Chapter 61: The Underwater Palace and Aquatic Monsters
In the dark depths, a faint, hazy light flickered in the distance, silent and eerie.
“That doesn’t seem like bioluminescence,” Rebecca said hesitantly. “Could there be luminous plants underwater? No… Luminous plants would probably be eaten by fish. It’s likely an artificial light source.”
“Artificial?” Leona stared at the light incredulously. “Should we approach at full speed or slow down?”
“Let’s slow down. We don’t know what’s over there. I’m worried about your safety if we advance too rashly,” Abyss said, squeezing Leona’s hand.
Leona nodded and slowed down.
As they approached the light source, the scene became clearer. Abyss quickly identified the source – it wasn’t bioluminescence but lamps, regularly shaped and arranged in a specific pattern.
As they drew closer, an even more surprising sight greeted them: a stone structure built on the seabed, attached to the submerged part of the island. Its style resembled an ancient temple.
“An underwater temple?” Flora exclaimed. “I never imagined such a structure underwater. Who built it?”
“Ah, things are getting more interesting,” Abyss narrowed his eyes. “Leona, can you hear anything inside?”
Leona, who seemed about to speak, immediately replied, “Of course, I hear something. There are living creatures moving inside.”
“Mortals, or some kind of marine life?” Rebecca’s voice held a hint of excitement. “Perhaps there’s a civilization underwater? Or someone who has mastered the art of living in these depths? I can’t wait to see… Of course, be careful. The creatures there might be hostile.”
Leona pulled Abyss and Flora closer to the eerie underwater temple. As they approached, the creatures inside seemed to react.
A head peeked cautiously from the temple’s main entrance, its appearance quickly registering in Abyss’s eyes.
The head resembled a dog’s, but not quite. Its skin was smooth and hairless like a shark’s, and it had large, round eyes. Numerous jagged fangs protruded from its long snout, giving it a rather ugly appearance. It had no nose, but distinct openings on the sides of its face, presumably gills.
Upon seeing Abyss and his companions approaching, the strange creature displayed a surprisingly human-like expression – its eyes widened, and its mouth opened slightly in astonishment. It then quickly retreated.
“What is that thing?” Leona pointed to the doorway where the strange creature’s head had appeared. “I’m not so keen on approaching it now. It looks too weird.”
“Could they be the cause of the Sacred Tree’s problems?” Abyss pondered. “What kind of creature is that? I’ve never heard of such a creature living in the sea, and it seems to possess some level of rational intelligence?”
“I’m worried they have the capacity to think, as that would make them more dangerous,” Rebecca’s voice warned. “Be very careful.”
“They can’t hurt us; they’re just fish living in the water,” Leona said dismissively. “I suddenly remembered a novel I read about legendary creatures called ‘fish-men’. Are these the fish-men from the legends?”
As she spoke, Leona had already pulled Abyss and Flora to the temple entrance.
The temple’s height was roughly the same as the small temples commonly found in Hai-Teweru dedicated to the Nine Gods, about six or seven meters. Its main entrance had no doors, just a stone archway. The interior was visible from outside – several monsters swam within, staring at Abyss and his companions in surprise.
These monsters had human-like bodies, with proportionally similar limbs, no tails, and webbed hands and feet. Their skin, like their faces, resembled shark skin. They were entirely blue, with only their eyes being black.
Their facial features varied. The dog-like one was just one of them; others had seal-like heads, some tapir-like. Their only commonalities were their body proportions and skin color.
“Hey, hello,” Abyss, unsure how to greet these fish-men, simply spoke in the Common Tongue.
After he spoke, Abyss saw one of the monsters’ mouths move, as if trying to reply, but for some reason, it stopped.
The scene was quite bizarre: three humans diving hundreds of meters deep, staring at several monsters inside an underwater temple. The silence made Abyss feel awkward.
Leona, however, was uninhibited. “Hey, you guys can understand the Common Tongue, right? Many of your eyes were moving when my companion spoke in the Common Tongue. Tell me quickly, who are you, what are you doing here, and what have you done to the roots of that tree?”
The monsters exchanged glances, opening their mouths to emit rhythmic gurgling sounds, seemingly communicating. Finally, the largest of the monsters swam forward, positioning itself at the front, and addressed the three.
“How did you reach these depths? If you were ordinary mortals, you should have succumbed to the immense pressure halfway down,” the leading monster spoke in the Common Tongue. “We are a sentient race living in the deep sea. This is our holy ground, where we worship our Lord.”
“Marine life that speaks the Common Tongue?” Rebecca’s voice, echoing in Abyss’s mind, was filled with bewilderment. “What are these things?”
“May I ask why you speak the Common Tongue?” Flora inquired politely. “Could you answer me? I’m very curious.”
The monsters exchanged gurgling sounds again. The leader pondered for a moment, then opened its fanged mouth, seemingly smiling. “If you esteemed visitors wish to know, please come in. We can discuss our civilization and our Lord within our holy ground.”
Leave a Reply