Back to Below

It comes as a natural fact that some jobs in this line of work are simply 'strange'. But being requested to help with matters that extended below the sea's level? She was perfectly used to doing things on ground and even in the air, as her magic provided her with floral wings. But she never actually properly did anything while swimming underwater. Well, everything had to be for the first time at some point, right? Though... there was something else about this that could be seen as strange. It was a very odd feeling that the girl had as she was slowly sailing towards the Crescent Island. A feeling as if she had already done this before, seen this view and questioned the nature of such job. No, she would remember doing something like this. Her mind was probably just in disarray from all the events that went down in her own world recently. It was a big change and it was only natural that she would be left dazed from it all, unsure of what is actually going on. Her long lost self came back as her independent being after all. That alone could be considered a miracle of highest rarity. A miracle... somehow, that word tasted quite bitter on Leila's tongue.

"Aaagh, what am I even worried about?! Focus Leila, focus!"

She spoke out loud for her own self, alerting the small snow white creature that was resting in the boat beside her. Yes, Ori returned along with the other spirits as well. A very pleasant surprise that the witch wasn't even hoping for. Having reclaimed everything she could have ever possibly hoped for, her life was nothing short of nearly perfect right now. Hopefully this wasn't start of something terrible that would reverse such happiness for her. But life had plenty of bumpy roads, so she just had to brace herself for the impact and act the moment it would happen, figure things out and emerge victorious. Finally, the wooden construct would hit the sandy beach of the island, the girl hopping out eagerly as the creature followed, jumping atop his owner's shoulder like the old times. The research station was right in front of them, ready to be visited.

"Aright, time to see what they have in store for us..."

Ori only squeaked on the girl's shoulder while nodding, deserving a gentle pat for actually answering. He still was the smart and cuddly creature she remembered, a companion she had from almost the very start. All this was so very reminiscent of the start... it felt good. Little eerie right now, but still good. As if someone had turned the clock in the opposite direction and let them run freely. If only she could redo some of her decision this way... but what was done was still the same, unchangeable. Ah, what was she doing? This was no time to be bringing herself down! There was a contract waiting right in front of her and so she started walking with confidence filling her small steps, one at a time.

The station itself looked quite futuristic. Especially the sliding door that opened right in front of her the moment she approached it, some sensor detecting her and getting way ahead of her. Honestly, she was more of the old age person. Both literally and figuratively. A spirit thousands of years old, but also mostly sticking to the older habits and technologies when she could. Was that because of her extremely powerful connection to nature? After all, technology was often seen as something that would harm the nature around us. Or maybe it was just pure preference, which was a way more likely theory. Once inside, the witch was greeted with numerous beeping devices and doo-dads before one of the scientists finally noticed her and approached her.

”Miss Leila Vergious?”

"Yup! Member of the Golden Phoenix and a wandering mage! How can I assist you this time?"

”We need something recovered from the bottom of the sea floor around this island! A specific artifact that seems to be housed in a core of local underwater ruins. I could have sworn we already had it, but… eh, nevermind. It would appear that the local sea life is going absolutely rabid because of it, so there are more than just one reason to bring it here. We have a lacrima that will assist you in this task, providing enough oxygen to get down there and then back up… we hope.”

It didn’t exactly sound reassuring, but it was probably better than nothing. Right? It would be no fun if no risks were involved anyway, so Leila decided to disregard that last part he said and just nodded to it all, confirming that she understood it just fine. Taking the lacrima from the man’s hand and making sure it’s properly secured in one of her many pockets, she stretched out one final time before heading out. Though before she did that, she knelt down and patted her little companion as well.

"Sorry, but there’s only one lacrima. I’ll have to go in alone, so be a good boy and wait for me here, okay? Make sure these guys are doing their job properly for me! I’ll be back in a bit."

Ori let out a small disappointed squeal, but understood the situation. Ready to make this quick, the Eden’s witch would walk out onto the beach and gaze upon the seemingly endless ocean before a voice would echo out from her clothes.

”Can you hear me, miss Vergious? The lacrima also works as a remote communicator, so we can determine your progress and status with ease. Please, enter the water now.”

The fact that someone was talking to her like this was a little bit unnerving for some reason, but at least they would know if something bad were to happen. So that was a relief? But the girl was brave and confident in her abilities, so she prepared for her clothes to get wet and stepped forward, sinking into the depths some more with each step taken, until even her head was no longer visible from the beach.

To her surprise, she soon found that that it actually wasn't quite as bad as she thought it would be. A bubble filled with air was quickly formed around her head, keeping at least her face dry. Though just as she suspected, the rest of her being go wet rather swiftly. Wet clothes were heavy too, so this wasn't exactly the best situation one could find themself in. The lacrima was also seemingly helping her to stay down on the sea's bottom without too many difficulties, or perhaps that was the weight of her attire? Well, whatever it was, she felt as if she was walking in the space with a really weird gravitation pull. New experiences all around her it seemed like. Though not all new experiences were always good, as the witch soon started getting excessive attention from fishies from all directions. And before she could even do anything, there was a giant swarm of them all around her, trying to... do what fish do. And while they were quite pretty to look at, this was no time to be getting entranced or slowed down. After all, she only had a limited oxygen for herself. Unsure of how to get all the attention off of her, she just did what she always did. Even down here, she was capable of growing roots and vines aplenty, forming something akin to a wooden cage around her and then expanding it rapidly, scaring off the underwater life for a bit. Doing this also gave her a better idea of moving about down here than trying to 'walk'.

