The Atlantian System: Creation

The scene from the other passage brought to mind otters from a nature documentary, who cuddle and hold hands to stay together during sleep.

However, there were no cute and adorable water puppies; instead, there was a gathering of amphibian-skinned creatures, just as Leta recalled from her first night as an Arisen. In the cold tunnel, their green arms clung to each other, perhaps for warmth. In the midst of the tangled limbs, Leta counted five heads with dark hair and pointed ears.

In spite of their large numbers, they had intertwined so closely that they effortlessly floated on the surface in the confined space.

Nestled within the resting flotilla was a smaller one, comparable in size to a six-year-old. Instead of a doll, it cradled the preserved foot and portion of a leg, which Leta presumed belonged to the deceased woman.

Leta shut her eyes and released a slow breath, afraid that any noise might disturb the creatures. On the opposite side of the channel, Allister and Hayato stood with their crossbows, resembling vengeful angels frozen in time.

Right beside her, Bonnie had pressed herself to the wall and become motionless, not even wagging her tail. If not for her expanding ribs and wide golden eyes, she could have been mistaken for a lifeless body.

Leta, unsure of her stealth with the crossbow, opted for the spear canister instead, her thumb gliding over the mechanism in anticipation of striking at the right moment.

All of a sudden, that moment arrived without any effort on their part.

The flotilla was pushed by a sudden current undulation into the side of the walkway near the intersection of the two tunnels.

One of the nixies flinched and emitted a clicking whimper as it bumped its head against the raised stone while sleeping. The tiny nixie’s humming swiftly changed from peaceful to agitated due to its sudden movements.

Another creature in the flotilla, resembling a tired mother with a newborn, softly touched its arm and released a sigh filled with clicking sounds as though to extend reassurance.

The little nixie gradually became calm, rolling over among the limbs of the other creatures as if it were adjusting in bed.

For a short time, Leta believed that it would fall back asleep, giving them the opportunity to approach the group more effectively.

With its slitted yellow eyes, the smaller nixie blinked open and gazed with a drowsy expression at the foot it held, then noticed the team of Chosen standing with weapons raised.

The screech of the small creature was as piercing as a nail in their eardrums. The tunnel’s acoustics amplified the already high-pitched scream, which rebounded off the stone and struck them with almost the same intensity as the manticore’s attack.

The team was already in action by the time the beast opened its mouth, bombarding the flotilla with all manner of projectile weapons. One of Allister’s bolts had punched through the foot the tiny nixie was holding to pierce its eye, its screech cutting off.

Hayato skillfully hit another nixie using his crossbow, while Atreus struck one with his throwing dagger as the flotilla disentangled.Hayato’s quickness enabled him to rapidly strike out with one of his daggers, severing the hand at the wrist.

Leta never saw the survivors slip beneath the surface until one was jumping out of the water next to her, grabbed Bonnie by her vest, and pulled her into the water.

“Crap, Bonnie!” Leta cried as the other jumped up and took a swipe at Hayato with its claws. Hayato’s speed allowed him to strike out with one of his daggers swiftly, cutting off the hand on the wrist.

Before Allister could strike it with a smaller hatchet, the nixie shrieked and dived back underwater.

Bonnie surfaced with a burst of action, biting down on the creature’s neck and shoulder, prompting the nixies to try to remove the wolf with a desperate and clicking shriek.

Leta wasted no time, quickly activating her spear and driving it into the beast’s side, causing Bonnie’s head to thrash and the nixie’s back to arch in pain.

By a close margin, the spear successfully punctured the creature’s lung, narrowly missing its heart. Following her attack, Atreus responded by hurling his own dagger, one blade finding its mark on the clavicle while the other narrowly missed Bonnie.

The nixie released a shriek and maneuvered its arm to wrap around Bonnie like a coiling snake, pulling both her and the wolf underwater once more.

Leta sensed the spear’s end jerk before the tension disappeared as the nixie slid off.

“Shite!”

Allister’s powerful voice made Leta glance up. The other nixie had taken Atreus’s missed-throwing daggers and was now hurling them back at the Hunter and the Assassin.

Hayato barely escaped getting hit as the nixie sprang out of the water like a dolphin and hurled a weapon before diving back down.

Allister had managed to use the flat of one of his smaller hatchets to block a strike, but cursed as a second hit him in the thigh.

Bonnie’s body emerged on the murky water, her panicked dark eyes scanning the area as she swam with a sense of urgency, reminiscent of a seal attempting to escape from a pack of sharks.

Startled, Leta let out a shriek as the other Nixie emerged from the water and grabbed her ankle without warning, pulling her into the water with a jolt before she could counterattack.