They would have decided to skip tonight's sleep, but Leo was against it.
He had his reasons. Perhaps it was because he wanted to study his system status, since he had determined that many things in this era didn't exist in his own time—just as the history of the Nine Great Realms was unknown here.
They slept on a small platform where Lyra always decided to rest her head on his chest for no apparent reason.
As soon as he heard Lyra whispering in her sleep, confirming she was already lost in dreamland, he summoned his status.
[Name: Leo Atlantis]
[Noun: None]
[Path: None]
[Rank: Weakling]
[Tree: None]
[Mark: None]
[Relics: None]
'Wow, there's literally nothing to study.'
Well, except for the final description.
[Weakling is the weakest class of humans. It is much more pathetic when one takes the body of a Pisces and remains a weakling. Truly, you're pathetic.]
"Hurtful much?"
'Since when did the system get so annoying?'
He had learned that the Aura System only displayed the status of an Aura Farmer. There was never anything about spite or human emotions.
"Well, you don't see this every day."
He stared at the status for a few seconds before hissing and dismissing it. There was nothing to look at. His fate would be determined after he reached the Castle of Light.
'What if my fate gets decided before I get to the Castle of Light? Ever thought of that, huh, Leo?'
He hissed again, shifting his weight and accidentally causing Lyra to mumble something about more seaweed. He was getting annoyed at everything—the ship, the System, and the fact that he was currently one of the strongest beings while simultaneously being the weakest.
'Wonder how Aquarius felt.'
He stared into the dark expanse with a solemn expression. He hadn't planned for any of this. On the day he touched the wood, he had expected a simple awakening that would leave him glorified.
Instead, he was sent to a desert in the body of a snake, where he traversed the endless black sands for three days until he unearthed Aquarius's ship and accidentally fell into a black vortex—only to find himself in the body of a strong weakling.
It was all infuriating, but Leo calmed himself down. Soon, he fell asleep.
*****
'Gods. I can't breathe.'
Leo tried to cough but couldn't. He tried to open his eyes but failed. He was suffocating.
'What in the Aura...?'
He tried again, but he was paralyzed. At this rate, he would die.
'Like hell I'd die so easily.'
He pushed himself up in the darkness. He felt the platform, but Lyra was gone. It also felt as if his senses of feeling and hearing had vanished.
Leo's heart raced. What was happening?
He tried to call out to Lyra, but he couldn't open his mouth or even mumble. At this point, Leo concluded that the magic keeping them underwater—allowing them to live as if in a land city—had expired. But that wasn't it…
'What is this damn feeling?!'
He calmed himself and tried to stand. His whole body was on the verge of going numb. Still, he pushed himself up with a grunting effort. He forced himself to be as calm as the sea to understand his surroundings. Slowly, his senses began to return.
Soon, he heard a blast that immediately died down under the sea, followed by a muffled roar whispering in his ears. It had actually drummed against his eardrums, but his senses weren't fully back yet.
He tried to call out to Lyra again, but his voice was silenced to a whisper by an unknown force. It felt as if his senses were entangled in chains and locked in a box. He couldn't even open a single eye.
Again, he heard a blast, and then, far away, the chime of a bell. He had to concentrate intensely just to hear it.
The roar became more consistent until he focused his entire will on his eyes. The moment he managed to open one, all he saw was a massive shadow heading his way.
Before he could move, the water around him boiled instantly, warping him out of existence only for him to reappear far away from the shadow.
He still couldn't speak or move. And now that he had prioritized his sight, he couldn't hear. Even his vision was limited to shadows and shapes.
...But seeing was better than nothing.
In the darkness, he saw the massive shadow moving with extreme speed toward a much smaller, swifter shadow. He took a quick glance and saw the shape of the ship in the distance, still intact.
He felt a small surge of relief.
But then his gaze fell back on the two shadows. The smaller one swam with great speed over the massive entity and sent a heat blast into its back, sending it crashing into Anvil Mountain.
The mountain cracked from the impact, and a few shards fell further into the depths. He looked toward the city, but it was blurry; he could only decipher the dark shadows of houses swaying with the current.
The smaller shadow roared, which felt like a whisper in Leo's ears. It was a mad roar.
A human roar.
"Lyra?"
The moment the supposed Lyra hit the monster, his senses momentarily returned. He could see clearly, hear efficiently, and move freely. More importantly, he could feel again… but he wished he couldn't.
Lyra was panting. Her green hair was rough and matted with sea silt. Her clothes were torn, and the markings on her skin were glowing, causing an indestructible heat to manifest around her. Her eyes glowed with anger, malice, and hatred.
She manifested another heat blast in her hand, paying Leo no attention.
Leo stared at the massive shadow as it regained its balance. It was a leviathan, a fish-like creature. Its body was mostly composed of white metal, leaving only its black underside as flesh. It had a pointed snout and wing-like fins. Its tail was made of countless needles piled together. Its eyes were composed of black weaves, creating a sense of dread in Leo's mind.
It opened its mouth and roared, revealing countless metallic teeth that could bite through mountains. Suddenly, the weaves of its eyes opened slowly, revealing a pothole of dreadful crimson. He would have felt shivers run down his spine if his feelings hadn't been stolen the moment he saw the leviathan's eyes.
Leo felt the entanglement return. His whole body went numb. His hearing failed. His vision returned to darkness.
Only a single thought hammered into his head as his body shook in horror:
'Sea Monster.'
During the last minute before every sound vanished from his ears, he heard the bell again. This time it was much louder, and a single human voice roared, alerting the whole city:
"Sea Monsters!!!"
Abyssal Cradle was under attack.