A land-dweller cannot survive forever underwater, especially in the crushing depths of the deep sea. Ficky's warnings had been right; his instincts had sensed the sea serpent's true target from the start.
Now, Ficky and Aya were once again face-to-face with a never-ending cycle of peril. Lost in the abyss, both had succumbed to the heavy "song of the sea," drifting into a forced slumber as morning approached noon.
***
Aya blinked her eyes open, finding herself in a place that felt hauntingly familiar: her own home. Her gaze was fixed on a woman wearing a necklace with a spiral-shaped stone.
Everything around her was draped in shadow, as if she were looking through only one eye. Aya remained still, confused by her surroundings. She could only smile as the woman reached out to touch her face and pull her into an embrace.
The woman's face was a blur, yet her hug felt incredibly warm and soothing. Aya felt safe—so safe that she wished the woman would never let go.
But the woman eventually pulled away, presenting a massive, thick book to Aya. Aya stared at it, speechless and bewildered.
"This book is a keepsake," the woman whispered. "Some call it a 'Hidden Treasure.' But a treasure is simply the thing you value most."
Aya remained silent, mesmerized by the book in her hands. Her mouth hung open as the cover began to glow with a brilliant orange light. The radiance was blinding.
The woman's voice was the softest thing Aya had ever heard. Every time the woman spoke, Aya felt a wave of happiness, wishing she could stay by her side forever.
The book's pages began to flip on their own, stopping exactly at the center. There, a drawing appeared—one so vivid it looked real. It was an amorphous shape that pulsed and rotated clockwise. Aya watched in awe.
"This is our family's symbol, Aya." The woman pointed to the center of the illustration. It was a striking image: nine tails interconnected to form a perfect circle.
The woman wearing the spiral necklace stroked Aya's head with a tenderness that filled her heart.
Suddenly, a man with a light beard appeared before them. The woman spoke to him, but Aya couldn't hear a word of their conversation. She remained a silent observer.
Wait, what am I doing here? Where am I? Aya wondered.
She looked around and noticed her hands; they were tiny—much smaller than she remembered.
"Darling, won't our child look like this?"
"At least we tried."
Their voices suddenly became crystal clear. Aya blinked and rubbed her face in frustration, realizing that this wasn't just another illusion or a trap. It was a memory.
The man offered Aya a faint smile, kissed both her and the woman on the cheek, and then vanished. He was gone as quickly as he had appeared, leaving Aya alone with the woman once more.
Aya reached out for her, but her gaze was pulled back to the book and that strange, hypnotic image: the Nine-Tailed Fox.
A gust of wind rushed through an open window. As Aya turned toward the breeze, the woman called out to her one last time.
"Remember, Aya... you are human. And because of that—"
The sentence was cut short by a sharp, magical chime ringing in Aya's head. Before the woman—who she now knew was her mother—could finish her thought, Aya was jolted awake in the dark depths of the ocean.
Ah! Mother?!
Aya was still underwater, floating near a coral reef in a state of panic. Her eyes snapped open, and she realized the glasses Dr. Gano had given her had fallen off.
She scrambled to inhale a pocket of air trapped beneath a rock, grabbed her glasses, and began swimming upward with everything she had.
Ficky!
The sea serpent was nowhere to be seen, but the ocean currents felt restless. Aya knew the creature was still close, but her priority was Ficky. He was in grave danger.
Don't you dare die, Ficky! I still need you! We haven't even made it home yet, and you're going to check out after less than a week? Don't be ridiculous! Wake up!
Aya screamed in her mind, pinching Ficky's face with all her strength as she reached him. She was desperate; she knew she wasn't strong enough to drag his heavy body to the surface alone.
The sound of the deep sea roared again. The serpent was back. Aya quickly maneuvered to draw its attention away from Ficky. Even though outrunning a sea serpent was impossible, she pushed herself to the limit.
AIR! I NEED AIR!
