Faust finally broke through the surface of the ocean.
Water streamed down his face as he took a look at his surroundings.
The first thing that caught his attention was the sky.
Instead of the familiar blue, the sky above him was covered in a mixture of purple and orange. The two colors blended across the horizon, creating a strange sight unlike anything he had seen on Earth.
There wasn't a single cloud in sight.
The sun was also visible, although its light appeared much weaker than he expected. Despite the clear sky, the sunlight seemed to be passing through some kind of atmospheric layer that reduced its intensity.
Faust looked up for a moment before lowering his gaze toward the ocean.
Even the water was different.
Its surface reflected the unusual colors of the sky, giving the entire ocean a purplish-red appearance. When he looked down, his own reflection carried the same strange tint.
"Hmm, interesting."
Faust examined the water around him.
'The atmosphere must be affecting how light passes through and reflects from the water.'
The unusual color suggested that the atmosphere had a different composition from Earth's, or that something within it was altering the wavelengths of visible light reaching the surface.
'The ultraviolet radiation might also be different. I'll have to examine the atmosphere properly when I get the chance.'
Unfortunately, he had no equipment available to confirm his suspicions.
Faust stopped examining the water and looked toward the horizon.
There was only ocean.
He turned around, checking every direction, but the result remained the same. The purplish-red water stretched as far as his eyes could see, without a single island or piece of land in sight.
"Looks like I'll have to travel quite a distance to find land."
Faust sighed.
He had no idea how large this ocean was, nor did he know which direction would lead him toward the nearest continent.
Swimming aimlessly would only waste his time.
"Agony, make me a boat."
The black substance covering his body immediately began to move.
A large portion separated from him and spread across the water, expanding into a flat surface before its edges rose to form the sides of a small boat.
Within moments, Faust had a vessel large enough to sit in comfortably.
He climbed aboard and settled himself near the center.
The boat rocked slightly beneath his weight before Agony adjusted its shape to keep it stable.
"Good. Now, let's go."
Part of Agony extended beneath the water and began pushing the boat forward.
With no particular destination in mind, Faust chose a direction and allowed Agony to carry him across the ocean.
The boat gradually picked up speed, leaving a trail of ripples behind it.
Having taken care of transportation, Faust finally turned his attention toward the object he had recovered from the giant octopus.
The blue crystal.
He brought the sphere in front of him and examined it under the unusual sunlight.
Even outside the deep ocean, the crystal continued producing its own light.
Its surface was perfectly smooth, and the faint blue glow within it seemed to pulse at regular intervals.
Faust rotated the crystal in his hands.
It was approximately the size of a soccer ball, yet its weight was surprisingly manageable.
"Now, let's see what you are."
He placed the crystal on the floor of the boat.
A small tendril extended from Agony's surface and slowly approached it.
Faust watched carefully as the tendril made contact with the crystal.
Nothing happened.
There was no visible reaction, and the crystal's light continued pulsing at the same rate.
"Try applying some pressure."
Agony followed his instruction.
The tendril pressed against the sphere, gradually increasing its strength.
However, the crystal remained unchanged.
Faust observed the point of contact for several seconds.
There was no sign of energy being absorbed or released.
"Interesting."
He instructed Agony to withdraw and picked up the crystal again.
This time, Faust tapped its surface with his finger.
A faint humming sound came from within.
He tapped it again, slightly harder.
The same sound followed, accompanied by a weak vibration that traveled through his fingers.
"Hmm?"
Faust brought the crystal closer to his face.
Upon examining its interior, he noticed something he hadn't seen underwater.
There were tiny patterns beneath its surface.
At first, they resembled fine cracks running through the material. However, after looking more carefully, Faust realized they formed complicated structures that extended toward the center of the sphere.
Some appeared to overlap, while others curved around each other.
He slowly rotated the crystal, attempting to follow their arrangement.
'Are those natural formations?'
The patterns were too complicated for him to determine their purpose through observation alone.
He considered cutting the crystal open, but quickly dismissed the idea.
Without knowing how stable the material was, damaging it could destroy whatever made it valuable.
Faust tapped the surface one more time.
The familiar humming sound returned.
'Could this be what supplied the octopus with energy?'
He recalled the creature's strange abilities.
Its tentacles had regenerated almost immediately after being severed. Even the separated pieces of flesh had transformed into independent organisms.
Such rapid growth should have required enormous amounts of energy and material.
Yet the octopus had continued regenerating without any noticeable difficulty.
The moment Faust removed the eye containing this crystal, however, the regeneration stopped.
Even the eel-like creatures had died.
'The connection is obvious, but that doesn't explain how it works.'
There was also another question.
'Did the crystal form naturally inside the octopus, or did the creature obtain it from somewhere else?'
If it was a biological organ produced through mutation, then similar creatures might possess the same structure.
But if the octopus had somehow consumed the crystal and incorporated it into its body, the situation would be completely different.
That would mean the crystal existed independently of the creature.
And if one such crystal existed, there could be more.
Faust glanced at the object in his hands.
"I wonder which one it is."
He continued examining the sphere for some time, testing its response to pressure and observing the movement of light within it.
However, none of his experiments produced any meaningful results.
The crystal remained unchanged.
Eventually, Faust stopped.
"Well, there's only so much I can do without proper equipment."
He would need instruments capable of measuring its internal structure, energy output, and reaction to different conditions.
Until then, continuing the same experiments would accomplish little.
Faust carefully put the crystal away.
After making sure it was secure, he leaned back against the side of the boat and looked toward the horizon.
The ocean remained as empty as before.
Gentle waves moved across its purplish-red surface, while the strange sky stretched endlessly above him.
Aside from the sound of water passing along the boat, there was almost nothing to hear.
Faust sat quietly for a while.
With no immediate danger and nothing else requiring his attention, his thoughts eventually returned to Agony.
There was something he had wanted to ask ever since their encounter.
"Agony."
A small portion of the black substance rose beside him.
Faust looked at it.
"Were you born from that egg?"
Agony remained still for a moment.
Then, a series of screeches came from within its body.
"Yes and no. Yes, I am a part of it. But no, I was not born from that egg."
Faust frowned slightly.
"Then where did you come from?"
Agony's surface moved slowly as it responded.
"I do not know. My only memory is that I was born to support you."
Faust fell silent.
'Born to support me?'
That was a rather strange answer.
He had already noticed that Agony possessed unusual intelligence and abilities, but its origins remained a mystery.
If it wasn't born from the egg, then how had it become connected to it?
And why did it exist specifically to support him?
Faust thought about the egg for a moment.
"Hmm, if you're a part of it, that means the egg survived, and whatever was inside has already gotten out."
He looked at Agony again.
"Do you know what that might be?"
Agony released another low screech.
"No, but she left a message."
Faust immediately noticed something unusual about the response.
"She?"
His eyebrows rose slightly.
"So it's a female?"
He had never expected to learn something like that from Agony.
More importantly, it suggested that whatever had emerged from the egg possessed enough intelligence to communicate.
"Interesting. What message did she leave?"