"Wake up, wake up, wake up..."
A low call echoed in Skadi's ears.
Opening her blood-red, bright eyes, Skadi found herself floating in a dark current, still wearing Goki's overly large T-shirt.
"Uh... where is this, Goki—"
Skadi tilted her head, her chaotic thoughts making it hard to grasp the current situation, and she subconsciously called out her companion's name.
After all, ever since meeting Goki ashore, this impulsive hunter, who never liked to use her brain, had completely given up thinking.
Although Skadi's perception was still sharp, when something happened, she habitually started calling Goki—just like a child at home loudly calling for mom.
However, this time, Skadi was somewhat surprised to find that Goki was not beside her.
"Uh, why am I here...?"
Skadi searched her memory for a few seconds but couldn't recall what she had been doing before.
The currents around her were cold and dark, and the immense water pressure on her skin, enough to crush steel, confirmed to Skadi that she was indeed deep in the ocean.
Although Aegirians lived in the sea, they still needed to eat. Even if their underwater farming technology far surpassed that of land dwellers, allowing for large-scale, dense soilless cultivation, it ultimately required sunlight.
Therefore, most Aegirian settlements were in shallow sea areas. Even though the name Abyssal Hunter contained the words "deep sea," Skadi had only once entered the truly cold deep sea.
That was the core area where the Seaborn were entrenched, and there, she had killed the largest and strongest Seaborn.
"This is a dream, Goki taught me—who are you, what do you want in my dream!"
Although her consciousness was still as fleeting as duckweed, Skadi immediately reacted.
Her slender hand reached behind her, and in the next second, Skadi's mechanical greatsword appeared in her hand, and her unprotected body instantly transformed back into her heroic blue and black hunter uniform.
In a dream, even the strongest Abyssal Hunter's physical body would become as weak as an infant's—but coincidentally, Skadi had the most professional Dream Great Master by her side.
As an Old Hunter who had dealt with dreams his entire life, Goki naturally knew that no matter what kind of monster or ghost, when they wanted to attack someone, destroying their spirit was much easier than destroying their body.
Goki had played Under Tides and knew that Skadi, like Superman, had high physical defense and low magic resistance. Once a gap appeared in her spirit, she could easily be taken advantage of, then hypnotized and have her common sense modified, eventually turning into Red Skadi—all thanks to the Second Captain's shout.
Therefore, in his leisure time, Goki was always very careful to instruct and train Skadi.
Fortunately, although Skadi was indifferent to many things, at least she always listened very carefully to Goki's words.
"When you find your memories are disjointed, don't hesitate, grab the most out-of-place thing, and just chop it!"
The mechanical sword emitted three red lights, illuminating the boundless darkness of the deep sea.
Indeed, in the midst of it, Skadi saw the entity etched deepest into her memory.
A body as vast as a mountain, twisted and deadly tentacles, and... a pair of huge eyes, gentle and compassionate, like a human's.
That was—the Seaborn God, already killed by Skadi!
"Sharp, strong, my Incarnation, my chosen one, you can become even stronger... You are close to It, the power of the heavens is within reach, the great waves cannot touch it, the raging tsunamis cannot connect, but you can, you can seize Its authority, you are the next Me, you are—"
Before the twisted giant god could finish speaking, the greatsword, accompanied by the tide, instantly severed one of Its tentacles.
"Enough, get out of my dream, I need to eat dinner!"
The mechanical sword churned the tide, Skadi twisted her slender waist, and power erupted in the water like a depth charge, the heat generated by the friction even vaporizing the seawater, creating huge bubbles under the pressure of the deep sea.
The twisted limb offered no resistance, easily being churned into fragments, and the crimson blood instantly dyed the entire sea area, as if hundreds of tons of dye had been spilled.
This was Skadi's dream, her home turf, and as long as her will was firm, no one could defeat her.
"I don't know if you're dead or alive, but I've never had anything to do with you, and I'm not any part of you! I am Goki's best friend, a comrade of the Abyssal Hunters, stop your petty schemes!"
—Although they would kiss passionately every day, in Skadi's worldview, she was still Goki's best friend—to upgrade to lover, she still needed to accumulate experience!
Skadi knew that in the Abyssal Hunter's final battle, that colossal entity had left a deep imprint within her body.
She understood that she must have undergone some change, and it was definitely not a good one; she could still hear the wails generated by the Seaborn God's death.
During the time she first came ashore, she was solely focused on self-exile, escaping to a place where no one would be harmed by her.
But now, Skadi was no longer that helpless hunter; she had people and things she cared about and wanted to protect, and she wanted to accompany Goki in understanding this prosperous yet chaotic world of Terra.
As for the Second Captain and Specter... she'd deal with them when they came looking for her! Don't ask, it's a vacation!
Looking emotionlessly at the monster in her dream, Skadi's will was as firm as a rock, nothing could shake her—
"Friend? Comrade? Did you forget another one of your identities—sister?"
