CHAPTER 41: A LEVIATHAN’S DREAM

Rhys took a deep breath. He never liked swimming for long periods. No, he never liked swimming at all. So going into a sunken city was surely a hell of a challenge.

Yuki clenched his hand, noticing his unease.

What a caring girl.

"Juice box, are you afraid of bathing?"

...Not so caring.

He stepped into the water. The moment he was submerged, he felt it. The pressure. It felt like a giant was squeezing him from all sides.

He felt his bones ache. It was hard to move his arms and legs. His Void-Tempered Immortal Body was working hard to resist the immense weight of the water. It was slowly adapting as the System started analysing.

Then he felt something else. His energy was leaving his body. The water itself was pulling his Qi out of him. The draining feeling got faster as he dived deeper.

He knew he could not stay down here for long. He peeked at Yuki, who was swimming beside him with an effortless grace.

He was a little annoyed that the pressure and Qi drain did not seem to affect her at all. She looked as comfortable as a fish in the water.

Suddenly, the water moved as a strange current appeared. His body was jerked to the side, away from the city, like an invisible hand had grabbed him.

From the deep darkness below, countless eyes opened simultaneously. Rhys gasped.

[Seriously host? You gasped under water!]

’Crap..’

A mouthful of water entered his lungs. He felt a desperate need for air.

He kicked his legs and moved his arms, trying to swim, but he felt that the current was too strong. He saw a large, half-crumbled stone pillar nearby.

He used Low-distance Jump, anchoring himself to the stone. He felt his body get pulled through the water with a sudden burst of speed.

He slammed into the pillar and held on tightly with his hands and feet.

He looked around for Yuki and groaned silently when he saw her floating a short distance away from him.

Her brows were curled, and a smile graced her lips, which she hid when he looked at her.

Rhys rolled his eyes as the pressure of the pulling increased. His body moved up and down, spinning around and around.

He tried his best to hold on to the stone and move his body with the current, hoping it would disappear. But even after a few hours, it never ceased.

He finally stopped fighting. Relaxing his body, he allowed the current to move him. He tried to feel the flow of the current, to note its rhythm.

[System has started analysing the flow of the current...]

[Burning lifespan to learn the fundamental principles of water flow...]

[Your understanding of flow has increased a hundredfold...]

[You have deeply studied the Water element. Bonding with the Water element is a success!]

[You have seen water as endless current...]

A cool sensation spread through his body as a barrage of laws and principles was imprinted into his brain. Rhys now understood the water as much as he understood his own constitution.

[To use your bonded elements, you need a foundation. You need a place where you can form a root for your bonded element to use its power.]

’I see,’ he thought. Another notification appeared in his mind.

[Host is under sustained environmental pressure (deep water) and magical stress (disorienting currents).]

[The Void-Tempered Immortal Body is adapting to the aquatic environment...]

[A new lifeskill is being formed...]

[Lifeskill [Gills of the Void] has been acquired.]

[About: Allows the user to extract breathable essence directly from water, eliminating the need to breathe air while submerged.

It also grants a basic level of hydrokinesis, allowing the user to manipulate the surrounding water to create small currents, which can be used to grip or push objects.]

Rhys felt a strange change in his lungs. The desperate need for air that had been building in his chest was suddenly gone. He took a breath.

The water rushed into his lungs, but it did not feel like drowning. His body pulled what it needed directly from the water, and he could breathe.

The journey became easier after that. He could still feel the heavy pressure of the water. He could still feel his Qi being slowly drained away.

But without the need to breathe, he could focus all his energy on swimming. He learned to use the magical currents, pushing and pulling himself towards the city.

Finally, after a long descent through the dark, silent water, his feet touched solid ground. He was standing on an old, stone street in the heart of the Sunken City of Aethel.

Yuki was already there, leaning on a broken wall and waiting for him. All around them, silent, ruined towers erupted from the lakebed.

Their dark windows looked like empty eyes, watching them in the deep.

They began to explore the silent, underwater city. The only light came from the strange, glowing plants that covered the ancient stones.

The city was in ruins, but it was also beautiful. Rhys felt a sense of awe. He also felt a deep sadness for the people who had once lived here.

As they walked down the main street, Rhys noticed that the city was filled with lifelike statues. They were statues of people: warriors holding spears, merchants carrying goods, children playing in the streets.

They were frozen in everyday poses. It was as if the entire city had been turned to stone in an instant. The detail on the statues was perfect. They looked too real. It was very unsettling.

Rhys started to hear whispers again, just like in the bat caverns. But this time, the whispers were clearer.

They seemed to be coming from the statues themselves. He could not understand the words, but he could feel the emotions in them.

He felt sadness, fear, and a deep, endless longing.

’What are these statues?’ Rhys asked in his mind. ’Are they just decorations?’

[System analysing...]

"They are the people. They... people... how?" Yuki clung to his arms, trembling.

[...They are not decorations. They are the watchers.]

’Did they die?’ he supported Yuki, making her face him.

Cupping her cheeks in his hands, Rhys asked, "Yuki, tell me... what are you really? Are you even alive?"

[They do not appear to be alive, but they are not dead. It is almost as if they are living through alien lives...]

"I-I..." Yuki stammered, her eyes showing growing confusion.

[...It all pinpoints one thing. They are connected to...]

’...someone else’s consciousness?’

[Yes.]

Rhys recalled the strange feeling of his energy being lost as he dived into the water. Then he thought about the countless eyes that had opened in the darkness. He gulped.

’Who is the owner of that consciousness?’

[System analysing...]

This time, he asked it to analyse the water, the currents, and the city as a single entity.

"They are waiting..." Yuki trembled.

"Waiting for what?"

[System analysis complete.]

[Entity: The Leviathan’s Dream.]

[Bloodline: Tyrant.]

[Status: Deceased.]

[Description: The entire sunken lake is not a place; it is the lingering consciousness of a dead Tyrant-grade monster. The city, the statues, the magical currents, and the whispers are all fragments of its dying dream.

It is not alive, but its will remains, endlessly replaying the last moments of its city. It instinctively drains the life force of any living being that enters its dream to sustain itself.]

’A dying dream...’ Rhys muttered to himself.

A dream? This sunken city is a dream?

His eyes suddenly widened. What would a monster of that calibre dream about when it was dying?

[What would the Host dream about in this situation?]

’Of course, about my midnight snacks...’

[That’s it.]

’Oh...’

’Ohhhhh.’

The city started to tremble.