Chapter 52: Where did you come from, fish?
Thus, Aeron took Cantarella's hand and together they plunged into the boundless deep sea.
After an indeterminable period of free fall, the two finally found solid ground beneath their feet.
Thump!
The moment his feet touched the ground, Aeron's legs gave way, sending him kneeling on the floor, his mind flooded with "Holy shit."
"This is way too damn terrifying..."
"Heh, you're not even afraid of death, yet now you can't stand because of something like this?"
"That's completely different."
To Aeron, death was just death—he could always compete in the revival round anyway—but this kind of sensory stimulation was truly something else.
Seeing him in this state, so contrary to his usual self, Cantarella couldn't help but laugh.
Somehow, Aeron's current demeanor, compared to his earlier strategic and composed self, pleased her even more.
Cantarella reached out, supporting Aeron's arm as she gently helped him up from the ground, steadying his still-wobbly frame.
"If it's really too much, I can have a jellyfish carry you?"
"N-No, that's fine..."
Although Aeron was quite interested in the idea of riding a jellyfish, now was not the time for such things.
After catching his breath a bit, Aeron finally managed to stand, propping himself up on his knees as he surveyed their surroundings. In the dim light, only the shadows of jagged rocks and various remains were visible.
"Here, the overflowing frequencies converge at the seabed to form Sonora... What an unexpected method."
As she spoke, Cantarella used her Resonance Power to summon a jellyfish, casting a hazy blue glow over the two of them and illuminating the path a few steps ahead.
"Let's go. Don't stray too far from me."
"Don't worry, I'll stick close behind you, Family Head."
Cantarella smiled but didn't respond to Aeron's cheeky remark. Instead, she turned and walked toward the deeper darkness beyond the jellyfish's faint illumination.
Aeron followed half a step behind and to her side, walking quietly for a while. Apart from the soft rustle of the jellyfish's light sweeping over the jagged rocks and the faint sound of their footsteps, only an ever-present low hum filled the air.
The closer they drew to the depths, the more intense the hum became, and everything around them grew increasingly unstable.
The seabed beneath their feet began to stir, the distant scenery gradually blurred, and the already dim space grew even more chaotic. Only the jellyfish between them continued to emit its light.
"It seems the master of this place is even more volatile than we imagined."
The darkness ahead of them began to coalesce into form, and then, a massive, streamlined shadow abruptly took shape less than twenty meters in front of them.
It was a "fish" composed of pure nothingness and malice, its edges continuously steaming as it devoured light. And its gaze was now fixed on the two of them... No, on Aeron?
Sensing something amiss, Cantarella stepped forward, shielding Aeron behind her while positioning the jellyfish summoned by her Resonance Power in front of them, forming a thick barrier.
She could feel the overwhelming erosion and malice emanating from the massive shadow—directed at the entire Fisalia bloodline—recede like a tide, only to lock onto something else.
"An 'Echo' is detached from causality..."
Then, layers of overlapping voices reached their ears, clearly directed at Aeron.
"I listen to the elegy of all things sinking into oblivion, measure the fading resonance of all strings destined for annihilation... yet only you remain indistinct... You should not exist within this predetermined symphony."
"Are all of you allergic to speaking plainly?"
Aeron had reached his limit. Ever since encountering Phrolova, every opponent he faced seemed more cryptic than the last. Did these people need musical scores woven into their speech to survive?
"What's this? Failed to manipulate Fisalia through proxies, so now you're taking matters into your own hands?"
"...Come to me."
The oppressive atmosphere intensified further.
"You don't belong in this fragile cycle. Your 'difference' deserves a more suitable stage to manifest."
"Aren't you being a bit too straightforward?"
Who tries to poach someone right in front of their employer?
Ignoring Aeron's sarcasm, Cantarella fixed her gaze on the shadow and retorted first: "What? After failing to corrupt Fisalia over millennia, now you're targeting unrelated individuals?"
"Unrelated?" The layered voice seemed to "look" at Cantarella, yet its "attention" remained cold and indifferent, as if brushing past a troublesome stone. "A discordant note yearning to integrate into the world and find sanctuary requires precisely the Nexus."
Then that "gaze" firmly locked onto Aeron again.
"Come here, and I shall help you achieve all this."
"I'll have to decline."
"Why?" Leviathan's voice rippled with something resembling "perplexity." Its proposal was based on reading Aeron's "desires"—logically, it should be irresistible.
"There lies the 'peace' you seek."
"Hey now, I'm giving you such an easy way out here. Can't you just gracefully back off?"
Aeron was growing weary of such blunt recruitment attempts.
"I have my own path to walk, and I'm not looking to change course yet. If that's your goal, please leave."
Besides, who knew what would really happen if he helped it? Best case scenario: join some glorious evolution. Worst case: he might not even get to become orange juice.
"Incomprehensible." The layered voice regained its icy tone. "Since 'offering' is rejected, then..."
It ceased attempts at "persuasion." For it discovered Aeron's reason for refusal was rooted in something it couldn't fully comprehend.
"Let me demonstrate through fear." Leviathan's will shifted, and the entire ocean began churning with waves.
Ignoring the violently surging currents around him, Aeron stepped forward completely unfazed.
"Don't make me laugh. What exactly do you think I'd be afraid of?"
After all, while this captive fish might have been somewhat pathetic in the storyline—constantly being deceived or on the verge of it—it remained an entity capable of threatening entire civilizations. If it wished, handling just Fisalia would be effortless.
But since it went through the trouble of using Sonora born from obsession to gank Fisalia, it seemed its current power wasn't as formidable as one might assume.
And afraid of what? At this point, not even death could shake Aeron. What could a mere Threnodian possibly do—
"This is what you fear most in your heart—the embodiment of both formidable power and exquisite beauty."
"Aiya, scared me to death!"
Oh my god, it's actually Lady Tearlaments! You actually escaped from the Forbidden List? By your own power?!
"..." x2
Seeing Aeron's PTSD-triggered state, the other human and fish present both fell into silence.
Why would he have such a strong reaction to a mermaid?
Never mind. Though I don't know what's going through his mind, it seems quite effective.
With this thought, Leviathan actively approached Aeron.
"So, choose. Will you continue struggling within meaningless rules, or form a 'Nexus' with me to attain a state beyond this pitiful fear?"
"Hmph, in that case, there's only one answer—"
Just as Aeron rose, preparing to ambush the off-guard Leviathan, someone suddenly stepped in front of him.
"He belongs to me. You have no right to touch him."
"'Yours'? An arrogant definition. The essence of his existence far surpasses the shallow concept of 'ownership' your limited perception can grasp. How laughable."
"The one holding his hand right now is me. And you? You can't even touch him, hiding in the shadows, spouting those tired clichés."
"Sharp-tongued."
Saying this, Leviathan adjusted its frequency and released a beam of light directly at Cantarella.
The latter neither dodged nor evaded, simply standing in place as if waiting for something.
A left hand reached out from behind Cantarella, shielding her.
No sound, no explosion. Threnodian's frequency dissipated upon contact with the palm as if it never existed.
[Projection, initiated]
Then, the dark seabed around them, corrupted by Leviathan's power, began rapidly fading. Warm, gentle light poured into the sea from above, illuminating the surroundings. Coral swayed, schools of fish darted through.
And behind the two, a giant jellyfish stood silently behind Cantarella.
"Don't do something like this next time... My heart can't take it."
"Hehe, doesn't this prove I didn't misjudge you?"
Cantarella's lips curved slightly as she watched the darkness gradually receding before her eyes, dispelled by her mental landscape.
"What's mine, I'll naturally guard personally."
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