Chapter 8: 1.07

Thera 1.07

Mors? Thera clambered out of the little hovel made of rubble. The Grand Library of Brunnholl’s Fleet lay still— a placid place stirred only by the russet debris suspended above the Fledgling Testudine like a wheeling constellation.

There was no Luminant Lophis in the round chamber. No ball of light that limned the broken bookshelves and dispelled the creeping shadows on the walls back into the void. Thera poked a trembling flipper out into the darkness and squeaked.

Mors? Where are you? she asked, but no voice came out.

The fish didn’t return, either. All was dark. All was silent. All Thera felt was the festering fear of what could’ve happened. Was she abandoned? Left alone once again? A few bubbles escaped her shell— and she caught herself.

No, I am not afraid. The darkness was nothing to fear. Not for her.

[Indomitable Soul]. She lit up the shadowed waters as golden ribbons wrapped around her body. Her aura shone brightly, banishing her nightmares. Mors wasn’t here, but she knew it had to be nearby somewhere. So, she searched for it.

Thera swam through the double doorway left ajar, following the familiar hallways as she kept an eye out for the Luminant Lophis. Unfortunately, Mors wasn’t anywhere on this floor, so she went down another level. She moved slowly and cautiously as she descended the flooded stairwell to avoid drawing any unwanted attention to herself.

Just as she reached the bottom of the first set of steps, a tremor washed through the waters. The baby Mystic Turtle paused as she felt the shaking. She went low, tightly gripping the floorboards as the entire ship swayed for a full minute. It eventually died out like the gasping breaths of a fallen beast. When it was over, Thera sighed in relief and continued on, not noticing the corpse of a Pygmy Phlegling floating at the ceiling.

It’s empty, Thera observed as she passed another collapsed room. Phleglings probably asleep.

She knew that those undulating monsters needed rest, just like her, and there were times when Mors let her come down to watch them sleep. This seemed like one of those times. Except, the Phleglings often slept in a pile two floors down from the Grand Library. Thera narrowed her eyes as she saw a group of Phleglings lying still in the water just up ahead. They were inert. Unmoving.

The Fledgling Testudine drew closer, reticent at first, then more daringly when she realized they weren’t reacting to her. She drifted between their bodies. Some of the Phleglings clung close to the ceiling, while others lay on the floor like heavy rocks. A few floated freely, bumping into Thera’s back as she passed them.

She shone her light through the murky water and over the group of Phleglings, revealing the wounds scarring their long bodies. Are they… dead? She poked one of the bodies and—

It jerked up.

Thera backed away in surprise, heart jumping at the sudden motion. It was still alive. It turned to the baby Mystic Turtle, lashing out straight at her. But its teeth couldn’t pierce her aura. It wrapped around her as she bit back with [Power Bite]. Once, twice— then it stopped moving.

After a moment of struggle, Thera came out victorious. A few bubbles escaped her shell from the shock of its sudden attack, but she steeled herself once the Pygmy Phlegling was dead. That was… easy.

She stared down at the monster. At this point, she’d gotten used to fighting Pygmy Phleglings that they weren’t too difficult for her to take on individually. But this had barely been a fight. Its injuries were too severe, Thera killed it in a few moments.

Just what could’ve done this? she wondered as she continued on. So many Phleglings were dead in the water. On her own, Thera could’ve taken out possibly four or five of them, max. There were dozens dead. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to find out what did this.

Eventually, Thera reached another stairway that led further down.To the very bottom of the ship. The last floor. Where most of the Phleglings gathered. She hesitated as she beheld the dark passageway leading down to a place she’d only been to a handful of times. A dangerous place. She gulped apprehensively.

Was this where Mors went? Did it leave the ship without her? And if that was the case— Thera glanced back at the dead Phleglings. Did Mors do this?

She’d seen how powerful the Luminant Lophis was, so that wasn’t out of the question. Yet, there were still questions to be asked. Like, for example, why? Why would Mors do this?

Thera was confused and alone. It honestly would’ve been better if she were less cognizant as she’d just accept things as they were rather than wonder about them as she did now. At least, she might’ve noticed the dark shadow swimming towards her sooner if she hadn’t been so lost in thought.

She stared down the stairwell, still uncertain, debating her choices. Glancing back to where she came from, she considered returning to the Grand Library instead and hoped that Mors would just return soon. But instead of looking down a hallway devoid of life, she saw a hulking creature waiting for her at the other end. It dwarfed the corpses littering the water in size as it loomed Thera across the corridor with an eye-less gaze.

It was a Juvenile Phlegling, and it looked ravenous.

