Chapter 179: The Boundary

Cindy let out a small huff, her frills settling.

"Yeah, well, I’m not surprised either. A jellyfish that can talk is already strange enough. At this point, nothing about you shocks me anymore."

Gray let out a soft pulse of amusement but didn’t answer. They continued swimming upward, the water growing lighter with every stroke, the pressure easing, the cold fading into something almost gentle.

After a while, Gray spoke, his luminous gaze fixed on the distant glow above.

"That leviathan... it’s probably hiding. Either it’s still pinning down the kraken, or it got wounded in that fight. I can’t feel its presence anywhere nearby."

Cindy drifted beside him, her frills swaying thoughtfully.

"That’s possible," she said. "And honestly? This might be our chance. If the leviathans are distracted or recovering, we can move without being hunted for once."

Gray nodded slowly.

"Then let’s not waste it."

They pressed onward, rising through layer after layer of dark water. The light above them grew steadily brighter, shifting from faint grey to pale blue, then to a soft, shimmering gold that rippled through the currents like liquid sunlight.

Gray slowed, his bell tilting upward, his luminous eyes fixed on the brightness above.

"It’s been a long time since I’ve seen light like this..."

Cindy drifted closer, her silver eyes softening as she stared at the glow.

"Me too," she whispered. "I never thought I’d miss the sun this much."

Lily began bumping against the barrier, her five points pressing against the shimmering surface as if she wanted to break free. She pushed and nudged, her dark core pulsing with restless energy.

Cindy noticed immediately, her frills lifting with concern.

"What’s wrong, Lily? Don’t bump the barrier like that."

Gray drifted closer, watching the star creature press against the dome of energy.

"Maybe she misses the warmth of the light too," he said quietly.

Cindy turned toward Lily, her silver eyes softening.

"Do you remember how it felt before, Lily? Before you became... this?"

Lily stopped bumping the barrier. She hovered there, her points orbiting slowly, her dark core flickering with confusion. She spun once, twice, as if searching for an answer she couldn’t find. Then she pulsed weakly, a small, uncertain rhythm, and drifted closer to Cindy.

She didn’t remember. Or maybe she did, but the memory was too distant, too faint, like a dream fading at the edges of waking.

Gray let out a slow pulse.

"It’s alright," he said. "You don’t have to remember."

Cindy nodded, gently patting Lily’s core.

Gray turned his attention back to the light above. The water was growing clearer now, the golden glow rippling across the surface. He could see shapes forming in the distance, dark silhouettes against the brightness.

His luminous gaze narrowed.

"What is that?"

Cindy followed his gaze. Through the shimmering light, something enormous was taking shape. A massive, domed shell, its surface covered in ancient moss and barnacles, its edges fringed with trailing tendrils. Four colossal limbs, like the flippers of a sea turtle but impossibly vast, were slowly coming into view, propelling the creature through the water with slow, deliberate strokes.

Cindy’s breath caught.

"That’s..."

Gray’s tentacles curled tight, his carapace crackling with instinctive tension.

"The Great Tartarus."

Cindy stared at the creature, her silver eyes wide, her frills splayed in awe.

"It’s... it’s so big..."

They swam closer, drawn toward the golden light above, toward the massive shell that loomed like a floating island. But before they broke the surface, Gray slowed, his luminous gaze fixed on the shimmering boundary between water and air.

"Alright," he said. "Time to go humanoid."

Cindy turned toward him, her frills lifting with surprise.

"Now? Right here?"

But Gray was already changing.

His bell contracted, his tentacles retracting, his entire form collapsing inward and reshaping. The luminous white flesh darkened and hardened, the golden veins fading beneath pale skin. His body elongated, limbs forming where tentacles had been, fingers curling, a torso taking shape. His face emerged last, sharp and unfamiliar, with high cheekbones and eyes that burned like molten gold. Short, pure white hair cropped close to his scalp, and dark crystalline plates forming along his shoulders and forearms like natural armor.

He floated there, humanoid, complete.

And entirely naked.

Cindy’s frills snapped rigid. Her silver eyes went wide, then immediately squeezed shut as she slapped both hands over her face.

"GRAY! YOU’RE NAKED!"