The next second, Skadi's indifferent expression showed an unprecedented astonishment, bewilderment, and... disbelief.
Before her, the crimson blood that permeated the surroundings seemed to be sucked into a vortex, continuously shrinking and condensing, transforming into a humanoid creature.
As the last drop of crimson disappeared, a faint blue, starlike glow suddenly appeared in the deep sea.
And before Skadi, a charming figure naturally swam in the water.
She was slightly shorter than Skadi and a bit more slender, yet equally curvaceous as Skadi.
She wore a bright, blood-red dress, appearing more natural and fitting than Skadi in a red dress, not as full of Killing Intent as Skadi, but more like a pure Singer and dancer.
And most importantly—she looked almost identical to Skadi, yet her aura was entirely different.
Skadi could never forget this appearance; it was another person she had sworn to protect before Goki.
But now, all Skadi could remember was the room full of blood.
This appearance belonged to her sister, her biological sister who, like the rest of her family, was never seen alive or dead!
In an instant, Skadi's hunter's composure vanished, and she roared with an anger Goki had never seen, her eyes wide with fury.
"No, impossible—enough, don't wear her face, you're not her, enough, get out of my head!"
The moment Skadi's spirit wavered, the starlight penetrating from above the deep sea grew brighter, seemingly wanting to permeate Skadi's side, but the floating waves instantly enveloped Skadi in dark, black waves, as if protecting her from the erosion of the starlight.
"How sad, I was trying to save my sister... The stars are coming, sister, grasp It, become our food, and I will protect you all—and get along well with brother-in-law, okay?"
The little girl, whose appearance was similar to Skadi's, merely showed a mischievous smile, just as Skadi remembered, and waved at her.
And just as the waves and the starry sky clashed fiercely, a pure white moonlight shone into the deep sea.
"E—"
Before Skadi could call out her sister's name, a figure in a dark trench coat embraced Skadi, pulling her directly out of the water.
"Ha—Gao, Goki, phew, ah, sorry."
Taking a deep breath, Skadi suddenly sat up in bed, gasping for fresh air.
And upon seeing her own arm, which was twisted and crushed, and the black-haired man sitting by the bed, looking at her with concern, Skadi finally relaxed.
She was still in Margaret's small house, and on the phone beside her, the unfinished movie was still slowly playing.
Skadi seemed to have only slept for a few minutes.
"What, had a nightmare? What did you dream of?"
Goki skillfully gave himself another injection in his thigh, which was full of needle marks, then gently patted Skadi's back.
Normally, the Little Orca often slept in, but would get up at the smell of food. This time, however, when Goki tried to wake her, he found her tossing and turning with a struggling expression, and she didn't wake up even after several calls.
For ordinary people, this would be perfectly normal, but for a superwoman who, just a week ago, had easily defeated dozens of invading cultists with Shining and the others, having nightmares was not an easy thing.
So, without hesitation, Goki extended his power into Skadi's consciousness, easily waking her.
"The power is familiar... Star God, that guy actually dared to attack you, truly asking for a short life—Alright, alright, we'll go chop her into mincemeat right away."
Goki rarely saw Skadi looking so flustered and helpless, and it rarely allowed her, in front of this superwoman, to satisfy his long-unfulfilled protective urge after leaving Ifrit.
Although he didn't know what Skadi had dreamed of earlier, Goki felt it was nothing more than some scary stuff fabricated by the Star God.
After formally declaring war, his Hunters Dream had also been attacked several times, but for an Old Hunter who had been fighting in the Yharnam Dream for a long time, such attacks were less significant than the sound of thunder outside the window on a rainy day.
"What did Skadi dream of? If you don't mind, tell me? It won't be scary if you tell me."
With his arm fully restored, Goki listened to the noisy dinner party in the next room and gently embraced Skadi.
But the next second, he was forcefully pressed onto the bed by Skadi, completely defenseless. Goki's unusually large shirt, which was tight across his chest, had its collar buttons burst open again, revealing a large expanse of white skin.
"Eh?"
Under the night sky, the blue moonlight shone through Goki's renovated window into their bedroom, reflecting dazzling light on Skadi's disheveled silver hair, her red eyes incredibly bright, even—seductive?
"...Don't talk, kiss me!"
Before Goki could react, Skadi leaned down and greedily kissed his lips.
Since half a year ago, she had never craved Goki's presence so much. Only by feeling his touch and his warm body temperature could Skadi feel a solid sense of security.
However, what she had seen, concerning her sister... Skadi felt she needed to think about it first.
— — — —
"— — — — Hmph."
Outside the window, Cenomi, wearing an apron and heading to the kitchen to serve the last dish, silently hid to one side of the window, opening her mouth but saying nothing.
"Really... Cenomi, Cenomi, you're jealous, you foolish woman."
Her plump mouse ears twitched, and Cenomi couldn't help but touch her pink hair.
Cenomi, who had clearly decided to just stay here for a while and leave the Grand Knight Territory after the competition to continue searching for her homeland, now felt... a pang of sourness in her heart.
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