Before she knew it, she had breached the surface. She was hyperventilating, her chest tightening painfully.
I... I have to save Ficky. Whatever it takes!
Pressed for time, she took a steadying breath and dove back down just as the serpent prepared to strike again.
In the murky depths, her vision blurred and her focus wavered. She finally reached Ficky, who was sinking deeper into the darkness. The sea serpent surged forward, intentionally ramming into them and sending them tumbling through the water.
Ficky! Wake up!
It seemed hopeless. But as she tried to pull his massive weight upward, she felt a sudden, firm grip on her hand.
Aya turned in shock, hoping Ficky had regained consciousness.
"Hold on to me."
Ficky's voice resonated directly in her mind. Aya froze as Ficky's right eye snapped open. His golden iris glowed with a brilliant light, acting as a beacon in the dark, sunless water.
In an instant, they were at the surface. They scrambled out of the water and onto the dry path, escaping the reach of the sea serpent.
"Ficky! Are you okay?!"
Ficky coughed violently, heaving seawater from his lungs. He looked miserable as he collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air.
"Ficky!" Aya cried out, reaching for him.
"Don't... stay back," Ficky wheezed, waving her hand away. "Make sure you're far enough from the sea."
"Okay."
Aya looked back. The sea was silent and still. There was no one else in sight—only the two of them, battered and breathless on the shore.
"That sea serpent is definitely going to come after you again," Ficky muttered, wiping the salt from his face.
Drenched to the bone, both Aya and Ficky felt as though they were still trapped in the suffocating weight of the deep sea. The path was deserted; the last person they had seen was that traveling merchant who had long since vanished.
"I don't understand what he's actually after," Aya said. She took a step back and inhaled deeply, her chest still aching from the intense underwater pressure that had nearly crushed her internal organs.
"What else could it be but your tails? Why do you think everyone has been hunting you lately? It's for that."
"My tails don't just appear on command. And even if they did, would he really just cut them off? Are they even that valuable? I've never seen them as some kind of treasure."
Aya furrowed her brow as a fragment of a childhood memory flickered in her mind—a thick book and a strange illustration of a nine-tailed fox.
"I don't believe it," she denied. She couldn't wrap her head around why her tails would be so precious to these spirits and monsters.
"I don't fully get it either, but it's obvious that your tails might represent the strongest magic in this world," Ficky remarked.
"Well, they're not stronger than you. Let's just go. I don't want to stay here a second longer. If we have to, let's find another way out of the City of Slaves," Aya said, her voice laced with frustration she was trying hard to hide. She began marching back toward the city.
"Wait a minute!" Ficky caught her arm, stopping her hasty retreat. "Believe it or not, there is no other way. This ocean is the only path forward to the next region."
"We can't just go back?" Aya huffed, annoyed. Then, suddenly switching topics, she asked, "Ficky, can we really collect enough coins?"
Ficky sighed as he started walking. "The coins are all still there. They're safer than the Queen's money, which you already blew on medical bills."
"That's not what I meant. I meant, is it even possible to collect—"
"Don't get pessimistic now," he interrupted. "Don't you want to go home? Or have you decided you're more comfortable living in a dump like this?"
Aya hurried to keep up, but she suddenly froze. Her expression of worry shifted into pure shock at something moving beneath her feet.
"What now?" Ficky asked, looking back.
"Ficky! Behind you!" Aya screamed a warning.
Ficky's reflexes kicked in. He leaped backward, narrowly avoiding the figure rising before him. It was the sea serpent—the man with the scaleless, deep-blue skin. He looked like the ocean personified; in the water, he would be invisible.
"Run!"
They knew the danger of facing a sea creature. One drag into those deep, dark waters and they would be dead in seconds. Since land-dwellers had no advantage here, retreating was the only logical choice.
The ocean began to surge violently. The waves roared like a waking beast, crashing against the sand and flooding the path.