Thera froze in place as soon as she spotted it. There were only two paths for her. She could go down the stairway where potentially dozens more Phleglings awaited her, or she could head down the hallway where a single Juvenile Phlegling waited for her. She mulled over her options as the monster started forward—

And the ships shook once again. The tremor caused the Juvenile Phlegling to pause for a moment, looking around in confusion. During that split-second, Thera remembered Mors’ teachings.

Phleglings sense movements. And as the shaking continued for a moment longer, she made her choice.

[Hunting Dive]! Thera burst forward with an astounding speed, heading straight for the Juvenile Phlegling. Its body was curved, almost coiled, as it glanced at the shaking walls. And just as she reached its tail, the ship… stopped trembling.

The Juvenile Phlegling’s gaze snapped straight to her. A single thought crossed her mind. Oh no.

And the chase ensued. The monster let out a screeching noise, even in the water, charging straight for the Fledgling Testudine. Thera, meanwhile, swam as fast as she could. [Underwater Maneuverability] helped her, but her boost from [Hunting Dive] only lasted until she reached the end of the corridor. As she turned the corner and the Juvenile Phlegling crashed into the wall, she hurriedly considered her options.

What did she do? There was no Mors to save her if she made it back to the Grand Library. She’d just be cornering herself. Her eyes narrowed as she escaped into a room and slammed the door shut. What other options did she have?

The Juvenile Phlegling smashed straight through it, glancing at the baby Mystic Turtle as she squeezed into a hole in the wall. It simply ripped through the wall as well and continued chasing after her.

Running was not an option. It would catch up to her. Thera could… hide. But the Juvenile Phlegling was destroying everything in its path. It knocked aside debris and floating floorboards as it raced after the baby Mystic Turtle.

Fight, Thera told herself. Then all that was left was to fight.

But if she fought here, in its element, surely she’d lose. The only option was to give her the advantage. If Thera could lead it to the open air, she might stand a chance. So, as she reached the stairway, she knew what to do.

Go up. She swam past a dead Pygmy Phlegling and circled up the stairs.

Despite her bulky shape, she was swift and elegant in her movement thanks to her new Skill. Meanwhile, the Juvenile Phlegling, with its long and thin body, bumped into everything. It knocked aside a piece of floating debris and tore its dead kin into shreds.

So close— Thera just had another floor to go. It was a straight line up, so it was not very far. She started up the second set of stairs she needed to cross, only for the Juvenile Phlegling to shoot up straight at her.

Her eyes widened. Somehow, its speed doubled in an instant. It nearly caught her, but she barely dodged out of the way. She was confused about what had happened. So confused. Until the realization settled in.

The Juvenile Phlegling had used a Skill.

Now it barred her path as it circled back towards her. Thera backed up into the empty hallway. She knew these corridors very well, yet it didn’t matter if the Juvenile Phlegling was faster than her. And it was. She now had nowhere to go. Out of options, she simply braced herself as the monster came.

It crashed into her hard. The aura from [Indomitable Soul] barely held up. Bubbles blew out in an effervescent pillar as her vision blurred. Thera bit back with consecutive [Power Bites], ripping into the monster’s skin as it continued to push her. But that wasn’t enough to bring it down. It pinned her against the wall as it loomed over her with its maw.

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I can’t win… It bit down at her as she reached out with [Manifestation of the Heart] at the very last moment. The aura shielding her body lashed out like a tangle of seaweed, clamping the monster’s mouth shut before it could bite her.

The Juvenile Phlegling struggled to open its mouth. It might have been strong, but it didn’t have enough jaw muscles to simply rip the bindings off its face through sheer power. Neither did it have any limbs to pry it off. It made a hissing sound and headbutted Thera.

Without the aura to protect her, her shell’s underbelly cracked. Thera winced in pain but managed not to exhale what little air she had left. She continued gnawing at the Juvenile Phlegling’s body pressing her against the wall until it pulled back slightly. Thera found herself free from its clutches, only to be whipped around by the aura strands clinging onto the monster’s face.

It thrashed about in the water as Thera spun. She had to ground herself, but she couldn’t overpowered the Juvenile Phlegling, so she did the only thing she could do. She pulled herself closer and closer to the monster’s face as it tried to break the aura strands binding its mouth. The moment she reached it, she unleashed the last of her physical strength with rapid [Power Bites].

The Juvenile Phlegling reeled. Its jaw barely opened with rapid, small bites. But it couldn’t actually touch her with its mouth. Thera grinned as she continued to bite it without any retaliation—

Only for the monster to smash her against the wall. She recoiled in pain as her aura bindings flickered. She held onto the Juvenile Phlegling so it couldn’t toss her around, but it simply crashed headfirst into the ceiling. This time, Thera felt the shell on her back cracking— breaking, even. Little bits of the protective skin-like back of the baby Mystic Turtle chipped off.

