Got one."

***

I halt my forward charge. The battlefield is drastically changed, the relatively empty hall now full of environmental hazards. I need to assess the situation and come up with a plan, and while I hover in the water I try to come up with an idea. The guardian takes the ball in hand and gently places it against a kelp stalk. As I watch, the ball unfurls like a flower, revealing a struggling Luna within. Each of her arms are pierced with a stem. My heart clenches at the sight as she yells aloud,

"Go! Get out of here!"

She would have used her comms if she could, the stalks impaling her might be interfering. Just in case she can still receive, I send her a message,

"Hold on! I'm not leaving you!"

She manages another, "Go!"

Before the corrupted guardian waves a hand and the impaling stalks twist. My stomach clenches at the sight of the damage being done and her voice cuts off. The guardian speaks once more, just a simple, "That's better," before turning and looking around the hall. I notice the rest of the corrupted are no longer frenzied, and as they calm down, they leisurely reform into lines and begin digging once more. The guardian raises his voice and calls out,

"Let's have a little chat, shall we?"

I maintain my position, trying to figure out a plan. Seconds pass and the guardian waves a hand. Fleshy tendrils rise from the ground, forming a grotesque chair that he sits upon. As I watch, the guardian’s thin plant matter sloughs off, revealing wet glistening cords. The cords writhe, before tightening into corded muscle. As the transformation completes, he comes to resemble a giant skinless human. I could almost believe it as well, if not for the burning black fire where his eyes should be. He speaks once more, and I can almost feel the dull bass of his voice reverberating the water.

"If you don't want to talk, we can skip to the.... entertainment."

A nonchalant flip of his hand and the stalks impaling Luna twist again. I hear a dull groan in the water and Luna is slumped over, wracked with pain. I've been thinking furiously this whole time. If I speak, he might be able to find my position from vibrations in the water. Even if I try to throw my voice from a distance, he could detect the mana and...

Wait.

I use [Eyes of Intent] to speak. I pull it up to check and yeah... costs for it are variable. I think back, and realize I've never used mana for it before. I prepare myself, ready to move just in case and activate the skill, aiming the activation fifty feet away from me. I say a simple,

"What do you want?"

As the last of my words reverberate the distant water, the kelp tries to repeat its earlier feat. Tendrils slam together, forming a ball. I watch the guardian as his face forms a slight frown. That quickly disappears however, his lips sliding upwards into a maniacal grin.

"Oh fantastic! This will be funner than I thought!"

I aim on the opposite side from where the ball floats in the water and speak once more,

"How about I propose a trade?"

The tendrils react once more, and the guardian waves a hand nonchalantly. Both prisons unwind and return to bloody tendrils, floating in the water. The giant man brushes some nonexistent dust off his shoulder and crosses one leg over another. He's still wearing that sickening grin as he says,

"Well, that doesn't look like it will work! But tell me... CRAB... what were you thinking of trading?"

I take a deep breath of water and let it go. I silently ask Luna to forgive me as I say,

"Me for her. Let her go and I’ll turn myself in."