"That snake doesn't know when to quit," Ficky growled. "I don't know what he's planning, but I'm going to end this."
"Wait! He's a sea serpent! He is the water! What can you possibly do?"
"Better than being useless like you," Ficky snapped. Aya winced, falling silent.
"We have to get back to the city!" she cried.
But the ground beneath them turned to slush, merging with the rising tide. Suddenly, a vine-like plant erupted from the mud and snagged Aya's leg.
"How is this happening?!" Aya's eyes widened. Everything was falling apart because of this serpent.
Their luck was running thin. They only had 17 coins—a pitiful amount compared to what the Queen of Aurora had recommended.
"Hey, Ficky... can we really get more coins? I still don't even know what that serpent's wish is!"
"I told you, stop being pessimistic about the coins," Ficky said, swallowing hard.
Their eyes locked onto the figure ahead. The ocean waves were flowing upward, defying gravity, and the sea serpent stood atop them. He looked as if he were wearing a gown—or perhaps armor—made entirely of shimmering water shields. It was as magnificent as it was terrifying.
"Hey, hey, stop joking. No, I'm serious. How about this then?" Ficky said, though he wasn't looking at anyone.
Is he delusional again or... demon? Aya wondered, watching Ficky with a mix of confusion and concern. This was the second time she had heard him talking to someone who wasn't there. He wasn't even talking to the serpent.
"Ficky! He's about to do something!" Aya pointed upward, her voice trembling.
The serpent raised a massive hand made of condensed water. It looked like he was about to crush them with his newfound form.
"It's dangerous! Get away from him!"
Ficky shoved Aya aside just as a giant watery fist slammed into the spot where they had been standing. The force sent them both tumbling back into the sea.
The current pushed them back to their starting point. The path was blocked. Every muscle in their bodies went taut, trembling before going completely stiff.
What... what's happening?
Ficky and Aya found themselves floating rigidly in the water. They watched in horror as the waves began to "dance" in the air, weaving into complex patterns and crashing down like free-falling waterfalls.
The echoes of the sea returned, whispering directly into Aya's ears. The "Lord of the Ocean" stood before them, his eyes now devoid of pupils. He raised both hands, and the current intensified, slamming into them with brutal force.
They were halfway to their destination, but they had met a tragedy that defied explanation.
Nature dictates that land-dwellers cannot breathe in the deep, but how were they to survive this? The sea serpent looked down at them with a cold, cynical sneer.
The waves crashed over them again, but this time, Aya and Ficky remained trapped in a cage of water. It was too late.
Their existence seemed to vanish in an instant as the waves crashed over them, but they didn't disappear. Instead, they were pulled deep into the heart of the undersea world.
After a while, their eyes—once squeezed shut in terror—slowly began to open. To their utter disbelief, they were still alive. Aya blinked repeatedly, glancing left and right before looking at her own hands. There were no tremors; her body was calm. Moreover, they were in a place where breathing felt as natural as it did on land.
The area was vast and open, with grand pillars and walls separating various chambers, yet there was no ceiling—only the shimmering blue of the ocean far above.
"Ficky," Aya called out, shaking his shoulder. Ficky was still half-conscious, and Aya needed him awake to make sense of the situation. "Ficky!"
On her second attempt, Ficky finally groaned and sat up, startled. "Is this... underwater?" he asked, his voice laced with doubt.
"What?"
A young woman dressed in a delicate, flowing gown came running toward them. As Aya tried to process Ficky's words, the woman reached them, her face a mix of intense anxiety and overwhelming relief.
"Excuse me! First of all, I am so glad you're both alright. Tell me, do you feel any pain or discomfort?" the woman asked hurriedly.
Ficky and Aya exchanged a look, completely baffled by her presence. "What are you talking about?" Ficky demanded.
"It's a long story, but I'll try to explain. You fell from the world far above and drifted from one undersea city to another until you finally washed up here."
