Lansi was terrified. A massive whirlpool had formed outside the reef, and the noise of it scraping against the coral bones felt like it could give you a toothache.
He clung to Winsor, curling into a ball—only through touching Winsor could he feel certain he was still alive.
Winsor, clearly enjoying Lansi's dependence, gently stroked his long hair and asked affectionately:
"Still want to go outside?"
Lansi turned his head and asked, "Why are there storms underwater?"
The question clearly stumped Winsor. After a pause, he replied:
"Changes in the magnetic field—caused by radiation."
"Radiation?"
"A long time ago, a small island sank to the bottom of the sea. It had human-made things on it. After it went down, it changed the sea's magnetic field... That's when the black storms started."
Why did that sound so familiar?
Lansi grew uneasy. He leaned silently against Winsor and said nothing more.
Winsor thought Lansi had given up on leaving. He closed his eyes, leaned back on Lansi, and said:
"The storm will pass soon. Get some rest."
Lansi made a half-hearted noise of agreement and shut his eyes, but he wasn't the least bit sleepy.
Just as Winsor had said, the storm eventually calmed.
During that time, Lansi drifted in and out of sleep.
The storm's sound faded into his dreams. In one, he remembered something from his time on the cruise ship—
"I heard someone saw a giant octopus in this area," said Colleague A.
Colleague B laughed. "At this rate, sounds like we're heading for the apocalypse."
Colleague A rolled his eyes. "Maybe we really are. Humanity sank a whole nuclear power plant out here. The radiation must be insane—who knows what's at the bottom now."
They looked at Lansi standing on the deck. "Do you believe it's the end of the world?"
What had he said in reply?
He remembered the aurora appearing on the horizon.
A blue-green ribbon of light danced in the sky, eerie and beautiful. The tourists on the cruise ship gasped and pointed.
"Who knows," Lansi had said softly amid the background noise.
"For humanity, maybe it is the end. But for whatever comes next... maybe it's just the beginning of a new era."
The next second, a massive limb burst from the sea. Compared to it, humans were the size of ants.
Lansi had stared at it, frozen, until it crashed down—
"Ah—!"
Lansi jerked awake.
He blinked, bubbles escaping from his mouth.
Looking around, it took him a moment to remember he was no longer human—he was a mermaid.
No arms. No cruise ship.
He glanced at Winsor, who was sleeping soundly beside him.
Lansi quietly slipped out of Winsor's embrace and swam from the anemone to examine the coral bones after the black storm.
Just as he'd feared, all the fish were gone—wiped out.
The coral bones had also been ravaged. Once white, they were now coated in black debris, giving the entire reef a lifeless gray tone.
Lansi circled the reef. Nothing.
He hesitated, then clenched his jaw and swam upward.
Maybe the black storm had forced the "master" to flee?
This might be their chance to escape.
He decided to check things out. If it was safe, he'd return and bring Winsor with him.
Lansi swam for a while until he reached the top of the reef. As he climbed to the edge, he was about to peer beyond when something massive and translucent filled his view.
It was enormous—like a hot air balloon. Its skin was see-through, with threads and filaments inside that looked like layered peach blossoms.
Lansi stared for a moment before he realized:
Good grief, it was a giant jellyfish!
He took a sharp breath.
At that moment, the jellyfish noticed the mermaid peeking from the reef. It froze, stunned:
[Ahhhhh it's a merman! So cute!]
The jellyfish's thoughts echoed through the water in low-frequency infrasound. But in its excitement, the frequency spiked sharply.
Poor Lansi.
He was so close that the piercing sound stabbed straight into his brain. He let out a pained scream:
"Ah—!"
The ocean reacted instantly. A turbulent wave surged up. The once-calm water bubbled violently, sending a stream of bubbles straight at the jellyfish, flipping it over.
Its long tentacles sprawled out, and the fish hiding under its "skirt" scattered.
It was the first time Lansi had ever seen something like this. He blinked at the fleeing fish, speechless.
[Ooohhh! You flipped up my skirt!]
