Chapter 340 Weary Dreams

"Man, I can't believe Melisande is a world-class adventurer now–she was just a little runt yesterday, it feels like," Joel said, leaning against the wall of reinforced dirt as he looked up towards an overhanging tree.

"She still is a runt," Emilio joked, "but she's capable and talented in her own right. Actually, I recall her telling me that she was going to stay in Vasmoria to study magic after completing the trial. So, you don't need to worry about her getting into any trouble for a while."

Joel seemed genuinely taken aback by this news, though that shock turned to joy as he sat there with a big smile on his face. The others were too busy continuing to scarf down crab meat to really have any bearing on the conversation.

"You mean to tell me she's going to learn magecraft there? That's big stuff–amazing, really. I'm proud of her–and you, Emilio, thank you," Joel said earnestly, "This is only possible because of what you did. As her big brother, I'm eternally in your debt for that."

"Don't mention it, but well...Let's just get through this," Emilio said.

"Of course. I'm getting you out of this place," Joel nodded, giving him a thumbs-up.

Vandread tossed a crab leg straight at Emilio's face, forcing the young man to catch it before the pointy food nearly stabbed against his skin.

"Hey! What was that for?" Emilio called out.

"Eat up. We're going to have a long day ahead of us after our rest here," Vandread said, "Like Joel said, I plan on getting you out of here. My mission from Julius is still intact here."

"...Yeah, yeah," he begrudgingly obliged.

He couldn't deny that it was comforting to be eating alongside companions he thought he'd never see again, especially after a dreadful experience in the soul-sucking atmosphere of the After.

There was truly an overwhelming amount of crab available to eat–far too much for a group of five to even make a dent in, though it wasn't as though they exactly ate to fulfill a quota for nutrients as dying of hunger wasn't a concept in the After. However, somehow, eating a good meal did provide some sense of energy and comfort–a morale boost that was unmistakably beneficial.

"Alright, I'm going to catch some Z's now," Blimpo said, laying back and flipping his goggles over his eyes before quickly snoring.

–It was scary just how fast the flip could be switched from over energetic tinkerer to a slumbering, snoring elf.

"Guess I should, too. Just wish there was a proper bed to sleep in though," Joel remarked before leaning back.

Of course, Vandread and Asher were the type to "keep watch" seemingly all night–overly cautious and overprotective, perhaps. Still, Emilio found it as an opportunity to at least get some rest as well, seeing as he didn't know when the next opportunity would come. As he laid there on the soft soil, he stared up at the translucent trees for sometime as his eyelids grew heavier by the minute.

"--"

Though he hesitated as the fear of the unknown was strong when staring at the abyssal waters, the looming threat of an approaching Primordial was stronger as he looked back, seeing ripples through the water in the distance as shadows swallowed sight of everything behind that which approached through the sea.

He leapt in, sinking into the daunting depths before swimming his up to the surface, beginning his rapid travel through the dense water.

Plunging into those waters, he immediately regretted it, feeling the coldness of the abyssal water against his skin and the terrifying, imperceivable depths below him. Still, there was nothing else he could do but keep moving his body forward through the mass as the rippling of water behind him only grew louder and closer.

'Sleeping is off-limits! Everytime...Everytime I sleep in this realm, something bad happens!' He realized.

The amount of fear pumping through his body caused his heart to beat wildly at a rate he'd never felt it move before, feeling as though he was closing in on a heart attack just from the overwhelming fright drilled into him.

BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP.

As he looked back once more, feeling the vibrations of whatever was chasing him through the abyssal lake, he could see that mass of darkness closing in, only a couple dozen meters behind him now. It felt each passing second he stared at it, he could make out something in that swallowing darkness; an entity too large, too horrific, and too incomprehensible to be witnessed.

"Hff...hff...hff!"

He continued swimming forward through the pitch-black depths, keeping his eyes forward yet not finding a patch of land yet.

It was tiring, yet the abyssal water seemed to prevent him from powering himself up either with magical reinforcement or through the transformations of his System; there was some sort of "dampening" effect imbued in the water.

'Crap...!' He thought.

Suddenly, he felt his own leg be latched onto by something within the depths, suddenly dragged under the surface of the abyssal lake and pulled into its depths by something unseen.

It had to be internal; if external reinforcement wouldn't work, he instead worked on stirring up the perpetual flame within himself, granting brief strength to his limbs before tearing away from the bindings that tried to drown him.

"--!"

Breaking through the surface of the suppressing abyss, he gasped for air before glancing back to see the colossal wall of shadows now closer than ever, quickly approaching with the rippling of water now happening directly against him. He could feel and hear breaths leaving whatever creature approached from the silent storm of shadows, overwhelmed by its presence as such inclination drove him to swim harder, practically slapping his arms against the water.

The eye sealed behind his eyepatch grew hot, reacting strongly to the close proximity of the Primordial as he continued swimming forward frantically.

'Go...!' He told himself.

Though he found himself being ripped out of the water by something again, held by his ankle as he was launched upward, only able to wave his arms around without being able to reach anything.