The young woman spoke with such clarity and poise that it was hard to doubt her. Her explanation confirmed Ficky's suspicion: they were indeed at the bottom of the sea.
Aya waved her hand through the air, and small bubbles formed around her fingers, confirming the liquid environment.
"But how can we breathe and speak?" Aya asked. It was the same question Ficky was about to ask, and they shared another look of bewilderment before turning back to the woman.
"Ah, that! It was I! I am the one who enabled you to breathe down here!" she exclaimed, her voice cracking slightly in a moment of panicked excitement.
"This is all useless talk. Let's go," Ficky said, cutting her off. He stood up and surveyed the surroundings—a sprawling underwater metropolis built upon a vast plain of sand.
"Where is that sea serpent?"
"That's right. Isn't he the reason we ended up here?" Aya looked around, but there was no sign of Levi, only schools of fish and the young woman.
Upon closer inspection, the woman had delicate fish fins where her ears should be and another running down her back.
"The sea serpent won't chase you anymore," the woman said, clasping her hands together. "But I have a favor to ask! Please, you must help me!"
When Aya and Ficky didn't immediately respond, the woman realized she had forgotten her manners. "Forgive me. My name is Fiu. I am a princess of a kingdom beneath the waves. A great deal has happened to me... and I would be eternally grateful if I were allowed to travel with you."
Ficky glanced at Aya. He expected her to jump at the chance to help a princess in distress, especially if it meant a potential reward.
"No."
Aya's blunt refusal caught Ficky off guard. He raised an eyebrow, surprised by her sudden change in character. Usually, Aya was the first to offer a hand to those in need.
"You seem kind, and thank you," Aya continued, "but I can't do it. I don't trust you enough."
"That's a first," Ficky remarked. "What's gotten into you, ugly girl?"
"Forget it, Ficky. Let's go." Aya ignored the princess and began walking away.
Even though they had no idea how to return to the surface—especially with the terrifying sea creatures roaming the depths—Aya was determined. Venturing into the open sea without a plan was a death wish; they could be swallowed by a whale or a shark in seconds. So, they headed toward the heart of the city instead.
"This natural phenomenon is incredible," Aya muttered as they walked. "I'm curious about this place, but walking around here feels like gambling with our lives."
"It feels weird hearing you say that," Ficky said, stopping in his tracks. Aya took a step ahead of him before turning back.
"What do you mean, Ficky?"
"You didn't help her. Are you actually an imposter, or just the same ugly girl in a bad mood?"
"Don't be ridiculous. I'm just being cautious. I don't want a repeat of what happened with the sea serpent."
Ficky could feel the raw emotion behind her words. Aya was changing, but he wondered how long this defensive wall would stay up. He followed her as she led the way, despite the fact that she had no idea where she was going.
The undersea city was unlike anything on land. Everything seemed to float slightly, and the architecture was ethereal. Curiously, they saw other residents who looked like they were from the surface too.
"How did she make us breathe here, anyway?" Aya wondered.
"I told you, I don't know. Don't ask me again. Now what? You rejected the princess, and she was probably our only 'wish' for this area."
"Don't talk about that. My head hurts."
They wandered through the streets for what felt like hours, only to realize they were walking in circles. After a while, the truth became unavoidable.
"Haven't we passed this shop before?" Ficky asked, gesturing with his thumb toward a storefront.
"I don't know. Have we? I haven't been looking at the shops."
They were lost—truly lost. As they tried to find a different path, they saw a woman huddled against a wall, her head in her knees.
"Ficky, look behind you," Aya said, pointing behind him where there was nothing but an empty street.
As soon as Ficky turned his head, Aya darted toward the woman. It was Fiu, the princess.
"Hey," Aya said softly, standing over her. "Where are the guards that are supposed to be protecting a princess like you?"
Ficky turned back around and saw Aya crouching next to the young girl. He let out a short, knowing sigh.
"I guess a person's true nature doesn't change that easily after all," Ficky muttered with a faint smirk.