I Was Born With A Bloodline That Ended The World-Chapter 46: Depths Below

Far beneath the ravine, a boy floated in silence. His body hung in the water, arms drifting out to the sides, legs loose and still.

His clothes were torn, and trails of blood had long faded into the dark. His face was calm, too calm for someone unconscious.

The cold pressed in from every direction, but it didn’t seem to bother him.

Rhian twitched.

His fingers curled, and his body jolted slightly like something inside finally restarted.

His eyes opened all at once, wide and alert. Bubbles slipped from his mouth, but there was no panic. No wild struggle for air.

He didn’t drown.

Instead, he blinked and stared ahead, confused but calm. His brain was catching up. He tried to inhale, but there was no choking.

His chest worked like normal, and he realized he could breathe. The water was going in, cleanly and evenly. It didn’t sting or burn.

[Aquatic Adaptation] had activated.

He moved his arms slowly, checking for damage. His joints ached. His legs throbbed from the fall, especially near the knees. But nothing felt broken. He looked down at himself.

His hands were longer, and the skin on his fingers had thinned into light webbing. His neck felt tight, and when he reached up, he found faint slits on either side, gills, pulsing quietly with each breath.

His body had changed just enough to survive here.

He turned slowly, trying to figure out where he was. The water around him was dark but not pitch black. It stretched out in every direction, broken by faint glimmers of light filtering from above.

Below him, he couldn’t see the bottom. He was deep, deeper than most lakes reached.

This wasn’t natural. Whatever this place was, it felt untouched and cold, like something that wasn’t meant to be disturbed.

But that wasn’t the important part.

He hadn’t fallen alone.

His thoughts jumped as memory returned. The monster. The sky. The drop.

He’d been holding someone tightly. He looked around, twisting through the water, ignoring the pain in his side. He tried to calm his racing thoughts, but it didn’t help.

Where was Nia?

She had been with him. He’d held on the whole way down. They hit the water together, he was sure of it. He scanned every shadow, kicking forward, arms moving in sharp strokes.

His body moved easily in the water now, his limbs light and strong. But his chest stayed tight.

He swam lower.

Something moved to his left, a faint figure drifting. Rhian turned sharply and swam harder. As he got closer, the shape became clearer.

It was two figures

His vision locked on the two shapes ahead.

One was limp, drifting, the other swam with purpose. As he closed the distance, the larger figure came into focus. It wasn’t human.

Its body was long, like a twisted eel with arms, its skin pale and stretched. Thin fins trailed behind it, and jagged teeth lined its narrow mouth. In its grip, hanging like dead weight, was Nia.

His chest tightened, not from lack of air, but panic.

He moved faster. Every stroke pulled him closer. As he approached, he reached over his shoulder for his blade, but found nothing. His hand hit the empty sheath.

It must have come loose during the fall.

There was no time to think. He shot forward and slammed into the creature’s side with his shoulder.

The force made it shudder, but it didn’t release her. It turned toward him, one long arm lashing out.

Rhian ducked underwater and used the momentum to drive his elbow into its face. It hissed, baring its fangs, and swung again.

He blocked with his forearm, twisting his body to strike with a hard kick. His heel connected with its side. This time it let go.

Rhian caught Nia with both arms and pulled her close. Her body was still warm, but she wasn’t moving. He turned and swam upward as fast as he could.

The weight of her gear made it harder, but the adaptation kept him from tiring too quickly. Even so, his lungs burned and his legs ached.

The water moved behind him. He didn’t turn around. He kept pushing. Something grazed his ankle. He kicked it away, trying not to lose focus.

The light from the surface was getting closer.

He broke through with a splash and dragged her onto the nearest rock. She rolled slightly to her side, unconscious but breathing.

He barely had time to catch his breath.

Something grabbed his leg and pulled. The impact slammed him back into the water. It swallowed him whole, and he felt the shift in pressure as he went under again.

The creature’s grip was tight. It twisted, dragging him downward.

Rhian twisted back. His free leg snapped up, hitting the creature’s chin. The jaw slackened.

He pulled free, ignoring the pain in his calf, and swam hard toward the surface. He didn’t stop until his hand broke water. Then he pulled himself up again, coughing hard, water dripping from his mouth.

Nia was safe on the rock. That was enough for now.

Rhian pulled himself onto the rocky ledge where he had left Nia.

His fingers scraped against the wet stone as he dragged his body forward, limbs heavy, breath shallow. His skin was pale and cold.

The webbing between his fingers was already fading. The gills on his neck closed, and the ache in his chest returned with every struggling breath.

He reached her and dropped beside her. Her body was still. Her face was pale, lips slightly parted, eyes shut tight. He touched her neck with trembling fingers. Her pulse was there, barely.

His heart pounded. Panic overtook him.

"No... come on," he whispered. "Don’t do this..."

He remembered the screams.

He remembered the blood. His mother’s hand slipping out of his, his father’s last yell before it was cut short. The monster’s eyes. The sound of tearing flesh. His own voice, hoarse from screaming helpless.

He’d been too weak then.

And now again.

He dragged himself closer, leaning over her. His hands shook as he tilted her head and opened her mouth.

He pressed his lips to hers and blew air in. Then he sat up and began pushing on her chest, counting without thinking. One. Two. Three. Four. Again. Then he leaned down and did it again. Air, pressure, hope, over and over.

Nothing.

"Wake up," he muttered, "Please..."

He kept going.

Again.

Again. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Still nothing.

His arms finally gave out. He collapsed beside her, panting, staring at her face. His chest hurt. His eyes stung. The tears came before he realized it.

She was going to die. And it was his fault. All of it. He should’ve made her let go when he had the chance. She could have fallen early, broken a bone, maybe. But she would’ve lived. Now she was dying because he held on.

Because he couldn’t let go.