The jellyfish floated upright again and stretched out a single tendril toward Lansi's face.
[Let me touch you and I won't cry.]
Lansi eyed the approaching tendril with a blank expression.
Was this jellyfish... female?
[Just a little touch. This one's soft—no stingers... Come into my skirt~]
Expressionless, Lansi grabbed the jellyfish's tendril—and bit down.
Huh. Tasted just like jellyfish salad.
The jellyfish froze. After three seconds, it dropped its tendril and began rolling dramatically through the water, wailing:
[Oh no! A merman bit me!]
More infrasound pulses followed:
[Really? No way! I want to be bitten by a merman too!]
Lansi sat on the reef, chewing on the tendril, watching the jellyfish roll around like it was having a tantrum.
At some point, Winsor woke up. When he didn't see Lansi beside him, he panicked and rushed out of the anemone.
He swam to the top of the reef and saw Lansi there, once again peering into the open sea. His heart clenched.
"Lansi, what are you doing?" Winsor demanded.
He was about to scold him, but Lansi cut him off.
"Winsor, look!"
Winsor followed Lansi's gaze. Upon seeing the jellyfish, he fell silent.
"I can hear them talking in a group chat," Lansi whispered. "Can you?"
Winsor sighed and nodded. "Yes."
"There seem to be a lot of sea monsters in this sea," Lansi said, watching the jellyfish spin and hop.
"I hope they're all as dumb as this one."
Winsor: "..."
Meanwhile, the sea monsters kept chatting, unaware of their audience.
A young voice asked:
[Really? What does a merman look like?]
The jellyfish answered with pride:
[I don't know how to describe it—he's just too cute! I want to hide him under my skirt!]
[Where is he?!]
[Nate Trench. Weird place for a tiny merman to build such a high nest.]
Lansi turned to Winsor. "This is the Nate Trench? Do you know the Mariana Trench?"
Winsor nodded. "I know it."
Just then, another sharp infrasound sliced in:
[What's so great about a merman? Upper half's a creepy human, bottom half's a fish. Gross. Ugh.]
The jellyfish flipped indignantly and shot back:
[Shut up, you stupid squid!]
Still nibbling on the jellyfish tendril, Lansi listened to the bizarre group chat with great interest.
"I really want to join... Winsor, can I talk in there too?"
Winsor twitched at the idea. "Yes. But that's not the point. Come back with me."
"Nope."
Lansi shook his head and leaned closer. "Can you teach me how to talk in there?"
Winsor frowned. "No."
"Why not?"
"...You'll get into a fight."
Winsor massaged his temples. Lansi didn't know what he meant—yet.
Lansi's eyes sparkled, just as the jellyfish suddenly shot out another tendril. With a quick swish, it wrapped around Lansi's neck.
Lansi: ???
Winsor reacted instantly. He grabbed the tendril, and his sharp nails dug into it. The tendril turned purple.
The color spread fast along the tendril, heading toward the jellyfish's core. Sensing danger, the jellyfish promptly detached the tentacle and floated backward, sulking.
"Ack—" Lansi coughed out a few bubbles and touched the severed tentacle curiously.
"Poisonous," Winsor muttered, pulling it from Lansi's neck and tossing it away.
Lansi blinked in surprise, then looked at Winsor's nails with new interest.
Was he poisonous too?
The jellyfish trembled slightly in place, sending out confused signals:
[Weird... What's that thing next to the merman?]
"Thing?"
Lansi glanced at Winsor suspiciously.
Winsor met his gaze, silent for a beat, then said:
"See? Sea monsters like that jellyfish have bad intentions."
Lansi didn't seem fazed. Instead, he said with excitement:
"Isn't that good? It's way dumber than the tentacles. We can use it to escape the abyss!"
Winsor rubbed his forehead with a sigh.
At that moment, the tentacles below seemed to sense something. Several massive limbs shot out from under the reef, grabbed the jellyfish, and dragged it away with a whoosh.
Jellyfish:[AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—]