Voice 774 spoke calmly, answering Renas.
"Of course, I can tell you what you've inherited. What you obtained is called Eye of the Leviathan. As for its properties — it greatly enhances your vision, reflexes, and all of your senses while underwater. It also allows you to breathe underwater. And that's not all — it says the oceans will recognize you as a higher being, though there aren't many details about what that actually means. Oh, one thing not to forget: this ability doesn't make you swim faster. It just boosts your awareness underwater — and, well, breathing. But despite all that, you're still not a fish, so try not to dive too deep and die from pressure. …That's it. So? Like it?"
Renas stared upward for a while — toward where he imagined Voice 774 to be — and shouted, "CAN'T I REROLL IT?! PLEASE! PLEASEEE!"He couldn't believe he had endured all that pain for this. Enhanced underwater senses? Breathing underwater? Who cared! They weren't even near any water. It was practically useless.
Voice 774, of course, refused. Re-rolling was impossible. Renas spent the rest of that evening begging it anyway, but… no luck. The power was now in his blood. His own ability could now be taken from the temple — something he found deeply unpleasant.
As he muttered complaints to himself, he thought he saw a hallucination — a small lizard crawling into the temple. Why would a temple accept a lizard? Maybe he really was losing it.
That night, armed with his knife and rifle, he attacked the altar and the marble walls, trying to damage them — maybe even destroy the temple. He didn't leave so much as a scratch. Still, he figured he might use that knowledge later. For now, there was nothing left to do but… sleep.
So Renas gathered a few dry branches from the forest, laid them on the cold marble floor, and lay down. It wasn't ideal, but outside, a madman was hunting him.
Just as his eyes began to close, he heard something — a sound.It came from inside his own chest.
He opened his eyes and tried to look around. Everything was submerged.Was the temple underwater? What was this place?
He tried to raise his hand — but couldn't see it.What do you mean I can't see it? he thought.Then, far off in the distance, he saw something — a shadow, moving. The water there seemed… different.
He reached forward, and the cool touch of the water massaged his hand, easing him. After all that pain, this felt almost blissful.
Then he spread his arms and legs and floated, eyes closed, letting himself drift.
When he opened them again, a massive eye stared back at him from above.Instinct made him flinch — but then he noticed the eye narrowing, as if expressing something. Joy? Sadness? Pity? He couldn't tell. Hard to read emotions from a sea monster when it's your first time seeing one.
Time-stopping and water didn't mix well, and Renas avoided underwater combat whenever possible. This was his first real encounter with a sea creature.
Seeing that the enormous eye and its unseen body showed no hostility, he forced himself to stay calm.
Then, from the darkness of the water, dozens of arms extended toward him. Smooth, semi-transparent scales glimmered faintly, ending in four-fingered hands.
He didn't resist. He didn't cut them. He didn't run. Something inside him told him this was fine — that he was safe. He chose to trust that feeling.
The scaled hands grabbed his limbs — and tore them apart. Yet somehow, there was no pain. It was like being numbed, floating in a strange peace.
As this happened, the great eye drew closer.Until the space between their eyes was barely a millimeter—
And then Renas woke up.
Morning.
"Bzzzz…"A thin buzz drifted through the warm air. In the fading light of a tropical dusk, a mosquito crossed an invisible border — not truly invisible, glowing faintly with blue sparks and shifting air, but clear enough to pass unnoticed.
It was the border between two villages.
The mosquito's erratic flight traced a trembling path through the air — until something moved in the shadows. A tiny green-scaled lizard, glinting in the light, darted forward. A flicker in the air, a whisper of movement — then silence. The mosquito was gone. Only the predator remained, eyes half-closed, watching.
The lizard crept through the undergrowth.It had a destination — Village A.
But this was no ordinary lizard. Its body was possessed by Cuhlun.Or, as the one from D village had named him — the Sleepwalker.
Cuhlun had his own troubles back in the village. Difficult ones. Frightening ones. Still, unlike Renas, he could move freely — enter other beings and travel far. Renas could never know Cuhlun's condition, but Cuhlun could watch Renas from afar.
His only problem — finding Renas among the countless corpses and dense woods. Even if he spent all his time searching, it would be near impossible.
At the moment, for instance, he was lying among the dead, pretending to be one of them — definitely not safe, but he didn't care. Renas's safety came first.
He'd already survived a week. He could endure three months more. All he had to do was keep going.
Lost in thought, he suddenly heard a noise — and slipped beneath a branch, hiding.
A man with purple hair, dagger in hand, wandered by, half-awake. Clearly deranged. Should Cuhlun try entering his mind?
No. Too risky. He'd had enough of living inside other minds for a while.
He slithered past the man and kept going. Eventually, even though he'd walked in a straight line, he found himself not in a village but before something else.
A dusty, crumbling temple.Strange. Even stranger — no matter which direction he went, he always ended up back here.
He refused to enter.At least until he heard a scream.
"UAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
That voice — Renas.Coming from inside the temple.
Cuhlun forgot caution and ran in.
Renas was on the marble floor, screaming.What the hell is he doing? Cuhlun thought. He doesn't even look hurt. Lost his mind already?
Typical Renas.
Cuhlun perched in the doorway, then climbed up a vine and lay on it. Renas seemed safe enough, so he might as well rest too.
Renas soon quieted, gathered some branches, and made a small bed on the marble floor. He fell asleep.
All normal — until Renas started swimming in his sleep.
He spread his arms and legs, moving like he was underwater. Cuhlun couldn't take it anymore. He crept closer to wake him up — and triggered something else instead.
Darkness filled the temple. Strange markings and glowing symbols appeared on the walls.Cuhlun found himself walking forward, unable to stop, unable to understand why.
Then, just as suddenly, it all vanished.False alarm.
He didn't know what this temple was about, but he'd definitely ask Renas later.
For now, he went to his side — and let out a shrill lizard cry right beside his ear.
It wasn't loud, but up close it was enough. Renas jolted awake, blinking at the tiny creature beside him.
When Cuhlun tried to stand upright on two legs, Renas grinned.
"We've traveled together for years. It'd be weird if I didn't recognize you, Cuhlun. What other lizard would try to wake me up?"
Cuhlun couldn't speak in that body, but he gave a confident look — at least he could do that much.
"So," Renas continued, flicking the lizard's head lightly, "you came to check on me, huh?"
The lizard nodded.
"You idiot," Renas sighed. "You've got your own problems to deal with. Surviving here's no joke. Focus on your mission… and by the way, I was already awake. Look up, will you?"
Cuhlun glanced toward the temple ceiling.There was an opening above the altar — moonlight usually came through there. But now— sunlight?
Wait. When did it become morning?
That didn't make sense. It had been night when he tried to wake Renas. Had time skipped somehow? And… he'd been in this lizard's body far longer than he planned. The thing hunting him could find him any minute. He needed to leave.
As these thoughts raced, he darted frantically around.Renas stretched like a cat and said:
"Well, I'm heading out. You focus on surviving. Let's meet at the end of this three-month cycle."
With that, Renas left the temple.Strangely, it let him go — though it had forced Cuhlun to enter.
A short while later, Cuhlun exited the lizard's mind.