Escape Across the Sea

Tu Ran had imagined many places she might end up after stepping through the Threshold this time.

The forest where she'd met Fatty? A fertile plain with a low danger rating? Or maybe a highland plagued by extreme weather?

She'd considered a thousand possibilities, but what she never expected was the ocean!

A sea that stretched beyond the limits of sight!

A sea even worse than the polluted waters of the Federation.

The entire surface was black, like ink, with waves churning and fine ripples layering endlessly. There was no telling what lurked beneath.

And she had fallen straight from the swirling vortex in midair, crashing into that black surface.

Completely unprepared, Tu Ran couldn't avoid swallowing a mouthful of water as her body sank rapidly.

She struggled to swim back up, breaking the surface with a gasp, her head bobbing above the water as she coughed violently.

After what felt like an eternity, the irritation in her throat finally subsided.

As she slapped the water to keep herself afloat, she craned her neck, scanning her surroundings for any land she might temporarily rest on.

But she found nothing. As far as her eyes could reach, there was only black ocean and black waves, while the sky above wore an eerie gray.

The entire world seemed devoid of life except for her.

Tu Ran wanted to curse. What kind of rotten luck was this?!

Cursing under her breath, she picked a direction and began swimming with all her might.

The seawater was freezing, making her shiver uncontrollably. Her soaked Executive Department uniform was especially heavy, dragging her down and severely slowing her pace.

Tu Ran decided to strip off the uniform. The icy water immediately engulfed her entire body, making it even colder. She clenched her jaw and quickened her strokes.

After every stretch of swimming, she used Blink once, catching her breath, then used Blink again. Repeating this cycle kept her from exhausting her ability too much while still maintaining a decent speed.

All she could do now was pray she wouldn't run into any Aberrants.

The island zone was one of the most challenging environments within the Threshold. Danger lurked everywhere, Aberrants appeared without warning, and the mortality rate for Pioneers who came here was extremely high.

And that was for survivors who hadn't even gone into the water.

Now she was adrift in the middle of an endless sea, with no way to see what was beneath the surface. The danger level had skyrocketed.

After swimming for over an hour, her limbs were already aching, but even so, she still couldn't see land anywhere.

Tu Ran's heart sank. At this rate, there was no telling when she'd reach shore, and her stamina wouldn't last much longer.

"Adamantine Body" was slowly repairing her frozen limbs, sending currents of warmth spreading from her core toward her extremities.

The sky grew darker, as if merging with the sea itself. There was no light in any direction. The only sound was the endless surge of water.

Then, suddenly, Tu Ran held her breath and stopped swimming, floating still on the surface.

She had heard something different.

It came from the depths of the sea—as if some colossal beast slumbering below had begun to wake, turning its body, stirring a small vortex as it drew steadily closer to her.

Tu Ran immediately pulled a pistol from her spatial storage and tucked it behind her waist, then retrieved a curved blade, gripping it tightly in her hand.

She scanned her surroundings with heightened vigilance, watching for the slightest ripple on the surface while straining her ears toward that faint sound, her entire body on high alert.

Her heart rate spiked without her noticing, and warmth rushed back into her limbs.

"Zha... zha... eat... zha... eat..."

Faint sounds bubbled up from beneath the waves, accompanied by tiny pockets of air rising to the surface.

An Aberrant.

Judging by the sound, there was only one.

Tu Ran stared at the dark shape barely visible beneath the water, circling around her.

It wasn't large—about three to four meters long, elongated, and from the shadow it cast, it resembled an ordinary fish.

It was sizing her up too. She could feel its gaze on her.

Silently, Tu Ran brought her finger to her lips and bit down, drawing blood. The crimson liquid welled up, and she smeared it onto the helmet atop her head.

A mushroom sprouted quickly. Tu Ran couldn't see the Dazzling Mushroom itself, but she could see the purple glow it emitted—the only beam of light in this pitch-black world.

As the Dazzling Mushroom grew, the creature beneath the surface grew agitated. Its circling grew faster, and the radius tightened.

Tu Ran quickly began to soothe it. "Stop. Stay right there, don't move."

The shadow beneath the water halted.

"Stick your head out." She wanted to see what it looked like, whether the Federation had any record of this type of Aberrant.

The creature obediently raised its upper body, and a slick, glossy dog's head greeted Tu Ran's eyes.

She couldn't believe it. Was this a mix of fish and dog?

The head before her had the shape of a dog—eyes, nose, ears all nearly identical—except it had no fur, its slippery skin resembling more a sea lion's.

Among all the Aberrants logged in the Federation's records, Tu Ran had never seen anything like this.

She couldn't resist wanting to see what its body below the waterline looked like.

Guarding the hallucinogenic mushroom atop her head, Tu Ran commanded the creature, "Jump out of the water."

The fish-dog hybrid adjusted its position, putting some distance between them, then—like a dolphin—leapt above the surface in a smooth, graceful arc.

Tu Ran saw its full form.

A dog's head, a sea lion's body, fish fins, and near the tail, eight or nine long tentacles extending from the body like an octopus's arms.

It certainly lived up to the Aberrant tradition of being a patchwork of mismatched parts.

The creature splashed back beneath the waves, sending up a massive spray.

It drenched Tu Ran completely. Wiping her face, she commanded, "From now on, I am your master. You will obey me."

The creature stared blankly at her, unmoving.

Those jewel-like black eyes held a dog's simple, harmless innocence. Tu Ran softened her tone.

"Come here. Swim to my side."

The creature obediently glided over, sidling up against her, then turned its head to look at her with wide, expectant eyes, waiting for her next instruction.

Tu Ran swung a leg over and straddled its back, gripping the folds of skin at its neck tightly with both hands.

"Do you know which direction the nearest land is?"

The tentacles at its rear stretched forward all at once, pointing like fingers toward the right.

"Then swim in that direction now. Take me to shore."

The tentacles retracted, and its tail swung to adjust course as it swam toward the right.

True to its kind's ability to thrive in these waters, it moved at an incredible speed. Tu Ran had to cling tightly to the skin at its neck just to keep from falling off.

With a mode of transport secured, Tu Ran finally let out a small sigh of relief. She could catch her breath for a moment.

The wind carried the sea's chill over her, wrapping around her body.

Her lower half remained submerged in the water, while her upper body wore only a thin shirt. The Dazzling Mushroom atop her helmet grew dimmer and dimmer, until it wilted and vanished entirely. The universe returned to its devouring darkness.