Growing quite a big tree below her, she grabbed onto it and continued on making it bigger in a titled direction. This allowed her to move from one spot to another fast and without any real effort. It was actually very surprising at times just how useful her magic could be in non-combat situations. Though she was afraid that there would be much more combat soon, as the deeper she got, the more life was around her. It was only a question of time before some of them would try to attack her again. And right about it she was! Two stopped rays eventually appeared on each side of her, curious as to what was going on. Or at least that was the assumption before Leila recalled that creatures here were driven rather aggressive by the relic's power. Something that she was reminded of by one of the rays slamming into the tree as well. Stopping it's growth, she tried to balance out her position in the water and asses the situation. She didn't exactly want to harm these creatures, as it was not their fault for being driven crazy. Strong magic was at play here, and it was in her interest to break it rather than punish those that were affected by it. The problem was, her arsenal was still somewhat limited in what she could really do. There was one spell, but... she didn't want to use it in case more creatures would get to her. Thinking like that cost her a bit too, as one of the rays managed to get a hit in, ramming into her back and sending her some distance away as she yelped in mild pain. Thankfully these guys weren't exactly the strongest.

”Miss Vergious? Are you alright? That didn't sound very pleasant.”

"I'm fine. Just ran into some... obstacles on the way. Tsk..."

”Your destination is right ahead. If you go just little bit further, you might be able to recover the relic and leave without getting injured.”

The ruins were nearby? Alright, that was probably a much better plan than staying here and trying to fight. Her magic itself wasn't exactly suite for this, as she could grow just about anything from the ground. But when ground wasn't exactly right blow your feet, such magic started to lose it's effectiveness. Trying to ignore and dodge the rays as much as she could, Leila tensed up every muscle in her body and started swimming in the direction of her target. And sure enough, she soon found something akin to a temple, completely flooded of course. But most of the structure actually still seemed rather intact. Though the relic's aura was strongest here, she quickly spotted two more rays and even a shark circling the structure, as if they were guarding it. And sure enough, they noticed the girl trying to invade their territory too. But she was in luck. The aura made them rather aggressive, yes. But it wasn't completely controlling them, as they still had their own instincts and desires. While the rays tried attacking her again, the shark went after them by itself, seemingly hungry or just protecting the place it claimed as it's own. That was her chance to slip between the columns and into the door, finding herself in a large circular room that had very high ceiling.

On the other side of her, an altar of some kind stood. And on top of it, a wheel with crimson red orb shining in brilliant light. That was the relic without a doubt. But only one another movement and another beast showed itself. An octopus of some kind, but much larger than anything you should find in this depth. It was actually a surprise that it somehow managed to get into this room. But then again, bodies of these underwater creatures were extremely flexible and perplexing for regular man. So she had a guardian in front of her and the rest of the fishes finally getting in behind her. Not the best of situations, but she got an idea that should get rid of all these annoyances. The stone floor below her started being torn apart in one specific spot as a plant unearthed itself, growing rapidly and bearing a single fruit. A ball that was shining in blue color, large about as a water melon. It was Leila's spell, a fruit bomb as she called it way back when. Maybe she should try to give little smarter names to her powers? Well, now was certainly no time to be thinking of that. Grabbing the fruit, she threw it into the air and formed a wooden spear in her hand, throwing that as well right into the fruit. And the moment these two objects connected, a fairly large explosion shook the entire room. That in itself was not meant to defeat anyone. But the wave this caused managed to break apart several of the fragile pillars that were holding this place together. One could naturally assume what would follow.

First the walls gave in, falling apart. And without the walls, the roof started collapsing as well, giant chunks of stone sinking down onto the floor at rapid pace. This was Leila's goal. She probably just destroyed a building that was of great historical value, but her goal was the relic alone. Nothing else was needed. And as the rubble fell on the creatures and chased them away, she started swimming towards this mysterious object that was making everything around go rabid. Even the octopus itself was trying to defend itself from the collapse, shielding it's body with it's tentacles and thus little bit too busy to be paying attention to the Eden's witch. Snatching the stone wheel and it's orb with ease, she quickly moved between the sinking rubble and found herself ascending to the surface at a rapid pace. Hopefully nothing would try to follow her, but even if it did, the light that soon started shining brightly the closer she was to surface should be enough to drive it back. And in only a minute or so, she penetrated the water's surface from below, the bubble that was around her head until now bursting and letting her breathe in the fresh air that was now all around her. One only appreciates what they have once they lose it, a saying that held truth even in situations like these. Who would have thought that oxygen was so nice!

Once the girl recollected her thoughts, she started swimming back towards the beach, this time without any complications whatsoever, as she was on the water's surface and not deep down below. In fact, she was kinda questioning why she didn't do this in the first place. Just swim on top here until she was directly above the temple and only then go down. Nope, instead she had to be on the sea's floor the whole time, facing the potential danger. Ah, why was she even complaining? Danger was a natural part of any adventure, something to spice things up if you will. It definitely wasn't bad in any way. Soon, she finally beached herself and got greeted by the researches who were already waiting outside of their station, some seemingly seeing the light of a day for the first time in a very long time... in any case, the relic was retrieved safely, just as was contracted.

"What do you guys even wants this for again? It was making local sea life really aggressive, but... that's not it's only use, right?"

”That is correct, miss Vergious. If attuned properly, it should provide us with magic that will allow anyone to breathe underwater for as long as they please. In fact, we were hoping that once we manage to get everything in place, you would help us once more!”

Crossing her arms on her chest as Ori returned to his owner, sitting on her shoulder, the girl simply sighed and smiled. Clearly this wasn't the end of her underwater adventure just yet. But she did not mind. All in all, this was quite a good deal of fun. And she got to explore a place she has never been to. Below the water's surface... many secrets were hidden there. And she was ready to uncover them all.

"Of course!"