Gray didn’t respond. He was too busy staring at his own hands, turning them over, flexing his fingers. He touched his face, his chest, his arms, marveling at the sensation of skin and muscle and bone.

Then he realized something.

He was still breathing.

He paused, his golden eyes widening.

"This is incredible..." he murmured. "I thought I wouldn’t be able to breathe. That’s why I waited until we were close to the surface, but it seems my worries were for nothing."

Cindy peeked through her fingers, her face still flushed.

"I understand, I understand! So cover yourself up! You’re naked!"

Gray blinked, finally glancing down at his own body.

"Oh. Right. I just realized." He looked around, his expression blank. "But I don’t have any clothes. How am I supposed to cover up?"

Cindy’s frills trembled with exasperation.

"Then cover it with your hands or something! Anything!"

But in her flustered state, her concentration slipped. The barrier around her and Lily flickered, cracked, and shattered. Lily burst free, her five points spinning with sudden excitement, and immediately darted toward Gray.

She circled him once, twice, her dark core pulsing with curiosity. Then she stopped in front of him, her points tilting as if studying his new form.

Cindy’s voice rose with alarm.

"Lily?! What are you doing?!"

But Lily didn’t answer. She simply opened her core, and threads of black energy began to pour out, weaving together, flowing toward Gray’s body like living silk. They wrapped around his torso, his shoulders, his legs, forming a dark, flowing garment that clung to his frame like a second skin. A cloak draped over his shoulders, a hood settling over his white hair, the fabric shifting and shimmering with faint violet veins.

Gray looked down at himself, then back at Lily.

"Incredible," he said. "Thank you, Lily."

Lily pulsed brightly, her five points spinning with joy. She bounced up and down in the water, clearly delighted with herself.

Cindy stared at the scene, her frills slowly settling, her face still faintly flushed.

"...I can’t believe she just made you clothes."

Gray adjusted the hood, the dark fabric cool against his skin.

"She’s more useful than I thought."

Lily spun happily around him, her core flashing with pride, and Gray couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.

Cindy crossed her arms, her frills still slightly rigid with lingering embarrassment.

"Next time, don’t just transform out of nowhere like that, Gray."

Gray adjusted the dark cloak Lily had woven for him, his golden eyes calm.

"I didn’t know I’d be naked either. It’s not like I’ve done this before."

Cindy huffed, her silver eyes narrowing.

"Fine, fine. Just don’t make excuses."

"Okay, okay," Gray said, lifting his hands in a placating gesture.

Cindy fell quiet for a moment. Then, slowly, she drifted closer, her silver eyes tracing the lines of his new face. The sharp jaw, the pale skin, the golden eyes that burned like embers beneath the shadow of his hood. She studied him in a way she hadn’t before, her frills swaying gently in the current.

"...I didn’t expect you to look like this," she said quietly.

Gray tilted his head, his expression unreadable beneath the dark hood.

"Like what?"

Cindy immediately turned her face away.

"Nothing. Forget it."

Before Gray could ask anything further, his new senses prickled. Something was approaching.

He turned, his golden eyes narrowing beneath the shadow of his hood, and saw them emerging from the golden haze of the upper waters.

They were humanoid, but wrong. Their bodies were thin and translucent, their skin the color of drowned moonlight. Long, ragged hair drifted around their heads like seaweed in a current, and their faces were frozen in expressions of eternal sorrow. Their mouths were open, as if caught mid-scream, and from those mouths came no sound, only a faint, shimmering distortion in the water.

The system flickered, and the analysis materialized.

[BANSHEE — Level 40]

HP: 900 / 900

MP: 600 / 600

Threat Level: HIGH

« Analysis »

A spectral predator that haunts the boundary between the abyss and the surface. The Banshee’s form is composed of condensed sorrow and residual mana, allowing it to phase through physical attacks and deliver devastating sonic shrieks that disorient and weaken prey. They hunt in small packs and are drawn to sources of strong emotion, fear, grief, desperation.

Weakness: Their physical forms are unstable. Concentrated mana disruption or overwhelming force can disperse them. They cannot survive prolonged exposure to direct sunlight.

There were four of them, drifting through the water like wraiths, their hollow eyes fixed on Gray and Cindy and Lily. Their mouths opened wider, and the water around them began to tremble.

"They’re about to scream," Gray said. "Don’t let them."