She gasped in pain, letting out even more bubbles. All she had left was one breath, and she held it with all she could as the Juvenile Phlegling continued smashing her against their surroundings. She held on, biting with what little strength she had as she tried to overpower the monster.

This was a hopeless situation. Thera recognized it. But still, she fought on. A single desire blazed in her heart. I don’t want to die.

It was the same thing that helped her survive the massacre of her brothers and sisters at the beach. A thought that transcended mere instinct, although she was now more than capable of somewhat complex thought. Still, she felt it within her. The words were like fire— a fuel that kept her going.

Perhaps that was why her [Indomitable Soul] hadn’t ended yet. There was potential within her, as Mors said. And it was wild and abundant. It kept her alive right now, however even that had its limits. Once the mana in her core ran out—

The ship shook at the same time as the Juvenile Phlegling crashed into a wall with her.

—she would die. Thera couldn’t allow that. She needed to defeat this monster— survive and get away from this ruined ship.

I need to… temper my soul. It was as Mors said. She had to tame the wild magic that was running amok within her. She closed her eyes as she struck a wall and more of her shell broke off. But she didn’t even feel that. Instead, she sensed the mana in her core as it burned like a wildfire with no purpose.

Purpose. That was what it needed. More than a vague direction. Thera had to give her magic purpose. It was malleable and shapeless— it could become anything she wanted. And as the monster drew closer, her desires became more clear.

She needed something that could protect her and defeat the Juvenile Phlegling. She needed to shape this desire into reality. But what could achieve this? Thera remembered bits of information from the history Mors had her read out.

How the Xanadians fought. No— not just them. How surface dwellers often warred. They did so with weapons and protection. Blades of war, and armors that could withstand the strongest strikes.

Thera formed it in her mind. She imagined it from pure abstraction alone. It began to form, not just in her core, in reality too. But that had its downsides.

The golden aura binding the Juvenile Phlegling’s mouth receded as the monster snapped its head up. Thera found herself flying off as she let go of the monster. Her aura vanished back into her own core as she came to a halt just a dozen feet away from the Juvenile Phlegling.

Again, the ship trembled. The monster glanced about in confusion for a moment, unable to locate Thera. Then its gaze fixed on her when the tremor ended.

As it did, she opened her eyes with a golden glint. The Juvenile Phlegling charged at her as her aura once again spread out over her body. This time, it was not like a flame wisping off. It sharpened. Like a thin glow that layered over her.

This was it. Both armor and a blade. One that wreathed her flippers, turning them into swords. That protected her shell. She stared at the Juvenile Phlegling as it reached her, its maw wide open leading into an endless darkness.

The monster’s jaw clamped down on her— and it reeled back as Thera swiped up with her flippers. The blade cut into the inner mouth of the Juvenile Phlegling, drawing blood where the skin was weak and tender.

Thera didn’t stop there. She pressed the monster during its moment of weakness, cutting deep into its cheeks with her sword-flippers. It let out a screech in the water— one of pain. And she continued her assault with her aura.

Can’t eat me now, can you? Thera made a squeaking sound as she attacked. The Juvenile Phlegling was clearly confused. What was this new Skill she brought out all of a sudden?

Except, this wasn’t a new Skill. This was a refinement of the Skills she currently had. Both [Indomitable Soul] and [Manifestation of the Heart] used to their fullest. She tore into the Juvenile Phlegling where it was most vulnerable, striking the mouth and the face and the places where she’d already hurt it.

It wasn’t a quick turnaround to the battle. She was still slammed into the wall and the ceiling, her protective aura barely holding up. But she had the advantage now. It couldn’t finish her off with one bite, and its attacks hurt her even less than before.

It was a battle of attrition, and Thera had the advantage with her reserves of magic. She continued flaying the monster as they fought in that hallway. Three more tremors hit the ship as they thrashed about there, dealing great damage to each other.

Blood filled the flooded corridor, mostly coming from the Juvenile Phlegling, but Thera certainly suffered some internal injuries as well. They fought with everything they had. Until finally, as the ship shook one final time from something happening beyond, Thera dealt the finishing blow.

 

You have leveled up!

[Fledgling Testudine (Mystic Turtle) - Level 7] -> [Fledgling Testudine (Mystic Turtle) - Level 8]!

 

You have leveled up!

[Fledgling Testudine (Mystic Turtle) - Level 8] -> [Fledgling Testudine (Mystic Turtle) - Level 9]!

Species Skill gained: [Soul Sense]!

Skill gained: [Hardened Shell]!

 

The Juvenile Phlegling collapsed, and Thera was on top of it. She raised her glowing flippers in victory, letting out a final squeak.

I won—

And the final bubbles left her shell. The shadows in the water flooded her vision as everything blurred around her. Her golden aura vanished as she floated up, falling unconscious with a final thought.

I survived...

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