Shrouded Seascape

In the dimly lit underground cavern, Charles stared at the half-black half-transparent worm coiled around him. The creature didn't seem like it had any visual organs, but Charles could feel its gaze for some reason.

"Your woman informed the Explorers Association of the darkness' coordinates, so I came in advance. My subordinate gods and I intended to directly seek the darkness and bring it back to the Subterranean Sea. However, as you can see, the task isn't that simple," Paiper answered in Charles' mind.

It was an answer within Charles' expectations. Though Charles remained puzzled over Paiper's swift arrival, he had more pressing questions.

"What's up there? Was that thing a surface Divinity? Did you encounter the Foundation?" A series of questions emerged from Charles' mouth.

Paiper's voice resonated in his mind again, the hint of annoyance unmistakable.

"Your questions lack focus. Which do you want me to answer first?

"That thing out there could kill us at any moment. Yet, you're not even afraid and have the luxury of time to ask all this."

The corners of Charles' lips curved upward into a dry smile. "Maybe I would have been afraid in the past, but I think I'm getting used to it now. So, the first question—what was that thing? Is it a surface Divinity?"

"It's not a surface Divinity. In fact, it's not even a Divinity at all. What it is exactly, I'm not too sure either. I need to observe it further. But regardless of what it is, it's powerful, and it killed two of my subordinate gods in an instant."

Charles wasn't sure exactly how powerful the Haikor demigods were, but the fact that they were highly regarded in the Subterranean Sea indicated that they were formidable.

If the triple-eyes could easily kill two demigods, then its power could surely rival the Divinity guarding God Fhtagn.

Paiper added, "We didn't explore much of the skies above, so we're not sure what's there. But one thing to note: the darkness is up there, and we need to find it."

Charles was taken aback at the new information. "The darkness outside isn't the darkness that belongs to the Subterranean Sea?"

Paiper's monstrous mouthpart twitched slightly. "No. That's just an offshoot. You must have noticed by now that the higher we get, the quicker any dead matter reverts to its primal form—which, in your words, becoming a relic.

"We suspect that the surface darkness has likely been relicfied too. In fact, I strongly suspect that it has become fully sentient."

"What?!" Charles exclaimed, his pupils shrinking to the size of a needle's tip.

"I know it's hard to believe, but it's the most plausible theory. That's why we need to detour around those powerful entities and retrieve it."

Charles' brows furrowed as he tried to process the mindblowing information. This was bad news. A relicfied Darkness. He couldn't imagine what it would look like or what abilities it would possess.

Most importantly, the exploration difficulty level had just increased by multiple folds. Trying to search for the darkness amidst the Divinities was as good as trying to snatch food from a tiger's mouth.

After a long silence, Charles looked up at Paiper again. "Aside from you, there should be another force that went up there. Did you encounter the Foundation members?"

Paiper shook its head. "I'm not sure. Believe me. The area up there is incredibly strange and complex. Once you're up there, you won't have the luxury of caring about anything else but your own survival. Survival alone is already a paramount challenge."

Charles contemplated whether he should tell Paiper more about the Foundation or not. After all, this was a matter of life and death.

After a prolonged period of careful consideration, Charles decided to let Paiper in about the Foundation. They were on the same boat now, and Paiper had even saved his life earlier. It didn't seem right to still keep his guard up.

Charles briefly explained the situation with the Foundation to Paiper and mentioned that they might have a way to bring the darkness back to the Subterranean Sea.

"Have you considered cooperation with them? We could reach out to become allies with them and work together to save the Subterranean Sea," Paiper suggested.

"I've thought about it, but the Foundation hasn't shown any interest in engaging with us. As natives of the Subterranean Sea, have you ever seen any records of the Foundation in your historical archives?"

Seeing Paiper's silence, Charles continued, "It's not just the Haikors' archives. In the entire Subterranean Sea, there are no traces or mentions of their existence. They've deliberately erased their presence from the Subterranean Sea's history.

"I think it's best if we stay cautious. We don't know what they are trying to do," Paiper concluded.

Just as Charles was about to say something, Bandages landed a gentle pat on Charles' shoulder with his right hand.

"Captain…the more important thing… is to get out…We're not… out of danger… yet…"

Charles nodded slightly and turned to Paiper. "How long do we have to stay here?"

"Until it leaves. It's still up there. I can still sense it. Shhh. Don't make a sound, it's coming."

Charles' heart tightened at Paiper's words. He signaled his crew to crouch down and not make a single sound.

Minutes and seconds ticked by. The sense of time became increasingly blurry in the darkness. Charles couldn't even tell how long they had been hiding.

However, as time dragged on, he was starting to feel exhausted and hungry.

Suddenly, Paiper's black-and-transparent body began to move. Coiling around Charles, it started moving upward.

"It's gone. We need to get out of here fast."

Upon emerging from the hole, Charles had barely just let out a sigh of relief when the darkness before him was flooded with a pink light.

He looked around in bewilderment and realized that three colossal eyes, as large as planets, were orbiting in the airspace above the floating island.

Their overlapping pupils were staring directly at Charles and his crew. The pink light they emitted bathed the entire island in an eerie, bright glow.

It hadn't left at all!

It had been watching them from outside the entire time!

The moment Paiper saw the giant eye, it let loose of its body and with a burst of speed, it burrowed into the ground once again, leaving only an afterimage behind it.

A crescent-shaped beam, reminiscent of moonlight, manifested in the air again. However, it wasn't just a single beam this time. One by one, the crescent beams appeared and wove together into a vast silver net.

Charles could feel Lily's small body trembling against his own. She was terrified. She wasn't the only one. He glanced around and saw the same look of despair in the eyes of his crew members.

Humans were even less significant than ants in front of a Divinity.

However, Charles wasn't going to give up. Even though hope was slim, he had to try.

"Go!" Charles shouted. In his bat form, Charles spread his wings to cover everyone and activated the teleportation die.

Their figures repeatedly flickered across the floating island. Charles could feel his stomach churning violently, but he had to endure it. This was their only hope of escape.

However, no matter how useful a relic was, using it always came with a price.

Thud!

Charles collapsed to the ground, vomiting mouthful after mouthful of blood. The crimson liquid was mixed with fragments of his own organs. His body couldn't withstand the strain of using the die.

Just then, the silver net from above descended like a waterfall.

It was a beautiful sight—a beautiful yet lethal sight.