Blackness. Cold. Silence.
—
El-Mond's eyes snapped open.
—
Water flooded his vision.
—
Before thought could form, terror seized
his chest.
—
"I'm I'm underwater"
—
Panic exploded through him.
—
His body jerked instinctively, muscles
screaming as he forced himself upward,
arms cutting through the unseen depths.
—
His heart thundered wildly, each beat louder than the last.
—
"I have to breathe."
"I have to reach the surface"
—
The surface felt impossibly far away.
Yet
—
He was rising.
—
Fast.
—
Faster than he should have.
—
Bubbles trailed behind him like
scattered stars as his body surged upward, unnaturally light, unnaturally swift.
—
In the chaos of his struggle,
a strange thought surfaced.
—
"…Wait."
"How am I not dead?"
—
His movements slowed.
—
The realization crept in, cold and sharp.
—
"The water is deep."
—
"I fell for a long time."
—
"I was injured… unconscious,
...I should have drowned ...already."
—
But there was no burning in his lungs.
—
No crushing suffocation.
—
No desperate gasp clawing at his throat.
Instead
—
Breath.
—
He felt it.
—
Not air but something else. A smooth,
effortless flow moving through him,
as natural as breathing had ever been.
—
El-Mond froze.
—
His body drifted, suspended in the depths.
—
He lifted his hands Or tried to.
—
Nothing appeared before his eyes.
—
No fingers.
No palms.
—
Only shimmering water where his hands
should have been.
—
His pulse spiked.
—
Slowly fearfully he turned his head.
—
And then
—
The world shattered.
—
Reflected faintly in the wavering light
was not a human face…
—
But scales.
—
A sleek, unfamiliar body moved where his
limbs should be. A tail swayed behind him, powerful and fluid, responding to thoughts
he didn't know he had.
—
His scream burst out instinctively
—
But it came out as a stream of bubbles.
—
"I– I'M A FISH?!"
—
The cry echoed soundlessly through the deep, swallowed by the endless blue.
—
El-Mond stared at himself,
suspended between disbelief and terror,
his old life sinking somewhere far below.
—
To be continued…
[END SCENE]
————
——————
Continuing.
——————
Cold.
—
Dark.
—
Weightless.
—
El-Mond's consciousness snapped
awake inside a world of endless blue-black shadows.
—
What… is going on?
What is this?
—
His thoughts rippled then panic surged.
—
"I didn't die… but became a
DAMN! A FISH!?"
—
He thrashed violently, his massive body
cutting through the water in wild,
uncontrolled arcs.
—
"Is this reincarnation!? WHAT KIND OF NONSENSE IS THIS!?"
—
The memory of his unfair death
burned inside his mind.
A second chance should be fair…
—
"BUT A FISH!? REALLY!? A FISH!?"
—
His tail lashed. His jaws snapped
uselessly at the water.
—
This went on for fifteen long minutes
rage, disbelief, denial until exhaustion
forced clarity.
—
Finally, El-Mond stopped.
—
The water grew still around him.
—
"…Sigh."
—
He looked down no, felt himself.
Rows of razor teeth. A colossal frame.
Muscle built for domination.
—
"So… I'm a great white shark, huh?"
—
Acceptance settled in like a heavy tide.
—
Strangely, moving felt natural.
Too natural.
—
His body responded as if
it had always been his.
—
With a single flex, he surged forward smooth, powerful, terrifyingly fast.
—
Ludicrous…
"I'm here like this… while those bastards are enjoying themselves."
—
Bitterness twisted his thoughts.
—
Then
—
KILLING INTENT.
His senses screamed.
—
Something sharp fast ripped
through the water.
—
METERS AWAY!
—
El-Mond twisted his body at the last second.
—
WHOOSH!
—
The projectile tore past him with explosive
force.
—
His heart thundered.
—
"I dodged…?"
—
Before he could steady himself
—
IT CAME AGAIN.
—
Even faster.
—
El-Mond reacted instinctively,
his massive body shifting aside
like flowing steel.
—
He turned.
—
From the depths, a silhouette emerged.
—
A voice deep, vibrating through
the water itself.
—
"Either you surrender and leave this
territory to me…"
"…or I take it
and you become FISH FOOD."
—
The darkness parted.
—
Another GREAT WHITE SHARK surfaced
scarred, dominant, eyes burning with
hostility.
—
"Huh!? WAIT WHAT!?"
"Did you just speak!?"
—
El-Mond stared in disbelief.
—
He could hear the words.
—
No he understood It.
—
"What are you playing at?"
"Don't think you can talk your way out of this!"
"FIGHT OR DIE!"
—
"Oh my god…"
"I can understand fish?"
—
Shock barely had time to settle.
—
The enemy charged jaws wide.
—
El-Mond dove sideways and BIT
into its flank, using his momentum
to hurl the massive predator forward.
—
The ocean roared.
—
The enemy recovered instantly and
charged again.
—
El-Mond tried the same move
—
WHAM!
—
A powerful tail smashed into his face.
—
Teeth nearly tore into his fin.
—
He spun, stabilizing himself.
—
The two apex predators circled each other in silence.
—
Then—
—
The enemy exploded forward.
—
El-Mond turned upward.
—
The surface.
—
He surged with everything he had.
—
The water peeled away behind him as he accelerated.
—
Faster.
Faster.
—
Light pierced the darkness.
—
He BREACHED
—
So did the other shark.
—
But
—
Midair
—
El-Mond twisted.
—
A perfect back-flip.
—
The enemy's back was exposed.
—
NOW.
—
El-Mond clamped down with terrifying force, dragging the struggling body back into
the depths.
—
Blood clouded the water.
—
The enemy thrashed wildly, jaws snapping
in desperation.
—
But El-Mond didn't let go.
—
He tightened his bite.
—
One minute passed.
—
Then
—
Stillness.
—
The struggle ceased.
—
Death claimed the challenger.
—
El-Mond released the lifeless body.
—
Silence returned.
—
Then..
—
DING.
—
A glowing blue panel materialized before
his eyes.
—
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION
—
Congratulations.
Your body has evolved into an
APEX-LEVEL GREAT WHITE SHARK.
—
"…Huh?"
—
El-Mond stared at the floating screen in
shock.
—
The abyss around him seemed… smaller.
—
Colder.
—
And suddenly
—
Full of possibilities.
—
TO BE CONTINUED