Ch9: Beauty, Part One

"If you knew what was going to happen, if you knew everything that was going to happen next—if you knew in advance the consequences of your own actions—you'd be doomed. You'd be ruined as God."

― Margaret Atwood, The Blind Assassin

Guess I've traveled far enough, probably about time to start my swim.

The glass-smooth surface of the ocean flew below, Ven's form mirrored with perfect clarity. Even after memorizing some maps, the massive scale made it difficult to tell how far he had to travel.

"Better to be early than late," Vendak mumbled as he shifted his trajectory, his body aligned toward the sea.

The water barely rippled as he speared through the surface. His aura flickered and pulsed as it adapted to the water. The flow of energy that trickled into his cells widened, the weight of the water gave him more than the open air.

Maybe I should spend more time underwater?

A moment passed, and he reached a depth of several miles. Unlike his past experiences at this depth, the water around him still held the light of day.

The water here is so clear...

Vendak spun in a circle, his gaze on the vast number of fish that surrounded him. This animal life is much smaller, closer to Earth's. The ocean around him had come alive. Thousands of living creatures, large and small, flowed around him as they moved with purpose.

A group of sea turtles, their aged shells several meters across, glided past. The small multi-colored fish that occupied most of the space parted swiftly after they passed, as two long squids followed closely after. They squeezed through a school of panicked bluefish, and eyed Vendak before they moved on.

From the smallest spotted puffer, to vast whale-like sharks, all moved in the same direction, and none attacked the others.

Super weird, all these predators just hanging out...

Ven dodged to the side, a lanternfish-esk Lovecraftian horror took up the space he'd just left, and he shook his head.

Time to follow the piper I guess.

Vendak glided through the water like an oily shadow, his path marked by the rivers of fish that coiled past his vision. He rather enjoyed this place, despite the potential risks.

It's like watching a nature documentary.

Around him was a paradise crafted out of marine beauty. As he drifted with the flow, deeper into the well-lit depths, the goal of these creatures became clear.

Tall spires of living coral rose out of the lightless depths, multi-colored skyscrapers, covered in waving filter feeders. Thousands of barnacle-style animals extended their tiny limbs outwards, competing with the local plant life for space.

Huge swaths of kelp hung to the peaks of these coral towers, inverted beards that teamed with life. The swarms of fish Ven had followed filled this unnaturally calm stretch of water, flowing within almost non-existent currents.

These fish were still large on average, probably the size of the modest-sized sharks of Earth. Blue flat-fish larger than modern cars sailed through the water, their slow movements graceful, astronauts born to sail their chosen void.

The peaceful giants let smaller feeder fish clean their bodies of parasites, side by side with vicious-looking eels. Marine life of all sizes and colors filled the vast coral reef, and beyond a few disagreements, they all coexisted peacefully.

Ven had slowed his pace to take in the sights around him, finding himself in the company of a small pod of orca-sized dolphins. They spiraled around him playfully, chittering back and forth to each other in a language that his magic device didn't register. Behind his mask, the corners of his mouth rose as the creatures raced one another, showing off their speed as they investigated Ven's unfamiliar form.

"Hello!" Ven said, surprising himself when his voice came out in a deep, yet recognizable, baritone.

I assumed that I could speak in water, since I can breathe it in but...

He sounded like a huge, burly man, almost like in his past life. I guess I can set up shop underwater if I want to sound more masculine. It wasn't much different to him than speaking using air. His body produced sound like a human, but he wished he understood the mechanism.

My current body is just too unscientific.

The dolphins copied Ven with what sounded like a loud honk, and Ven laughed aloud. Their attitude was infectious.

"You guys want to race?" Vedak called out as he joined the joyful dash through the water. His smooth movements kept a friendly pace as they traveled deeper into the towering reefs.

I haven't felt like this in years. He was a child for the first time in over a century. Ven chuckled as the dolphins sang their strange songs, a bubbling symphony that calmed his heart. The peaceful creatures within the reef were an example of something he had greatly missed from his first life.

I almost forgot how awesome nature could be.

For too long, he had lived with only the darker side of life. The encroaching dangers of the night, and the struggle to survive, had been the norm for as long as he could remember.

Now, for possibly the first time, a taste of freedom had been granted to him. Vendak's destiny was no longer an inescapable path of bad decisions and hopeless inaction. Even if this world held new and unknown dangers, it was a paradise in Vendak's eyes. New lands that teemed with life and adventure.

"Fun playing with you guys!" His new friends eventually tired of their game, and trumpeted out a farewell. As Ven waved, they turned around and returned the way they had come.

Vendak watched until they disappeared into the distance, before he turned to continue his journey. Behind him, instead of the familiar ocean, was a rather imposing wall of scales. They slid across his vision, until a vast orange eye came into view. Ven was face to face with a kaiju-sized snake. He waved his hand rather sheepishly, before he bowed to the serpent.

"Why hello there!"