The grip was cold.
Kyva twisted violently, her hands plunging into the water as she tried to claw at whatever held her.
"No– no, let go!"
It took Kyva a couple of seconds to notice that the hand grabbing her was attached to a body half-submerged beneath the surface.
Her eyes dragged upward, and she froze. The figure's other half was missing, leaving it with just a torso, its ragged flesh disappearing into the dark waters. Its uniform was shredded and soaked through the deep, spreading stains. One side of its face looked barely intact, the skin slack and pale as death, clinging to bone.
But… its chest moved.
The terror in her eyes did not falter, but it gave way to stunned disbelief.
"You're… alive?"
The figure did not answer, but its grip on her leg loosened. It slipped away as another arm dragged upward through the water. Every movement trembled, as though it cost what little strength it had left to remain in one piece.
